In tonight’s/tomorrow morning’s main event, Phil Davis takes on Rashad Evans. In the weeks building up this fight, Rahsad Evans has been doing his level best to goad Phil Davis in an effort to create some ‘bad blood.’ The motive behind this is clear, to provoke Davis into forgoing his wrestling skills in favour of a brawl with a better striker. However ‘Mr. Wonderful’ (named after his cat if you didn’t know) has been less than receptive to Rashad’s prodding. In truth, as was pointed earlier this week by MMA coach John Kavanagh, is the whole bad blood thing really necessary? When two men get in the cage they are going to do their utmost to damage each other in various ways. Is the name calling strictly necessary? Or even relevant? When Rashad accused Davis of not being a ‘real fighter’ and only competing for a pay cheque, Davis shrugged and agreed saying if he wasn’t fighting he’d be pushing a pen. Whatever his motivation for fighting, Rashad needs to remember that up to this point, Davis has done it exceedingly well. I’m sure Evans has some view of himself as an all-conquering wild man who loves to brawl, but if you need proof of the opposite, take a look at his fight with Rampage Jackson.

That aside, in the past weeks both men have commented on the other’s wrestling skills and the edge does go to Davis who as 4 time NCAA Division 1 All American was the more successful amateur competitor. Should it go to the ground, Davis’s weird flexibility and long limbs could well see Rashad in trouble. Again, Evans has the edge in the striking department but Davis does have a reach advantage. Evans will use his speed to try and get inside land a big right hand believing he has the power to put Davis out. I think Davis will want this on the mat as soon as possible, unless of course all the bravado and trash talk has gotten to him. I would dearly love to see Davis use the same move he used to submit Tim Boetsch. In case you missed it, Davis trapped Boetsch’s arm behind his back while on the ground and cranked it up and afterward Joe Rogan christened it the Philmura. It was a wonderful (see what I did there) piece of innovation and demonstrated Davis’s confidence. I like him to win tonight and in a fairly convincing fashion.

Tonight/tomorrow morning Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping meet to decide who will be the next man to face Anderson Silva. Ticket sales reportedly more than doubled when Mark Munoz pulled out and was replaced by Bisping (Chael Sonnen said this so take it with a pinch of salt). Whether that’s an indication of Bisping’s greater popularity or more people wanting to see him get beaten up by Chael Sonnen, it’s hard to say. Either way, it makes for a very interesting fight.

The glaringly obvious key factor in this fight is wrestling. Everyone knows that Chael Sonnen is one of – if not the best – wrestler in MMA. He was an NCAA Division 1 All American and is also a highly decorated Greco-roman wrestler as well as being a backup for the US Olympic team. In short, if he wants to take you down, you go down. Does Michael Bisping have the skills to stuff a takedown of that quality? I think it’s unlikely. Bisping though has one eye on Sonnen’s perceived weakness in submission defence and has said if Sonnen does take him down he will be looking to finish the fight by tap-out. Sonnen has been tapped out several times in the past and in fact 8 of his career losses have been by submission. However these have mostly come against high level grapplers like Demain Maia, Paulo Filho and of course Anderson Silva. Does Bisping have the ground skills to get it done against Sonnen? Consider that Bisping has had not submitted an opponent in six years, largely focusing on his skills as a striker and the obvious conclusion is no. With a high level wrestler like Sonnen on top, it is unlikely- though not inconceivable – that Bisping will find an opening for a submission.

Bisping’s greatest strength, his boxing – will be nullified if Sonnen takes the fight to the mat. Sonnen may well choose to implement the same strategy he used against the heavy-handed Brian Stann and Anderson Silva. While both those fights had different outcomes, Sonnen was dominant on the ground for the overall majority of both. With that in mind, barring a surprise Bisping KO, I’m going for a Sonnen win via submission after a dominating performance.

The other very interesting fight on this card is the precocious Chris Weidman (7-0) taking on Demian Maia with Weidman stepping in to replace Micahel Bisping. Weidman is another decorated wrestler while as we all know Maia is something of a jiu-jitsu wizard. Weidman has already beaten the likes of Tom Lawlor and Alessio Sakara in his short career making it clear that big stage holds no fear for the young man. Maia has showed drastically improved striking in recent fights and gone are the days when he simply waited to pull guard. While Weidman’s last two wins have come by D’arce choke and a standing guillotine he is obviously nowhere near Maia in terms of pure jiu-jitsu,  He is a powerful puncher though and with Maia’s ground skills in mind I think he will try to keep this standing to take a decision. If I had to stick my neck out I’d go for Weidman just because he’s on a roll.

That’s it from me and as always I’m always open to contradiction and/or good-natured abuse. Enjoy the action!

Alan Keane

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Irish fighters Conor McGregor and Aisling Daly both had fantastic years with Conor going 5-0 in 2011 with 4 of those wins coming by first round KO or TKO. Aisling went 3-1 in 2011, recovering from a loss to Sheila Gaff to go on a three fight streak and in the process become Ireland’s first MMA world champion when she won the NAAFS 125lb world title in Ohio. She then fought under the Cage Warriors banner after stepping up on just two weeks notice to submit her opponent in 20 seconds. ‘The Bash’ then returned to Ohio to successfully defend her belt.

