Posts with the tag "UFC 80"

Unbelievable night of fights. You can see a full breakdown of the results on MMAJunkie. A few thoughts... first, the fight between B.J. Penn and Joe Stevenson was a great fight. Penn opened a cut over Stevenson's head that made it difficult for him to see, but showed the heart of a champion in his efforts. It's fun to think how the fight may have turned out if the cut hadn't been opened.

The night of knockouts had one fight in particular that I thought would end in a knockout, but didn't. Paul Kelly defeated Paul Taylor in fast paced fight. Both fighters slugged it out in the first period, but eventually Paul Kelly was able to get Taylor on the ground and pound out the win. Great fight and I can't wait to see these guys in action again.

The only disappointment of the night for had to be the fight between Gabriel Gonzaga and Fabricio Werdum. Gonzaga looked tired at times and the fight was eventually stopped due to strikes by Werdum. Gonzaga did manage to land some awesome kicks that brused Werdum's leg almost immediately. Still, I expected a little more out of Gonzaga, it will be interesting to hear his take on the fight.

Here are my predictions for UFC 80. Some tough picks, but should be some great fights!

• BJ Penn vs. Joe Stevenson
• Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Fabricio Werdum
• Jess Liaudin vs. Marcus Davis
• Wilson Gouveia vs. Jason Lambert
• Jorge Rivera vs. Kendall Grove
• Antoni Hardonk vs Colin Robinson
• Paul Kelly vs. Paul Taylor
• James Lee vs. Alessio Sakara
• Per Eklund vs. Sam Stout

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At last, the UFC will have a light heavyweight title holder as BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson will fight for the vacant title. After Sean Sherk tested positive for steroids at UFC 73 Stacked, he was eventually stripped of the title. Now, the main event for UFC 80 Rapid Fire will determine the new champion.

Joe Stevenson is a no-nonsense fighter that always gives fighting and training 100% of his efforts. Stevenson's rise to fame is credited with his success on The Ultimate Fighter two. On the show, Stevenson beat Luke Cummo to win the welterweight contract. Penn, on the other hand, has not always been fully committed to fighting. The fight with George St. Pierre always sticks in my mind. He clearly won the first round but lacked the conditioning to win the fight. Now, Penn is refocused and clearly wants to be the lightweight champion.

I expect an excellent fight and I hate to pick a winner. Adding to the drama is the fact that the fight is five rounds. My new found faith in B.J. Penn makes him my pick as the new lightweight chapion. This fight goes the distance, but Penn wins via a close decision.

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In my opinion, the fight between Gabriel Gonzaga and Fabricio Werdum is the easiest fight to call. Of course, I thought George St. Pierre over Matt Serra was a lock. Both fighters are coming off of loses to notable UFC fighters. Gonzaga lost a title match to Randy Couture and Werdum lost a very lackluster fight to Andrei Arlovski. In fact, the fight between Arlovski and Werdum is skewing my prediction on this fight. I think Gonzaga will submit Werdum early in the fight.

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Yet another great UFC 80 Rapid Fire fight, Jess Liaudin Vs. Marcus Davis. Both fighters are on a roll and expect this fight to put them onto the welterweight map. Jess Liaudin, AKA The Joker, is always interesting to watch with his unorthodox style. Marcus Davis is another one of these guys that just loves to fight. This fight is a tossup in my opinion, and will probably be decided in the first round. I will go with Marcus Davis via submission.

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Wilson Gouveia vs. Jason Lambert at UFC 80 Rapid Fire should be a great fight. Both fighters have excellent UFC records. Gouveia is 3-1 where his only loss was to Keith Jardine. Labert is 4-1 where his only loss was to Rashad Evans. Lambert loves to ground and pound, but he must be wary on the ground as Gouveia is a BJJ Black Belt. I give Labert the edge and expect him to win via knockout.

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The fight between Jorge Rivera and Kendall Grove at UFC 80 Rapid Fire is an interesting matchup. Rivera is an experienced fighter who will be tough for The Ultimate Fighter winner Kendall Grove. Although Grove is coming off a knockout loss to Patrick Cote, he has shown great improvement since The Ultimate Fighter. This is a dangerous fight for Grove as Rivera will not be an easy fight. I expect Rivera to pull out the decision win.

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UFC 80 includes a heavyweight matchup between Antoni Hardonk and Colin Robinson. Both fighters are coming off of UFC losses. Hardonk's strengths include a strong standup and ground game. Interestingly, Robinson's strengths are the same. This one is difficult to call, I am going with Hardonk via decisioin.

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OK, so I have the initial version of fantasy MMA complete. This functionality allows any registered user to select the winners of upcoming MMA events. The first event is for UFC 80 Rapid Fire. All you need is a user account which you can get by registering here. Then, just visit the events page and select the link to make your picks. That's it, have fun! Be sure to checkout how everyone is voting by viewing the summary of the votes cast so far here.

Paul Kelly will make his UFC debut at UFC 80, Rapid Fire. His opponent, Paul Taylor already has two UFC fights where he has one win and one loss. I expect Kelly to get this fight to the ground using his physical strength. Taylor's relentless conditioning is the x-factor, but I still expect Kelly to get the decision win.

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Per Eklund will make his UFC debut at UFC 80 Rapid Fire. The card is set in Metro Radio Arena, England and is headlined by a title fight between BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson. Per Eklund owns a 12-2-1 MMA record according to Sherdog, but has yet to face a big named opponent. No doubt this guy has the skills to fight in the UFC, but will he be able to , otherwise he would not be fighting in the UFC.

Sam Stout is coming off of consecutive loses to Spencer Fisher and Kenny Florian. Stout is an excellent striker who loves to stand and throw, making him an exciting fighter to watch. The fight is difficult to call, as both are excellent fighters. I am going with Sam "Hands of Stone" Stout to win the fight.

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Starting the countdown to UFC 80, I will take a look at the fight between James Lee and Alessio Sakara. For Lee, this will be his first fight in the UFC. He is riding a 10 fight win streak with most of his wins coming in the Kings of the Cage organization. I am curious to see if Lee can go the distance in a fight, in his 13 fights he has only been past the first round once. You can see his fight record on Sherdog.

Alessio Sakara owns a 15-6-1 record, but has lost 3 of his last four fights. Most recently, Sakara was knocked out by Houston Alexander in the first round of UFC 75. For Sakara, this fight will determine his future in the UFC. Anything but an impressive win may signal the end of his UFC career. But don't count out Sakara, his striking abilities keep him in any fight.

James Lee better come prepared for the fight, otherwise he will go the way of others who came unprepared to the UFC. Alessio Sakara now has everything to lose and will fight that way. Sakara needs to keep this fight standing and I believe he will. Alessio Sakara wins via knockout. Visit the UFC.com to checkout the complete fight card.

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