Well, the UFC did it. They managed to hobble together a full fight card on short notice in an attempt to stifle the Affliction: Banned fight card happening the same night. This card was put together so hastily that 9 of the 22 fighters on the fight card don’t even have a full bio and photo up on the UFC.com website. The whole hype surrounding this event has been the debut of the “best pound-for-pound fighter in the world” at light heavyweight. As much as Dana White tries to convince you otherwise, he can’t get around the fact that the best MMA fighter in the world will by fighting a few hundred miles west at the same time against one of his former fighters, Tim Sylvia. But, we aren’t here to talk about the Affliction fight card, we are here to talk about the UFC Fight Night card so lets get started.
Anderson Silva vs James Irvin - Anderson Silva will win this fight. I know, I know, shocking statement. Way to go out on a limb, Doc. But really, come on. We all know Anderson Silva is going to win this fight. Silva will make his light heavyweight debut against Irvin; why, I’m really not sure. Silva has proven to be a team player for Zuffa and Co. and if Dana White wants needs Anderson Silva to fight at 205 lbs. to draw attention away from the competing Affliction: Banned card, then Silva will gladly do it. Just don’t expect Silva to hang around at light heavyweight too long. I personally think this might be a one-and-done for the current UFC middleweight champion.
James Irvin is a decent fighter, but really isn’t close to the same class as Anderson Silva. Irvin is coming off a flash KO victory against Houston Alexander, a victory via DQ against Luiz Cane, and a loss to Thiago Silva due to a knee injury. A good thing about James Irvin is that he will look to stand and engage with “The Spider” and that is what the UFC is hoping for. Look for another TKO victory by Silva in the first or second round. Winner: Anderson Silva
Brandon Vera vs Reese Andy - In addition to Anderson Silva, Brandon Vera is also making his light heavyweight debut on this fight card. There has been speculation for quite a while that Vera would or should drop down to the 205 lb. division and after two straight losses at heavyweight, Vera is finally giving it a shot. If you’ve never seen Reese Andy fight, he put up a pretty solid record in the IFL going 5-1 with his most recent victory coming against Krzysztof Soszynski over a year ago. Andy simply does not have the experience against quality opponents like Vera does and at the lighter weight I expect Vera to be even more energized and explosive. I anticipate a first or second round KO by “The Truth.” Winner: Brandon Vera
Hermes Franca vs Frank Edgar - Hermes Franca is returning to action for the first time since his loss to Sean Sherk at UFC 73. Both Franca and Sherk tested positive for banned substances after that fight and both were subsequently suspended by the CSAC. Franca is an excellent fighter who just has never been able to get over that hump and defeat the top-tier opponent.
Frank Edgar burst onto the UFC scene at UFC 67 where he handed Tyson Griffin the first and only loss of his career in an excellent Fight of the Night battle. Edgar followed that up with victories against Mark Bocek and Spencer Fisher before suffering the first loss of his career against Gray Maynard at UFC Fight Night 13 this past April. Franca’s strength is is grappling game but Edgar is an excellent wrestler. I think Edgar will have better hand speed and explosiveness and win another decision victory. Winner: Frank Edgar
Cain Velasquez vs Jake O’Brien - If you aren’t familiar with Jake O’Brien and his story go do some research. O’Brien was nearly out of the game for good when a nerve injury in his back nearly ended his career. O’Brien was able to battle through and a round of surgery put him back on the path to recovery. Unfortunately, O’Brien’s first fight back from his injury was against Andrei Arlovski at UFC 82 where he suffered the first loss of his career.
