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

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

Summer is quickly approaching and the world of MMA is heating up. (See what I did there?)

There are still plenty of awesome fights yet to happen before we reach the official first day of summer on June 21st – so here now are five fights I’m looking forward to before then.

Note: I tried to steer clear of main events just because they were obvious choices.

Honorable Mention: Ray Mercer vs. Tim Sylvia (boxing match): Adrenaline MMA III -June 13

Before you ask, yes, I’m serious.

I know it’s a boxing match and not an MMA fight, but whatever – I can’t wait to see the tape of this. You realize they had to go to Alabama to have this fight because New Jersey thought it was too absurd to sanction? This is going to be great.

I’m also very interested to see how much of the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Arena they fill for this thing. It’s a decent size venue that will play host to WWE Raw and a Jonas Brothers concert in the coming months. I would be shocked if they get a quarter of capacity to see Timmy and Ray.

Did I mention this boxing match is going to be held inside an MMA cage? Unreal.

5) Phil Baroni vs. Joe Riggs: Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields - June 6

My main man Phil Baroni has been on a roll since dropping to welterweight and winning three straight fights. Say what you will about his cardio and skills – but, the man never quits and gives it his all every time. I am a huge fan.

Joe Riggs is a solid striker who loves to bang. Look for fireworks in this fight

By the way, any mention of Baroni is a nice opportunity to show this clip:

“I’m da best eva!” – Phil Baroni, UFC 39

4) Ronaldo Souza vs. Jason Miller (for vacant middleweight title): Dream 9 – May 26

In all honesty, I don’t know a whole lot about Souza other than his BJJ is not to be messed with. I do know that Miller is an exciting fighter that always brings the goods

These two fought back in June with Ronaldo getting the decision win with a dominant ground performance. The first go around was an entertaining bout and I expect the second to be the same.

Miller has gone on record as saying “he will not play Souza’s game” this time around which, assumingly, means he won’t go to the ground. If that’s the case, he better have some improved takedown defense this time around.

3) Heath Herring vs. Cain Velasquez: UFC 99 – June 13

The last time we saw Herring he was a mess after going 15 minutes with Brock Lesnar back at UFC 87. I’m not really a fan, but you got to respect the toughness he displayed in that fight. In fact, thinking about it, that PPV had two of the gutsiest performances in recent memory between Heath and Jon Fitch in the main event vs. GSP.

Anyway, I do believe Herring is in for another mugging at the hands of my main man Cain Velasquez who has looked like a beast thus far in the UFC. In all likelihood this will be Cain’s coming out party.

Still, Heath is a gamer and has tons more experience than his much younger rival. You never know what can happen in this sport.

2) Frankie Edgar vs. Sean Sherk: UFC 98 – May 23

I had a dream about this fight the other night and, in it, Frankie wins a convincing decision in which Sherk looks like he has become over the hill. I’m not saying its going to happen – and I don’t think it will – but, if it does, you will most likely be hearing me toot the horn of my psychic powers for months to come.

Anyway, this is a good match-up between a top level lightweight and one of the younger up-and-comers of the division. A win will go a long way on either one’s resume by making a case for Sherk to get another title shot or catapulting Edgar into the upper tier.

1) Nick Diaz vs. Scott Smith: Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields - June 6

This was just announced a few days ago and will serve as an excellent co-main event to Robbie Lawler vs. Jake Shields. The phrase ‘tough-as-nails’ was invented for fighters like this and there should be fireworks on the 6th as both men are coming off huge wins at the last Strikeforce event.

It should be a great fight.

That’s it for today’s list. Feel free to use the comments section to let everyone know which upcoming fights you can’t wait to see.

-Ken
http://www.IntelligentlyDefending.com

UFC Fight Night 17: Lauzon vs. Stephens is in the books so let’s take a look at how the night, and my predictions, went.

The Undercard:

I said:

Steve Bruno vs. Matt Riddle: Riddle, decision. Got to love the Riddle – I’m banking on some nice progression to his game.

Nick Catone vs. Derek Downey: Catone, decision. No freaking clue.

Gleison Tibau vs. Rich Clementi: Clementi, decision. Here we go, Rich.

Matt Grice vs. Matt Veach: Veach, Submission, Rd. 2. Not positive, but Veach may be the first fighter from Matt Hughes’s HIT Squad in the UFC since Tommy Spear.

Dan Miller vs. Jake Rosholt: Rosholt, TKO, Rd. 2. Rosholt’s a beast – keep an eye on him.

Kurt Pellegrino vs. Rob Emerson: Pellegrino, Sub, Rd. 1. Emerson is perhaps my least favorite fighter in MMA – and it doesn’t help his cause that he’s fighting a guy I like. Let’s go Kurt.

