EasyLinuxGuide Blog

There have been a lot of changes in the UFC lately. I will run down some of the main topics and offer my 2 cents on each:

• Randy Couture vs Fedor. Now that Fedor has become a free agent, many are expecting or at least hoping that the ultimate match up will take place. For some reason, I just don’t think this will live up to the hype even if it did take place. Fedor hasn’t fought anyone of a good caliber in a long time. The only fight that really lived up to its billing after being hyped up was Chuck Liddell vs Wanderlei Silva.
• The path of Chuck Liddell. Even though Chuck has said that he would even like to fight Fedor, this is not likely going to happen. Although, admittedly, this would be one hell of a warm up match if Fedor was ever scheduled to fight Couture like a lot of fans want to see. Chuck is actually in a pretty good position even though he lost his belt and suffered a loss to Keith Jardine. He has a reason to be motivated and to improve his skills. Although, he is aging, a motivated and hard training Liddell is very dangerous and it will be exciting to watch his path back to the belt as he intends.
• Tito Ortiz has said he is definitely leaving the UFC after his fight with Lyoto Machida. Although I am a fan of Ortiz, he really hasn’t performed well in his last several fights. He scraped by Forrest Griffin in a fight that many thought Griffin actually won. He had a draw against Rashad Evans where he looked defeated in the final round. I see him either dominating Machida and then giving Dana White the bird or causing some kind of huge controversy. Don’t expect this fight and the surrounding hype to be anything less than a spectacle.
• The Lightweight title. Sean Sherk vs BJ Penn will be one of the most anticipated matches in recent UFC history. There is plenty of ammunition for bad blood in this one (literally) as Penn has outright called Sherk a cheater over the steroid controversy that surrounded Sherk after fighting Hermes Franca and successfully defending his Lightweight title. Sherk did manage to reduce his suspension handed down by the NSAC but the fog of suspicion on his steroid use will be with him until he returns and dominates a game opponent. A match against Penn is the best thing for Sherk in terms of redeeming himself. Penn is training hard these days so this should be one hell of a fight. Expect both men to be well prepared.
• Georges St.Pierre is one of the most likable UFC competitors. Not only is he seen as the complete package as an MMA fighter with his abilities, but he embodies the spirit of the sport much like Anderson Silva does. For these reasons and for being scheduled to face the current welterweight champion Matt Serra in his hometown of Montreal, he will be heavily favored in the books and also in the arena where the capacity crowd will surely erupt in an explosiveness never before seen.
• Brock Lesnar matching up against Frank Mir was a flatout mistake on the part of the UFC. The only thing right about it was that it was Super Bowl weekend and they had a fight that garnered a lot of attention and probably helped sell a few more pay per views. There are plenty of people for Brock to fight before facing former champions who look poised to take the heavyweight title again.
• Anderson Silva is clearly the best pound for pound fighter in the world right now. I don’t believe anyone can beat him at the natural weight of 185 lbs. The only thing remaining in terms of a test is his mental stability. Him requesting to fight Roy Jones junior indicates a lack of purpose in his mind regarding the UFC (easy to understand) and maybe some boredom?
• The Ultimate Fighter season 7 looks like it could be best season ever with Forrest Griffin and Quinton Rampage Jackson as the coaches. While both men are very entertaining and mild mannered, watch for their competitive streaks to show a different side of them during the show.

That’s it for now. More topics to be discussed soon!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 at 8:40 pm and is filed under Picture Shows / TV, UFC and MMA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.