UFC 97: Redemption

[Manji]

UFC 97
One of the better cards of late - pretty stacked with a bunch of Canadian fighters representing like Bocek, Kang, Loiseau and Stout...
Obviously the two big fights will be Shogun vs Lidell and Silva vs Leites...
Live from Montreal - Saturday April 18 2009...
Place your predictions...



UFC Middleweight Championship

UFC Middleweight Champion
Anderson Silva
21-4-0
Curitiba, Brazil
vs
Challenger
Thales Leites
13-1-0
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Light Heavyweight (205lbs)
Chuck Liddell
21-6-0
San Luis Obispo, California
vs
Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua
17-3-0
Curitiba, Brazil

Main Card

Light Heavyweight (205lbs)
Krzysztof Soszynski
16-8-1
Winnipeg, Canada
vs
Brian Stann
6-1-0
Jacksonville, North Carolina

Heavyweight (265lbs)
Cheick Kongo
13-4-1
Paris, France
vs
Artoni Hardonk
7-4-0
Weesp, Holland

Light Heavyweight (205lbs)
Luiz Cane
9-1-0
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
vs
Steve Cantwell
7-1-0
Pahrump, Nevada

Preliminary Card

Middleweight (185lbs)
Denis Kang
31-10-1
Vancouver, Canada
vs
Xavier Foupa-Pokam
20-9-0
Paris, France

Middleweight (185lbs)
Jason MacDonald
21-11-0
Alberta, Canada
vs
Nate Quarry
10-3-0
Gresham, Oregon

Middleweight (185lbs)
Ed Herman
14-7-0
Portland, Oregon
vs
David Loiseau
18-8-0
Montreal, Canada

Lightweight (155lbs)
David Bielkheden
13-6-0
Stockholm, Sweden
vs
Mark Bocek
6-2-0
Ontario, Canada

Welterweight (170lbs)
T.J. Grant
13-2-0
Canada
vs
Ryo Chonan
15-9-0
Japan

Lightweight (155lbs)
Matt Wiman
9-4-0
Tulsa, Oklahoma
vs
Sam Stout
13-5-1
Ontario, Canada

Light Heavyweight (205lbs)
Eliot Marshall
6-1-0
vs
Vinny Magalhaes
2-3-0
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

 

[Tao]

I am very interested to see Ed Herman vs David Loiseau, hope the "crow" is back to his pre Franklin fighting form and mind set

 

[dj1470]

I am very interested to see Ed Herman vs David Loiseau, hope the "crow" is back to his pre Franklin fighting form and mind set

You won't unless they have time to broadcast it. It's not on the top 5 card for the night.

 

[C Dick]

I am going to the fight, I don't need much of an excuse to go to Montreal.

I think that Lidell has lost it, but Rua has lost it more, anyone who can not instantly KO Mark Coleman has really lost it, so I will go with Lidell.

It would make things a lot more interesting if Leites could beat Silva, who would be best pound for pound then? Leites? GSP? Silva still? Silva looked bad against Cote, I will pick him to come back strong.

 

[svtcobra]

Well... I'm here sitting in my hotel room in Montreal. It took a few of my friends about 6 hrs to get here from Sauga. It is my first time being in Montreal, and I have to say I'm impressed with the parts of the historic sections of the area. I didn't get to see much on in the way in, but that is what tomorrow is for. We decided to come early and tour the city for the a couple of day before the event. One of my friends were able to get from ticket for the Tapout event also, and I'm soo looking forward in that.

Anyway I'm off for some Zzzzz.. It was a long day for me...

Later..

 

[Manji]

Okay....

Quick Picks (I'm in a rush)...


Silva should have Leites KOed by the second....I think he will end it in the first (unless he plays around like he did with Cote)....

Shogun should beat Chuck easily providing that he has worked on his cardio and endurance...If a shitty Keith Jardine can beat the Iceman Rua should have no problem (in theory)...

Kongo vs Hardonk hopefully will be a Stand Up war....Two European Heavyweight Kickboxers going toe to toe....I'll take Kongo for the win...TKO in the second...

Sosynski by TKO in the second...

Cane KOs Cantwell in the second...

