Fightin' Words

By Joe Fernandez

This one is a great card. Even better if Georges St. Pierre and Matt Serra were fighting as well and there were two belts on the line, but this one will be fun just because Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic are signed and fighting (Not each other). For those of you who may have missed it, St. Pierre is out with a knee injury. Check out this old blog.

Let's talk about some of the top fights on the card:

Anderson Silva vs. Travis Lutter (Middleweight championship)

Prediction: It's tough to pick against Silva after how he literally man-handled the former middleweight champ Rich Franklin by using his nasty Muay Thai clinch.
Silva uses the Muay Thai clinch to knee Franklin (Photo by Josh Hedges)
But here goes...
Lutter has looked so controlling in his fights lately; remember the way Matt Hughes looked? Right now Lutter looks extremely confident and knows exactly what he wants to do in the Octagon. Yes, they're both Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts, so they might neutralize each other on the ground, but I think Lutter will power himself into better positions for the ground-and-pound. But Lutter, has to, absolutely has to, stay out of that Muay Thai clinch. But if these two hit the ground, there could be a stunning display of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Lutter by referee stoppage in the fourth.

Mirko Cro Cop vs. Eddie Sanchez (Heavyweight)

If I were an MMA fighter, I wouldn't head into the Octagon with anything less than a helmet and shoulder pads against Cro Cop, but good luck Eddie Sanchez. Cro Cop is one of the greatest strikers of our time. His kicks are world reknown, and the highlight reel of his knockouts is extensive. Sanchez, who is 1-0 in the UFC, is not only fighting the legend of Cro Cop but a much more experienced fighter. Sanchez survives the first round, but Cro Cop wins by knockout/TKO in the second.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Marvin Eastman (Light heavyweight)

Prediction: With Jackson and Cro Cop's contracts being purchased by the UFC, it's clear the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions got even more interesting. Jackson, who has already beaten Chuck Liddell in Japan, was brought in to challenge "The Iceman" for the belt. Eastman, who beat Jackson in Rampage's first MMA bout, appears to be a UFC tune-up for Jackson. You never know, that could really get the 37-year-old fired up and "The Beastman," who is 0-2 in the UFC and hasn't fought in the UFC since 2004, could surprise all of us. But I still see Rampage being too much for Eastman. Rampage wins by ref stoppage in the first round.

Patrick Cote vs. Scott Smith (Middleweight)

Prediction: I know nothing will ever live up to that first Forrest Griffin/Stephan Bonnar match. For some reason, I see this match going down that avenue. Cote is 0-4 in the UFC and obviously needs a win. Smith is 1-1 in the UFC and, like Cote, wants to strike. You may not expect much in this fight, but I think this one will turn into a Rocky movie type slugfest where no one puts a hand up to protect themselves and it turns into a street fight by the second and third rounds. Cote wins the surprise fight of the night by split decision.

By Joe Fernandez

I just want to say that I hope Sean Salmon is ok today. Did you see that kick? For those of you who missed the main event to last night's UFC Fight Night on SpikeTV, Rashad Evans dropped Sean Salmon with a vicious kick to the head in the second round, earning Evans the KO win and improving his MMA record to 15-0.
Evans KO's Salmon
(Photo by Josh Hedges)

How about Hermes Franca? That guy has heavier hands than I thought. The Brazil native was relentless against Spencer Fisher, earning Franca a referee stoppage win in the second. After the fight though, Franca, during the interview with Joe Rogan, begged Dana White, who was Octagonside, for a title shot. Did that look a little rehearsed to anyone else? I don't know. It's like Rogan was waiting for Franca to say his line. Come on, UFC. You put out a PHENOMENAL product...your fights are exciting...your fighters are great...don't go "WWE" on us. A Hermes Franca/Sean Sherk title fight will be exciting enough. And hey, if those moments happen naturally, fine.

Franca fights Fisher at UFC Fight Night
(Photo by Josh Hedges)

The Heath Herring/Jake O'Brien fight was just frustrating. Congrats to O'Brien for grinding out the win, but sometimes when heavyweights get together there's a lot of lying around. Herring, who was brought in to liven up the heavyweight division, obviously wanted to get back to his feet, but O'Brien used his wrestling to hold Herring down.

Shout out to Joe Rogan for truly knowing the sport and being honest when there's a boring fight. He chimed in about how Herring wasn't using any defense on the ground and was letting O'Brien get to any position he wanted. It makes for great commentary when he gets fired up.

