So the last major UFC show of the year drops this saturday from Las Vegas, topped with two title fights and one grudge match for the ages.
Here is the full card:
-Forrest Griffin (c) vs. "Sugar" Rashad Evans - Light Heavyweight Title match
-Antonio "Minotauro" Noguiera (c) vs. Frank Mir - Interim Heavyweight Title match
-Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva
-CB Dolloway vs. Mike Messizino
-Chieck Kongo vs. Mustapha Al-Turk
Prelims:
Yushin Okami vs. Dean Lister
Antoni Hardonk vs. Mike Wessel
Matt Hamill vs. Reese Andy
Brad Blackburn vs. Ryo Chonen
Dan Evenson vs. Patrick Barry
Here are some important storylines going on for the three big fights:
1. Griffin vs. Evans, Xtreme Couture vs. Jackson Submission Fighitng: These are the two premier American MMA camps. XC sports Randy Couture, Forrest Griffin, Wanderlei Silva, Stephan Bonnar, Tyson Griffin, Amir Sodallah among others. Jackson coaches Evans, Georges St-Pierre, Keith Jardine, Nate Marquardt, and Karo Parisiyan. The camps personify the two fighters. Couture preaches conditioning, toughness, ground skills, and nutrition. Couture's fighters are some of the best in the world because they take such good care of themselves and they can all go five rounds. They are grinders, blood and guts fighters, just like Griffin. Jackson has taken to training a combo of wrestling and striking. St-Pierre might be his most famous student, but GSP was great before he went to Jackson. Evans is Jackson's greatest creation to date - a top level wrestler who had tremendous handspeed that Jackson has honed into real power. It will be interesting to see which camp philosophy prevails: grinding conditioning or speed and striking and who will be seen as the top camp in North America?
2. Minotauro vs. Mir, Submission vs. Submission: I'm fascinated to see who taps who here. A lot has been made about Mir never facing someone like Nogueira, but I don't think Big Nog has every fought anyone with the submission skills of Frank Mir. Watch Mir's fight with Brock Lesnar, he is getting his ass handed to him but the whole tie he's patient, he keeps looking and finally got ahold of Brock's leg. Nogueira is a zombie, he can't be stopped. The man has over 30 pro fights and he's never been submitted and he's never been knocked out. Nog will try and stand with Mir to start and test his conditioning, but I think Nog hasn't fought a guy as good as Mir in a long time and will be very suprised with what he finds once they are on the ground.
3. Silva vs. Jackosn, The New And Improved Rampage: After Rampage lost to Griffin last summer, he stopped eating, stopped sleeping, got hopped up on energy drinks and took off on a wild police chase, getting himself arrested. Drama has surrounded him since, as he fired his coach and faced serious legal questions. Some time ago, Jackson struck up an odd friendship with British middleweight Michael Bisping. In the middle of career disappointment and personal hell, Bisping reached out to Rampage and asked him to come join his Wolfslair camp in England. Away from the the fame and the problems, Rampage has spent the last few months in cold rainy England with Bisping training like he's never trained before. Will the change of camps and lifestyle allow Jackson to avenge his two past devistating losses to Silva or will he wilt again under the pressure of his fame?
Here are some important storylines going on for the three big fights:
1. Griffin vs. Evans, Xtreme Couture vs. Jackson Submission Fighitng: These are the two premier American MMA camps. XC sports Randy Couture, Forrest Griffin, Wanderlei Silva, Stephan Bonnar, Tyson Griffin, Amir Sodallah among others. Jackson coaches Evans, Georges St-Pierre, Keith Jardine, Nate Marquardt, and Karo Parisiyan. The camps personify the two fighters. Couture preaches conditioning, toughness, ground skills, and nutrition. Couture's fighters are some of the best in the world because they take such good care of themselves and they can all go five rounds. They are grinders, blood and guts fighters, just like Griffin. Jackson has taken to training a combo of wrestling and striking. St-Pierre might be his most famous student, but GSP was great before he went to Jackson. Evans is Jackson's greatest creation to date - a top level wrestler who had tremendous handspeed that Jackson has honed into real power. It will be interesting to see which camp philosophy prevails: grinding conditioning or speed and striking and who will be seen as the top camp in North America?
2. Minotauro vs. Mir, Submission vs. Submission: I'm fascinated to see who taps who here. A lot has been made about Mir never facing someone like Nogueira, but I don't think Big Nog has every fought anyone with the submission skills of Frank Mir. Watch Mir's fight with Brock Lesnar, he is getting his ass handed to him but the whole tie he's patient, he keeps looking and finally got ahold of Brock's leg. Nogueira is a zombie, he can't be stopped. The man has over 30 pro fights and he's never been submitted and he's never been knocked out. Nog will try and stand with Mir to start and test his conditioning, but I think Nog hasn't fought a guy as good as Mir in a long time and will be very suprised with what he finds once they are on the ground.
3. Silva vs. Jackosn, The New And Improved Rampage: After Rampage lost to Griffin last summer, he stopped eating, stopped sleeping, got hopped up on energy drinks and took off on a wild police chase, getting himself arrested. Drama has surrounded him since, as he fired his coach and faced serious legal questions. Some time ago, Jackson struck up an odd friendship with British middleweight Michael Bisping. In the middle of career disappointment and personal hell, Bisping reached out to Rampage and asked him to come join his Wolfslair camp in England. Away from the the fame and the problems, Rampage has spent the last few months in cold rainy England with Bisping training like he's never trained before. Will the change of camps and lifestyle allow Jackson to avenge his two past devistating losses to Silva or will he wilt again under the pressure of his fame?
Predictions?
GRIFFIN grinds out a victory
MIR in my upset of the night
JACKSON in a three round war
DOLLOWAY by submission
KONGO by ko
OKAMI
HARDONK
HAMILL
CHONEN
EVANSON
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