MMA Hot Stuff

UFC 109 in Review

I don't think I'm necessarily easy to please, but I really enjoyed UFC 109 this last weekend. Mind you for me it's not just about the fights. You already know the results (from my twitter account, and if you don't follow me, well you should). But fight weekends for me are about meeting the fans, interviewing fighters and their wives, helping with autograph signings and honestly, I like being a fan once in a while as well.

So, friday I had the pleasure of meeting with Tessa Marquardt (Nate's wife) while he was cutting weight. Look on MMASocialites.com for that interview. 

I attended the Q & A with Brendan Vera and Urijah Faber. I love these. So insightful and it really gives the fans an opportunity to ask just about anything you want. Nobody screens the questions. It's open mic. The questions varied from future fight/opponent questions, tattoos to SuperBowl picks. I thought it was worth noting that there were almost as many women asking questions as men. Including two little girls that were younger than 10 years  in age. One woman (who looked to be 55 years young) got up to ask Urijah a question and literally started to cry. Can't dispute the fact that Urijah gets women of all ages a little weak in the knees. (sorry the pics aren't great. there's a reason i'm not a photog):

 

I met some of the best fans.ever. They ranged from insane UFC Fight Club members to a "cute couple" from Texas. The Fight Club members have a system. I won't go into detail for fear of giving away secrets that they've worked long and hard to perfect. But I will say, if you're not currently a Fight Club member you are MISSING OUT. Not only do they have access to presale tickets but the group  are clearly friends. Going to event to event and really have their own little community. They made me feel welcome with open arms and for that I want to say: Rob, Rob, Rob, (yes there are a lot of Robs), Whitney, Chris, Kevin...thank you for a fun weekend. 

Then I met a couple that was actually dubbed "The Cute Couple" from everyone that met them. And they really are a cute couple. Coming all the way to Vegas without tickets! What are they to do? Let's just say they were taken care of and it's because they are genuinely some of the nicest people I've ever met.  

Saturday I had the opportunity to help the Fight Shop promote an autograph signing with Dethrone... We did it by doing a couple contests that included me sending a Twitter msg. The first five people that showed me the msg got to CUT TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE! People had been waiting in line for hours to meet.. Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Gilbert Melendez, Forrest Griffin, Efrain Escudero and Anthony Njokuani. But my five new twitter friends cut right to the front. VIP style. It was fun to see how personable some of these fighters were making their fans feel special.  I want to give special props to JOSH KOSCHECK and GILBERT MELENDEZ as the stand outs. They were clearly some of the fans favorites. Gilbert is showing he's a PIMP with the gold watch. 

 

Oh, and then of course the fights. So much fun. Congrats to Matt Serra, Randy Couture, Demian Maia and Paulo Thaigo. Sigh, and Chael Sonnen. Still can't believe he beat Nate. The look on Nate's face broke my heart and made me forget that I had a camera with me. Sorry, no pictures. 

Oh, and I don't remember this even being taken. And I look like I had had too much fun by this point!   

 
  
 

UFC 98 Predictions - From A Girl's Perspective.

I've really been looking forward to this card for a while now. Specifically because of the co-main event match up between Matt Hughes and Matt Serra. Okay okay squeal, see I'm so excited! Here are my predictions for the main card. Where do you agree? Where do you think I have it all wrong? Tell me about it!

Also, if you haven't done so already, don't forget to fill out your UFC Fantasy picks for the fight! I do this solely for bragging rights.

For those of you that have read my predictions before, you know the drill. Winners in green!

Rashad Evans Vs. Lyoto Machida - The interesting thing with this match up is the champion (Rashad) enters the fight as the underdog. As of today, according to gamblerspalace, the odds are Rashad +170  and Lyoto -220. Ladies, trust me I've gone over this a thousand times with my male friends because it can be a little confusing, that but means if you lay down $100 on Rashad and if he wins you'll get $170.00 back (plus you get back the $100 you used to bet). Whereas if you bet on Lyoto, you have to bet $220 to win $100. But that tells you Lyoto is the favorite in this situation.  Rashad comes in with a record of 13-0-1 with some HUGE names under his belt - Forrest Griffin, Michael Bisping, Chuck Liddell... He's known for his strong wrestling background, but is also one of the better strikers in the weight class (see victory over Chuck Liddell... wow he has fast hands). Lyoto "the Dragon" is on fire with a record of 14-0. He's known for having a very different style, and a karate background. I don't know that I've ever seen Lyoto take a big punch, he only dishes them out. But I still think if there's anyone out there that can beat him it's Rashad. Remember, Rashad trains out of Greg Jackson's camp, and they're notorious for having full-proof gameplans for every opponent! I'll be putting my money on Rashad on this one. I CAN NOT wait to see it!

