Wrestling Season is here!

It's that time once again to put in your blood and sweat for your team. Hope everyone has a good season.

~ Vincent Saengsombat

UFC 123 Predictions

Main Card:

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Lyoto Machida
Matt Hughes vs. B.J. Penn
Gerald Harris vs. Maiquel Falcão
Phil Davis vs. Tim Boetsch
George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Lauzon

Shawn's Predictions:
George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Lauzon: Sotiropoulos via Unanimous Decision
- I would absolutely love to go out on a limb for this fight and say Lauzon but I'm gonna have to play it safe. Sot has been on an impressive run recently, with victories over Joe Stevenson and Kurt Pellegrino. Both being pretty decisive wins. I believe most of this fight will be on the ground, with both guys trying to show off their Jiu Jitsu skills. Just because Sot is a black belt and Lauzon is only a purple belt, doesnt mean Lauzon doesnt have a chance. Most of the time belt rank means absolute diddly squat. This was proven at UFC 118, when Lauzon practically raped Gabe Ruediger who is a black belt in BJJ. With that said, Lauzon will come out stronger than ever, but not strong enough to stop Sot's aggressive style. His aggressiveness will make the difference in this fight, as the Australian stops the Hometown Hero (he's from Boston) in his tracks and shoots himself up into the title picture

Phil Davis vs. Tim Boetsch: Davis via TKO
- Both these guys are on winning streaks in the UFC and a win for either of them would do wonders. Both of them are wrestlers and both will look for takedowns. Unfortunately for Boetsch, he will probably get taken down faster than Justin Bieber's ability to rub one out. Davis will come out better than ever, take Boetsch down, and pound him out for the win. If not, he'll grind out another one-sided decision with his wrestling. Either way, with this win he might just send him up the ladder closer to title contention.

Gerald Harris vs. Maiquel Falcão: Harris via KO/TKO
- Im not going to lie to you, I know jack shit about this guy Falcão and I couldn't tell you how he ended up in the main card of this PPV. Anyways, Harris is a former competitor on the Ultimate Fighter Season 7. He ended up losing to the season winner Amir Sadollah somewhere along the way. I dont know about Falcão's fighting resume, but hes taking a bite out of pretty big fuckin' meal coming into the UFC. He's going to have to take on one tough S.O.B. in Harris. Coming off a huge KO Slam at UFC 116, Harris still has a lot to prove. I think he will keep this standing for the majority of the bout and eventually catch Falcão with a big right and send him crashing to the canvas, giving him the win.

Matt Hughes vs. B.J. Penn: Penn via Submission
- Who the fuck would have thought this fight would happen? Not me, thats for sure. After losing to Edgar twice in a row, I had no clue what was next for Penn. Hughes had just recently dismantled Ricardo Almeida at UFC 117 and is working his way back up to title contention. Both are great fighters, but this is a hard one to choose. Penn is going to wake himself the fuck up for this fight, and show a completely different B.J. Penn from his last fight. When Penn is at his best, he can stop anyone in the stand up game and anyone on the ground. His guard proves to be one of the best in MMA. Hughes will try to be very agressive, but I think Penn will just counter his agressiveness with his own. Penn also claims to be very comfortable at this weight. He will use his jab to find his range and keep his distance, and he will stuff Hughes takedown's. Eventually Penn will find his back and I think he will lock in a rear naked choke for the victory. As for now, we can only wonder if Penn's two loses to Edgar have forced him past his prime

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Lyoto Machida: Machida via Unanimous Decision
- Usually when the UFC puts two strikers or "knockout artists" in the cage they claim that "Someone will get knocked out." The last few times they did that they were DEAD FUCKIN WRONG. Hopefully they are correct this time around. Im hoping to see both guys go hard and fast. I think Machida will bounce back greatly from his devastating loss to Shogun back in May. On the other hand, Rampage will try and rebound off of his decision loss to Rashad Evans at UFC 114 in a lackluster fight. Honestly, I dont think Rampage is in the right state of mind, and this will be a factor playing into this fight. He has considered doing more movies and even considered doing Professional Wrestling. I think the fight will play out like this: Machida will be very smart, tactial, and agressive at the same time, while Rampage seems very hesitant. I think if Rampage makes a mistake he will pay for it, but we havent seen Rampage been severely KO'd in a while. The bottom line is, Machida will prove he is too quick for Rampage and do enough to win a fairly one-sided decision.

Vinny's Predictions:
George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Lauzon: Lauzon via Unanimous Decision
 - Lauzon is the fan favorite with me and Shawn. He's one of the few known massachusetts fighters in the UFC, and I can be pretty biased towards that. However, Sotiropoulous will be a tough test for Lauzon. The odds are against him, but he has shown in the past to prove everyone wrong. Defeating former champions in Jens Pulver (UFC), Mike Brown (WEC), and Gabe Ruediger (WEC). Of course he never gained the belts, but these were men who eventually got the UFC and WEC belts. Alot of people think this is a step down for Sotiropoulous, my mind says it is, but my heart doesn't. I would've said Sotiropoulous via decision with his crisp boxing and excellent jiu jitsu, but we've seen so many upsets this year why not one for the Beantown Boy?

