Tito Ortiz's return fight at UFC 106

Tito Ortiz vs Forrest Griffin 2 at UFC 106!

Originally scheduled to square off against Mark "the hammer" Coleman at UFC 106, Tito Ortiz is now going to be fighting Forrest Griffin. They fought once before in a controversal three round war, where Tito ended up with a questionable decision victory. Many of fans felt that Forrest won that fight, and now, Forrest is presented with an oppurtunity to show Tito he is for real and get the win that many felt he deserved in their first meeting.
Tito came into the last fight with an injured knee, potentially causing the lack of domination in the fight. He was unable to commit to his takedowns the way he is notorious for, and that led to a good portion of the last 2 rounds to be a stand up fight. Tito is going to be a hundred percent when he enters the UFC octogan this time, and going to be more determined than ever to score a win in the UFC. He has to make a good showing in his return fight, he also has to prove he can still be relevant in the sport. To do that, he has to beat Forrest, not in a close decision, but actually beat Forrest. The motivation that Tito has coming into this fight, along with being injury free, will make him a handfull for Griffin.
On the other hand, Forrest has been fighting, and Tito has not. It has been more than a year since Tito last stepped foot into the octagon, and in that time, Forrest has fought Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Rashaad Evans, and Anderson "the spider" Silva. Griffin will have absolutely no amount of ring rust given the competition he has been fighting against the last year and a half, along with holding the title, and Tito undoubtedly will have a little ring rust. Also Forrest's last 2 fights have been losses, giving him even more reason to excell in this fight. He will also be looking to show Tito, and the fans that he is capable of winning, and that he belongs at the top of the UFC Lightheavyweight ladder.
A loss can potentially cost Forrest his carreer in the UFC. Nobody can lose three straight fights and still be considered a contender. A loss for Tito can be equally detrimental to his carreer, causing him to get off on the wrong foot for his return.
This fight will break down pretty simply, Tito will be trying to force Forrest to the ground, and pound him out, while Forrest will look to keep Tito standing up, and attempt to KO or TKO The Huntington Beach Bad Boy. Tito is not an easy person to slow down. He has some of the best if not the best, conditioning in all of MMA, and potentially is the best takedown artist in all of MMA. His Ground and Pound is unstoppable, and is the best the UFC has ever seen. His boxing is sharp as well, if he happens to not be able to get Forrest down. If Tito gets Forrest down, he can and will keep him there and grind him, and pound him, til Forrest taps or goes to sleep. Forrest has to keep this fight standing if he is to win it, that is all there is to it. Although Forrest has a decent ground game, it is no where near the level that Tito's is.
Forrest on the other hand has an advantage in the standup, giving him a chance in this fight. If he can frustrate Tito by stuffing his takedown attmepts, and keep drilling Tito with hard punches, he just may be able to get a TKO victory. A KO is unlikely, Tito can take a punch very well, but he also tends to start to buckle under powerfull flurries. That is what Forrest will have to do to win. Also Griffin has to be sure not to get tired, because Tito's condidtioning is top level, and if Griffin gets tired, Tito will pressure him and break him, because Tito will not be getting tired, that I can promise you.
Either way, this is a fight that every fan needs to see. It is bigger than the main event that night, Brock Lesnar vs Shane Carwin. Do not miss this fight, it has fight of the year written all over it.

Kimbo Slice, the next Ultimate Fighter???

Will Kimbo be the Next Ultimate Fighter?

