BJ Penn vs. Diego Sanchez – Of all BJ Penn’s challengers as lightweight champion, I think Diego Sanchez has the greatest chance of taking the title.
I still think BJ wins this fight, but have to concede that this matchup will be the toughest test BJ has faced as title holder.
Sanchez has good striking power and quick hands that he should be able to put to good use against Penn. Penn has shown throughout his career that he has a chin made of granite and Diego probably knows he can’t look to knock BJ out.
Diego needs to put heavy pressure on BJ and attempt to land as many strikes as possible, both to the head and to the body, in an effort to wear the champion down.
While BJ Penn has improved his conditioning and cardio significantly in his past few fights, that area of his game is still his weakest and we saw GSP wear down Penn and force him to throw in the towel. While Diego is no where as big as GSP, he is a former welterweight and does carry a good amount of muscle.
I look for Penn to attack this fight with the same gameplan he used against Kenny Florian. Penn feels confident that he can stand and trade strikes with anybody, but I think BJ will look to take this fight to the ground sometime during the second round.
Sanchez is a strong wrestler, but BJ’s grappling skills are too good for Diego to defend. I see this fight ending by submission sometime in the third or fourth round.
Winner: BJ Penn
Frank Mir vs. Cheick Kongo – Frank Mir and Cheick Kongo are two heavyweight fighter’s that are almost a liability to the UFC, in my opinion. Both men are solid heavyweights, but neither is truly at the “top of his class” enough to become and remain the heavyweight champion for any period of time.
Kongo has a good striking and kicking game, but his ground game is still completely lacking even after 20 professional fights, including 10 in the UFC.
Frank Mir’s ground game is top notch, and he even has started to show some good signs of improvement on the feet in recent matches. Mir just has never been able to get over the hurdle and become a huge force in the division.
Personally, I’m pretty ambivalent about this matchup and don’t know what the winner really gains out of the matchup. A title shot probably isn’t on the line, and both men will undoubtedly remain with the promotion.
Look for Mir to test the hands early on, but wisen up and submit Kongo for the victory.
Winner: Frank Mir
Jon Fitch vs. Mike Pierce – The training camp for UFC 107 was something of a circus for Jon Fitch. Originally slated to fight Ricardo Almeida, Fitch had to switch to preparing for Thiago Alves when Almedia withdrew. The preparations for Alves were short-lived however, as Alves also pulled out leaving Fitch with a fight against Mike Pierce.
I don’t think the revolving door of opponent’s hurt Fitch’s preparations at all, however, and I don’t expect this fight to be much of a problem for Fitch. While Mike Pierce is a solid fighter and has some decent power in his hands, his matchup here with Fitch is more about finding a way to keep Fitch on the fight card rather than matching up two equal opponents.
Expect Fitch to have his way with Pierce on the ground and win via unanimous decision or submission.
Winner: Jon Fitch
Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida – Most MMA fans are looking forward to this lightweight matchup between Kenny Florian and Clay Guida almost as much as the night’s main event.
Both Florian and Guida consistently bring a high-energy gameplan into the Octagon and this fight could be an excellent battle.
Florian recently changed up his training camp and has moved away from Mark Dellegrotte as Sityodtong and it will be interesting to see if the change of scenery has improved Florian’s game at all.
Florian’s striking and Muay Thai game are better than Guida’s, simply because he is the far more accurate and technical striker. Guida should be able to out wrestle Florian on the mat, but Florian has the strong guard game. If Guida can avoid Florian’s guard he should be able to do some damage, but avoiding Florian’s guard isn’t an easy task.
I don’t really see either fighter look to take this fight to the ground however, and I fully expect to see a three round striking battle. If Guida can get in close and frustrate Florian with the clinch in the same way he did to Nate Diaz, then Guida will walk away the victor. If he can’t, look for Florian to win via decision.
Winner: Clay Guida
Paul Buentello vs. Stefan Struve – MMA heavyweight journeyman Paul Buentello gets another crack at the Octagon. Buentello is by no means a top prospec, but is more of a middle-of-the-pack type of heavyweight. Why the UFC chose to bring “The Headhunter” back into the fold, I’m not quite sure, but the matchup against Stefan Struve will prove an interesting one.
Buentello can still pack a solid punch, and should have the easy advantage on the feet if he can figure out a way to contend with Struve’s huge height advantage.
Struve holds the clear advantage on the ground and has a very good submission game for a man of his size. Stefan needs to use his reach advantage to kick and jab in an effort to keep Buentello at a distance. If Buentello is successful at getting in close and starts landing strikes, look for Struve to take the fight to the ground and attempt to work a submission.
I think Buentello is experienced enough and still has good enough power in his hands that he should be able to keep the fight on the feet and win this fight on points.
