Defense | The 3rd String Safety

MMA

UFC: Vera Vs. Jones Main Card Predicitions

By Jason Comack

March 20, 2010, at 5:31 pm

Leave your comment

Jon Jones (9-1; #9 Light Heavyweight) vs. Brandon Vera (11-4)

The Fighters: Jon Jones has been regarded as the future of the 205 pound division…and the future might be now. Already ranked in the top 10 Jones has been developed slowly by the UFC and has improved in leaps and bounds from fight to fight. Jones striking is both creative and explosive. He likes to use kicks and elbows both of the spinning variety. His spinning back elbow almost took Stephen Bonnar’s head off. The way Jones uses his Greg-Roman wrestling is almost comical. He took Matt Hammil, a decorated wrestler, and totally rag dolled him. He can suplex you, out-strike you and reminds people of a young George St. Pierre. It’s no coincidence that Jones trains with Phil Nurse, Zahabi, Jackson and the rest of Team GSP.

Five years ago Brandon Vera was once the cock young kid on the block. Now, 32, the Vera that once declared he would win both the heavyweight and light heavyweight title’s is long gone. Vera has a world of potential that he has never reached. He has sharp Thai Kickboxing with excellent leg kicks as well as excellent take down defense. But Vera’s problem seems to be more mental. He bills himself as a counter puncher but there’s a difference between counter punching and fight passively. Fighting passively is the exact reason Vera lost to Randy Couture.

Breakdown: Questions still abound about Jones. Does he have a chin? How will he react to getting rocked? Does he have any skills off his back? What happens when he has to stand in the pocket and trade? If Vera wants to win he needs to test these aspects of Jones game. The aggressive free swinging Vera hasn’t shown up in a long time and if continues to fight passively he will find himself on the wrong end of a decision.

Prediction: Jon Jones Via Unanimous Decision.

Junior Dos Santos (10-1; #6 Heavyweight) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (11-4)

The Fighters: Junior Dos Santos would be the fastest rising heavyweight prospect in the world if Cain Velasquez didn’t exist. Apologizes to Paul Buentello, because I am going to take a lot of shots at him, but it’s amazing that Dos Santo is only ranked 6th in the world. The days of Tim Slyvia and other slow, lumbering heavyweights are now firmly in the rear view mirror.

Dos Santos is now 4-0 in the UFC and has displayed proficient aggressive striking and often makes great use of his uppercut. Dos Santos trains with Team Blackhouse and the Nougeria brothers. While he is billed as having a very good ground game we have yet to see him use it in the UFC. The fact that he’s hasn’t had to prove he has ground skills isn’t a knock on Dos Santos but at the moment it’s what is keeping him back from being considered 1A with Cain Velasquez.

Gonzaga isn’t as tall as some of the other monster heavyweights in the division but he is incredibly thick and carries his 260 pounds very well. Gonzaga is a world class grappler but has developed into a striker with knock out power. Of course any man that weighs 260+ is going to have KO power but one look at either the Kevin Jordan or Mirko Cro-cop fights will show you the destruction he can cause.

Breakdown : You would think Gonzaga would do everything in his power to get this fight to the floor. I’m just not sure that’s what Gabriel Gonzaga thinks. Gonzaga’s boxing is solid but you need to look no father then the Shane Carwin fight to show that it still has it’s flaws. If Gonzaga intends on getting into a boxing match against Dos Santos he will quickly find himself out of his element.

What no one is talking about is that Gonzaga will surely weigh in 20+ pounds heavier then Dos Santos. Gonzaga will surely be the heaviest fighter to date Dos Santos has fought. What Gonzaga needs to do to win is take every inch of his 260 pound frame and use it to push Dos Santos into the cage. Cutting off the cage will hamper Dos Santos mobility. Though Dos Santos has shown the ability to dirty box, Gonzaga can time a shot off of it and drag him to the ground.

