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UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2 is to be held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 8, 2010 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
Forrest Griffin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Josh Koscheck vs. Paul Daley
Patrick Cote vs. Alan Belcher
Sam Stout vs. Jeremy Stephens
Johny Hendricks vs. T.J. Grant
Marcus Davis vs. Jonathan Goulet
May 8, 2010
UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2 (Predictions)
April 24, 2010
WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber (Predictions)
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WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber is scheduled to take place on April 24, 2010 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. It is also scheduled to be the WEC's debut on pay-per-view.
The event was announced by WEC President Reed Harris, who stated his hope to charge $44.95 for his company's inaugural PPV broadcast.
Jose Aldo vs. Urijah Faber
Benson Henderson vs. Donald Cerrone
Mike Thomas Brown vs. Manny Gamburyan
April 10, 2010
UFC 112: Invincible (Predictions)
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UFC 112: Invincible is be held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 10, 2010 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort
B.J. Penn vs. Frankie Edgar
Matt Hughes vs. Renzo Gracie
Kendall Grove vs. Mark Munoz
Terry Etim vs. Rafael dos Anjos
March 31, 2010
UFC Fight Night 21 (Predictions)
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UFC Fight Night 21 is to be held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 31, 2010 at the Bojangles Coliseum in North Carolina.
This event will be the third UFC event in just 10 days along with UFC on Versus 1: Vera vs. Jones and UFC 111. This event will serve as the lead-in program for The Ultimate Fighter 11.
Kenny Florian vs. Takanori Gomi
Roy Nelson vs. Stefan Struve
Nate Quarry vs. Jorge Rivera
Cole Miller vs. Andre Winner
Ross Pearson vs. Dennis Siver
Yushin Okami vs. Lucio Linhares
March 27, 2010
UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy (Predictions)
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UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy is be held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on March 27, 2010 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. This event is the first UFC visit to the state since UFC 78 in November 2007.
Georges St. Pierre vs. Dan Hardy
Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin
Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves
Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Brown
Martin Kampmann vs. Ben Saunders
Jim Miller vs. Mark Bocek
Nate Diaz vs. Rory Markham
Rousimar Palhares vs. Tomasz Drwal
Kurt Pellegrino vs. Fabricio Camoes
Matt Riddle vs. Ricardo Funch
March 21, 2010
UFC on Versus 1: Vera vs. Jones (Predictions)
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UFC on Versus 1: Vera vs. Jones is to be held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 21, 2010 in Broomfield, Colorado at the Odeum Colorado. This event will be the UFC's debut on Versus. This will the second time that the UFC has visited Broomfield, Colorado. UFC Fight Night 13 took place at the Odeum back in 2008.
Jon Jones vs. Brandon Vera
Junior dos Santos vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
Cheick Kongo vs. Paul Buentello
Anthony Johnson vs. John Howard
Clay Guida vs. Shannon Gugerty
Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Eliot Marshall
Spencer Fisher vs. Duane Ludwig
James Irvin vs. Alessio Sakara
Brendan Schaub vs. Chase Gormley
Eric Schafer vs. Jason Brilz
Mike Pierce vs. Rob Kimmons
March 6, 2010
WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz (Predictions)
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WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz is to be held by World Extreme Cagefighting on March 6, 2010 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Brian Bowles vs. Dominick Cruz
Miguel Torres vs. Joseph Benavidez
Deividas Taurosevicius vs. L.C. Davis
Bart Palaszewski vs. Karen Darabedyan
Jens Pulver vs. Javier Vazquez
Scott Jorgensen vs. Chad George
Danny Castillo vs. Anthony Pettis
Leonard Garcia vs. Diego Nunes
Chad Mendes vs. Erik Koch
Bendy Casimir vs. Ricardo Lamas
February 20, 2010
UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez (Predictions)
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UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez is to be held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on Saturday February 20, 2010 in Sydney, Australia at the Acer Arena. The event will mark the UFC's first trip to Australia.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez
Wanderlei Silva vs. Michael Bisping
Joe Stevenson vs. George Sotiropoulos
Ryan Bader vs. Keith Jardine
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Ben Rothwell
Goran Reljic vs. C.B. Dollaway
Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
Chris Lytle vs. Brian Foster
James Te Huna vs. Igor Pokrajac
Elvis Sinosic vs. Chris Haseman
February 8, 2010
What If The UFC & Strikeforce Collaborated For One Night?
