Shoots Brah!

Guess who’s back, back again. Davies back, tell a friend! There is only one fighter who could have brought me back to this wonderful thing…. Amir Sadollah. He’s finally healthy enough to fight after a year layoff due to infections and broken clavicles, so I figure I can make a triumphant return too.

UFC 101: Declaration is taking place this weekend in Philly and I am kinda torn about how I feel about the overall card. I am really stoked for the 2 main events, Penn/Florian and Griffin/Silva, but the rest of the card is kinda meh… They are probably going to be great fights, but win or lose they fight have no real effect on the future title pictures. I am also kinda disappointed that Thales Leites was thrown on the undercard right after his title fight.

BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian
Whats up Shootsbrah.blogeterycom! This is it guys, the main event. This is the fight all of Hawaii is waiting for and the fight where everyone not from Hawaii (or GSP fans) wants to see BJ get his ass kicked. I really like what I’ve been seeing out of BJ leading up to the fight. He looks like he is in great shape and that the training camp with the SportScience Lab and the RVCA gym will bring out the best BJ. His boxing and BJJ are already really well known, its just his conditioning/training for the fights that were always questionable. I think he recognizes that this is the best time to be in MMA and if he stays at the top for a few more years he can cement his legacy as one of the best ever which motivates him to train harder and better. There have been some rumors that BJ only started sparring less than 3 weeks out of from the fight and focused mainly on conditioning. If that’s true and how it affects him in the fight are yet to be seen, but I don’t think it will make a difference.

Kenny Florian has developed his skills to become a really well rounded fighter and one of the top LW in the UFC. He has awesome muay thai and kicks and mixes up his strikes really well. I also think he might have a slight speed advantage over BJ and if he can use that to avoid BJ’spunches then things will look great for him. He also has a really good ground game, but his wrestling might be his weakest skill. Florian also spent a few weeks in Montreal training with GSP. He probably took away some things he can use against BJ, but he definitely doesn’t have the wrestling ability to implement the same game plan as GSP. The main tactic I think he will use against BJ is working a lot of feints into his striking. GSP showed that Penn’s reaction time is really quick, but the recovery from that initial movement is slow. I think Kenny will try a lot of fakes in hopes BJ will bite, then attack and pick and choose the right moments.

I think BJ is better than Kenny everywhere this fight can go and has more tools to finish. Kenny doesn’t have the power to put away Penn andPenn’s skill on the ground will probably negate all of Kenny’s skill. Kenny’s best bet is to edge out BJ in the later rounds and squeak out a win. Anything can happen and BJ can get caught, but I think that is really unlikely. BJ Penn by TKO due to strikes in 3. I can’t wait to see the postfight interview where BJ licks Kenny’s blood then calls out GSP and the same time he praises Kenny and while Diego Sanchez comes in the cage and starts crazying it up.

Anderson Silva vs Forrest Griffin
Before his loss to Rashad Evans, Griffin upset 2 fighters he was supposed to lose to, Shogun and Rampage. He performs at a higher level when he is the underdog in a fight and when he has something to prove. He is huge for the LHW div, but he lacks the power to enda fight quickly. His ground game is good, but I don’t know how good it really is. If “the” Robert Drysdalesaid Forrest is one of the only guys who gives him trouble on the ground then that is really something, but we’ll see it if/when he gets Silva down. By his own admission he fought stupidly before just to put on exciting fights. His tenacious/never quit fighting style allows him to win almost every fight he’s in and if he can manage to fight strategically for all 3 rounds he can pull out this win.

Anderson is probably the most dangerous striker in MMA today (watch this vid of him hitting the bag, crazy flying attacks!) and his improv skill in the cage are uncanny. He does some things that I have never seen another fighter try in a fight, like his leg punches and his step across kick move. His picks his spots really well and avoids a lot of damage on his feet because his footwork and speed. Like Griffin said, “Anderson makes good fighters look bad” and its true. He has the skills to embarrass and clown people in fights. Recently he as been fighting to avoid losing and I think he will use the same strategy here. He will try and counter for most of the fight and when he does attack he will pull out right away and avoid exchanges. He probably will not use too much of his Thai clinch in this fight to avoid the possibility of getting taken down by the bigger Griffin.

