STRIKEFORCE -
-How about that Dan Henderson? Still relevant after all these years. I hate how he loads up with the right hand, but people don't give him enough looks to take his timing away and instead he blast through them after they throw lazy jabs and shots. In a division that is strong on talent, I gotta say I think Dan is in the top 10 still. Maybe #9 or #10, but he's there. I think he's done at least as much as Thiago Silva to belong, and most consider him to belong there.
The one thing I see coming up is this - if Mousasi wins and gets the next title shot with Hendo, Hendo's not the same sort of wrestler that King Mo is. Yeah, he's an Olympian, but he's a Greco wrestler with a slow shot, and not even necessarily great takedown defense. Mousasi isn't likely to leave his hands down and be lazy punching or kicking as Feijao was.
-Coenen wins by submission in Round 4 after being dominated and marked up. Score another one for 5 rounders being better. She got taken down repeatedly and didn't even look better standing, getting banged up by a shorter slugger.
-Jorge Masvidal has gotten better by being less exciting. We can't blame Greg Jackson for that either. But man, classic stick and jab performance in MMA. Doesn't get easier than that.
-Tim Kennedy takes down Manhoef and submits him easily. I AM SHOCKED.
BELLATOR:
-Chris Lozano had beaten the right kind of opponents to prepare him for a bout like this against Good, but just not enough of them. He needed seasoning - lots of it - and it showed. Good was the smaller man, yet dictated the distance, pressed Lozano into the cage, and wore him down. Takedowns were all Good, and when he was able to control the place the fight took place, Lozano fought scared.
-Anthony Lapsley was pretty well dominated even though he wasn't actually getting choked out when the ref jumped in. He got deep with a shot but I think if it wasn't for Hieron pulling back into the guillotine, he never would have been on top. He was quickly swept and dumped on his own back before being mounted, forced to roll over, and the end came shortly thereafter (even if premature). Hieron, meanwhile, proves he has ability off his back in addition to being such a strong wrestler.
-Most people would have said looking at Weedman/Hornbuckle that it was an easy pick. Fighters like Weedman are why I don't pick against people I haven't seen. Lots of complaints about the decision and I think they're fair, but look; if you spend almost the whole round on top, and you end up nearly having an arm outstretched for the submission at the end of the round, you're going to win even if you spend most of it dodging triangles. Weedman's unorthodox striking is not merely unorthodox, it isn't that good. Big wide openings often times that Hornbuckle took advantage of.
Going back to Hornbuckle; the reason why he isn't elite is that he gets situations that are meant for him to win and he takes too long to process. He sweeps Weedman off his feet and there's about two seconds of Weedman on his ass looking confused before Hornbuckle chases him down and takes his back. A faster reaction to something so obvious would have gotten him the win. Instead? He is out of the tourney.
-Rick Hawn is tiny for welterweight and as a wrestleboxer, he's merely OK. I don't think he has any power in his shots at all. Lots of arm punches. His judo (his whole base) seemed absent here. I get that it was another judoka he was facing, but he couldn't do anything really to get him down? We had to have this instead?
Predictions for 2011: 5-1. Somehow the full review on Hawn/Wallhead didn't save but I was going to pick Hawn because of his team. That's alright.
CORRECT: Masvidal/Evangelista, Kennedy/Manhoef, Coenen/Carmouche, Good/Lozano, Lapsley/Hieron
WRONG: Henderson/Cavalcante
PREDICTIONS PREDICTIONS PREDICTIONS
Bellator:
Toby Imada vs. Ferrid Kheder: This is the only fight where I've seen multiple fights of both men and feel safe in doing anything close to a prediction. The popular pick online is Imada because Kheder typically never looks that good in big steps up in competition. Right or wrong, people are going to pick against him because he looked bad in robbing Hermes Franca blind. But he is a strong guy, a stout guy, and he's very dangerous. And with people loving Imada, Toby really is not a great finisher, isn't that strong, and while he goes for a lot of stuff, its often low percentage and leaves him open for counters of all sorts. As a result, yes, I will pick Kheder to win.
NEWS FLASH 3/11 - Kheder misses weight by a truck load. This isn't necessarily shocking news because he's done it before. He paid a bunch for having missed weight by 10 lbs against Nakamura at M-1's Kansas City event a couple years ago. This time he was told he wasn't needed and Imada now has Josh Shockley tabbed as his opponent.
Shark Fights 14:
Matt Horwich vs. Danillo Villefort: Villefort is a more consistent and skilled fighter. Horwich will come on strong in round 3, but he's the MMA version of a 15 round fighter. This is just a 3 round sprint, and that favors Villefort who is better at more things though perhaps not as singularly driven as Horwich.
Tara LaRosa vs. Carina Damm: Damm can roid up if she wants. LaRosa, skillwise, is possibly the best women's fighter ever. This isn't at a bad weight for her either. I think Damm will look for takedowns and to go to top control but end up meeting sweeps, scrambles and knees as a result. LaRosa by decision.
THATS ALL FOLKS. ENJOY THE FIGHTS!
No comments:
Post a Comment