Phil Davis vs. Tim Boetsch: Davis via TKO
 - I must admit this dude is nasty, Davis that is. He's an upcoming prospect in the light heavyweight division. Both have collegiate wrestling backgrounds, and this is a first real test for Davis. Boestch loses to top competitors in the light heavyweight division (Hamill, Brilz, Matyushenko?) but he hasn't been too relevant in the division. Davis will force the stoppage upon Boestch.


Gerald Harris vs. Maiquel Falcão: Harris via KO/TKO
- This dude has got me believing in him. Coming fresh off an impressive KO slam (doesn't happen often) with excellent technique (he pushes the face forward forcing the back of his head to make contact with the mat first, all force goes towards one of the weakest parts of his head, therefore goes nighty night). I've never really seen Falcao fight, but from what I can pull up... kidding I can't. I'm gonna stereotype him and guess he's Brazilian, knows BJJ and does Muay Thai. Harris will not have a problem with that, defeating Mario Miranda who is a black belt in BJJ and held his own against Demian Maia. Harris has that devastating power and has the right genetics in his DNA that holds such physique and power. He's explosive, and I believe will be too much for Falcao, forcing the stoppage on him.

Matt Hughes vs. B.J. Penn: Penn via Submission
- Holy shit! The rubber match. This fight will definitely be fireworks. Penn won the first match and Hughes the second. I think Penn will be at 100 percent with this fight, although we've seen him gas at welterweight before, he will have the speed advantage against bigger men which has been his bread and butter against the opponents he won against. Edgar was just too quick against Penn, staying in the middle of the ring, and waiting to counter Edgar, which was not right. He needed to cut off Edgar's escapes routes, use angles and USE TAKEDOWNS. But enough of that, I believed that Penn was winning the fight until "a rib injury" occurred, making Matt Hughes win. Whether this is just another Penn excuse or true, it showed that he was visibly different in the third round. Penn won't allow this to happen, as he will submit the fuck out of Hughes (K-1 Hughes, lol). Penn uses superior stand up and jiu jitsu to outwork Hughes.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Lyoto Machida: Rampage via KO/TKO
- Oh man, here we go. This was an anticipated match up me and shawn's city. Both men are coming off losses and need one badly. I know what most of you are thinking. "Machida will outwork Rampage/The odds are too great for rampage to win/etc." Well I want Rampage to win too, ring rust will not be a factor for Jackson. His lack of training ethic and ring rust was the undoing of his performance during Rampage vs Evans. However we don't know how Machida rebounds from a lost, whether he's 10x more motivated or he becomes unmotivated, I wish that this will be exciting. I see Machida sprinting away from Rampage, using elusive techniques and generally staying out of the pocket to avoid Rampage's power. Rampage needs to cut off Machida's escape route, just like Shogun. Mixing up takedowns and strikes, he can also solve the Machida puzzle. Hopefully Rampage can use his notorious knock out power if he ever exchanges with Machida in the pocket. Very unlikely that Rampage wins, but I honestly wish he does, and I hate predicting against a fighter I like. My heart says Rampage by knockout, but my mind says Machida by decision.

Picture of the Day

Modern MMA and it's effect on society.

If you've been watching the media or any movies recently, you might see news about the UFC's champions losing or winning, or if you're watching a movie you might see a really cool fight scene incorporating MMA into it. What does this means? Well the hell you think it means, MMA's gotten mainstream and these fuckers are cashing in on the trend. A while ago I was watching Fox 25 Boston and they reported on how BJ had lost the rematch against Frankie Edgar (didn't know they were so interested!) and I had watched Fast and Furious (don't ask.) and he pulled off an armbar in a fight scene. The cause for this could be multiple things.

1. Never Back Down: the movie came out a few years ago, and that's the movie that appealed the teenage audience, I believe that it captivated it's targeted age group, and 90 percent of the time they were clueless about MMA (I admit it, I didn't know what the hell MMA was, I saw the previews and thought it was Muay Thai, which actually then people I knew didn't know what the hell that was either).
2. TapouT clothing brand: To be honest I don't know how the hell it got so popular, but people who don't even know MMA, know that the clothing brand is related to fighting (it was the case for me).
3. The spread of MMA: Now that it's gotten into the media and being sanctioned everywhere in the country, MMA has spread throughout. While that is a good thing, it also can be bad. More exposure to an audience leads to fans both good and bad. You have you're intelligent MMA fan that you can have a good conversation with. Then you had you're casual fans who are pretty cool, I don't mind them but they do enjoy the sport in good taste. Then you have your COMPLETE RETARDS. Yes, you know who I'm talking about. The people who think they're the shit and want to fight the world after they see a fight. These people annoy the shit out of me and I try to avoid them at all costs. Either that or they're complete tools.

