Rich Franklin vs. Vitor Belfort

Cro Cop vs. Junior Dos Santos

Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley vs. Martin Kampmann

Josh Koscheck vs. Frank Trigg

Tyson Griffin vs. Hermes Franca

Efrain Escudero vs. Cole Miller

Nate Diaz vs. Melvin Guillard

Roger Huerta vs. Gray Maynard

Carlos Condit vs. Jake Ellenberger

Nate Quarry vs. Tim Credeur

Steve Cantwell vs. Brian Stann

CB Dollaway vs. Jay Silva

Let’s throw in some faces to watch for you more casual fans:

Brock Larson

Mike Pyle

Sam Stout vs. Phillipe Nover

Gina Carano is going to be starring in a movie. It’s going to be directed by Steven Soderbergh.  Women’s MMA and its potential for relative mainstream appeal appears to be faltering.  She is the ‘sizzle’ of the sport, while Cyborg  provides the ‘steak’.  The real question is whether or not women’s MMA can be commercially viable with more competitive matchups that are lacking the big name appeal that Carano can bring.

The UFC inked a network deal in the UK.  Since I don’t live in the UK, I am unaffected by this news.  That said, more quality fights in front of a wider audience is good for everyone.

Jean Claude Van Damme to fight professionally? Boy howdy, I believe we’ve found an opponent that can truly challenge Fedor.  Imagine the pageantry, the M-1 copromotion, JCVD could be a hidden character in the new EA MMA game, the potential is endless.  Wait, it’s a Muay Thai fight?  Oh well, if he wins can compete against Overeem in K-1 and really hose the Strikeforce heavyweight picture.  Kumite!

The Ultimate Fighter 10 starts next week.  Here’s where you can get some preliminary information:  SpikeTV

Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva

Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt

Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia

Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Soszynski

Gabriel Gonzaga Vs. Chris Tuchscherer

Take:

Herman

Russow

Munoz

Aurelio

Most serious fans have probably seen these rules posted before, and I’m not taking any credit for any of these ideas.

First, some classic rules if you have some contests where you are looking for a deciding factor:

-bet on wrestlers

-bet on Russians

-bet against bad tattoos and bad haircuts

-physique really isn’t an indicator unless you’re seeing a guy start to look sloppy or see a guy making huge improvements

-the amount of weight cut, size, and reach do matter.  Mike Brown is a big featherweight and knows how to use his physicality and technical prowess to create problems for other fighters.

It’s always prudent to look for guys with quality experience tied against competition from the top organizations:  UFC, Strikeforce, WEC, Pride, DREAM, Sengoku, Shooto, DEEP, Bellator, etc.  Competition against other recognizable names gauge a fighters level.

Look for guys that train with serious camps.  There are plenty of mcdojos out there so look for guys that train with elite competitors such as:  American Top Team, Black House, Xtreme Couture, Nova Uniao, Brazilian Top Team, Jackson’s MMA, etc.

Look for guys who have a specialty.  Guys who are world class at grappling (Demian Maia, Jake Shields, Dan Henderson) tend to experience success.  Guys who specialize in striking ( Cro Cop, Anderson Silva, Thiago Alves) also experience success.  The point is that you need to be good at something.

Specialization aside, look for people who can compete in all areas, and are proficient in blending techniques through transition.  Fighters who can use striking to setup up a takedown, ground and pound to setup a guard pass or submission, or effectively feint takedowns to achieve the clinch are dangerous and tend to be good picks.  Examples include Fedor, BJ Penn, Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre, Miguel Torres, etc.

Look at how a fighter can win.  Fedor or Anderson Silva can win with dominant striking or grappling.  Guys who can stand up and bang, but don’t have any ground weapons may be at a disadvantage against a guy who can strike and grapple.  Multiple areas of proficiency give a fighter a place to go if their inital gameplan doesn’t work.  Torres had difficulty with Mizugaki’s striking in the pocket, but was able to adapt and move to the clinch and take control of the fight.  Being able to finish from anywhere just increases percentages.

Look for mismatches.  Cheick Kongo was favored by some odds makers against Cain Velazquez, but is known to be most vulnerable on the ground.  What is Velazquez’s strength?  Why he was an All American wrestler, and in that fight, Velazquez is wobbled standing numerous times, but always gets the fight to the ground.  Demian Maia submitting guys with submission vulnerabilities is another prime example.

Got more ideas, let me know….

-Carano vs. Cyborg has shown that women’s MMA should be appreciated, respected, encouraged, and not headlining the card of the number 2 promotion in the United States.  Hopefully this will quiet down the Carano force feeding that the media has been giving us, and we can watch Cyborg defend her title without listening to hyperbole about bouts that will change MMA forever.

-I was a little disappointed with the product that was put out on Saturday night.  First, we don’t get the Hieron/Taylor fight which was at least well balanced.  Werdum subbing Kyle was expected, and thankfully ocurred in the first round, but we didn’t get any more content.  We got more talking, and it was lackluster chatter at best.

-Ishida and Melendez was another competitive fight, and I wonder what Ishida could’ve done with an actual training camp for the fight.

-The real main event for me was Babalu vs. Mousasi.  Mousasi is the real deal folks. If you haven’t watched any of Gegard’s fights, then please take a few minutes and watch.  You’ll be glad you did.

Phil Baroni headed back the the UFC? I have no interest in this whatsoever.  Baroni has some really awesome moments, but not many of them occur in the cage anymore.

Thales Leites has been cut after UFC 101.  I like Leites and think he’s just hit a rough patch, hopefully he can get a few wins under his belt and come back to the UFC

Tamdan ‘Barncat’ McCrory has been cut too – He’ll be back.

Hot Rumor from MMAJunkie Radio – Fedor vs. Ricco Rodriguez -Totally laughable, absolutely laughable.  This will get Fedor his next past his prime UFC heavyweight to notch on his belt.  Let me be the first to predict the comedy Rodriguez upset option, he is training with the Wolfslair after all…

Nick Diaz going to give pro boxing another shot – I don’t believe this will end well.

Strikeforce picks/discussion to come…

Now onto some news….

-Nick Diaz is out against Jay Hieron and Jesse Taylor is in.  This sucks for Hieron as he keeps changing opponents making preparations difficult. Diaz’s well documented history with weed brings more trouble for a seemingly cursed Strikeforce card.

-No more Dana White video blogs!? Noooooooooooooooo

-Fedor’s next opponent is Mousasi in a sparring match I can tolerate one freakshow exhibition a year.  Aoki was the limit.  I’d rather see real fights.

- You should be following the Abu Dhabi Combat Club participants list