Breakdown of UFC 149: Faber vs Barao

This Saturday, the UFC is live from Calgary for what was once a stacked UFC event but due to several injuries and unacceptable replacements has become an event that's going to be a tough sell.   Let's take a look at the show...

UFC Bantamweight Interim Title- "The California Kid" Urijah Faber (25-5) vs Renan "Barao" Pegado (28-1-1)-  With current Batamweight champion Dominick Cruz injured following three months of build to a fight with Urijah Faber as opposing coaches on TUF, top ranked Renan Barao steps in to face Faber in what should be a solid encounter.   Faber is a talented wrestler with solid submissions, a killer work ethic and good hands while Barao is a kick boxer who has yet to show us what he can do off his back as his opponents haven't been able to get him there.   Although both men have competed in the cage 30 times, Faber has faced a much higher level of opposition throughout his career while Barao has only taken on big names in the last three years.   Various fighters have put together gameplans to beat Faber but the most succesful one's revolve around great takedown defense and the speed standing to beat him to the punch, both of which Renan seems to have.   If Faber is going to win this one he's going to have to out-wrestle Renan and push the pace but I don't think he'll be able to push Barao around and will most likely get picked apart on the feet, even if he enjoys some success in the early rounds.   A victory for Faber should shock no one but I like Barao here for a decision victory as Faber is a challenging guy to finish.

Prediction: Barao by unanimous decision

Shawn "Savage" Jordan (13-3) vs Cheick Kongo (17-7-2)-   Originally this was to be a fight between Kongo and Big Nog but Nog became injured and instead of replacing him with another big name fight they choose someone that no one knows much about, Team Jackson trained, Shawn Jordan.   Both of these throw bombs and that's about it so I don't see this one being much different and although Kongo may be the most imposing and muscular, the shorter and stickier Jordan has looked much better of late than Kongo whose chin seems to be showing wear from some of his past wars.   If Jordan can get inside of Kongo's range then he should be able to apply the pressure and find an opening to end the French man's night but if Kongo mixes up his kicks and keeps Jordan at a distance then he has a good opportunity to oputpoint Jordan on the scorecards.   Tough fight to call.

Prediction: Jordan by tko

Chris "The Menace" Clements (11-4) vs Matt Riddle (6-3)-  This fight should solely be contested on the feet as neither man fashions himself as much of a ground guy.   I expect Riddle to walk away the winner here as he should have a couple of inches on Clements as well as more takedowns if he wants to resort to having the fight on the mat and having been in their with higher level competition than Clements should have helped him prepare for this one.  

Prediction: Riddle by uinanimous decision

Tim "The Barbarian" Boetsch (15-4) vs Hector "Shango" Lombard (31-2-1)-   This is Lombard's debut in the UFC after dominating the competition of Bellator's middleweight division and there's a strong possibility that if he can defeat Boetsch impressively, that he may contend for Anderson Silva's title next.   Both of these men are hard hitters but Lombard packs a mean punch and if more likely to knockout Boetsch than Boetsch is of Lombard.   If Boetsch is to win this fight then he's going to need to use his wrestling and skills in the clinch to keep Lombard on the mat or against the cage which is how he was able to finish Okami however to do that he's going to need to get inside on Lombard which leaves him succeptable to the knockout.   I like Lombard here to end Boetsch's night via punches in the first or second frame.

Prediction: Lombard by tko

Nick "The Promise" Ring (12-1) vs Court "The Crusher" McGee (14-2)-   This is a rematch from two years ago when the two faced off on TUF and Ring emerged the winner only to be injured and unable to compete in the rest of the competition which resulted in McGee stepping in as his replacement and winning the show.   McGee's strong suits are his wrestling and striking, both of which were honed by Chuck Liddell and John Hackleman whereas Ring is a fairly one dimensional striker with a big edge when it comes to submissions.   Both of these guys fight rather passively and it's safe to say that is this card wasn't plagued by the injured that it's had that this one wouldn't make the main card however with Ring just recently heroically saving two people from a gang of thugs and being from Calgary, this fight slides onto the main card.   I like Ring here to take down Ring and grind him out on the mat for three rounds or pick up a late stoppage via submission.   This probably won't be the "barn burner" that the UFC is hoping for.

Prediction: Ring by unanimous decision

Prelim Fights

Mitch Clarke (9-1) vs Anton Kuivanen (16-5)- Prediction: Clarke by unanimous decision

Brian Ebersole () vs James Head (8-2)- Prediction: Ebersole by unanimous decision

Mitch Gagnon (8-1) vs Bryan "Kid Lightning" Caraway (16-5)- Prediction: Gagnon by unanimous decision

Antonio "Pato" Carvalho (13-5) vs Daniel "The Pit" Pineda (17-8)- Prediction: Pineda by unanimous decision

Ryan "The Real Deal" Jimmo (16-1) vs Anthony "The Hippo" Perosh (13-6)- Prediction: Jimmo by unanimous decision

Roland Delorme (8-1) vs

Recap of UFC 148: Silva vs Sonnen 2

Two weeks ago the UFC held arguably its biggest pay per view of the year with a grudge match main event that was two years in the making.   Although the card didn't have some of the depth that past shows have had, the main event ended up producing a solid title fight and one of the biggest crowd reactions in UFC history.   Let's take a look at the show.

