Posts with the tag "Quinton Jackson"

Here are my predictions for UFC 96. Although I did pretty well in my UFC 95 predictions, I must say I don't feel as confident in these predictions. I suspect that this means that the fighters are to inconsistent to predict winners.

Upset special - Shane Carwin over Gabriel Gonzaga
Lock pick - Brandon Vera over Michael Patt

Corey Hill vs. Justin Buchholz - Time to see if "The Real Deal" can continue his win streak. Corey Hill presents all sorts of matchup issues for his opponents and I don't see this fight being any different. At 6'4", Hill towers above all the fighters in his division. Look for Hill to win this fight by knockout.

Melvin Guillard vs. Dennis Siver - Guess who is back and it isn't the real slim-shady. The question is which Melvin Guillard will show up for the fight? When he wins, he looks like a title contender. When he loses, he looks like he belongs in a backyard brawl. I believe the time away has done him some good and he will have a strong showing for this fight. Another TKO for Guillard.

Jorge Gurgel vs. Cole Miller - This is an interesting matchup for sure. Gurgel strikes me as the type of fighter that is very good, but will probably never reach title contention. This makes him a perfect fighter for gauging the skill level of other fighters. Enter Cole Miller... I am still not sold on his abilities, but he has the potential to be a good fighter. A win for Gurgel means nothing while a win for Miller says a lot about his future in the UFC. Hard for me to pick a winner here, so I am going with the Vegas line and picking Miller by unanimous decision.

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Justin McCully - How can a fighter look so good in one fight and then so bad in the next? Gabriel Gonzaga looked like the next heavyweight champ when he defeated Mirko Cro Cop, but looked like a chump in his loses to Randy Couture and Fabricio Werdum. Justin McCully is smart fighter that can win fights against better opponents, but I don't see that happening in this fight. Gonzaga wins this fight early by ground and pound.

Tyson Griffin Vs. Marcus Aurelio - This should be a great fight, but I am having a hard time picking a winner. I assume that Tyson Griffin is the odds on favorite so I will believe he will continue his current winning streak. Look for this one to go the distance with Griffin as the victor.

Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle - Ouch, this is a bad matchup for Chris Lytle. Koscheck is an excellent wrestler who will look to get Lytle on the mat early. Lytle's best chance to win this fight is to keep Koscheck on his feet and entice him to exchange punches. If Koscheck sticks to his plan, he wins this fight by TKO.

Joe Stevenson vs. Gleison Tibau - This fight has the potential to be the fight of the night. With both fighters coming off of difficult loses, they both have something to prove. Expect a blood bath with Stevenson as the winner of the fight.

Patrick Cote vs. Ricardo Almeida - Ah yes, the classic matchup of the submission artist versus the slugger. These fights are almost always determined by where the fight takes place. Almeida wants the fight on the ground while Cote prefers to fight on his feet.

Usually, I tend to lean towards the submission guy because I assume the fight will eventually end up on the mat. The x-factor for Cote may very well be his new found confidence. He has been landing precision punches with the power to knockout his opponents. I am going to go against my better judgment and pick Cote to win this fight. You know what that means, knockout baby!

Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin - Finally, the main event. This soon to be classic represents an important moment in mixed martial arts. Think of this fight as the past meeting the future. Quinton Jackson is favored to win this fight, but don't be surprised if Griffin finds a way to win.

The first time I picked against Griffin was the first time I saw him officially fight. I was sure Stephan Bonnar was going to win the first Ultimate Fighter. The second time I picked against Griffin was when he fought Mauricio Rua... wrong again. So how can I pick against Griffin a third time?

Griffin can win this fight by following the right strategy. He needs this fight to make it into the later rounds where his conditioning is superior to Jackson's. Still, can he make it to the later rounds without being caught by Rampage? Probably not... Jackson wins this fight by technical knockout.

The show starts and the fights are on!