The UFC also announced its TUF Brazil show with the coaches to be a seemingly rejuvenated Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort, ensuring a further influx of talented Brazilians. 2012 will no doubt be as exciting as 2011. Stars will rise and champions may fall. Here, we take a look at what we might expect in 2012.

Q: Will Jon Jones be beaten?  A: Unlikely.

After dismantling Shogun Rua to win the belt (4 weeks after he submitted Ryan Bader) and then defending his title with ease against Rampage Jackson and Lyoto Machida, Jones looks more or less untouchable. The next man to try and take his belt will be the winner of Rashad Evans and Phil Davis. Jones will enjoy a significant size advantage over Evans and a skill advantage over Davis in his striking.  While I have no particular liking for either Davis or Evans, I would like to see Davis come out on top in their title eliminator after Evans’s incredibly insensitive and rather stupid remark referring to the Jerry Sandusky case when trying to insult Davis on television. However Evans has more experience and is a former teammate of Jones’s and is likely to put up the better fight. Either way whoever faces Jones in 2012 is likely to be on the wrong end of a beat down.  Lyoto Machida –who knocked out Rashad Evans – was the only man to even remotely trouble the champion last year and we all know how that ended.

Q: Will we see any UFC ‘super-fights’? A: Unlikely.

With GSP sidelined for the first half of 2012 and his first fight upon recovery likely to be the winner of Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit and Anderson Silva likely to face the winner of Mark Munoz and Chael Sonnen the chances of GSP facing Silva are slim. The chances of this fight happening in 2013 are just as remote given the depth at 170 these days. Aside from Diaz and Condit there’s Jake Ellenberger and Rory McDonald so GSP will be well stocked for challengers for the foreseeable future. Some people have mooted Silva vs. Jon Jones given the dominance of both men in their respective divisions. Jones probably has to win two or three more fights before this happens however and there is of course the ever present weight issue. Jones is a young man and has already said in two or three year she will probably move to heavy-weight. By the time a super-fight with Silva is realistic possibility in terms of opponents available, Jones will probably not want to cut down and Silva may have retired. It is probably more likely than GSP and Silva however given Silva’s reluctance to cut down from 185 and GSP’s pathological dislike of putting on weight.

Q: Will Chael Sonnen stop talking? A: Not in this lifetime.

The greatest mouth in the world of competitive sport. If accolades were handed out for trash talk, Sonnen would be the most decorated champion of all time. His rants against Anderson Silva and Wanderlei Silva are now the stuff of legend. The self proclaimed undisputed champion of the world claimed he would have finished Silva faster than Chris Leben did (beating 30 odd seconds would take some doing given his record for finishing) and even went on to call out Jon Jones. Sonnen is simply a publicity machine. So much so that no one even remembers his suspension or the legal difficulty he found himself in. If he gets past Munoz to face Silva again his head might very well explode with the effort of talking himself up, such is the standard he has set in the past. Luckily for the fans, he usually backs it up.

Q: How will female MMA fare in 2012? A: Very well indeed.

If you are a fan of MMA and do not live under a rock you may have heard that the Queen of female MMA Cris ‘Cyborg’ Santos was recently found guilty of using anabolic steroids and has been suspended for one year and has forfeited her title. Santos was undoubtedly the biggest star in female MMA  but there is no shortage of fighters willing and able to take up that mantle. And you need look no further than Dublin on May 5^th this year when Rosi Sexton (12-2) and Aisling Daly (13-2) go head to head as part of the Cage Warriors tournament to crown a 125lb champion. Both women are well rounded but possess outstanding grappling skills; 11 of Aisling’s 13 wins have come by stoppage including 3 submissions in her last 3 fights, while 9 of Rosi’s 12 wins have come by stoppage. And if you need any more encouragement, ‘The Bash’ vs. ‘The Surgeon’ just sounds cool. Sheila Gaff will also be competing against a fourth, as yet, unnamed fighter in April. The two winners will meet later in the year to determine the champion.

There is depth at 135 in women’s MMA too. Both Sarah Kauffman and Ronda Roussey are vying for a shot at Miesha Tate’s title. And at 105, Limerick’s very own Catherine Costigan is set to make her Cage Contender debut at Cage Contender 12 on February 25^th. Which leads me to….

Q: How will Irish fighters fare in 2012? A: The near future is bright.

Irish MMA is on the up and up. Conor McGregor is one of the very best in Ireland and Britain at 135 – or 145 as he showed in his last fight. The man they call ‘Notorious’ is fast, strong and breathes confidence. He has just 1 loss on his record -to another outstanding Irish fighter, Wales based Joseph Duffy. As Conor will tell you himself, 2012 will be his year. He will be holding Cage Warriors gold at some point in 2012 and things will only get bigger from there. And, with Straight Blast Gym head coach, John Kavanagh in his corner, Conor will have all the tools he needs to make a serious impact in world MMA. And, as if I need to repeat it, keep an eye on Aisling Daly, who also fights out of SBG. The likes of Brian Moore (another SBG fighter and Fight Hounds blogger) will also look to progress but he has a tricky tasky in the shape of another up-an-comer, Conor Dillon, at Cage Contender 12. Brian had an excellent 2011 making his pro debut in February and going 3-1 with his only loss coming in his most recent fight against top UK fighter Mike Wilkinson. When asked about the fight Brian said; I’m going to put on a good performance  and get the win, simples!  When we asked what to expect from 2012 overall The Pikeman kept it short and replied lots of knockouts! 