By Bryan Levick 
With everyone talking about the UFC 109 aftermath, whether or not they are going to pay $44.99 for WEC 48 and what to expect at UFC 110, I wanted to try something off the wall.
Allow yourself to imagine, that for one night, Dana White opened his heart and his mind, and put together an event of epic proportions.
On one side you have the best the UFC has to offer, champions Brock Lesnar, Georges St. Pierre, and Lyoto Machida, going up against the best Strikeforce has to offer.
It doesn't necessarily have to all be champion vs. champion, but whatever fights that make the most sense.
We all know the hell would have to freeze over before this happens, but we can dream can't we.
I won't be taking into account the partnership that Strikeforce has with Dream. I am going to use the fighters who are for the most part only associated with Strikeforce.
A lot of names were left off because there just isn't a place for them. Who on the Strikeforce card would be a worthwhile opponent for Penn and Anderson Silva.
I am looking for exciting, competitive match-ups here, not two minute destructions or one-sided affairs.
Dan Henderson vs. Nate Marquardt:
This is a bout that was talked about after Henderson defeated Michael Bisping at UFC 100, and after Marquardt was victorious over Demian Maia at UFC 101.
The two were considered the top contenders for Anderson Silva's middleweight championship. Although both men had been soundly defeated by The Spider, they were looking for revenge.
Marquardt is considered strong in all areas, obviously this theory was debunked on Saturday night after Henderson teammate Chael Sonnen put Marquardt on the seat of his pants, and kept him there for 15 minutes.
It's still a match-up that I would like to see simply because Henderson doesn't seem to utilize his wrestling as much anymore. This one could be a stand-up war.
Nick Diaz vs. Georges St. Pierre:
Champion vs. champion. No matter what anyone says, Diaz may have the weirdest striking this side of Keith Jardine, but it is effective.
Could Diaz utilize his long reach to thwart St. Pierre's takedown attempts? Probably not, but it would be really fun to watch.
St. Pierre uses his superb striking to set up his takedowns, and once he has his opponent on his back he unleashes a fury of punches and elbows. Diaz is a high level grappler, but how well would he work off of his back?
At this point there isn't a whole lot of competition for St. Pierre, but in my opinion Diaz would certainly make St. Pierre work extremely hard for this victory.
Nate Quarry vs. Scott Smith:
This would be a fun bout between two strikers who don't know the meaning of the word quit.
Both men have been on the verge of defeat against Pete Sell and came back out of nowhere to knock "Drago" out.
This fight would have no meaning other than to entertain the fans, and neither man has ever had any trouble in doing just that.
Gilbert Melendez vs. Kenny Florian:
Let's face it, there is no fighter on the Strikeforce roster who can hang with BJ Penn.
In fact I think it would take their top two guys to even give Penn a run for his money!
So we take the Strikeforce lightweight champion, a very good fighter in his own right, and put him against the man that is widely considered to be the second best lightweight in the UFC.
Florian's striking and grappling are better than Melendez's, but that doesn't mean it would be a one-sided affair. Melendez is tough, and can take a hit while still moving forward.
Maybe they can put the title on the line so Florian would finally get his chance to wear some gold around his waist.
Jon Jones vs. Muhammed Lawal:
Now this is a fight that any mixed martial arts fan would love to see. Lawal and Jones are two of the brightest prospects in the entire sport.
They both have solid wrestling backgrounds, but the advantage has to go to Lawal in that department.
