Bj Penn...insanely gifted mixed martial artist,former welterweight and lightweight champion,and now he's at a crossroads in his career. Last night at UFC 118 we saw BJ picked apart and handled by champion Frankie Edgar in a way we've only seen Georges St Pierre do before. Now Bj had every chance to change his gameplan coming into this second fight with Edgar and he did nothing he let the much quicker Edgar hop in and pepper him with shots before hopping back out of range. Even scarier was how easily Frankie seemed to take Bj down at one point slamming Penn in the first round. Where was Bj's insane balance? where was his top level boxing? The answer is simple he didn't prepare for this fight at all, he came in and once again expected to win on talent and the old adage proved true once again. Hard work beats talent when talent doesnt work hard and if that doesn't describe the two Edgar/Penn fights perfectly i don't know what does. Now Bj can bounce back but he needs to do a few things first.
1.Change Camps
Now Bj has done well out of his training camp in Hilo but sadly it's time to pack it up. Last night this issue was brought to light but Joe Rogan as Frankie and Bj went back to their corners there was a drastic difference in what each corner was saying. Edgars was giving him advice and telling him to mix up his strikes and keep pressuring Penn and wear him out. Penn's corner was telling him to "kick that little cocksuckers ass" and "he doesn't belong in the ring with you"...What kind of advice is that? This is a title fight not some schoolyard brawl for godsake tell him to shoot more and work your ground game. The problem is Penn is surrounded by people who tell him what he wants to hear not what he needs to hear. I guess thats what you get when your brother is your head cornerman. But this can all be fixed by switching to another camp and truly testing your skills during training. There have been rumors that the famous Blackhouse Gym would like to add Penn to their roster. Thats a scary thought having Penn training with both Nog brothers,Anderson Silva,Lyoto Machida and Jose Aldo. Theres no easy training sessions there and they could easily add on to what Penn already has good boxing and great jiu jitsu. The other option would be AKA with the amount of top flight wrestlers and kickboxers there Penn could add several more tools to his game and overcome what has been a weak point for him in the past. Training with human blanket Jon Fitch and number one contender Josh Koscheck would greatly improve Penn's wrestling and open up more chances for him to use his jiu jitsu. Either way if Penn wants his belt back he's gonna have to leave Hilo to train elsewhere for it.
2.Rededicate and Focus
Earth to Bj you aren't unbeatable stop thinking you are,in his post fight interviews Penn was holding on to the thought of Edgar didn't beat me the first time. Guess what? he did get over and stop treating your opponents so lightly. Everytime he loses a close fight or something he always gets beaten worse in the rematch just look at his two fights with St Pierre. He needs to realize theres alot more to winning then just talent and he showed flashes of this with his wins over Florian and Sanchez. But in his last two fights with Edgar his heart doesn't look like its been in the fights. Theres a point last night in which we all just saw Penn quit and pack it up. After Edgar scrambled out of Bj's back mount Penn looked discouraged and disheartened. He's gotta realize his ground game is way better than Edgar's and focus on getting it back to the mat quickly.
3.Take some time off and soulsearch
After a fight like that Bj needs to take some time off from fighting and training and prioritze what he wants. Does he want his belt back? or does he want to move back up to welterweight? He just needs to lock in on what he truly wants out of his career because when his mind is split between multiple issues his performance suffers.
Not to take anything away from Penn's career but he talks about his legacy alot and after last night there isn't much to his legacy besides complaining and excuses. People will point out his title reigns,interesting fact Penn is 5-5 in title defenses,.500 isnt a very good title defense average. Lets just see what Bj will do following this fight. Will he grow and admit he needs major changes or will he sit back and whine about how Frankie did this and his corner helped him. The minute Penn starts making excuses or shifting the blame from himself is the minute I know he'll never get that belt back.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
UFC 118 Main Card Breakdown and Predictions
UFC 118 promises to deliver a night of fights fans won't soon forget. We have a lightweight championship rematch,the long awaited boxing vs mma fight,a submission expert,a number one contenders fight and a brash cocky young fighter against a much older and experienced fighter. Needless to say its going to be an interesting night in Boston this saturday and without further ado i'll give my fight predictions.
