The main card for UFC 121 has been announced and it’s a doozy.

Let’s take a look:
Date: Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010
Location: Honda Center in Anaheim, California

265 lbs.: Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez
205 lbs.: Matt Hamill vs. Tito Ortiz
265 lbs.: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Brendan Schaub
170 lbs.: Martin Kampmann vs. Jake Shields
170 lbs.: Diego Sanchez vs. Paulo Thiago

Brock vs. Cain is huge. I was one of the first people on the Velasquez bandwagon when he arrived and it’s been a joy to watch him develop these last two and a half years. He started as a mammoth wrestler and has grown into a mammoth wrestler with serious ground ‘n pound and improving strikes. On the other hand, I love Brock too and want him to develop a great legacy in the sport – so I will officially be torn on this one. I probably wont know who I want until the bell sounds.

Tell you one thing, I like Velasquez’s chances. I think his boxing, though not as powerful, is more technical than Carwin’s. If he can stuff a takedown or two from Lesnar he can catch the champ with a punch and then probably learn from Shane’s mistake and meticulously work for a finish - instead of unloading wild punches and gassing… Wait, I mean, unloading wild punches and getting Lactic Acidosis. My mistake.

Of course, Brock is going to have twenty pounds on him so stuffing a takedown will be easier said than done – but we’ll see.

Tito vs. Hamill will mark the first time a TUF coach has fought one of his own fighters. I have no clue how this is going to go. Ortiz’s stand-up is probably more technical than Matt’s, but Matt’s is more powerful – ugliness notwithstanding. I don’t see Hamill wanting to take this to the ground and I don’t think Tito will get the big fella down – so I’d say we’re in for an entertaining 15-minute train wreck.

I realize Gabriel just got knocked on his ass by Junior two Saints, but I still think this may be too big a step up for Schaub. Still, Brendan has been knocking kids out and when your chin is as glass as Napao’s has been lately you always have to be cautious. A win for Schaub propels him to the next level and a win for Gabe gives him some momentum after a crushing defeat.

The UFC Welcome Committee President, Martin Kampmann, will introduce the company’s new prize-possession Jake Shields to the Octagon. I know it’s hard to bet against Jake after that dominating performance over Dan Henderson, but don’t sleep on Marty. If Shields doesn’t bring his ‘A’ game he’s walking out with the loser’s share.

Diego vs. Paulo will send one man back to relevancy and one man into deep, deep trouble. Personally, I think Paulo has been overrated from the start and Sanchez will show some new life now that he’s back with Greg Jackson – but we’ll have to wait and see.

Overall, this looks great on paper. The queso dip and wings will be flowing at my place come the 23rd of October.

Stay lucky.
Ken

I’d say it’s pretty ironic that Carwin would be the one to get tied to steroids when it is always Brock who gets guff for them despite no proof. Then again, false accusations against the champ make sense since he is a no-good pro-wrestling low-life - while Shane is a hard-working everyman and hero to all. Ha.

I’ll let the process play itself out before I pass judgment on Shane, but I will say this, thank God Lesnar won that fight on July 3rd. It would have been terrible for the sport to have Carwin win the title and then have his name tied to performance enhancers. Unfortunately, we live in a society where you’re guilty until proven innocent and this would not be the kind of publicity that Dana and the boys need for their heavyweight champion.

And that’s all I got to say about that…

Stay lucky,
Ken

Let’s do a Judge’s Scorecard on this fine Hump Day.

There been a lot of talk about UFC 117 being the event of the year. Is that actually the case?

Let’s take a look as we rank the top five UFC events of the year thus far.

1) UFC 116 - Jul 3, 2010

Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin was just as dramatic and, in my opinion, much more exciting than Silva/Sonnen.

The rest of the card wasn’t star-studded, but produced some amazing fights. Most notably, TUF1 alums picking up huge wins when Chris Leben submitted Yoshihiro Akiyama with 30 seconds left and when Stephan Bonnar went to war - and knocked out -Krzysztof Soszynski.

2) UFC 117 – August 7, 2010

The main event will go down in history as the night Anderson Silva was taking to the brink by Chael Sonnen and pulled a miracle triangle to retain his title.

The rest of the card had some big names with Jon Fitch steamrolling Thiago Alves in their rematch, Matt Hughes showing he’s not done yet and Junior dos Santos earning a title shot.

