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By Anthony De Franco  March 16, 2010, at 9:00 am  Gabriel Gonzaga is no slouch. People have seemed to forget in all the hype surrounding his opponent, Junior Dos Santos. Gonzaga has some of the best ground skills in the heavyweight division. He also has very underrated power in both his hands and his legs.
Gonzaga’s shirt features his team’s logo on the back of the shirt. I never understood why more fighters didn’t do that. Awhile ago, American Top Team came out with their own shirt. That’s called free advertising.
Our new partner, Carnal DaMMAage has this one for 39.98, and you can save 10% with the coupon code “PJCoupon.”
By Jason Comack February 3, 2010, at 10:10 pm Rob Emerson (17-8-1) vs. Phillipe Nover (9-2-1)
The Fighters: In what has become a staple of UFC undercards, this match, between two former Ultimate Fighter contestants, has “loser leaves town written all over it.”
For some reason Rob Emerson seems to have nine lives. He’s 2-2 [1 NC] in the UFC. In his debut fight he got slammed on his dome by Grey Maynard and while it was eventually ruled a no contest it was obvious he would have lost that fight. His two wins were over Kekita Nakamura (a split decision against a fighter who went 0-3 in the UFC) and Manny Gamburyan (who now fights at 145 pounds.) Emerson has solid kickboxing and good takedown defense but not enough to present a serious threat against even middle of the road lightweights.
Nover of course had a ton of hype coming into the Ultimate Fighter Finale. Dana White went as far as to compare him to Anderson Silva….whoops. Nover is 0-2 in the UFC and has had serious medical trouble along the way. Nover feinted in the opening moments of his TUF season and had another incident before his scheduled fight against Sam Stout in September. On the day of the fight Nover had another feinting episode and was not medically cleared to fight.
Breakdown: While Nover is primary a ground fighter his standup is more then adequate. In this fight expect him to look to go to the ground early where he will have a significant advantage against Emerson. The key to this fight will be Emersons take down defense as the only hope he has of winning this fight is on the feet. And even then I’m not so sure how he’d fare.
Prediction: Nover Via Unanimous Decision
Brian Stann (8-2) vs. Phil Davis (4-0)
The Fighters: Brian “All-American” Stann is a former Marine who is probably best known for his three fight trilogy against Steve Cantwell. Since joining the UFC, Stann is 2-1 and 8-2 overall.
Phil Davis is one of the UFC’s newly signed prospects. Considering how many prospects the UFC has let sign with other organizations recently one would assume they think very highly of him. The 25 year old Davis is 4-0 heading into his Octagon debut. Davis was a decorated wrestler at Penn State. He was a 4 time All-American with a career 116-20 record, including a 26-1 senior year where he won an individual title.
Breakdown: While it’s possible Davis will have the so called “UFC jitters” it’s hard to see him losing this fight. While he is raw he’s far too decorated of a wrestler and natural athlete for Stann to contain. Plus do you really think the UFC would make a big deal about signing Davis only to have him lose? Davis is the second coming of Rashad Evans.
Prediction: Davis Via Unanimous Decision
Tim Hague (10-2) vs. Chris Tuchscherer (17-2)
The Fighters: Two guys that are infamous for very different things. Hague was on the wrong end of one of the most embarrassing losses in recent memory (the Todd Duffee power-jab) Tuchscherer in his UFC debut was kicked in the groin by Gabriel Gonzaga in one of the most horrifying sights in recent memory.
Hague fights like a caveman. He keeps his hands and body so square he’s just asking to be knocked out. He’s 1-1 in the UFC and billed as having submission skills but don’t let the one win fool you. Pat Berry, who has no ground game, basically gave Hauge his neck and said “please choke me.” Tuchsherer on the other hand trains with Brock Lesnar and Minnesota MMA. He has legit wrestling skills and was a Division II All-American at Morehead University.
Breakdown: While we haven’t seen a ton of these guys in the Octagon I have yet to be impressed with Hague. His chin is questionable, to say the least, and his stand up game leaves a ton to be desired. The same could be said with Tuchscherer but if nothing else we know he’s incredibly tough and a solid wrestler.
Prediction: Tucscherer TKO Round 2
Rolles Gracie (3-0) vs. Joey Beltran (10-3)
The Fighters: Rolles Gracie continues the legacy of the Gracie Family. He is the son of Rolls Gracie, who was raised by his uncle the Helio Gracie. As the Gracie name would suggest Rolles is an excellent submission fighter and is a second degree blackbelt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. This is Rolles UFC debut. Gracie is 3-0, including one win in the now defunct IFL.
