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By Anthony De Franco  March 5, 2010, at 4:44 am  Bart Palaszewski vs. Karen Darabedyan
The Fighters: Palaszewski is just 26 years old, but has 44 fights under his belt. Recently, he has gone 2-2 in the WEC. He defeated Anthony Pettis by Split decision in his last fight. He is well rounded, as he has achieved his 31 wins in a variety of ways.
Darabedyan is another of the Armenian judo practitioners that came into the MMA world with Karo Parisyan. Although he is not related to Karo like Manny Gamburyan, he is their training partner. A black belt in Judo, Darabedyan also has a background in Kickboxing and Karate. He is 9-1 in his burgeoning career, and his most recently victory came over the always overrated Razor Rob McCullogh.
The Breakdown: While Palaszewski holds the massive experience edge, he simply doesn’t have a part of his game that really jumps out at you. We’ve seen from Karo that Judo can take you far in MMA, it just won’t ever get you into the elite level. Expect Darabedyan to continue proving his worth.
The Prediction: Darabedyan via unanimous decision
Deividas Taurosevicius vs. LC Davis
The Fighters: Taurosevicius is a pseudo-local for us. He fights out of Copiague, New York, which is like thirty minutes from our hometown. He is 15-3 in his career, with eight of the wins coming by submission. He’s 2-0 in the WEC and is coming off a win against the previously undefeated Mackens Sermerizer.
Davis is a survivor of the former Pat Militech camp with a virtual gaggle of big fight experience. He’s fought in the IFL, for Affliction, and now with the WEC. He’s 15-2 in those fights, and 2-0 in the WEC. He’s coming off consecutive wins against Javier Vasquez and Diego Nunes. And yes, I really wanted to get the world gaggle in there.
The Breakdown: This is a matchup of a wrestler and a BJJ specialist. Naturally, that will probably lead to a boring standup fight. If it does go to the ground, Davis will look to stymie the guard of Taurosevicius and do his damage without getting submitted.
The Prediction: Taurosevicius via submission
Jens Pulver v. Javier Vasquez
The Fighters: Pulver is a legend of the sport and the UFC’s first lightweight champion. He is also a survivor of the Pat Militech camp in Bettendorf, Iowa, but has had harsh words for his former trainer recently. Pulver has lost 8-of-12 and is really fighting on nothing but reputation at this point. Some of the losses are good ones, like the two losses he suffered at the hands of Urijah Faber. However, some of them aren’t so good like the time he was choked out by Josh Grispi. Pulver knows that this is his last chance, and has discussed retiring if he loses.
Vasquez seems to be the place WEC featherweights go when they need a win. He is 0-2 and also likely fighting for his WEC life. He is 17-4 in his career with most of those victories coming by submission.
The Breakdown: I’ve watched a lot of Pulver fights in preparation of this column and I’ve noticed some things. While he’s never had the best boxing technique, it’s almost gotten worse recently. Also, when is the last time that we saw Pulver wrestle? He won’t break that streak against the BJJ skills of Vasquez. The real question is: Does Pulver have anything at all left?
The Prediction: Pulver via TKO
Miguel Angel Torres v. Joseph Benavidez
The Fighters: Until recently, Torres ruled over the bantamweight division with an iron fist. He is well-rounded, and capapable of fighting for an eternity before he gets tired. Unfortantely, that didn’t mean much when he rushed in to finish Brian Bowles and gotten flattened. Now, Torres must climb back into the title picture with a win. He is 37-2, and is still improving his game. He brought in noted Muay Thai trainer Mark DellaGrotte to work with him for this fight.
Benavidez is a pupil of Urijah Faber who is 12-1. His only loss came in a number one contender’s fight against Dominick Cruz. Another energizer bunny of a fighter, his cardio is off the chain. He has won most of his fights by submission, but does have some TKOs to his credit. His last win was over noted BJJ stylist Rani Yahya.
The Breakdown: Torres has taken the “That loss was the best thing that ever happened to me” road and vows to come back stronger than ever. He can win the fight just about anywhere, but I expect his biggest advantage to come on the feet and for his to try and outstrike Benavidez.
The Prediction: Torres via unanimous Decision
Brian Bowles v. Dominick Cruz
The Fighters: Bowles dethroned Torres and shocked the world in his last fight. He also broke his hand on Torres jaw, forcing him out of action. He is 8-0 and looks like just about any middle America wrestler. While he may not look imposing, he is strong as hell for 135, and has imposed his will on his opponents with various skills taught to him by former UFC fighter Rory Singer. In fact, Bowles trains at the gym where Forrest Griffin got his start.
Cruz is 14-1 and 4-0 in the WEC. The majority of his wins have come via decision, but he is a stand up specialist with five T/KOs to his credit. He trains at Alliance MMA alongside UFC light heavyweight Brandon Vera. While he does have some wrestling, don’t expect him to go to it much in this one.
