While it’s a really cool video, and B.J.’s narration definitely gets you seriously pumped up, I’m a little bit upset that we didn’t get a little bit more gameplay. There are a few things that I noticed:
In the first bit of gameplay, B.J. lands a really nasty looking takedown. You can tell the animations have improved from last year, where every double leg looked the same.
The second gameplay bit shows B.J. trainsitioning to rubber guard, and this also appears to be reanimated. It also could be him setting up for a triangle as well.
The third gameplay shot shows B.J. throwing bombs from back mount. Correct me If I’m wrong, but I don’t think that was an option last year, as any thing you had the opponent back, you rolled him over to attempt a rear naked choke.
We get to see some of B.J.’s signature style next with the arm trap against Matt Hughes. It looks awesome. Enough said. I can you tell you right now that Jason’s CAF will have that ability.
Next up, we see B.J. in his UFC 107 Walkout Shirt, wearing the belt in game. Was the belt redesigned? I’m thinking maybe. All I know, is that it looks shiny and It makes me want it around my waist. The shirt looks exactly like it’s real life counterpart.
The Kenny Florian section shows some B.J. pressing Kenny up against the cage, and generally kicking his ass all over the octagon. Just reminds me what a big letdown Kenny’s gameplan in that fight was.
The rest of the video shows off the redesigned clinch, but is hard to tell the difference from two brief seconds of gameplay. It also B.J. slipping a punch which looks slick.
Not the massive reveal that I hoped it would be, but I’m definitely pumped for May 25th even more now.
Here is another gem from Tito Ortiz. Now he’s claiming that the salary increases that MMA has seen over the last few years are all his doing. From MMA Junkie:
“People like (Rashad) Evans and ‘Rampage’ Jackson and Chuck Liddell – these guys are making the millions now because of me holding out. If I didn’t hold out, they’d get taken advantage of.”
… “‘Rampage’ is a guy who I’ve helped out a lot. When he came from PRIDE, he got the same contract I did – exactly the same contract as I did. I gave it it to him, and I told him, ‘This is what I’m getting, bro. This
what you should be getting.’ He did, and he got it. It’s just one of those things that I’ve always tried to help out guys like Matt Hughes, the dirtbag, and guys like that who just hate on me – probably because either they wanted to be like me or they can’t achieve as much as I have.”
Uhhh…Tito. Hughes has achieved way, way more than you. He is a no doubt UFC hall of famer, you are a guy who held the title once and has been smoked by Chuck Liddell twice. Hughes may be a dirtbag, but at least he has the cred to back it up.
Earlier this week, Ortiz claimed that Liddell had an alcohol problem. We all know Chuck likes to party, but Ortiz claimed he was an alcoholic. Not cool.
I shouldn’t be so annoyed by Ortiz. This is what he does. He uses his mouth to get attention. He says outlandish things that annoy people. We all have a friend like this. If you think you don’t then you are probably your group’s Tito.
After all he said this week, I am looking forward to Chuck throwing a looping right hook and knocking Ortiz the hell out.
Sometimes, a fighter hits a point in his career where he just can’t seem get any momentum going. Sometimes, it’s a couple of losses that buries him. Sometimes, it’s a string of decision victories. In the Career Crossroads series, we’ll take a look at how these fighters can break out of their funks.
How can the fighter I consider the number two welterweight in the world be at a career crossroads?
Simple.
He can’t beat GSP and more importantly he’s not getting any better.
At 31 years of age, Fitch shouldn’t be at his peak. Hell, Randy Couture improved well into his late 40’s. For some reason Fitch has hit a glass ceiling that he can’t breakthrough. He’s a great wrestler, as Joe Rogan likes to remind us he was the captain of the Purdue wrestling team, and he has great jiu-jitsu (both offensive and defensive.) He’s big, strong, with off the charts cardio, but his striking game has never caught up to his wrestling. In lot ways he’s Matt Hughes V 2.0 and simply put in modern MMA that doesn’t get you as far as it use to.
So what do you do if your Jon Fitch?
Stay The Course.
