UFC 91: Review

What an exciting night! Not one fight from the main card went to decision and most of them ended in the first round. Thankfully that had all those undercards to fill up the time or else this event would have ended within the hour.

I was accurate on the picks I made in my PREVIEW: UFC 91 article. I got 3 out of 4 of my picks correct;

Demian Maia

Maia secured a rear naked choke on Nick Quarry at 2:13 of the first round. That rest of that round pretty much went his way as well. His striking game was on par with Quarry and once it went to the ground, Quarry could not respond.

Gabriel Gonzaga

Gonzaga got a TKO(strikes) victory at 1:01 of the first round. He pretty much dominated Josh Hendricks the UFC rookie. However Hendricks deserves a ton of respect for being able to stand with Gonzaga and exchange blows. He really couldn't do much against a fighter of Gonzaga's calibar.

Also I have to say the referee in this match was an asshole. He pretty much made Gonzaga strike a finished Hendricks. Once Gonazaga knocked down Hendricks, he went and struck Hendricks again, who did nothing to defend himself. He winded up for another punch but hesitated expecting the ref to stop the match there. Gonzaga then looked at the ref almost asking him, "you want me to hit him again?"

He did.

Kenny Florian

Florian submitted Joe Stevenson with a Rear Naked Choke at 4:03 of the first round. I thought this match was gonna go to the cards but I really underestimated Florian's ground game. Still I knew Kenny Florian would not lose this match, he couldn't lost contention for the lightweight belt, and he secured his spot as the number 1 contender for BJ Penn's title.

Brock Lesnar

Lesnar was able to drop Couture in the second round and secured the win with a TKO. It was a pretty even fight.

I underestimated the advantage Lesnar had with his size. He was 40lbs heavier and so much larger. When things went to the ground it was hard to even see Couture under Lesnar. Still Couture gave Lesnar a challenge and was slowly wearing him down.

There is so much to cover for this that I'll write a blog dedicated to Couture and Lesnar match within the week

Also there was a main event that I did not cover in my preview since it was initially scheduled an undercard. It turned out to be my favorite match of the night.

Dustin Hazelett
Hazelett submitted Tamden McCrory with an Armbar at the 4 minute mark of the first round. What made it really awesome was the way Hazelett controlled McCrory while securing the Armbar. His use of the rubber guard made it impossible for McCrory to roll out or get out of that position.

The rubber guard is getting more and more popular.

Anyways the UFC awards went down like this

Fight of the Night: Aaron Riley vs Jorge Gurgel (an undercard bout)
Knockout of the Night: Jeremy Stephens (another undercard bout)
Submission of the Night: Dustin Hazelett

Anyways my favorite match of the night was the Gonzaga match, probably just cause that delay in throwing that final punch.



Overall it was a great event and I hope to see more of this calibar.

PREVIEW: UFC 91

This event marks the return of Randy Couture who will defend his heavyweight title against Brock Lesnar in the main event.

The undercard is just as impressive. Let's first examine the main event and then explore the undercards.

Randy Couture vs Brock Lesnar

Couture (16 - 8) will be walking back into the ring after a 14 month break. Whether this will make him well rested or rusty has yet to be seen however since he has been training with Wonderlei Silva it would seem to keep him from being the ladder.

Couture has developed his own style of fighting. Drawing upon his years as a greco-roman wrestler he has impressive takedown ability, as well as takedown defense. In previous matches he has used his wrestling ability to mount opponents and submit them via ground and pound.

Experience and technique are definitely on Couture's side. He will be defensive in this match up and careful not to be caught by one of Lesnars haymakers. Couture will instead be throwing counter punches while he waits for an opportunity to take down Lesnar or reverse one of Lesnar's attempts.

Lesnar (2 - 1) has only been competing in MMA for a year. He has a strong wrestling background and not the WWE bullshit either. As a collegiate wrestler Lesnar was able to win the NCAA Championship and ended his amatuer career with a 106 - 5 record.

In MMA he has yet to really use his wrestling skills. Instead Lesnar relies on his size and speed to take advantage of his opponents. He often throws big haymakers and with a fist as big as his it has sent most of his opponents to the mat.

Count on Lesnar to use his speed against Couture. He will go for takedowns from the outside in between throwing haymakers.

My Pick: Randy Couture with a TKO (strikes) in the 3rd
Randy Couture's experience will let him capture the victory. Lesnar will rush in too much and attack wildly expecting his strength and speed to be too much for Couture. Couture will simply wait for one of Lesnar's mistakes and will capitalize on it just like Frank Mir did.

Kenny Florian vs Joe Stevenson

Florian (10 - 3) got a little screwed over. Ken Flo was the #1 contender for the lightweight championship. He should be facing BJ Penn for the belt. However Penn will be fighting George St. Pierre so as an MMA fan I can't really complain, although I gotta admit I feel bad for Florian.

Anyways Kenny Florian has some amazing elbows. This will be really helpful within clinches and since Stevenson is Jiu Jitsu practioner, Florian elbow strength will assist him when they grapple.