Keep an eye out for Decky Dalton too, who fights out of the Progressive Combat Club in Belfast, a tough, grinding fighter who is happy on his feet or on the mat. Making his pro debut in February of 2012 will be Fight Hounds favorite Peter Queally of Waterford MMA. A lightening fast lightweight with excellent striking skills, Peter will be a big noise in the professional ranks in the coming months.

The aforementioned Joseph Duffy will look to get back to winning ways after losing via submission to Ivan Musardo in a fight for the then vacant Cage Warriors title. Duffy’s return to action has been delayed due to a broken hand but as soon as Joseph is fit expect him to go on the mother of all tears through the lightweight ranks. He may even get the opportunity to avenge his TUF loss to Kyle Watson as the American now fights under The Cage Warriors banner. And if you have any doubts whatsoever about the quality of Irish fighters, get yourself a ticket to Cage Contender XII on February 25th in Dublin. It promises to be phenomenal with BJJ black-belt Gunnar Nelson penned to fight in the main event.

Alan Keane.

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A couple of months ago light-heavyweight Forrest Griffin Tweeted, “Rape is the new the missionary.” He explained that he was not calling rape an acceptable act rather he was saying it is now too common in the news.

Yesterday, bantamweight Miguel Torres Tweeted “If a rape van was called a surprise van more women wouldn’t mind going for rides in them.”  This is apparently a quote from TV show Workaholics. Torres later changed the Tweet to read “windowless van”. 

Three fighters and three highly controversial statements made over social media. Only one however was giving his marching orders. That’s Miguel Torres who fights at 135lbs. Dana White apparently had the quote read to him in an interview, verified its authenticity and then immediately fired the Chicago native. Rashad Evans was on the end of no disciplinary action for referencing something as equally heinous while Forrest Griffin volunteered at a rape crisis centre to explain his Tweet and kept his job.

So, of the three, why was only Miguel Torres fired? Dana White gave an interview to MMAFighting.com  in which he explained that the Tweet was highly offensive and ridiculous. That as an intelligent individual, Miguel should have known better than to post anything referencing rape, TV show quote or no. And while there is no doubt Torres deserved to be punished for a highly insensitive statement, the lack of consistency in the UFC’s disciplinary policy – if there is one- and the arbitrary nature of the punishments handed out is startling. Because the UFC is not externally regulated all these kinds of decisions fall at the feet of Dana White as president of the company. He has shown himself to be a reasonable man in the past but also he has shown a ruthless streak, firing Nate Marquardt when he failed a pre-fight medical for unusually high testosterone levels. This is the same test that Chael Sonnen failed resulting in his being forced to serve a yearlong suspension.

The only conclusion that I can draw is that the UFC is happy to fire those guys who show ill discipline but whose names won’t be missed on any advertisements. Forrest Griffin is a legend for his Ultimate Fighter war against Stephan Bonnar while Rashad Evans is one of the top light-heavyweights in the world. Both fight in the 205lb marquee division where MMA legends like Rampage Jackson and Chuck Liddell made their names. Both have massive drawing power in terms of tickets sales and PPV sales. Simply put, they make the UFC a lot of money. Equally, if you are a fan of MMA then it’s highly unlikely you don’t know who Chael Sonnen is. But what casual fan will miss Miguel Torres, who fights in a division some might have little interest in and whose last two bouts have been on preliminary cards. And who will miss Nate Marquardt, for so long a nearly-man at 185, who then dropped down to a stacked 170lb division? Answer: no one. The UFC felt it would be no huge loss to them financially to make an example of these guys and did so. Specifically, the firing of Torres, rather than demonstrating a level of political correctness, displays a breath-taking kind of cynicism. I do not know if what he said was from a TV show or not or whether he later changed the wording because he had made a genuine error in how he thought the quote was supposed to read. Perhaps it was directed at certain people who would have gotten the ‘joke’. Regardless, the UFC has shown a lack of consistency and in my eyes has damaged its own credibility. To repeat, there is no doubt that Torres deserved to be punished for what he said but given the precedent set by the lack of punishments meted out to Griffin and Evans, surely a more even handed sentence for Torres would have been a large fine or a suspension for 6 months. If Griffin had been fined or suspended then I could understand Torres being fired but the huge disparity in how these twin situations were handled is confusing.

As a fan of the sport I do not want to see Rashad Evans or Forrest Griffin – or Miguel Torres for that matter – being cut from the UFC. All three have provided plenty of entertainment for us fans. But in the interest of fairness and irrespective of their money-making potential, these three high profile men have to be treated equally by their employer in this somewhat unusual situation. Letting all three go unpunished would be unthinkable.  But punishing just one is grossly unfair.

And just a quick note to all our poker fans in Hungary check out Party Poker.com

Alan Keane.