Beltran is replacing Mustapha-Al Turk on very late notice (Al-Turk had visa issues.) The Mexicutioner, awesome nickname, presents a tougher test than Al-Turk would have. Primarily a kickboxer, Beltran is 10-3 with wins over UFC vets Wes Combs and Houston Alexander.
Breakdown: While Gracie is rough around the edges as a complete fighter his ground game is world class. As seen in his other fights his game plan will be simple. He will look to use his boxing to close the distance, clinch and proceed to look for a submission. While Beltran is a solid prospect he lacks top fight experience and will have no answer to Rolles ground skills.
Prediction: Rolles Gracie Rear Naked Choke Round 1
By Anthony De Franco January 1, 2010, at 8:01 pm Junior Dos Santos v. Gilbert Yvel
Shockingly, we’re starting off with a fight that has been changed to injury. Dos Santos was supposed to take on Gabriel Gonzaga, in a fight that would have been a big test for both. Gonzaga pulled out due to illness. Apparently, he was hanging out in Canada with Brock Lesnar.
Dos Santos officially became a contender at UFC 103 when he dominated an aging Mirko Cro Cop. He showed off some great boxing, which is something you should expect when you train with the Nogueira Brothers. The heavyweight is 3-0 in the UFC and has shown serious power and excellent standup. The problem is that we haven’t seen much of him on the ground. He does hold a BJJ brown belt, and the Noguieras don’t just give their belts away, but I think that if I was his opponent, I would make him beat me off his back.
Yvel is making his UFC debut, but had some big fights in PRIDE that people might remember him for. He’s 36-13 in his career, and holds wins over no one special. Big losses? He’s got a ton of those. Names like Dan Henderson, Vitor Belfort, Josh Barnett and even Don Frye jump off the page at you. He’s a striker by design, but does have some sbumission ability. Let’s be honest though, 31 of his 36 wins have come by knockout.
Look for Dos Santos’ meteoric rise to continue.
Prediction: Dos Santos via TKO
Jim Miller v. Duane Ludwig
Another fight, another injury replacement. This fight was supposed to be Miller v. Tyson Griffin, but Griffin pulled out due to injury. Then Sean Sherk stepped in before getting a cut over his eye that forced him out of competition.
Miller is a dog. He’s the Forrest Griffin of the lightweight division, only without the stupid combover or funny-as-hell book. The Jersey native isn’t all that great technically, but wins fights with solid wrestling and grit. Pure grit. He’s 4-1 in the UFC and his only loss is to top contender Gray Maynard. He has great submission skills, including a pretty damn sweet guillotine. He’s likely look to take it to the ground ASAP.
Ludwig is 2-0 in the UFC, but hasn’t fought in the organization since Fight Night 3. He’s been jumping around the world doing his thing, including fights under the Strikeforce, Affliction, Sengouku and Ring of Fire banners. He’s lost to all kinds of big names, much like Yvel. A quick look at his record includes defeats at the hands of Tyson Griffin, Takanori Gomi, Josh Thomson and Paul Daley. He’s a muay thai striker who wants to keep the fight on the feet, which won’t be easy to do against Miller.
Prediction: Miller via submission
Joe Lauzon v. Sam Stout
Lauzon is 6-1 in the UFC, and one of the more underappriciated lightweights on the roster. He is a BJJ specialist, but has power in his hands. He once knocked out UFC legend Jens Pulver in just 40 seconds. He’s coming back off a knee injury that kept him sidelined most of 2009, but he’s back in action now and completely healed. Another thing he possesses is superior intellect to most people that he fights. He’s a really smart guy who was a computer networking major in college and worked in the field before becoming a fighter. He’s also probably the best Call of Duty player in the UFC for what that’s worth. Look for Lauzon to want to go to the ground early.
Stout is the opposite of Lauzon in that all he wants is to stand and bang. He’s 3-4 in the UFC and gets away with that record because his style means that he is always in exciting fights. He has had two memorable battles with Spencer Fisher that both made the UFC top 100. Stout was supposed to take on Phillipe Nover at Fight Night 19, but Nover passed out backstage and the fight was called off. The unfortunate side effect of that Stout hasn’t fought in nearly eight months. The only way I can see Stout winning this fight is by scoring a knockout.