The Breakdown: Bowles is a powerhouse. He is so thick for 135 that I can’t really see anyone in the division taking him down. However, he also packs a powerhouse punch. Just ask Torres. Cruz’s only hope is to stick and move for five rounds.
The Prediction: Bowles via TKO
By Jason Comack February 15, 2010, at 3:40 pm Elvis Sinosic (8-11-2) vs. Chris Haseman (20-16)
The Fighters: Move along nothing to see here. No, seriously. This is the “hey let’s find two Australian dudes” and have them fight. Sinosic isn’t very good as his losing record would indicate. The UFC seems to love the King Of Rock and Rumble as this is will be his 9th fight, 1-7, in the UFC. They must think he has a cool nickname.
Haseman, 40 years young, is also…well Australian. He’s 0-1 in the UFC and has lost his last 5 fights. This will be his first return to action in almost two years.
Breakdown: These two met once before and Haseman won by the dreaded submission “chin to eye.” Of course that fight happened in 1997. Haseman/Sinosic II won’t exactly have the drama of Couture/Coleman but if nothing else we get to hear a whole lot of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie Oy Oy Oy.”
Prediction: Haseman Via Chin To Eye Round 1
Stephan Bonnar (11-6) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (18-9-1)
The Fighters: Is this a “loser leaves town match?” [Side Note: Can we just officially start hyping these matches as such? We have number one contender matches, why can't we have the opposite? Joe Rogan can even pull his best Jeff Probst and kick the loser out of the cage in lieu of a post fight interview.] Stephan Bonnar has earned a lot of good will with the UFC but it might be running out. Seriously speaking, the UFC wouldn’t exist as currently constructed without the contributions of Bonnar and Forrest Griffin, and since that fateful day in April 2005 their careers have gone in opposite directions. Griffin went on to win a title and Bonnar has been suspended for horse steroids and has lost 4 of his last 6 fights, including two in a row. While Bonnar has become a more refined fighter, his skills haven’t really evolved in the past five years. He’s still a mediocre striker, with questionable cardio, less than stellar wrestling and decent jiu-jitsu. His last loss was to Mark Coleman in a fight in which Bonnar got bullied. To say it was an embarrassing performance would be an understatement.
Soszynski entered his season of The Ultimate Fighter as one of the more experienced contestants. The former IFL veteran has racked up a 3-1 record in the UFC and is coming off his first UFC loss. Soszynski is a very big and strong light heavyweight who has found a knack for winning by submission (two of his UFC wins have earned him submission of the night.)
Breakdown: This is a fight that seems to break down perfectly for Soszynski to win. Everything Bonnar does well Sosznyski does better. Bonnars best hope might be to turn this fight into a brawl, ala Griffin/Bonnar I. In his last fight, against Brandon Vera, Soszynski looked hesitant when he got tagged and never seemed to want to engage. Forcing him into the pocket is the way to go.
Prediction: Sosznyski Via Unanimous Decision.
Chris Lytle (27-17-5) vs. Brian Foster (13-4)
The Fighters: Lytle is The Ultimate Gatekeeper at this point. Don’t let the veteran Lytle’s UFC record fool you. He’s a very well rounded fighter who always is a challenging fight. In fact, Lytle’s last 3 UFC fights have been awarded Fight Of The Night honors. Lytle will never be a title contender but he certainly has an important role in developing young talent. Get past Lytle and it’s time for the big boys.
Foster is replacing Dong Hyun-Kim, who had to pull out of the fight due to injury. Foster put himself on the map with impressive performances against Rick Story and Brock Larson. In the Larson fight he received two illegal blows in the first round and came back to win.
Breakdown: We can expect fireworks here as both guys aren’t afraid to stand and bang. Fosters edge may be on the mat but don’t expect Lytle to let it come to that. At the end of the day Foster won’t be ready for a fighter the caliber of Lytle, when the brawling ends and the boxing begins Foster will be out of his league.
Prediction: Lytle KO Round 2
Goran Reljic (8-0) vs. C.B. Dollaway (9-2)
The Fighters: And the award for “fight I am randomly super excited for” goes to…Goran Reljic and The Doberman?
Reljic is one of the top prospects at 185 pounds. The exciting 25 year old made his debut at UFC 84 and took out Wilson Gouveia in impressive fashion. He mixed in punches and devastating kicks before eventually knocking out the veteran fighter. Now moving down to middleweight for the first time Reljic hopes to quickly move up the ladder. Reljics striking skills were on display in the octagon but don’t doubt his BJJ credentials. Reljic is a BJJ Brown-Belt and in 2007 he swept the European Gracie Jiu-Jitsu championships.