Jones gets the nod in the striking department for his variety of spinning back elbows and for just being overall hard to gameplan for.
Add Phil Davis to these two and you have three of the the next decades best light heavyweights.
Gegard Mousasi vs. Lyoto Machida:
Another bout between the two organizational champions. These two are very good strikers who use a totally different style and approach.
Machida has a karate base while Mousasi's strength is in traditional boxing.
Neither man is that accustomed to the canvas, but they aren't afraid to let the fight hit the floor.
What better way to judge just how good Mousasi really is, than by putting him in there with one of the best.
Brett Rogers vs. Junior Dos Santos:
Here we have two very young, exciting strikers, each with just one loss on their records.
Dos Santos certainly has the edge on the ground due to his training with the Nogueira Brothers, but he would be giving up a decent amount of size.
The only time anyone would be hitting the canvas was after being punched in the face.
Ronaldo Souza vs. Demian Maia:
There is no way we could leave this one out. Fifteen minutes of pure grappling at a level very rarely seen unless you are watching the ADCC's.
Maia's list of grappling credentials in a mile long. He has won four Submission of the Night awards in just seven career bouts in the UFC.
Souza is no slouch either. He has won at the ADCC's as well and his nickname, "Jacare" was given to him due to the vice like grip he puts on his opponents.
Josh Thomson vs. Joe Stevenson:
There is just something about the two of them that I feel would make for a good scrap.
They are both good grapplers who aren't afraid to stand and trade.
Stevenson has the edge in the wrestling department, but Thomson can get by pretty well.
These two never quit, and the site of their own blood does not discourage them from pushing the pace even further.
Brock Lesnar vs. Fedor Emelianenko:
This bout is what the whole card is based around. A lot of great fighters have been left off of this event for a variety of reasons, but not these champions.
When the UFC was pushing so hard to sign Emelianenko it was with this matchup in mind.
Can you imagine the buy rates it would pull off. Put on a card by itself, the expectations would have to be over 2 million pay-per-view buys.
I realize some big names would be sitting on the sidelines. Randy Couture, Anderson Silva, BJ Penn, Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler, and Cung Le are nowhere to be found.
It doesn't matter, because with Lesnar and Emelianenko, the other fighters would be completely overshadowed.
UFC 109 Fighter Payouts
By Bryan Levick
UFC 109 fighter salaries were released, and not surprisingly, Randy Couture was the night's top earner.
Couture took home a flat salary of $250k, that of course doesn't include any cut of the pay-per-view buys or sponsorship dollars he will add to his wallet.
His fallen foe, Mark Coleman made $60k for his six minutes of work. That may be the last paycheck Coleman ever draws from the UFC again, unless he works for the company in another capacity.
Chael Sonnen banked a total of $124k for his three round war with Nate Marquardt. Sonnen received $32k to show, $32k to win and a nice $60k bonus for partaking in the Fight of the Night.
Marquardt received a total of $105k for his troubles, $45k to show and another $60k in bonus money.
Paulo Thiago was the recipient of his second bonus in four tries inside the octagon. This time Thiago added a $60k Submission of the Night check to the Knockout of the Night award he took home at UFC 95. His total take was $90k.
When Mike Swick finally woke up he had a $43k check waiting for him as a consolation prize.
Demian Maia coupled a $31k win bonus with a check for $31k to show, totaling $62k.
Dan Miller took home a paltry $15k, that's $1k per minute. While that may seem like a lot, remember the months of training he put in preparing for this bout.
Long Island native, and former UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra was the night's second highest earner. Serra took a total of $210k back to NY, that's a really big bowl of pasta! "The Terror" made $75k to show, $75k to win and received the Knockout of the Night bonus.
Frank Trigg can use the $30k he made to find a good barber, and cut that hair!! That was probably the last we have seen of Trigg inside the octagon.
The preliminary card fighters salaries are listed below:
Mac Danzig- $20k to show, $20k to win totaling $40k.