For Dos Santos if the fight does get to the ground the question becomes; how much has his ground game improved. We don’t need to see him sweep or submit Gonzaga. All he needs to do is be proficient enough to force a stand-up. If he can constantly force the fight back to the feet eventually Gonzaga will tire and he will be able to land a knockout blow.

By far this is the toughest fight to pick on the card and the nearly 3-1 odds in favor of Dos Santos surprise me.

Prediction: Dos Santos TKO Round 3.

Cheick Kongo (14-6-1) vs. Paul Buentello (27-11)

The Fighters: Cheick Kongo looks like the most intimidating fighter on the planet. His personality however couldn’t be farther from it. Kongo might be the most technically sound heavyweight striker the UFC has. His Thai Boxing is top notch, but no one has ever questioned Kongo’s striking. Since his UFC debut everyone has been waiting for Kongo to develop a ground game and it has yet to happen. For all his positive attributes, athleticism, striking and cardio, the fact that Kongo never developed take-down defense has put a glass ceiling on his potential.

Paul Buentello is what the NFL would call a “bad body guy.” His body is similar to Roy Nelson. He looks fat and out of shape and while his cardio is questionable his hand speed and footwork will surprise you. While Buntello does have fast and accurate hands it’s about all he has going for him. He has no semblance of a ground game or any kind of gas tank . When he gasses out he’s going to end up throwing wild haymakers (as his last fight against Stevan Struve showed.)

Breakdown: What happens when two guys with similar skill sets get into the ring together? The UFC certainly hopes a highlight reel KO. The match-up in this fight is eerily similar to the Irvin/Sakara match-up. Two one dimensional strikers but one is technical and the other is more of a brawler. This is the ideal “get right” fight for Kongo. Kongo’s chin is strong and he’s shown he has the gas tank to go the distance. Those two skills alone give him a huge advantage in this fight.

Kongo should have a field day with Buentello. Look for him to pepper Buentello with leg kicks all fight and remind us all how much the heavyweight division has come since UFC 55, as well as saving us from another awkward Paul Buentello post fight speech. Don’t fear me…fear the…really no one? really? Bueller?

Prediction: Kongo TKO Leg Kicks Round 2

James Irvin (14-5) vs. Alessio Sakara (14-7)

The Fighters: This fight was moved to the main card when Anthony Rumble Johnson went down with an injury and had to pull out of his fight against John Howard. While neither Irvin or Sakara have much long term value this fight certainly offers a strong possibility for a highlight reel K.O.

Irvin, 31, is coming off a lay off of almost two years. The last time we saw him in the cage his face was getting turned into a pile of goo courtesy of Anderson Silva. Since then Irvin has battled both knee injuries and an addiction to painkillers. Irvin tested positive for methadone and oxymorphone after the Silva fight and subsequently admitted to taking the drugs, stating that he had begun taking painkillers legally as treatment for injuries, and had then become addicted to them. He also had to pull out of both UFC 98 and UFC 102 due to a meniscus injury. In his return to the Octagon, Irvin a normally large 205 pound fighter, will make his debut at 185 pounds.

Sakara, 28, has had an up and down UFC career (5-4-1). He is currently riding a two fight winning streak including a win over former middleweight title contender Thales Leites.

Breakdown: Sakara is a boxer at heart. His striking is technically sound, as he does have a professional boxing background, but Sakara has the bad habit of getting into wild punching exchanges. What Sakara lacks is a well versed skill set. He never seems to be in top shape as his cardio has failed him one more then one occasion and while his jiu-jitsu is improving (he recently began training at ATT) he’s never going to look to take the fight to the ground.

Irvin’s greatest asset was his explosive striking ability. After dealing with injuries it remains to be seen if he retains that explosive ability. Never the most technical fighter, Irvin does however have the natural gifts to put together a highlight reel’s worth of sudden and violent KO’s (Terry Martin/Houston Alexander.)

There are almost too many red flags to count for Irvin in this fight. A potentially tough weight cut, ring rust, knee injuries and a painkiller addiction. But most importantly Sakara is a terrible match-up for Irvin. Look for Irvin to get outboxed and dropped early by a big flurry of punches.