The big news in MMA lately has been that Kimbo Slice, the Youtube street fighting legend, and Elite XC contender, is now a participant in The Ultimate Fighter 10, Heavyweights. Such a household name making it onto the show has caused alot of talking, and the big question, will Kimbo become the Ultimate Fighter season 10 winner?
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson showed immediate interest in Kimbo as soon as he walked through the door. Rampaged feels as if Kimbo has what it takes to win the whole show hands down, and has taken Kimbo under his wing, making him his personal project, similar to how Tito Ortiz had treated Matt Hammill. But many of the household members disagree. They seem to feel that Kimbo is merely a street fighter, and does not belong in the house. Every man in that house has the right to his own opinion, but the issue here is if that is how u feel, your going to have to beat Kimbo. To say he don't belong is one thing, beating him off the show is another.
There is no doubt in my mind that Kimbo is legitimately tough. There is doubt, however, wether or not he has what it takes to compete in the UFC. If you recall, Kimbo got TKO'd quickly in his last fight in Elite XC, by Zeth Petruzzeli, a former Ultimate Fighter, who lost the show by the way. Petruzzeli has a good karate and kickboxing background, and that was enough to beat Kimbo, and the level of competition in the house, and the UFC heavyweight division, is greater than Kimbo's skillset. If a guy who lost the Ultimate Fighter is able to beat Slice, what about the guys who didn't lose the Ultimate Fighter, what about the guys who are already at the top of the UFC rankings, what about the guys as good or better than Zeth Petruzzeli, that are in the house right now?
Kimbo is to fight next week against Roy "Big Country" Nelson. Big Country is a former IFL standout, he is already known, and has a good amount of experience. Big Country however is going to lose this fight. His tendency to want to slug it out when he fights will get him KOd by the stronger, better striker in Kimbo. This fight will cause alot of talking and speculation as to if Kimbo will go all the way. Kimbo will not win the show though, thats all there is to it.
As a big Ultimate Fighter fan however, I know very well, that you don't have to win the Ultimate Fighter to get into the UFC. All you have to do is make an impression. Kimbo no doubt will make the impression needed to fight in the UFC, and not to mention the amount of money having Kimbo Slice on any fight card will bring in. So yes, you can expect to see Kimbo Slice fight in the UFC, but do not look for him to be a big contender, because when pitted against a well rounded fighter, he will lose every time. Any fighter who is skilled on the groung will win, fighters such as UFC champ, Brock Lesnar, Former champ, Frank Mir, and Pride legend Rodrigo Nogueria, are in no danger of losing a fight to Kimbo Slice. Fighters with a higher pedigree of standup such as Cheik Kongo, Mirko Crocop, or Cain Velazquiz are not in danger either. I am not saying Kimbo won't be an exciting edition to the UFC, I am just saying, it is extremely unlikely that Kimbo Slice will ever be the UFC champion, or the Ultimate Fighter winner.

Silva's Title Reign in trouble???

Nate Marquardt back in title contention

Nate "the great" Marquardt has spoke repeatedly about a rematch with Anderson Silva, and winning the UFC Middleweight championship. After his 21 second KO victory of the undefeated Damian Maia, that rematch looks very possible. Marquardt has been driven to the edge of insanity over his loss to silva, saying he knows he can beat him, and will beat him and become champ.

Nate currently is on a 3 fight win streak, all impressive wins, Damian Maia(Maia's first loss), wilson Gouveia (ending Wilson's 7 fight win streak) and Martin Kampmann(ending Martin's 9 fight win streak). No doubt, Marquardt seems hellbent and determined, and is definately on the right track for a title shot. But is even a streak such as this one enough to derail the current UFC Middleweight champ? Has Marquardt improved enough to win this time? Can Marquardt become UFC champion? .................. I say YES!

Marquardt no doubt posesses the credintials to win. He is the 7 time King Of Pancrase, he is on an impressive win streak, and he trains at Greg Jackson's gym. Jackson is a master of strategy, and it is unlikely that he would allow Marquardt to make the same mistakes twice. On top of that, Marquardt trains with great fighters such as George St. Pierre, Rashad Evans, Keith Jardine, and Duane Ludwig. A team of elite fighters such as this is always helpfull, and can do nothing other than improve eachother's games.

Marquardt is a dominant force, and scary enough, he is improving. He believes that there is always more to learn, and he constantly tries to better himself. He has done just that, especially as of late.

I believe Nate Marquardt should be next in line for Anderson Silva's title. I also believe Silva is in big trouble. Silva has not defended his title against anybody legitimate lately, and put on lackluster performances in each of his last two title defenses. His most recent fight was at lightheavyweight, and he squared off against Forrest Griffin, and KO'd Griffin in the first rd. No doubt that shows Silva still has it, but has this streak of terror gone to Silva's head. Is it not possible that Silva may be too confident? I can assure you, Nate Marquardt is extremely hungry for the win, and is very driven, and that alone could be the difference maker.

Either way, this will be a great fight, potentially fight of the year, and I hope it happens soon. Marquardt has been counting down the days til he gets a rematch, and he's not counting alone, I too am very excited, and I too believe he will beat Silva when they match up. The only thing that could be in Marquardt's way right now, is having to fight the winner of Mike Swick vs martin Kampmann, and Marquardt has already beaten Kampmann, so that fight is unlikely to derail Nate "the great" Good luck Silva, enjoy the title while you have it, The King Of Pancrase is coming for it!!!

