Strikeforce Impressions

As predicted, Santos overwhelmed Carano and stopped her via TKO. What was somewhat interesting was that both fighters had top position, Carano even had the mount twice, and both decided to get up and stand. Perhaps lack of training? I don't buy that. You don't train for an MMA fight purely on kickboxing. I think they were both just nervous. In the end, Cyborg went on top of Gina and finished her on the ground. I think both fighters were just nervous. This was a big moment in MMA history. Perhaps this will inspire women to get into the sport. By that, I mean actually look at this as a career. The credentials for a woman to get into MMA fighting is not as steep as their male counterpart. Women don't have to be NCAA wrestling champs or K-1 professionals before entering the octagon. The talent level just isn't there yet. The women's division of MMA is still waiting for someone to come in and really evolve their division to something beyond stand up striking. Anyways, enough of that. Time to move on to the rest of the card.

Jay Hieron vs. Jesse Taylor

This wasn't televised, and I can't find somewhere to watch it online for the life of me. So, just by going on some of the comments on forums and what not, I'm guessing it was a boring fight. Ten takedown attempts by Taylor? Only one of them was successful. Looks like I overestimated Taylor's takedowns and completely underestimated Jay's takedown defense. I was wrong on this one, but can't blame a guy for seeing the fight differently than most.

Babalu vs. Mousasi

Gegard is the next big thing in MMA. I was pretty shocked he was able to finish Sobral, and finish it early as well. Fedor's protege is looking very Fedor like in his demeanor as well. This guy is scary.

Melendez vs. Ishida

Gil looked very good in this fight. I really felt he was back looking to prove something, and he did. Ishida took the fight on short notice, and it showed. He was very sloppy out there and this time around couldn't get through the size advantage Melendez had.

Werdum vs. Kyle

Kyle had some surprising moves off his back in this fight. However, Werdum showed why he picks apart any sub par heavyweight. His jitz is top notch. It's a shame Werdum wasn't able to get over the hump in the UFC for a title shot. He should fare better in Strikeforce.

Strikeforce: August 15th San Jose

Carano(+165)vs. Cyborg(-205)

First of all, I'd like to say Bodog sucks for not allowing Canadians to make an account there. Secondly, The Greek sportsbook sucks for not having any of the lines up for betting. Okay, now let's get into it!

I already previewed this match up a little bit, and I still stand by my prediction. Interesting seeing Carano as the underdog in the betting. Most of the pros seem to be picking her, but I'm not sure how much of it is biased and how much of it is actual predicting. Carano is an accurate striker, but she's not a pin point explosive counter striker and she gets by a lot on her size and accuracy. She will be overwhelmed by Santos in my opinion. Will the judges save Gina if it comes to a decision? Probably. However, I'm no longer sure it will come to a decision. Five, five minute rounds of pure kickboxing between these two means it won't. Santos by TKO.

Jay Hieron (-190) vs. Jesse Taylor (+155)

Nice to see Jesse isn't such a big underdog here in the lines, because he has a real legit chance of winning here. Will he finish Jay? Hell no. Will he lay and pray his way to victory? Absolutely. Think about it. This is a short notice fight, and Jesse has nothing to fall back on here but his wrestling. He didn't have time to work on his stand up to match Jay, so he's going to go for the predictable takedowns and lay in his guard. Jay has decent wrestling skills as well, but eventually he will be put on his ass. Taylor is a massive welterweight. He could get submitted, or could lose a decision if Jay stuffs all of the takedowns and frustrates him. I wouldn't count on it though.

Babalu(+195) vs. Mousasi(-250)

Middleweight ace Gegard Mousasi is officially moving up to Light Heavy for good it seems. This fight should really put him on the map if he wins it. Bablu is a very good, very experienced fighter seeing a bit of a ressurgence as of late with wins over Mike Whitehead, Sokoudjou, and Bobby Southworth. However, true fight heads know Gegard is the real deal. After tearing up the middleweight tournament at the Dream promotion, Mousasi is finally in the spotlight in North America. Is Babalu going to be his stepping stone? Sure seems like it. While Babalu has a terrific ground game, he has a tendency to stand and brawl. This works in Mousasi's favor, but he is no joke on the ground either. I expect Gegard to win via decision.

Melendez (-200) vs. Ishida (+160)

I can't believe Melendez is -200. I don't see him heavily favoured to win this at all. I don't see how he can stop the endless barrage of takedowns awaiting him from Ishida. However, I believe he will. Beating a fighter of Gilbert's caliber twice is tough, and I think Gil is ready to show he's back. Ishida can easily grind out a decision though, so don't be surprised if I'm wrong.

Well, it looks like I'm predicting a somewhat boring card. Gina and Cyborg should be fun though.