Prediction: Lauzon via Submission
Paul Daley v. Dustin Hazelett
Another fight that was changed. We were supposed to get a standup war between Daley and Carlos Condit. The Natural Born Killer had to back out due to injury.
Daley came into the UFC with a bang at UFC 103. He destroyed top contender Martin Kampmann in a fashion that is true to his nickname “Semtex.” He’s 22-6 overall, and two of those losses are to Nick Thompson and Jake Shields. He is a powerful striker and really does serious damage when he lands his muay thai. Daley failed to make weight for this fight. He came in at 171, but the Nevada State Athletic Comission wouldn’t allow him to cut the extra pound because he looked “Wobbly.” Let’s see how the weight cut affects his cardio.
Hazelett is a submission artist who is famous for pulling of 2008’s submission of the year. He is 5-2 in the UFC, and his only loss in the last two years is to Josh Koscheck. He’s will be look to neutralize Daley’s striking and take him to the ground. If Daley can’t sprawl, he’s got to show the ability to get back to his feet. It will be up to Hazelett to make sure that the fight is finished after the first takedown.
Prediction: Daley via TKO
Rashad Evans v. Thiago Silva
Ah…the cursed main event. This was supposed to be Brock Lesnar defending his belt against Shane Carwin. Then, Brock got the plague. Then, it was to be Anderson Silva v. Vitor Belfort for the middleweight title. Silva’s slow recovery from elbow surgery put the kibash on that one. Then, it was assumed that Evans and Rampage, who coached in TUF 10 against one another, would square off. Well, Jackson decided to due The “A” Team movie, so that idea was squashed, and here we stand.
Evans is a former UFC light heavyweight champion and the winner of TUF season 2. He’s 13-1 in his MMA career, and his only loss was the emabressing knockout that he suffered in his first title defense against Lyoto Machida. Evans is known for his boastful nature, but really is a smart guy and a hell of a fighter. He trains with Greg Jackson, so far be it from me to argue with the master’s gameplans, but Evans has completely gotten away from the wrestling skills that made him an NCAA All-American. Instead, he’s so focused on using his power striking, that he often forgets to wrestle altogether. It reminds of another fighter who forgot he was a wrestler, Rampage. When Evans is at his best, he’s wrestling and striking.
Silva also only has one loss in his MMA career, and it was also to Lyoto Machida, and he was also knocked out by The Dragon. He also comes from a great team in American Top Team. In his last fight, Silva defeated Greg Jackson team member, and Evans close friend Keith Jardine by knockout. After the fight, Silva stood over Jardine taunting him, which Evans wasn’t a fans of. He’s a well-rounded fighter who uses boxing, muay thai and has a black belt in BJJ. If Evans does wrestle, Silva can attack from his back. If they stand, Silva might be at a slight disadvantage.
This is a surprisingly good fight.
Prediction: Evans via unanimous decision
For More UFC 108 coverage, check out our undercard predictions.
Looking for a UFC 108 walk-out shirt? Check out The 3rd String Store.
By Anthony De Franco November 25, 2009, at 6:00 pm My god. This was ridiculous months ago. Now it’s just getting to the point where I don’t know if there is a healthy heavyweight left on the roster. From Cagewriter:
The hits keep coming for the UFC, Dana White and matchmaker Joe Silva. The fellas have to scrounge up a quality heavyweight to fight Junior Dos Santos Jan. 2 in Las Vegas at UFC 108. Sources with the UFC confirmed that Gabriel Gonzaga is off the card because of staph infection.
Gonzaga (15-4, 7-3 UFC) last fought Chris Tuchsherer at UFC 102 in August. He’s won 3-of-4 fights. Dos Santos, 25, is unbeaten in the UFC. The promotion will wait until after Thanksgiving to come up with a list of candidates to replace Gonzaga. It’s slim pickings at the top of the UFC heavyweight food chain right now. The most logical choice would be Cain Velasquez, who just lost his opportunity to fight on the card against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Big Nog is also out with staph.
The reason why this really sucks for the UFC is what Steve mentioned in the last paragraph. The thing that makes the most sense is to have Dos Santos fight Cain Velasquez. However, think about exactly what that means: One of your two best heavyweight prospects is going to lose that fight and be forced to build himself back up before he gets anywhere near the winner of Lesnar-Carwin.
If this keeps up, the UFC is going to start being in serious danger of having plenty of cards in the new year without championship fights on them. Hell, they might not even be able to have any kind of name fight on them.