I have a feeling if this fight stays on the feet, Silva will put on a striking clinic andpick apart Forrest round by round. Forrest doesn’t have the speed to chase Silva around the cage to beat him up standing and Silva will try keep his distance. I don’t see a solid KO happening but the accumulation of shots Forrest takes could eventually drop him in the 3rd. If Forrest can close the distance, clinch up and then take Silva down, he can use his size to his advantage and do what Hendo and Lutter did to Silva when they had top position. He has to avoid the temptation to get into a slugfest with Silva and fight intelligently. With a smart game plan and strategy, I like Griffin here by UD.

Amir Sadollah vs Johny Hendricks
Like I said up top, Sadollah has been out of the octagon for more than a year and it will be interesting to see how he looks back in the octagon. He is still a really green fighter, only 2 fights as a pro, but even with that lack of experience he has a knack for finishing fights. He went into TUF7 in with solid muay thai, since the end of the season he has been training at Xtreme Couture shoring up the holes in his game and getting a whole bunch of ringtime. To me he is like a mini Forrest, well rounded with a ton of heart. I can’t really tell how good of a fighter Sadollah has become since the show or how high of a ceiling he possesses and this fight will give us some insight.

Hendricks is a great wrestler, a 4x All American and a 2x National Champ, but Sadollah has fought 2 good wrestlers in his career (Dollaway twice and Gerald Harris). The difference with Hendricks in this fight is that he probably is one of the best wrestler in the WW div. andhe seems to have better submission awareness than CB. He also like to stand and bang. This is a step up in competition for Hendricks, he previously fought under the WEC brand against guys he just rolled over.

I think both fighters will test things out on the feet first anddance/exchange for a while, but this fight will eventually go to the ground and Hendricks will control Sadollah from top position the whole fight. With his dominant wrestling skills, Hendricks will rain down punches from above andeither grindout a UD or pound out a TKO in the 2nd. I am leaving toward a TKO victory for Hendricks.

BTW, I’m surprised the UFC is putting 2 of their better prospects against each other and it kinda makes me wonder if they know one of them isn’t up to UFC standards.

Update: Sadollah weighed in at 166 for a 170lbs fight… not a good sign…

Kendall Grove vs Ricardo Almeida
Grove is easily the longer fighter and but doesn’t really use his length well. He pushes forward and does most of his striking in close and in the clinch which makes his size a non-factor. He has had his button punched a few times and can get dropped by good strikers. If he does decide to stay on the outside and jab Almeida apart then he can set up for other attacks. He is also dangerous on the ground. On the ground his length is more of a factor. His long legs andarms allows him greater control on the ground and the ability to pull off difficult submissions but it is also bigger targets for Almeida to attack.

Almeida was, at one point, one of the best MW fighters out but since he came back from his lengthy break from the sport he just hasn’t looked the same. His BJJ game is better than Grove’s here but he looked really tentative in his past couple fights.

If Almeida can get inside of Grove and work for a takedown, I think eventually he pulls off a sub. Almeida by armbar in 2.

Update: Kendall Grove is nursing a rib injury which might hamper his performance in the cage… also not a good sign…

Josh Neer vs Kurt Pelligrino
Both guys are tough scrappy fighters but Pelligrino is just more technically sound. Neer can get outboxed by someone who uses good footwork and head movement as shown by Mac Danzig in his last fight and Pelligrino has been working with Dellagrotte to improve his striking to try and capitalize on that weakness. If Pelligrino doesn’t stand right in front of Neer just winging bombs he will win. Neer is the bigger fighter and is super durable, so if he can weather the early storm from Pelligrino he can control the later rounds and potentially edge out a win.

Pelligrino by SD in the fight of the night!

