UFC 118 is in the books; let’s see how the fights went down and how my picks went.

Note: The grades are based on how well I picked the fight and NOT on how good the fight was.

1) Nate Diaz defeats Marcus Davis via submission, Rd. 3

I said:

Davis will get the better of the stand-up, but it will not be enough to put the Stockton native away.  As we get a little later into the fight, young Diaz will finally secure a takedown and work towards a submission win.

Prediction: Diaz, Submission, Rd. 2

Nate actually got the better of Marcus on the feet thanks to his reach.  Other than that though, I was pretty damn close outside of the round.  Let’s keep it high.  Grade: B+

Nate looked sensational here taking the fight right to Marcus and using some patented Diaz-brothers striking in the process.  Once he got things to the ground, it was academic as he locked in the choke.  Davis was game, but he was no match for the Stockton native who appears to really be coming into his own these days.  All he needs to do is to improve his wrestling and he could be a real player.

Next for Davis:  I’ve always been a fan of the Hand Grenade and I hope he gets one more shot inside the Octagon.  How about a fight with Matt Brown?  Loser leaves town.

Next for Diaz:  The biggest question here is will Nate stay at welterweight or move back down to lightweight.  If he stays, I wouldn’t mind seeing him try to avenge his brother’s loss to Diego Sanchez.  If he goes back down, I think a fight with my main man Joe Lauzon (who looked awesome Saturday) could be a main event for a Fight Night – maybe even the next TUF finale.

2) Gray Maynard defeats Kenny Florian via decision

I said:

Do you really need to ask?

Kenny has more ways to win this fight, is always improving and, oh yea, it’s in Beantown baby.  Beantown!

I think Maynard finds taking down Kenny is no easy task and after a few unsuccessful he is forced to stand and trade.  Kenny gets comfortable and in the second round starts to open up.  He clips the Bully and then gets the big guy down ala the Guida fight.  From there, he works for mount and pounds his way to a win and another title shot.

Prediction: Florian, TKO, Rd. 2

Damn.  Grade: F

Given my love for Kenny Florian and the role he’s played in my passion for the sport, this one was tough to watch.  Maynard came and did exactly what he needed to do – all the props in the world to him.  Kenny had no answer for Gray’s wrestling and it’s going to be a long way back to the top of the ladder.

Next for Florian:  Kenny is no spring chicken and if he ever wants to get another title shot he will have to go on a run starting right now.  I imagine he jumps right back into a fight against a top guy next time out.  The winner of Sherk/Dunham wouldn’t be bad.

Next for Maynard: A well-deserved lightweight title shot and rematch with Frankie Edgar.

3) Demian Maia defeats Mario Miranda via decision

I said:

Maia is going to waste little time taking this to the ground.  Once there, it’s sayonara as Demian reminds us what he is all about.

Prediction: Maia, Submission, Rd. 1

Maia did everything but finish the fight.  While I was wrong that this would be quick, it still was complete domination.  So I’ll call it decent.  Grade: B

Demian put on a clinic in this one, unfortunately, he really could have used a finish to cement his status as being back.  It seemed like he was tapping people with ease back when he first arrived in the UFC.  Of course, to be fair, Miranda’s ground game is better than he was getting credit for – including from yours truly.

Next for Miranda: A prelim fight - perhaps against Tim Creuder.

Next for Maia: I think a fight with the Chris Leben would make sense for both guys.  It’s a classic striker vs. grappler match-up and whichever guy wins will most likely be in the top-5 contenders in the middleweight division.

4) Randy Couture defeats James Toney via submission Rd. 1

I said:

Toney is on his back within the first 30 seconds and it’s over soon after.

Prediction: Couture, TKO, Rd. 1

I actually had the means of victory wrong so let’s call it right below perfect.  Grade: A-

(Not that I’m tooting my own horn – after all, Stevie Wonder saw this coming.  By the way, why can’t Stevie Wonder see his friends?

Because he’s married…  Thank you, thank you – try the veal.)

This whole thing was absurd.  Only thing I can really say is the low single-leg was pretty cool.  Also, Dana can no longer claim he never puts on freak show fights.  Double negative, whatevs I do what I want.

Next for Toney: Maybe a fight in Strikeforce against Brett Rogers.

Next for Couture:  This is a tough call.  I know there is a lot of talk of returning to light-heavyweight and fights with the winner of Machida/Rampage or Anderson Silva but I’d like to see him stay at heavyweight and fight the winner of Mir/Cro-Cop.

