tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13222688390624759582024-02-20T19:11:49.559-08:00Amateur ProphetDelivering wham, bam, thank you ma'am for your reading pleasure.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18027555880167302240noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322268839062475958.post-11132878270145374732013-06-22T13:04:00.000-07:002013-06-24T12:13:37.591-07:00Anderson Silva vs Chris Weidman UFC 162 PREVIEW and PICKS <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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UFC 162 is 2 weeks out. As Las Vegas readies itself to once again host the GOAT in Anderson Silva, I give my take on this Independence day weekend card and tell you what way to expect the fights to go. </div>
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I can't hide my disappointment with this card. Last year's Independence weekend's event saw the most anticipated fight of all time pitting the unceremonious Chael Sonnen against Anderson Silva for the rematch everyone wanted to see. The undeniable significance of this fight was reflected in the record breaking PPV and gate sales. So what's changed with this years card? For one, the main event is decidedly less interesting this time around. Not wanting to derail the speeding locomotive of the Chris Weidman hype train, but I can't see him posing the same issue to Silva as Chael. While he may be unbeaten in his professional MMA career, I am highly dubious about the roster of fighters he's overcome. The highest ranked fighter Weidman has added to his trophy cabinet is Mark Munoz who now finds himself opening the PPV section of the card - he is yet to face any Top 5 fighter such as Vitor Belfort, Michael Bisping or Okami. Indeed, Weidman finds himself with a title shot in one of the UFC's deepest weight divisions on a relatively simple series of fights. I would have loved to have seen Weidman matched up against Bisping who has for so long slaved for his shot at the big time. The world-class striking, grappling and championship experience will mean that Silva should be able to overwhelm the new comer. Don't be fooled by those decrying that Weidman has a great chance of defeating the champion of 6 years - Silva wins this fight standing or on top or on his back. The bookmakers have put <b>Silva to win at -274 (4/11) </b>which I think presents fairly good value. Perhaps field it as part of your parlay. If you want something more juicy,<b> Silva to win via submission is an astounding +800 (8/1)</b>. If Weidman tries to mimic Chael and impose his superior strength and wrestling on Silva, Silva has a great chance of forcing him to tap from his back. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i497.photobucket.com/albums/rr332/fivepointeo_83/AndersonSilvaarmtrianglesChaelSonnenEstherLinFanhouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="187" src="http://i497.photobucket.com/albums/rr332/fivepointeo_83/AndersonSilvaarmtrianglesChaelSonnenEstherLinFanhouse.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anderson Silva's triangle choke/arm bar combination</td></tr>
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The rest of the card...</div>
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The rest of the card is relatively uninteresting to me. Surprisingly some of the most exciting fights feature on the undercard, with <b>Edson Barboza</b> and <b>Gabriel Gonzaga</b> being two high profile fighters who find themselves demoted to regular television. How the mighty have fallen. I'm expecting both these guys to get back in the W column after this event. Perhaps consider adding them to a parlay with Silva.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.heavy.com/media/2012/01/BarbozaKick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://media.heavy.com/media/2012/01/BarbozaKick.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barboza displays his diverse and devastating striking abilities</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Disagree with my thoughts on the card?! Think Weidman can pull off the upset?! Think Barboza is overrated Let me know through a comment below.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18027555880167302240noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322268839062475958.post-57176140856425124462013-03-23T17:59:00.001-07:002013-03-26T08:39:07.808-07:00Dominance in the UFC: Birth of the Super-Fight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRmDpSdwbmIGL-xPdDn3h9v0NQSv-Md5RZpeJt6uQkPRpIH41r70JJJvMzVAwTY6Vp7WsU7MKbTjb3vJqKRxEuuZJcL3jRoxxTtaA1nFYULHujfQYxX7_1ps_xUZhhWlDBkWI_As3DTG8D/s1600/ufc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRmDpSdwbmIGL-xPdDn3h9v0NQSv-Md5RZpeJt6uQkPRpIH41r70JJJvMzVAwTY6Vp7WsU7MKbTjb3vJqKRxEuuZJcL3jRoxxTtaA1nFYULHujfQYxX7_1ps_xUZhhWlDBkWI_As3DTG8D/s1600/ufc.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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It was just a week ago today that George St-Pierre defended his UFC Welterweight championship for the 8th time; the 170 pounder destroying the ungracious Nick Diaz in five straight rounds<span style="color: #444444;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">(<span style="line-height: 16px;">50-45, 50-45, 50-45). </span></span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">Every time a challenger has attempted to unseat the Canadian he has repelled them with his domineering combination of striking, wrestling and ground & pound. In his most recent outing GSP defeated Diaz exchanging standing strikes - a fighter </span></span><span style="color: #444444; line-height: 16px;">normally</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"> distinguished for his destructive boxing technique - and his excellent </span></span><span style="color: #444444; line-height: 16px;">takedown</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"> ability allowed him to control the fight throughout. </span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">With this victory GSP defeated yet another #1 contender for his belt and once again demonstrated the stranglehold he has over the weight division - in 1 months time he will have held the championship for 5 years. This </span></span><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">dominance</span></span><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"> of a weight class is not limited to the Welterweight division however. Anderson Silva has reigned supreme as the Middleweight champion for over 2000 days and even the 25 year