Main Event Bj Penn vs Frankie Edgar for the Lightweight Championship
Oh man it seems like nowadays if you bitch and moan about a fight you can be granted an instant rematch. That's about all Bj Penn had to do to gain his rematch with Frankie Edgar,that's right he didn't have to go through another fight or anything he just cried about losing a fight he was expected to dominate and win. But enough about that at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi Frankie Edgar shocked alot of people with his Unanimous Descision victory over long time lightweight king Bj Penn. Edgar used his quickness to circle around Penn and pelt him with quick combos and then hop back out of range much like Lyoto Machida does. Many people felt the fight could have gone either way but it was two takedowns on Penn that may have secured the fight for Edgar. This time around the fight isn't going to be any easier for Edgar as Penn usually rebounds strongly after a loss. After his loss to Georges St Pierre at UFC 94, Penn went on to choke out Kenny Florian and then beat down Diego Sanchez for 5 rounds before the doctors halted the fight. Now in this fight Edgar has to work his same game plan and push the pace and Bj's suspect cardio to the limit. If Edgar can do that he'll retain his belt that however is easier said than done. I see Penn coming out in the first round hard and aggressive much like he did against Sanchez and if Edgar isnt prepared he'll be eating Bj's fist for 2-3 rounds before this fight ends. I see Bj taking this fight somewhere in the third round the minute he smells blood its good night for anyone he faces
Winner: Bj Penn via Rear Naked Choke Round 3
Co-Main Event Randy Couture Vs James Toney
Oh man there's alot to be said about this long awaited MMA vs Boxing fight here. But thats a topic for another day but to keep it short this fight will show why boxing is slowly but surely dying out and why MMA is the future of combat sports. James Toney was once the top of the heap in boxing with big power and technique to compliment it as well however over the past few years he's fallen by the wayside within his own sport and has been surpassed by the young guns so to speak. Randy Couture was once also at the top of the food chain(in two division no less)but unlike Toney he's still plugging away and beating up his opponents in the same way he did ten years ago. And this fight will be no different Couture is gonna push Toney up against the fence work some dirty boxing before dropping the boxer flat on his ass. From there Toney will make his fatal error he'll give Couture his back and a vet like Randy will make sure to use this chance to choke out Toney early in the first round. And yes i know Toney has great boxing but it's hard to box when you're being pushed into the cage and kneed repeatedly. Long story short Couture is going to make Toney look silly and hopefully we'll get to see him spank Toney much like he did Tito Ortiz in that fight.
Winner: Randy Couture Via Rear Naked Choke Round 1
Lightweight Matchup:Kenny Florian vs Gray Maynard
This fight kind of amounts to the winner possibly be the next title contender. Florian is just as dangerous as he's always been with razor sharp elbows, crisp boxing, and a very good ground game as well. Maynard brings a very tough grinding wrestling game plan with him and a very elementary stand up as evidenced by his fight with Nate Diaz. However Maynard is one tough SOB and isn't gonna go away quietly in this fight and Florian needs to be prepared for that. In Florians last fight he choked out former Pride star Taknori Gomi and before that he choked out fan favorite Clay Guida. Maynard is coming off a win against Nate Diaz and is still undefeated in the UFC. However i don't think Maynard will be able to take this due to the fact his stand up is far behind Florians and even if he takes Florian down he's gotta be careful about being submitted as well. I think Florian will win the fight but he won't finish a very tough Maynard.
Winner Kenny Florian via Unanimous Descision
Welterweight Matchup: Nate Diaz vs Marcus Davis
Nate Diaz's move up to welterweight has been going well so far with an impressive TKO victory over Rory Markham at UFC 111 however this Saturday he faces tough grizzled vetran Marcus Davis. Davis is coming off a KO win over Jonathan Goulet at UFC 113 and always comes prepared for a slugfest. I think Diaz will have a hard time winning this fight as Davis has too much fight experience for the younger fighter. Not to mention Diaz has a slightly suspect chin and Davis has the ability and power to expose that in their fight. Diaz does posses very good boxing but he lacks a real one punch KO ability whereas Davis is known for it. This fight will show people why Davis is nicknamed the "Irish Hand Grenade" and it will possibly send Diaz back down to lightweight.