Justin Buccholz- $8k.
Melvin Guillard- $14k to show, $14k to win totaling $28k.
Ronnys Torres- $4k.
Rob Emerson- $12k to show, $12k to win totaling $24k.
Phillipe Nover- $10k.
Phil Davis- $5k to show, $5k to win totaling $10k.
Brian Stann- $17k.
Chris Tuchscherer- $10k to show, $10k to win totaling $20k.
Tim Hague- $7k.
Joey Beltran- $6k to show, $6k to win totaling $12k.
Rolles Gracie- $15k. Wow, because of his last name he made more money than Nover, Davis, Hague, and a few others who have been with the company a lot longer. I bet they are wishing they could have that 15 grand back after watching his performance.
As I noted with Couture, this doesn't include any locker room bonuses, pay-per-view bonuses or sponsorship money that these fighters earn.
Click here to rate UFC 109.
February 7, 2010
MMA Hangover: 9 Talking Points for UFC 109: Relentless
By Michael Ford
UFC 109, Zuffa's latest PPV offering is behind us, and while the card was short on sizzle going in, it still yields quite a few things for us to chew on in its aftermath.
1. Chael Sonnen is the #2 Middleweight in the World...God help us all - For the last few weeks, we have been treated to Chael Sonnen making the case for himself as one of the top "heels" in the promotion, rankling fans with his inflammatory statements about Anderson Silva. While it's nothing new for Chael to be outspoken, and to rub fans the wrong way, he has taken it up a notch, and coming off victories over Yushin Okami and Nate Marquardt, he has accumulated not only the resume of a title challenger, but the backstory. Plus, Chael has the fighting style that many have speculated is the type of style that could beat the Spider, takedowns and grinding. Dan Henderson had some success with it; remember, the only round Silva has lost in the UFC was due to this approach. If we've learned one thing about Sonnen so far, it's that he won't abandon what works for him to satisfy what fans consider "exciting." And we can certainly respect that.
2. Paulo Thiago is for real - Let's be honest here: When Thiago faced Josh Koscheck, we thought he was a tuneup opponent. And when he knocked Koz silly, we thought it was a fluke. However, he made a strong showing in defeat to John Fitch, and with this win, he not only proved that Mike Swick was a little overrated, but he showed that he is a force to be reckoned with at Welterweight. But the challenge now is to make him marketable to fans. "Paulo Thiago" is a generic-sounding Brazilian name, and while fans of Countdown shows might be privy to Thiago's high-level badassery as a Elite Special Tactics Officer in Brazil, without a nickname like "CroCop," casual fans won't be clued into it, and as such, may still mix him up with Thiago Alves. Now that he has run the AKA Gauntlet, let's see Thiago get some measure of promotional heft behind him. I like the idea of seeing him against Carlos Condit or Martin Kampmann, guys just on the edge of the Top 10, who would be viewed as underdogs. This fight could main event a UFC Fight Night, and allow for the greatest number of fans to see his performance. Another intriguing matchup is Diego Sanchez, who is returning to Welterweight in May.
3. Matt Serra is still dangerous - While this fight didn't intrigue me as much as it should've, I like Matt Serra and Frank Trigg. Serra is still one of the division's top personalities, and a great interview. Plus, c'mon, he's New York through and through. After the upset win over GSP, fans were quick to call his win flukey, but since the loss to GSP, Serra lost a razor-thin decision to Matt Hughes, and put down Frank Trigg with a big right hand. If Josh Koscheck pasting Trigg was an impressive display of Top 10 dominance, then Serra attacking the body inside to set up the head shot should be viewed similarly. However, even though Serra won't be making a title run anytime soon, he's still a guy I'd like to see fight, and with New York likely getting a UFC event by the end of the year, I'd certainly pencil him in for that card.
