UFC 61 Preview and Picks
I will first start off with my predictions with the winner in red and then break them down. Hopefully I will do better than my 5-3 on Ultimate Fight Night last week.
Tim Sylvia Vs. Andrei Arlovski
Andrei has yet to get beat by anyone other than Andrei. Yes, I said it. The last fight all came down to a mistake made by an over anxious fighter, who given a second or two longer, would have finished that fight with a victory. Tim Sylvia is strong, don't get me wrong, but he is not a great fighter at any particular style. He can get beat at punching with anyone that can stay out of his reach. He would get out kickboxed by any premier kickboxer of comparable sixe, he would get outgrappled by anyone with any serious skill. He cannot rely on his size for much longer.
I would have to say that the heavyweight division is the one division where the skills are not that widely dispersed. Frank Mir, Andrei Arlovski, Brandon Vera, and Jeff Monson are the only fighters that immediately come to mind with any true art to their fighting. These are the disciplined few of that division.
Tito Ortiz Vs. Ken Shamrock
Unfortunately, for the second straight UFC, the fight with the biggest hype behind it will turn out to be a battle, but another battle where Tito tees off on Ken Shamrock. Ken just does not have the cardio to keep up. I cannot see this fight going any different than the last. Watching Ken attempt to compete today is getting old. We see a tired fighter, working through exhaustion by getting beat up even worse. His fight against Don Frye in Pride was a boring battle of two old guys.
Tito is still up to punish Ken. The bad blood between them will hype up Tito even more than last time. Last time Tito was out to beat a legend, now he wants to destroy the heart of his enemy.
Unfortunately, this fight doesn't hold much bearing for either fighter. Even if Tito wins again impressively, I do not think he is up to the level of beating Chuck Liddell. I am not sure he can. Not because he isn't good, but because their styles do not mix to his advantage.
Dan Christison Vs. Frank Mir
This is a fight where both men have something to prove. Either are capable of a win. I see Frank winning this fight by submission, only if he has better striking skills. Dan and Frank will more than likely end up on the ground, and I would count that battle to go to Mir, who appears to be in better shape for that type of fight. If Mir can keep the top position, and reverse Dan when in the guard, this should be Mir's fight. The winner of this bout should fight Brandon Vera, if Vera is not already on tap to fight someone like Ricco Rodriguez or Jeff Monson.
Josh Burkman Vs. Josh Neer
Josh Neer has already defeated 2 TUF fighters in Joe Stevenso and Melvin Guillard. Coming from the Miletich camp, I will have to go with Neer. He has good submission skills and great heart. His fight against Melvin Guillard, where he fought through one of the nastiest cuts I had ever seen and was still allowed to continue, showed me that Neer is all heart. He knew he had superior ground skills and was able to avoid Melvins big punch. His fight against Joe Stevenson was unimpressive, but effective.
I believe Stevenson is overrated compared to the other fighters in the UFC at that weight division. With this division owned by BJ Penn, GSP, and last but not least, Hughes, all the Welterweight fights like this will ever be is undercards!
Yves Edwards Vs. Joe Stevenson
I have not seen Yves fight, but I have seen Joe. I have been too unimpressed with Joe Stevenson to pick him again. Both fighters have skill on the ground, with an edge to Joe. However, if Yves can protect himself there, and do the damage he is capable of on his feet, I see him getting a descision, or less likely, a knockout. I believe this will be a good fight, again, in a dead end division for either of these fighters.
Undercards
I will just pick these fights. Most of the following fighters I have not seen, and I am picking off of their records and styles.
Drew Fickett Vs. Kurt Pellegrino (Great fight)
Jeff Monson Vs. Anthony Perosh (Monson is on a mission)
Gilbert Aldana Vs. Cheick Kongo
Hermes Franca Vs. Joe Jordan
Enjoy the fights!!
Tim Sylvia Vs. Andrei Arlovski
Andrei has yet to get beat by anyone other than Andrei. Yes, I said it. The last fight all came down to a mistake made by an over anxious fighter, who given a second or two longer, would have finished that fight with a victory. Tim Sylvia is strong, don't get me wrong, but he is not a great fighter at any particular style. He can get beat at punching with anyone that can stay out of his reach. He would get out kickboxed by any premier kickboxer of comparable sixe, he would get outgrappled by anyone with any serious skill. He cannot rely on his size for much longer.
I would have to say that the heavyweight division is the one division where the skills are not that widely dispersed. Frank Mir, Andrei Arlovski, Brandon Vera, and Jeff Monson are the only fighters that immediately come to mind with any true art to their fighting. These are the disciplined few of that division.
Tito Ortiz Vs. Ken Shamrock
Unfortunately, for the second straight UFC, the fight with the biggest hype behind it will turn out to be a battle, but another battle where Tito tees off on Ken Shamrock. Ken just does not have the cardio to keep up. I cannot see this fight going any different than the last. Watching Ken attempt to compete today is getting old. We see a tired fighter, working through exhaustion by getting beat up even worse. His fight against Don Frye in Pride was a boring battle of two old guys.
Tito is still up to punish Ken. The bad blood between them will hype up Tito even more than last time. Last time Tito was out to beat a legend, now he wants to destroy the heart of his enemy.
Unfortunately, this fight doesn't hold much bearing for either fighter. Even if Tito wins again impressively, I do not think he is up to the level of beating Chuck Liddell. I am not sure he can. Not because he isn't good, but because their styles do not mix to his advantage.
Dan Christison Vs. Frank Mir
This is a fight where both men have something to prove. Either are capable of a win. I see Frank winning this fight by submission, only if he has better striking skills. Dan and Frank will more than likely end up on the ground, and I would count that battle to go to Mir, who appears to be in better shape for that type of fight. If Mir can keep the top position, and reverse Dan when in the guard, this should be Mir's fight. The winner of this bout should fight Brandon Vera, if Vera is not already on tap to fight someone like Ricco Rodriguez or Jeff Monson.
Josh Burkman Vs. Josh Neer
Josh Neer has already defeated 2 TUF fighters in Joe Stevenso and Melvin Guillard. Coming from the Miletich camp, I will have to go with Neer. He has good submission skills and great heart. His fight against Melvin Guillard, where he fought through one of the nastiest cuts I had ever seen and was still allowed to continue, showed me that Neer is all heart. He knew he had superior ground skills and was able to avoid Melvins big punch. His fight against Joe Stevenson was unimpressive, but effective.
I believe Stevenson is overrated compared to the other fighters in the UFC at that weight division. With this division owned by BJ Penn, GSP, and last but not least, Hughes, all the Welterweight fights like this will ever be is undercards!
Yves Edwards Vs. Joe Stevenson
I have not seen Yves fight, but I have seen Joe. I have been too unimpressed with Joe Stevenson to pick him again. Both fighters have skill on the ground, with an edge to Joe. However, if Yves can protect himself there, and do the damage he is capable of on his feet, I see him getting a descision, or less likely, a knockout. I believe this will be a good fight, again, in a dead end division for either of these fighters.
Undercards
I will just pick these fights. Most of the following fighters I have not seen, and I am picking off of their records and styles.
Drew Fickett Vs. Kurt Pellegrino (Great fight)
Jeff Monson Vs. Anthony Perosh (Monson is on a mission)
Gilbert Aldana Vs. Cheick Kongo
Hermes Franca Vs. Joe Jordan
Enjoy the fights!!
posted by Nathan DuBois at 9:32 AM
1 Comments:
Great Picks! (they are exactly the same as mine). You obviously know what your talking about. :)
My picks are at www.nflpicksexpert.com/ufc
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