Cain Velasquez is supposedly the newest rising star in the heavyweight division. Coming out of the American Kickboxing Academy, Velasquez is undefeated in his short three-fight career and most recently won his UFC debut against Brad Morris at UFC 83. O’Brien will look to make the fight a wrestling match much like he did against Heath Herring. Velasquez will look to KO O’Brien in the first round. Who every wins the “battle of the wills” will take this fight. Winner: Cain Velasquez
Anthony Johnson vs Kevin Burns - Anthony Johnson is one of my favorite up-and-coming fighters. If you haven’t jumped on the “Rumble” bandwagon yet, now is a great time to do so. Johnson is a super-explosive fighter whose fighting style reminds me a lot of Georges St. Pierre. Johnson is 5-1 with his sole loss coming via submission against Rich Clementi at UFC 76. Kevin Burns made an impressive UFC debut at UFC 85 last month when he submitted Roan Carneiro halfway through the second round. Burns clearly has strong submission skills and will most likely look to work them against Johnson. It would be foolish for Burns to try and trade punches with Johnson. If Johnson can utilize a good sprawl and stay on his feet he should notch another victory. Winner: Anthony Johnson
Jesse Taylor vs CB Dollaway - TUF castaway Jesse Taylor is making his UFC debut after being “banished” for a whole single fight. CB Dollaway is making his non-TUF UFC debut after losing back-to-back fights against Amir Sodollah. I really have no interest in this fight at all as I don’t think either of these fighters will remain in the UFC very long. I do want to see what kind of fighter Taylor is after being able to train outside the TUF environment for a few months. The fight is really a toss-up in my mind and I seriously flipped a coin to determine the winner due to lack of interest. Winner: Jesse Taylor
Tim Credeur vs Cale Yarbrough - Winner: Tim Credeur
Brodie Farber vs Rory Markham - Winner: Rory Markham
Nate Loughran vs Johnny Rees - Winner: Johnny Reese
James Giboo vs Brad Blackburn - Winner: James Giboo
Dale Hartt vs Shannon Gugerty - Winner: Shannon Gugerty
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write this down…. Anderson will throw nothing except maybe a slappy jab or a quick little leg kick for the first 55 seconds, in the next few seconds he’ll throw a good set up punch but no follow up, after that it’ll be on like donkey kong in a thong. the only way Silva will get away from that gameplan for even a second is if Irvin MAKES him fire back by forcing him into an exchange. i think that will be Irvins only shot in this fight if he comes out swinging and not ever let Anderson get set. you watch Anderson close you’ll notice he spend the first minute timing you and getting your rhythm down, then he eats you alive and most of his opponents were scared to engage first with him so they all let him figure them out. i seen an interview with Irvin and he talks about countering and stuff, i think hes got a BAD gameplan if hes going to try and counter instead of set the pace, just my two cents.
Ya agree 100% RJ, i know we talked about this before, probably the only chance a guy has against Anderson is attacking. Put on the pressure, keep the pressure on him, dont let him set anything up, dont let him breath let alone think. Force Anderson to exchange, not to say this will automatically equal a vicotry for Irvin, but hes got a much better chance than sitting back and trying to play the technical game with Silva. If he really is planning to try and counter Silva, i think were in for a very short fight lol.
You guys see that interview where the asked Arlovski about Sylvia and his ex-girlfriend? lol its funny man, check it out..
http://www.mmaontap.com/mma/entry/arlovski-talks-rothwell-dogs-on-sylvia/
LMAO hey Tim, how is taste my beep, beep, beep LOL i love broken english sh*t talking, its so much funnier lol.
lol man, its so funny when guys are talking trash and theyre both really bad at it, or they cant speak english properly lol.
yeah man i work with about 150 Asian folk and i lip off (to my friends that is) to them just so they will give me a come back lol my buddy Vang said to me one time “im gonna make you my boy, BOY!” now think about a 54 year old little Asian man with horrible english yelling that at you from across the cafeteria lol
Hey RJ, heres todays MMAlive incase you havent seen it yet..
http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3493475&categoryId=2881270&n8pe6c=1
yeah i watched it a bit earlier, have you watched it yet?
Just finished watching it, something very interesting i noticed, Kenny, Franklin and Mir all picking Big Tim to pull off the upset. I hope Tim wins man, i still think Fedor is #1 but Tim needs that respect from the fans.