Winner: Marcus Davis Via Knockout Round 2
Middleweight Matchup: Demain Maia vs Mario Miranda
This is basically a filler fight for Maia as his proposed fight with Alan Belcher was cancelled due to Belcher sustaining a very serious injury. Miranda is coming off a TKO/KO win over former contender David Loiseau at UFC 115. And Maia is coming off the debacle that was his decision loss to middleweight champion Anderson Silva. However i feel that Miranda offers nothing to Maia and the minute this fight hits the ground it's all over for Miranda as Maia is one of the best jiu jitsu fighters in the sport of MMA today. Miranda is still a developing prospect though and took this fight to help fill a spot on this card left open be Alessio Sakara withdrawing from his fight due to personal reasons. However this fight won't last too long and Maia will be adding another submission win to his record.
Winner: Demain Maia Via Triangle Choke Round 1
That wraps up my main card preview and thoughts for UFC 118 this saturday following the fights i'll have a post ppv analysis like usual. Thanks for reading and tell people to check out my blog in the future thanks.
Main Event Bj Penn vs Frankie Edgar for the Lightweight Championship
Oh man it seems like nowadays if you bitch and moan about a fight you can be granted an instant rematch. That's about all Bj Penn had to do to gain his rematch with Frankie Edgar,that's right he didn't have to go through another fight or anything he just cried about losing a fight he was expected to dominate and win. But enough about that at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi Frankie Edgar shocked alot of people with his Unanimous Descision victory over long time lightweight king Bj Penn. Edgar used his quickness to circle around Penn and pelt him with quick combos and then hop back out of range much like Lyoto Machida does. Many people felt the fight could have gone either way but it was two takedowns on Penn that may have secured the fight for Edgar. This time around the fight isn't going to be any easier for Edgar as Penn usually rebounds strongly after a loss. After his loss to Georges St Pierre at UFC 94, Penn went on to choke out Kenny Florian and then beat down Diego Sanchez for 5 rounds before the doctors halted the fight. Now in this fight Edgar has to work his same game plan and push the pace and Bj's suspect cardio to the limit. If Edgar can do that he'll retain his belt that however is easier said than done. I see Penn coming out in the first round hard and aggressive much like he did against Sanchez and if Edgar isnt prepared he'll be eating Bj's fist for 2-3 rounds before this fight ends. I see Bj taking this fight somewhere in the third round the minute he smells blood its good night for anyone he faces
Winner: Bj Penn via Rear Naked Choke Round 3
Co-Main Event Randy Couture Vs James Toney
Oh man there's alot to be said about this long awaited MMA vs Boxing fight here. But thats a topic for another day but to keep it short this fight will show why boxing is slowly but surely dying out and why MMA is the future of combat sports. James Toney was once the top of the heap in boxing with big power and technique to compliment it as well however over the past few years he's fallen by the wayside within his own sport and has been surpassed by the young guns so to speak. Randy Couture was once also at the top of the food chain(in two division no less)but unlike Toney he's still plugging away and beating up his opponents in the same way he did ten years ago. And this fight will be no different Couture is gonna push Toney up against the fence work some dirty boxing before dropping the boxer flat on his ass. From there Toney will make his fatal error he'll give Couture his back and a vet like Randy will make sure to use this chance to choke out Toney early in the first round. And yes i know Toney has great boxing but it's hard to box when you're being pushed into the cage and kneed repeatedly. Long story short Couture is going to make Toney look silly and hopefully we'll get to see him spank Toney much like he did Tito Ortiz in that fight.