How far away are we from Kampmann-Condit II headlining a pay-per-view?
By Jason Comack November 11, 2009, at 1:58 pm There’s a new type of heavyweight in MMA. This heavyweight doesn’t see a 265 pound weight limit as a rule, he sees it as a guideline. This type of heavyweight will come to be the gold standard in MMA and guys like Fedor Emelianeko will begin to look like relics.
Weight cutting is common place in MMA. Maybe the casual observer doesn’t realize that the welterweight limit is “170 pounds” but, the guys standing in the ring on the day of the fight are often upwards of 185 plus pounds. Take rising star Anthony “Rumble” Johnson who has admitted that he’ll start his training camp (about six weeks before the fight) at 220 pounds. That’s 50 pounds over the weight limit! He probably gets down to about 200 pounds and then cuts water weight the rest of the way. If you weighed him on fight day it wouldn’t shock me if the scale tipped at about 195 pounds. That my friends is insane. In the ring he’s bigger then the allotted limit for Middleweights (185) and damn close to the limit for Light Heavyweight.
 The problem doesn’t begin or end with Anthony Johnson. Every fighter cuts weight, you have to in order to maintain a competitive advantage. Weight cutting, however, never had really found it’s way to the heavyweight division. While Lightweights, welterweights, middleweights and light heavyweights always provide drama on weigh in day we never saw it with the heavyweights. Smaller weight classes get on the scales in the nude to shed that final pound, the big boys weigh in with jeans and sunglasses on.
Think of the elite heavyweights of the past few years; Randy Couture (220 pounds) Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (230) Mirko Cro-Cop (230) Fedor Emilianeko (230) Andrei Arlovski (235)
Now look at the weight of the modern day heavyweight; Brock Lesnar (265) Brett Rogers (265) Shane Carwin (265) Antonio Silva (265) Ben Rothwell (265) Gabriel Gonzaga (260) Todd Duffee (250) Frank Mir (245) Stevan Struve (245) Cain Velasquez (240) Junior Dos Santos (240) Frabicio Werdum (240)
It’s not a coincidence that the first five guys on this list hit 265 on the nose. Call it the Brock Effect. Lesnar’s move to MMA brought weight cutting into vogue for heavyweights. Let’s look at Lesnars weight log (This info comes from Lesnar himself.)
Previous Weight Logs:
August 8 ‘08: 265lbs (Weigh In)
August 9 ‘08: 289lbs (Fight)
November 14 ‘08: 265lbs (Weigh In)
November 15 ‘08: 276lbs (Fight)
Recent Weight Logs:
July 10: 265lbs (Weigh In)
July 11: 287lbs (Fight)
August 18: 304lbs (Pre-Training Camp) (After Workout)
August 24: 298lbs (Pre-Training Camp) (After Workout)
September 1: 306lbs (Pre-Training Camp) (After Workout)
Much like Anthony Johnson, Lesnar is a gigantic heavyweight and it’s a big advantage. He walks around at 300 pounds, cuts to about 285 and then sheds the last 20 pounds in water weight. The result? A hulking 290 pound monster in the ring on fight day.
At UFC 91 Lesnar fought Randy Couture. Couture weighed 220, Lesnar weighed 276, that’s a 56 pound advantage. At UFC 100 Lesnar fought Frank Mir. Lesnar weighed 287 pounds, Mir weighed 245, that’s a 42 pound advantage.
The scary thing is not only is Lesnar improving in terms of skill but also in terms of figuring out how to cut weight. He jumped from 276 to 287 pounds between his fourth and fifth fight, is it out of the realm of possibility for him to be 295+ pounds in the ring during his next fight?
And so we have the “Brock Effect” it’s keeping up with the Joneses, bigger is better and if your not as big as Lesnar you don’t have a shot. If Lesnar fought ‘Nog or Fedor he would outweigh them by 60 pounds. Stop and think about that for a second. 60 pounds encompasses every weight division in the UFC. Would you honestly expect B.J Penn to have a chance against Lyoto Machida? Actually that happened and Penn got his head stepped on (and Machida only outweighed Penn by 50 pounds.)
Is Brock as skilled as Fedor or ‘Nog? Hell no. The problem is that Lesnar resides in his own weight class.