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Jake Hecht with Boxing Clinic student Sean Tobin

UFC-bound Jake Hecht has thanked Cage Warriors for giving him the opportunity to take his career to the next level. Hecht (10-2-0) signed a four-fight deal with the organisation earlier this month and will make his debut at UFC 140 in Toronto against Rich Attonito on December 10.

The Missouri native has made three Cage Warriors appearances; having been defeated by Che Mills last year, Hecht bounced back in 2011 with impressive wins over Craig White and Michele Verginelli.

“Cage Warriors is one of the biggest and best organisations in Europe,” said Hecht. “They have given me such a great opportunity to grow and continue my success as a fighter.

The opponents I’ve faced in the organisation have been veterans of the game and by beating them it has only helped me to get noticed.”

Hecht, who’s based at the MMA Clinic in Cork, flew to Springfield, Illinois over the weekend to begin preparations for his UFC debut under veteran coach Marc Fiore.

“I’m a well-rounded fighter,” added the 27-year-old. “The way I’ll win this fight is by beating Rich in all areas because he’s very well-rounded too.

But we won’t do much different in preparation. I’ve prepared for big fights before and won. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. My goal now is very simple – to win. Mixing the game up and keeping Rich guessing will be the key to victory for me in this fight.”

Credit: Cagewarriors.com

At 185, Hendo is behind Chael ‘Take The Bass Out Of Your Tone’ Sonnen who we will hopefully see in a rematch with Anderson Silva at some point in the new year. Braggadocio king, Chael seems to have recently revised his offer to leave the UFC should he lose. Anyone who saw his interview with Michael Landsberg on Off The Record might be thinking Chael is regretting making the WWE type offer after realising perhaps that the only similarity between the UFC and the WWE is that occasionally WWE matches take place in a cage. The self proclaimed ‘real’ champion looks to me to be losing his marbles. But then again when you’re nuts to start with it’s probably no surprise. Also in contention at 185 there is Mark Munoz who issued possibly the politest call out ever after his win over Chris Leben. I myself think Munoz needs one more big fight before he gets a title fight and a fight with the winner of Michael Bisping and Mayem Miller would be ideal.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here and before Henderson can consider a title shot in either division he has to get through a revitalised Shogun Rua which most definitely will not be easy. Henderson has said he is not looking beyond Rua because he knows how tough he is after defeating his brother, Ninja Rua, via split decision at Pride 17 almost exactly ten years ago. So, what can we expect from this bout?

Both men are heavy handed. Both can take major punishment and both have knockout power. Henderson however is a world class wrestler who has competed at an Olympic level and won numerous medals in Greco-roman competitions. But then again, Rua is a BJJ black-belt. Who has the advantage? Personally I think Henderson. He has the kind of one punch KO power that will give Rua pause and he should be able to use that hesitation to secure a takedown and inflict the kind of vicious ground and pound that finished off Babalu Sobral. Hendo does have the bad habit though of ignoring his wrestling and simply walking after opponents with his right hand cocked waiting for a chance to let fly. If Rua gets in his face and starts mixing up strikes muay Thai style early in the fight, Hendo could be in trouble. Being thirteen years younger, Rua presumably enjoys a significant speed advantage as well so Hendo will have to be on his toes.

If Hendo fights the right fight, using his wrestling as well as his punching power then he should pull out the win. If he decides to brawl with Shogun then his age-defying winning streak could come to halt. Shogun mixes punches, knees and kicks to devastating effect but he can be out-wrestled as we saw in the Jon Jones fight. Over all, I’m going to pick Henderson but whatever happens this fight will be a war.

Also on this card, Wanderlei Silva takes on Cung Le at 185lbs in what should be a highly entertaining fight. The Axe Murderer vs. Iron Legs. Wow. The wild hands of Silva vs. the flashy, movie friendly Sanshou of Le. This fight could be something straight out of one of Le’s movies if these two decide to let fists and feet fly. Silva will be desperate to prove he is the Silva of old, the man who terrorized Japan, soccer kicking and stomping out all competition. But, lamentably, we know he probably isn’t. Silva has been in too many wars and his body has told him so. Le has the skills to KO Silva and I can see it happening. Le isn’t afraid to stand with heavy hitters; indeed he revenged a knockout loss to Scott Smith with a stunning KO of his own. He downed Smith with a spinning back kick to the body and then finished the fight with punches. Interestingly, he also has some pedigree as wrestler, winning All State titles as a younger man. I can see Le picking Silva apart and knocking him out. Both guys are very likeable fighters so I won’t complain whatever the outcome but I’m going to pick a win for Cung Le.

Urijah Faber and Brian Bowles will compete at 135 for a shot at Dominick Cruz who has beaten both of them in the past. This fight really shows the lack of depth at 135 at the moment. Saying that, Faber didn’t lose by much to Cruz and no doubt he will have something in mind to push the champion even further (let’s not forget Faber did submit Cruz in the WEC) should he get past Bowles. Bowles is a guy who finishes fights though, having only gone the distance once in his career. Faber doesn’t usually go to the judges either so this should end early. ‘The Califonia Kid’ has the added motivation of this being his first fight since losing to Cruz so he will really want to the win to get another crack at the champion. For the simple reason he has momentum behind him though I’m going to pick Bowles by submission. If you disagree, that’s awesome. Well done.