Prediction: Sakara, KO Round 1.

MMA

UFC 2010: Undisputed: The New Striking Game…

By Anthony De Franco

March 19, 2010, at 3:35 pm

Leave your comment

Yet another good post over over at The UFC Undisputed community site. This one focuses on the revamped striking game that will be in this year’s game, and answers some very important questions that we have all had since last year.

We’ve done a great deal to revamp striking. Last year, many of the reactions that could be generated in the Octagon (like receiving a body kick/punch/ elbow) were tied to pre-scripted animations. This meant that if you were tagged by certain strikes from your opponent, you’d lose control of your fighter for a very brief bit as you recovered your footing or stopped wincing from a body blow.

This time around, we’ve made the stand up much more true to life. Now the reactions generated by dealing and receiving blows and strikes rely greatly on our physics engine. Tech speak translation: the game is faster, more fluid, and more intense, with the player maintaining a greater amount of control over his fighter due to fewer preset animated reactions to fists/shins/elbows meeting someone’s chin/face/obliques. We’ll bring you all a much more detailed post on this topic in the weeks to come, as it has some important standup implications that we want to go in-depth on.

I remember a specific moment in which I realized that as good as 2009 was, it needed work. After watching 3rd String loyal fan and friend Brandon Steinberger and I make a match between Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch look like an elaborate dance, two of my non-MMA fan friends wanted to play. They picked up the controllers, ran to the center of the cage, and threw elbows at one another from clinch range. The problem was that once one hit, the other person was frozen in an animation, so he couldn’t do anything to block. It was horrifying.

It’s good to hear that this has been fixed. Physics appears to be a big focus this year, which should make for a much more realistic game.

We’ve brought a new layer of striking defense to Undisputed this year by way sways and counters. Why take a haymaker to the face from Wanderlei Silva when you can duck it, right? Mastering the sway in 2010 is going to be a very important key to you competitive Undisputed gamers. There’s more than one way to sway out of the way of strikes, but we’re going to let you discover which sway is right for the range of strikes that will be headed your way.

Also, be sure to keep an eye out for Sway Counters. On the dev team, we refer to a perfectly executed sway counter as “the magic moment”. Again, we’re going to let you find out why we call it “the magic moment”, but it might have something to do with it looking awesome, being a sure sign of elite skills, and being able to do some horrible things to the guy on the receiving end of the counter.

Here is a dirty little secret. When last year’s game came out, I was only about two or three months into being truly obsessed with MMA. Now, I know so much more than I did then. One of the things I’ve learned is that blocking in MMA is not a very functional form of defense due to light gloves. Head movement is what separates good MMA boxers from great ones. Now that this will be represented, it will create a whole new way to counteract all those stupid people online who try to run the center of the cage and overwhelm you with strikes in the first ten seconds of the fight. Duck, Counter Hook, Give me my check.

MMA

Don't Rush Ryan Bader

By Jason Comack

March 1, 2010, at 5:23 pm

Leave your comment

We’ve been talking a lot about MMA prospects lately and I think its time we make a certain distinction. Guys like Gian Villante, Ricardo Romero we consider prospects because they are young, relatively new to MMA and aren’t signed by a major organization.

There seems to be a trend right now where people want to rush prospects along. I’m guilty of this. I pine for Romero and Villante to be in the UFC when in truth there’s no harm to them continuing to gain experience fighting in Ring Of Combat.

The rushing of prospects also happens in the UFC. Right now people are clamoring for Ryan Bader to start fighting top ten caliber opponents. Even though Bader is no longer a UFC rookie, it doesn’t mean he isn’t a prospect and it doesn’t mean that he needs to automatically face elite competition.

Let’s compare Bader to other elite prospects. A guy like Cain Velasquez has answered every single question and he’s improved markedly from fight to fight. We saw his chin tested against Kongo, we saw him out box and KO a great boxer with an iron jaw in ‘Nog. We saw him grow, improve his weak spots. The same hasn’t happened with Bader. Against Eric Schafer we learned that Bader really needed to improve his boxing and cardio. Against Jardine we learned Bader really needed to improve his boxing and cardio.