UFC Middleweight Title- Anderson "The Spider" Silva (32-4) defeated Chael Sonnen (26-12-1) by tko at 1:55 of the second round-  This fight was two years in the making and after a thrilling first fight and a fair share of smack talking between both men, the two had a lot of hype to live up to and although there was a little bit of controversy and this one didn't go as long as the first, it still produced a real entertaining fight.   As soon as this one started, Chael secured a takedown and never let Silva up until the round ended, improving his position and getting mount while Silva remained calm.   When the second round began, Silva was able to thwart Chael's takedown and dodged an uncharacteristic spinning back-fist from Chael which turned the tide and had Chael on defense for the first time.   Silva landed a knee to Chael's chest while Chael was on the ground and then landed some follow up punches as Chael covered up and the referee stopped it.   Following the fight, Silva shook hands with Chael and urged the vocal Brazilians in the audience and watching at home to cheer Chael and not hate him.   Silva also made a comment about being happy to have Chael over for a barbeque anytime as Chael had told Silva in interviews that after Silva he would make Silva's wife cook him a steak.   The knee that Anderson threw landed fluch on Chael's chest which is a legal knee but upon replay, you can see that Silva's thigh also connects with Chael's chin which is illegal as a knee to a downed opponent’s body is fine but a knee to a downed opponents face is not.   What's important to remember about this is that it is the job of the referee to call things like this and protesting afterwards is a mute point according to the Athletic state commission and would not lead to overturning the decision.   Anderson also rubbed vaseline on himself prior to the fight as he grabbed it from his face and wiped it on his skin and although greasing is also illegal, he grabbed a minor amount that was already on him and rubbed it on himself which he's been doing for years and should have been dealt with then.   Referee, Yves Lavigne did force Anderson's corner man to wipe him down after the grease and neither ultimately led to the outcome that we got.   There are rumors going around that Chael is considering a move to lightheavyweight which could see him work his magic there as well and enjoy success.  

Forrest Griffin (19-7) defeated "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz (16-11-1) by unanimous decision-   This one received the coveted fight of the night award but wasn't nearly as entertaining as the main event.   Tito enjoyed success in the second and third rounds when he was able to drop Griffin both times due to punches however as is often the case with Ortiz, his cardio failed him and the workman like offense and busyness of Griffin saw him win two of three rounds according to the judges.   Following the fight, Griffin ran to the back as he's done in the past to which the crowd booed but ultimately returned after Dana White chased after him.   Apparently Griffin had felt he lost the fight and was avoiding what could have been a heartbreaking loss from the judges but instead the judges felt he had one and the whole ordeal made Griffin look even worse.   As a way of saving face, Griffin grabbed the microphone to interview Ortiz which got over like a fart in church and in one of the more akward seens in UFC history, Tito talked about paving the road for all fighters which may or may not be true.   Goodbye Tito and thanks for the memories, both good and bad.

Chad "Money" Mendes (12-1) defeated Cody McKenzie (13-3) by tko at 0:31 of the first round-  Complete mismatch here as the consensus number two featherweight Mendes making short work of McKenzie when he dropped the Alaskan with a body shot and landed more punches on the mat until the referee called a stop to the fight.   Mendes is argaubly one of the best featherweights in the UFC and after being knocked out by Jose Aldo, he needed a win like this to keep himself in the mix and McKenzie was just the guy to do it.   Expect Mendes to get a top featherweight shuch as Ricardo Llamas, Korean Zombie or Dennis Siver next.

Demian Maia (16-4) defeated "Stun Gun" Dong Hyun Kim (15-2-1) by tko at 0:47 of the first round-   This was a strange one with Maia trying from the opening bell to get a takedown and eventually getting it as Kim fell akwardly and begin the victim of a back spasm as the referee stepped in before Maia landed too much offense as Kim was unable to defend himself.   This was Maia's debut at 170 and althought the victory was some what tainted due to the injury, if Maia can pull off another couple wins against top fighters like Kim then he'll find himself in contendership in the competetive welterweight division.  

Cung Le (8-2) defeated "The Predator" Patrick Cote (17-8) by unanimous decision-  It was expected that if Cote could continuously push forward on Le and incorporate a few takedowns that this would be his fight to win however Cote decided to sit back and trade with Le which saw Le best the Canadian all three rounds to win himself a much needed unanimous decision.   Both men had their fair share of success on the feet and both Le and Cote had cuts on their faces however Le escaped with the victory which will most likely see him face Rich Franklin in his next fight as they were originally supposed to face off on this show until Franklin stepped in to fight Wanderlei Silva a few weeks ago when Wand's original opponent, Vitor Belfort had to pull out due to an injury.