I was dead-on with Riddle. I will probably be paying the $2 to order that fight on UFC On-Demand because word is he looked great.

I had Catone winning, but was off on how it would go down. Ditto for Veach.

I was way off on both Clementi/Tibau and Miller/Rosholt.

And I had Pellegrino/Emerson correct with the winner and means of victory.

Overall, not a bad showing – but not spectacular. Let’s keep it moderate. Grade: B (3.0)

Luigi Fioravanti vs. Anthony Johnson

I said:

Unlike most of his fights, Luigi will be the smaller man here. He doesn’t want to stand with Johnson, but he’ll be forced to since “Rumble” has both a wrestling and reach advantage. It’s going to be another addition to the Johnson highlight reel as he catches Luigi late in the second with strikes to drop him for the win.

Prediction: Johnson, TKO, Rd. 2

It was late in the first not the second, but I was pretty damn accurate otherwise. Grade: A- (3.7)

Johnson still looks green at times, but man, he’s impressive. The power is obviously there to go along with his great wrestling that, to this point, has been used as a defense mechanism. He is a super-explosive athlete and at age 24 the sky is the limit.

I don’t think the UFC is ready to put him against the elite just yet – which is smart. His next fight will be a guy with some name value in the middle of the pack. Matt Brown is coming to mind for some reason. Lytle wouldn’t be bad either and would give Anthony a pretty good test.

Mac Danzig vs. Josh Neer

I said:

Anyway, this should be good. Both are well-rounded with a ton of fights and are desperate for a win. Danzig gets it after a stand-up fight by securing the takedown and working in a submission in the 2^nd.

Prediction: Danzig, Sud, Rd.2

I had the round and means of victory correct – which, of course, means jack squat because I picked the wrong guy. Still, I had the “this should be good” part right. Grade: C- (1.7)

This was a fun fight with both guys connecting on some strikes and having some spirited tussles on the ground. In the end, Neer was just slicker with that triangle – don’t really know what else to say.

I tell you, Neer really rubs me the wrong way. I’ve never liked him and this fight helped me realize why. His taunting and other shenanigans were annoying as hell. He’s not bad though, I’ll give him that. His striking looked good and ground and pound was vicious - he also ended with a submission which drives home just how well-rounded his skills are.

Fighting Nate Diaz and Danzig in back-to-back fights gives Josh some name recognition and the victory Saturday was pretty huge. He will get a main card fight in his next bout. I could see him being matched-up with Clay Guida.

Mac, Mac, Mac. That’s a 1-2 record now since winning TUF6. He hasn’t looked good for a guy who many had high expectations for after winning the show. There isn’t anything wrong with losing to Guida and Neer, but you got to figure Danzig is as good as he’s going to get. The guy has been around a long time and I don’t see him improving much more from this point on, so if he can’t beat those two there isn’t much hope for him against the division’s elite.

In any case, for his next fight I expect him to be on a PPV prelim against an opponent he can’t possibly lose to. It will probably be an imported fighter that we haven’t seen before. A TUF winner has never dropped three UFC fights in a row – Mac is dangerously close to being the first.

Cain Velasquez vs. Denis Stojnic

I said:

As for this fight, there is no reason to believe that it won’t be a severe mauling of Mr. Stojnic. Cain has said that he may want to test his stand-up against the kickboxer, but smarter heads will prevail. Stojnic goes on his back early in this one and get pounded out in epic fashion.

Prediction: Velasquez, TKO, Rd. 1

It was a beatdown and I had the correct means of victory, but the round was off and I didn’t envision Cain standing that long. Can’t go too high. Grade. B+ (3.3)

I guess Cain really did want to test the waters standing with a good striker and he passed with flying colors. Of course, this all depends on finding out just how good of a striker Stojnic really is – which probably won’t happen since I imagine he gets shown the door after this mauling. Where was I? Oh right, Cain’s stand-up. It looked great. He was hitting solid punches, mixing it up with knees from the clinch and even threw a high-kick or two. When his chance came, he took the fight to the ground and pounded out a victory. It was another great performance by a guy who seems to be picking up the MMA game with ease.

That now makes five career fights for Velasquez which is still such a small amount. I think the UFC can go either way right now. They may give him one more baby fight to let him score another win. Or they could let him test the waters against a veteran like Heath Herring – which would be another win anyway. Right now, I would bank on the former happening.

Joe Lauzon vs. Jeremy Stephens

Look for a stand-up exchange in the beginning with Joe unsuccessfully working for a takedown. In the second, he finally gets to the ground and goes to work. He rains down punches and eventually passes guard where he gets a submission.

Prediction: Lauzon, Sub, Rd. 2

Nicely done, Ken. A Full Monty to close out the card. Grade: A (4.0)

This was another good fight that came down to Joe being the far superior grappler. Stephens had me worried for a bit because he was punching Lauzon hard as hell on the ground. Joe stayed cool under fire though and eventually scored the submission. My favorite part was his transitions on the canvas. His final mount was lightning fast.

