Pride Fighting - Critical Countdown Predictions

Well, it's that time again. Time for another installment of MMA predictions. Last time out, I was 6 of 8 for predicting the outcome of the UFC 53 Heavy Hitters event. Now it is time to lay down the prediction for the ongoing Pride FC Middleweight Tournament, Critical Countdown! There are some great match-ups here and some not so great, but almost every fight features at least one MMA "A" class fighter. Without futher ado, Pride FC Middleweight Tournament, Critical Countdown predictions: Current Pride FC Middleweight Champ, Wanderlei Silva vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura This will be a fun fight as Nakamura has proven that he can hang with the best of them. He doesn't have what it takes to put away the Axe Murderer, but I think it will go past the first round as Nakamura is very crafty. Wanderlei will eventually corner Nakamura where Nakamura (due to his shortness) will be an easy target for Silva's vicious knees. Wanderlei Silva - KO -2nd Rd Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Ricardo Arona A couple of years ago, this would have been a much better match up. Sak, who used the be the king, has long since passed the torch. Although he still has many tricks up his sleeve, I think the age and wear and tear has caught up with him and Arona is just too fast. Arona has trouble ending fights, so I'm taking him to win by decision in what could possibly be a somewhat boring fight. Ricardo Arona - Decision Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira This should be a hell of a fight, maybe the toughest to call in the tourney. Both are at the top of their games and both are world class MMA fighters. Rua showed a lot last time out and comes in with youth and confidence on his side. Lil' Nog won't be intimidated as he has fought the best. If the battle is standing up, Shogun has the edge. On the ground, Nogueira. I think Mauricio when put on the ground will be crafty enough to bring it back on their feet. Noguerira is wont be submitted and it would probably take the likes of Wanderli to KO him. This one goes the distance. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua - Decision Igor Vovchanchyn vs. Alistair Overeem Stiker vs striker in what could easily be the "funnest" fight of the night. Since dropping to the Middleweight division, Vovchanchyn has looked razor sharp. Alistar put up a good battle with Liddell, but Liddell's style of being flatfooted favored Alistar (and his reach). Vovchanchyn will not be a stand still target as he stays active and is light on his feet. We have seen Igor get KO'd, so a striker like Alistair has a chance, a small chance. This one will not be left in the judges hands. Igor Vovchanchyn - KO - 3rd Round Additional Matches (Non-Tournament): Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Pawel Nastula Mr. MMA vs. Mr. Judo. If you dont' know about Nogueria, you don't know your MMA. One of the most well rounded fighters in the biz who can beat you on your feet or on the ground. His hands are deadly, but he's not afraid to exhange and over time can do some damage. Nastula is an amazing Judo player, stacked with titles. Unfortunately for him, he's never fought mixed martial arts. He sure picked one hell of a tough opponent his first time out. If this wasn't MMA, Pawel might have the edge, but this isn't. Once Nogeria softens him up with strikes, Nastula will expose himself and Nog will catch him with a submission Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira - Submission - Round 2 Sergei Kharitonov vs. Pedro Rizzo My, my, which Pedro will show up? Rizzo has KO's some big boys, bigger than Kharitonov. But that was when Rizzo was at the top of his game. In recent years, he's looked flatter than his belly, which isn't saying much. Rizzo has the ability to knock anyone out with just one punch (maybe with the exception of Fujita) so never rule that out. I've been impressed so far with what I've seen from Kharitonov and think he is good for the sport as he shows a diverse skillset and he's not afraid to trade blows. I think this will be a boring fight as Rizzo has shown time and time again that he doesn't like to press the pace. Sergei Kharitonov - Decision Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Ibragim Magomedov Croatia vs. Russia...the battle of the Eastern Bloc. Mirko is one of the most exciting MMA fighters to watch, especially if you value the stand up game over the technical ground game. He has heavy fist and can KO anyone. Ibragim has a lot of experience in Russia winning a few tournaments, but I think he's getting in over his head in his first Pride Fighting Championship fight. Unless Cro Cop doesn't take this fight seriously, he'll out class Ibragim and KO him...lights out! Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic - KO - 1st Round

Pride FC Critical Countdown - Fight Card

Finally, another big show heading our way! UFC 53 was only a couple of weeks ago, but i'm jonesing for another big MMA event. I love the Pride Fighting Championship and we've got another HUGE event coming our way. And just on the heels of that will be a solid Pride Bushido show, Bushido 8. Here is the complete Pride Critical Countdown 2005 fight card: Tournament Matches: Fight Card Wanderlei Silva (Brazil) vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura (Japan) Kazushi Sakuraba (Japan) vs. Ricardo Arona (Brazil) Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (Brazil) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Brazil) Igor Vovchanchyn (Ukraine) vs. Alistair Overeem (Holland) Additional Matches (Non-Tournament): Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Brazil) vs. Pawel Nastula (Poland) Sergei Kharitonov (Russia) vs. Pedro Rizzo (Brazil) Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (Croatia) vs. Ibragim Magomedov (Russia) Makoto Takimoto (Japan) vs. Kiyoshi Tamura (Japan) The Pride Critical Countdown event will happend July 1, 2005. Next week I'll post my Pride FC predictions. I was 6 for 8 predicting the outcome of UFC 53 fights!