Stevenson (29 - 8) already had a title shots a few months ago against BJ Penn. Penn was able to open up a huge gash across Stevenson's forehead with an elbow during the first round. That gash made it hard for Stevenson to see since he had blood flowing down his face and Penn was able to submit Stevenson in a Rear Naked Choke hold during the second round.

Still Stevenson is a great Jiu Jitsu practioner. He has won 14 of his matches by submission. He is famous for using the Guillotine Choke and is referred to as a master of that move.

My Pick: Kenny Florian by decision

This is gonna be a close match. Florian's elbows may make the huge difference in the match up, probably stopping Stevenson from conducting any sort of submission. It can still go either way, but I'm going with Florian because I think he has something to prove; that he should be contending for the belt.

Gabriel Gonzaga vs Josh Hendricks

Gonzaga (10 - 3) is a monster. This man broke Couture's arm. I repeat this man broke Couture's arm! Gonzaga went for one of his signature kicks to the head and Couture used his forearm to block it. "Snap!" went Couture's arm.

If he doesn't submit or knock out his opponent he loses. None of Gonzaga's fights have ever gone to a decision which sounds really awesome. Obviously he has a great kick but he has excellent submission skills as well. He's pulled off some pretty complicated submissions (ie Americana and Triangle) and has competed against some of the best fighters the UFC has to offer

Hendricks (15 -4 ) has never fought in the UFC before so he will have a night to prove his worth.

He has won 10 of his fights by submission. He uses rear naked chokes quite frequently and sucessfully along with an occasional armbar and triangle choke.

My pick: Gabriel Gonzaga by maybe a KO (Head Kick), not really sure.

Gonzaga broke Couture's arm with a kick. He can probably break other bones too. While Hendricks definitly will put up a good fight I just have to go with the UFC veteran.

Nate Quarry vs Demian Maia

Quarry(10 - 2) was a show stopper. He won his first 3 UFC bouts with KOs in the first rounds. Then he fought Rich Franklin for the Middleweight title and was knocked out in the first. After that Quarry took a 2 year break from competition due to injuries but returned in '07 and has won 2 matches via decision.

Maia(8 - 0) is a second degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is the 2007 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Champion and the 2005 runner up and has won the UFC Submission of the Night honors 3 times in a row. He could probably choke out Superman given the oppurtunity.

My pick: Demian Maia by Submission

I don't think Quarry has ever truly recovered from his injuries or at least not returned to his glorious form before his Franklin fight. Maia has too good of ground game for anyone not at 100%. Expect Quarry to tap in the first or second round.

So there you go. Those are my picks for the nights. What do you think? Do you disagree or agree with any of my picks? Do you think I'm a complete idiot? Well tell me why asshole.

The Return of 'The Natural'

There are no words to describe the excitement for this event. It is the return of "The Natural" Randy Couture!

Simply put, Randy Couture is a great. He is one of the best fighters to ever enter a MMA ring.

And it has been over a year since Couture has.

His last fight was in Aug 27, 2007 where he successfully defended his heavyweight title against Gabriel Gonzaga in a match that ended in a TKO in the 3rd round.

Since then contract disputes with the UFC have kept him from fighting in or out of the octagon.

However in Sept 2008 Couture made a 3 fight deal with the UFC. The first of these 3 fights will be to defend his heavyweight championship against Brock Lesnar .

vs.

Many MMA fans are excited to see this bout, including myself. It should be an exciting match between an experienced veteran and an up and coming star, only one thing bothers me.

Lesnar does not deserve a title shot.

Lesnar has been in a total of 3 fights in his MMA career and is 2 - 1.

His first MMA fight was in June 2007 at K-1 Dynamite!! USA where he was scheduled to fight Choi Hong-man but instead fought Min Soo Kim. The match ended by submission (due to strikes) just after the first minute.

In his first UFC fight Frank Mir used a knee bar to submit Lesnar within the 2nd minute.

In his second UFC fight he fought against Heath "The Crazy Horse" Herring, who took the place of Mark Coleman. This match went the full 3 rounds ending in a unanimous decision in favor of Lesnar.

That is Lesnar's MMA career;

3 Fights

1 win by submission

1 win by unanimous decision

1 loss by submission

And he is getting a title shot against Randy Couture.

It's bullshit. Exciting bullshit, but bullshit none the less.

So the older veteran who has mastered his technique will fight the young up and comer who overwhelms his opponent with his size and speed.

So do you really think Lesnar deserves a title shot? Who do you think Randy Couture should be facing in his return to the octagon?

Welcome

Hello there anonymous Internet user. Thank you for stumbling upon my blog and staying long enough to read this.

This blog is dedicated to covering MMA from every aspect I may wrap my head around. I'll be covering must major events, from previews to post fight commentaries. I'll also be highlight specific fighters and fighting styles.

Well enjoy the articles, pics, and videos. Feel free to comment anything with either love or hate.

-Miguel