3) UFC Live 1 – March 21, 2010

The UFC’s first effort on Versus was a homerun with two of their best up-and-comers – Jon Jones and Junior dos Santos – dominating in their biggest tests to date.

The entire night will go down as one of the most violent in history with knockouts, submission and Brandon Vera’s broken face.

4) UFC 110 – February 21, 2010

The UFC took a trip down under and put on a very good card that saw Cain Velasquez knock-out the legend Big Nog to earn a title shot.

In other action, Wanderlei Silva and Michael Bisping put on a show and George Sotiropoulos and Ryan Bader had breakout fights against established vets Joe Stevenson and Keith Jardine, respectively.

5) UFC 114 – May 29, 2010

While Rashad Evans vs. Quinton Jackson may not have lived up to the hype, it was still great to finally see these two square-off.

Other fights saw Jon Hathaway announce his presence with a win over Diego Sanchez and Jason Brilz and Mike Russow shock the world – yet, Jason gets robbed.

Til next time.

Stay lucky,
Ken

UFC 116 is in the books so let’s grade my predictions and give some thoughts…

1) Heavyweight Championship: Brock Lesnar def. Shane Carwin via submission, Rd. 2

I said…

In the end, Lesnar wears Shane down for the first few rounds and then ends things with a ground ‘n pound TKO late.

Prediction: Lesnar, TKO, Rd. 4

Well, Brock did wear him down – expect it was due to Carwin banging his gloves off the champs head 60 times in round 1 and not superior wrestling from the champ. Still, I had the winner right so I’ll give myself a decent grade. Grade: B+ (3.3)

This main event was, in a word, epic. No other way to describe it.

The big fight atmosphere was in the air and the story unfolded perfectly. Carwin starts out with a barrage. The ref is seconds away from stopping it, but somehow Brock survives and proves to everyone that he 1) can take a beating and 2) will not fold in the face of adversity. Second round starts and Lesnar gets the takedown on an exhausted Shane. He gets the mount and goes for a choke (which caused me to stand and shout ‘what the f*ck are you doing?!?!’). Seconds later, he would make me look foolish by securing a submission win. Unreal.

Kudos to Carwin for laying it on Brock. Kudos to Rosenthal for not stopping it. And kudos to Lesnar for showing the heart of a champion and solidifying himself as a legitimate mainstream UFC star.

Next for Lesnar: We already know this one – my maaaaaiiiinnn man, Cain Velasquez. I heard this can be as early as September – let’s do it. I’m going to be torn on this one. I like Cain more, but I really want to see Brock start a big legacy. One thing is for sure, Cain has a shot in this one.

Next for Carwin: How about the loser of Nelson vs. Dos Santos? I realty don’t see a need to drop Shane too far down the ladder. After all, 4 out of 5 refs would have stopped that fight and we’d be talking about Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin.

2) Chris Leben def. Yoshihiro Akiyama via submission, Rd. 3

I said…

After a feeling out process early, Akiyama takes the first round with his top control. However, just like in the Simpson fight, Leben comes back in the second with a knockout.

Prediction: Leben, KO, Rd. 2

I didn’t have the round or means of victory (seriously, who had Leben winning by submission?!?!) - but I knew Leben was pulling this one out and Akiyama did win the early fight as I thought he would. I’m going pretty high here. Grade: A- (3.7)

Another unbelievable fight with these two leaving it all in the cage. There were a number of times that I thought each guy was one or two swings from putting the other away, but credit to them both for showing great toughness.

As I expected, Akiyama is not all he’s cracked up to be. It wasn’t a bad showing, but if he was as good as people say he should have had no problems with the Crippler. He looked pretty small in there – a drop to welterweight may do him some good. I also wonder if the ladies know about Sexyama’s disappointing gas tank.

As for Chris, what can you say? On two weeks rest he stepped into one of the biggest fights of his career and delivered in vintage fashion. Tough as nails, heavy-handed, underrated off his back and a nutjob on the mic – Leben used all of these traits on Saturday night and I couldn’t help but crack a smile.

Say what you will about the man, but The Crippler has brass ones. He’s also been around the block and looks to be at his highest level ever after looking washed-up not that long ago.

Next for Leben: He’s earned himself a legit contender. I know he wants Wandy, but I don’t see it happening for some reason. I think the winner of Okami/Munoz could be the better fit.

