Ben Askren got a nice W over the now "retired" Nick Thompson. Lots of people complain that Askren doesn't finish. What he does is the equivalent of a low power pressure fighter in boxing. You know these guys - Phillip Holiday, Juan Diaz, Raul Balbi, Leonard Dorin. You know the type. Well, okay, maybe you do. They come and come and come and come. They don't stop trying to knock you out or hurt you, they just can't. Sometimes they learn to sit on their punches more and they land those kind of big shots and end fights. Juan Diaz did for a little while. And sometimes they don't. Its a tough style to do but it makes for good bouts. Askren is fighting guys who don't have the ability to really do anything to him in terms of stuffing takedowns or making him work for the shot, so it might wear on people. Against Hieron, it would be different I think. At least more entertaining.
I said after seeing Chandler win his last fight that he would only be able to beat Woodard of the three potential opponents in his next fight. That's who he fought, and he won going away. Took him down over and over and over and over. Chandler is a one dimensional wrestler who has wrestling chokes. Typically, this is a good thing against Brazilian strikers like Patricky Friere, but I think Friere's immense size for the weight combined with a BJJ background could dismantle Chandler. Honestly, I'm not as sure now as I was a couple weeks ago.
Jay Hieron's decision win against Weedman is a classic example of the judges giveth, the judges taketh away. Hieron probably landed the more effective punches in the second but did eat some leg kicks, and totally lost the third round. Could he have lost the fight? Sure. But Weedman pushed with his shots and basically walked Hieron down. Hieron seemed to have a hellacious time getting this to the mat and had a couple shots stuffed in the second. Its like he couldn't change levels or something, which is weird for him, because its his blast double that's his bread and butter. I think he's fighting hurt and that its a knee or something similar. He shouldn't lose to Rick Hawn, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did.
As for the heavyweight clash of Prindle/Burns - less said, the better. Ends on a cut. Neither guy jabs or kicks. Both throw lead left hooks and right hands. Neither can throw a combination. Both were gassed very early and both look like the members of WCW tag team High Voltage. Gassed up and nowhere to go. One thing I can tell you: Prindle is goddamned huge.
Strikeforce Diaz/Daley:
Aoki made Beerbohm look stupid. Well, Beerbohm shot in and ends up getting tripped (sorta like a single - really nifty takedown), taken down, gives up the back, and loses by a neck crank of sorts. Aoki wins the battle of fancy pants.
Mousasi beat the hell out of Keith Jardine and somehow gets a draw. I'm like everyone else - how does that happen? He won every round on my card. All of them. Sure, it was 9-9 for the first, but still. That's 29-27, Mousasi. Someone scored it a draw. Yes, Jardine gets some takedowns in the first and the second, and even has some time on the top in the 3rd. But he's never there long and does nothing with it. Meanwhile, Mousasi has Jardine bleeding from almost every facial orifice as a result of the straight punches that land over and over.
Melendez was throwing that right hand as if he were Dan Henderson. Of course, Kawajiri moved straight back into it. He looked like he was in panic mode from the get go after getting tagged with a right hand as he shot in, and the Matt Hughes like 1-2 and shot never got going. Instead, Crusher took a beatin' with knees, punches, and elbows. the actual ending was pretty stunning - Kawajiri shoots desperately from outside, gets sprawled on, pulls guard, and then gets blasted with elbows until the fight ends.
What is there to say about Nick Diaz's KO win over Paul Daley that has not already been said elsewhere? It was a slam bang pow fight between guys at a certain level in the division and made for good TV. Daley could barely make it back to his stool, which means in retrospect that it was probably the right call as far as a stoppage is concerned. Meanwhile, man, Diaz got in some nice body shots again, didn't he? He just chewed up Daley with those. I dunno, its possibly the best win in Nick Diaz's career and yet its one he shares with the likes of Nick Thompson. Consider that aspect of it carefully.
ULTIMATE FIGHTER + BLAHHHHHHH
This week we are gifted a bout between Len Bentley and Ryan McGillivray. Bentley was the top dog on Lesnar's team and McGillivray is some guy. As I pointed out in my very short preview of the season, McGillivray has fought good fighters and lost to them, but at least fought them. Bentley's big step up was a lost to Cody McKenzie and a failout of the M-1 selection process. Anyhow, this is a competitive and entertaining, albiet low level fight between a couple guys who's chins get in the way of right hands and don't really seek proper takedowns. Bentley goes for an armbar in the first round that he gets stacked out of and they trade knockdowns in the first as well. In the second, McGillivray really does a better job of staying at distance and landing blows, clearly winning the round in my book. Honestly, he did a better job in the first, and while I would have been tempted to 10-10 it, I would have scored it the way two judges did. Best fight of this short season right now. Neither guy will win.
MFC 29 was reviewed separately.
PREDICTIONS PREDICTIONS PREDICTIONS
Last week: 2-3
Overall for the year: 23-10
First really bad week where I go below .500 thanks in large part to the Mousasi/Jardine decision. Still have my head scratching. So this year, I've been reminded of two things while reviewing:
-Don't pick against a guy because you don't like his physicality and his entertainment value in past fights. I did this with DJ Linderman and I looked like a fool.
-If someone seems washed up, they probably are. I did this with picking Terry Martin to be in any way competitive, much less beat Lima, and I looked like a fool.
They are emotional things, and emotions are tough when watching fights. This week though: Short week. Just one promotion to worry about.
BELLATOR 41:
Joe Warren vs. Marcos Galvao at a 137lb catchweight: Man, Galvao is a top control grappler to the max and no chin. Warren is a great wrestler and a decent banger too. Warren is the star. Galvao is the after thought. The star is intended to win and shall, likely by decision. Normally one would be worried about Galvao winning by decision given Warren's predisposition to leaving his arms in bad places, but Galvao has never won by sub in his 13 fight career.
Patricio Freiere vs. Wilson Reis: Nothing changes in the rematch of these two fighters. Pitbull wins by controlling distance and preventing takedowns, and this time he stops Reis.
I'll skip on predicting Foster/Straus, though my feeling is that Straus wins. Foster is too unknown and Straus too untested to make any sort of safe statement here.
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