UFC 102 was a jampacked card with great fighters and even greater fights! if u didn't get the chance to see the action unfold, here are the results.Randy Couture vs Antonio Rodrigo

Nogueira- Nogueira won by decisionThiago Siva vs Keith jardine- Silva won by first rd. K.O
Jake Rosholt vs Chris Leben- Rosholt won in the 3rd rd. with a head and arm choke
Nate Marquardt vs Damian Maia- Marquardt won by Knockout in the first rd.
Brandon Vera vs Krystoff Sozynski- Vera won by unanimous decision
Aaron Simspson vs Ed Herman- simpson won by TKO in the 2nd rd
.Gabriel Gonzaga vs Chris Tucserer- Gonzaga won by first rd. TKO
Mike Russow vs Justin McCully- Mike Russow won by Unanimous decision.
Tod Dufee vs Tim Hague- Duffe won by first rd. KO
Mark Munoz vs Nick Catone- Munoz wins by decision
Evan Dunham vs Marcus Aurellio- Dunham won by decisiona

couple shockin endings to say the least, but thats how the ufc works, you just can't predict whats going to happen in that cage! and if you thought that card was good, just you wait til 103!
Labels: Mixed Martial Arts: UFC 102 results

UFC 101 event results

UFC 101 Results


BJ Penn vs Kenny Florian- Penn, 4th rd. submission choke.
Anderson Silva vs Forrest Griffin- Silva, 1st rd. KO.
Amir Sodallah vs Johnny Hendricks- Hendricks, 1st rd TKO
Kendall Grove vs Ricardo Almeida- Almeida, Unanimous decision
Josh Neer vs Kurt Pelligrino- Pelligrino, Unanimous decision
Shane Nelson vs Aaron Riley- Riley, Unanimous decision
Tamdan McCrory vs John Howard- Howard, Split decision
Alessio Sakara vs Thales Leites- Sakara, Split decision
Matthew Riddle vs Dan Cramer- Riddle , Unanimous decision
George Roop vs George Sotiropoulos- Sotiropoulos, 2nd rd armbar submission
Jesse Lennox vs Danillio Villefort- Lennox, 3rd rd TKO

The exciting UFC

so, i have sat and pondered the many subjects i could discuss on this blog. I came to the conclusion there is just so much! So here is what i am gonna do, I'm going to go over some of the fights I am personally excited about. OK, here we go.... oh yea, and there's alot of them.

BJ Penn vs Kenny Florian-
stylistically, this is a dream fight. lots of technique should be displayed in this bout. Penn's boxing, Florian's Muai- Tai, both great on the ground, I mean, this is gonna be exciting. both fighters are beautiful technicians, who drift from technique to technique almost flawlessly. here's the thing, Penn's mainstay is his Jiu-Jitsu, wich he depends on his legs for. sorry Penn, but Florian's gonna be kickin the hell outta your legs, their gonna be weak. so don't plan on catching him in a submission. Oh yea, and um.... Florian doesn't gas out like Penn does, so i see Florian pickin Penn apart and wearing him down, then finishing him late into the fight, or getting a decision win.

Anderson Silva vs Forrest Griffin-
uh oh! Forrest, what have you done to make the UFC so mad at you. How do you find yourself in the hardest fights? Rampage, Ortiz, Shogun, Jardine, Evans, I mean, one would get the idea that maybe the UFC wants to see you lose! However, i don't think Forrest will lose this one. Forrest is a freak, and Anderson has not had somebody bring a fight to him the way Forrest will. Anderson will be able to find shots, no doubt about it, but he can't finish Forrest, no way. Forrest is gonna break Silva down by just bulldogging him the entire fight. look for Forrest to win by Split decision.

Randy Couture vs Rodrigo Nogueria-
this is insane! two experienced veterans with an overwhelming amount of skill. these are two of the top five best MMA heavyweights period! But Randy's going to win. he will stay in Nogueria's face and grind him, ground and pound, frustrate him, and keep him off balance. expect a war, but also expect to see Randy's hand raised after three rounds of action. oh yea, and expect Randy to retire after this fight too.

Nate Marquardt vs Damian Maia-
what a battle! Maia has the best submissions in MMA hands down. He is so slick and accurate with his jiu-jitsu, it's amazing. and Marquardt is an animal. his stand up looks like something out of the movies. his ground game is great. he is the perfect example of a mixed martial artist. wich is why he will win this fight. yea, another decision win, because i don't think he can quite finish Maia, but he will stay ahead, and will be fighting Anderson Silva for the Middleweight belt soon.