The scouting report on Bader is the same fight to fight. He comes out like a house of fire, with explosive shots in round 1 and after that he tails off. He looks to land a power overhand right and not much else. The Jardine fight played out the same way. He gassed after round 1 (his shots clearly lacked explosiveness in rounds 2 and 3), lost round 2 and KO’d Jardine in the 3rd. Now it was a good victory, don’t get me wrong, but he didn’t really out-strike Jardine. He KO’d Jardine with a left hook and he now he joins a long list of fighters to figure out Jardine’s weakness.

Bader is still a wrestler learning how to box and he has obvious power, with time his boxing should improve. What’s worrisome is his cardio. BJ Penn has talked about “not being that IV guy” during weigh-ins and Bader is the poster boy for being “that IV guy.” Is it weight cutting that zaps Baders gas tank? Is it a poor pre-fight training camp that hinders his cardio?

The obvious fight that people want is Bader Vs. the winner of Brandon Vera and Jon Jones. If Vera wins he’s the perfect opponent for Bader, a solid technical striker with great take-down defense. However, if Jones wins that matchup should be avoided at all costs. After the destruction of Matt Hammil it’s easy to speculate Jones would cut through Bader like a hot knife through butter. Why kill one prospect to push ahead another? Couldn’t this easily be avoided?

The other question is if Jones wins in impressive fashion is Bader even a step up in competition for Jones?

I’d rather see Bader fight someone like Vladimir Matyushenko, should he get through Elliot Marshall. It would be another small step up for Bader and it would give him more ring time to get his boxing and cardio in line.

Velasquez was a wrestler who became a very well rounded mixed martial artist. Ryan Bader is a wrestler who is fighting in mixed martial arts. That’s why Cain Velasquez is ready for a title shot and Ryan Bader is very far off.

MMA

Strikeforce Challengers: Thought and Observations

By Anthony De Franco

February 27, 2010, at 6:05 am

Leave your comment

Yancy Medeiros defeated Raul Castillo via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

This is a tough fight to get excited about. It’s not that Medeiros did anything wrong, or didn’t impress. It’s that we saw him outstrike a grappler who clearly is not comfortable on his feet whatsoever. However, let’s choose to be positive. He defeated an American Kickboxing Academy member by using effective, if not dominant striking and showed some really nice takedown defense. The only offense that Castillo put together came after a low blow. That should say something.

Saffiedine defeated Terry via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

I’ll say it again: Training with Cung Le might be a mistake. I keep saying that Anthony Johnson needs to get with a real camp if he wants to be a legit contender, and we saw again here that Terry was simply overmatched. Terry has a great highlight reel TKO with a head kick, but against a tougher opponent in Saffiedine, he was peppered with shots throughout and couldn’t get a takedown. Saffiedine looked good, and I like the combination of all the different arts he combined in his attack.

Luke Rockhold defeated Paul Bradley via TKO (Knees to the Body) at 2:24 of round 1.

Rockhold was absolutely dominant. He was winning the standup battle many times over and did it by using impressive counters. The finishing sequence was impressive as he threw a couple of really nice knees against the cage to drop Bradley. Combine this win with some of Luke’s submission wins, and suddenly this is a guy that we really need to start looking at.

Trevor Prangley vs. Karl Amoussou ends by Technical Draw due to accidental eye poke from Prangley at 4:14 of round 1

Everyone is going to get on the referee for this, but it isn’t really his fault. He was a slave to a dumb rule. When someone gets poked in the eye like that, why should they not be allowed five minutes to recover? Is it any different then getting hit with a low blow? After a few minutes, unless you really got gouged, your eye starts to open and you can go on fighting. That was a good fight for four minutes, and it’s a shame that it was stopped because of a stupid rule like that.