It makes no sense that weight classes go up by 15 pound increments yet heavyweight is left with a 60 pound range (and that doesn’t take weight cutting into consideration.) What if MMA moved the light heavyweight limit down 5 pounds to 200 (which would make sense considering it’s the only weight class that doesn’t go up the standard 15 pound increment) and added a cruiser weight division that caps at 225. Fighters like ‘Nog, Fedor, AA, Cro-Cop, Couture would have a home fighting against people their own size. While the monster heavyweights (Lesnar, Carwin, Rogers) would be fighting other 250+ monsters.
Who loses with this move? The fan would get more balanced fights, fighters who never had to cut weight would be inspired to get into better shape to meet the new weight limit and the UFC would have a shinny new title belt to headline cards.
Are we really ready to let weight determine fights instead of skill? If MMA continues on the path it’s on that will end up happening.
By Anthony De Franco November 6, 2009, at 3:41 pm Fabricio Werdum v. Antonio Silva
How often do you see a fight between two heavyweights that are basically BJJ specialists? The heavyweight division has been filled with big wrestlers and strikers for so long now that besides Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, most of these guys don’t know how to spell kimura.
Werdum is coming off a victory over Mike Kyle at Strikeforce’s last big card. He’s not much of a striker, but his BJJ is top level. If nothing else, just look at some of the names that he’s fought over the last few years: Alstair Overeem, Junior Dos Santos, Brandon Vera, Gabriel Gonzaga, Andrei Arlovski and Aleksander Emelianenko just to name a few. Suddenly, his 17-4-1 record looks really good, huh?
Silva’s most intriguing attribute is that he actually suffers from Giantism. Yup, that’s right, the dude is actually a giant. Silva doesn’t have the same number of impressive fights on his record. His standup is mediocre, and his BJJ is great.
It’s like these guys are looking in the mirror. It’s basically a toss up. It’s possible the BJJ cancels out, but I still think someone is going to tap.
Prediction: Werdum via submission
Gegard Mousasi v. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Mousasi is one of the sports biggest rising stars. He trains with Fedor, which is always a good thing, and was really put on the American map by defeating Babalu Sobral in impressive fashion earlier in the year. He has a judo background, but what was really impressive was his standup. He put Babalu on his back and pounded him out quick. This may be a guy we are talking about as a top light heavyweight for a long time to come.
Sokoudjou came over from PRIDE with great fanfare and fought this guy named Lyoto Machida. He was arm triangled and lost, then beat Kazuhiro Nakamura, then lost to Luis Cane and was cut from the UFC. Since then, he’s gotten a couple of wins over heavyweights in DREAM’s Super Hulk tournament and lost to Babalu.
He’s a bit of a maddening case in the MMA world. He has all the physical skills in the world. He just never developed any kind of mental game. He just fights dumb at times, and it always ends up costing him. It will again tomorrow night.
Prediction: Mousasi via TKO
Jake Shields v. Jason “Mayhem” Miller
No welterweight not named GSP has the kind of momentum that Jake Shields has right now. The Ceasr Gracie jiu-jitsu specialist has won 10 straight fights including big name wins like Robbie Lawler, Paul Daley and Nick Thompson in the last three fights.
The only problem is that this fight is being held at middleweight. Will Shields be be strong enough to win at 185?
As for Miller, everyone knows his silly side from the MTV show, Bully Beatdown. However, people don’t realize how good of a fighter he is. His last fight was a no contest when he inadvertantly kicked Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza is the head with an illegal upkick, which caused a cut that stopped the fight. He’s got wins in the past of Tim Kennedy, and Robbie Lawler. He’s game is solid all around and, he has a chance to win because of the difference in strength between him and Shields.
This could be the best fight of the night.
Prediction: Shields via submission
Fedor Emelianenko v. Brett Rogers
Ahhh…Fedor. Finally on United States soil with a legit organization that will get him some decent fights. Here’s the long and short of Fedor. He’s awesome. He is 30-1 in a sport where upsets are commonplace. He has great power, fast hands, and a ground game that puts most BJJ practitioners to shame. It’s remarkable how good he is. He’s got wins over Big Nog, Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, Mirko Cro Cop, and Andrei Arlovski just to name a few.
As for Brett Rogers, he’s more of a one trick pony. He has sick devastating knockout power in his hands and tighter boxing then Fedor does. However, tighter doesn’t mean more effective. He is going to have to keep this fight on the feet. Despite his recent destruction of Glass Joe Andrei Arlovski, he still has a way to go.
While Strikeforce has done a great job of making Rogers seem like a threat, he really isn’t all that much of one.
Prediction: Fedor via submission
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