The last fight I’m going to talk about involves one of my favorite fighters; the nutcase that is Martin Kampmann taking on Rick Story at welterweight. Kampmann is a seriously well rounded mixed martial artist who for some bizarre reason likes to fight to the strengths of his opponents. Against Jake Shields he demonstrated a level of skill on the mat that completely blew up Joe Rogan’s claim that Shields was bringing “a whole new level of grappling.” Not to say that Shields isn’t a very skilled individual but rather Joe Rogan needs to relax sometimes.  Shields struggled big time to get ‘The Hitman’ on the mat and when he did he certainly didn’t have it all his own way. Kampmann admits he should have kept the fight standing and knocked Shields out rather than engage in a grappling match. Against Diego Sanchez he got into a brawl when he was clinically picking ‘The Nightmare/Dream’ apart on the feet and ended up losing a ridiculous decision. Using the simplistic barometer of whose face was in what shape to determine a winner, Kampmann had a swollen eye. Sanchez’s face looked like it had been used for target practice during a game of squash. Kampmann was landing at will before losing sight of his goal and accepting Sanchez’s invitiation to fight on his terms in the third round. Thus, the annoying habit MMA judges have of awarding points to the fighter that looks busier prevailed and Kampmann lost. Hopefully, this time, he will see sense and keep this fight standing. Storey is a tough man who can absorb punishment so Kampmann will have to be wary of Story bulling through his punches to get the takedown. I think Kampmann has the skills to win the fight, but he has to keep his focus or he will drop to 0-3 in his last three fights and that would simply be a travesty.

That’s all from me, have a good weekend and enjoy the action.

Alan Keane

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The main event of UFC 138 promises to be a cracker at 185 pounds with Chris Leben bringing his particular brand of fistic chaos into the cage once more against fellow knockout artist Mark Munoz. The ‘Filipino Wrecking Machine’ is just as heavy handed as Leben, as we saw in his last fight against CB Dolloway. He can put guys out in an instant with his canon-like right hand but Leben has a jaw akin to a red-topped rock. Brian Stann essentially had to knock him out three times in their bout because Leben just kept coming. As ‘The Crippler’ says himself, when he gets tagged he goes into auto-pilot, moving forward and swinging until someone drops. More often than not – Brian Stann and Anderson Silva aside – it’s the other guy. If he hits you with the left hand he now calls ‘The Silva Bullet’ it’s usually good night.

Munoz however does have a distinct advantage over Leben on the wrestling side of things being a decorated amateur wrestler. While both guys will want to prove who is the baddest KO artist, Munoz could deploy a safety first strategy and take Leben down to inflict some good old fashioned ground and pound. Leben has improved his ground game considerably – look to his triangle submission of Yoshihiro Akiyama for proof – but there is a difference between submitting an exhausted Akiyama in round three and getting out from under a guy like Munoz. In short this fight will be very interesting. Will Leben come away with his fourth Knockout of the Night bonus or will Munoz add to his three fight win streak?

If I was forced to choose and I was picking with my heart I’d say Leben but if I was choosing with my head I’d say Munoz. I see Munoz taking Leben down and keeping him there. It would simply not make sense to do otherwise when the world knows Leben’s strength lies in his striking. I’ll go for Munoz by decision.

At heavyweight, 7-0 Phil De Fries will make his Octagon debut against the durable Rob Broughton. All of De Fries’ seven wins have come by submission and the jiu-jitsu specialist who holds a purple belt under Rodrigo Cabral will obviously want to take down the experienced Broughton and tap him out. Broughton’s experience will be a key factor and he is no slouch on the ground himself with 5 of his 15 wins coming by submission, but he will probably prefer to stay standing. Does de Fries have the stand-up skills to bang with Broughton (that sounded weird when I read it to myself)? I don’t know. But one would have to give him the advantage on the ground. This fight could take place anywhere but if I had to stick my neck out I’d say De Fries by submission. Why? Again, I don’t know. If you disagree, good for you.

At bantamweight, two phenomenal records collide when Englishman Brad Pickett (21-4) takes on Brazilian Renan Barao (26-1). Pickett holds wins over the likes of Dave Lee and Demetrious Johnson while Barao is riding a 26 fight win streak. Yes, that’s TWENTY-SIX fights. He lost his debut fight and recovered from that by deciding he’d never lose again. Good decision. 12 of those wins came by submission and the loss was a decision. In short, Barao is a scary man. Pickett is quite frightening himself and has 9 submission wins to his credit and has never been knocked out. Both these guys can really fight any way you want so if this fight is even slightly boring I’ll be surprised. I’ll go for Pickett by submission, just for the hell of it.

At welterweight, Thiago Alves takes on UFC newcomer Papy Abedi (8-0). This fight is a huge leap in standard for Abedi who has gone past the second round only once in his eight fights. 5 of his wins have come KO and 2 by submission so he certainly looks for finishes. Does he have the skills to finish Alves? Despite his black belt in Judo I think it’s unlikely. We all know the kind of beast Alves is, his muay Thai being a sight to behold. And in terms of experience his losses have mostly come to elite opponents like GSP and Jon Fitch. I see Alves having too much for Abedi at this point is his career but it will certainly be an exciting fight. I’m going for Alves by KO.