Sarah Kaufman defeated Takayo Hashi via Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)

Kaufman was just too strong for Hashi. The reality is that 135 is not a very deep division in women’s MMA. Hashi is a 125 fighter who was fighting up in order to give Kaufman an opponent. Kaufman boxed well throughout the fight, but Hashi simply could not keep up with the Canadian fighter. The problem is going to be finding an opponent for Kaufman. Even Jordan Breen might have to dig deep into the bag of tricks to find one.

MMA

UFC on Versus: Brandon Vera Wants To Test Jones’ Chin

By Anthony De Franco

February 25, 2010, at 4:23 pm

Leave your comment

I know that it’s an average hype video, but I think that Brandon Vera says a couple of interesting things here.

Vera is right about one thing: Jones hasn’t really been hit by anyone yet. He’s steamrolled all his competition and at no point have we seen Jones get tagged and walk through it. While I don’t forsee Vera knocking Jones out in this fight, It is probably the best gameplan to try and stand and knock the athletic freak out.

The other thing that Vera said that is true is that he needs to get back to trying to finish people. I am sick of the safe Vera that we saw in the Randy Couture fight, I want to see some violence from him. I want to see the knockouts that made people believe he was legit back in the day. I need to see some power from him, while having enough takedown defense to stay on his feet.

MMA

UFC 110 Main Card Predictions!

By Jason Comack

February 17, 2010, at 1:31 pm

One comment so far

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1; #3 Heavyweight) vs. Cain Velasquez (7-0; #6 Heavyweight)

The Fighters: Nogueira is one of the few PRIDE vets who was able to successfully transition to the UFC. He won his first two UFC fights, including a win over Tim Sylvia for the UFC title. Since he’s gone 1-1 losing to Frank Mir and beating Randy Couture.

In his UFC stint ‘Nog has been oft-injured. More particularly he’s battled staph infections during his entire UFC tenure. ‘Nog is never one to make excuses but, after the Mir loss it was revealed that he had spent a ton of time in the hospital battling a bad staph infection. It’s hard to argue that the staph didn’t affect his performance in that fight. Not only was he finished for the first time in his illustrious career but he looked old and more then a step slow. Many, myself included, wondered if wear and tear had finally caught up to ‘Nog. However, in his win against Couture he proved that he still has a ton left in the tank. His boxing was as crisp as ever and he showcased his world class ground skills.

Cain Velasquez may be the fastest rising heavyweight prospect the sport has ever seen. He’s 5-0 in the UFC, but more importantly he’s looked better every fight. He proved against Cheick Kongo that he could win a three round war as well as take a punch. As Jordan Breen would say “the man has a great beard.” Ben Rothwell was suppose to be another step up in competition for Velasquez. However, Velasquez took the much bigger and experienced Rothwell down at will and made him look like an amateur. Every test that has been presented to Velasquez he has passed with flying colors.

Breakdown: Odds makers have this fight as a Pick ‘Em and it’s hard to disagree. ‘Nog has great boxing and will have a significant advantage when the fight is standing but, as we saw in the Kongo fight Velasquez isn’t easy to drop. Velasquez will want to shoot early and often and should have no problem getting ‘Nog to the ground. The key question is; will Velasquez be able to control the action on the ground? Velasquez is relentless and can push the pace like no other heavyweight in the UFC can but he’s also never fought a fighter of ‘Nog’s caliber on the ground. ‘Nog has a knack for taking a pounding, but still finding the perfect opportunity to sweep or submit. Even when it looks like he’s on the brink of defeat he’s not, just ask Bob Sapp.

Velasquez is so hyper active on the ground it could end up being reckless. Look for a classic ‘Nog performance as he catches the wrestler off guard with a sweep followed by a textbook submission.

Prediction: Nogueira via Arm-Bar Round 3

Wanderlei Silva (32-10-1) vs. Michael Bisping (18-2)

The Fighters: Annnnnd cue “Sandstorm!”

Ok, you can put the glow sticks away now.