Winner: Randy Couture Via Rear Naked Choke Round 1
Lightweight Matchup:Kenny Florian vs Gray Maynard
This fight kind of amounts to the winner possibly be the next title contender. Florian is just as dangerous as he's always been with razor sharp elbows, crisp boxing, and a very good ground game as well. Maynard brings a very tough grinding wrestling game plan with him and a very elementary stand up as evidenced by his fight with Nate Diaz. However Maynard is one tough SOB and isn't gonna go away quietly in this fight and Florian needs to be prepared for that. In Florians last fight he choked out former Pride star Taknori Gomi and before that he choked out fan favorite Clay Guida. Maynard is coming off a win against Nate Diaz and is still undefeated in the UFC. However i don't think Maynard will be able to take this due to the fact his stand up is far behind Florians and even if he takes Florian down he's gotta be careful about being submitted as well. I think Florian will win the fight but he won't finish a very tough Maynard.
Winner Kenny Florian via Unanimous Descision
Welterweight Matchup: Nate Diaz vs Marcus Davis
Nate Diaz's move up to welterweight has been going well so far with an impressive TKO victory over Rory Markham at UFC 111 however this Saturday he faces tough grizzled vetran Marcus Davis. Davis is coming off a KO win over Jonathan Goulet at UFC 113 and always comes prepared for a slugfest. I think Diaz will have a hard time winning this fight as Davis has too much fight experience for the younger fighter. Not to mention Diaz has a slightly suspect chin and Davis has the ability and power to expose that in their fight. Diaz does posses very good boxing but he lacks a real one punch KO ability whereas Davis is known for it. This fight will show people why Davis is nicknamed the "Irish Hand Grenade" and it will possibly send Diaz back down to lightweight.
Winner: Marcus Davis Via Knockout Round 2
Middleweight Matchup: Demain Maia vs Mario Miranda
This is basically a filler fight for Maia as his proposed fight with Alan Belcher was cancelled due to Belcher sustaining a very serious injury. Miranda is coming off a TKO/KO win over former contender David Loiseau at UFC 115. And Maia is coming off the debacle that was his decision loss to middleweight champion Anderson Silva. However i feel that Miranda offers nothing to Maia and the minute this fight hits the ground it's all over for Miranda as Maia is one of the best jiu jitsu fighters in the sport of MMA today. Miranda is still a developing prospect though and took this fight to help fill a spot on this card left open be Alessio Sakara withdrawing from his fight due to personal reasons. However this fight won't last too long and Maia will be adding another submission win to his record.
Winner: Demain Maia Via Triangle Choke Round 1
That wraps up my main card preview and thoughts for UFC 118 this saturday following the fights i'll have a post ppv analysis like usual. Thanks for reading and tell people to check out my blog in the future thanks.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
UFC 117 post event analysis
Wow...thats all i can say after watching the event last night. The main card had everything fight fans could want from brutal stand up exchanges to last minute submission victories. Theres quite a bit to go over here so hold on.(this only covers fights seen on the actual pay per view)
Stefan Struve>Christian Morecraft via 2nd round tko
Damn thats all i can say Struve got his ass kicked for basically the opening five minutes got his lip busted up good. Then just 22 seconds into the second frame he drops Morecraft like a bad habit. It goes to show how resilent Struve truly is and how all it takes is a few well timed blows to end a fight. Now Morecraft looked damn good through the opening frame but he had little head movement and gave Struve a very easy target to swing at. I hope to see Morecraft back for at least one more fight as he was very entertaining last night.
As for Struve this was a very nice rebound after being ko'd against Roy Nelson. Next up for him may be Todd Duffee? Both are still looking to establish themselves in the UFC and a win for either can help boost their status.
Clay Guida>Rafael Dos Anjos via 3rd round submission/injury
Guida knows how to bring it and well so does Dos Anjos but an apparent broken jaw is what cost him this fight not a lack of skill or under preperation. Guida looked decent in the stand up through out the first and that appears to be the round he broke Dos Anjos jaw. However Dos Anjos matched Guida in each exchange they had. He even took the round with a late takedown. However round two we saw the Guida we all know takedowns and ground and pound(take note jon fitch) that kept Dos Anjos from ever getting comfortable on the bottom. The thrid round was much of the same from Guida until he took down Dos Anjos and used his elbow to press on his jaw forcing Dos Anjos to tap. This win puts Guida back up there in the upper tier of the divison and leaves Dos Anjos dropping back down into the mix of gatekeepers and up and comers.
