Soil from Stone

Brandon Vera and Anderson Silva are simply awesome fighters. Silva’s classiness as a winner is completely unmatched, but Vera doesn’t have all that bad of an attitude either. They might come across as arrogant, but the truth is that they are both really that good. Now that Silva has moved up and Vera has moved down to 205 lbs, it would be interesting to see the two in the octagon together. However, Vera is obviously not in peak condition at the lower weight. I don’t think he could handle Silva right now. Maybe after he’s had some time to acclimate?

And while I’m on the UFC…Brandon Markham was the beneficiary of either a brilliant fake-out strategy or else a jaw-droppingly lucky shot.

Way to go, Machida! Good show. It was really nice to see a different style do well in the Octagon.

Update: Check out this video of career highlights at Youtube. Machida doesn’t look very fast or strong, but neither does a planet until you get in its way. His opponents seem to have a way of putting their faces right where his fist is about to be, and he hits hard. I almost couldn’t believe the way Ortiz went down from that knee to the ribs. His take down defense is great too. He needs to work on his grappling, though. If Oritz hadn’t already been hurt by the knee, there’s no way Machida would have escaped that arm bar.

Kalib Starnes vs Alan Belcher

Starnes is a boxer without a lot of grappling experience, so I didn’t expect much from him. He didn’t disappoint. The fight started out fast and furious, but a nasty cut over his right eye prompted the doc to call it.

Stephan Bonner vs Eric Schafer

Even with Schafer mounted on his back, Bonner never lost control of this fight. Schafer wanted to take it to the ground from the beginning, but couldn’t cause any real damage. Once Bonner took the top, however, Schafer was helpless.

Tim Sylvia vs Brandon Vera

Boooring. Normally, I would have called this one for Sylvia, no contest, but with his serious back injury last year, it seemed like a toss up. Vera kind of gives me the creeps, though, so I was still hoping Sylvia would take him. Rounds one and two were boring. Sylvia kept pushing Vera against the fence, and just holding him there. Vera really tried to make it more exciting, but couldn’t break free. He’s a big guy, but next to Sylvia he must have felt like my car in front of this pickup truck. (I could see the bottom of his front bumper over my hood.)

To Vera’s credit, he fought hard, despite a broken hand suffered in the first round. The third round was more exciting, with Sylvia finally getting into strike mode. He clinched the win with a series of devastating elbows and short punches.

Jorge Gurgel vs Alvin Robinson

Robinson did a great job on the bottom. He had a great defense, but throughout round one, Gurgel still seemed to be in control. Both of these guys are juijitsu masters, and they were a blast to watch. However, Gurgel took a couple of hard hits in round two, and then proceeded to take a serious pounding. It wasn’t much fun to watch, and I’ll bet it was even less fun to feel.

Anderson Silva vs Rich Franklin

I expected a whole lot more out of this fight, too. Franklin’s jaw seemed awfully fragile. He went down by TKO in the first round, and that should have been the end of it, but buzzer beat the ref to the call. It wasn’t much of a breather, though, because he went down again when his jaw met Silva’s knee less than thirty seconds into round two. Silva was very cool about it, though, giving Franklin a seiza and rei twice after the fight.

Ryan Jensen vs Demian Maia

Demian was way too good on the ground for Jensen, and it was over by rear naked choke in the first round. Then there was a couple of minutes of awkward hug fest. A fitting end to an awkward UFC event.

Technorati Tags: ryan jensen, demian maia, anderson silva, rich franklin, jorge gurgel, alvin robinson, tim sylvia, brandon vera, stephan bonner, eric schafer, ufc 77, ufc, mma

I don’t necessarily make fight predictions rationally. Sometimes I predict someone to win just because I like his attitude better than the other guy’s. I wish that worked for me more often than it does.

Alexander vs. Sakara

I picked Alexander, and he was a hurricane. Sakara hung his head after the fight and looked completely humiliated. Well, he was humiliated. These two guys didn’t look like they belonged in the same circuit.

Taylor vs. Davis

Both fighters took an insane amount of punishment. Taylor started out by pounding Davis, and it looked like it was going to be a knockout in the first round. But Davis made an amazing comeback and won by submission via arm bar. I picked Taylor to win, and it wouldn’t be my first bad call of the night.

Cro Cop vs. Kongo

After the pre-fight interviews, I picked Cro Cop to win on experience, but then I learned he’s a politician, a Croatian M.P. I don’t much like either of these guys, but I’ll take almost anyone over a politician. Kongo looked scared through most of round one. He almost lost on an arm bar, but he took control of the fight after that. It was a complete role reversal, with Cro Cop on the run for the rest of the match. Kongo won by unanimous decision.