Mike Easton (13-1) defeated Ivan Menjivar (24-9) by unanimous decision-   This may not have been the hot opener that the fans had thought it would be however the fight was solid and contested solely on the feet where Easton was quicker and more precise with his strikes on route to winning a unanimous decision on the judges scorecards.    The win sees Easton moving up in the featherweight division with a win over a fellow top ranked fighter and getting a step closer to getting into title contention.   The loss for Menjivar will send him back a little however, he's a tricky test to anyone and should find himself back in the thick of things in his next couple fights.

Prelim Fights

Melvin "The Young Assassin" Guillard (29-10-2) defeated Fabricio Camoes (14-7-1) by unanimous decision

Khabib Nurmagomedov (18-0) defeated Gleison Tibau (26-8) by unanimous decision

Constantino "Costa" Philippou (10-2-1) defeated Riki Fukuda (17-6) by unanimous decision

Shane Roller (11-6) defeated "The Natural" John Alessio (34-16) by unanimous decision

Rafaello Oliveira (15-5) vs Yoislandy Izquierdo (6-2)

Review of UFC on FUEL 4

Last wednesday the UFC held a mid week show that ended up proving to be pretty entertaining and saw two top middleweights face off in hopes of making a claim to the next shot at Anderson Silva.

Chris Weidman (9-0) defeated "The Philippine Wrecking Machine" Mark Munoz (12-3) by knockout at 1:37 of the second round-   This was a one sided coming out party for Weidman who outwrestled Munoz in the opening frame then ended the Philippino's evening in the second round with a highlight real knockout due to an elbow and follow up punches on the mat.   Weidman never gave Munoz a chance to get going here as he applied the pressure early and never looked back.    Munoz had strung together four wins in a row and a loss like this is a tough one to take but I think this fights more a testament to how awesome Weidman is and nothing to do with Munoz not being able to hang at the top with the top ten challengers.   Following the win, Weidman challenged Anderson Silva to a fight and although he could most likely beat Anderson, he's going to need to win another fight or two against the Alan Belcher's and Vitor Belfort's of the division as there are a lot of worthy contenders at middleweight but no legit number one contender.

James Te Huna (15-5) defeated Joey "The Mexicutioner" Beltran (14-8) by unanimous decision-   This was a stand-up war which saw Te Huna almost put away Beltran in the first round only for Beltran to recover and survive three rounds.   Te-Huna is going to be a problem to a lot of fighters at lightheavyweight as he has the frame, muscles and power of a heavyweight and still somehow makes weight.   This was Beltran's lightheavyweight debut after having a few awesome fights and minor success at heavyweight.   Following the fight it was revealed that Te-Huna broke both his hand and foot in the first round and continued to beat up Beltran showing a lot of toughness.

Aaron Simpson (12-3) defeated Kenny Robertson (11-2) by unanimous decision-  Pretty boring fight here that wasn't as one sided as I thought it would be but ultimately it was Simpson who out muscled and slammed Robertson on his way to a unanimous decision.   This was Simpson's first fight at welterweight and it remains to be seen how well his wrestling will stack up with all the other wrestlers at 170 until he gets in there with a top ten contender.

Rafael Dos Anjos (16-6) defeated Anthony Njokuani (15-7-1) by unanimous decision-   This was a pretty fun fight here that was fought on the feet and on the mat.   Despite having a more varied attack on the feet, Njokuani was unable to get off much here as Dos Anjos continuously pushed the pace and beat Njokuani to the punch.   Dos Anjos continues to be one of the most underrated lightweights in the UFC and after this fight he should be challenging a higher tier opponent in his next fight.

TJ Dillashaw (6-1) submitted Vaughan Lee (12-8-1) by rear naked choke at of the first round-   This was another dominant display for Dillashaw who powered Lee to the mat, grabbed his back and secured a rear naked choke.   Great performance for Dillashaw who has looked good in the UFC thus far and may find himself in contendership at 135 if he has a couple more performances like this over more big names.