Fitch currently trains with ‘Kos, Swick and the rest of the American Kickboxing Academy crew and keeps taking toughest fights possible. And staying the course certainly isn’t a bad option but I’m not sure its the most sensible. If your Jon Fitch are you really learning anything new from Bob Cook? Are ‘Kos and Swick teaching you anything new? Are they able to push you to the next level? Fitch’s last few fights prove the answer to the question is a resounding “no.”
If Fitch continues on the path he’s on I’m not sure it ends well. His last few fights have been lackluster. Yes, he’s won but it feels like another day at the office when Fitch fights. He grinds out a decision and plays it safe. While that’s a sound strategy its not going to endear him to the fans or the UFC brass. Guys like Matt Lindland, Yushin Okami and others were denied big time fights because of their fighting style. Think about it from Joe Silva or Dana White’s perspective. Why are you going to book Fitch in fights against top contenders? What’s the point in having Fitch keep knocking off your top prospects? No one is going to be interested in GSP/Fitch II, especially if Fitch gets the dreaded lay-n-pray label. Why would you let him kill the title hopes of a prospect. Call it the Dan Hardy corollary. Its no coincidence Hardy never fought Fitch and its because Fitch would most likely win.
So what can Fitch do?
Find a new camp.
If you don’t believe that training camps matter you aren’t paying close enough attention. Watch Joe Stevenson pre and post Greg Jackson. Look at the difference in Kenny Florians game after just one training camp with Firas Zahabi. The difference is insane. Fitch needs to get with a real boxing coach like Peter Welsch, Mark DellaGrotte or even Freddie Roach.
Move To 185.
If Fitch moved to 185 where would he rank? I think he’d easily be in the top 10 and probably around Chael Sonnens level. Moving to 185 would be easy for Fitch as he’s already a big strong wrestler. There would be be tons of interesting fights for him (Maia, Sonnenn, Marquadt, Miller) and even a potential showdown with Anderson Silva. It’s rare that moving up in weight can re-invent a fighters career but in a lot of ways Fitch’s situation is similar to the one Rich Franklin had.
Leave The UFC.
Once upon a time this seemed crazy…now it doesn’t. Dan Henderson has already set the precedent. If Fitch went to Strike Force he would immediately be their best welterweight and one of their best middleweights. He could match up with Sheilds, a great fight, Heiron, Nick Diaz and even Dan Henderson. Don’t forget it was not too long ago that Fitch was cut from the UFC in a dispute over retaining his likeness if the UFC Video Game.
Regardless of what option he chooses its clear to me that Fitch needs to shake things up. If he doesn’t he’ll always be number two.
Jones was the most surprising fighter on The Ultimate Fighter this year. At the beginning, people wondered if he was anything more than a big athletic guy who would smother people. Instead, he showed pretty decent take downs, and some great jiu-jitsu for a guy his size. While he is an older fighter, and thus has a short time to make an impact, he is probably the third best fighter this season, and will get some pretty decent fights right away.
Mitrione really doesn’t do much well. He’s got heavy hands, and we saw that plenty of times throughout the show. However, he lacks any kind of ground game, and when he does get taken down by Jones, he won’t be getting back up.
Prediction: Jones via submission
Frankie Edgar v. Matt Veach
Edgar is a top-five lightweight who is getting the shaft by even taking this fight. He was supposed to fight Kurt Pellegrino who would have actually been a decent fight, but when “Batman” got hurt, Veach jumped in. Edgar is a fantastic wrestler, with improving striking, and one of the best athletes in the division.
Veach is a relative unknown. He’s a wrestler from Matt Hughes’ HIT Squad camp, which means that I’m sure that he is boring and annoying. He defeated Matt Grice via TKO, so he does have some power. The question is will Edgar overlook a guy who only has one UFC fight?
Nope.
Prediction: Edgar via Unanimous Decision
Kimbo Slice v. Houston Alexander
Slice is the youtube sensation that is going to drive a lot of non-MMA fans to watch this card. He’s got heavy hands, but as we saw on the show, he isn’t an MMA fighter. He’s a brawler. When Roy Nelson put him in a crucifix on the show, he didn’t have any idea how to get out. He didn’t move his hips once. It was sad.