Unlike his PRIDE counterpart, Nogueira, Silva did not find immediate success upon entering the UFC. In fact The Axe Murderer is only 1-3 in the UFC (though you can make a sound argument that he beat Rich Franklin.) His UFC run has certainly been a disappointment but there’s a lot of reasons to think that he can still turn his career around. Silva is making his debut at middleweight, dropping from light heavyweight. Silva was always on the small side for a 205 pounder and has said he feels much quicker since dropping the weight. Silva also underwent facial surgery. He got his mangled nose repaired and a ton of scar tissue removed. While the gains of such surgery appear superficial on the surface they are not. The scar tissue left Silva’s face much more susceptible to cuts, also Silva said the surgery on his nose has helped his breathing tremendously.

Silva certainly earned the nickname The Axe Murderer. His style is to come straight at you at overwhelm you with strikes and knees from the clinch. The underrated aspects of Silvas game are his wresting, more then adequate, and his jiu-jitsu. He never uses either offensively but he’s shown skill in both areas when he’s been forced to.

Bisping is the brash winner of The Ultimate Fighter. I’ve long considered Bisping an overrated fighter whose record was inflated by fighting low level talent. After his decisive loss to Dan Handerson I found myself vindicated. However, in his win over Dennis Kang, Bisping proved the doubters wrong and showed he still has a lot of talent. What impressed me most about Bisping in the Kang fight was his jiu-jitsu. Kang has a tight ground game and Bisping did a great job using his hips to keep Kang off balance. In the later rounds he showed improved wrestling as he dropped Kang with ease.

With an 8-2 UFC record a win over Silva would put Bisping in or around the top 10 and potentially only one or two fights away from a title shot.

Breakdown: Bisping in a lot of ways is similar to Forrest Griffin. He’s tough and he’s well rounded but he doesn’t have one particular skill that’s exceptional, and at the end of the day that can only get you so far. Bisping should look to keep Silva at a distance with his jab and leg kicks, Silva on the other is going to try to showcase his trademark combination of explosiveness and violence and bum rush Bisping with strikes.

Bisping will find himself overwhelmed in the striking game just like he did against Dan Henderson, who really is just a one trick pony. Bisping could work for take-downs but Rich Franklin struggled to take Silva down and Silva’s take down defense should only be better at a lighter weight class.

Prediction: Silva via TKO Round 2

Joe Stevenson (31-10) vs. George Sotiropoulos (11-2)

The Fighters: The hometown hero Sotiropoulos, is a very well rounded fighter. He’s a BJJ Black Belt but he also has an amateur boxing background, in fact in 2004 he won a Victoran State Amateur boxing tournament. Sotiropoulos is 11-2 overall and 4-0 in the UFC. His only two losses are a DQ loss to Shinya Aoki and a split decision loss very early in his career. Sotiropoulos competed on the Ultimate Fighter and made it to the semi-finals before losing in controversial fashion. Sotiropoulos has never been finished in his professional career. As a former welterweight Sotiropoulos is a very large lightweight and is a handful to try to take down. Sotiropoulos is similar stylistically to Paulo Filho. He’s incredibly methodical as he tightly transitions from position to position.

To say Stevenson is veteran would be an understatement. Stevenson fought Jens Pulver when he was only 17 years old! Stevenson is only 27 years old but already has 41 pro bouts on his record. Like Sotiropoulos, Stevenson moved from welterweight to lightweight. Stevenson won his first four fights as a lightweight before getting a shot at the UFC title against B.J Penn. Since losing to Penn it’s been a mixed bag for Stevenson. He looked good against Diaz and Fisher but not so good against Florian and Sanchez.

Stevenson recently teamed up with Greg Jackson and it’s done wonders for his career. Stevenson has gone back to his roots, his wrestling and top game, and is riding a two fight win streak.

Breakdown: Much like ‘Nog vs. Velasquez the question in this fight is; what happens when Stevenson gets Sotiropoulos down. Sotiropoulos has the skills to sweep or submit Joe Daddy. However, what I see being the underrated aspect of this fight is Sotiropoulos boxing. He hasn’t showcased it a ton in his UFC career but you can tell he has actual boxing technique, something we don’t get to see in the UFC often. Joe Daddy might be able to take Sotiropoulos down but I don’t think he’ll be able to keep him down.