Prelim Fights

Alex "Bruce Leroy" Cacares (7-5) submitted Damacio "Angel of Death" Page (15-8) at of the round

Andrew Craig (8-0) defeated Rafael Natal (14-4-1) by knockout at 4:52 of the second round

Francis "Limitless" Carmont (18-7) submitted Karlos "The Terminator" Vemola (9-3) to a rear naked choke at 1:30 of the second round

Chris "Kamikaze" Cariaso (14-3) defeated Josh "Taz" Ferguson (8-5) by unanimous decision

Marcelo "Magrao" Guimaraes (8-0-1) defeated Daniel Stittgen (7-3) by split decision

Raphael Assuncao (18-4) defeated Issei Tamura (7-3) by tko at 0:25 of the second round

Upcoming Shows

UFC on FOX from Los Angeles, CA- August 4th, 2012

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (20-6) vs Brandon "The Truth" Vera (12-5-1)

Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis (9-1) vs Wagner Predo (8-0)

Lyoto Machida (17-3) vs Ryan "Darth" Bader (14-2)

Travis Browne (13-0-1) vs Ben Rothwell (32-8)

Matt Mitrione (5-1) vs Rob Broughton (15-7-1)

Philip De Fries (8-1) vs Oli Thompson (9-3)

Manny "The Pitbull" Gamburyan (11-7) vs Michihiro Omigawa (13-11-1)

Joe Lauzon (21-7) vs Jamie Varner (20-6-1)

Mike Swick (14-4) vs Damarques Johnson (15-10)

Josh "The Fluke" Grispi (14-3) vs Rani Yahya (16-4)

Cole Miller (18-6) vs Nam Phan (17-10)

UFC 150 from Denver, Colorado- August 11th, 2012

UFC Lightweight Title- Ben "Smooth" Henderson (16-2) vs Frank "The Answer" Edgar (14-2-1)

Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone (18-4-1) vs Melvin "Young Assassin" Guillard (29-10-2)

Jake Shields (27-6-1) vs Ed Herman (20-8)

Yushin Okami (25-7) vs Rousimar Palhares (14-4)

Jared Hamman (13-4) vs Michael "Judo" Kuiper (11-1)

Justin Lawrence (4-0) vs Max Holloway (5-1)

Nik "The Carnie" Lentz (21-5-2) vs Eiji Mitsuoka (18-8-2)

Dennis "The Menace" Bermudez (8-3) vs Tommy Hayden (7-1)

Chris Camozzi (16-5) vs Buddy Roberts (12-2)

Erik "El Goyito" Perez (11-4) vs Ken Stone (11-3)

UFC 151 from Las Vegas, Nevada- September 1st, 2012

UFC Lightheavyweight Title- Jon "Bones" Jones (16-1) vs Dan Henderson (29-8)

Dennis Siver (20-8) vs Eddie "The Phillipino Phenom" Yagin (16-5-1)

Danny "Last Call" Castillo (14-4) vs Michael Johnson (11-6)

Takeya Mizugaki (15-7-2) vs Jeff "Hellbound" Hougland (10-5)

Dennis "Superman" Halman (51-14-2) vs Thiago Tavares (17-4-1)

UFC on FX from Indianapolis, Indiana- September 7th, 2012

Bart "Bartimus" Palaszewski (36-15) vs Diego "The Gun" Nunes (17-3)

UFC 152 from Toronto, Ontario- September 22nd, 2012

UFC Flyweight Title - Joseph Benavidez (16-2) vs Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson (15-2-1)

Rory MacDonald (13-1) vs BJ "The Prodigy" Penn (16-8-2)

Brian Stann (12-4) vs Michael "The Count" Bisping (22-4)

Jim Hettes (10-0) vs Marcus "Brim" Brimage (5-1)

UFC on Fuel from Nottingham, England- September 29th, 2012

Stefan "Skyscrapper" Struve (24-5) vs Stipe Miocic (9-0)

Paul "Sassangle" Sass (13-0) vs Matt Wiman (14-6)

Brad "One Punch" Pickett (21-6) vs Yves "Tiger" Jabouin (18-7)

Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy (24-10) vs Amir Sadollah (6-3)

John Hathaway (16-1) vs John McGuire (18-3)

Che Mills (14-5-1) vs Duane "Bang" Ludwig (21-13)

Fabio Maldanado (18-5) vs Jorgen "The Last Viking" Kruth (5-0)

Andy Ogle (8-1) vs Akira Corrassani (9-3-1)

Robert Peralta (15-3-1) vs Jason "Shotgun" Young (9-5)

Gunnar Neslon (9-0-1) vs Pascal "Panzer" Krauss (10-1)

UFC 153 from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil- October 13th, 2012

UFC Featherweight Title- Jose Aldo (21-1) vs Erik "New Breed" Koch (13-1)

Glover Teveira (18-2) vs Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

UFC 154 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada- November 17th, 2012

UFC Welterweight Title- Georges "Rush" St. Pierre (22-2) vs "The Natural Born Killer" Carlos Condit (28-5)

Johnny Hendricks (13-1) vs Martin "Hitman" Kampmann (19-5)

That’s all for this week everyone but I’ll be back in two weeks with a recap of UFC 149: Faber vs Barao, breakdown of UFC on FOX: Shogun vs Vera and preview of UFC 150: Henderson vs Edgar 2.    Take care everyone!