There is another notable fight at 205 when ‘The Snake’ Cyril Diabate (18-7) takes on ‘The Hippo’ Anthony Perosh (11-6). Nature lovers tune in. I’ll pick the striking of Diabate over submission specialist Perosh on this one. Perosh has been knocked out four times in his career and I think Diabate will make it 5.

The other fight on the main card is Terry Etim (14-3) vs. Edward Faaloloto (2-2) at 155. Etim is a submission specialist who practices Luta Livre, a type of submission grappling developed for Vale Tudo and has 11 submissions on his record. Faaloloto dropped a TKO loss to TUF vet Michael Johnson in his last fight and I see him being overwhelmed by Etim’s grappling and submitted early.

That’s it from me and don’t forget UFC 138 starts at 8pm GMT and the prelims are on Facebook.

Alan Keane

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(Photo of Chris Leben and Mark Munoz taken from ufc.com)

Whatever your opinion toward Diaz, or  Penn for that matter, this still promises to be a very exciting fight. Both men are BJJ black-belts, both are excellent boxers and both have experience of holding title gold. However there are two other factors that could well settle this fight. The first is wrestling and the second is cardio.

Penn showed everybody in his fight with Jon Fitch that he is able to hang with this best when it comes to takedowns and in that fight he also showed he is perfectly capable of taking down and keeping down a much bigger man. Diaz may not have the skills necessary to keep the fight standing should Penn decide to take it to the ground. Could Penn employ a strategy of takedown and grind it out to get a decision? He could, but with Diaz being very dangerous off its back it could be unlikely. So, I think we can expect to it to stay largely on the feet and this where that second factor, cardio, comes into play. We all Diaz’s now cardio is absolutely phenomenal. After all, he does triathlons when he’s not training for a fight. We also know he punches in huge bunches, working an opponent’s body if he covers up, thus creating openings up top. Penn on the other hand, is an excellent counter puncher when he’s on the back foot and he also has one punch KO power that I don’t think Diaz can match. On the whole, I think Penn has too much for Diaz but it should still be a phenomenal fight. I see Penn winning by KO or, possibly a more conservative game plan involving boxing on the outside with the occasional takedown thrown in. On the other hand, Penn is just as unpredictable as Diaz (ask Jon Fitch) and we could end up with a no-gi jiu-jitsu bout.

The other big fight on the card is a battle of heavy hitters with Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson and his belly taking on Mirko Crocop and his big left hook. Crocop is not the fighter he was now that he’s pushing forty. A KO loss to Frank Mir and another one to Brandon Schaub in his last two fights means the legendary Croat is probably staring at retirement if he doesn’t pull this one out. Oddly, Nelson too has a loss to Frank Mir in one of his last two fights as well as the decision loss to Junior Dos Santos. In those fights Nelson showed he needs to improve his cardio and that he has a chin like a rock. Ultimately, this will probably be a brawl but Nelson does have the submission skills on the ground should he wish to go there. We know both men have serious KO power and this could end in an instant and should not got three rounds. Despite Crocop’s claims that he wants to show the world ‘the old Crocop,’ I’m going for Nelson by KO, just because he’s brilliant entertainment. The winner of this fight could well face the winner of the next one I’m going to talk about, Matt Mitrione and Cheick Kongo. 

I fancy Mitrione to win this by TKO or possibly decision depending on Kongo’s game plan. Kongo did show a real fighter’s heart in last fight against Pat Barry but I think the ever improving ‘Meathead’ is unlikely to provide such an opening. Mitrione is quick and heavy-handed as well being a technically decent striker. I think he has too much for a confident Cheick Kongo and should win a brawl. A win for ‘Meathead’ will push him that little bit closer to the hallowed ground of  ’in the mix.’ At just 5-0 it might be premature to start calling for a title fight but a win against Kongo and then another in a  big match-up with someone like Travis Browne, or as I said above, the winner of Crocop and Nelson, and Mitrione will be knocking on the door of the elites in the heavyweight division.

Alan Keane.

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Tommy, played by the incredible Tom Hardy, is a former high-school wrestling and junior Olympic wrestling champion and now an ex Marine who returns to his home town after 14 years for the simple reason he has nowhere else to go. We soon learn that his father Paddy, portrayed by a typically downbeat and guttural Nick Nolte, is a recovering alcoholic. Tommy and his mother left Paddy and Tommy’s brother Brendan years before to escape his abusive behavior. When his mother died Tommy joined the Marines while his brother became a school-teacher and married his childhood sweetheart. When Paddy visits Brendan to tell him of Tommy’s return it is made clear that neither son has any time for a father desperate to make up for time lost in the bottom of a bottle.