The question coming into this fight is what Kimbo is going to be as a fighter. He never trained full-time before TUF 10, and now he trains twice a day with American Top Team, one of the best teams in the country. He has said that the guys there spend a ton of time working on wrestling and BJJ with him, but his bread and butter will remain his hands.
The good news for Kimbo Slice is that he is fighting another guy who has no ground game in Houston Alexander. Alexander made his name by knocking out Keith Jardine and Alessio Sakara before losing three in a row and being bounced from the UFC. Now, he’s back as a handpicked opponent for Slice. He has good power, but not a whole lot of anything else.
The first guy to land a big punch will win this fight.
Prediction: Alexander via TKO
Roy Nelson v. Brandon Schaub
Nelson was the favorite coming into TUF because he has a resume that is just light years beyond what everyone else had. The problem with Roy is two-fold. He’s never in shape, as seen with his huge belly that he’s used as a weapon in the fights on TUF. The other is that he just isn’t an exciting fighter. He has boring fights that make Dana White and the fans crazy.
Another thing about him is this: When you look at his record, every time he fights a quality opponent he loses. Look at it: Jeff Monson, Andrei Arlovski, and Ben Rothwell are great examples.
Schaub is an athletic former NFL fullback who trains at Greg Jackson’s camp in New Mexico. That’s a huge advantage right there. He has all the tools that you need to win fights. His gameplan in this one will be to keep it on the feet, but if it goes to the ground, he has the skills to get back to his feet.
I like Schaub to keep it standing.
Prediction: Schaub via TKO
Matt Hammil v. Jon Jones
Hamill is a TUF 3 alumni who is famous for overcoming the fact that he is deaf. He became Tito Ortiz’s protege on the show but had to pull out due to injury. Since he’s taken the UFC by storm, going 6-2. One of those losses was to Michael Bisping when Hamill dominated the fight, but Bisping got the hometown decision because they were in England. His bread and butter is his wrestling, but he showed good power and even a head kick that knocked out Mark Munoz.
As for Jones, Man Crush. I love me some Jon Jones. Jones is an incredibly athletic light heavyweight that comes from a family where his two brothers are NFL-quality defensive linemen. He uses good muay thai, and has some of the best greco-roman wrestling this side of Dan Henderson. He’s undefeated in the UFC with wins over Stephen Bonnar and Jake O’Brien to his credit.
The big change for Jones between this fight and last fight is the team he trains with. He went from relatively unknown team Bomb Squad, to training with the best team in MMA at Greg Jackson’s. He’s got some great guys to train with, but really what I’m looking forward to is Jones closing the holes in his game. Jones is famous for fighting with Urijah Faber like reckless abandon, throwing spinning elbows and other kinds of crazy stuff. We all saw how that worked out for Urijah Faber. Now, in all Jones in his interviews he’s talking about becoming more conventional. That’s music to my ears.
Jones is just too good of a fighter for Hamill, and is just scratching the surface. Scary.
Bocek is 3-2 in the UFC, with his losses coming to Frank Edgar (a good loss) and Mac Danzig (Bad loss.) None of the wins are of any quality, and even if he wins this one, he is never really going to make any splash in the loaded 155 division. He does train with American Top Team, and is a BJJ black belt, so he’s got that going for him.
Brammer is making his UFC debut and doesn’t have a signature win on his resume. He is an accomplished grappler, having five wins by submission. He’s got to make a splash in this fight, because while he’s 7-0-1, this is a huge step up in competition.
Prediction: Bocek via unanimous decision
John Howard v. Dennis Hallman
Howard is an alumni of our personal favorite regional MMA promotion, Ring of Combat. He’s 2-0 in the UFC, with wins over Tamdan McCrory and Chris Wilson. He’s got a very balanced game with a specialty in Muay Thai. Six of his twelve wins have come by submission, so look for that in the fight.
Hallman is returning to the UFC for his second stint. He fought in the UFC as early as UFC 29, where he beat some guy named Matt Hughes. Now 34 years of age, he comes back for one last shot at glory. He’s got 28 submission victories to his credit, so expect that to be his gameplan against Howard.