Matt Hughes vs Matt Serra - THIS IS IT! I've been waiting. And waiting. This much anticipated match up was supposed to take place over a year ago. The hype has been building. Matt Hughes comes in with a deep record of 43-7. Hughes has lost three of his last four (mind you they were to two of the best in the weight class). He may be more experienced and bigger, but does he have it in him to beat Serra?   Matt Serra is 9-4 and he wants this win badly (say it with a new york/jersey accent).  He lost his last fight to Georges St Pierre over a year ago. Does he have ring rust? Is his age starting to catch up to him? I think not! As you may remember he's the one who beat GSP in April of 2007, showing his power in that TKO victory. The guy has the will to kill Hughes. I'm definitely laying down some Benjamins on Matt Serra for this one. He's going to buy ma'ma a new pair of shoes! I'm also guessing the loser of this fight will probably announce his retirement.

Drew McFedries Vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam - Drew was originally set to face James Irvin but that was scratched due to an injury. Drew is currently 7-5 winning 4 of his last 8 fights in the first round either via TKO or KO. Xavier comes into the fight with a record of 20-9 and has a Muay Thai background. Even with his deep record I still think Drew will win this fight by TKO. Drew has some HEAVY hands, so don't blink.

Dan Miller Vs. Chael Sonnen - This is another fight that was changed up due to injury. Dan was originally scheduled to face Yushin Okami. He's currently 11-1-1 where his only loss was back 2006. Chael is coming off a first round loss against Damien Maia (one of my new favorites) and currently has a record of 21-10-1. Given Chael's experience, I'm picking him to take home the 'W'. A loss to Damien Maia is nothing to be ashamed of as many are saying he's the #1 contender at Middleweight. Chael is a very cerebral fighter, and will come in with a great game plan. He's got good striking, and his wrestling is top notch (2000 Olympic alternate in Greco Roman), so I think Chael takes this fight wherever he wants it to be.

Sean Sherk Vs. Frank Edgar - Another great match up. As you may recall from my previous post about the light weight devision, both of these guys were on my Honorable Mention list. Sean not only has an incredible record of 33-3-1, with his three losses going to TOP TIER guys such as BJ Penn, GSP and Matt Hughes but he has a nickname of "The Muscle Shark"! This former UFC Lightweight Champion is a true legend. Frankie has a record of 9-1, and won his UFC debut against Tyson Griffin in style by being awarded Fight of the Night honors. Both are great wrestlers with great striking and crisp combinations, and I definitely think Frankie Edgar is a great asset to the Lightweight division and he'll be around for a while but I think he's going to be beaten down by Sean. Sean's tenacity and pace are ridiculous. I'd like to see a great fight between these two and would love to see it  go the distance, but I still give this to Sean.

UFC 95 to air for free on Spike TV!

It has been announcedthat UFC 95 will air for free on Spike TV!

The event, scheduled for Saturday, February 21st at London's O2 Arena, will feature a main event bout between Season 1 TUF winner Diego Sanchez and Season 2 TUF winner Joe Stevenson. The bout marks Diego Sanchez's first fight at lightweight.

The card is also set to feature Nate Marquardt versus Wilson Gouveia, Rory Markham versus Dan Hardy, Damian Maia versus Chael Sonnen, andJosh Koscheck versus UFC newcomer Paulo Thiago.

Stevenson is looking to bounce back from a recent loss to Kenny Florian at UFC 91, and get back on track for a title shot. While Sanchez is looking to make an immediate impact at his new weight class, and is coming in on a two fight win streak in the welterweight division.

The event will air via same-day tape delay at 9 PM ET/PT.