Pokam knocks out Kang or Kang will submit Pokam...

Macdonald submits Nate Quarry....

Herman by Dec...

Bocek by Dec...

Stout by Dec....

Chonan by Dec....

Maghales by Submission in the third...

 

[Mr. Lucky]

This is going to be amazing!

Where you all going to watch the fight?

 

[Tao]

Wish I was in Montreal to see it live, but will be at the Boston pizza in sauga.

Anyone catch the press conference yesterday in which Dana spoke when asked about a St.Pierre vs Silva bout, that he mentioned Toronto as a destination.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

your going to watch the fight at Boston Pizza?

 

[dj1470]

Thales Leites was an embarrassment constantly falling down trying to pull guard on Spider.
Enough said.

Results you ask?
No problem.............

Silva over Leites by unanimous
Rua over Liddell by TKO *nanananaheyheyheygoooodbyechuck
Kongo over Hardonk by TKO
Soszynski over Stann by submission
Cane over Cantwell by unanimous

Kang over Pokam by unanimous
Quarry over MacDonald by TKO
Herman over Loiseau by unanimous
Bocek over Biekheden by submission
Stout over Wiman by unanimous
Grant over Chonan by split
Marshall over Maghales by unanimous

 

[Tao]

your going to watch the fight at Boston Pizza?

Yes, its just around the corner from me and they always show it, plus the bartender is freaking hot

 

[C Dick]

The Silva fight was horrible. The crowd alternated between booing, chanting GSP, chanting Refund, chanting Bullshit and chanting Boring. Silva should have jumped on him when we kept lying on his back, instead of just turning and walking away.

I gather that Silva weighed in at 182? Doesn't that mean that he did not have to cut weight, that he is pretty much walking around at 182? Otherwise, why wasn't he at 185? And if he is walking around at 182, he could make 170 easily? Yet he fought at 205 just recently, getting from there to 170 is a lot.

 

[The Oracle]

The Silva fight was horrible. The crowd alternated between booing, chanting GSP, chanting Refund, chanting Bullshit and chanting Boring. Silva should have jumped on him when we kept lying on his back, instead of just turning and walking away.

I gather that Silva weighed in at 182? Doesn't that mean that he did not have to cut weight, that he is pretty much walking around at 182? Otherwise, why wasn't he at 185? And if he is walking around at 182, he could make 170 easily? Yet he fought at 205 just recently, getting from there to 170 is a lot.

Silva's walking around weight is 215lb's. This is no lie, he's a big guy. He has fought as low as 170lb's in his career and of course as high as 205lb's. Right now his attitude is kind of puzzleing.

 

[Manji]

The Silva fight was horrible. The crowd alternated between booing, chanting GSP, chanting Refund, chanting Bullshit and chanting Boring. Silva should have jumped on him when we kept lying on his back, instead of just turning and walking away. lot.

Leites is a world class Brazilian Black Belt....
Engaging him on the ground would be a risky move for Silva...

 

[Questor]

Leites is a world class Brazilian Black Belt....
Engaging him on the ground would be a risky move for Silva...

If Leites wants to fight him on the ground, then he needs to take him down, not lie on his back and invite him to join him. What a pussy.

 

[Captain Fantastic]

If Leites wants to fight him on the ground, then he needs to take him down, not lie on his back and invite him to join him. What a pussy.

I agree and he should never sniff a title shot again unless he drastically changes his style.

BUT, as champion and the guy making the big bucks (not to mention being constantly declared the undisputed best P4P MMA fighter and "evolutionary fighter of the sport" by the UFC shills), Anderson Silva still has to put forth a much better effort... especially in the first 2.5 rounds before Leites was truly flopping.

Leites is a world class Brazilian Black Belt... Engaging him on the ground would be a risky move for Silva.

Yes, but only a little. A truly great fighter adapts and does what he has to do to win convincingly and all fighters assume a certain amount of risk as part of the profession. If he just wanted to win and not be judged by the crowd and others, then he shouldn't be fighting in the biggest arena of them all. UFC = entertainment = money. Technical fighting is almost secondary. Almost.