Next Fights: Dos Anjos-Rematch with Tyson Griffin
Guida-Takanori Gomi
Junior Dos Santos>Roy Nelson via Unanimous Descsion
Wow Roy Nelson has gained alot of new fans after this fight. He got hit with shots that would have knocked down a brick wall and kept swinging back. Now Dos Santos dominated this fight from the minute he landed a viscous upper cut early in the first round. From that point on Nelson looked to be on queer street for the remainder of the fight. But to his credit despite being exhausted and half concious Nelson fought on shooting for takedowns and swinging that big right hand. This fight and victory finally gave Dos Santos the title shot many felt he deserved a few fights ago. Roy Nelsons road doesnt get any easier either as he has apparently been matched up to fight Shane Carwin next. Long and short of it Dos Santos is Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez mixed into one very very scary fighter. And Roy Nelson has shown everyone that fat guys can fight and compete in a sport dominated by guys who are totally shredded
Next Fights-Dos Santos-winner of Lesnar/Velasquez
Nelson-Carwin
Matt Hughes>Ricardo Almeida via 1st round submission
Matt Hughes...what can i say he deserved that win. The shot he hit Almeida with was perfect and the submission was pure strength. All the more power to him after the victory as for Almeida he has nothing to hang his head about he lost to an absolute legend of this sport. Almeida needs to get this loss behind him and focus on training his stand up just a bit more for his next fight. Hughes can take his time off to hunt and all that but when he comes back he will not have an easy time as there will be plenty of top welterweights waiting to knock off a legend of this sport. But for now Hughes has taken over the title of Gracie(and Gracie student) killer from Kazushi Sakuraba. Now for the future i don't know if Hughes will compete for the title again he's set himself up to be only one or two wins away but should he ever get there i can't realistically see him beating St Pierre/Koscheck.
Next Fights-Hughes-Alves/Diaz/loser of Hardy/Condit
Almeida-Swick
Jon Fitch>Thiago Alves via Dry hump...i mean unanimous descsion
Honestly you could have predicted this happening the minute you heard Alves missed weight but its a simple breakdown.Alves wasn't prepared for Fitch's wrestling and basically got laid on for fifteen minutes. Now why Alves missed weight is beyond me he refused to cut half a pound and as a former wrestler i can say cutting a half pound is literally as simple as taking a leak, and running for a half hour. Now Dana said himself he's considering making Alves fight at middleweight so this doesn't happen again. Only time will tell if this actually comes to fruition. Now on to new number one contender Jon Fitch...what can i say he got the job done albeit in a boring fashion yet again. Now the post fight press conference was very entertaining as Fitch basically dodged all questions relating to him fighting training partner Josh Koscheck should Koscheck take GSP's title. He himself said he would move up to middleweight and avoid the fight all together. However i don't think he'll have to worry as GSP isn't going to lose his title any time soon.