Lauzon continues to roll and has now won two in a row since his setback against Kenny Florian. There are a ton of great fights for his next bout: Diaz, Guida, Neer, Danzig, Pellegrino, Franca – the list is endless. I’m interested to see what route the UFC takes.

Ken’s GPA: 3.14 (B) Not bad at all.

Overall, this was a fun card that showcased a bunch of future stars and two of my favorite fighters won impressively. I can’t complain.

Anyone else have thoughts on the night?

-Ken
http//:www.IntelligentlyDefending.com

Let’s do it right this time and get the picks in before the event. Post-Mortem to follow Monday-ish.

Undercard:

Steve Bruno vs. Matt Riddle: Riddle, decision. Got to love the Riddle – I’m banking on some nice progression to his game.

Nick Catone vs. Derek Downey: Catone, decision. No freaking clue.

Gleison Tibau vs. Rich Clementi: Clementi, decision. Here we go, Rich.

Matt Grice vs. Matt Veach: Veach, Submission, Rd. 2. Not positive, but Veach may be the first fighter from Matt Hughes’s HIT Squad in the UFC since Tommy Spear.

Dan Miller vs. Jake Rosholt: Rosholt, TKO, Rd. 2. Rosholt’s a beast – keep an eye on him.

Kurt Pellegrino vs. Rob Emerson: Pellegrino, Sub, Rd. 1. Emerson is perhaps my least favorite fighter in MMA – and it doesn’t help his cause that he’s fighting a guy I like. Let’s go Kurt.

Main Card:

Luigi Fioravanti vs. Anthony Johnson

One of the most exciting welterweights in UFC takes on one of the blandest. I’ll leave it up to you to decide which is which.

Unlike most of his fights, Luigi will be the smaller man here. He doesn’t want to stand with Johnson, but he’ll be forced to since “Rumble” has both a wrestling and reach advantage. It’s going to be another addition to the Johnson highlight reel as he catches Luigi late in the second with strikes to drop him for the win.

Prediction: Johnson, TKO, Rd. 2

Mac Danzig vs. Josh Neer

I tell you, Danzig has not been handed anything since winning TUF6 - Mark Bocek, Clay Guida and now Neer. That’s a tough line to tow. It’s understandable though, Mac was a seasoned veteran after winning the show and the UFC typically throws those guys right into the mix. Joe Stevenson, for example, had Neer, Yves Edwards and Dokonjonosuke Mishima in his first 3 fights off the show.

Anyway, this should be good. Both are well-rounded with a ton of fights and are desperate for a win. Danzig gets it after a stand-up fight by securing the takedown and working in a submission in the 2^nd.

Prediction: Danzig, Sud, Rd.2

Cain Velasquez vs. Denis Stojnic

Oh baby! My main man Cain Velasquez is back in action.

The guy is a monster and the hype is well-deserved. The UFC seems to be perfectly happy with bringing him along slowly. Shane Carwin came in at the same time as Velasquez and is already fighting Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 96 which has raised the ire of some – but not me. Carwin, another absolute beast, is much older and more experienced than Cain so let him get the big spots now and let Velasquez build his name on Fight Nights.

As for this fight, there is no reason to believe that it won’t be a severe mauling of Mr. Stojnic. Cain has said that he may want to test his stand-up against the kickboxer, but smarter heads will prevail. Stojnic goes on his back early in this one and get pounded out in epic fashion.

Prediction: Velasquez, TKO, Rd. 1

Joe Lauzon vs. Jeremy Stephens

Are you telling me I get my main man Cain Velasquez, followed by my main man Joe Lauzon in back-to-back fights? This is going to be a nice little Saturday.

I’m not going to lie: if this were Lauzon vs. Hermes Franca I would have been scared. Joe isn’t ready for a veteran with the grappling prowess of Franca. But, Lauzon vs. Stephens? Fuhgeddaboutit. J-Lau has got this one.

I’ve said before that I think Jeremy is a bit overrated and my opinion hasn’t changed. He may have a power advantage on the feet, but from a technical standpoint I don’t see that as much of a mismatch. On the ground, Joe has a decided advantage and will control the fight once it reaches the canvas.

Look for a stand-up exchange in the beginning with Joe unsuccessfully working for a takedown. In the second, he finally gets to the ground and goes to work. He rains down punches and eventually passes guard where he gets a submission.

Prediction: Lauzon, Sub, Rd. 2

Injuries to Amir Sadollah and Hermes Franca have really taken this card down a few pegs in terms of star power. As I said though, two of my guys are on it so I’m looking forward to it.

Enjoy!

-Ken
http://www.IntelligentlyDefending.com