Archive for May, 2010

Hello, fight fans, and welcome to another round of Total MMA predictions. The event getting the attention his week is UFC 114, a card headlined by the long awaited fight between TUF 10 coaches Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson and Rashad Evans. Other featured bouts see two top Middleweights in Dan Miller and Michael Bisping look to get back to winning ways and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira attempt to get past tough wrestler Jason Brilz.

And for those of you who aren’t going to purchase the PPV, you can check out a couple of prelims fights on Spike, between Welterweights Amir Sadollah and Dong Hyun-Kim and Lightweights Efrain Escudero and Dan Lauzon. We won’t be predicting those here, but still, free MMA is free MMA, right?

Unbroadcast prelims include consensus Top 10 Light Heavyweight Luis Arthur Cane against UFC debutant Cyrille Diabate and a renewed Melvin Guillard taking on another UFC newcomer in Waylon Lowe. Look out for vicious finishes in both, and therefore appearances on the PPV should they be required.

Joining me (JL) for predictions are regular Bryan Belangia (BB) and prediction debutant David Bateman (DB). Tommy Hackett is currently abroad and unable to contribute, but he should make his return for our next round of predictions. As always these predictions are just for fun. On no count can we be held responsible if you lose the pension fund on them.
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Pictured: Michael Bisping will be looking for the knockout against Dan Miller at UFC 114

A middleweight bout between Michael Bisping and Dan Miller will take place at UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans on May 29th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The fight represents an opportunity for both fighters to get back on track after suffering losses in their last UFC outings. Bisping lost a closely fought decision to Wanderlei Silva at UFC 110 and Miller dropped a unanimous decision to Demian Maia at UFC 109. At one point, both Bisping and Miller were both on the verge of top title contention.

It may also prove to be Miller’s last UFC appearance if he loses, following back to back losses against Demian Maia and Chael Sonnen. The Brazilian Jiu-jitsu black belt has amassed an 11-3 MMA and 3-2 UFC record, but is desperately in need of a win. Read the rest of this entry »

Pictured: John Hathaway at the UFC 93 weigh ins

The upcoming UFC 114 has all the recipes to be a great card, starting with an intriguing headliner between bitter rivals Rashad Evans and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson that is sure to provide plenty of fireworks and the first challenger to Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua’s Light Heavyweight title. Michael Bisping and Dan Miller both look to set themselves back towards Middleweight glory coming off tough losses. Antonio Rogerio ‘Minotoro’ Nogueira looks to continue his march towards the Light Heavyweight strap by getting through top prospect Jason Brilz, and two Heavyweight up-and-comers collide in the heavy handed Todd Duffee and Mike Russow. But the bout that intrigues me the most is the face off between Diego Sanchez, as he attempts to rebound from that tough Stoppage loss to BJ Penn in the Lightweight title bout, and top Welterweight prospect John Hathaway’s UFC main card debut.

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Pictured: Overeem and Rogers square off at the weigh ins.

This card had a decent amount of compelling stories on paper and the finished product as a whole lived up to the billing.

There was an interesting story and angle for every televised fight. In the opener you had two hungry light heavyweights looking to move up the rankings. This was followed by what I called a really irrelevant fight, but the fan in me was still interested to see Gracie and how he would perform in only his third pro fight even if it was up against a one dimensional over the hill Kevin Randleman. The rest of the card featured their top middleweight prospect, one of the biggest heavyweight stars against one of the biggest heavyweights, and the return of the champion against an up and coming dangerous challenger.

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Tonight in St Louis, Strikeforce looks to bounce back from last month’s debacle with a solid card of talent — particularly at heavyweight. Two of the top ten face off in the main for the promotion’s crown, with another longtime contender is featured in the co-main. Roger Gracie, now campaigning at light heavy, is among the featured talent on the undercard, against a former UFC heavyweight champion, no less. So, can they do it? Staff writers Jacob Lawton and Bryan Belangia offer their predictions on each feature bout. Jacob sees only one bout going to the judges’ scorecards, and Bryan doesn’t see any of the bouts going past the second round. We’d guess fireworks are in the air…

We do know the show will kick off 10pm EST from the “Show Me” state, and will be televised live on Showtime.