Next Fights-Fitch:Winner of GSP/Koscheck...or a move up to middleweight
Alves: Move up to middleweight possibly
Anderson Silva>Chael Sonnen via 5th round triangle choke
Theres alot to cover here so hopefully i'll get it all in this post haha. This fight had the most shit talk out of one person ever, Chael Sonnen talked so much that most people believed he wouldn't be able to back it all up. He backed all of it up...for 23 minutes then Silva pulled a rabbit(or triangle choke)out of his magic hat and retained his title. Now thats not to say that Sonnen fought badly hell he dropped Silva in the first round and took him down and held him down for four straight frames and most of the fifth frame too. Sadly enough though midnight struck and Sonnens carriage turned back into a pumpkin and he tapped to a textbook triangle choke. Now Sonnen exposed what many already knew, Silva has trouble fighting wrestlers and had Sonnen had any kind of submission awareness he could have just stayed chest on chest and laid on top of Silva in a way that would make Jon Fitch jealous and gotten the victory. I'm not taking anything away from Silva and his victory but several things just bugged me in this fight. 1. Anderson has a black belt in jiu jitsu...what kind of black belt lets go of a locked in kimura? And throughout the fight he could have triangled Sonnen numerous times but didn't even seem to bother. 2. Where was his stand up game? The best p4p striker on the planet came out with his hands down and threw nothing but flying kicks at a man he could have destroyed on his feet. Now i know Sonnen is a damn good wrestler but over the course of this fight Silva didn't even seem to defend a takedown. Now after the fight is what really pissed me off as asshole extradonaire Ed Soares comes out and claims that Silva had hurt his ribs a week before the fight and was urged not to compete. I call total and complete shenanigans on this Soares you are already one shady man and this kinda crap makes people dislike you and your fighters even more. To sum it up Soares wanted and excuse that would clear Silvas name from the ass kicking he received from a guy im sure Soares didn't even see as a threat.
Next Fights- Silva: Belfort/Leben winner or Sonnen rematch
Sonnen: Rematch with Silva or Belcher upon his return from injury
All in all this was a very good night of fights nothing truly bad to say about it except that Jon Fitch needs to learn how to finish a fight. Stay posted for UFC 118 maincard breakdown coming up in about a week and a half. Thanks for reading any feedback is great
Stefan Struve>Christian Morecraft via 2nd round tko
Damn thats all i can say Struve got his ass kicked for basically the opening five minutes got his lip busted up good. Then just 22 seconds into the second frame he drops Morecraft like a bad habit. It goes to show how resilent Struve truly is and how all it takes is a few well timed blows to end a fight. Now Morecraft looked damn good through the opening frame but he had little head movement and gave Struve a very easy target to swing at. I hope to see Morecraft back for at least one more fight as he was very entertaining last night.
As for Struve this was a very nice rebound after being ko'd against Roy Nelson. Next up for him may be Todd Duffee? Both are still looking to establish themselves in the UFC and a win for either can help boost their status.
Clay Guida>Rafael Dos Anjos via 3rd round submission/injury
Guida knows how to bring it and well so does Dos Anjos but an apparent broken jaw is what cost him this fight not a lack of skill or under preperation. Guida looked decent in the stand up through out the first and that appears to be the round he broke Dos Anjos jaw. However Dos Anjos matched Guida in each exchange they had. He even took the round with a late takedown. However round two we saw the Guida we all know takedowns and ground and pound(take note jon fitch) that kept Dos Anjos from ever getting comfortable on the bottom. The thrid round was much of the same from Guida until he took down Dos Anjos and used his elbow to press on his jaw forcing Dos Anjos to tap. This win puts Guida back up there in the upper tier of the divison and leaves Dos Anjos dropping back down into the mix of gatekeepers and up and comers.
Next Fights: Dos Anjos-Rematch with Tyson Griffin
Guida-Takanori Gomi
Junior Dos Santos>Roy Nelson via Unanimous Descsion
Wow Roy Nelson has gained alot of new fans after this fight. He got hit with shots that would have knocked down a brick wall and kept swinging back. Now Dos Santos dominated this fight from the minute he landed a viscous upper cut early in the first round. From that point on Nelson looked to be on queer street for the remainder of the fight. But to his credit despite being exhausted and half concious Nelson fought on shooting for takedowns and swinging that big right hand. This fight and victory finally gave Dos Santos the title shot many felt he deserved a few fights ago. Roy Nelsons road doesnt get any easier either as he has apparently been matched up to fight Shane Carwin next. Long and short of it Dos Santos is Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez mixed into one very very scary fighter. And Roy Nelson has shown everyone that fat guys can fight and compete in a sport dominated by guys who are totally shredded
Next Fights-Dos Santos-winner of Lesnar/Velasquez
Nelson-Carwin
Matt Hughes>Ricardo Almeida via 1st round submission
Matt Hughes...what can i say he deserved that win. The shot he hit Almeida with was perfect and the submission was pure strength. All the more power to him after the victory as for Almeida he has nothing to hang his head about he lost to an absolute legend of this sport. Almeida needs to get this loss behind him and focus on training his stand up just a bit more for his next fight. Hughes can take his time off to hunt and all that but when he comes back he will not have an easy time as there will be plenty of top welterweights waiting to knock off a legend of this sport. But for now Hughes has taken over the title of Gracie(and Gracie student) killer from Kazushi Sakuraba. Now for the future i don't know if Hughes will compete for the title again he's set himself up to be only one or two wins away but should he ever get there i can't realistically see him beating St Pierre/Koscheck.