Undercard
Shane Nelson vs Aaron Riley
Nelson won the last match but the ending was so controversial that they booked a rematch. Riley is more experienced and is better standing. Riley by UD

Tamdan McCrory vs John Howard
McCrory is the taller fighter but Howard is the better wrestler. I like the wrestler by UD

Thales Leites vs Alessio Sakara
Thales has no reason to be fighting a guy like Sakara on the undercard. He will take Sakara down and choke him out. Leites sub in the 1st.

Matt Riddle vs Dan Cramer
2 really green fighters here, only 3 combined pro fights. I think Riddle hits harder and trains with a better camp (Arizona Combat Sports). Riddle KO in the 1st.

George Sotiropoulos vs George Roop
This is like a warm-up fight for Sotiropoulos and Roop is gonna get smashed. Sotiropoulos by triangle from the top in 1.

Jesse Lennox vs Danillo Villefort
I only heard of Villefort here in this fight. Villefort is supposed to be really good at BJJ and I think that’s good enough for the win. Villefort by UD.

Ok, pau. I feel bad not picking all three of the guys from Hawaii, but oh well. I gotta be smart.

For the record, I betting on Penn, Griffin, Almeida, Hendricks, Leites, and Pelligrino. Possibly Sotiropoulos for a small amount.

Katchafire/Natty Vibes tonight! Here one for the road!

Shoots!

Something new today, Foto Friday? Is it catchy enough? Oh well, here is a bunch of fotos cuz I actually have to work/act like I work today. Enjoy!

I think I can do 6 easy

Why…

Way to start early kid!

Take that twilight!

Kittie!

Word(!)(?)

Yep, that will work…

Because everying is made better with cake!

Doggie!

How did the actually get away with this?

And the point is?

Yeah, probly not a good thing.

Imagine living on seaman and cumming…

Yeah, only ninjas! You better follw the sign!

Just wow…

Is this not the right answer?

Even beer is sad to end this post…

Pictures from TheChive

So I made a really spontaneous decision to go and watch the newest Harry Potter movie, “The Half-Blood Prince”, on opening day… at 3am… Good idea(?). I got super excited for the movie at work on Tues. I was hearing all of the hype/push for the movie (ie. Emma Watson on Letterman =P) and that made me want to watch the trailers and what-not.

After I decided I was going, I went to nap early to prepare for the super long day ahead, because I knew I would have to head to work right after the movie, then practice right after work. It wouldn’t make sense to go home and sleep for less than an hour…

But I enjoyed the movie a lot now that I had time to digest it. There are some things that kinda disappointed me, but overall I can’t really complain about it. I know the HP movies don’t exactly follow the book and that putting everything the books have in the movies will make them ridiculously long. I just go in wanting to be entertained by the overall story-arc, the visuals that they come up with, the goofy parts and the teen angst that always pulls me in (oh Ron and Hermione… why must you both be so naive/stubborn…).

The movie had some great parts (like the un-sobriety of the kids!) and the pacing was good. It didn’t feel like a 2 1/2hr movie and when you watch it at 3am that’s a great thing. There are also some parts in the movie where if you are a hardcore fan and you see it, you will be stoked that they actually included it. Most of the movie is spent around Harry/Dumbledore and Ron/Hermione. The rest of the plotlines are kinda just there but not really fully touched on. That means less noticeable jumping around and somewhat better continuity.

The movie left off a few things that I think could have been great for the movie. I felt like they didn’t want to make the ending of the movie too heavy for people so they quickly skimmed over it and didn’t give people the time to get too depressed. To me, the enormity of what happened was not fully expressed and it didn’t hit me that hard. Also they left out a real intense moment toward the end of the story that I think would have made the ending so much better. The tension of that scene (and basically the whole ending of the book) is what made the 6th my favorite of the series. Without those 2 critical part, the movie kinda fell flat at the end.

My main take on the movie is not to expect to see everything you read in the book in the movie. That way your expectations will be different (lower?) and won’t spend the whole time knitpicking all of the little differences; it will actually give you a chance to enjoy what you do see. It’s just a movie and it would be best if you just watch.