Prediction: Howard via Submission
Brian Stann v. Rodney Wallace
Stann is famous for two things: His trio of fights with Steve Cantwell, and his military service. Like a lot of other fighters, he is a former marine, which garners him a ton of support from the fans. Since coming over in Zuffa’s acquiring of the WEC, he’s 1-1, losing to Krzysztof Soszynski and winning the rubber match against Cantwell. His forte is throwing hands, and don’t expect anything else.
Wallace is another prospect making his UFC debut. He’s 9-0, but hasn’t really fought anyone of note yet. The most I can tell you about him is that before taking up MMA, he was a division II running back. Besides that, not a ton about him is known. He hasn’t finished six of his nine wins, so I have a sneaky suspicion that he may be in over his head. But, hey, judge for yourself. Just found this on Youtube.
Prediction: Stann via TKO
Jon Madsen v. Justin Wren
Madsen’s fights on TUF were less than impressive. In the first, he defeated Abe Wagner, who is barely a viable fighter. He did open a hell of a cut on his head though. The second was against eventual finalist Brandon Schaub, and he was just overmatched. The ground and pound specialist from Matt Hughes’ H.I.T. Squad camp will have his chance to impress Dana and the boys and get a shot in the UFC.
Wren was one of the more impressive fighters on TUF in my opinion. He arm triangled Wes Sims and then lost to Roy Nelson in a fight that should have gone to a third round. I love his ground game and think that he has the advantadge standing as well. And none of this has anything to do with the fact that he’s our friend on Twitter.
Prediction: Wren via submission
Darill Schoonover v. James McSweeney
Schoonover is famous for being called “Titties” by Rampage on TUF, but he did win a fight which is more than most of Rampage’s team can say. He was 10-0 heading into TUF and defeated Zak Jensen in the first round. In the second round, he was overpowered by Marcus Jones and knockout out cold. Something to remember, Schoonover has been stop-lossed and is being sent to Afghanistan as part of the Army. He was discharged four years ago, and now he will be going back after Saturday. I don’t know about you, but that would effect my training.
McSweeney is a couple of things. First off, he’s a douche. Second, he is a decent fighter. He is part of the Greg Jackson camp, which means he’s got some of the best in the world to train with. He’s a strong wrestler who made it to the semi-finals before being stopped by Roy Nelson and the apparently unstoppable “fat-in-the-face” crucifix. He’d like to stand in this fight, and will get the chance to against Schoonover.
Matt Serra on Wednesday confirmed his next fight, posting on his official facebook page that he has signed to fight Frank Trigg on Feb. 6 at UFC 109. The event is scheduled for the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“Signed to fight Frank Trigg on Feb. 6 in Vegas (UFC). Should be an exciting fight!!!” wrote Serra. “I love the UFC… they keep hooking me up with the most arrogant guys to punch in the face!!!”
Serra (9-6) is currently on a two-fight skid, losing the UFC welterweight title to Georges St-Pierre and then dropping a decision to former champion Matt Hughes in May of this year. He is 1-2 in the Octagon since making his return via “The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback.” Serra was granted a title shot for winning the reality series, taking full advantage by taking the belt from St-Pierre before losing it in their rematch.
Trigg (19-7) made his return to the Octagon at UFC 103 in Dallas, where he quickly suffered a TKO loss to Josh Koscheck in the opening round. Having captured titles in many smaller organizations, he is currently 37 years old and making what is likely his last run at success in the UFC.
This is a matchup between two veterans who desperately need this fight. Serra is coming off a loss to Matt Hughes that he claims he won, but I think he was a little delusional. Trigg is coming off a loss to a top five welterweight in Josh Koscheck where he thinks that the fight was stopped early.
This is a fight where you have two guys whose base arts are on the ground. If Trigg was to take Serra down, could “The Terror” use his excellent BJJ to submit him? Sure. Could Trigg put enough pressure on Serra to grind out a decision? Probably.
For whatever reason, I see this fight staying on the feet, and I see Trigg outclassing Serra in a decision.
That being said, I love both these guys and wish them the best of luck.
March 15, 2010, at 2:33 pm
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