WEC Post-Fight Interviews

Here are some post-fight interviews from this weeks WEC event! Hear Urijah Faber, Leonard Garcia and Chael Sonnen discuss their fights.

Oh wow, what oh what will Chael have to say about fighting a crazy man?

WEC: Faber goes down, Garcia dominates, and Filho is crazy

What a night of WEC fights... Most of which seemed to over rather quickly, except of course for the one we all were wishing would mercifully end, but just wouldn't.

We'll recap three fights for you. First, Leonard Garia VS Jens Pulver:

The fighters come out, Garcia looking like the bigger fighter. They exchange a few punches and Garvia throws a few kicks while the fighters feel each other out. Once or twice Garcia retreats quickly as Pulver is looking for his shots. Garcia lands a right hand, and then another one that rocks Pulver. Pulver moves back, shakes his head, wobbles a bit and wipes his nose to check for blood... once he did that, you could feel the end was near, and apparently Garcia felt it too. He moved in with more devastating strikes as Pulver was backed up against the cage. Pulver collapses one leg down and Garcia continues to tee off on him until the ref steps in to stop the fight.

Dominating win for Garcia who states that he wants and deserves a title shot in his post-fight interview.

Next up, Paulo Filho VS Chael Sonnen:

The first round sees Sonnen looking to repeat his game plan from the previous fight. Using his reach, keeping it standing, and stuffing the takedown. Filho attempts the takedown, but Sonnen stuffs it. Filho rolls to his back inviting Sonnen into his guard and the ground game. Sonnen actually considers it, holding the ankles and looking to land strikes. The crowd does not like it as it's not only boring, but everyone has to be wondering what the hell Sonnen is thinking after the ending of the last fight. Round one ends in an uneventful manner, but with Sonnen winning through superior striking as well as controlling the pace.

Round 2 sees more of the same, only this time Sonnen has clearly listened to his corner and backs out each time Filho tries to get him to enter his guard. Another boring round of Sonnen using his reach and superior striking, and Filho using his... well... his... using his... NOTHING.

Round 3, and guess what... more of the same. Only this time, Sonnen actually considers entering Filho's guard at one point, probably more out of pure boredom than anything else. Frank Mir actually states that if Sonnen goes to the ground and gets caught in an armbar, he will attack Sonnen at the gate. Sonnen thinks better of it and continues to keep the fight standing, using his reach and combinations to win the round. The only thing Filho did was make a few lazy attempts at a shot, throw a total of about 4 overhand rights, and talk to an imaginary friend in the cage (no seriously... he kept looking at something and talking to "someone", even Frank Mir asked "who is he talking too? Did you see that? Who is he looking at?").

The funniest moment of the fight came right after the bell at the end of the third round. Sonnen put his hand up to high-five Filho, and when he realized that Filho was completely out of it and had a look as though he didn't even know where he was or what was going on, Sonnen actually ducked and backed away clearly thinking Filho might punch him.

Sonnen wins the fight. It was boring, but not Sonnen's fault. Sonnen followed the game plan to win, and Filho made little to no attempt to engage, win, or even make it respectable. All in all I feel bad for Sonnen who clearly prepared for a 5 round battle for the belt, and had his dream and opportunity stolen away through no fault of his own.

On to the main event, the featherweight title bout... Mike Brown VS Urijah Faber:

The fighters come out and feel each other out. Faber lands a fefw quick shots... he really is quick, with very quick hands. Brown however stays in the pocket and looks for combos. Brown looks to take Faber down with double underhooks but Faber gets away and they end up against the cage. Faber gets a thai clinch and lands a knee while Brown retaliates with a few upper cuts. Brown back Faber up agains the fence, drops to double and gets Faber down. However, Faber pops right back up and fights away. Brown lands a right hand that wobble Faber up agains the fence. Brown approaches and Faber attempts to land a backside elbow, but Brown steps in with a hard right hook that lands right on the money. Faber goes down on his back and Brown follows him down, Faber rolls to his knees, clearly still rocked. Brown lands right hands from underneath, and when Faber doesn't attempt to improve position the ref jumps in and stops the fight.

Mike Brown is your new WEC Featherweight champion.