We see Tommy visiting the gym where he trained as a young man to find that it is now an MMA gym. The big name fighter in the gym is ‘Mad Dog’ Grimes who knocks out his sparring partner leaving him with no one else to spar with in the lead up to the Sparta tournament. Tommy volunteers and viciously knocks out ‘Mad Dog’ in fairly short order. Hardy simple radiates an almost palpable rage and bitterness during the brilliantly staged fight scenes, his anger bearing him down so that his massive shoulders are permanently hunched. His domination of Grimes earns him a spot in the Sparta tournament and determined to win he enlists his erstwhile father as a coach, taking the first tentative steps towards conciliation though Tommy denies this is his intent.

Brendan’s road to Sparta is somewhat more circuitous. A retired UFC fighter and now much loved high-school teacher, he fights in small time unsanctioned MMA bouts to earn extra money. Turning up at his day-job with cuts and bruises the school-board suspends him without pay, leaving his young family in dire financial straits. He decides to fight full time while suspended and returns to train with Frank Campana (Frank Grillo) who is a kind of Greg Jackson figure in the fictional MMA world. During training, Frank’s number one fighter Marcos Santos is injured and Brendan talks Frank into letting him replaced Santos. The stage is then set for an emotional collision in the middle of an MMA cage.

Warrior is grim, dominated by Hardy’s anger. The majority of the locations before the movie reaches Atlantic City are dull and colorless giving a sense of hopelessness to the whole film. How can either brother hope to win? Tommy has never fought in MMA while Brendan is considered too old. Intriguingly though, both characters have wrestling backgrounds which as all MMA fans know is considered probably the most essential tool in a fighter’s arsenal. Their fighting styles are contrasting; Tommy is a brutal knock-out artist, overwhelming opponents with sheer aggression and power. Brendan, on the other hand is a tactician and submission specialist.

Providing an undertone the whole movie is Paddy, who we frequently witness listening to an audio version of Moby Dick, the classic tale of Captain Ahab seeking the giant white sperm whale that bit off his leg years ago. Paddy resembles Ishmael, the narrator of Moby Dick and a sailor on Ahab’s ship, who is borne along by Ahab’s need for vengeance against the whale; described in the book by the obsessed captain as an evil creature. Paddy is caught in the middle of two sons; neither of him wants him and who will almost inevitably collide with great violence. After a confrontation with Tommy concerning his reasons for leaving the Marines, we see Paddy relapse into alcoholism while listening to Moby Dick and crying out for Ahab to stop the ship. Hope is subtly introduced when Tommy takes pity on his father and comforts him while Brendan’s wife reverses her initial decision to never watch Brendan fight again when she realizes there is a chance he might win. Again, each brother’s route to the finals is contrasting, either side of first meeting between the brothers for many years before the tournament. Tommy makes it clear he resents Brendan for not leaving with him years ago while Brendan tries to make Tommy understand why he stayed. When the tournament gets underway, Tommy ruthlessly knocks out three opponents, including another first round of destruction of ‘Mad Dog’ Grimes. Brendan struggles past three opponents, submitting each one late in the fights – including an unbeaten Russian fighter named Koba (guess who Koba’s based on) played by Kurt Angle – but only after taking a severe beating from each one.

The tournament takes over the last act of the movie and is skillfully handled. None of the fights are individually unrealistic although the amount of punishment Brendan takes through his three fights leading seems a bit much. The final between the brothers is brilliantly written, far from cheesy and though it is full of emotion, it is not clogged with it. The climax of the fight is the only way I can imagine the film ending in way that is completely satisfying. The characters in Warrior are complex and multi-layered and utterly believable. Tommy’s reasons for leaving the Marines emerge during the tournament as do Brendan’s for staying with his abusive father during his childhood. The fights themselves will easily satisfy MMA fans while also capturing the imaginations of those perhaps not familiar with the sport. There is of course the inevitable training montage but again it is well handled and does not detract from the film as a whole. Calling it the Rocky of MMA movies is perhaps a bit of a misnomer. This film is less about the brave underdog than it is about the power of love to heal deep personal wounds and the unbreakable bond between brothers. Indeed after the final fight, the brother’s leave arm-in-arm seemingly reconciled – something we often see when bitter adversaries leave it all in the cage. It does itself less favors with frequent talk of men being killed or ending up in the hospital but this can be forgiven given the nature of the movie. An argument about the safety of MMA would simply not fit the tone of the film.

In short, this is a brilliant brilliant movie and absolutely worth seeing over and over for fans and non-fans alike. Oscar worthy-ish was how one friend described it to me and I’d find it difficult to disagree with that. Hardy’s performance deserves to be recognized and I cannot wait to see him as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises next year. Go see Warrior, you won’t regret it.

Alan Keane.

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With Cage Contender XI taking place in less than 2 weeks on October 8th in Belfast, Fight Hounds caught up with Cage Contender supremo John Ferguson to get his thoughts on the upcoming show, the excitement of booking two UFC vets to go one-on-one and how he got started in MMA.

FH: Hi John, thanks again for talking to us. Before we get Cage Contender XI (CCXI), could tell our readers just a little bit about how you got the Cage Contender promotion started back in 2009? Did you expect it to snowball the way it has into Ireland’s biggest domestic MMA promotion? A lot of people will have seen your show on Setanta at this point which is impressive for such a young organisation.

