THE WEEK THAT WAS
Fighters of the Week:
1. Kenny Florian (UFC) - Straight-up outclassed Takanori Gomi for three rounds, outboxing The Fireball Kid before taking him down and making his submit.
2. Roy Nelson (UFC) - Big Country TKO'd Stefan Struve in the first round decisively to establish himself as a player in the UFC Heavyweight division.
3. Jorge Rivera (UFC) - To my surprise, dominated Nate Quarry with multiple knockdowns before TKOing him.
4. Gleison Tibau (UFC) - Dominated a legend in Caol Uno by beating him into a pulp for a TKO win.
5. Yushin Okami (UFC) - Threw some of the sharpest jabs I've ever seen and forced a doctor stoppage against Lucio Linhares. A stoppage for Okami! Huzzah!
6. Ross Pearson (UFC) - In a great fight, 30-27'd Dennis Siver across the board to cement his status as a rising star in the Lightweight division, and another intriguing prospect from England.
7. Marcio Cruz (Art of Fighting) - Retained the AOF Heavyweight Championship over David Yost in the first round of the main event of Art of Fighting 7. I said it before this fight, but I'd like to see Cruz get a another shot in a big or semi-big company.
8. Tim Boetsch (NAFC) - KO'd Reese Shaner in the main event after 95 seconds for NAFC.
9. Artemij Sitenkov (Bushido Challenge) - It took only 34 seconds and a flying armbar for fast-riser Sitenkov to take out James Doolan and stake his claim in the Top-25 Bantamweights.
10. Zach Makovsky (M-1) - Took out Josh Rave with a guillotine in the main event of M-1: The Americas.
Quote of the Week:
"Give him anyone that can wrestle. They'll take him down and smash him. Have him fight someone like Cain. That'd be hysterical." - Chuck Liddell on James Toney.
Upset of the Week:
Jorge Rivera def. Nate Quarry
Event of the Week:
UFC Fight Night 21
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April 6-April 13
THE WEEK THAT WILL BE
[:: Bellator 13 ::]
April 8
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Hollywood, Florida
7:30
TV: FSN
Notable Fights:
Lightweight Quarterfinal: Chad Hinton (LW #186) vs. Roger Huerta (LW #36)
Featherweight Quarterfinal: Eric Marriott (FW #26) vs. Joe Warren (FW #36)
Featherweight Quarterfinal: Bao Quach (FW #51) vs. Georgi Karakhanyan (FW #52)
Lightweight Quarterfinal: Carey Vanier vs. Janne Tulirinta (WW #94)
[:: Showdown Fights: Bragging Rights ::]
April 9
McKay Event Center
Orem, Utah
Notable Fights:
Jake Paul (WW #128) vs. Josh Burkman (MW #66)
Brandon Melendez (MW #196) vs. JT Taylor
[:: UFC 112: Invincible ::]
April 10
Concert Arena, Ferrari World
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emerits
PPV
Notable Fights:
UFC Middleweight Championship: Anderson Silva (c) (MW #1) vs. Demian Maia (MW #8)
UFC Lightweight Championship: BJ Penn (c) (LW #1) vs. Frankie Edgar (LW #7)
Matt Hughes (WW #10) vs. Renzo Gracie
Rafael dos Anjos (LW #88) vs. Terry Etim (LW #31)
[:: M-1 Selection: Eastern Europe ::]
April 10
Moscow, Russia
Streaming: Sherdog.com
Notable Fights:
Arsen Adbulkerimov vs. Denis Komkin (HW #106)
Alexander Volkov (HW #56) vs. Vitaly Yalovenko
Alexander Romaschenko vs. Magomed Ibragimov (HW #140)
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Fighters I'm Rooting For This Week:
1. Matt Hughes (I hate the Gracies. Really hate. I don't want to hear this garbage about "without the Gracies, there's no American MMA!". No, no, no. The UFC was dead to rights before Dana and the Fertittas saved them and put TUF on TV. They're sore losers and worse winners, not to mention the air of superiority they offer. Royce's dickishness in refusing to release sub holds still pisses me off. I'm not even a big Hughes guy, but any win against the Gracies is a fantastic one.)
2. Anderson Silva/BJ Penn (I put them both here weirdly, because I don't care if they lose. I'll be happy either way. But I want them to win so the following happens: Sonnen finally gets his shot at Silva and tears him up in the lead-in, and KenFlo gets his rematch with BJ. If either of them lose, I won't be sad, but I want them to lose on my terms, dammit!)
3. Joe Warren (I like Warren, I loved that he put the MMA world on notice with his win over Kid Yamamoto, and hopefully this furthers his career. Jingoistic as it is, anything that humbles the Japanese off their high-MMA horse is cool with me.)
4. Mark Munoz (I really don't like Kendall Grove and don't like that he's on the main card. I like Munoz and hope he carries forth his "feeling like a beast at 185, it's almost like cheating" on Grove.
5. Terry Etim (Dude is just fun to watch and we could use some fresh competition at 155.)
Best Cards:
1. UFC 112
2. Bellator 13
3. M-1 Selection: Eastern Europe
4. Showdown Fights: Bragging Rights
Fights I'm Looking Forward To:
1. Anderson Silva vs. Demian Maia (Dear Maia: We know you're BJJ is excellent. Please don't follow Thales Leities's gameplan against Anderson, kthxbai.)
2. BJ Penn vs. Frankie Edgar (I don't like BJ. At all. Like I said above, I'm pulling for him only so Kenny can get his revenge. So I won't be upset if Frankie beats him somehow, just how I won't be upset if Maia beats Silva, though I want Sonnen to take him down.)
3. Matt Hughes vs. Renzo Gracie (Can the country boy take out another Gracie? Granted, Renzo seems alot cooler than the others, but he's still a Gracie, he's still related to Royce, and I still want him embarassed. Plus, while I'm not a huge fan, it's still cool to see Hughes make his appearences.)
4. Chad Hinton vs. Roger Huerta (BELLATOR BABY! I love Bellator and what a hell of a way to kick off Season 2. Huerta against undefeated Hinton in the main event. Can't wait.)
5. Eric Marriot vs. Joe Warren (Been on board with Warren since his win over Kid Yamamoto. They threw him to the wolves right away in his MMA career and the man has responded. He's my favorite to win the Featherweight Tourney.)
In Closing:
The Spring of MMA keeps on truckin. You have two title fights, three UFC legends, and the spectacle of seeing UFC outdoors in Abu Dhabi, the season debut of Bellator (!) on national TV (!!), and a free M-1 card on Sherdog. Should be a very, very fun week. The weather in Abu Dhabi should be a very, very interesting dynamic. Watching some fights in the rain would be awesome as hell, but title fights? Ehhh...I guess we'll just have to see! Enjoy!