Next for Akiyama: As I said, I think he could use a drop in weight, but I think he’ll fight once more at middleweight before doing so. He needs a win in a bad way, but I don’t see him getting a lay-up. How about Aaron Simpson in a battle of the recent Crippler victims?

3) Stephan Bonnar def. Krzsyztof Soszynski via TKO, Rd. 2

I said…

I don’t see this going much differently than the first time around. Krzysztof will get the better on the feet and Bonnar doesn’t have what it takes to get it to the ground.

It will be a sad day for Bonnar as he drops his fourth in a row. One has to wonder if the UFC would ever cut him.

Prediction: Soszynski, Decision

It actually looked like my prediction was going to be true until Stephan drilled that knee so I won’t go with an F. Still, got to go pretty low here. Grade: D+ (1.3)

While I cracked a smile for Leben, I was grinning ear-to-ear for Stephan Bonnar. He needed a win in the worst way and you could tell how happy he was to finally get his hand raised after nearly three years.

This was another sweet fight on a night that was full of them. I thought K-Sos had Bonnar at one point, but as we’ve seen in the past, putting away the Psycho is easier said than done.

Next for Bonnar: The win was a great one, but Stephan has a while to go before being relevant again in the light-heavyweight division. Still, it’s a start. Now may be a good time to re-book the Matt Hamill fight that was cancelled due to injury.

Next for Soszynski: A tough loss for Krzsyztof, but he’ll get another crack in the UFC. How about a fight with Seth Petruzelli – loser leaves town.

4) Chris Lytle def Matt Brown via submission, Rd. 2

I said…

I think these two will give us a show on the feet, but Lytle will win every exchange in route to a decision victory.

Prediction: Lytle, Decision

I wasn’t right on the means of victory or the round, but I knew who was taking this one. Let’s keep it moderate. Grade: B (3.0)

What can you say about ‘Lights Out’? He will stand with you. He will grapple with you. He brings it every single time he fights. And he hasn’t been knocked out or submitted in 51 pro-fights. Oh yea, and in his spare time he fights fires. Chris Lytle – a man’s man.

This was another entertaining scrap. Neither of these guys are going to contend any time soon, but I wouldn’t mind seeing either one again in the near future.

Next for Lytle: I’d like to see John Hathaway tangle with the old vet. I think Lytle would take him to the woodshed.

Next for Brown: How about Rory MacDonald?

5) George Sotiropoulos def. Kurt Pellegrino, decision

I said:

I expect this one to play out much like the Stevenson fight with George getting the better of the stand-up causing Kurt to take this one to the ground. As soon as this happens you can expect George to once again make a fellow black belt look like an amateur. He will sweep Pellegrino from the bottom and work his way to a submission win.

Prediction: Sotiropoulos, Submission, Rd. 2

I didn’t have the final result, but I had the winner and most everything else. I’ll go somewhat high. Grade: B+ (3.3)

Another fight – another decisive win for Georgey boy.

Much like I thought would happen, George caught him in the stand-up and Pellegrino was never the same. Sotiropoulos won on the feet and the ground. Outside the last ten seconds – which gave me a heart attack – it was a very lop-sided affair.

Give the Saucy Aussie a contender – he is ready!!!

Next for Sotiropoulos: There are a ton of potential fights: Sherk, loser of Kenny/Maynard, Dunham… But, when all is said and done, I think we get George vs. Jim Miller.

Next for Pellegrino: Batman will ‘return’ (see what I did there). I’d say for his next outing we get Kurt vs. Mark Bocek.

6) Prelims

I said:

- Brendan Shaub vs. Chris Tuchscherer:
Shaub, TKO, Rd. 1 - I like this Shaub cat.

- Seth Petruzelli vs. Ricardo Romero:
Petruzelli, TKO, Rd. 2 – Seth shows good hand improvement here.

- Kendall Grove vs. Goran Reljic:
Reljic, TKO, Rd. 2 – Kendall’s pink slip is waiting for him in the locker room.

- Gerald Harris vs. Dave Branch:
Harris, TKO, Rd. 2 – Don’t look now, but Harris has a nice three fight win streak.

- Daniel Roberts vs. Forrest Petz:
Roberts, Decision – Petz is back, how about that?

- John Madsen vs. Karlos Vemola:
Vemola, TKO, Rd 2 – I got a feeling Vemola is a bad man.