5) Frankie Edgar defeats B.J. Penn via decision

I said:

While it will be tough to do it again – do it again he will.

Call this a gut instinct, but I think an even better Frankie Edgar comes in for this fight and this time wins things outright with no controversy.  I expect much of the same with Frankie moving in and out of range, scoring a few takedowns and being able to do more damage on both fronts this time around.

Someone call up the Situation, Snooki, JWOWW and the rest of the gang down at Seaside because Frankie is having his victory party at Karma - with Pauly D. on the 1’s and 2’s.

Prediction: Edgar, Decision

I don’t usually toot my own horn – but, toot! toot!  You don’t hit the nail on the head on an upset call much harder than that.  Grade: A

We saw the end of an era Saturday as the little guy from Toms River took it to the once invincible Hawaiian warrior.  Frankie won in every aspect and I was particularly impressed with the amount of shots he landed on the feet and significant damage he did on the ground.  B.J. was a broken man by the third.  The win was picture perfect.

Next for Penn: A lot of soul-searching.  In the end, I think he makes a cameo in the welterweight division – maybe against Jon Fitch – but after mixed results announces his retirement from the sport.

Next for Frankie: A tangle with a Bully by the bike racks after school.

Going to be a busy one, but I’ll try to get a few more updates in before the week is over.

Stay lucky,
Ken

UFC 118 is Saturday.  Let’s make some picks.

I tried to spruce these up a bit, let me know what you think…

1) Nate Diaz vs. Marcus Davis

How we got here:

After an impressive UFC welterweight debut against Rory Markham, Nate Diaz was ready for a bigger test and Marcus Davis is the man to give it to him.

Davis fell on hard times a few fights back, but recently returned to the win column with a victory over Jonathan ‘Glass Joe’ Goulet.  It’s now time for Marcus to try his luck against a big name opponent.

I also feel like there was some name calling that spawned this match-up, but I may just be imagining that given a Diaz is involved.

What’s at stake:

A win for Nate solidifies him as a legitimate player at 170 and may end his days at lightweight.

For Marcus, a victory puts him back in the middle of the pack where he was for the majority of 2006-2008.

The breakdown:

Despite what some are saying, I do not believe Nate holds an advantage wherever this fight goes.  Marcus is by far the superior boxer and should get the better of the stand-up, reach disadvantage notwithstanding.

On the ground, this is no contest.  While Davis has shown himself to be slippery on the canvas, he is not in Nate’s league.  Diaz’s main objective should be to shoot, trip or throw the Hand Grenade to the ground however he can.

I say:

Davis will get the better of the stand-up, but it will not be enough to put the Stockton native away.  As we get a little later into the fight, young Diaz will finally secure a takedown and work towards a submission win.

Prediction: Diaz, Submission, Rd. 2

2) Demian Maia vs. Mario Miranda

How we got here:

Demian was originally scheduled to face Alan Belcher in the next Fight Night Main event, but injury sidelined the Mississippian.

Joe Silva did some shuffling and Nate Marquardt vs. Rousimar Palhares is the Fight Night feature bout and Miranda was matched up with Maia.

What’s at stake:

Maia needs this win after getting embarrassed by Anderson Silva in the infamous UFC 112 main event.  He absolutely cannot afford to lose this fight to a relatively no-name fighter or he risks falling off the map.

Miranda on the other hand can go into this fight with nothing to lose.  Despite a UFC win and an impressive 10-1 record, very few fans know who Mario is.  He now has a chance to pull off the upset and make his presence known.

The breakdown:

Miranda has the striking edge, but Maia has shown improving hands as of late.  Enough to keep him out of trouble.

On the ground, Maia vs. Miranda is roughly equivalent to me vs. a 4-year-old.

I say:

Maia is going to waste little time taking this to the ground.  Once there, it’s sayonara as Demian reminds us what he is all about.

Prediction: Maia, Submission, Rd. 1

3) Kenny Florian vs. Gray Maynard

How we got here:

This time last year Kenny Florian was getting trounced by B.J. Penn in his second lightweight title fight.  Since then, he has dominated Clay Guida and Takanori Gomi.  He is now one win away from his third shot at gold.

After his stint on TUF5, Gary Maynard has gone 7-0-1 in the UFC.  Credentials like that usually give a fighter a title shot, but lackluster decision wins have caused the Bully to take the long road to the championship and a fight against Kenny.

What’s at stake:

The next UFC lightweight title shot.