I was trying to say enough without saying too much about to the movie, cuz I don’t want to spoil it for some people so sorry if this is too ambiguous. If you wanna know more of what I think, hit me up!

Shoots!

Take a look… you’ll see it eventually…

Shoots!

ps. Emma Watson wants you to see HP:tHBP

Here is my maincard picks, but I really rushed this. If I have time tomorrow I will fix it and make it pretty, but I gotta jet now. sorry…

Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir
Brock is the largest guy in the UFC, he cuts down to 265. He has a great wrestling pedigree and can control almost everyone once he gets them down using his size and strength. He got caught in his last fight with Mir, but I would assume for this fight he has been working mainly on submission defense and escapes. Mir is going to have a tough time catching Lesnar in again. He definately has the strength and reach advantage on Mir and Mir even said he hits like a semi. His striking still is a little rigid, and his footwork is not too fluid but if one of those punches connect its gonna hurt. I also seen videos of Lesnar throwing head kicks! If he wins this fight, I see him reigning for a long time.

Mir is a pretty cerebral fighter, very calculating and intelligently using his strategies to pick apart his opponent. His bjj is his greatest strength because it is so dynamic and dangerous. He has the most active guard of all heavyweights and there are very few of those around. It is hard to train for guys like Mir because there isn’t anyone able to simulate his style. Mir’s striking looked awesome in his Nogiera win and if Brock chooses to keep this fight standing, then he will have to rely on it again. He mixes up punches and kicks well and always throw 3-4 strikes in every exchange. He is very confident in himself and that is important when fighting a guy like Brock.

Man, I have no clue how this fight will go. Brock can really control where this fight ends up. If Lesnar wants to take Mir down he will and if he wants to keep it standing Mir can’t do too much about it because I doubt Mir can take Lesnar down. But I have this feeling that Brock is still too green for Mir and that Mir’s savvy will end up being the deciding factor. Mir will take a beating in this fight but Brock will make a mistake and Mir will capitalize. Mir in 2 by sub.

Georges St-Pierre vs. Thiago Alves
I expect this fight to be the most intriguing fight of the night and the one I am looking forward to the most. I think GSP is the best wrestler in the UFC who also posesses the ability to either KO or submit his opponent. Overall, GSP is the more complete fighter. I am not going to say GSP is better than Alves in every area in this fight, but he does have more ways he can win ( even though we know GSP can be taken out standing). His camp comes up with strategies and situational plans better than everyone in MMA and if he sticks to the gameplan then it will be a long night for Alves. But he does take the fight to where the opponent doesn’t want to be and breaks them by beating them in the area they are comfortable. But I do think GSP is a bully and a frontrunner. If things don’t work well for him from the start, he struggles and loses confidence. Recently (after the Serra loss), GSP has seemed reluctant to keep fights on the feet for very long, mixing up a few stikes then going for a takedown and winning the fight there. He might be playing it safe and avoiding getting his chin tested, but that may be his only weakness.

Alves is a huge dude for 170 and I think he will come into the cage the heavier fighter. His his striking game is one of the best in the weightclass; awesome leg kicks, good left hook, and great muay thai. His takedown D is something we should keep an eye out for during the match. If he can keep the fight in his wheelhouse, force GSP out of his comfort zone and become the bully in this fight, then he has a great chance of winning. He showed great defense against Hughes and Koscheck, but GSP’s wrestling right now is a lot more dangerous. He stuffed Hughes’ takedown mainly because Hughes is not too much of a threat on his feet and Alves could focus on that, while Koscheck didn’t attempt a takedown until after he was battered on his feet and Alves could see the deperation attempts coming from a mile away. GSP is a totally different fighter than both Hughes and Koscheck, can almost seemlessly transition from striking to takedowns and if Alves can’t stop him early then he will be on his back for most of the fight. Alves is a strong dude and can power his way out of a bad position, but it won’t matter if he get put on his back over and over.