Hmm, I went 3-for-6 on winners, but had two fights perfect. Eh, let’s call it in the middle. Grade: B (3.0)

Things we learned on the prelims:

- Shaub looks legit.

- Romero is a tough dude.

- Reljic is not as good as advertised. (Or maybe he just never recovered from that back injury)

- Gerald Harris needs a step-up in competition.

Overall:

Ken’s GPA: C+ (2.93) Damn, that Bonnar fight killed me.

This was a tremendous night of fights. I really hope a lot of casual fans turned in to see Brock and saw the rest of this card. We had knockouts, submissions and more drama than I’ve seen in a long time. Best PPV of the year so far.

-Ken

So here is the story…

About a month ago I started project managing the new season of Entourage at work and it consumed my life.  So, during that time, there weren’t any new posts - which is f’ing disgraceful given the fact that it was UFC 100 time and I also had the UFC 100 Dream Card Contest going on.

Speaking of the contest, thank you to everyone who submitted an entry.  The winner has been notified and will be receiving their prizes shortly.

I’m going to ease back into regularly scheduled posting and just give some quick thoughts on the mammoth UFC 100 card from last Saturday…

- I gave Belcher the fight with Akiyama, but I can’t say the decision was robbery.  My scorecard had rounds round 1 and 3 for Alan and round 2 for Yoshihiro.  It was razor thin though and could have gone either way.

- Overall, I wasn’t all that impressed by Akiyama – other than his entrance which kicked ass, as always.  I’m not sure if he took Belcher lightly or what, but he took a beating in this fight.  Perhaps I’m just underestimating Alan Belcher, who is getting a well-deserved reputation for coming to fight every time he enters the octagon.

- A solid win for Fitch as per usual.  It must be terrible having to fight after the main event.  The only other time I remember that happening was UFC 73 when Kenny Florian vs. Alvin Robinson took place after Silva/Marquardt.  That was the same night Kenny said he wanted to beat everyone until there was no doubt who the #1 contender was.  Funny how that turned out…

- Anyway, back to Fitch.  He is in such a weird spot because he can beat anyone in that division except the champ.  It’s like Rich Franklin at MW a few years ago.  For now, he has to hope this talk of GSP moving to 185 is true.  Until then, I expect a Fitch vs. Matt Hughes showdown.

- Henderson vs. Bisping was brutal.  From the start it was clear the Count was outmatched.  As old as Hendo is, he still seems to be at the same level he always was.  The knockout was brutal and brings me to my next point…

- I have no respect for “class act” Dan Henderson after what he did Saturday.  “I’ve been doing this a long time and I know when someone is out.  I knew he was out, that last shot was to shut him up.”  What a terrible, terrible thing to do to someone.  You can say ‘it was legal because the ref hadn’t stopped it yet’ all you want and you would be correct.  It may not have neen against the rules of MMA, but it was certainly against the rules of human decency.  To do that to another fighter who is going out there trying to feed his family is despicable – I don’t care how much trash Bisping talked.  I was terrified to see Bisping lying there unconscious as the replay of a flying forearm that could have been avoided got shown over and over again.  It stunk when Lawler did it to Trigg in Hawaii a few years ago – and it stinks now.

- GSP is the best fighter on the planet.  I become more confident in making this statement with each fight that passes.  His ability to control where the bout goes is uncanny.  That was a complete blowout of the supposed #2 fighter in the division.  There is really nothing left for him at 170.  Swick is solid, but stands no chance.  I guess it couldn’t hurt to have GSP fight him just to make sure there is no doubt.  Of course, Swick has to get by my main man Marty Kampmann first.

- I’m not a big Alves fan but he was game on Saturday.  Despite not having GSP in any trouble, at any point in the fight, he was a worthy adversary.  Kudos…

- That was an epic beat down that Brock laid upon Mir.  Frank’s face looked like raw hamburger meat afterwards.  I’m not sure if there is anything keeping Lesnar from doing that to the entire division.  Carwin is the only one I can see matching up well with him, but I don’t think he has the necessary speed or wrestling ability to win.  If Shane gets by Cain, we will see what happens.

- As for Brock’s post-fight comments, I could have done without them.  However, this article from MMAmania defending the champ made some really good points and I highly recommend it.

- At 41-years-old, Sable is every bit the babe that she was in her wrestling days.

That’s it for today.  Keep checking back for regularly scheduled posts.

-Ken
http://www.IntelligentlyDefending.com