Jiu-Jitsu Takedown

Some basic stuff here, nothing flashy. This guy is awesome to say the least. He's like an Italian Bass Rutten. His name is Mario Sperry and he has a whole bunch of stuff up on youtube regarding jiu jitsu techniques. Definitely check it out. In the meantime I'm going to get my lazy ass over to a free lesson at Toronto BJJ or maybe some other place.

Thales Leites cut from UFC

Well, Thales has been cut from the UFC. He wasn't that bad was he? I feel really bad for him. Sakara wasn't really trying to fight him and Thales was trying to push for an exchange. It's unfortunate. I personally thought Thales won the fight, but Sakara landing some shots near the end of the 3rd round might have given him the favor in the judges eyes. Leites is a good fighter and will end up somewhere for sure. Strikeforce or Dream are probably his best options.

Cyborg vs. Carano Preview, Arlovski to box in September

Nice little promo for the upcoming headliner on Strikeforce this Saturday. Also good to know that it'll be five, five minute rounds. I'm actually pretty scared for Gina. Cyborg is just an absolute beast, and we all know Carano has had trouble with her cardio in the past. It's going to be bloody, and I think it'll be a close win for Cyborg. She just does a better job pushing the pace of the fight, and I'm not sure how Gina is with the counter striking. One thing for sure, the women fights are always entertaining despite lacking in technical areas like the ground game.



AA says he will probably fight in September in a boxing match. He pretty much confirms it within the first 10 seconds of the video, so you don't have to look too far into this 40 minute beast of a Q and A to hear it. He also says he doesn't like Brock Lesnar, then again many probably don't because Brock certainly comes off as an asshole. I was pretty curious as to why Arlovski would be at a comic-con of all places, and turns out it was to promote his new action figure toy. At least, that's what I think makes sense. Anyways, possible opponents for Arlovski could be WBA heavyweight champ Nikolai Valuev or WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko.

Muay Thai Tuesday: Classic Elbow

Well, I can't guarantee that I will remember to post some Muay Thai stuff on Tuesdays but that's what I will call it for now. This girl is pretty hot, so I decided to post it! Notice orthodox stance always leads with the left, and how fluidly she switches stances and puts her right foot forward when switching to a left kick. Good stuff. Video was taken at a place called Revolution MMA up in Thornhill. Of course, surprise surprise, former UFC Champ Carlos Newton is associated with this place. Man, his name is on every MMA facility north of Toronto it seems. You can see it here. Now let's actually learn something! Check out this video on the Muay Thai elbow. One thing I notice in many MMA fights is that elbows aren't thrown great in terms of technique. It's normally a high arching elbow coming diagnally downwards from the shoulder to the middle. In a real fight, I suppose it is much easier and quicker to just throw it straight from the side like a jab. Still, always nice to see when a fighter uses the classic style of muay thai elbow.

Jay Hieron to face Jesse Taylor instead of Nick Diaz

You know, if I were Jay Hieron I would be pretty pissed. I mean, the whole reason why he signed with Strikeforce over UFC was to get a title shot right away. That's not going to happen






yet. As reported from a Strikeforce presser, Nick Diaz failed to take a pre fight drug test. The two were supposed to meet for the Welterweight title on August 15th. Instead, we get to see a match up with Hieron and former Ultimate Fighter maniac Jesse Taylor. Anyways, here's hoping we still get to see Hieron/Diaz down the line. Diaz probably just had some weed or something in his system.

The Arm Bar

Alright, so a couple of days ago I walked into Toronto BJJ up on Bloor Street. Great facility, looks like some great trainers there as well. I was talking to someone there about joining, and he encouraged me to take a free lesson to see how I felt about it. I was thinking, "Alright. This should be cool". Then I looked over and saw an entire class looking at me like I was fresh meat ready to be tapped. Basically, I chickened out! Not to worry though, I'll be back. What I've been doing is looking at different videos on BJJ. Once in a while, I'll post one up I find interesting. This one in particular was cool. It's GSP demonstrating an arm bar. This looks like a more advanced technique. I saw another video where the guy on top waited for two arms to go around his neck as the bottom person would try to push off. At that point, person on top would grab an arm, prop up, and of course swing to the side and lock in the arm bar. George is showing it differently here. This is what would realistically happen in an MMA match, and perhaps a real fight on the street if you were on top of someone. Compare that to this one below and you'll see what I mean.

