JB's MMA Today

Welcome to my MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) blog. The purpose of this blog is to interact with fellow fans of MMA, post MMA news, and share opinions. This blog is all MMA, from Strikeforce to UFC to dream and more. Hope you guys enjoy. I'm trying to be the one...

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I’m Back! Tyron Woodley vs Johny Hendricks @ UFC 192

Been forever, I know. Lets talk about this upcoming fight between two very decorated collegiate wrestlers in T.Wood and former WW champ Johny Hendricks. Both are coming off nice wins in their last respective fights. With Woodley beating the highly respected prospect and (imo, if he can make weight, future WW champ Kelvin Gastelum). Meanwhile Johny is coming off a decision victory over the always dangerous, Matt Brown. I am a fan of both Woodley and Hendricks so this is a fight which is very salient to me. I think Johny takes a close decision. Or we get a barnburner leading to a ko. Both guys have crazy finishing power. This is an obvious title eliminator bout with the winner facing the winner of the UFC 194 WW Championship bout between champ Robbie Lawler and challenger Carlos Condit. I feel like the division has definitely picked up since GSP left, and honestly that's a good thing. Who do you got between Woodley and Hendricks?

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UFC 148 Cung Le vs Rich Franklin!!!

Two very gifted strikers in the twilight of their careers face off in a pivotal matchup. Rich Franklin is one of my top 5 favorite mma fighters. He sadly retired one of my other top 5ers Chuck Lidell. This will be his first fight back at 185 in awhile.  Hes a fellow christian like myself and always brings a war. He is a great fighter, with class, and is one of my role models on how I conduct myself in everyday life in general. Cung Le is an entertainer who kicks major ass. He has some of the flashiest kicks in the game. He was one of Strikeforce's biggest stars. This fight is a toss up for me. I feel like Rich may get rocked in this fight. I think I will call Rich Franklin via a close and spirited 29-28 comeback decision win after an early knockdown by Cung.

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Fedor vs Pedro Rizzo June 21st!!!

The return of the Michael Jordan of MMA Fedor Emelianenko! June 21st in Russia. Wish the UFC would have signed this guy, he always comes to fight.

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Cant wait for Jon Jones to taste the H-Bomb!!

Impressive performance by Jon Jones last night. Those elbows he dished out on the feet were brutal, wobbled Rashad quite a few times. Dan Henderson is the last hope to derail him. I like Henderson's chances in a fight with Jon Jones. Henderson has the best chin in MMA, he can take the punishment that Jon will dish on the feet and close the distance to get within range unlike Rashad who looked hesitant. The great thing about Dan is he fights like a bulldog which guarantees he is gonna try to get inside. Alot of fighters have been sitting back and have been getting picked apart by the champ, Henderson will not sit back, he came right at Fedor like a mad man and I expect him to do the same to Jones. The problem with Henderson is his gas tank in 5 round fights is horrible. After the 3rd round his movement stalls alot. I think Henderson knows that he is not getting any younger and at age 41, this is his last shot at UFC gold. I expect either a Jon Jones 4th round finish by GNP from elbows or a Dan Henderson KO in the 2nd.

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I am sorry about the hiatus guys been very busy with school and life. Anyway you don't wanna hear about that, you wanna hear about mma and that is what I bring to the table. For those of you who missed it you missed and excellent episode of UFC Primetime. This Primetime series targets Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit, two extraordinary mma fighters and extraordinary athletes. It was an excellent first episode with two more to come before they duel for the interim WW title Feb 4th in Las Vegas. Take note, the last 6 minutes of the episode, it really sheds light on why Nick acts the way he does very interesting piece on him. Cant wait till they duel for the right to face the true WW champ the injured George St Pierre.

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Melendez vs Masvidal Tonight on Showtime (Strikeforce)

Tonight Strikeforce LW champ Gil Melendez defends his belt against Jorge Masvidal in an epic LW clash. Melendez is regarded as the #1 LW in the world so it will be a treat to watch him compete. Masvidal is no pushover though he just whipped up on K.J Noons. Many are picking Masvidal for the upset but I believe Melendez will show why he is the champ and GnP and out-wrestle Masvidal to a decision victory. Also on the card, the most dominant champ in Womens MMA history Cris "Cyborg" Santos defends her title. (Masvidal on right, Melendez on left) (Cristiane Santos below)

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Get on twitter and tell Dana to bring Torres back!!!