4. Mac Danzig and Melvin Guillard lived to fight again – The Ultimate Fighter alumni got their showcases on the SpikeTV preliminary card, as both staved off being cut from the organization. Melvin Guillard, like his former rival turned teammate Joe Stevenson, showed signs of improvement under the tutelage of Greg Jackson, winning a close decision over Roneys Torres. He also helped inebriate folks who were playing the “Athletic/Explosive” Drinking Game, as he got Rogan and Goldberg to go all-in with the Hype Machine fairly early on. And the race between Kendall Grove and Mac Danzig to be the first TUF winner to be dropped from the UFC must continue, as Danzig survived a very game Justin Buchholz to keep his spot on the roster. However, he didn’t impress enough to get fans stoked for his next fight. Maybe a Danzig-Guillard matchup would be both entertaining, and dispense with some of the dead weight in the Lightweight division.
5. The WEC PPV hype begins – For the inaugural WEC PPV to be successful, we’re going to need a lot more hard-selling from Goldberg and Rogan. From mentioning Chael Sonnen as the kinda former WEC Middleweight Champion, to featuring Urijah Faber and Jose Aldo on screen, and showing a few highlights, Zuffa will need to work overtime to solidify the organization as on par with theirs, and the main event as as good as any of their offerings for the upcoming year. It will be hard, but if last night was any indication, they’re planning on making a go of it. I fully expect a PPV promo debuting on UFC on Versus, as well as mic time for Faber and Aldo (and possibly other WEC stars) on the next SpikeTV card. “UFC presents…WEC” indeed.
6. Whither Demian Maia - I thought this guy was a ground wizard, someone good for regular Submission of the Night finishes. By flexing the different facets of his game as he evolves, Maia got to demonstrate that he is a work in progress, but while that was useful for analysis of his development, it was not super-entertaining. And a part of me can't help but wonder if getting somersaulted by Marquardt has caused him to reevaluate his "I Don't Hurt My Opponents; I Just Submit Them" style, and buy into the classic UFC "Stand and Bang" approach that earns Fight of the Night bonuses. However, when "standing and banging" is done by two people as inept as Miller and Maia, the fans end up getting REALLY restless. So while I can certainly respect a guy for adding layers to his skillset and for mixing up the game plan, I think Maia has miles to go before he's truly "well-rounded." Demian became a borderline Top 5 middleweight because of his submission prowess, and if he abandons that approach as his "Plan A," he can't expect to see the success in the Middleweight division that he has seen up till now, nor will fans get as jazzed about watching him fight.
7. The name “Gracie” doesn’t mean as much as the UFC thinks it does – Yes, Royce Gracie is a legendary figure in the sport, but Zuffa has done a lot to demystify “Gracie Jujitsu” in the eyes of fans, by pushing the idea of the “well-rounded mixed martial artist.” In 2010, to the extent that the Gracie name still holds cachet, it will likely come only when a fighter from "MMA's First Family" can bring that unlikely marrying of top-level wrestling and striking with that expected jujitsu acumen. Sadly, Rolles Gracie was not that man. His ill-fated UFC debut fell flat on his face, and while he could still recover, and become a force in the heavyweight division, I won’t be holding my breath for his next foray into the Octagon; the man clearly did not look like he wanted to be there.
8. Tito Ortiz is the smartest man in MMA – So you've managed to score a fight with one of the most recognized names in MMA in Chuck Liddell, and have been given the platform of The Ultimate Fighter to promote yourself and your brand: How do you hedge your bets? By calling out an over-the-hill Mark Coleman, who, fresh from being choked out, would be emotional and fired up. And on cue, just as Coleman was talking about still having fights left in him, Tito’s outburst effectively transitioned casual fans’ takeaway points from thinking Coleman is done to wanting him to go out by shutting up the Huntington Beach Bad Boy. Dana White may have pooh-poohed the fight, but it’s a grudge match that could be effectively hyped, and could generate money for Zuffa, so Tito just put a Money Fight in his back pocket, just in case he loses to Liddell. For those keeping score at home, Tito, far from a title contender, could still get us to care for a rematch with Randy, a rubber match with Forrest, a money fight with Kimbo, and a grudge match with Coleman. THIS is why Dana had to make sure he wasn’t signed by Strikeforce.
