Recap of UFC 137 : Penn vs Diaz

The UFC held what at one point was to be one of the biggest shows of the year two weeks ago but sadly, due to the original main event of GSP vs Nick Diaz being cancelled, the replacement fight of GSP vs Carlos Condit pulled off due to a GSP injury and a ton of boring fights this show ended up being rather forgettable with only a couple of exceptions.

Nick Diaz (2 6 -7) defeated "The Prodigy" BJ Penn (16- 8 -2) by unanimous decision- This fight ended up ending the show in spectacular fashion as Diaz battered and beat down on Penn in the second and third rounds to earn himself a title shot at GSP's welterweight championship after calling out Georges following the win.   Penn was able to get Diaz to the mat and even took his back at one point however at the beginning of the second round BJ's lack of cardio took over and Diaz used his reach to close Penn's eye with punches.   For the first time in his career, Penn was beaten up soundly and following the fight, The Prodigy made a retirement speech and retired until he realizes he's 32 and still a tope level fighter.   Although Carlos Condit was to receive the next crack at GSP, GSP requested to fight Diaz stating that he wants to beat Diaz like no one's been beaten in the UFC.   An angry and motivated GSP is a scary thing and may just be what Georges needed to shake his boring fighter rep.   Great performance for the returning Diaz who helped save a pretty uneventful show otherwise.   Both men picked up an additional $75 000 for fight of the night.

Cheick Kongo (1 6 -6-2) defeated Matt Mitrione (4- 1 ) by unanimous decision- Pretty bad co main event here with neither guy doing much for the first ten minutes until a third round takedown from Kongo which led to a dominant round for Kongo.   I had Mittrione winning the first and second rounds by just slightly edging Kongo out on the feet and Kongo taking a one sided third but it was a close enough fight that it could have gone either way.   This fight was sold as a future contender fight at heavyweight but it's doubtful either man will receive any favorable match ups or win any fans over in this one.

Roy "Big Country" Nelson (1 6 -6) defeated Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic   (27- 10 -2) by tko at 1:30 of the third round- Cro Cop was able to have Nelson in trouble at one point in this one but was unable to capitalize and unfortunately let the fight escape his grip when Nelson wore him out while in the crucifix and eventually pummeled him while taking his back until the referee stopped it.   Following the loss Cro Cop retired, something he should have done three or four years ago.   Roy Nelson called out the winner of the Junior Dos Santos/Cain Velasquez fight following his victory but it’s doubtful that having just lost his previous two fights before this one that he is given such a top challenger.

Scott Jorgensen (1 3 -4) defeated Jeff "Big Frog" Curran (33-1 4 -1) by unanimous decision- Jorgensen was able to take down Curran at will throughout this one however he wasn't able to do much while there as Curran's Jui Jitsu game kept him active and away from any advantageous positions from Scott.   This fight was neither good nor bad but probably should have been kept off the paid portion of the show.

Hatsu Hioki (2 5 -4-2) defeated George Roop (12- 8 -1) by split decision - Disappointing debut here for the highly touted Hioki who showed quite a few holes in his game and almost let the fight slide out of his hands,   Not the best start to the show as neither man really impressed,

Spike Prelims

Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone (1 7 -3) submitted Dennis Siver (18- 8 ) to a rear naked choke at 2:22 of the first round- Real quick and entertaining fight here where Cerrone landed a big head kick to the face of Siver which sent Siver flopping all over the mat until Cerrone pounced on him and secured a rear naked choke that forced Siver to tap out.   Both men are and were considered top ten lightweights but Cerrone may have climbed a couple rungs in the ladder following the victory by looking as dominant as he did, pretty much beating Siver at his own game and ending the fight with what he does best.   Cerrone was awarded an additional $75 000 for submission of the night.