Everyone needs to go on twitter and petition to bring Miguel Torres back to the UFC, Dana is an overreacting Yankee idiot who doesnt think before he does an action. He cut Miguel due to the fact he thought one of his tweets were inappropriate, which it was but he got it from a tv show and the tweet wasnt premeditated. Dana keeps thugs like Sonnen (whos also said racist comments) on his roster but gets rid of a definite GOAT BW in Torres absolutely ridiculous stuff, I am fuming. Torres deserves a second chance Rashad Evans and Forrest Griffin have said much worse things and hes kept them without any reprimand.

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Rampage Jackson vs Ryan Bader @ UFC 144 in Japan.

Huge fight for each man here. Both have lost to champion Jon Jones but in my opinion are still elite 205er's. However, I believe Bader is on the upswing and Rampage is on his decline. Bader is a youthful, and powerful with punching power and an excellent wrestling pedigree. Rampage is a boxer who has started to become one dimensional as of late, and never uses his wrestling anymore. Each man has serious power though. Although I would like to give the edge to Rampage, esp. with him fighting in Japan where he had some of his best bouts, if I were a betting man I would put my money on Bader. However, let us not forget Bader got dropped by Tito Ortiz's pillow hands and was chocked out by him so honestly anything is possible in this fight. (first gif is Ryan Bader, second is Rampage)

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Rashad Evans vs Phil Davis to Headline UFC on FOX 2

Huge fight here. The fight will take place Jan 28th, 2012 on live television on FOX from Chicago. One has to wonder if this is Evans usual one fight of the year as he has not fought consecutive times in a year in quite a while. Much of Evans spotty fight appearances are due to injury and possible bad luck from sitting out and waiting on Jon Jones for a title shot. The Evans vs Davis fight was supposed to happen awhile back at UFC 133 but Davis became injured. This is a huge fight for Rashad as a win against Davis will most definitely give him his coveted title shot that has eluded him for quite sometime now. A win for Davis would also be huge as it would probably move Davis way up the rankings, knock Rashad off as the #1 contender, and open the door for Dan Henderson to take Rashad's spot and fight for the title instead. Davis and Rashad are both decorated wrestlers who have both wrestled in the Big Ten (Rashad at Michigan State and Phil Davis at Penn State). I expect their wrestling to cancel out and I expect to see a stand up battle between the two of them. I believe Rashad will probably win but I would bet my bottom dollar Phil's striking will look much improved from his fight with Lil Nog. (First gif features Phil Davis chocking out Tim Boestch and second is Rashad being his usual cocky self)

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Bellator The #2 North American MMA Org?

I was watching Bellator this past weekend and there were quite a few good bouts they put on. I enjoyed the Nover vs Held fight and a few others. Although the Santos vs Prindle fight was a horrible ending to the show. Bellator has been putting on great events, the problem is their production is very poor. Their non HD set up on MTV2 is definitely not the best quality. Also, the announcers do not even compare to Goldie and Rogan, or even Ranallo, Johnson, Miltech, and Shamrock of Strikeforce. The shows color commentator is really just not good.  

Many people were ready to give Bellator the defacto #2 crown once Strikeforce was swallowed by the UFC but I don't know if I would call Bellator a clear cut #2 in North American MMA. There are still plenty of good organizations on the rise such as ProElite, MFC, and Shark Fights. Bellator is not too far ahead of any of these organizations, especially Shark Fights whos production in my opinion is better than Bellator's.

One thing Bellator has going for them is that they have a good group of champions in each of their weight classes who I all think are UFC worthy except for LH champ M'Pumbu. Outside of their champions though few of their fighters would even be able to beat perennial UFC undercarders such as Eric Schafer or Thiago Tavares. I believe Bellator needs to stay aggressive in pursuing all of the top talent they can get as they are still far behind the UFC and the competition is gaining on them. One suggestion is that Bellator start to work its way into the British market as British MMA is on the rise and I believe they could unseat the monopoly BAMMA has and take some of their decent regional fighters. Another is moving from MTV2 to a more notable television station, which they plan on doing in 2013 by filling the UFC's void on Spike TV.