The breakdown:

Can Ken-Flo beat an elite wrestler?  The age-old question will get answered Saturday.

If Gray is smart he takes this to the ground quick and often.  Kenny’s stand-up has been on fire lately and Maynard would be smart to avoid it.

On the ground, Gray has shown the ability to stay out of subs with his smothering style.  It may not be the most exciting, but he is undefeated.  He will need to employ this to get the win – no matter how ugly it may look.

For Kenny, expect him to show the boxing which has looked so good in recent fights.  I don’t think he will be busting out those muay-thai kicks and risk getting taken to the ground.

If Maynard leaves even the slightest of openings for Kenny to score a takedown you can expect the Flo to go for it.  He has not been afraid to test his wrestling skills in the past.  Sometimes he’s successful – Guida.  And sometimes he’s not – Penn.  One thing is for sure, if Gray finds himself on the bottom at any point of this fight he is in deep, deep trouble.

I say:

Do you really need to ask?

Kenny has more ways to win this fight, is always improving and, oh yea, it’s in Beantown baby.  Beantown!

I think Maynard finds taking down Kenny is no easy task and after a few unsuccessful he is forced to stand and trade.  Kenny gets comfortable and in the second round starts to open up.  He clips the Bully and then gets the big guy down ala the Guida fight.  From there, he works for mount and pounds his way to a win and another title shot.

Prediction: Florian, TKO, Rd. 2

4) Randy Couture vs. James Toney

How we got here:

A few months back, James Toney chased Dana White across the country until he got a contract.

Randy got here because he is a big name and probably one of the worst match-ups for the boxing champion.

What’s at stake:

Given how the UFC has promoted this as MMA vs. boxing, the legitimacy of the sport is somewhat on-the-line.  If the Natural gets knocked out, it fuels the fire of boxing fans who in the last 3 or 4 years have had very little to defend their dying sport with against MMA.

No pressure Randy…

The breakdown:

It doesn’t get much more academic than this:

If this fight stays standing longer than 3 minutes: Randy gets the lights turned off.
If this fight stays on the ground for longer than 3 minutes: Toney gets pounded out.

Simple.

I say:

Toney is on his back within the first 30 seconds and it’s over soon after.

Prediction: Couture, TKO, Rd. 1

5) Frankie Edgar vs. B.J. Penn

How we got here:

Back at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, Frankie Edgar did the unthinkable when he outlasted then champion B.J. Penn to capture the UFC lightweight title.

The result was controversial so we are now running this thing back in Boston.

What’s at stake:

For B.J.: The opportunity to reclaim his place as the lightweight king.

For Frankie: The opportunity to show the world Abu Dhabi was no fluke.

For both: The UFC lightweight title.

The breakdown:

This is pretty similar to the first fight in the sense that it would appear B.J. is better in all aspects.

So how did Frankie win the first fight?

He won by sticking and moving.  He went inside and was out before B.J. could get a word in edgewise.  He mixed in some well-timed takedowns to score points and was the more aggressive fighter.  Basically, he made it appear like he was the winner and fought the perfect fight.

It will be tough to do that again.

I say:

While it will be tough to do it again – do it again he will.

Call this a gut instinct, but I think an even better Frankie Edgar comes in for this fight and this time wins things outright with no controversy.  I expect much of the same with Frankie moving in and out of range, scoring a few takedowns and being able to do more damage on both fronts this time around.

Someone call up the Situation, Snooki, JWOWW and the rest of the gang down at Seaside because Frankie is having his victory party at Karma - with Pauly D. on the 1’s and 2’s.

Prediction: Edgar, Decision

I will be watching this one in Baltimore with 14 of my peeps after our fantasy football draft.  Big fight atmosphere baby!

Enjoy the fights all.

Stay lucky,
Ken

Edit: I just want to point out that the use of the word “Post-Mortem” and the “what’s next for (insert fighter)” feature pre-dates the column Sherdog now puts out. I’m certainly not saying they stole my idea or anything like that — but, I do want to make sure that everyone knows that I’m not ripping them off.

Let’s see how Fight Night 19 turned out. As always, the grades are based on how I predicted things, not the quality of the fight.

Nate Diaz defeats Melvin Guillard via guillotine in the second.

I said:

It’s going to be tough for Guillard to knockout Nate, which is his only chance to win this fight. As soon as it hits the ground, even with Melvin on top, it’s over. Look for Diaz to get it to the ground midway through the first and lock in the sub.