• Dan Simmler (1-0) vs. Matthew Riddle (1-0): The first round starts and ends without much to write about. Let's just say that the second round was a little different. As the round starts, Riddle throws a huge left hook that absolutely floors Dan Simmler. As Simmler lays on the ground, everybody wonders if he is alright. They show a clip of him being carted off to an ambulance all the while he is asking "was that a real fight or practice?" Seems like he asks that question at least three or four times.
• Luke Zachrich (7-1) vs. Patrick Schultz (7-1-1): Schultz starts the fight with a lot of intensity, but it is immediately obvious that he is lacking some MMA skills. Zachrich eventually secures a rear-naked choke to win the fight.
• Tim Credeur (10-2) vs Erik Charles (10-5): This fight looked like an instructional video. Credeur proceeds to take down Charles, move to side control and then sink in an arm bar. Chareles has no choice but to tap and Credeur wins the fight. I am glad that Chareles loses the fight as he was running his mouth. Something about being a great striker and how he would love to fight everybody in the house. I guess he won't get his chance.
• Brandon Sene vs. Aaron Meisner: Meisner isn't fighting particularly well, so Rampage goes down by the rink to give him advice. Meisner doesn't listen to the advice and eventually Rampage walks away saying "he didn't listen." He should have listened as Sene is able to secure a rear-naked choke and win the fight. Once Rampage returns to the coaches table, Griffin gets in a good jab and tells Rampage that he wouldn't listen to him either.
• Mike Marrello vs. Gerald Harris: Harris wins a decision
• Daniel Cramer vs Jerimiah Riggs: The fight starts and the fighters work their way to the mat. One fighter (I can't remember which) upkicks the other fighter and true to form Rampage asks "is that illegal?" Dana White looks at Rampage with a dumbfounded look and informs him that it was illegal. Cramer goes on to win the fight via a decision.
• Nick Rossborough (8-3) vs. Jesse Taylor (6-2): For some reason, the coaches refer to Rossborough as the Eminem of the MMA world. Not sure where they get that from, but it didn't help him much in the ring. Taylor wins the fight by rear-naked choke. Again Rampage throws out a priceless quote, "[Taylor] is a one trick pony."
• Josh Hall (3-2) vs Matt Brown (9-6): This was a really entertaining fight. Hall comes out and looks very strong and manages to secure a triangle on Brown. Brown is able to escape and gains mount position. At this point, you can tell that Hall is out of gas and Brown starts to land bombs. Brown wins via TKO with only 2 seconds left in the first round.

A great start to the Ultimate Fighter. The new format is a huge success and the coaches should provide endless humor for the upcoming shows.

Let's rock! The Ultimate Fighter 7 Team Forrest vs Team Rampage is officially underway as the fighters walk in. Immediately they are surprised as wave after wave of fighters arrive. Eventually, they come to the conclusion that there are 32 fighters instead of the normal 16.

The fighters gather around Data White and he goes into a speech about how he hates "pussys and posers" and tells the fighters they have to fight to get onto the show. Most fighters take a glance around the room, obviously shaken by the fact that they have to fight right away. Now, the question is who will be fighting who and how many fights they will show on the first episode.

Fights:

1. Prince McLean (5-4) vs. Mike Dolce (4-4): Dolce wins via knockout.
2. Cale Yarbrought (0-0) vs. John Clarke (6-2): Yarbrought is the youngest guy on the show and Clarke had to cut 17 lbs to make weight. Yarbrought wins by TKO after Clarke gases late in round one.
3. Amir Sadollah (?-?) vs. Steve Byrnes (6-1): I swear Jackson kept talking about a Marie, but I couldn't figure out which fighter that was. A pretty good first round as both fighters got their licks in. Another good round, but Amir ended winning by an arm-bar.
4. David Baggett vs. C.B. Dollaway: Dollaway wins.
5. Dante Rivera vs. John Wood: Rivera wins.
6. Nick Klein vs. David Mewborn: Klein wins.
7. Paul Bradley vs. Reggie Orr: Bradley wins.
8. Jeremy May (6-5) vs. Dave Roberts (4-5): May wins by arm bar while also having a triangle choke. Strange, but effective. Big disappointment for Rampage as Roberts was his boy.

A great show all around. The extra fights were a great addition. One thing that did annoy me was a coaches cam they showed during the fights. I can't wait for next week.

MMAJunkie.com is reporting that the fight between Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin will take place at UFC 86 on July 5. Griffin and Jackson are no-brainers for coaches of The Ultimate Fighter as they both have great personalities. Best of all, we don't have to hear them squabble like some of the coaches from other seasons.

The question is how do they matchup in the ring? I still see Jackson winning the fight, all he has to do is land a few punches and then slam Forrest to the mat. For Griffin to win, he needs to drag out the fight all five rounds and find a way to wear out Jackson. If nothing else, it should be fun to watch as two fan favorites battle it out.

Forrest Griffin and Quinton Jackson were named as the coaches for the upcoming Ultimate Fighter y reality show. Dana White assured the fans that the two would be fighting for the light heavyweight title. The question lingers, is Forrest Griffin ready for a title shot?

As I was thinking about the match up, the first thought to cross my mind was that how can they put Griffin against Jackson, also know as Rampage? Rampage not only knocked out UFC champion Chuck Liddell, one of the most dominating UFC fighters, but also defeated former Pride champion Dan Henderson.

Forrest can win this fight. If the past year has taught us anything, it's that anybody can win. Just ask former welterweight champion Jorge St. Pierre. Forrest will need a good game plan. Forrest has followed his strategies perfectly in his last two fights, where he was able to pick apart Hector Ramirez and tire out Mauricio Rua.

The question remains, is he ready for the title shot? Absolutely. He has the experience, with fights against Mauricio Rua, Keith Jardine, Tito Ortiz, and Elvis Sinosic. He knows about pressure; remember he won the original ultimate fighter. So, why not?