Silva could have peppered Leites with strikes from above (big punches, kicks and knees from his feet; punches, elbows and knees from the guard/half-guard) and then move away if need be. He chose not to and is rightfully being excoriated for a second straight listless performance. He's a pretty serious no-gi BJJ stud himself and has a lot of MMA experience, so he shouldn't really get caught and could do serious damage that would lead to more openings and possible KO.

Legends take risks - look at Fedor beating Nog on the ground (twice) and CroCop on his feet. That's part of the reason why he's my undisputed P4P #1.

Silva's walking around weight is 215lb's. This is no lie, he's a big guy. He has fought as low as 170lb's in his career and of course as high as 205lb's. Right now his attitude is kind of puzzleing.

I know what you're saying, but it must be hard to get "up" for the fights that they've given him. He destroyed Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson, the #2 and 3 guys in the world at middleweight at the time.

Who's left for him to fight? Okami is a second-rater, and Mousasi is still a bit green and I still have doubts about Jacare Souza. Like Leites, Maia has no striking and is also green. And I don't want to hear about Marquardt or Lawler. One fight I'd like to see is Vitor Belfort-Anderson Silva. If Belfort has his head on straight and has a great training camp, he would be an interesting fight for "The Spider." (v.1)

Another reason is probably simpler: why risk your name, record and reputation when you can do just enough to grind out a win and yet always be in control?

Personally, I think he could fight at 205, as Forrest is really the only huge guy near the top of that weight class. Moving up and down in weight class is WAY too hard for elite guys trying to fight other elite fighters. Just ask BJ Penn or other guys who try to drop / move around different weight classes.

 

[dj1470]

That's part of the reason why he's my undisputed P4P #1.

Too bad he's not.
That honour goes to GSP then Silva then maybe Fedor.

 

[Captain Fantastic]

Too bad he's not. That honour goes to GSP then Silva then maybe Fedor.

That's YOUR list. I'll stand by my choice for #1.

Whatever... I've never seen Fedor fight a snooze-fest against lesser opponents twice in a row or get caught in a triangle or a flying scissor heel hook. I've never seen Fedor lose to someone smaller and not even championship calibre like a Matt Serra or get caught in an armbar by a guy not known for submissions.

Fedor gets rocked or caught in the beginning of a sub and still goes on to dominate. That's why he's the best. Period.

Have another glass of Dana White Kool-Aid, why don't ya? And enjoy!

 

[dj1470]

That's YOUR list. I'll stand by my choice for #1.

Whatever... I've never seen Fedor fight a snooze-fest against lesser opponents twice in a row or get caught in a triangle or a flying scissor heel hook. I've never seen Fedor lose to someone smaller and not even championship calibre like a Matt Serra or get caught in an armbar by a guy not known for submissions.

Fedor gets rocked or caught in the beginning of a sub and still goes on to dominate. That's why he's the best. Period.

Have another glass of Dana White Kool-Aid, why don't ya? And enjoy!

Yeah sure. Fedor's last few opponents were top notch calibre - Arlovski, Sylvia, Choi, and Lindland. All of whom are not top 10 world heavyweights anymore. Fedor has fought 4 times in the last 2 years and those were his opponents? Yeah right. Maybe 4-5 years ago Fedor was P4P best but not now. It's got nothing to do with Dana White and his idiocy - it's got to do with strength of opponents. With that said, Fedor is still tops in the dismal world of mma heavyweights.

Now go take Fedor's cock out of your mouth and shut up, why don't ya? You can go back later and suck his dick again no problem.

 

[svtcobra]

Well I'm back..

I had a great time in Montreal over the 4 1/2 days there. The UFC fight I did enjoy allot as it being my first UFC in person event ever. I didn't really enjoy the Spider match, I thought there would be a better beating but it was a real disappointment. Anyway I really enjoyed Montreal and the surrounding areas. I would be defiantly going back for sure this summer. There are talk that UFC is coming to Toronto, but that I most likely will not happen. Although it it does the amount of revenue that will bring to the City of Toronto will be great..

Since being back I think I've caught a little flu bug, my sinus is completely stuff up...LOL.. Anyway I'm going to nurse this with a good shot of rum and I hear the hot tub calling my name..