UFC Results - Eilers vs. Arlovski in UFC 53 - Ultimate Fighting Championship

Justin Eilers lost to UFC interim heavyweight champion Adrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski Saturday night at UFC 53. Eilers took a beating from Arlovski and suffered an injured right knee that forced the bout to an early end. In addition Eilers also reportedly walked away with a broken nose, a fractured right hand and shattered left hand. In other results Rick "Ace" Franklin took down Middleweight champion Evan Tanner and Forrest Griffin grabbed a victory of Bill Mahood. This was Tanner's first televised UFC win. Paul Buentello held out agains Kevin Jordan. UFC 53 took place at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City just days after the controversial ban of NHB events by the city of Boston. Other results: NICK DIAZ TKO OISHI LOISEAU TKO MCCARTHY NATE QUARRY TKO SHONNIE CARTER KARO PARISYAN DEC OVER MATT SERRA FORREST GRIFFIN SUBMISSION OVER MAHOOD

Frank Shamrock DVD review

Through my MMA Video account (www.mmavideo.com) I just rented a Frank Shamrock DVD called Submission Seminar at Quantum Headquarters. Last week I had rented WEC 6 where Frank Shamrock made his last fight appearance which motivated me to rent one of his instructional DVDs. Let me quickly say that although his time has passed, Shamrock was truly an amazing fighter who was ahead of his time. In a period where many MMA fighters were one dimensional (eg, Tito Oritz, Royce Gracie, etc) Shamrock had it all. Good striker (both punching and kicking), amazing submission skills, and unmatched endurance. Truly a complete MMA fighter. It's just a shame we can't see the young shamrock in today's UFC. Frank in the middleweight division would dominate! Back to the Frank Shamrock Submission DVD. I highly recommed this title as he is a great instructor. He exhibits his expert knowledge and articulately relays it to his audience. He's a very patient teacher and in a way makes it fun to learn. There is one part of the disc, I believe toward the end, where Shamrock single-handly takes on every student in the class, one-by-one. Sure, these students are lighter and not true MMA fighters, but the way he handles each one in an effortless way and transistions from submission to submission is something I've never seen before. If you can get your hands on this DVD, it's a great one for any submission practitioner!

UFC 53 Heavy Hitters Predictions

Well, we are upon another Ultimate Fighting Championship event, UFC 53. There are some interesting matchups, but overall the card is pretty flat as they are missing big name match ups. I mean using Justin Eilers as part of your headline? He's a good fighter, but how many people know of him? What will the results of this UFC be....on to the predictions: Nick Diaz vs Koji Oishi -Koji will avoid the KO and will go for the ground and pound in this fight with Diaz eaking out the decision. David "The Crow" Loiseau vs Charles McCarthy -Loiseau is too experienced for McCarthy. The Crow by KO with vicious elbows. Nate Quarry vs Shonie Carter -I like Nate and he seemed like a really stand up guy on The Ultimate Fighter television show, but Shonie Carter has way too much experience. I think this could be a war with the crafty vetren Carter winning via KO. Matt Serra vs Karo Parisyan -Both of these guys are ground fighters, not stand up. Logic would say that it will be decided on the ground, but strangely sometimes these kind of match-ups end up standing the entire time. Matt Serra is one of the boringest fighters in the UFC and I cannot understand why they keep bringing him back. His last three fights have all gone to decision. Technically he's a good fighter, but if you can't KO or submit you don't belong in the UFC. I pray that Karo wins (probably a decisions as that is the kind of fight Serra brings). Karo via decision. Forrest Griffin vs Bill Mahood -I don't know much about Mahood. I'm going with Forrest on this one. He's proven what a tough fighter he is and I cannot imagine Mahood throwing him anything more than Stephen Bonner did. Griffin by KO. Paul Buentello vs Kevin Jordan -Buentello doesn't look like the fittest athlete, but he has a pretty well versed game. From what I can tell, Jordan has been a couple of C and B class fighters but never anyone A calibur. Now Buentello isn't A level, but he is on the cusp. Paul Buentello by submission. Evan Tanner vs Rich Franklin -Both fighters looks amazing last time out walking through both of their opponents. I think Franklin is better suited for light heavyweight as he looked to have trouble with Jorge Rivera when he fought middleweight. Evan Tanner is at the top of his game right now and will be out to avenge his early UFC loss to Franklin. Tanner by decision in what could be the fight of the night! Andre Arlovski vs Justin Eilers -Unless Andre stopped training about 3 months leading up to this fight, I don't think he'll have any problems. Arlovski has looked razor sharp in his last few outtings and I don't seem him slowing down. The only questions here is KO or submission? Arlovski by submission.

Boston bans Ultimate Fighting type event

Looks like some uneducated morons in Boston decided to pull the plug on a recent MMA event this past Saturday. I'm not sure the name of the event as it was a small NHB show, but it just goes to show how ignorant some people can be. A sport like football will rack up a much higher percentage of long term injuries than mixed martial arts. Only one person has died in a MMA event and that was year ago in an unsanctioned event in Russia! Hopeful people like Dana White at the UFC will be able to help educate the masses (via appearances on TV) that the sport truly is legit and safe! This will be to the benefit of all MMA and will keep knuckleheads like these guys in Boston from shutting down future events.