Dollaway in a lot of ways is similar to Melvin Guillard. Dollaway has an insane amount of talent but always seems to find a way to put his neck on the line, literally. He got caught in an arm-bar, twice, against Amir Sadollah and got caught in a guillotine choke against Tom Lawlor (and almost caught by Mike Massenzio.) Dollaway’s strength is his All-American wrestling background. He trains with a great camp at Arizona Combat Sports that includes up and comers like Ryan Bader and Aaron Simpson.
Breakdown: Reljc will have a significant advantage while the fight is on the feet. On the other hand Dollaway’s wrestling is good enough to the point where he should be able to get the fight to the ground at will. The real question is whether or not Dollaway has learned from his mistakes and learned enough jiu-jitsu defense to remain out of harms way. Something tells me he hasn’t.
Prediction: Reljic Via Triangle Choke Round 2.
Igor Pokrajac (21-6) vs. James Te Huna (12-4)
The Fighters: Pokrajac is a Cro-Cop disciple. While you would expect head-kicks from anyone on the Cro-Cop Squad, Pokrajac relies on his wrestling and submission skills. Pokrajac is 21-6 and 0-1 in the UFC. His one UFC loss was a decisive decision loss to Vladimir Matyushenko.
Huna is a Australian, shocker I know, fighter making his UFC debut. Huna relies on his Thai Boxing and wrestling skills. According to some publications he was considered the #1 Light Heavyweight fighter in all of Australia and New Zealand.
Breakdown: While these guys have a combined 43 fights between them most have been against local competition. In fact looking at Pokrajac’s record his 21 wins is clearly inflated by fighting lesser European competition. Every time he’s taken a step up in competition; Ausserio Silva, Mamed Khalidov and Vladimir Matyushenko he’s lost handily. One can come to the hypothesis that the only reason Pokrajac is still on the roster is because of his association to Cro-Cop. Look for the hometown fighter, Huna, to stifle Pokrajac’s take-downs en route to a K.O. win.
Prediction: Huna Via K.O Round 2
By Anthony De Franco October 30, 2009, at 7:13 pm I have written far too many of these recently. I remember a time when UFC fights actually went off as planned. That just sounds crazy now-a-days. Here’s the latest blow to a potential co-main event fight.
New Jersey’s Kurt Pellegrino is out of his fight against fellow Jersey native Frankie Edgar at The Ultimater Fighter 10 Finale on December 5th. Once again, Ariel Helwani of AOL Fanhouse let us in on it.
UFC lightweight fighter Frankie Edgar tweeted on Friday that his Dec. 5 fight against Kurt Pellegrino has been scrapped.
FanHouse has learned from sources close to the bout that “Batman” has three herniated discs in his back. Pellegrino, who is coming off an impressive unanimous decision victory against Josh Neer at UFC 101, has been ordered by his doctor to rest for at least three weeks.
Edgar is still expected to compete on The Ultimate Fighter Finale show. FanHouse has also learned that Matt Veach, who was scheduled to fight Mark Bocek on the undercard of the event, is currently the leading candidate to replace Pellegrino against Edgar, however, new bout agreements have not been issued or signed just yet.
This fight suddenly isn’t nearly as exciting. Veach is 11-0, but hasn’t faced any kind of real competition. Edgar, is on the edge of getting a title shot. There isn’t any real upside for Edgar here, because if he wins this fight, then he did his job. If he doesn’t he just upset by a guy who’s biggest win in over Matt Grice.
By Anthony De Franco October 17, 2009, at 3:48 pm We might be about to see one of the greatest NFL draft experiments ever unfold.
We are stuck in a college season where we are seriously considering calling Jake Locker the best quarterback available. Every potential “franchise” signal caller was fallen flat on their face, and the ones that have been good are not NFL-type players.
What we do have is one of those potential franchise guys who hasn’t played badly. That’s cause he hasn’t played. Sam Bradford has now separated his throwing shoulder and now reinjured it today against Texas. What will this do to his draft stock? Well, that doesn’t depend on him as much as it does on all the other QBs stepping up and pushing him down the board.
Let’s look at what he have so far from all the potential 1st Round QBs this year:
- Jevan Snead, Ole Miss – 46.8 Completion Percentage, 9 TDs, 9 INTs. He’s been awful.
- Colt McCoy , Texas – 73.8 Completion Percentage, 10 TDs, 6 INTs, and even more questions about his potential as an NFL QB. Does he have the tools? Can he learn a pro offense? Can he succeed when he isn’t the best athlete on the field?
- Tim Tebow, Florida – 65.5 Completion Percentage, 7 TDs, 2 INTs; Had concussion earlier in the year. His play style has not suited the NFL anymore this year than it did last year. The arguement is well stated, but to quote 49ers beat writer Matt Maiacco “This kid is a winner doesn’t translate to the NFL.”
