Posts with the tag "UFC 87"

With the big event only a day away, a few friends and I decided to head down to the Target Center to watch the UFC 87 weigh-ins. We didn't know quite what to expect, but we each had our own ideas what the day might be like. Let me just say, we were all dead wrong.

The anticipation was high as we stood in line. We figured out that the Jon Fitch crew was right in front of us in line and in front of them was the Roger Huerta crew. After about an hour of standing in line, we were finally allowed in to find a seat.

As we sat down, the stadium quickly filled with fans. It was an impressive crowd for mid-day on a Friday. Then, our first sight of one of the fighters. A small crowd, which was quickly turning into a large crowd, was gathering down by the front. Sure enough, there was Wanderlei Silva signing autographs.

It didn't take long for my friend Mike and I to decide to go down. And as luck would have it, we were able to get a few pictures of him.

OK, I know I look a little giddy in the picture, but I have to admit I was excited to meet one of the best fighters in the world. With that out of the way, we headed back to our seats to watch the weigh-ins.

To keep this post somewhat sort, I won't bore you with the details of the weigh-ins. In fact, you can watch them right here thanks to ESPN video. At the very least, skip ahead to see Luke Cummo pose after he is done weighing-in.

With the weigh-ins now over, it was time to head out. After a little deliberation with the crew, I was able to convince them that we should have a beer instead of fighting the traffic. As we walked out of the Target Center, we grabbed a flier that promised cheap beer at NBA City.

Our day seemed to be winding down and we were fairly satisfied. I had gotten to meet Wanderlei Silva, who was actually really friendly and approachable. However, the story doesn't end here. I still have to get to why Bruce Buffer owes me a beer. As you might guess, our day had much more in store than we could have ever imagined...

Bruce Buffer Owes me a Beer: Part 2

I still can't get past the Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta fight. I just finished watching the UFC 87 countdown and now I am more excited than ever for it. You can see my post on that fight here. Still, I have to cover a few of the other fights, so here we go.

The Brock Lesnar vs Heath Herring fight seems very straightforward to me. Herring will look to land a bomb, probably a head kick but it could aslo be a knee. Lesnar will look to do what he does best, he will look for the takedown and then ground and pound.

Don't expect Lesnar to get caught in a submission like he did against Frank Mir. Herring just doesn't possess those skills. Still, he is very capable of landing that one big kick, just ask Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

I have a feeling that Lesnar will have Herring on the mat in about 10 seconds and pound him out shortly after. Expect this to be a huge win for Lesnar and a fun fight to watch. Goooooo Gophers!

The countdown continues as there is only 5 days left until UFC 87, Seek and Destroy. To continue my coverage of the event, I will now take a look at an extremely interesting matchup between Kenny Florian and Roger Huerta.

The two best lightweights in the UFC are BJ Penn and Sean Sherk. However, the best of the rest includes Kenny Florian and Roger Huerta. I also put Joe Stevenson in this group, but that is a subject for another post. Now, these two will fight to determine the number one contender for the UFC lightweight title.

Kenny Florian made a name for himself on the original Ultimate Fighter. After fighting his way into the finals, he suffered a TKO loss to Diego Sanchez. The loss seemed to make Florian even more focused than before and he went onto win three straight fights.

With the three straight wins, Florian earned himself a title shot against Sean Sherk. Unfortunately for Florian, he wasn't able to deal with the strength of Sherk and lost a unanimous decision. Once again, the loss seemed to focus Florian's efforts more than ever. After the loss, Florian once again went on a win streak reeling off four straight wins.

Florian once again stands on the cusp of his title shot. The man standing in his way is Roger Huerta. A very exiting fighter, Huerta owns and impressive 22-1-1 record (6-0 in the UFC). Huerta gained his notoriety two-fold. First, he appeared on a Sports Illustrated cover. Then, the UFC, trying to cash in on his cover) featured him in five events in 2007.

The exposure was good for Huerta, but he was clearly drained from all the fights. He decided to recover by taking off most of 2008 and the fight with Florian will be his first this year. An interesting side note, Huerta has two fights left on his contract while being only one fight away from the title match. The UFC often won't give the fighter with one fight on his contract a title shot until he signs a new contract. If Huerta wins this fight, we may once again be in a contract freeze until one side caves.

Breaking down this fight is extremely difficult. Both fighters are known for their conditioning, so I don't expect that to be a factor. I have to give Florian the edge with submissions and you can't forget about his dangerous elbows. Huerta brings an energy to all of his fights and probably has the edge in the standup.

The x-factor for Florian has to be his experience. He has fought a much more impressive list of opponents including Sean Sherk, Din Thomas, Chris Leben and Diego Sanchez. He always looks focused and throws those elbows with malicious intent. As much as I like Huerta, I believe Florian will be able to catch Huerta in a submission or land one of those famous elbows. Either way, this should be fun to watch.

Only 10 days left until UFC 87 Seek and Destroy? Where the hell has the summer gone? Well, at least I still have an awesome summer event left, UFC 87.

In many ways, the fans in Minnesota got lucky with the UFC 87 card. The card includes a huge star in George St. Pierre, a local boy in Roger Huerta and local star in Brock Lesnar. Most importantly, the UFC 87 card features a title fight and all around great matchups.

I am definitely most excited about the Georges St. Pierre and Jon Fitch title fight. St. Pierre is a huge star and is the prototypical UFC fighter. Fitch is also an excellent fighter and deserving of the title shot having won all 8 of his UFC fights.

The other really interesting fight is between Kenny Florian and Roger Huerta. This fight will surely decide the number one contender in the lightweight division.

With only 10 days left, I still have many things to cover but it is time to start getting excited about UFC 87!

Sunday, the UFC officially announced UFC 87: Seek and Destroy. The best part? It will be in Minneapolis Minnesota! With Minneapolis only an hour away, I will be headed to my first ever UFC event!

Now, I haven't gotten my tickets yet, but I don't think that will be too much of a problem. They go on sale this weekend to the general public. The question is whether it is better to attend the event in person or watch on television. Both have their advantages, yet I am sure it will be hard to match the excitement of a sold out Target Center.

Just announced yesterday, a great matchup between Kenny Florian and Roger Huerta. Combined, the fighters have won 10 straight UFC fights. The winner would should certainly be in line for a title fight.

Huerta has always been impressive, but will he be able to stay out of trouble against Florian? Huerta seems to pull out victories with his conditioning, but don't expect Florian to gas in this fight. Florian will try and get this fight to the ground early and pull of a submission.

The real problem for the winner of this fight is that neither can probably beat B.J. Penn or Sean Sherk.