Ed Herman's transition to the armbar made me rewind the TiVO about seven times. For those of you who didn't see it, Herman had Chris Price's back in the first round. He transitioned from a choke attempt, slipped a leg over, rolled on his back and earned the submission victory. It was a superb display of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

That was it for the televised fights. Thanks to the UFC and SpikeTV for the night of free fights, and thanks to SpikeTV for having Randy Couture on Pros vs. Joes. It's one thing to have Jose Canseco hit a ball farther than you or Michael Irvin burn you on a go-route, but there's nothing more humbling than having a UFC Hall Of Famer turn you into a pretzel. After a night of heel hooks, armbars, guillotines and mata leos, the Joes walked back to the locker room with a different look than what they walked in with. The funny thing is, Couture is a world-class wrestler but he was never really known for his submissions. Even HE said that on the show. Couture is one of my favorite fighters and is an absolute warrior in the Octagon, but he's more of a ground-and-pound guy. He still managed to make it the best part of the show. Imagine if a submission machine like UFC light heavyweight Renato "Babalu" Sobral had his five minutes in there with the Joes?

How do you say "Tap, tap, tap" in Portuguese?
Sobral at UFC 55 against Chael Sonnen
(Photo by Josh Hedges)

By Joe Fernandez

Ok...let's talk fight predictions for tonight's UFC Fight Night on SpikeTV.

Rashad Evans vs. Sean Salmon (Light-heavyweight)

Prediction: Tonight's main event will feature two strong wrestlers, a perfect time for both of them to improve their stand-up games. I have a feeling when they get tired though, this one ends up on the ground. Evans, undefeated in and out of the UFC, grinds out his fourth decision in his last five fights.

Heath Herring vs. Jake O'Brien (Heavyweight)

Prediction: Someone's getting knocked out. I don't see this one going three. O'Brien has looked impressive over his first two fights in the UFC (both wins). Herring has more experience and has fought in Japan for the past couple of years. I say O'Brien gets tired, drops his hands and Herring wins by KO/TKO in the second.

Hermes Franca vs. Spencer Fisher (Lightweight)

Prediction: Ok...this is my fight of the night. I think this one will be a classic. Fisher had maybe one of the coolest knockout wins I've ever seen, it came against Matt Wiman at UFC 60 (Ok, maybe my favorite because I was lucky enough to be Octagonside in L.A. watching Fisher land this tremendous flying knee). But Franca, a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu had a great comeback win against Jamie Varner at UFC 62. I say Fisher dominates for most of the match, then Franca somehow finds an arm from his back and submits Fisher late in the third for another comeback win.

Dean Lister vs. Nate Marquardt (Middleweight)

Prediction: Another great matchup for you Brazilian jiu-jitsu fans out there. Two black belts meet up in the Octagon. The difference might go to whoever has the better stand-up. I think Marquardt just edges Lister on the cards.

Chad Reiner vs. Josh Burkman (Welterweight)

Prediction: I gotta be honest with you guys, I don't know much about Chad Reiner. He's making his UFC debut tonight, but does have a 13-1 mixed martial arts record. Burkman is 3-1 in the UFC and this could be a make-or-break match for him in this extremely-deep welterweight division. His UFC experience takes over and earns him a first-round referee stoppage win.

Ed Herman vs. Chris Price (Middleweight)

Prediction: Herman is coming off two straight losses. We heard a lot about him during The Ultimate Fighter Season 3, and he hasn't shown much yet. I feel the best is yet to come for him. Both of these fighters have losses to Kendall Grove who is a submission machine. Herman also lost to the VERY underrated Jason MacDonald. Herman earns his first UFC victory tonight with a ground-and-pound victory in the second.

Clay Guida vs. Din Thomas (Lightweight)

Prediction: Guida's full of energy and has classic 80s-hair-band hair (check out the hair at UFC.com). He's fun to watch fight, and earned a submission victory in his UFC debut. Din Thomas is a veteran, who's dropped down to 155 pounds. Thomas will be too strong for Guida at 155 and earns the ref stoppage win in the first round.

Ross Pointon vs. Rich Clementi (Welterweight)

Prediction: You know what...both of these guys REALLY need wins. This could turn into a classic slugfest in an attempt to get on the welterweight map. The problem is that we might not see this one because of time constraints. Between both of these fighters, there isn't a win in the UFC. Good luck to both of them.
I say this one goes to the cards with Pointon getting his hand raised.

Let's hear some predictions for these fights, MMA fans. Don't be afraid to chime in. How do you think they'll go?

By Joe Fernandez

You know what...I know those UFC Fight Nights don't have the biggest names attached to them all the time, but there could still be some great fights because of one reason:

They aren't the biggest names.