Winner: Paul Buentello
Alan Belcher vs. Wilson Gouveia – Winner: Wilson Guiveia
Matt Wiman vs. Shane Nelson – Winner: Matt Wiman
Johny Hendricks vs. Ricardo Funch – Winner: Johny Hendricks
Rousimar Palhares vs. Lucio Linhares – Winner: Rousimar Palhares
DeMarques Johnson vs. Edgar Garcia – Winner: DeMarques Johnson
Kevin Burns vs. TJ Grant – Winner: Kevin Burns
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bvrasp
R.J. St.Croix
Timbo Slice
DZ
StuDog
I like the look of the site now. except for the comments section being so low on the page. needs to be placed much higher. and the choice of fighters in the banner is different. should probably put more recognizable fighters so the average fan would know how they are. I mean people would know forrest and maybe Fedor and gsp but thats it.
one of the main reasons i’ve been hanging around thins site since 2006 is because it carters more to the hardcore MMA fans so it keeps the moronic WWE loudmouths to a minimum. so if keeping the banner as is will chase off some of the tools im good with that lol.
interesting. I’m curious where you think the comments section should go?
thats the first time I’ve heard feedback like that so I’m genuinely interested if there are better suggestions.
Looking forward to Alan Belcher vs. Wilson Gouveia too.
I have to pick Kenflo in that fight. He is much taller and has much better striking than Guida. I see Florian by submission.
Also, Diego’s striking is nowwhere near BJ’s. This will a very interesting battle.
1)Diego’s weak striking vs. BJ Penn’s solid jaw?
(advantage BJ)
2)Superior conditioning? Diego
3)Grappling? I have to say a toss-up for me but I’ll go BJ.
4)Submissions? BJ
Anything can happen in a fight – that said – Florian wins, simply because he doesn’t just stand back and gangsta punch his opponents slow and concerted like Diaz.
Florian has energy, as much as Guida when called upon and therefore his reach and height will pose problems for Guida simply because he is more active, Diaz got handled because he just stood mostly still, he doesn’t move a lot – he loads up on shots, and his shots are 3 max, he’s just too stationary and Florian is not.
I see Florian beating Guida by rear naked energetic-ness combined with jabs, knees and lots of gurgling.
I also pick BJ Penn to win via “Best LW in the Worldness” -
I would move it either to the top right of page above links and advertisements or just under that.
interesting. so you’d almost want to read the comments side-by-side with the actual article instead of reading the article then the associated comments?
I’ve never thought of it that way.
What’s everyone else think about this
i think if you put it side by side it may take away from the actual article. someone like me (borderline ADD) would be trying to respond to comments while im still reading the original article and it could lead to some confusion….. mostly my confusion lol. i sort of do it now because the “recent comment” section is always been beside the main article, you just cant respond unless you click on it or scroll down. maybe do a tester page with Banneds idea and see how it goes.
I think everything is fine the way it is. Always has been. One of the main reasons I keep coming back is the simplicity of the format & template.
What about those huge, long articles with many quotes by many different people? we would have to read the entire article all the way down the page anyway and then scroll all the way up to read the comments? that’s pretty pointless IMO.
yeah, that makes sense as well.
that has always been my thought, is that the bottom is the most natural place for comments since you scroll through the article as you read, and then when you reach the end, you have the ability to comment yourself.
/\/\/\ this was kinda my line of thinking, Amir just put it better lol.
holy crap man you guys are on top of it today, every time i write something some one else beat me to it lol.
BJ by rear ankle blood choke whilst punching Diego’s liver .. he can do it.
how about the recent comments section directly under the links and advertisements instead of all the way at bottom? It just looks out of place all by itself. I think the commments next to the article would look good. you do realize I’m talking about the home page and not the comments section but the recent comments?
ahh, no i didnt.
i thought you were talking about the comments/discussion section on the individual article pages.
you are talking about the recent comments section in the middle sidebar??
if so I guess I dont understand. arent they already under the links and advertisements section?
Not when I look at it. and really the recent comments just the first few sentences would look good next to the article they apply to on the home page. that wasn’t what I was going for at first until you misunderstood then in I thought about it and liked the idea. I know advertisers probably want their stuff at the top so not sure how you could do it and please everyone.
lol. ok so now I think I’m even more confused what you were originally suggesting.
when I view the sidebar I have the “Advertise with us” image, then the “Pages” links section, then the “Recent Comments” section. Is that not what you are seeing?
Also, what were you originally suggesting again just so I know we are on the same page?
BJ wins by nostril pull from the boston crab position whilst simultaneously spanking Diego ala “Couture V Ortiz” style .. yesssssss
on my screen the recent comment section on the home page is all the way at the bottom almost in the center of page all by itself. my original suggestion was move it up to the top right or top right directly under links. then you thought I was talking about the comment page and thought I wanted the comments next to story instead of below which wouldn\’t look good at all. but on the home page what about having the recent comments as is just next to the related story maybe broke down in smaller sections so they are directly next to story they go with. maybe even put advertisements between those gaps. by the way I like the top commentary section.
hmm.. interesting.
its definitely some kind of issue on your machine.
