UFC 103 Predictions

Rich Franklin vs. Vitor Belfort: 195 Catchweight

• This fight has me in suspense because it is the return of Belfort. At the same time, it is hard for me to choose a winner. I am and have been a fan of Franklin for a while. However, Belfort is coming back to the UFC and we most likely come out hungry for a victory. Belfort's striking ability is unprecedented in MMA. He also has an edge is footwork and quickness. For those reasons, Belfort should win this fight.
  
• Winner: I have to go with Franklin. I know I threw out great praise for Belfort, but my gut is telling me to go with Franklin.

Mirko Filipovic vs. Junior dos Santos: Heavyweight

• Filipovic used to dominate in the kickboxing realm of MMA, but he is slower now than what he used to be. He is not as quick and there have been noticeable flaws in his fights as of late. Dos Santos has very fast hands that are punishing. I predict dos Santos will unload with heavy right and left hand hooks in the second round.
  
• Winner: Junior dos Santos

Martin Kampmann vs. Paul Daley: Welterweight

• Kampmann is a well rounded fighter with great take down skills. He also has a terrific submission game. Daley does not have the ground game to stop Kampmann from apply a crippling submission.
  
• Winner: Martin Kampmann
  

Josh Koshcheck vs. Frank Trigg: Welterweight

• Koshcheck is faster, stronger and better than Trigg is. Trigg lets fighters get to his back too easily which is a major problem. I look for Koshcheck to exploit this weakness to capture a victory.
• Winner: Josh Koshcheck via rear naked chock
  

Hermes Franca vs. Tyson Griffin: 159 Catchweight

• Look for Tyson to control this fight with his wrestling ability. At the same time, Franca will be looking for a submission to apply. This fight has a good chance of going the three full rounds and there is not a clear and coherent fighter to choose.
  
• Winner: Tyson Griffin via split decision
  

Kimbo Slice...IMPROVED?

All hail the mighty, immortal Kimbo Slice! Right? That's the way it seemed Wednesday night when Rampage Jackson saw Slice enter as a contestant in The Ultimate Fighter. Jackson's reaction to Slice walking in was as if he had just seen God. Jackson later picked Slice as his first fighter. I am still confused on why Jackson picked Slice. It is almost as if he wanted to lose this season. Rashad Evans was happy to comply and gave Jackson the number one pick. Evans picked more strategically, evaluating EVERY fighter for their strengths and weaknesses.

Alright, enough bashing on Slice. He did impress me in the premiere. From the last time he fought, he has improved his ground game ten fold. He is still not a superior ground and pound fighter but he had gained a lot more knowledge. I was very impressed by his blocks on take downs. If he is able to block his opponents from taking him down, the he has a legitimate shot at winning this contest. However, he probably has to win two fights to make it to the finale. Even though I have been hard on Slice, in some twisted way I am rooting for him. He does bring a lot of viewership to the sport and could be beneficial to the sport. But that is a big could be. I still would like to see more development out him if he is to be the UFC.

A Shattering Premiere

Did anyone happen to watch the 10th season of The Ultimate Fighter premiere, Wednesday night on SpikeTV? Well, apparently I wasn't the only one because SpikeTV captured millions of viewers. MMAJunkie.com posts, "The 4.1 million viewers (2.9 household rating) created the largest audience for a single "TUF" episode and a record for a season debut of any show in Spike TV history." Besides capturing over four million viewers, the premiere was number one in its time slot, and number one for certain demographics. The popularity of the debut is undoubtedly due to the presence of Kimbo Slice. Not only is this a good sign for Kimbo Slice, but more importantly for the UFC. On Saturday, the UFC has UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort. The same night, Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr. has a boxing match on Pay-Per-View.

Boxing has been falling out of favor in recent years and MMA is starting to take over. It will be interesting to see if the UFC continues to rule the Pay-Per-View realm. Whatever the result may be, viewership is still increasing. The UFC is drawing in more power with the marketing Slice can bring to the organization. It will be interesting to see if the high viewership will continue throughout the season and into future Pay-Per-Views.

UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort

Only one more week until the highly anticipated return of former champion, Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort. It has been four years since he has fought in the UFC, most recently fighting for Affliction Entertainment, an organization owned by Donald Trump. Belfort will fight September 19th, against Rich "Ace" Franklin, at UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort.

Both Belfort and Franklin have similar fighting styles, but what makes this fighting so appealing that it would headline the upcoming Pay-Per-View? One reason is the fight is a catchweight fight. Catchweight means both fighters are coming out of different weight classes and have agreed to fight at weight somewhere between the two. Belfort generally fights at 205 lbs. and Franklin fights at 185 lbs. This fight will take place at 195 lbs, and thus it is a catchweight fight. The second reason the fight is the headliner is because both are former champions. It is hard to become a UFC champion, but to have two former champions square off makes for a good fight. Another reason is that both fighters are popular in the MMA community. They both are marketable and the economic situation the country is in, it makes sense to schedule this fight. In order for the UFC to draw fans in for a fight, the main card has to have two high profiled competitors.

Franklin comes into the fight with a record of 27-4 and 1 no contest, and Belfort enters 18-8. UFC 103 should be an entertaining fight night and should showcase two skilled competitors for three rounds inside the octagon.

UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort
American Airlines Center
Dallas, TX
September 19, 2009
9 p.m. Pay-Per-View

image courtesy of the UFC.com

Des Moines Fighter in UFC 104

Josh Neer, a native of Des Moines, will be fighting at UFC 104 against Gleison Tibau. This is a great opportunity for Neer to regroup after an unanimous decision loss to Kurt Pellegrino at UFC 101. This is a quick turnaround in terms of fights for a fighter. They generally take take four to six months in between fights to train but Neer is stepping in for the injured Sean Sherk. Neer will enter the fight with a 4-4 record in the UFC, and Tibau is also coming off of a loss. Regardless of the time frame Neer has to train, he must be prepared to fight. The fight is also on the main card, meaning the fight will be live on Pay-Per-View, and is being billed as a fight to watch in the lightweight division. A win would likely increase his star power in the UFC, and should help to silence the debate about whether or not he should be in the UFC after his January 1, 2009, arrest.
Neer was arrested for DUI in Des Moines, and was charged with other violations.

Rampage the Actor?

It has recently been revealed that former UFC light heavyweight champion, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, will be starring in an upcoming movie. Jackson will take part in the movie, A-Team, which was a popular TV show in the 80s. According to The Examiner, Jackson is slated to play B.A. Baracus, which was the character played by Mr. T. No official announcement has been made by the UFC regarding this film, but multiple websites have claimed that Jackson has asked for his upcoming fight to be pushed back. Jackson is scheduled to fight on December 12, 2009. If Jackson did ask for the fight to be pushed back, then the UFC would have to find a replacement fighter in order to bolster the fight, because Jackson vs. Rashad Evans is supposed to be the main event.

Many other MMA fighters have branched into the movie business but have had little success making the transition. If Jackson wants to have a better outcome, then his performance has to be superb. It does help that Ridley Scott is producing the film, which should help his acting skills. Hopefully. To me, this seems like a stretch for him, mostly because he has terrific fighting skills and his star is on the rise after being a coach on the upcoming season of the Ultimate Fighter. Maybe this move is do to money reasons or in hopes of creating a different career, but the only way to find out is to see his performance on the big screen.

picture courtesy of dandriffill.com

Kimbo Slice, fighter or brawler?

Kimbo Slice could be considered one of the largest Internet sensations in this decade. Who is Slice? He is a professional MMA fighter previously fighting for the organization EliteXC. He fights like a backyard brawler. There is little to no technique involved in his fights. But to his credit, he wins fights and is a huge draw at fights. EliteXC tapped him as their main card fighter and invested most of their efforts into him, mainly for the fact that he is such a huge YouTube star.

But this begs the question, is he really a fighter? This was answered in his last fight, in which he lost in an astonishing fourteen seconds. This clip attached shows what a real MMA fighter can do to someone who has not be trained in the art of MMA. Consequently, EliteXC filed for bankruptcy partially because their 'super star' was knocked out, and the UFC was too big of a company to compete with. Dana White, president of the UFC, has gone on record against Slice. White has said Slice would never fight in the UFC unless he literally fights his was in. Fortunately for Slice, he has been given an opportunity to fight for a contract in the Ultimate Fighter. Will Slice be able to capture the contract or will he be knocked out for good?

The new season of the Ultimate Fighter premiers on SpikeTV on September 16th.

It has been one week since UFC 102 featuring Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.  Couture lost the fight to Nogueira in a unanimous decision in three rounds in the octagon.  Coming into the fight both fighters were coming off tough defeats. Couture lost his heavyweight title to Brock Lesnar in UFC 91 and Nogueira lost his last fight against Frank Mir in an interim heavyweight title fight at UFC 92.  The fight was for the interim championship because former heavyweight champion Couture was in a disagreement with the UFC over certain practices.  The Couture vs. Nogueira fight showcased some elite talent.  It also demonstrated that the UFC still had tremendous athletes in the heavyweight division.  Some people believed that both fighters were finished in terms of their career.  The fight was being billed as a comeback for both fighters.  The fight clearly shows that there is still talent in the heavyweight division.  There should not have to be a debate about this topic, because both fighters have done so much, and have contributed many years to it.  The only real argument is age, or at least in Couture’s case.   

 

Former champion Couture is 46 but for his age he still fights as if he was in his twenties.  Despite losing his last fight he still has the talent to fight in the UFC.   There are not a lot of high profiled athletes in this division and therefore I believe, if both fighters continue to fight and improve, that they have a legitimate shot at the UFC title.  As of right now there is only one major heavyweight draw in the UFC, which is Brock Lesnar.  Lesnar’s next fight is scheduled to be at UFC 106 against Shane Carwin. 

 

For the lack of star power in the weight class, the UFC is going to air the Ultimate Fighter 10, which is to showcase some new up and coming heavyweights.  This is a terrific move on the UFC’s part, particularly because Kimbo Slice will be in the TV show.  This will allow the world a glimpse in the internet sensation known as Kimbo.  Is this a strategic move by the UFC to bolster the heavyweight division, or will this backfire?  

About Me

My name is Brandon Swedberg, and I am a self-described mixed martial arts (MMA) freak. I love everything the sport has to offer. Whether it is from the pure brutality of the sport or to the simplistic nature of submissions. Every aspect of the sport touches me in someway. The tole the fighters go through in training for the fights is incredible, somewhat inhuman like. Normal society works nine to five days, but in the case of these athletes, their nine to five consists of beating the crap out of training partners in order to prepare for an up and coming fight. Some people in society call the sport "human cock fighting." In some regards it is, but in hind sight it's not. Its much more than putting two people into a cage and having them beat each other up for fifteen minutes. Months and even years of training that fighters do, proves to me, that its much more than a barbaric display of athleticism. In writing this blog, I hope to showcase the strengths of MMA by writing to you, the reader, that MMA is in fact the fastest growing sport in society. My main concentration will be with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and World Extreme Cage fighting (WEC). Both organizations are owned by the same company but differ in many aspects of the sport. I hope to entertain and to create a blog encompassing all aspects of the sport, that will hopefully bring more attention to a growing sport in the world.