Prediction: Diaz, Sub, Rd. 1

It wasn’t the correct round and Melvin did a little better on the ground than I thought he would by getting back to his feet in the first round. Still, it was tough to KO Diaz as I predicted – Gulliard rocked him in the first and couldn’t finish – and Nate ended with a sub. So, I’m going high on this.

Ken’s Grade: A- (3.7)

A really fun fight while it lasted. I was very impressed with Melvin in the first. He was playing it smart with his combos and getting to his feet as soon as he would hit the ground. He even had a nice throw towards the end of the round.

In classic Nate fashion, he started slow and ended with a sub. He really needed the win because dropping three in a row would have been rough. That guillotine was as slick as it gets – I don’t know if Guillard was trying a rope-a-dope or something with his shot, but it backfired bit time.

- Melvin’s next fight should be: Chris Lytle on a PPV prelim. That could be a great one.

- Nate’s next fight should be: The loser of Franca/Griffin at 103. He either gets to squash his beef with Tyson or try to avenge an early career loss to Hermes.

Gray Maynard defeats Roger Huerta via split decision

I said:

Maynard will consistently take this to the mat and smother Huerta for 15 minutes. He will work in a decent amount of ground n’ pound, but it won’t be enough to finish the tough-as-nails Matador.

Prediction: Maynard, Decision

I had the result correct, but Maynard really didn’t work in his wrestling until the last frame. I won’t go full monty because of this.

Ken’s Grade: A- (3.7)

How in God’s name did Huerta not tap?!?!?!! That was tough to watch.

I’ve never been a big fan of Huerta, but I ended up cheering for him last night. He showed a lot of heart and looked crisp in his stand-up. If this is his last UFC fight, it wasn’t a bad one to go out on, even if he lost.

I was also impressed with Maynard. He showed solid stand-up and when he finally worked in his wrestling, he was dominant. I also like the submission attempt as it showed he is, in fact, trying to finish fights despite was detractors say.

- Roger’s next fight should be: Jim Miller – though, I fear Huerta’s next payday is in a low-budget - and likely awful - movie.

- Gray’s next fight should be: Sean Sherk – a win there and its hard to argue against Maynard as being the number 1 contender.

Carlos Condit defeats Jake Ellenberger via split decision

I said:

Anyway, Carlos dominates this one with a well-rounded game and finishes with a sub in the second.

Prediction: Condit, Sub, Rd. 2

I had the winner, but not the means of victory. Jake also put up much tougher a fight than I expected. Let’s keep it moderate.

Ken’s grade: B (3.0)

Just like the judges, most people are split on how they scored this fight. The difference in opinions stems from the close second round in which Ellenberger had top position for the first three minutes with Carlos making a comeback in the last two.

Personally, I think Condit clearly took the round. He had a tight Kimura which was the most significant damage of the round, had mount twice, landed the more significant ground and poind, and even when he was on the bottom he scored more strikes than Jake did.

The only thing I can see an argument for would be a 28-28 draw with Ellenberger being given a 10-8 first round. He had Carlos dropped and in a fetal position twice. I don’t know how Condit was able to fight out of it.

In any event, Carlos showed he was the more well-rounded fighter and I’m glad he got the win.

- Jake’s next fight should be: Mike Pyle. The good showing definitely earned Ellenberger another fight in the UFC.

- Carlos next fight should be: The winner of Johnson/Yoshida at 104.

Nate Quarry defeats Tim Credeur via unanimous decision

I said:

I think he’s (Timmy) is in over his head here, though. Quarry is coming off a big win over Jason MacDonald. Look for the heavy-handed Nate to land midway through the second and end things.

Prediction: Quarry, TKO, Rd. 2

I had the winner, but not the means of victory. Quarry did tag him a few times, though. Let’s keep it in the middle.

Ken’s grade: B (3.0)

An sweet fight to start the night between two grizzled-vets.

I was surprised with the combos that Tim was able to land on. He looked pretty good, but still left his chin open and Quarry took advantage twice. The two knockdowns by Nate were what really decided the fight.

I’ll tell you one thing; Tim did more for his name value with this loss and post-fight speech than he has done in his previous three wins.

- Tim’s next fight should be: Kendall Grove – feels like an intriguing fight for some reason.

- Nate’s next fight should be: C.B. Dollaway – I get the feeling this bout gets made.

Ken’s GPA: B+ (3.35) – a solid effort.

Overall, an awesome free night of fights. Between last night and UFC 102, we are officially on a hot streak of great cards.