I think Alves can come out of the gates hard and pressure GSP to gain the early advantage on his feet. GSP would then try for a takedown but it will be shruged off and Alves could end the fight quickly. But that probably won’t happen… I see GSP getting the takedown, passing Alves guard and keep hurting Alves with elbows and knees. This will happen for 3 rounds, and eventually GSP will mount Alves and Alves won’t be able to protect himself. GSP TKO in the 3rd.

Jon Fitch vs. Paulo Thiago
I think Fitch is the best welterweight out of AKA. A great all-around fighter, he has no holes in his game but does not have a stand out skill that is better than everyones in the div. The guy also has no quit in him. He took an ass kicking in his fight with GSP but came out at every bell and pushed on.

Thiago is coming off his upset victory over Josh Koscheck in which he didn’t look very great. His hands looked pretty sloppy and was getting beat by Kos before the uppercut. He is supposed to be an ace in bjj but we haven’t seem any of it in the UFC.

I don’t know if Fitch plans to use the same strategy as Koscheck because he is wary of the ground skills of Thiago, but I think hes fought a lot more dangerous fighters than Thiago in the UFC and can avoid most of the dangerous situations. He is also the better striker here and has a solid chin too. I don’t see Fitch ending this early though. Fitch by UD.

Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping
Hendo is by far the more experienced and decorated fighter but at 38 years of age, his time at the top of his game might be coming to an end. He is a 2 time Olympian for Greco-Roman wrestling and if he gets Bisping in his clinch or against the cage, I expect the fight will soon hit the ground. The power in his hands could drop anyone, but his boxing is not the crispest. His chin is made of stone or something too, never been KO’d yet and it probably won’t happen at 100.

Bisping is the better technical striker, but lacks the power that Henderson has. He also has good footwork and speed which will help him slip and avoid too much damage on his feet. His wrestling is always improving and I think his defensive wrestling is underrated. He did a good job stopping the takedowns against Evans and Hamill and if he did get taken down he escaped and was back on his feet right away (it might be a different case with the Greco base that Hendo has). I just think the ceiling for Bisping is a lot higher right now than Hendo’s and the UFC is trying to push him as the next big star. They even have a event planned in Manchester England later this year which I assume is for a title match with him and Anderson Silva.

I think this fight will go a lot like Bisping/Leben with Bisping taking the UD. He has the skills to avoid Henderson’s huge bombs and pick apart Hendo from range. If he keeps away from Henderson’s clinch, he can stay away from the Greco takedowns and keep the fight where he wants it. I think the fight will go to the ground at some point but Bisping will scramble out and continue to outbox Hendo.

Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Alan Belcher
This is a tough UFC debut for Yoshihiro Akiyama (link if you haven’t seem him fight) but it is his fight to lose. He is one of the biggest draws in Japan because he is so hated, but the UFC is trying to use his infamy to draw the Asian market in (and is the biggest Japanese star to sign with an American Promotion). Akiyama is a decorated Jodoka that uses more foot trips rather than high flying throws. I don’t think I’ve seen him throw someone like Karo yet, but I’m sure it probably happened at some point. He mostly uses his judo to keep the fight on the feet beat people up there or use it to gain top position and pound out a win. He has never seen a decision in any of his MMA matches but recently people have said he looks like he is slower to react and might not be the same fighter after he got knocked out by an illegal soccer kick. We will see if he is the fighter the UFC thinks he is.

Belcher is kind of a unpredictable fighter. He has a win over Dennis Kang and Jorge Santiago, but a loss to Kendall Grove and Jason Day. In the win over Kang, he was losing the fight standing, but Kang made a mistake which Belcher took advantage of. He is well rounded but depending on which Alan Belcher enters the ring it is hard to tell if those skill will actually be displayed. His best chance against Akiyama is to keep it standing and work his leg kicks and jabs to keep distance.

I think Akiyama will be too strong on the feet and on the mat. If he doesn’t make a mistake that Belcher could capitalize on, He takes this by 3rd round TKO
ps. I love Akiyama’s entrance music! “Time to say goodbye” will get me super pumped.

I gave into my impulses and put more money into my betting account… gonna give this gambling thing another run…

Shoots!