- Jake Locker, Washington – 57.1 Completion Percentage, 10 TDs, 4 INTs. Probably the best prospect of all of these, but I don’t know if he has great tools eithier. However, his knowledge of Steve Sarkasian’s pro style system give him an edge.
- Sam Bradford, Oklahoma – 58.7 Completion Percentage, 2 TDs, 0 INTs. Two shoulder injuries this season. Separated his shoulder in the first game of the year, and just reinjured today against Texas. Severity unknown.
So, out of all those guys, who would you put ahead of Bradford? There are teams out there like the Panthers (who don’t have a first round pick), 49ers, Browns,and Seahawks that are going to be looking into QBs. Will we see another player like Alex Smith get pushed up the board, or has the league learned from the 49ers mistake? Is it possible that we could see Eric Berry or Taylor Mays be the first overall pick? Will Tim Tebow go first overall? (God help me if that happens.)
This could get very interesting.
By Anthony De Franco August 18, 2009, at 5:21 am 1. Ahmad Bradshaw is the Giants secret weapon that only Giants fans know about.
What you saw last night came as no surprise to anyone who is a Giant fan. We’ve seen Bradshaw work miracles before. We’ve seen him do his best Tiki Barber impression and juke defenders left and right. We’ve seen him do his best Brandon Jacobs impression and run over corners and safeties despite being only 5′9, 198 lbs. We’ve seen him catch passes out of the backfield. Hell, we saw him disappear into nothingness last year.
The truth remains that Bradshaw TD run last night was only the tip of the iceberg. He is so talented and only fell to the 7th round of the draft because he stole a dudes PS2 while in college. Now, he is going to be forced into a bigger role, and as a result, the Giants top ranked running game is even more dangerous than it was a year ago today.
2. Clint Sintim maybe be better off playing defensive end full time.
The Giants need another outside linebacker, and are incredibly deep at defensive end. However, after watching Sintim play defensive end last night, I can’t help but wonder if he isn’t best off as an edge rusher. He looked so natural coming off the edge and getting to the quarterback. He exploded off the ball and nearly killed Matt Moore. In all honesty, I got flashback of Osi’s first couple years as a Giant.
3. The entire defense is still awesome.
If anyone had any worries about Osi coming back from injury, they were assuaged (who knew there was a “g” in that word?) by the early sack and strip of Jake Delhomme. Add that to a great play by Terrell Thomas, and a generally dominant performance against the Panthers first team without Chris Canty, and any concerns anyone had about anything involving this unit should go far, far away.
4. The league’s best offensive line played tonight WITHOUT it’s starting guards, and was still the league’s best offensive line.
The Giants backs didn’t spring out into the defensive backfield because they are awesome. They did it because the guys upfront opened holes that I could have run through. Even without Rich Seubert and Chris Snee, the line still dominated.
5. And finally, one Panthers note: Mike Goodson is the best third running back in the league.
We may not have our draft coverage from last season on the site anymore, but if you are a hardcore, you remember how much I loved Mike Goodson. He was this year’s Ahmad Bradshaw. For those who aren’t in the know, he had a sick 2007, but found himself in new coach Mike Sherman’s doghouse early and never escaped in 2008. Now, he’s going to have a better NFL career than he did a college one. The only problem is that new has two former first rounders in front of him in Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams.
By Anthony De Franco July 3, 2009, at 3:15 pm Continuing our theme of fighter predictions from earlier in the day, MMAWeekly has some quotes from Georges St. Pierre that suggest his help is going to put Kenny Florian over the top at UFC 101 in Philly:
“I’ve trained with him two times and he looked really sharp. I put my money on him against B.J. Penn,” St. Pierre stated.
The Canadian has put together some of the most legendary camps to prepare for his title fights, so his physical and mental strategy could be a key edge that Florian will carry into the fight in August.
St. Pierre complemented Florian for the work they did together while in Montreal, and he’s confident that Penn will have no answer for what Florian will bring into the title fight.
“Kenny Florian is a great training partner, and is going to be a great champion, and he’s also a greater person and human being (than B.J. Penn),” said St. Pierre.
Much like his own strategy and gameplan, he wouldn’t let anything out of the bag as to what Florian will do to beat Penn, but he is boastful that it will happen.
“A lot of things, but they are part of his gameplan so I can’t talk too much about it,” St. Pierre commented about what Florian will bring into the fight against Penn. “It basically consists of using his strength and putting it against his opponent’s weaknesses.”
First off, GSP needs to worry about Thiago Alves first. Second of all, this is the best news that I have heard in weeks. It seems like Georges has a legit dislike for B.J. Penn, and since I have an extreme dislike for B.J.’s number one fan, it’s good to hear that my favorite fighter is helping Kenny Florian win. I’ve stood by Florian all along, and I can’t help but think that the stars may be aligning for a title change in Philly.
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