Here’s hoping it continues into Saturday. Check back for picks tomorrow.

-Ken
http://www.IntelligentlyDefending.com

Many apologies for the lack of action around here. The Man has been keeping me down, but I’m back and this time I got some friends with me…

Anyway, Fight Night 19 is upon us, lets get to some picks…

Nate Diaz vs. Melvin Guillard

This is an important fight for both men in terms of staying relevant in the division. The winner will be back on the main card while the loser will find themselves on the prelims – in Guillard’s case, possibly on the unemployment line.

It’s going to be tough for Guillard to knockout Nate, which is his only chance to win this fight. As soon as it hits the ground, even with Melvin on top, it’s over. Look for Diaz to get it to the ground midway through the first and lock in the sub.

Prediction: Diaz, Sub, Rd. 1

Gray Maynard vs. Roger Huerta

It’s been over a year since Roger stepped inside the cage and he is going to run into a buzzsaw in what could be his last UFC appearance.

Maynard will consistently take this to the mat and smother Huerta for 15 minutes. He will work in a decent amount of ground n’ pound, but it won’t be enough to finish the tough-as-nails Matador.

Prediction: Maynard, Decision

Carlos Condit vs. Jake Ellenberger

I admit, I know very little of Ellenberger, but a quick look at his record shows all of his losses are to men Condit would beat (except possibly Hieron, though I think Carlos has that one).

Anyway, Carlos dominates this one with a well-rounded game and finishes with a sub in the second.

Prediction: Condit, Sub, Rd. 2

Nate Quarry vs. Tim Credeur

I have become a huge fan of Timmy since TUF7. He seems like a cool dude with a good ground game.

I think he’s in over his head here, though. Quarry is coming off a big win over Jason MacDonald. Look for the heavy-handed Nate to land midway through the second and end things.

Prediction: Quarry, TKO, Rd. 2

That’s it. Check back Thursday for afterthoughts and some UFC 103 picks.

-Ken
http://www.IntelligentlyDefending.com

The rigors of the real world caused me to miss out on giving picks for this one – so this isn’t a true Post-Mortem. Instead, it’s just some thoughts on the show. Hopefully, regular posting will resume in the next week or so.

In any event, let’s take a look at the mammoth UFC 94 card.

Nate Diaz vs. Clay Guida

This was a dynamite way to start the show as you knew these guys were going to produce – which is exactly what they did.

In the end, Clay’s wrestling was just too good as he bullied the younger Diaz for the first 2 rounds. Nate had his chance in the 3^rd when he started to land a really nice flurry that had Clay backtracking. You got the feeling that the combo was just one or two more punches away from putting Guida in some serious trouble, but in the end the he couldn’t quite finish it.

Still, it was a good effort from Diaz and not a bad way to suffer his first UFC loss. There is nothing wrong with losing to Clay and I don’t expect his stock to drop too much after this fight. His next bout should be against a decent opponent. I could see it being Thiago Tavares, who beat Manny Gamburyan Saturday in prelim action.

After some mishaps and tough luck, Clay Guida has finally done it – he has put together back-to-back wins over solid competition in the UFC. Beating Mac Danzig and Diaz is nothing to sneeze at – they are both former TUF champions and highly-touted prospects.

Guida is finally a bona-fide contender and it will be interesting to see who he fights next. Frankie Edgar and Sean Sherk would both make great opponents but they don’t fight each other until May which is a long way off. A rematch with Tyson Griffin, pending the result of Tyson’s fight with Rafael dos Anjos, would work since Griffin decision over Guida was controversial – and by controversial, I mean robbery. In the end though, I smell a Clay vs. Spencer Fisher showdown. Just a hunch.

By the way… who else noticed Clay popping off some mighty burps between rounds.  Did we really need another reason to compare him to a caveman?  What a guy.

Dong Hyun Kim vs. Karo Parisyan

This fight started out as an entertaining scrap, but got slow towards the end. The story of was simple: Kim dominated first round, Karo came back to take the second and neither really did anything in the 3^rd. Karo eeked out a narrow decision which I agreed with – though, neither should be happy with that performance in the last round.

So Karo is back – lovely. Whatever. If that performance was any indication of what’s to come, he won’t be moving passed mid-card level anytime soon. His judo is nasty, I’ll give him that – but, his striking is average, BJJ is nothing special, gas tank is awful and he’s finished one fight since 2003.