Oh also, Irvin talking bout how he will control the clinch game against Silva. I dunno about that, he is bigger and stronger which is always an advantage, but so was Rich Franklin, and im sure hes technically better in the clinch than Irvin. Anderson clearly outclassed Franklin in the clinch so i dont think controlling the bigger guy will be much of a factor. Im guessing once Silva gets the upperhand and the leverage Irvins gonna be bent over trying to block knees with his forearms. Take some advice Irvin, just avoid the clinch altogether..
yeah thats what i wanted to mention that Franklin, Kenny, and Frank all picked Tim. i put some stock into fighters picks, a lot of the time they call it pretty close. i still put my money on Fedor but i guess they see something i dont. if big Tim can stop Fedor, oh my gawd it’ll flip the MMA world on its head, sh*t if Fedor and Anderson both get stopped in the same night i WILL start repenting for my sins lol.
guys am i the only one going for irvin? i smell an upset guys
like i said if he follows a real good gameplan hes got a good shot, but even in that cast i’ll give him a 50/50 on it. anyone saying GSP was gonna get KOed by Serra at one time was a joke but hey you know how that went so who knows. but Irvin is stating hes going to take the center of the octagon and let Silva come to him and when he comes in he’ll have traps set, i think that the complete wrong plan to go with and he gonna get brutally KOed by Silva.
is anyone else watching the Silva vs. Irvin hype up show on SPIKE TV?
ya i watched it too RJ, Now im 100% sure, after all that talk, Irvins got TERRIBLE mechanics in the clinch. His size wont help him in the clinch because he doesnt have the technical skills yet to beat anderson. His grip is waaay too low like near the base of the neck, maybe he knows the techniques, but when he tries to execute them his inexperience shows. The right hand positioning is one of the MANY things that have to happen instinctively because of ridiculous amounts of training.
Im sure of it now, he better not try and clinch up or the sandman will be taking a nap himself..
even if he had a beautiful clinch game it a dumb move to play it with Silva. Anderson IS Thai boxing for MMA why would you bother getting in a Muay Thai match with a guy like that, brawl dummy your a brawler! screw the cut kicks and elbows, throw haymakers and lots of them, push him around and beat him up its your only shot oh yeah and keep that chin tucked real deep lol.
Thats it man, just swing for the fences, dont try and save energy and hope for a 1st round KO, thats his best chance.. If you think about it, theres not one aspect of the game Irvin is better at, except maybe falling down lol.
I think Anderson will win, but I bet on Irvin…. the odds pay too well. :)
I just hit the playground to make my wagers.. dam.. terrible card for betting.. i dont know what im gonna do.. how much did you put down Kansas? i also noticed, they reduced the parlay from 4 fights to a max of 3. Thats gonna greatly reduce the overall winnings drastically this season.
Ok i made my wagers guys..
Irvin 50 to win 380
Andy 50 to win 380
Yarbrough 50 to win 300
Parlay
Franca
Velasquez
Blackburn
250 to win 1432
- like i said, crappy betting event but i guess this will have to do..
What you guys put down??
@ BV
I think you spread your money too thin… I would have bet on 2 fights max, this card is too unpredictable in my opinion, but heck why not, its not real money anyways.. lol
Well heres how i look at it.. if any 1 of the underdogs pull off the miracle win, i make my money back, if my parlay wins i more than double my money, but its not a ridiculous parlay bet, it could very well happen..
I dont think i spread my money too thin, you bet 300 i bet 400, pretty close margin there..
About your bet, i say you should always make a parlay bet man.. even if you just bet like 50, its worth it man.. plus its fun to have bets on alot of the fights hehe makes it a bit more exciting..
and ya, like you say, its NOT real money, i would never bet on all the underdogs with real money lol.
no parlays - bet $300 on Irvin.. safe bet man… it could yield $2300 if I win and its a small loss …