Bart "Bartimus" Palaszewski (36-14) knocked out Tyson Griffin (15-6) at of the first round- Boy has Tyson Griffin fallen.   Only a couple years back Griffin was considered a future lightweight title contender however he's gone 1-4 in his last five outings having moved to featherweight and picking up a pretty unconvincing win over Manny Gamburyan prior to this fight.   Bart said he was disrespected when Griffin came into the fight 4 lbs over weight and did Bart ever make him pay by letting his hands fly and stopping him with a two punch onslaught.   For a 50 fight career this may be the biggest win of Bart's life and a spectacular way to start the nights Spike prelims.   The extra $75 000 for knockout of the night for Bart never hurts either.

Facebook Prelims

Brandon "The Truth" Vera (1 2 -5) defeated Eliot "The Fire" Marshall (10- 4 ) by unanimous decisions

Daniel "Danny Boy" Downes (8-2) vs Ramsey Nijem (4-2) -

Francis "Limitless" Carmont (18-7) defeated Chris Camozzi (15-6) by unanimous decision

Clifford Starks (8-0) defeated Dustin Jacoby (6-1) by unanimous decision

R eview of UFC 138: Leben vs Munoz

The UFC returned to England this past weekend for a card that appeared to be quite shallow but turned into one hell of a show.

"The F illippine Wrecking Machine" Mark Munoz (1 2 -2) defeated "The Crippler" Chris Leben (26- 8 ) by doctor’s stoppage at 5:00 of round two- Pretty fun main event here but at times very sloppy with both men tumbling all over the mat due to missed takedown attempts and sprawls.   Munoz was able to get down Leben a couple times in the first round but unable to keep him there for any long stretch of time while Leben was able to secure a surprising takedown of his own.   The second round was quite different than the first as Munoz was able to get another takedown and this time do some damage to Leben's body and face which by the end of the round left Leben unable to see or continue.   The win over Leben is arguably the biggest of his career and he used the opportunity to issue Anderson Silva a challenge for his middleweight championship however with Chael Sonnen having done the same a month ago, Munoz may be a fight or two away from that fight.

Renan Barao (2 7 -1) submitted Brad "One Punch" Pickett (20- 6 ) to a rear naked choke at 4:09 of the first round- Both men have quietly been climbing the ranks of Bantamweight and put on one terrific display of their skills in this one.   Both men were looking for the knockout early with Renan getting the better of the stand-up exchanges until he floored Pickett with a beautiful combination and Renan grabbed his back to secure the rear naked choke and victory in impressive fashion.   Renan is now 27-1 and with his aggressive striking style he presents a new challenge to current Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and the victory puts him in contention for a shot perhaps in 2012.   Renan and Pickett both took home an additional $70 000 for fight of the night.

Thiago "Pitbull" Alves (1 9 -8) submitted Papy "Makambo" Abedi (8- 1 ) to a rear naked choke at 3:32 of the first round- This was an awesome fight with Abedi willing to stand and trade with Alves and even at times enjoying some success however Alves was eventually able to stun and rock Abedi with some nice combinations and eventually grabbed his back to force the submission.   Abedi is still a relative unknown in the UFC but a fun fight like this should see him given a couple more fights while Alves should remain near the top to mid level welterweights in a stacked division.

Anthony "Hippo" Perosh (1 2 -6) submitted Cyrille "Snake" Diabate (17- 8 -1) to a rear naked choke at 3:09 of the second round- This was the one main card fight that proved to be underwhelming as Perosh used his wrestling to expose the holes in Diabate's game and it didn't take long to secure the triangle choke once the fight went to the mat.   Neither man has the skills to ever challenge for a title in the UFC but both men should remain employed by Zuffa and play a spoiler role to young prospects in the UFC's light heavyweight division,

Terry Etim (1 5 -3) submitted Edward "Falo" Faaloto (2- 3 ) to a guillotine choke at 0:17 of the first round- This was about as one sided a fight as you were going to get with a legit prospect in Etim returning to the octagon after almost a two year absence due to several injuries.   Faaloto was overwhelmed with some punches early and it was mere seconds later that he found himself stuck in a tight guillotine and tapping out.   Etim should find himself against higher level competition in his next fight and also picked up another $75 000 for submission of the night while Faaloto will most likely be released by the UFC.