9. Mark Coleman may be done, but Ground & Pound is alive and well - "The Godfather of Ground and Pound" was shown to be a dinosaur last night, as Randy Couture's continued evolution was contrasted with Coleman's stagnation. That being said, the influence of Mark Coleman was there to be observed, as newcomer Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis and erstwhile title contender Chael Sonnen brought ground and pound to the forefront in smashing out victories. Whatever we think about Coleman today, his Hall of Fame status cannot be debated nor minimized. But while Randy Couture, the ageless wonder, presses forward, eager to show that he can still hang with the young guys like the MMA version of Bret Favre, Mark Coleman languishes, his body having betrayed him in the way that you’d expect from an athlete in his late forties. UFC 109 may have been titled Relentless, but only one of the show’s Hall of Fame main event stars continued to defy Father Time, while the other, battered and bruised, is better served being viewed in highlight packages.
Click here to Rate UFC 109.
What's Next For The Winners & Losers Of UFC 109?
By Bryan Levick
UFC 109 is in the books, and thankfully we have an awesome stretch of mixed martial arts to look forward to, starting with UFC 110.
Last night's winners and losers left a lot of questions to be answered, so let's try and break down where each and every fighters will go from here.
Joey Beltran- Not much to be said here, he took the fight on short notice and defeated a fighter who was in lousy shape. He will get another shot at the very least.
Rolles Gracie- I was expecting much more from a man with the last name Gracie. He had a few opportunities to finish the fight but his inexperience clearly showed. To make matters worse, he basically gave up in the second round after displaying a serious lack of conditioning. Back to the minors for this Gracie.
Chris Tuchscherer- By all accounts, it seems as Tuchscherer either lost the fight or at the very least earned a draw. His conditioning was called into question, although to be fair he was once again hit in the groin. He will be back but on a short leash.
Tim Hague- He actually came on in the third round after losing the first two nearly finishing off his opponent. With two consecutive losses, he may be forced to go back to the regional shows, although he may be given another shot considering the lack of heavyweights in the UFC.
Phil Davis- All I can say is that when this guy gets a few more fights under his belt, the UFC light heavyweight division will have two young studs. Davis is on the verge of joining Jon Jones as can't miss prospects. His wrestling, speed and athleticism will be hard for anyone to match. He is still very green but he seems to have a great mind and is undoubtedly a hard worker who will continue to grow under the tutelage of Lloyd Irvin.
Brian Stann- The All American will remain in the UFC, For one his stand-up is very good and he has the capability of knocking people out. The UFC needs to match him up with other fighters who have a limited ground game if they want to keep him competitive, because anyone with a decent ground game will take him down at will.
Robert Emerson- Even with the win he didn't show that he belongs in the top MMA organization, fighting in one of its deepest divisions. Despite winning the first two rounds, he very nearly lost the fight because he allowed Nover to come back in the third. He barely fought off a guillotine choke.
Phillipe Nover- Out of all the losses, this is the one that disappoints me the most. I have been a big fan of Nover's since his time of The Ultimate Fighter. He is a very personable guy with a lot of talent, but his wrestling game is severely lacking. Maybe a few fights on some regional shows will afford him some time to work on the holes in his game. He is after all only 26.
Melvin Guillard- Let me start out by saying, Guillard lost that fight. He easily lost two rounds, if not all three. He did show that he can avoid submissions and while he did get taken down a lot, he did well to get back to his feet each and every time. The more he trains with Greg Jackson coupled with the fact that he finally seems to be maturing should lead to some success for him.
Ronny Torres- He was pretty impressive, his takedowns are solid and considering it was his first fight in nearly 18 months, he gets another crack in the UFC. He showed a lot of promise and will only get better with more experience.