The letdown factor isn't there as much as when you pay $40 and watch your favorite fighter last only 40 seconds. SpikeTV and the UFC are giving us this one for free Thursday at 8 p.m., so let's take a look at the main event:

You have an undefeated Rashad Evans fighting Sean Salmon. I think the biggest thing here is that Evans wrestled at Michigan State and Salmon wrestled at Ohio State. Maybe that will rekindle the old Big 10 rivalry. Look, I'm a huge fan of submission grappling, but I just don't want this to turn into a wrestling match with limited submission attempts. Let's see some Brazilian jiu-jitsu, gents.

And speaking of Brazilian jiu-jitsu...I always look forward to watching Dean Lister fight. He's one of the most decorated submission grapplers in MMA right now and the kind of guy that when he's fighting off his back, he's still on the attack ala BJ Penn. He'll take on Nate Marquardt who's 3-0 in the UFC.

I think I'll hang around till 10 to see the new "Pros vs. Joes" on Spike. Just to see how the Joes faired against Randy Couture. It'll probably resemble those days when the new 40-year-old white belt takes his first Brazilian jiu-jitsu class and says: "Can I roll?"

Good luck to those white belts...and be easy on them, Randy --- OUCH!

--Which reality show fighter do you think will be the first to wear a belt?

Matt Serra, Travis Lutter, Diego Sanchez, Mike Swick, Josh Koschek, Forrest Griffin, Chris Lytle, Michael Bisping, Kendall Grove, Joe Stevenson, Keith Jardine, Kenny Florian? Somebody else?

By Joe Fernandez

The International Fight League has reached an agreement with the Fox Sports Network and MyNetworkTV. According to the IFL, "FSN has multi-year rights to televise 22 one-hour late night event programs, produced by the IFL, beginning in the second quarter of 2007."

Unlike other MMA organizations, the IFL operates with a team concept. A team consists of a coach with a fighter in each of the five weight classes. The team that wins the best three of five matches wins the event.

"The full [schedule] for FSN will be announced next week," IFL Vice President Joe Favorito said via an email interview. "Right now there is a plan to do tape with the possibility of live fights and a potential pay per view later in the year."

The 11-date season begins Friday, Jan. 19 in Oakland, Calif.

By Joe Fernandez

For those of you mixed martial arts fans who stayed up last night to watch Randy Couture's interview on "Inside The UFC" on SpikeTV, there was one quote in particular that made us reach for the volume button on the remote.

"I can't hardly sit in the booth with you and watch this sport," Couture said to host Joe Rogan during the midnight broadcast. "I've been retired now, it'll be a year in February, and not get the itch...My first fight will be March 3rd against the big man, Tim Sylvia. I'm going back after the heavyweight title."

So the former heavyweight and light heavyweight champ will enter the Octagon and attempt to liven up the UFC's heavyweight division. The 43-year-old Couture will give six inches in height and nearly 60 pounds in weight to the 6-8, 265-pound champ. (Couture was 205 for his last fight with Chuck Liddell at light heavyweight, but will most likely come in heavier for this fight).

Couture signed a two-year, four-match deal and is the third big-name signing in the past couple months for the UFC (Quinton "Rampage Jackson and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic).

Sylvia won his last two matches by unanimous decision against Andrei Arlovski and Jeff Monson, respectively. The 6-8 champ has been able to keep opponents away with his longer reach and his much improved takedown defense.

Couture HAS to wrap up the champ, take him down and work from there. If he stands and trades with Sylvia, you're looking at a frustrating fight for Couture and the fans (Couture's and Sylvia's) that could go to the cards.

By Joe Fernandez

Long Island will have to wait at least a few months to see if it has a champion in the UFC. Matt Serra, an East Meadow native and Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter 4” welterweight winner, was scheduled to face UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre Feb. 3 at UFC 67 in Las Vegas, but the UFC announced last week that St. Pierre will be forced to withdraw because of a knee injury he sustained during training.

“I got a few months to get in better shape,” Serra said. “I heard a rumor that he was hurt, I called the UFC and they told me right away.”

Because UFC 68 is already set for March with current heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia and former champs Rich Franklin and Matt Hughes each scheduled to fight, the Serra/St. Pierre fight will most likely take place in April.

St. Pierre is coming off the biggest win of his career – a second round TKO against Hughes, whose desire to prove his stand-up game proved very costly against the 25-year-old Canadian. St. Pierre pelted the two-time champ with vicious leg kicks; an eventual roundhouse kick to the head sent Hughes to the ground and signaled the beginning of the end. The injury to St. Pierre gives Serra more time now to prepare for the dangerous striker.

“I’m not sweating it,” Serra said. “I’m going to keep training and doing my thing. He hurt his knee – what are you going to do.”