Facebook Prelims

Michihiro Omigawa (1 3 -10-1) defeated Jason "Shotgun" Young (8- 5 ) by unanimous decision

Chris "Kamikaze" Cariaso (1 2 -3) defeated Vaughan Lee (11- 7 -1) by split decision

Phillip De Fries ( 8 -0) defeated Rob Broughton (15-7-1) by unanimous decision

Che Mills (1 4 -4) knocked out Chris "C-Murder" Cope (5- 2 ) at 0:40 of the first round

John Macguire (17-3) defeated Justin Edwards (7-2) by unanimous decision

Breakdown of UFC on Fox

This weekend the UFC debuts on the FOX network for a show featuring a UFC heavyweight title fight between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos.   With Ben Henderson/Clay Guida on the undercard, let's pray for a short main event in hopes of them showcasing the two lightweights if time permits.

UFC Heavyweight Championship- Cain Velasquez (9-0) vs Junior Dos Santos (13-1) - This fight right here should be a hell of a lot of fun as it pits the legit number one and two heavyweights challenging for the UFC's biggest prize, the heavyweight championship.   Cain has been out with a shoulder injury for over a year now and his first fight back is no cake walk as JDS is a dangerous striker with knockout power in his hands.   For Cain to walk away still holding the championship he's going to need to take down JDS, something he should have little problems with.   JDS has shown in his past fights to have the ability to return to his fight quickly when taken down however the wrestlers he's faced haven’t had the speed or takedown ability of Cain and JDS's sprawl is going to need to be stellar to enjoy any success.   Cain's striking is actually damn good and very technical so he may be willing to stand and trade enough to set up some takedown.   As much as heavyweights aren't always the best cardio guys in the business, both men have great gas tanks and this one could most likely go the full 25 minutes.   This fight could go either way but my money's on Cain taking down JDS at will and pounding out a finish on the ground in the championship rounds or riding the strategy out for the full five rounds.

Prediction: Velasquez by unanimous decision  

Facebook Prelims

Ben Henderson (14-2) vs Clay "The Carpenter" Guida (29-11) - Although this fight is on the prelims it's only due to the one fight main card and this fight could easily be a co main event on a UFC numbered show or even main event on a fight night show pitting two of the UFC's top lightweights in action with a potential title shot at grabs for the winner.   Guida is a quick moving lightweight with good takedowns and a desire to have entertaining fights while Henderson has slowly been climbing the UFC's lightweight division since moving over from the WEC with two victories over the likes of Mark Bocek and Jim Miller.   Henderson should enjoy an edge on the ground as he's someone who seemingly can't be submitted and has some lethal submissions of his own while Clay may edge him out while standing.   If Henderson fights Clay like he fought Jim Miller then I wouldn't be surprised to see finish him with a guillotine choke or a rear naked choke permitting he gets Clay's back.   Clay out wrestling Henderson could definitely be a possibility but I believe Henderson has what it takes to get the win in this one and perhaps a shot at Frank Edgar's UFC lightweight championship in early 2012.    Prediction: Henderson by unanimous decision

Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto (18-4) vs Darren "BC" Uyenoyama (6-3) - Prediction: Yamamoto by tko

Ricardo Lamas (10-2) vs Cub Swanson (15-4) - Prediction: Lamas by unanimous decisions

Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier (10-1) vs Pablo "Scarecrow" Garza (11-1) - Prediction: Poirier by unanimous decision

Matt "Luke Duke" Lucas (14-2) vs Aaron Rosa (16-4)- Prediction: Lucas by unanimous decision

Cole Escovedo (17-8) vs Alex "Bruce Leroy" Cacares (5-4)- Prediction: Escovedo by submission

Robert Paralta (15-3) vs Mackens Semerzier (6-3)- Prediction: Semerzier by unanimous decisions

Mike Pierce (12-4) vs Paul "The Gentleman" Bradley (18-2)- Prediction: Pierce by unanimous decision

Damarques Johnson (12-9) vs Clay Harvison (9-3)- Prediction: Johnson by unanimous decision