Mac Danzig- It's almost as if the UFC gave him a fight that he was clearly the favorite to win. Coming off three losses in a row, Danzig had no choice but to win. He seemed to come out flat but rebounded nicely to secure the win. He gets another fight but a loss will send him packing.
Justin Buchholz- Three losses in a row and four out of five in the UFC will get you fired. It's back to the drawing board for Buccholz who just doesn't have what it takes to compete in such a stacked lightweight division.
Matt Serra- A great win for Serra, he came in with a pretty solid game plan, hitting Trigg with body shots while setting up an opportunity to land that huge overhand right. It worked and he put Trigg down and out, this time for good. Serra earned his second straight bonus check as he was awarded the Knockout of the Night.
At this point in his career, Serra is looking for meaningful fights. Maybe he will get his rematch with Matt Hughes. That all depends on the outcome of Hughes bout with Serra mentor Renzo Gracie at UFC 112. Other than that, maybe he gets matched up with Paulo Thiago.
Frank Trigg- It's pretty safe to say, you can stick the fork in Trigg because he is done. He's had a very good career and will find plenty of work as an announcer or maybe working with TNA wrestling.
Demian Maia- Not much was proven here other than Maia can beat a top 15 middleweight. I for one wasn't overly impressed with his standup and was quite surprised that he couldn't even attempt a submission on Miller. I like Maia, he just has a lot of work to do, but working with Wanderlei Silva will get him there.
He could face Michael Bsiping if he were to defeat Wandy at UFC 110. Maybe he takes on Yoshihiro Akiyama next, that would be a good test for him.
Dan Miller- At 28 years old, Miller has potential. He has a pretty good all-around game, and his wrestling is top notch. He did a great job getting back to his feet against Maia. He won't be contending for a title anytime soon, but he will be a fighter who puts on a competitive performance.
I could see him fighting someone like Tim Credeur or maybe even Tom Lawlor.
Paulo Thiago- He quieted a lot of critics last night. He showed he can take a punch, has improved his striking and can finish off a fight when the opportunity presents itself. He pounced on Swick and never gave him a chance to recover. His jiu-jitsu is excellent and the more he works on his striking the more dangerous he becomes.
I detailed what he may have in store for him earlier this morning. He is ready for bigger and better things.
Mike Swick- It will be interesting to see how he rebounds from the first two fight loss streak of his career. He looked tentative and never seemed comfortable. He took a good amount of punishment in his fight with Dan Hardy, so that shows you just hwo strong Thiago is. Not sure what's on the horizon for Swick, he needs to go back to the drawing board. Maybe he fights someone like Phil Baroni or the winner of Matt Brown-Ricardo Almeida.
Nate Marquardt- If you said you saw the beating he took at the hands of Chael Sonnen coming, you are a liar!! He was taken down at will and never really mounted an attack off of his back or made any serious attempts at getting back to his feet until the third round. Even with this loss, Marquardt is still one of the best fighters in the middleweight division. I would give him the loser of the Bisping-Wandy bout or Belfort if he is unsuccessful against Anderson Silva.
Chael Sonnen- Steve Cofield said it last night, watch Silva bail out of the middleweight division and jump up to 205lbs if he beats Belfort. Sonnen set up a bout with The Spider perfectly by doing what no one thought he was capable of doing, defeating Marquardt. I still think Silva would beat him, but after last night, I will not count out Sonnen ever again. He has looked incredible in his last three fights. He earned a shot at the middleweight crown with last nights win.
Mark Coleman- UFC President Dana White said last nights loss was the end of the road for Coleman. It was just a few short days ago that White said Coleman deserved the spot in the main event opposite Randy Couture, now he is saying goodbye. Coleman said he can still compete, but the fact remains, he can't. He looked old and slow, there is nothing left in his gas tank. He will push for a bout with Tito Ortiz, who he cursed out while talking to Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview. The two were scheduled to face off at UFC 106 before Coleman was hurt.