So what's the verdict? Should MMA stay where it's at, snowballing towards mainstream (which has it's pros and cons), or maybe take a step back, and reevaluate what this sport (in my opinion) was about. Who knows, only the future holds the answers

~ Vincent Saengsombat

UFC 122 Predictions

Lets skip the bullshit, right to the predictions.

Main Card:

Nate Marquardt vs Yushin Okami
Jorge Rivera vs Alessio Sakara*
Dennis Siver vs Andre Winner
Amir Sadollah vs Peter Sobotta
Krzysztof Soszynski vs Goran Reljic

Shawn's Predictions:
Krzysztof Soszynski vs Goran Reljic: Soszynski by Unanimous Decision
- Reljic is in dire need of a win or he will probably cut by the UFC. Soszynski is coming off a TKO loss at the hands Stephan Bonnar. This could possibly even be a loser leaves town match. I think Sos will be more driven in this fight, because he has something to prove. Reljic has only one win in the UFC and we havent seen much of him. Reljic will put up a fight, but not enough as Sos pressures him to into a decision win.

Amir Sadollah vs Peter Sobotta: Sadollah by TKO
- Sadollah has too much to prove in this fight. Being a TUF winner, he needs to prove hes legit. Coming off a loss to DHK, he will probably do anything to win this fight. He will push the pace and show his true skills. If he loses, he will be in very bad shape. Nuff' said.

Dennis Siver vs Andre Winner: Siver by Unanimous Decision
- Siver will push the pace and find his range with his kickboxing. I think Winner was basically exposed by the Stand 'N Stall/Lay 'N Pray fight that he had against Nik Lentz. Siver wont do enough to knock Winner out, but he will do enough to go the distance and have the judges give him the win.

Nate Marquardt vs Yushin Okami: Marquardt by Unanimous Decision
- This fight is very hard to predict. Im basically taking a guess. I think Marquardt has a more impressive record in the UFC, while Okami really doesn't. He had just barely beat Mark Munoz and I dont think he will impressively defeat "Nate The Great." If anything, Okami will use his wrestling to pressure and take down Marquardt, but I think Marquardt will do enough to prevent that. Nate might even use his Jiu Jitsu and turn one of Okami's takedowns into a deadly Guillotine. Nate is stronger and more complete. I think he will stay on his feet and do just enough to take a decision victory.

Vinny's Predictions (quick write-up):
Krzysztof Soszynski vs Goran Reljic: Soszynski by Submission
Amir Sadollah vs Peter Sobotta: Sadollah by KO
Dennis Siver vs Andre Winner: Winner by Decision
Nate Marquardt vs Yushin Okami: Okami by decision

*Rivera/Sakara bout was removed because of Sakara's flu like symptoms before the fight.

2 UFC Vets Cut

Two previously main event fighters are no longer on UFC roster. Canadian Patrick Cote and Brazilian Gabriel Gonzaga were cut from the UFC after UFC 121 because of their lack of success inside the octagon lately.

Patrick Cote had recently lost a fairly one-sided decision to Tom Lawlor at UFC 121 and Gabriel Gonzaga also lost a one-sided decision to up-and-coming HW prospect/runner-up in the Ultimate Fighter Season 10 Brendan Schaub. If you watched MMA about 3 years ago, and somebody had told you this was going to happen, you probably would have either thought they were trippin' balls on LSD or kicked them square in the nuts. Patrick Cote fought MW champ Anderson Silva a little over two years ago at UFC 90 and lost because of a knee injury in the 3rd round. Some would argue he hasn't been the same since. He was then submitted by Alan Belcher at UFC 113. Gabriel Gonzaga's story is quite similar. This is the guy who fucking head kick KO'd Mirko Cro Cop. Thats right, he HEAD KICKED Cro Cop, the master of all head kicks. You've probably seen it, Mirko's head snaps back and he lands on his ankle the wrong way, as millions of MMA fans and Pride fanboys all over the world watch in complete shock/disappointment. Gonzaga went on to fight Randy Couture for the HW championship back in '07 at UFC 74 and lost by TKO in the 3rd, although many believed he could pull off the win.

Its very weird to see two fighters who used be serious contenders completely fall down the ladder and ultimately (sort of a pun I guess...Ultimately...Ultimate Fighting Championship...Fuck it) get cut by the UFC. Gonzaga has even said he considered retiring from MMA. As we know, the MMA universe will live on and hopefully these two vets will continue to fight and eventually work their way back into the UFC.

By Shawn LeLievre