Kurt Pellegrino vs. Drew Fickett

Watch this exciting battle between two welterweights Kurt Pellegrino and Drew Fickett (UFC 61):

UFC 92 Ultimate 2008 Recap

All I can say is WOW. I just finished watching UFC 92, Ultimate 2008. All the fights were exciting. None finished via decision (as far as the televised matches are concerned). So here’s a little breakdown of the fierce battles that took place.

The Frenchman Cheick Kongo showed dominating striking skills when he defeated Mustafa Al Turk. Kongo had Turn knocked down on the mat and against the fence and within a few seconds, he finished him off with an impressive ground and pound attack.

Silva VS Jackson 3. I’ve been looking forward to this one. Silva had Rampage’s number, 2-0. I haven’t completely seen their first 2 battles in Pride but hell, those knock out victories by Silva were brutal. I was expecting Rampage to come out howling but when he entered the octagon, he was really calm and serious. Rampage’s technical striking gave him the edge over Silva, finally launching a left hook that KO’ed the Axe Murderer. I wonder what’s next for Rampage, probably another title shot at the Light Heavyweight title. As with Silva, he’ll come back for sure. He’s just in his early 30’s.

I was a little surprised with the outcome of Mir vs. Nogueira. Well, Mir was very impressive in the striking department. I thought Nogueira would dominate the boxing but Mir owned him. There was no significant grappling encounter in the match. Nogueira was knocked down twice before the last knock down that lead to a stoppage. Mir is the new UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion and he is set to face Brock Lesnar for the Unified UFC Heavyweight Title. That will surely be one hell of a rematch.

There is a new Light Heavyweight Champ in the house and his name is “Sugar” Rashad Evans. After obtaining impressive knock out victories over Sean Salmon and the UFC Legend Chuck Liddell, Evans , undefeated, finally captured the LHW Title over one of the toughest dudes in MMA, Forrest Griffin. Both are Ultimate Fighter winners. This only proves that TUF fighters are legit MMA fighters. Forrest, I think had the advantage on the stand-up during rounds 1 and 2. But when Rashad had him on the mat, Sugar completely dominated using ground and pound. A sweet win for the Sugar.

As far as the other matches are concerned, Matt Hamill was alse pretty impressive after defeating Reese Andy, as well as C.B. Dollaway after winning via TKO over Mike Massenzio. Both wins are via TKO.

Does Brock Really Have It?

He is the new heavyweight champion of UFC. He was a former WWE Superstar, but even before that he was a powerhouse wrestler. Does Brock Lesnar really have what it takes to become a legit mixed martial artist? I believe so. To his credit, in his first four matches, he defeated 2 of the toughest and most experienced heavyweights in MMA. He toyed around Heath Herring who’s been kicking butts around the world. And of course, just recently, he defeated the legendary Randy Couture.

Brock Lesnar is no doubt a gifted athlete. With just a small amout of experience and training in MMA, he has captured one of the most prized possessions in the world of mized martial arts, the UFC Heavyweight Championship belt. As Joe Rogan would say, he is a heavyweight that has the quickness of a lightweight. I remembered when he did a five-star frog splash on kurt Angle in the WWE. That was sick.

His background in wrestling has helped him overcome the odds. When he battled Herring, he dominated him and controlled the match, specifically the ground game. He took him down at will and maintained a dominant position. Crtitiques may say that Brock did a lay-and-pray job on the Herring match but I think he just simply controlled the flow of the whole game. Brock’s inexperience in the octagon showed up when he wasn’t able to look for a finisher, and yes, he had all the opportunities to finish the fight but he instead enjoyed every single moment of it and showed to the world how dominating he is.

Honestly I was a bit disappointed with Brock’s cocky-ness in the final seconds of the bout but I understand that he was just extatic about his performance in the match.

His attitude on the next match was a different one. When he won over Couture, he showed pure class and respect for his opponent. I wasn’t surprised when Brock had a hard time taking down Couture. Randy is a very seasoned wrestler. He’s been with the best. But Brock’s weight and reach advantage proved to be the deciding factor of the match. One hook to the temple followed by a barrage of hamme fists and Couture was out. Brock’s quickness helped in boosting his finishing skills. This time, he ended the match decisively.

What’s next for this super athlete? Who will be the next opponent of this freak of nature? On December 27, we will find out. Two of the worlds top Jiu Jitsu experts will square off to determine who would challenge Lesnar for the heavyweight title. Can Lesnar take on either Mir or Noguiera? That’s the big question. For now, if Lesnar wants to win over these two world class fighters, he needs to work on his submission defense.

I am Impressed With Demain Maia

With a still very short stint in UFC and perhaps also in over-all MMA competition, Demian Maia, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu expert from San Paulo, Brazil has captivated me. His most recent match that I saw was against a competitive middleweight in Nate Quarry. Maia was able to dominate Quarry with his grappling game but scoring a highly technical takedown and immediately getting the opponent’s back. When maia successfully positioned himself at the back of Quarry with his legs neatly wrapped on his opponents body, I said to myself, the match is over. I was just a matter of moments before Maia gets a win via rear-naked choke.

3 of his 4 wins (and fights) in the UFC came via rear-naked choke. The other win was via a triangle choke, which was also very impressive. Maia continues to improved every single match. His battle with Jason MacDonald was also a big plus on his credentials. It was a grueling bout but Maia ended up submitting the Canadian.

Is Maia ready for a shot at the Middlweight title? I think yes, but I think he still needs to hone his striking defense. Anderson Silva is a crazy monster with killer combinations, not to mention the deadly knees. In order to win, Maia needs to utilize his grappling skills, although the champion, Silva, is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu himself.

I’m looking forward to seeing more matches of Demain Maia. A battle with Thales Leites would also be a good one, given that both fighters are very well-versed in grappling.

I’m A Saku Fan

I am a heavy fan of the Japanese pro-wrestler turned MMA fighter Kazushi Sakuraba. I was impressed by his submission skills and in-ring tactics. Sakuraba had most of his bouts in Pride FC (based in Japan), he also faught in in K-1 HERO’s (Japan) and currently fights in Dream (also in Japan). But the so-called Gracie Hunter once competed in UFC Japan and won the tournament over Marcus Silviera via arm bar. I think arm bar is his favorite move because he has compiled lots of wins using this maneuver.

Sakuraba’s longest match was against the legendary Royce Gracie which according to the rules will only end until one of the fighters quits. In this match I saw Sakuraba’s crafty style in fighting where he used Gracie’s gee to his advantage. Sakuraba almost had Gracie in a knee bar hold.

Saku’s kryptonite was the highly ranked light heavyweight today in the name of Wanderlei Silva. They fought three times and Sakuraba was 0-3. First defeat was via TKO, second was via shoulder injury and the last defeat was via a decisive knock out which became a highlight reel to Silva’s credit.

Sakuraba’s last match showed to the world that he is no where near from being young. He is already turning 40 in a month when he fought the dangerous Melvin Manhoef. Saku wasn’t able to do anything significant in this match and he was crippled decisively in round 1. In this match, Saku suffered an ulnar fracture.

Honestly, I still want to see Saku fight in the ring. But if he chooses to retire, I would gladly accept his decision. But you know what, I really don’t think we have seen enough of Mr. IQ Wrestler, probably he’ll have that dream match with Kyoshi Tamura. I would also love to see him fight Hidehiko Yoshida. A rematch with Manhoef would be great because I believe that he is capable of beating the young striker. He just needs to use his crafty grappling skills.