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Pictured: Paul “Semtex” Daley faces an uncertain future after being cut from the UFC

 “It was probably his best punch of the night,” said Josh Koscheck, referring to the uppercut thrown by Paul Daley AFTER their fight at UFC 113.

Daley could have earned a title shot and a chance to coach on the latest series of The Ultimate Fighter with a win, but has now been kicked out of the company, courtesy of UFC president Dana White.

The Brit stunned everyone by sucker-punching opponent Koscheck several seconds after their co-main event, a welterweight fight to determine the number one contender for GSP’s title, as Koscheck’s superior wrestling skills neutralized Daley’s stand up punching power.

It was a moment of madness for Daley – who threw a left uppercut into the face of a celebrating Koscheck – and was promptly grabbed and thrown against the cage by referee Dan Miragliotta.

So is Daley’s behaviour inexcusable?

Dana White certainly thought so, who immediately cut him from the promotion, and Daley now ruins any opportunity he may have had for several more big money sponsorships and finishing bonuses. But does the punishment fit the crime?

Personally, I would like to see a long-time suspension and a significant fine implemented because Daley deserves to be punished. But I’m not sure banishment into the MMA wilderness is the right answer.

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Pictured: Renzo Gracie demonstrates how to begin a guard pass at his seminar in Fife, WA last Saturday.

There are a few figures in the MMA world which require no introduction. Fewer still are all but universally admired.

He’s quick to deflect any such praise, instead casting favor to his family and their art which has changed the martial arts world — but Renzo Gracie, who enjoyed his first visit to the Seattle area last Saturday to conduct a jiu-jitsu seminar, may just stand alone to many of us.

After the seminar, the legend smiles his way through requests from area fans — everything from autographs, to questions about technique, to a request for a chokeout. In a brief Total-MMA interview, Renzo laughs as he’s reminded of some of his vintage MMA battles — including a win over the man who helped put the Seattle area on the MMA map, Maurice Smith. In the 1990’s, Bellevue’s Smith had won titles in UFC and Battlecade, and actually released instructional videos marketed as the solution to the Gracie family’s dominance. They eventually met in 1999 in Japan’s RINGS organization.

“He made those videos, ‘How to Beat Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,’ to tell everybody how it’s done!” Renzo laughs. “And, I armlocked him! (laughs) But I love the guy. He’s a great competitor and we were very fortunate to have him in the game.”

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Pictured: Alistair Overeem, who faces Brett Rogers on Saturday at Strikeforce in St Louis

(Editor’s note: Oliver Saenz is the lead administrator of MMA Figs, the largest website for UFC collectibles and action figures — we’re happy to have him contribute this week. Visit MMAFigs.com for all the latest UFC action figure news, views, previews and reviews. If you’re interested in contributing to Total-MMA, please contact us! — Tommy)

At first glance, the appeal for the upcoming Alistair Overeem vs. Brett Rogers fight for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship is pretty basic: it’s two very large men with four very powerful arms trying to knock each other senseless. But upon closer inspection, this bout has a level of intricacy that few of today’s heavyweight bouts can honestly claim to have.

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Pictured: Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua face off at yesterday’s weigh-ins.

So, will it be a new day in the Machida era? Or is a revitalized Rua the new puzzle in MMA? Tonight’s the night, fight fans, as UFC 113 thunders in from the childhood home of Arturo Gatti (RIP).

This week Tommy Hackett is nursing a flu, and antibiotics have him making less sense than usual (seriously, Tommy picked Jake Shields over Dan Henderson? Oh wait…) – so Bryan Belangia (BB) and Jacob Lawton (JL) are forced to carry the prognostication honors, without our peerless leader. As always, our predictions are for entertainment purposes only, so don’t blame us if you foreclose.

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Pictured: Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida celebrates his 2008 victory over Tito Ortiz. Machida defends his title for the second time against Mauricio Rua tomorrow night.

The clock is ticking on one of the most anticipated UFC rematches in recent memory.  The first fight resulted in a controversial decision- one that most fans thought that Rua had won, and also saw the aura of “unbeatable” that Machida had developed slowly disappear round by round.

For all of Machida’s praises as being elusive and a master strategist, it was actually Rua that that was the elusive one in the first fight and the one who seemed to have finally developed a solid strategy and possibly solved the puzzle that is Machida.  The question that is on most fans’ minds now is whether Rua can be at a minimum equally as effective in the rematch.

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