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.