old youngster Jon Jones has been Light Heavyweight champion for 2 years. Therefore, the 3 central weight divisions of the UFC (ranging from 170 to 205lbs) are being utterly domineered by 3 men. Even within the Heavyweight division Cain Velasquez is 1/6 favorite to win his next fight against Bigfoot Silva. Everyone had expected this fight to feature former pro-</span></span><span style="line-height: 16px;">kick boxer</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 16px;">Alistair</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"> Overeem but he threw away his title shot due to his underestimation of Bigfoot having dominating rounds 1 and 2 before being knocked out in the 3rd owing to his refusal to guard his chin:</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At this moment in time all 3 of these men seem in no threat of losing their titles. As a solution to this stagnation, the UFC's president Dana White has proposed a series of catch-weight fights; first GSP vs Anderson Silva followed by Slva vs Jon Jones. Clearly these so called Super Fights offer a lot to be excited about. Watching the wrestling prowess of GSP go against Silva's masterful strikes from the clinch would be captivating. HOWEVER while (if they go ahead) these fights will be ridiculously entertaining for every and any fan of the sport, they still do not offer a solution to the stagnation of competition within the Welterweight, Middleweight and Light Heavyweight classes.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">So who, of the 'big 3' will be the first to slip up and lose their title? Having a new champion in these divisions will be quite weird because they've remained the same for so long. I feel like Jon Jones can immediately be ruled out. He is still in the </span></span><span style="line-height: 16px;">ascendancy</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"> of his career and his unorthodox </span></span><span style="line-height: 16px;">combination</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"> of knees and elbows combined with his Greco-Roman wrestling will surely be enough to defeat the next Light Heavyweight contender in the form of fellow TUF coach Chael Sonnen. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Jon Jones' potent versatility of strikes combined with his youth will surely see him retain his title.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Next to consider is Anderson Silva; certainly the most dominant champion in UFC history and considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. Despite his illustrious career he is not far off being 40 and so fans have to start contemplating the fact that his dominance as Middleweight champion will not last forever. However, has Silva started to show his age? The folks at AP say hell no. Silva has - since 2010 - categorically defeated his challengers in the first 2 rounds. Moreover the variety of ways in which he has finished his fights certifies just how dangerous the Brazilian is, capable of winning by submission, TKOs and KOs alike (my favorite description of a Silva win is against TUF winner Travis Lutter - '</span><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">Submission (triangle choke with elbows to the head)'). Silva's laser-guided striking, Muay Thai skills and mastery of Jiu-Jitsu will - in AP's opinion - keep his title for the time being and see him past next </span></span><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">challenger</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"> Chris Weidman. Indeed despite his unbeaten record Weidman has never fought anyone close to Silva's </span></span><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">calibre</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"> this fight will surely only end with Silva's hand raised high.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">The Spider very much still has it. The best highlight reel in MMA.</span></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">Last to consider is the fighter who inspired this post - GSP. Despite his dominant performance over Diaz being the fight which inspired all this, it seems clear to the Amateur Prophet that of the 'big 3' he will be the first to lose his belt. It's almost sad thinking about GSP's fall from the top because he is such a nice guy and very much a credit to his sport - despite all the trash Diaz had talked about the Canadian, after the fight GSP still went over and raised his rival's hand. For his last 6 fights GSP has failed to put his opponents away, leaving his fate in the hands of the judges. For one this strategy is </span></span><span style="line-height: 16px;">ill-advised</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"> as UFC judges are notorious for their controversial and at times outright stupid decisions. One of Dana's catchphrases to up-and-coming fighter is 'don't leave it in the hands of the judges' - clearly the welterweight does not heed this advice. Also, despite his superb cardio and conditioning, as GSP gets older this tendency towards going 5 rounds when defending his title will become increasingly difficult with his </span></span><span style="line-height: 16px;">deteriorating</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"> speed and fitness, especially given his strategy of smothering his opponents with relentless pressure. Although he made short work of Diaz I feel like GSP's next opponent Johny Hendricks will present a great challenge to him. Not only will Hendricks' college level NCAA wrestling help counteract GSP's relentless takedowns but his heavy hands give him the ability to end the fight at any moment, much like when Matt Serra ended GSP'S first (far shorter) title reign . </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: center;"> Johny 'Big Rig' Hendricks already has a devastating array of knockout highlights.</span><br />
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To anticipate GSP losing his belt isn't taking anything away from him at all. He is one of the most complete, well-rounded fighters to enter the octagon and - despite what I've said here - I would love to see him beat Hendricks. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 19.1875px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Think GSP will destroy Hendricks?! Think Anderson Silva will be first to lose his belt?! Who would win in the hypothetical Super Fights? Let me know in a comment!</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18027555880167302240noreply@blogger.com0