This post was gonna be kinda long and I’m not gonna finish writing it up until tomorrow so I’m just gonna split it up.  I am getting super pumped for this weekend’s fights!  The build up from the countdown show and the prefight interviews got me wishing the weekend would come already.  The main card on UFC 100 is stacked, but the undercard is a little underwhelming.  There are some fighters that I am definitely looking forward to seeing, but none of the fights are making my jump outta my seat.  Its not that they are terrible fights, because I am sure they will all be pretty entertaining, but only a couple of the fight will mean something to the future of the fighters.   The 2 fights that kinda matter are the Coleman fight that will help determine if either of the fighters currently have a place in the LHW div or in the UFC and the Miller fight that will either end UFC career or show that Miller is just a middle of the pack fighter.  I think the Dollaway, Jones and Kim fights are just to help groom them for the future but hold no immediate implications for them.  But here goes the predictions and breakdown and stuff.

Mark Coleman vs. Stephan Bonnar-
In Mark Coleman’s head, he thinks he is still a force in the LHW div and one of the few guys or only guy who has all the tools to beat the reigning champ Machida. I don’t believe any of that.  He hasn’t evolved with the sport and his one dimensional style is no longer the most effective strategy.  His wrestling and strength are his biggest asset and could take Bonnar down and smother him.  His gas tank is always a question and his striking is barely adequate (he can still throw bombs tho). 

Bonnar is coming off a hard loss to Jon Jones (probably a fight the UFC gave him to win) and an almost 2 yr lay off before that.  The loss in his first fight back could have been partly due to ring rust and party to that Jon Jones is a stud but he didn’t have a stellar showing there.  Bonnar is the more well rounded fighter, good BBJ, solid wrestling, and a wide range in striking skills (muay thai, tkd, boxing).  He has a great chin and in all his losses he has never been finished (I’m not counting the loss to Machida by cut).  Bonnar will also be the longer and quicker fighter and will hold most of the advantages here.

If Coleman can take Bonnar down and hold him there for 3 rounds then he can win the fight, but I think Bonnar will take this.  Bonnar will keep the fight standing and if it does go to the ground he will always be threatening with a sub or will be able to get up pretty easily.  Coleman will gas in the second and Bonnar will capitalize and earn a TKO win with 1:48 left in the round. Bonnar will then be an upper/middle tier gate keeper for the LHW div.  He just doesn’t seem like he has it in him to beat the contenders in the UFC but I don’t see him getting dropped after he helped bring the UFC to where it is now.  Coleman is still in the UFC hall of fame and even after he is dropped, he will earn cash by fighting in smaller shows.

Mac Danzig vs. Jim Miller-
Does anyone else find it kinda counterproductive when a fighter is a vegan? Cuz I don’t think a fighter can get all of the nutrients he needs from eating no meat, dairy and stuff like that.  If Mac Danzig can pull it off and win then good for him, but he’s been on a 2 fight skid and should be one more loss away from getting axed.  Would getting kicked out of the UFC because you can’t win due to your malnutrition be a good reason to change your lifestyle?  He might have to think of that soon.  He just doesn’t seem as quick or strong as other lightweights.  Danzig does havesome good boxing and BJJ.  He fights intelligently but he can get overwhelmed by a more aggressive fighter and forced out of his gamplan.

After Jim Miller got outboxed by Gray Maynard, I was surprised because I thought Miller would have the advantage standing in that fight or at least be able to take down Maynard.  I was wrong and found out his striking isn’t that good and his takedown need work, but he is a really scrappy fighter who is always going.  I would figure he would be working hard on those things after his last fight and should be tons better than that.  I think his grappling is better than Danzig’s because he is so relentless.

I got Miller taking this fight by submission (RNC). He is going to crowd Danzig and take it to the ground, pound on him a bit and work for a sub in the 3rd.  He might start getting out boxed by Danzig, but won’t get beat up enough to where it will change the outcome.