Randy Couture- It's hard to judge Couture off of his performance last night because Coleman looked so bad. Couture did what he does best, he closed the gap, got Coleman into the clinch against the fence and utilized his dirty boxing to batter Coleman to the ground. It's not often you see Couture cinch in a submission, but it was great to see. The man is amazing, regardless of who he is fighting.
With the way the UFC, mostly White, has been pumping Couture up as a top five light heavyweight, I would say it's pretty much a done deal that he fights the winner of the Lyoto Machida-Mauricio "Shogun" Rua rematch this May. If the UFC is going to capitalize on Couture, they better do it now, because even though he fights like he is 25, he is still 46 years old, or 46 years young as Couture said last night to Rogan.
Personally, I would love to see him fight Rich Franklin. It's just a fight I always wanted to see. Maybe we will get to see that after he fights for the title, because I just can't see him beating either Shogun or Machida, but then again, we have learned one too many times, never to count out "Captain America"
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Paulo Thiago Continues His Assault On The AKA Welterweights
By Bryan Levick
No one gave Paulo Thiago a shot going into his bout with Josh Koshcheck last February at UFC 95.
After all it was his UFC debut, and he was facing one of the divisions best fighters.
Even after knocking the Blond Bomber out, Thiago was still given no respect. Too many fans claimed Koscheck was dominating the fight and got careless.
Be that as it may, when the fight was over, it was Thiago's hand that got raised.
Fast forward thirteen months, and three fights later, and no one can deny that this man is a legitimate welterweight contender, especially after his second round submission of Mike Swick last night at UFC 109.
With his not so stunning victory over Koshcheck teammate Swick, Thiago ran his UFC record to 3-1, and he is now 13-1 overall.
He also collected his second bonus as he added a Submission of the Night to the Knockout of the Night he received after defeating Koscheck.
All we knew about Thiago was that he was a brilliant grappler who also had some dynamite in his hands, but his striking was very robotic.
He showed last night what a year of hard work will do as his striking was a lot crisper and much more fluid.
Thiago landed two very nice leg kicks last night, both of which almost sent Swick to the canvas.
During the UFC 109 Countdown previewing the welterweight showdown, fans were given a glimpse into Thiago's "Day Job", and it's not a cliche when you say, there is nothing he won't see inside the octagon, that he hasn't seen patrolling the streets of Brazil.
In his lone loss, Thiago was smothered for 15 minutes by the third member of the American Kickboxing Academy's welterweights, Jon Fitch.
The bout between the two took place at UFC 100 and was pushed back to the last bout of the evening. Thiago still performed admirably and had Fitch in trouble on a few occasions while working off his back.
Thiago will always have a solid submission base, but it seems each and every time he goes out there, his striking gets better and better.
So what's next for the Brazilian Elite Special Force officer? A rematch with Koscheck in inevitable, but that will have to wait as Koscheck has a date with Paul Daley in May.
The balance of the top ten welterweights in the UFC are already scheduled to fight in the upcoming months.
One name that comes to mind is Carlos Condit, who should be returning anytime from a hand injury he suffered in December.
In Condit, Thiago would face a fighter who is very well rounded, and who is very hungry to show that his reign as the WEC welterweight champion was due to his talents as a fighter, and not because of the lack of talent in the organization.
Condit can knock his opponents out just as likely as he is to submit them, as evidenced by his 10 knockout victories, and 13 submission wins.
Other than Condit, there is the winner of the Anthony Johnson-John Howard bout that is scheduled for March 21.
Thiago could certainly use the rest as last night's bout was his fourth in the past year.
If a rest is what he is looking for, then how about the winner of the Martin Kampmann-Ben Saunders matchup that will take place at UFC 111 on March 27?
Whomever he is matched up with, Thiago has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is one of the top welterweights in the UFC, and doesn't seem to be going anywhere, anytime soon.
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February 6, 2010
UFC 109 Videos
UFC 109: Relentless was held on February 6, 2010 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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