JF: Thanks for having me it’s always a pleasure to chat with Fight Hounds.

I got into MMA by accident in 2009, and unlike the way it seems today the scene was very hard to get into. Understandably people were very protective of their market share and didn’t want to help. But some guys like Paul Cowzer, Mark Leonard and Conor Cassidy got behind me and the rest is history.

When CC started there was only Cage Wars who had TV coverage in Ireland, and they only ran about once a year or so. This meant the market was wide open for a regular televised event from Ireland.

There are Irish ex pats everywhere in the world all to happy to watch something from home, thats why the brand is such a solid broadcast product. While many people hate agree or refuse to acknowledge the fact, Cage Contender has the largest broadcast footprint in European MMA, and it is something that we intend to build on in season 3 which starts in Dublin on 25th Feb 2012. Setanta Sports are happy with the viewing figures and CCXI will be the 8th televised show with them in 16 months. On top of that we have a deal with Sky Sports and other worldwide distribution.

FH: From the humble beginnings of a six-man tournament you are now offering a heavy-weight title fight at CCXI with a UFC veteran in each corner with Colin Robinson taking on Neil Wain. How exciting is that for you personally and what do you think it says about the quality of MMA on offer in Ireland?

JF: To be totally honest I am really excited about CCXI, People said that CCX was the best fight card in the history of Irish MMA and I think it was. But my opinion is that CCXI is better overall.

The quality of Irish MMA is strong at the minute, that’s not down to the promoters of this world it’s down to the Coaches and Fighters who put in the time and effort to what they do. One thing I think is vital is that with so many clubs opening every month is that we keep a very close eye on quality as well as safety especially when match making. Some one getting hurt due to poor saftey cover or poor match making could set the sport back years in the public perception.

FH: You’ve already said that this definitely won’t go the distance with men being heavy handed. Any thoughts on who might come out on top?

JF: 2 UFC Vets, 2 Big Guys, 2 Big KO records I just can’t see it going the whole way, I still thing somebody is going to get sparked. If it does [go the distance] I will be shocked. This is the first prediction I have made on the 11 fight cards I have put together so it will be interesting to see if I am right. I won’t go as far as to say who will come out on top but I’m sure both guys will leave it all in the cage.

FH: At Cage Contender X in Dublin you had two excellent title fights at feather-weight and middle-weight on a very exciting card and again, at CCXI, we have two title fights with Norman Parke and Marcos Nardini fighting for the now vacant light-weight title due to an unfortunate injury to Myles Pryce. Was putting on two title fights a conscious decision to try and better CCX which certainly lived up to its billings as Ireland’s best ever MMA card?

JF: Yeah it was a conscious decision. It is my job to fill arenas by giving the fans what they want to see and are willing to pay for. The value we give for 30 quid is unrivaled in Ireland, that’s part and parcel of the reason we fill arenas again and again. Every fight that we match is for the fans enjoyment, this is a sports entertainment business and that has to be at the center of what we do. 

FH: The Cage Contender light-weight division is certainly stacked. Apart from Myles Price and Norman Parke, you also have the likes of a former UFC vet in Dave Lee and young hopefuls like Oisín Coburn, Stephen Coll, Peter Queally and Philip Mulpeter all in there. With such depth in the division it must be a headache trying to pick the best matchups. What kind of thought goes into deciding who fights who?

JF: As it happens Dave Lee has opted not to fight. While it would have been good to have another UFC vet fighting on the card it left the door open for a fight that has set more tongues wagging than the two title fights, Greg Loughran vs Martin “The Heat” Begley. Begley is already a CC vet and our former lightweight champion. They fought back in 2007 when many say Begley was on top until Greg caught him and knocked him out. The thing I have noticed most about this fight is how divided opinion seems to be. On one hand Greg has massive international experience, lets not forget he is a Bellator vet but someone said on Facebook today that Begley would win because the Greg in 2007 and the Greg today are the same, but Begley has improved 10 fold from 2007. I can’t wait for this one!
FH: What other fights on the CCXI card do you think stand out in terms of excitement and quality?

JF: This card is stacked from bottom to top with exciting fights. In the run up to CCX it was described as the best fight card in the history of Irish MMA. Now people are saying CCXI is better than CCX. This will be the best Irish MMA event of 2011 and I am just glad to be the one to put it on.

FH: What’s next for Cage Contender as a promotion? Just how big do you think it’s possible for it to get?

JF: There will be some major news in the weeks following CCXI. Stay tuned to www.cagecontender.net or our Facebook page for the details.

Alan Keane

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Maguire Kimura - Image by David Lethaby.

Multiple domestic welterweight champion John “The One” Maguire (16-3 MMA) has become the latest acquisition by the UFC.

Cage Rage UK and OMMAC welterweight champion John Maguire has signed a four fight contract with the world’s largest organization.

Maguire was in competition this past weekend where he successfully defended his Cage Rage UK title against BJJ black belt Peter Irving (14-8-1 MMA) with an impressive victory via unanimous decision.

This bout marked Maguire’s fifth straight victory, three coming within the distance, and the Tsunami Gym product showed another great improvement in his game as he showcased tight boxing to compliment his dangerous grappling.