UFC 101 Impressions, WEC 42, Pound 4 Pound List

If there was any doubt that Anderson Silva was the best pound for pound fighter out there, they were certainly put to rest that night. Moving backwards, Silva basically did a fallaway jab knocking Forrest Griffin out. This fight pretty much went as expected, but I didn't know the finish would be that impressive. Anderson looked like Neo in the Matrix. After the fight, Griffin high tailed it out of there. I figured he didn't want to cry in the middle of the ring. However, reports indicate he had to get checked out with his jaw and he couldn't hear out of one ear. Who's next for Anderson? It seems that Dana is more interested in putting together a Lyoto match up rather than one with GSP. Everyone knows Blackhouse guys don't fight each other, but Dana feels confident he can make it happen. Silva didn't seem like he wanted a piece of Machida at all during the post fight conference, but who knows. Also, anybody notice the new ref? Kevin Mulhall was pretty decent. Nice job.

Penn/Florian went as expected as well. It's a damn shame I get caught up with the value bets since Florian had a nice line, and he is also one of my favorite fighters. Ended up losing some money, even though I did predict Penn would win by rear naked choke or ground and pound. Once he gets your back, he is a master. Heel to the rib is really distracting. Florian knew what Penn was doing, trying to get him to lower his arm so he could sink in the choke. It's just a natural body reaction and Florian kind of flinched, but it was just enough movement for Penn to get his forearm around his throat. What's next for BJ? Well it seems it will be Diego Sanchez. Diego certainly has the size to match up with BJ and wear him out like GSP did, so it should be interesting. However, I think Sanchez would be more inclined to trade with him with his new and improved striking. Diego hasn't tried to wrestle anyone since he fought Jon Fitch, arguably a better wrestler then him.

Overall, I was happy with the two headliners. Most of the other fights were stale mates. Kurt Pellegrino grinded his way to a decision like I predicted in my preview. Howard had too much strength for Tamdan as I thought. It really was a night for the upsets outside of the main event. Almeida actually beat Kendall, so I lost money there. Leites dropped a decision to Sakara. I actually wrote something pretty interesting about that fight. I said to stay away from betting on it. It was the biggest upset betting wise for the night. Looking back on it, I should have bet on Sakara. I did say he wasn't as bad a fighter as everyone was making him out to be. Oh well. Also, I wish they showed the Riddle/Cramer fight and I felt that Amir got screwed with that stoppage.

On to WEC 42. They say all good things must come to an end. Well, Miguel Torres saw his 17 fight win streak come to an end. Brian Bowles has some nice power in his hands. We also saw some nice upkicks by Torres, he was very content with being on his back and attacking from there. Bowles was having none of it. When they stood up again, an exchange occured. It looked like Torres was going off, but Bowles came out of nowhere with a lethal right hand. A short, but exciting fight.

An interesting decision by the judges regarding the Javier Vazquez/L.C. Davis bout. Most believe Vazquez won. I guess I'm in the minority on this one as I was okay with the decision. Would have to watch it again.

Speaking of decisions, most of the fights went to one. Cruz/Benavidez, Curran/Mizugaki,Garcia/Massouh. Overall, I wasn't too happy with the card. The crowd seemed to boo on some of the decisions as well.

Top 5 Pound 4 Pound Rankings

1. Anderson Silva - After his performance against Forrest, he's number one again. That's a former champ that he made look, to put it bluntly...stupid. One of the most embarassing knock outs you will ever see.

2. George St. Pierre - Another dominant performance turned in against a top fighter in his division. Really, him and Anderson should just fight already. Do we really need to see what Mike Swick can do? He's pretty much cleaned out the division.

3. Fedor Emelianenko - The newly signed Strike Force fighter is looking at an October match up with...well no one knows. Probably Overeem. But really, he needed that Barnett fight. Beating Josh Barnett would have kept him at the top spot in my opinion. I mean, Arlovski and Tim Sylvia aren't top notch heavyweights anymore. He needs to fight someone relevant.

4. Lyoto Machida - Doesn't seem like anybody is beating this guy anytime soon. He's destroyed everyone in his path. Next up is a match up with Shogun.

5. BJ Penn - A win over a high level fighter like Florian puts him in good graces once again. He seems a lot more humble nowadays, though I guess GSP's fist will do that to you. He had no problem with Florian, and shouldn't have any problem with anybody at 155. Diego should give him a nice go. That will be a match up for the ages.

UFC 101 Weigh-ins, Edith leaves UFC

So weigh-ins went off today with no problems. Everyone made weight, though I must say Tamdan McCrory looked pretty worried up there. He was toweling off like crazy trying to get as much water off as possible. It looked like he was in the sauna right up to the final minute. We also got to check out the new ring girl. That's right, another ring girl. However, one of them gets bumped off the list. It was announced today that Edith Labelle has left the UFC. Reasons haven't surfaced yet. Meanwhile, here is her replacement.