Preview of UFC 139

UFC 13 9 takes place from San Jose, California next weekend for a pretty good card with a few home town talents.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (20-5) vs Dan Henderson (28-8) - On paper this is one of those classic striker vs wrestler match ups however, Henderson has neglected his wrestling over the last several years in exchange for a more fan friendly knockout resume however this may be the fight Hendo goes back to out-wrestling his opponents.   As trigger happy as Hendo is with his right hand his striking isn't as great as Shoguns who gets in and out on his opponents quickly and mixes up kicks to keep his opponents guessing.   As lethal as Shogun's kicks can be, he's going to want to be tentative while throwing them as it leaves him open for takedowns.   Hendo's cardio has been questioned in the past but that's mainly when he fights at middleweight where he needs to put in work to get down in weight but this fights at light heavyweight and this factor shouldn't come in to play.   Although Shogun looked awesome in his win over Forest Griffin in Rio,   he can be dominated by a wrestler and I believe that Hendo will be willing to abandon his right hand in favor of wrestling Shogun for 25 minutes and climb a step closer to challenging for a title at middleweight or light heavyweight.

Prediction: Henderson by decision

"The California Kid" Urijah Faber (25-4) vs Brian Bowles (10-1) - On paper this fights a classic wrestler vs striker match up however both men are versed in both disciplines and this one should be a real fun and competitive bout.   Bowles has some lethal hands on him but hasn't looked as impressive as he has in the past as of late, most likely due to the several hand surgeries he's had which has made him reluctant to strike as aggressively as in the past.   Bowles' only career loss came at the hands of current Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz when he broke his hand and was unable to continue.   Faber is coming off a loss to Cruz in his most recent fight and is hoping for a third encounter with the champ if he wins this one.   Both Bowles and Faber have trained together in the past and it's probably a safe bet to say that they know where the pluses and minus' are on their opponent.   Although a win for Bowles wouldn't surprise me I believe that Urijah has the better wrestling to grind this one out and a good enough chin to avoid any problems on the feet.

Prediction: Faber by unanimous decision

Cung Le (7-1) vs Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva (31-11-1) - At this point in their careers both men are approaching the end but have been given appropriate opponents to send them out on their shield.   Both Le and Silva have similar styles and should be looking to keep this standing and keep the fans happy.   Wanderlei's chin has been absolutely destroyed in recent years and his inability to take a punch has been rather sad and I feel that Le has enough here to find the button on Silva's chin and send him to the unemployment line.   Le isn't exactly a high caliber fighter however at this point in his career neither is Silva.   For Silva to win here he'll need to blitz Le early and never given his the range to let off his lethal and accurate kicks.   Either way I look at this one I see Le, the hometown boy walking away with the victory as Silva lays unconscious on the mat.

Prediction: Le by tko

Chris Weidman (6-0) vs "Filthy" Tom Lawlor (7-3) - Weidman is a good young prospect who's 2-0 on the UFC thus and slowly being bred as a potential future challenger to Anderson Silva's middleweight championship.   Weidman is better than Lawlor in every way possible here and should be able to take this one quickly and convincingly most likely by submission.

Prediction: Weidman by submission

Rafael Dos Anjos (15-5) vs Gleison Tibau (23-7) -

Both men have used 2011 as an opportunity to climb the ranks of the lightweight division,   Dos Anjos is coming off a big victory in knocking out George Sotiropolous while Tibau defeated Kurt Pellegrino in his last fight.   Tibau is the much larger guy and should be able to muscle Dos Anjos to the mat however Dos Anjos is slick off his back and most likely has the edge there.   If Tibau keeps this one standing he may be able to enjoy some success however Dos Anjos is a tricky guy who has power in his hands and a ground game that you can't sleep on.   Dos Anjos should most likely be able control Tibau for 15 minutes to pick up the victory.