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This is nicktheface's best trailer yet. Overeem vs Lesnar is the fight I have been excited for since the announcement of the bout! This fight will not last 25min I can guarantee that!!!

[mixed-martial-arts]

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I need this tshirttttttt!

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I am extremely excited for this fight. I have been wanting to see Shogun take on Hendo for a long time. UFC 139 is gonna be a great fight. I believe Henderson will get the K.O. due to the power in his hands and his ability to take hard power shots and keep delivering punishments. Shogun is always dangerous though, due to his blitzkrieg style of fighting.

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Cain V. vs JDS for Heavyweight Title Tonight, live and free on Network TV (Fox)

It is impossible to say Dana White does not look out for the fans. He and the UFC decided to spoil us once again by putting a live title fight on network tv. This fight is the debut of the UFC putting fights on Fox, as the UFC has moved away from Spike TV and has gone with Fox. This fight should be great though, Cain Velasquez is a well rounded fighter with improving kickboxing and great wrestling. Junior Dos Santos is just a monster, what makes him so dangerous is his boxing, he probably has the best boxing in MMA behind B.J Penn and Nick Diaz, however JDS definitely has the most power in the Heavyweight Division. If JDS defends Cain's first takedown easily, I see this fight being very difficult for the HW champ. However, if Cain easily steamrolls JDS with a power double and he does not pop back up to his feet quickly Dos Santos will be mauled and the fight will be over before the full 25 minutes. (Pic below: Cain V. on left and JDS on the right)

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Nick Diaz- Villain or Misunderstood?

Nick Diaz is one of my favorite fighters in MMA. I am not a huge fan of Diaz because of his talent although that is an added bonus. What I love about Nick is his willingness to fight anyone anywhere and his neurotic nature. In today's fight game there are too many GSP's and too many overly respectful fighters. If George St.Pierre is the UFC's white knight, Diaz is definetly its dark knight. Many fans and pundits are taken aback by Diaz's mouth and mannerisims. Many say Nick Diaz is a disrespectful punk. I beg to differ; I believe Diaz knows how to sell a fight, and most importantly be himself.

Nick Diaz is one of the most polarizing fighters in the sport due to his trash talk. The great thing about Nick though, and the reason he has so many fans, is because he backs up his trash talk with fists. With Nick, there is no fake Mr. Nice guy persona, Nick keeps it 100% real, and is a total badass. I disagree with people assertions that Nick is just a disrespectful prick. He showed B.J Penn much respect up to there UFC 137 bout. He praised B.J on his ability and skill. Diaz will not be as respectful to St.Pierre who he has a very publicized beef with. St.Pierre will fight Nick at UFC 143 and Nick has lived up the heel role in order to get the St.Pierre fight.

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Machida vs Jones for the LHW title!! Machida is the one man in the LH division that could beat Jones, IMO, due to his elaborate game plans and elusive nature. This will be a very dynamic fight. The wrestling of Jones will be key as Machida has a great base and is hard to takedown. The key for Machida is leg kicks. Jon has not really faced an elite leg kicker yet in his young MMA career. These two men will duke it out at UFC 140.

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UFC 136 Tonight!!!

Big fight card tonight!!! The UFC is spoiling us ladies and gents with two huge title fights. First, a rubbermatch between defending LW champ Frankie Edgar and Challenger Gray Maynard. Their second fight earlier this year was one of the best lightweight title fights in years, and I expect this third matchup to be just as good. Also, arguably the best P4P fighter in the world, UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo, takes on Kenny Florian in a big title fight also. Just a great all round card, not often when a fight card has two title fights. Also tune in to Spike tonight at 8 ET to catch two great preliminary fights (Pettis vs Stephens and Santiago vs Maia) before the PPV main card. (Frankie on the left and, challenger, Gray on the right) (Gif below is Jose Aldo) (Gif below that is of Jeremy Stephens)