Prediction: Sotiropoulos Via Split Decision

Keith Jardine (15-6-1) vs. Ryan Bader (10-0)

The Fighters: Expect the word “unorthodox” to be used to describe Keith Jardine roughly 8,000 times this fight. The former Ultimate Fighter contestant began his career at heavyweight before settling in at 205. Jardine is 6-5 in the UFC but has faced top competition for most of the past three years. Jardine holds wins over contenders Brandon Vera, Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell. Jardine is well rounded, trains at a great camp (Greg Jackson) and has a unorthodox (Ding!) striking style that keeps opponents off guard. He likes to use his leg kicks, some of the best in the sport, and his jab to keep distance from opponents.

Ryan “Darth” Bader won his season of The Ultimate Fighter. When watching him on TUF you got the sense that not only did he have the raw skills to be a TUF champ but a UFC champ one day. A two time All-American wrestler at Arizona State University and a three-time PAC 10 Champion, Baders 120 wins ranks him 8th on the all-time wins list for ASU. Bader was college teammates with current UFC competitors Cain Velasquez and C.B. Dollaway. Bader is 3-0 in the UFC.

Breakdown: Where Bader struggles is on his feet. He has tremendous power but his striking arsenal is limited to a single Dan Henderson style overhand right. The UFC has protected him in the stand up game by feeding him grapplers and weaker wrestlers early in his career (Magalhaes, Marerro, Schafer.) That’s why Jardine is a bigger test then people realize. How’s Bader going to react to leg kicks? Will he check them properly or are we heading for Robbie Lawler territory (if you underestimate the importance of leg kicks look no further then Griffin/Rampage where Forrest essentially won a title because of them.) How will Bader react if he gets tagged? These things are unknowns with Bader. As for Jardine we’ve seen that he’s most vulnerable when facing a striker with K.O power. Of his five losses three came within the first minutes of the fight (W. Silva, T. Silva, Alexander.) Where Jardine excels is when he’s forced to wrestle and scramble.

Bader is a great wrestler and should be able to take Jardine down at will but even Rampage Jackson had trouble holding Jardine down for three rounds.

Prediction: Jardine via TKO Round 3

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (25-7-2) vs. Ben Rothwell (30-7)

The Fighters: Wild Boys…Wild Boys….Wild Boys!

It’s been a quick and sudden fall for Cro-Cop who was once unanimously considered the third best heavyweight in the world. The one time PRIDE star has found almost no success in the Octagon. He’s 2-3 in the cage but his wins have been over meek competition (Eddie Sanchez and Mastapha-Al-Turk.) I’ve written about Mirko’s struggles at length. Mirko would blame his struggles on the lack of a proper training regimen and a mental block in the Octagon, I would simply blame them on age. PRIDE fighters tend to age in dog years and all those years of tournament fighting seem to have caught up to him.

Ben Rothwell came into the UFC with a fair amount of hype. The 28 year old was considered a borderline top 10 heavyweight and he racked up an impressive record fighting in the now defunct IFL. Somehow the UFC had always eluded him. Rothwell’s UFC debut didn’t go as planned as he was manhandled by Cain Velasquez.

Breakdown: Cro-Cop is on the small side for a heavyweight and relies on his kickboxing. In fact, Cro-Cop has basically made a career off of jab-head kick. Rothwell is a monster of a man, tipping the scales at 260 plus. Rothwell also relies on his kick boxing but he doesn’t have the same technical acumen as Cro-Cop. Rothwell is a mauler and brawler, not a counter puncher. That fact should bode well for Mirko.

Prediction: Cro Cop via KO, Head Kick, Round 1

…Hey we all can dream.

For More UFC 110 Coverage:

UFC 110 Undercard Predictions

UFC 110 Walkout Shirts from the 3rd String Store!