UFC 97 Saturday

[Snail Shell]

Okay, I'm 11/15 on the year so far. Let's do this!

Steve Cantwell vs. Luis Cane

Cantwell's going to be big. Trust me.
Cantwell by Decision

Cheick Kongo vs. Antoni Hardonk

If Kongo can stay on his feet, he'll win. And his takedown defense has gotten MUCH better since the last time we saw him.
Kongo by KO/TKO

Chuck Liddell vs. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua

Both these fighters have controversy surrounding them, so let me clarify them both. Liddell is coming to the end of his career and he's not as quick as he used to be, that's true. But it's not him getting bad that's the issue. The rest of the 205 division upped their game to the point where they were actually a threat to him. He's not fighting Jeremy Horn or an over-the-peak Tito Ortiz any more. As for Rua, coming to the UFC from Pride, the structure of the fight is different. Shorter rounds in a smaller cage with fewer power ground moves like kicks and stomps hurt a lot of fighters. Going from Pride to the UFC is like asking a marathon runner to win a sprint. The conditioning is a huge change.

That being said, a standup battle could EASILY go either way. If I'm Liddell, I use my wrestling to wear Rua down for a round, then go for the kill shot when he's tired. If I'm Rua, I swing for the fences and pressure Chuck until he cracks. Either way, it'll be crazy.

Quite frankly, it's a coin toss. I'm calling Liddell by KO/TKO, but it could easily be the other way around.

Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites.

Leites has terrific jiu jitsu and Silva HAS been submitted before, so a clock-cleaning, highlight reel knockout isn't a guarantee. However, Leites has questionable takedown ability and even then, he has to get past Silva's standup. To say nothing that Silva has something to prove after the fight against Patrick Cote. Bottom line, I give Leites a fighter's chance, but I wouldn't want to be him on Saturday night.

Silva by KO/TKO in the first two rounds.

See you Saturday!

Snail Shell

 

[natural tickler]

Josh, call me crazy, but I am going for the underdog to win....Leites to win

Because Silva seems bored, and needs a loss to rejuvenate again

 

[Snail Shell]

Josh, call me crazy, but I am going for the underdog to win....Leites to win

Because Silva seems bored, and needs a loss to rejuvenate again

Okay. You're crazy.

In all seriousness, Silva has considered retiring recently. He's at the peak of his career and his talent will only go downhill from here. However, he still has 6 fights left on his contract with the UFC (I think. Cote might have been one of those six). And he's not the type of person to just lay down. He'll fight his heart out as long as he's there.

If he is going to get beaten, it will be by Dan Henderson (Henderson vs. Michael Bisping is part of the UFC 100 card. The winner gets Silva), or a 205er that drops a weight class. Others in line for a title shot include Nate Narquardt, Alan Belcher and Yushin Okami. Of course, if the talent at 185 and 170 is any indication so far, we might get to see Silva vs. GSP at this rate. (Fanboy squeal!!!!!!!!!!)

Snail Shell

 

[Bizkit]

Okay, I'm 11/15 on the year so far.

I was away for a while,I'll jump back in starting the next event.Looks like your pics have been pretty good.

I loved the Shogun/Liddell fight.It would have been great to see that go into the later rounds.As much as it sucks to see Chuck continue to stumble,it was nice to see Shogun perform well.He is always in exciting fights.I even enjoyed the Coleman fight at 93 which he got criticized for.Even if he gasses he never stops going forward.There are a lot of exciting fights at 205 in the future for him.


The UFC has some great fights lined up.I am most looking forward to GSP/Alves,Silva/Franklin,Silva/Griffin but mostly Nogueira/Couture.

Minotauro and Couture match up very well.Similar striking level,both very accomplished grapplers and both have tremendous heart.I'm psyched for this fight.Without getting to into it, I'm rooting for Nogueira in this one.

GSP/Alves has a lot on the line.GSP can put a real stamp on his legacy with a win,even moreso if it is a decisive victory.That should be a hell of a fight.

Affliction should be announcing something shortly about their upcoming card.I thought the first two Affliction events were great.It's not often you get multiple great HW fights on mma events and they have done that along with great fights in other weight classes as well.It's a shame that an organization like Affliction that puts on great fights may cease to exist due to lack of publicity.