Next Fights-Hughes-Alves/Diaz/loser of Hardy/Condit
Almeida-Swick
Jon Fitch>Thiago Alves via Dry hump...i mean unanimous descsion
Honestly you could have predicted this happening the minute you heard Alves missed weight but its a simple breakdown.Alves wasn't prepared for Fitch's wrestling and basically got laid on for fifteen minutes. Now why Alves missed weight is beyond me he refused to cut half a pound and as a former wrestler i can say cutting a half pound is literally as simple as taking a leak, and running for a half hour. Now Dana said himself he's considering making Alves fight at middleweight so this doesn't happen again. Only time will tell if this actually comes to fruition. Now on to new number one contender Jon Fitch...what can i say he got the job done albeit in a boring fashion yet again. Now the post fight press conference was very entertaining as Fitch basically dodged all questions relating to him fighting training partner Josh Koscheck should Koscheck take GSP's title. He himself said he would move up to middleweight and avoid the fight all together. However i don't think he'll have to worry as GSP isn't going to lose his title any time soon.
Next Fights-Fitch:Winner of GSP/Koscheck...or a move up to middleweight
Alves: Move up to middleweight possibly
Anderson Silva>Chael Sonnen via 5th round triangle choke
Theres alot to cover here so hopefully i'll get it all in this post haha. This fight had the most shit talk out of one person ever, Chael Sonnen talked so much that most people believed he wouldn't be able to back it all up. He backed all of it up...for 23 minutes then Silva pulled a rabbit(or triangle choke)out of his magic hat and retained his title. Now thats not to say that Sonnen fought badly hell he dropped Silva in the first round and took him down and held him down for four straight frames and most of the fifth frame too. Sadly enough though midnight struck and Sonnens carriage turned back into a pumpkin and he tapped to a textbook triangle choke. Now Sonnen exposed what many already knew, Silva has trouble fighting wrestlers and had Sonnen had any kind of submission awareness he could have just stayed chest on chest and laid on top of Silva in a way that would make Jon Fitch jealous and gotten the victory. I'm not taking anything away from Silva and his victory but several things just bugged me in this fight. 1. Anderson has a black belt in jiu jitsu...what kind of black belt lets go of a locked in kimura? And throughout the fight he could have triangled Sonnen numerous times but didn't even seem to bother. 2. Where was his stand up game? The best p4p striker on the planet came out with his hands down and threw nothing but flying kicks at a man he could have destroyed on his feet. Now i know Sonnen is a damn good wrestler but over the course of this fight Silva didn't even seem to defend a takedown. Now after the fight is what really pissed me off as asshole extradonaire Ed Soares comes out and claims that Silva had hurt his ribs a week before the fight and was urged not to compete. I call total and complete shenanigans on this Soares you are already one shady man and this kinda crap makes people dislike you and your fighters even more. To sum it up Soares wanted and excuse that would clear Silvas name from the ass kicking he received from a guy im sure Soares didn't even see as a threat.
Next Fights- Silva: Belfort/Leben winner or Sonnen rematch
Sonnen: Rematch with Silva or Belcher upon his return from injury
All in all this was a very good night of fights nothing truly bad to say about it except that Jon Fitch needs to learn how to finish a fight. Stay posted for UFC 118 maincard breakdown coming up in about a week and a half. Thanks for reading any feedback is great
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