What web browser are you using? Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP?
The site is fine doc, my opinion is just leave it alone -you have done us all a great service by hosting it, updating the banner, keeping the news coming – good stuff ..
i like this suggestion, change is scary and im just glad its back to the old style.
Banned is having some kind of problem with his display, because the suggestion hes making is already what it looks like for me. Dont know why its not working for you man, but its all good here.
Just to confirm, your saying the “recent comments” to be placed at the top of the page directly beside the story column. Ya thats how it is.
Some interesting picks from our camp, 3 guys picked Guida, 2 guys picked Kongo and one person actually picked Diego. Good luck with that hehe.
who’d you take in Buentello/Struve? i got Struve R2 submission, i think the young buck will choke out the ol’dog.
I think i have the exact same pick RJ
completely off topic, have you ever heard of King of the Dot? i’ve been watching some of the videos on youtube and there is some pretty funny battles.
Haha seriously? I almost picked Kongo on a parlay bet, it’s a LOT of money – but hey I gotta pick with some common sense… Florian actually picked Kongo to win though too..
No RJ, i had never heard of it, but since you mentioned it i did check it out, pretty cool stuff. Not really my style though, while the written stuff does sound better, the skill level is much lower. Its more like standup comedy than freestyle hehe, but its entertaining.
haha well answered my question then, i was gonna ask how you feel about the obvious writtens and all the slow, talky delivery . like you said high level comedy, low level MCs lol.
I saw one of those battles where the guy forgot his lines and ofcourse he didnt have the skill to improv and catch himself, so he kept repeating the same line to get back on track, like when you forget the lines of a song lol.
Pathetic man, especially when your in front of everyone like that.
When you get to a certain level, the REAL freestyle surpasses the memorized punchlines. Maybe not as funny as written comedy material, but when you start using things in the environment spur of the moment its alot better.
Plus, those guys run out of material, so if you go like 4-5 rounds and theyre not ready for that much, they pretty much have nothing left. Thats how we used to expose people, another way is wordplay.
The wordplay game we play online is like say your in a chat room and your the only one on the mic so everyone can hear you, then the other people start typing words in the chat and you have to use those words in your rhymes.
hehe that really separates the men from the boys.
no doubt some of those dummies had nothing…. NOTHING! i mean how do you not run away in complete embarrassment after forgetting everything you prepared and freezing up lol.
Picks guys? C’mon what are you guys doing on playground? I parlayed my bets on Penn and Mir -
Kansas are you actually gonna try next season? you should man, usually your picks are good, but you dont pick the round or method of finish so your points are always really low.
BV – to the team I apologize, I have done very little in 2009 – and half hearted 2008.
This is due to a couple things, first off, I haven’t had Spike TV in a year – so I don’t get to watch and keep up with fight nights mostly because they are undercards. Secondly the end of Pride and subsequent demise of some of my favorite fighters deflated my interest in MMA temporarily.
Thirdly, I have Christian ministry that I am involved in and that keeps me tied up a lot.
New Years Resolution – Actually pick the rounds and methods, and make picks on ALL of the events.
Thanks though BV, your right I can pick winners, just have to put in the effort.
Good stuff man, you picked a good time for it too, right on the cusp of the new season. This last even can be a good practice run to see how you do with the picks too. Ive checked you picks a few times and usually all the picks you make are spot on.
BJ Penn-UD
Frank Mir-R2 sub
Jon Fitch-UD
Kenny Florian-UD
Stefan Struve-R2 sub
Alan Belcher-R1 TKO
Matt Wiman-UD
Johny Hendricks-R2 TKO
Rousimar Palhares-R3 sub
DeMarques Johnson-R1 TKO
Kevin Burns-UD
the one fight i dont feel good about my pick is Linhares/Palhares, i’ve seen Lucio Linhares fight a few times on HDNet (some small shows) and he is an animal. i think if Lucio Linhares gets past that Brazilian mini tank he’ll be an up’n'comer to look out for.
Really huh? i never seen him fight, lets see if he can get past the awesomeness that is Paul Harris hehe.
Oh, i dont really want to give away my picks considering im leading the fightcamp by only 2 points and its the final event. Lets just say, my picks look very similar to yours but i have less decisions.
Ive already revealed some of my picks so ill restate those
Penn
Mir
Florian
Struve
Paul Harris
im gonna bet the Paul Harris vs. Lynn Harris fight is gonna be a domestic assault lol.
whos Omar Paul Harris? you’ll see tomorrow night…..lmao.
BWAHAHAHA Brilliant RJ.
Pauls entrance song is gonna be “smack my btch up” lol