Hammil vs. Bisping

I picked Hammil to win, but, once again, I didn’t like either fighter. Hammil was cocky and rude, while Bisping was angry and resentful. Hammil entered the arena to “Born in the USA” and lots of boos. I suppose there are some advantages to being deaf. He was countered by Bisping entering to “London Calling” and lots of cheers: home turf advantage. Hammil appeared to be just toying with Bisping for most of the fight, but he wore out just as Bisping got his second wind right at the end. Bisping won by split decision. I thought the decision should have gone to Hammil, but to his credit, he conceded graciously, saying his opponent won “fair and square.”

Jackson vs. Henderson

I like Jackson, and I picked him to win just for that. He wore a mean scowl walking into the arena, but the pre-fight interviews portrayed him as an easy-going, good natured guy. He looked like a total softy with friends, family, and dog. When asked why he trained so hard, he just said he didn’t want to get his ass kicked. Jackson surprised everyone by holding his own on the ground and dominating on his feet. Henderson has a vicious right hook and right knee, but he had a hard time landing anything. He started to tire at the end of the third round, but he got a second wind, and both fighters looked good through all five rounds. It would have been a very tough fight to score, but Jackson took it, and I think rightfully so. In the post-fight interview Rampage Jackson cracked a few lame jokes, as well as a few good ones, and thanked God for his abilities. When asked about an old wrist injury, he responded, “No, the wrist is fine. It’s my knuckles that hurt….I didn’t know he was going to beat up my fist….I tried to knock him out, but he got a rock head!”

Check out Triton‘s comments as well.

Technorati Tags: hammil, bisping, rampage jackson, dangerous dan, henderson, cro cop, kongo, alexander, sakara, taylor, davis, ufc 75, ufc, pride, mma, champion vs champion

I should have written this right after the fight, because now my memory is a little hazy. I might have some details mixed up between some of the fights. These weren’t the only fights of the night, but I think they were the only ones shown in the PPV broadcast. It was a great set of fights.

Kendall Grove vs. Patrick Cote

The pre-fight showmanship was a little over the top for my tastes. Maybe it was the stupid mask or something else in his demeanor, but I took an instant dislike to Grove. I was happy to see Cote take a sound victory in the first round.

Joe Stevenson vs. Kurt Pellegrino

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This might have been the most interesting fight of the night. Take down, hold, escape, reverse, hold, choke, escape, leg lock, escape, reverse, arm bar, escape, choke, hold, reverse. That lavender hair must have taken something out of Pellegrino. He was extremely slippery, and escaped hold after hold, but he just didn’t seem to have Stevenson’s stamina. By the third round, he looked exhausted. Stevenson won by decision.

Alberto Crane vs. Roger Huerta

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I was surprised this fight went on as long as it did. It ended in one of the strangest maneuvers I have ever seen. Huerta was on his knees, while Crane clung to his back just trying to stay out of reach. Instead of trying to twist around, Huerta used the arena monitor to aim elbows at Crane’s head against his back. Huerta in the third round.

Josh Koscheck vs. Georges St. Pierre

I thought Koscheck’s best chance was to take it to the mat instead of trying to trade blows with GSP, but the reality was completely different. GSP took Koscheck down almost immediately and tried to keep him down on the mat through the whole fight. Both of these guys could give and take plenty of punishment, but GSP had the upper hand from the beginning.

Randy Couture vs. Gabriel Gonzaga

Heads collided in the first round, breaking Gonzaga’s nose, partially blinding and gagging him. I don’t know if that was part of Couture’s plan, but it definitely made the rest of the fight easier for him. Gonzaga delivered a couple of literally bone crushing high kicks, but Couture fought like a tank. Despite a broken arm, he never seemed seriously phased and never let up the pressure on Gonzaga. Forty-four years old and still the best.

Technorati Tags: kendall grove, patrick cote, joe stevenson, kurt pellegrino, roger huerta, alberto crane, georges st pierre, josh koscheck, randy couture, gabriel gonzaga, ufc 74, ufc, respect, mma

George “GSP” St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck

GSP had a hard time recently, but he looks pretty good now. If I had to put money on someone, I’d go with St. Pierre.

Randy “the Natural” Couture vs. Gabriel Gonzaga

Both of these guys are flat out scary. I’d like to see Couture win for two reasons. First, I like to see the older guys win. Is he really 45 years old!? Second, he seems like such a great guy. Maybe Gonzaga is pretty decent too, but it sure doesn’t come across on TV.

St. Pierre and Couture both have experience over their opponents, and I think that’s going to carry the fight for them. Surprises can be good too, though. Should be a couple of good fights no matter who wins.

Technorati Tags: ufc, ufc 74, randy couture, gabriel gonzaga, george st pierre, josh koscheck, mma