Diego to fight winner of Penn and Florian

UFC's resident weirdo Diego Sanchez claims he's got next. So he's either going to face Penn or Florian. This was discussed in an interview with Loretta Hunt. Best part was Diego getting offensive when she claimed the fight community wasn't sure about his decision win over Guida. In all honesty, what fight community was she speaking to? Guida wasn't finished, but he took an ass beating for sure. Amazingly, he still looked pretty fresh after the fight. Now as for Diego getting a title shot right away, I guess it's alright. He should have gotten one when he was tearing up the welterweight division with 6 fights in a row against guys like Nate Diaz, Joe Riggs, and Karo Pariysan. I'm sure Diego is saying something like, "Everything happens for a reason". I don't believe in that crap, but I'm glad he's finally getting a shot. I may rag on Diego being that I'm not a fan of his, but he's a true warrior and I respect that.

UFC 101 predictions and betting lines

Penn - -250
Florian - +200







So it's Penn's long awaited title defence against Kenny Florian aka Ben Stiller. Ken-Flo's my boy, but I don't see this going too well for him. We all saw what Sherk did when he put him on his back, though being on your back against a roided up Sean Sherk would be bad for anybody. However, let's look back at Florian vs. Stevenson. I mean, he clearly grabbed the fence to avoid getting put on his back. Well this time, it will happen. Kenny will have to work on his back for this fight. Penn isn't messing around (as you can see in that picture) this time. Trying to outbox Sherk is great, but doing it against a top flight technical striker in the division like Kenny isn't going to go too well. Expect Penn to look to shoot for takedowns. Betting wise, I think Kenny is nice value as he does have upset potential. I mean, you're basically getting double your money for any bet you lay on him. Penn's line is atrocious at -250. Too much upset potential for a squeeze play here. By that I mean throwing a huge amount of money at a guarantee but with a low payout.I got Penn winning this by GNP or rear naked choke. Unfortunately, I am inclined to throw a bet towards Kenny. I'm rooting for him anyway.


Anderson - -380
Forrest - +300

Unimpressed by Silva's passiveness the last 2 fights, matchmaker Joe Silva decided to throw Forrest at him to get some sort of reaction out of Anderson. I can just see Silva screaming, "Are you not entertained!?" at the end of the fight in some sort of incomprehensible english. Silva should be able to take care of Forrest standing. The dude has a chin made of glass, but a heart of steel to make up for it. However, when you're knocked out it doesn't matter how much heart you have. Don't count out Forrest though. He's done well for me the few times I bet on him (Shogun, Rampage). Once again, he's got another terrific betting line at +300. Great size, cardio, heart, and very well rounded everywhere. If he can take Anderson down and control his body, he has a chance to upset. Remember, Silva is moving up a weight class so the size advantage should be more prominent and Forrest will have an advantage on the ground in my opinion. It's just his power I found questionable with his ground striking. Forrest can possibly win by GNP or submission, but Anderson has so many other ways to win it's not even funny. Should be a great fight. I already took a bet with a friend of mine for this, so I won't be betting online for this fight. I got Anderson.

Other fights

Neer vs. Pellegrino - Neer is the clear favorite. Batman has a nice betting line at +170, and he might even win! At least, I think he can. Neer's grappling skills are good enough to win and he has better stand up, but I think Kurt can pull it out. He's riding high after notable wins over Rob Emerson and Thiago Tavares. Neer bounced back after a loss with a win against Danzig, but who doesn't beat Danzig nowadays?

Thales Leites

-340

1416

Alessio Sakara

+270

Will Thales need to scoot onto his ass again this fight? Probably not. Sakara is a dangerous striker, but Thales doesn't need to be chicken shit this time around. Thales knows about Sakara's hands, but he also needs to be aware of his kicks. That head kick he laid on Vedepo was sick. Thales is a little too heavily favored in the betting lines. Sakara may be known as the last guy Houston Alexander beat (I know pretty embarassing), but I don't think he is that bad. Thales should win it though, but I'd stay away from betting on this fight.

Matt Riddle

-165

1418

Dan Cramer

+140

Fireworks written all over this one! Riddle and Cramer looked like two of the best prospects in the Ultimate fighter two seasons ago. With some more training, I could tell they would be good. Now they are head to head. Should be an exciting fight. My money is on Riddle. He just keeps getting better and better. This fight is almost like a coin flip, as shown on the betting lines.

Kendall Grove

+140

1408

Ricardo Almeida

-165

Battle of the has beens? Pretty much. Kendall should take it, though I almost want to see him get destroyed just so we don't have to see that ridiculous "dagger dance" he does. In fact, I hope Ricardo smashes him. It won't happen though. It's going to be clinch, knee, clinch, knee, jab, kick, ref stoppage for Ricardo. He's not going to find a win here.

1408

There you have it. Will let you all know the results of my degenerate gambling bets for this card and my reactions as well. Hopefully I don't get too destroyed.