Karo will be back on the main card in his next outing and will be matched up against a decent name. Please God, let it be Jon Fitch. This fight has been in the makings for a awhile now, but circumstance has intervened. With both men scoring victories on Saturday, now is the time. It would make a very good Fight Night main event or just some extra spice to a PPV. It would also give us the opportunity to see Parisyan get worked – which is always nice.

Stephan Bonnar vs. Jon Jones

A star is born as Jon Jones displays well-rounded skills that are light-years ahead of his 21 years on Earth. The throws, the strikes, the wrestling – it was all great. Sure, he was getting tired at the end, but that can be improved – and he didn’t finish Bonnar, but no one does. A great effort from the young guy.

There is no Earthly reason for the UFC to try to bring Jones up too fast, which I’m sure they realize. He has plenty of time to find his way in the stacked light-heavyweight division. I suspect his next opponent will be a middle-of-the-road fighter who was victorious in his last bout. Someone like Thomasz Drwal will do.

As for Stephan, I felt bad for the guy. A series of setbacks and injuries have caused him to never reach the superstar status it looked like he would have after TUF1. Still, Dana loves him for what he has done for the UFC, which means Bonnar will always have a home. Besides that, he has a solid career in MMA journalism going and will always be a good fight for anyone at 205-pounds.

Lyoto Machida vs. Thiago Silva

Apparently, Thiago was not ready for this challenge – which I probably should have realized before the fight. Machida was so impressive as he effortlessly toyed with the young Brazilian. It was a dominating performance that probably turned Lyoto’s whole career around – from a popularity standpoint, at least. In a span of ten seconds he went from a so-called “defensive fighter” who doesn’t finish, to scoring a devastating KO and having the fans cheer wildly when he asked them if he deserved a title shot. Great stuff. Give the man his belt.

Thiago will be back. He is a good fighter, but ran into a monster on Saturday. If Brandon Vera beats Mike Patt at UFC 96 – which is anything but certain these days – a fight between Silva and ‘The Truth’ would do nicely.

Georges St. Pierre vs. B.J. Penn

Disclaimer: the words ‘grease,’ Vaseline’ and ‘Phil Nurse’ will appear nowhere in these paragraphs because I don’t have time to waste on such utter horseshit.

I make no bones about the fact that GSP is my favorite MMA fighter and, behind the New York Giants, my #2 rooting interest in all of sports. It’s to the point where if my man-crush on Georges grows any bigger, I may start questioning my sexuality. I was on egg shells in the weeks leading up to this fight because I knew a dominant win could cement St. Pierre as the greatest welterweight of all time. As always, he didn’t disappoint.

The performance was awe-inspiring. Every conceivable aspect of the fight was dominated by GSP. We hardly ever see someone pass Penn’s guard, and GSP did it multiple times like it was nothing. The ground n’ pound to end the 4^th was devastating. After all the talk from Penn about how GSP was soft, it was B.J. that had to quit. Poetic justice, my friends.

Georges current win streak is the stuff of legends. Since being upset by Matt Serra, he has gone on to defeat Josh Koscheck, Matt Hughes, Serra, Jon Fitch and now B.J. Penn. Each victory has been nothing short of flawless and I will go on record as saying GSP is the best fighter on the planet.

… Listen for the bell, Alves. It tolls for thee.

The other side of the octagon told a different story Saturday. As B.J. sat in his corner after his brother called the fight, I almost felt bad for him… Almost.

The loss will be a devastating one for the Lightweight Champion and, to be honest, I think it will be awhile before we see him again. I hope he eventually does make his way back though, because my main man Kenny Florian has worked hard to earn a title shot and I want KenFlo to go up against the best – which B.J. still is at 155.

Overall, a historic night of fights that ends the UFC’s amazing run of UFC 91, UFC 92 and UFC 94 in a span of three months. Not bad at all.

-Ken
http://www.IntelligentlyDefending.com

Nate Diaz to fight Josh Neer in September

I don’t like this one bit for my main man Nate Diaz.

He’s coming off a huge win against Kurt Pellegrino and is taking what would seem to be a step down in competition to fight the newly returning Miletich trainee.

Neer is going to be considerably bigger of the two and is a dangerous fighter to boot. He laid a flat out ass-whoopin on Joe Stevenson a few years back — making Joe the only TUF winner to lose their first fight after the competition. If he fights the way he did in that one, Nate can be in for a beating.

Still, Nate has done nothing but impressed since winning TUF5 and here’s hoping he has another win in him and continues his ascent.