Brandon Vera vs Kryzstof Sozynski-
okay, these two fighters are on opposite sides of the spectrum. they fight completely different. both are fearless though, wich is what is gonna make this fight so damn good. they will fight eachother tooth and nail and neither will back down. my thoughts though, Vera will find a way to submit Sosynski. Sozynski's got good stand up, but Vera's stand up is too sharp. at some point Sosynski is gonna get frustrated, take Vera down, and get himself submitted.



Nate Diaz vs Melvin Guillard-
well, I would love to see Guillard beat Nate up, send him home, and make Nate realize he don't belong in the UFC, but, Guillard is too aggressive, he's going to find himself wrapped up in one of Diaz's slick submissions, probably a triangle choke. so, even though, someone really soon is gonna send Diaz home, it won't be Guillard. bummer!

Gray Maynard vs Roger Huerta-
again, two fearless fighters. Huerta is the better stand up fighter, unquestionably, way better. too bad Maynard's gonna take him down and pound his way to victory though huh. Huerta will not be able to defend Maynard's relentless takedowns, nobody can. and once down there, Huerta is gonna be in big trouble. Maynard is crawling toward the top and Huerta is in his way.

Carlos Conditt vs Chris Lytle-
okay Conditt, your a tough dude, i know, but this isn't the WEC man, it's the UFC. and welcome to it! Lytle is a tough dude, and will make a fight of it every time, but a pissed off Conditt coming off a debut loss is not a good thing. he's going to swing for the fences here. he will drop Lytle. and if Lytle gets desperate and shoots for a takedown, Condit will manhandle Lytle there too. don't get me wrong, this is gonna be a war, probably be fight of the night, but when the dust settles, Conditt will be standing with his hand raised.

Steve Cantwell vs Brian Stann-
Yay! the rubber match! now Cantwell gets to prove he is better than Stann once and for all. No doubt they will stand and trade, and thats always fun to watch. but Cantwell is too good at standing and trading, and will win this fight via knockout!

Rich Franklin vs Vitor Belfort-
i know i know, Belfort is looking to resurrect his career. but is this the way he should do it? come back and fight Franklin? right now Franklin is on a tear! he has recent wins against guys like Dan Henderson, and and Wanderli Silva! are you sure this is what you want Belfort?
Belfort has been out of the octagon too long, and likely is not ready for Franklin. Belfort is getting up there in age, and has been gone for quite a while now. Franklin is in his prime, and is more focused now than he has ever been. this will be a quick night, probably ending in the second round with a knockout, Franklin raising his hands and Belfort trying to figure out where the heck he is and where the truck than ran him over went.

well there you have it, a break down of some of the better fights coming to you thanks to the crazy UFC. at the end of 2009 UFC will be raking in the cash, and will be a prime time sport. It is going to draw a ton of fan fare this year, with great fights such as these, and the new season of Ultimate fighter, wich will be the best season yet, guarenteed. oh yea, what a crazy year for the UFC.

Tito Ortiz returns to UFC

UFC president Dana White has announced the return of Tito Ortiz. The tow have apparently put aside their differences and come to an agreement, bringin The Huntington Beach Bad Boy back on the big stage, in either November or December!
Tito seemed to be on a downhill slide when he left the UFC, but giving the calliber of his last opponent, Machida, and the state of mind Tito was in at the time, knowing that was his last fight, you can't hardly blame him. Not to mention, Machida has went on to become champ since then.
However, can Tito still remain relevant in the UFC lightheavyweight division?
I'm not convinced he can.
There is talk of Ortiz taking on Mark "the hammer" Coleman, wich no doubt would be a great fight, but given Coleman's age, really could just be a guarenteed return win for Tito. After that fight where does Tito go? He has said he won't fight Rampage because of their friendship, he has already lost to the current champ and the former champ, I mean, really, won't this put Tito in a position to be an undercard fighter still? And isn't that what Tito wanted to avoid? Maybe Tito will step up to fight Rampage to climb the latter, but then what, Machida and Evans aren't going nowhere, and they have already beaten Ortiz. so still, Ortiz's career seems to be playing gate keeper for the champions and a sterdy test for TUF (the ultimate fighter) fighters.
I wish him the best of luck, and am excited to see him in the octagon again, but as one of the biggest names in Mixed Martial Arts, this is not how you fulfill your legacy.