Jon Jones vs. Jake O’Brien-
Jon Jones is being talked up as the best prospect in the UFC and that he is the one that will take Machida’s belt in a couple of years.  Jones is super innovative muay that fighter that gives his opponent different looks and effectively confuses them without sacrificing technique.  He also has great greco skills and can bring fights to the mat quickly.  His fight against Bonnar was pretty much a 15 min highlight reel for him.  Even though he does have all this tremendous skill and potential, there are questions about his game.  Can he fight off his back effectively and how good is his submission and submission defense skills.  We have yet to see all of that, but he is still young and the UFC is doing a great job bringing him up slowly to get him experience. 

Jake O’Brien isn’t really a well liked or known fighter.  I hear a lot of people saying that he is not an exciting fighter because he just takes his opponent down and lays on them for 15 mins.  Wrestling is his one skill and he uses it to win fights because most guys can’t stop him from taking them down or get up after the takedown.  His striking game still needs quite a bit of work, but with such a great wrestling base, he can rely on that until he develops into an all around fighter.

Jones has enough skills to negate O’Brien’s takedowns and will dictate where the fight takes place.   Look for the Jon “Bones” Jones fight to make the broadcast when he puts away O’Brien in the first, TKO by knee followed by a jumping elbow to a grounded O’Brien after the knee drops him.  So looking forward to seeing him fight!  He said he is only at 17% of his potential… imagine that at 100%!

Dong Hyun Kim vs. TJ Grant-
The “Stun Gun” is coming off the decision loss (which became a NC) to Karo Parysian recently where he gassed out in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.  He also looked really tired in his UFC debut against Jason Tan and his second UFC fight with Brown.  If he can get his cardio up to par I really like his chances against Grant.  His judo skills pose a threat to anyone across the octagon (he even threw Karo!) and could dictate where the fight ends up.  While his strength is his grappling I think he has better stand up skills than Grant.  6 of his 11 wins come by KO or TKO.

Grant is a great prospect from Canada and surprised many with his win over Chonan. Grant is great on the ground and a crazy 12 of his 14 wins come by submission.  He is super slick on the ground but his standup is just OK.  His best shot is to take Kim down and work his magic, but with Kim’s judo background, it could be a very tough thing to accomplish.

If Kim’s cardio is good, he will take this fight by a RNC in 2.  I see him controlling the fight, throwing Grant a few times from the clinch and doing his jumping on the back of standing guys thing, but this time pulling it off correctly and getting a sub.

CB Dollaway vs. Tom Lawlor-
CB is kinda Chael Sonnen-esque in the way he has this smug douchey face, seems to put himself in dumb situations and gets submitted twice in the exact same way or submitted and fake taps to escape and is pretty cocky.  Maybe thats why people hate him.  He does come from a great wrestling background and a good camp.  He also has a wide range of submissions (like the peruvian necktie) he cam pull off.  His submission awareness is questionable, but he has the wrestling chops to make up for most mistakes.

Tom Lawlor is the dude who knocked out the other dude in the bathroom who claimed he didn’t get knocked out on the TUF 8 season.  He is also a good wrestler, but his striking and submissions aren’t quite at Dollaway’s level. 

I think Dollaway gets his stuff together and pulls off a win.  CB by UD in a mainly standup battle.

Matt Grice vs. Shannon Gugerty-

Hmmm…  I think  both guys are wrestlers/grapplers.  Grice just got knocked out in his last fight in a controversial stoppage and Gugerty got choked by Spencer Fisher.  I am guessing Gugerty by armbar in 2 because I don’t really know…

On a side note, Junior Dos Santos is out of UFC 102… Damn I was looking forward to seeing that fight against Justin McCully…  Just to see where Dos Santos stands and if he can make waves in the HW div.  Plus its one less fight to look forward too while I’m at UFC 102.   UPDATE: Damn looks like Dos Santos will be facing Cro-Cop at UFC 103… Robbed of a good fight… but still looking forward to seeing CC back in the UFC!

Also anyone looking to watch the big event here in Washington, you should check this place out! But I don’t think they serve beer there…

Shoots!