Prediction: Dos Anjos by unanimous decision

Prelims

Martin "The Hitman" Kampmann (17-5) vs Rick "The Horror" Story (13-4) - Prediction: Kampmann by unanimous decision

Ryan "Darth" Bader (12-2) vs Jason "The Hitman" Brilz (18-4-1) - Prediction: Bader by unanimous decision

Kyle Kingsbury (11-2) vs "American Psycho" Stephan Bonnar (13-7) - Prediction: Bonnar by unanimous decision

Miguel Torres (39-4) vs Nick Pace (6-2)- Prediction: Torres by unanimous decision

Michael "Mayday" McDonald (13-1) vs Johnny Eduardo (25-9)- Prediction: McDonald by unanimous decision

Seth Baczynski (14-6) vs Matt "The Immortal" Brown (12-10)- Prediction: Brown by tko

Danny "Last Call" Castillo (11-4) vs Shamar Bailey (12-4)- Prediction: Castillo by unanimous decision  

Upcoming shows

TUF 14 Finale from Las Vegas, Nevada- December 3rd, 2011

Jason "Mayhem" Miller (24-7) vs Michael "The Count" Bisping (21-3)

Yves "Thugjitsu Master" Edwards (41-17-1) vs Tony "El Cucuy" Ferguson (12-2)

UFC 140 from Toronto, Ontario, Canada- December 10th, 2011

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship- Jon "Bones" Jones (13-1) vs Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida (17-2)

Frank Mir (15-5) vs Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogeira (33-6-1)

"The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz (16-9-1) vs Antonio Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira (19-5)

Rory "Ares" MacDonald (12-1) vs Brian "Bad Boy" Ebersole (48-14-1)

Mark "The Machine" Hominick (20-9) vs "The Korean Zombie" Chang Sung Jung (11-3)

John "The Bull" Makdessi (9-0) vs Dennis "Superman" Hallman (50-14-2)

Nik "The Carnie" Lentz (21-3-2) vs Mark Bocek (9-4)

"The Polish Experiment" Krzysztof Soszynski (26-11-1) vs Igor Pokrajac (23-8)

Mitch Clarke (9-0) vs John Cholish (7-1)

Claude "The Prince" Patrick (14-1) vs Rich "The Raging Bull" Attonito (10-4)

Jared "The Messenger" Hamman (13-3) vs Constantinos Philippou (8-2)

Yves "Tiger" Jabouin vs Walel "The Gazel" Watson (8-2)

Strikeforce- December 17th, 2011

Strikeforce Lightweight Title- Gilbert Melendez (19-2) vs Jorge Masvidal (22-6)

Strikeforce Women's Featherweight Title- Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (10-1) vs Hiroko Yamanaka (12-1)

KJ Noons (10-4) vs Billy Evangelista (11-1)

Ovince St. Preulx (11-4) vs Gegard Mousassi (31-3-2)

UFC 141 from Las Vegas, Nevada- December 30th, 2011

Brock Lesnar (5-2) vs "The Demolition Man" Alistair Overeem (35-11)

Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone (17-3) vs Nate Diaz

Jake Ellenberger (26-5) vs Diego Sanchez (23-4)

Jon Fitch (23-3-1) vs Johnny Hendricks (11-1)

Alexander "The Mauler" Gustafsson (12-1) vs "The Janitor" Vladimir Matyushenko (26-5)

Jacob Volkman (13-2) vs TJ Grant (17-5)

Dong-Hyun "Stun Gun" Kim (14-1-1) vs Sean Pierson (11-5)

Ross Pearson (12-5) vs Junior Assuncao (13-4)

Diego "The Gun" Nunes (16-2) vs Manny Gamburyan (11-6)

Matthew Riddle (5-3) vs Luis "Beicao" Ramos (19-7)

UFC 142 from Brazil- January 14th, 2012

UFC Featherweight Title- Jose "Scarface" Aldo (20-1) vs Chad "Money" Mendes (11-0)

Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort (20-9) vs Anthony Johnson (10-3)

UFC 143 from Las Vegas, Nevada- February 4th, 2012

UFC Welterweight Title - Georges "Rush" St. Pierre (22-2) vs Nick Diaz (26-7)