The MMA News Feed: UFC 92 Predictions and Much More
 By Matthew Degonzaque, DoghouseBoxing (Dec 26, 2008)
In the news feed today I’ve got my predictions on this Saturday’s UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 card. I also have news on a possible rematch between Chuck Liddell and Keith Jardine in March, Mirko Cro Cop’s return on NYE in Japan and Randy Couture landing a major movie role…
UFC 92 Predictions
UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship-Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir: This fight should be for the real heavyweight championship, but politics with the Couture situation kept Nogueira from being truly recognized as the real deal. Mir is a decent fighter, but he is only getting this title shot because back in February the UFC heavyweight division was struggling, it still is, and his win over Brock Lesnar was enough to put him at the front of the contender line. I’m still not sure if Mir is even 100% even after his last two victories; Antoni Hardonk is unproven and Lesnar was dominating Mir before Mir landed that knee bar. Even before his motorcycle accident, Mir has never truly shown that he could be a world class fighter. Before his win over Lesnar, his two biggest victories were over Tim Sylvia and Wes Sims. Sims is a journeyman fighter and he defeated Sylvia by breaking his arm, but Sylvia didn’t even feel it and still wanted to go. I also don’t think Mir will be able to go 5 rounds in this fight, he gassed horribly in his TKO2 over Sims and was terribly gassed in his decision win over Dan Christison.
Nogueira is still one of the best fighters in the world. Unlike Mir, Nogueira is very well rounded has excellent ground skills as well as pretty good hands. He’s defeated better fighters than Mir in the past; Mirko Cro Cop, Heath Herring (three times), Josh Barnett, Fabricio Werdum, Dan Henderson and Sergei Kharitonov. Also, he has proven that he has the cardio to the distance without trouble. Both guys have great Jiu Jitsu so that is why I think they are going to try and play it safe and try and out strike each other which is where I think Nogueira stops Mir in the first or second round.
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship-Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans: This is a much harder fight to predict. Griffin has proven himself in the past to be a on the world class level, but Rashad has seemingly come so far so fast in the past year that you aren’t sure what is going to happen. The striking advantage goes to Forrest; who has solid boxing and amazing leg kicks but Evans has the superior punching power (see: Liddell, Chuck). Evans has the wrestling advantage but Griffin is pretty good on the ground himself. Both men have shown good cardio in the past but Forrest has gone 5 rounds before while Evans has only fought 3 rounders. Evans is the more explosive fighter while Forrest is a slower, stalking fighter. The fight could go either way, but I’m taking Evans to shock the world and knock Forrest out.
Wanderlei Silva vs. Quinton Jackson: This fight is arguably the #1 contenders’ fight for the Light Heavyweight title; though I’m sure Machida would have something to say about that. Despite being 2-0 over Rampage already, this fight is just as much as a must win for Wanderlei as it is for his opponent. Before defeating Keith Jardine in 36 seconds last May, Wanderlei was on a three fight losing streak and people were starting to wonder if he was done as a top level fighter. His quick and devastating win over Jardine silenced those questions, but another loss-especially to someone he has knocked out twice already-would only start up those questions again. On the other hand, a third victory over Jackson would show fans that Wanderlei is still a top 10 fighter to be reckoned with. Jackson needs a victory in this fight for an obvious reason: to get a title shot. A loss to Wanderlei would set him back and he would need a couple more wins to be deserving of a title shot. Plus, it would be a black mark on Jackson’s record to see that he had three chances to defeat a fighter and came up short every time. I think Jackson is still a fighter that is still in his peak, while Wanderlei is on a slight downward slide. I’ve got Rampage finally defeating Wanderlei in this fight.
Cheick Kongo vs. Mustafa Al Turk: This is Turk’s debut, I don’t know much about him other than he’s a former ADCC grappling champion. Kongo’s weakness has always been the ground game and being that UFC doesn’t seem to have the big plans for Kongo that they used to; he was previously supposed to be used as a stepping stone for Lesnar and I think that Al Turk has a good chance of winning this fight.
C.B. Dolloway vs. Mike Massenzio: UFC still has invests a lot in their TUF cast members and look for Dolloway to pull off a hard fought submission victory.
Liddell wants a rematch with Jardine
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell is calling for a rematch against Keith Jardine at UFC 96 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on March 7, according to a recent radio interview on The Tom Leykis Show.
Here’s a snip:
“There’s been a few names. We have Jardine listed. We want him in March.”
“The Dean of Mean” upset the “Iceman” at UFC 76: “Knockout” in September 2007. He beat the 38-year-old to the punch and strafed him with leg kicks en route to a unanimous decision win.
His rumored fourth match up with Randy Couture appears to be all but dead. And another speculative showdown against UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva also appears to have been sunk.
Jardine most recently locked horns with Brandon Vera at UFC 89: “Leben vs. Bisping” on October 18, winning an underwhelming unanimous decision. The “Dean of Mean” also boasts recent wins over Liddell and Forrest Griffin.
UFC 96 is currently officially unannounced and does not have a main event. It will once again coincide with the Arnold EXPO — the largest health and fitness expo in the nation — for its annual convention (credit: MMAMania.com).
I had a feeling this fight could be next after the Couture and Anderson Silva fights fell through. Liddell has always said that he wanted avenge all of his career losses and with Rampage and Evans currently tied up, Jardine is left over and Liddell was actually fairly competitive with Jardine while Rampage and Evans put the Iceman on ice. Although Liddell has proven in the past that his punching power can change any fight around and Jardine has a chin that will collapse if you hit it right, I don’t think Liddell will be able to defeat Jardine even in a rematch. Liddell just isn’t the same fighter that he was 2 years ago and at this point he doesn’t have anything more than a punchers chance than most of the top 10 205lb’ers in the world.
After his boring win against Vera, Jardine is currently on the outside looking in with the Light Heavyweight title picture. Liddell is still a hot ticket, for now, and another win over him for Jardine could get some spotlight back on himself.
Couture to star in film with Stallone, Li, Statham
Ex-UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture has signed on for a major role in Sylvester Stallone's next action project, titled The Expendables.
Couture joins a strong cast including action stars Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren and Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker. The $60 million feature centers on a group of mercenaries (Couture, Li, Statham and Stallone) sent to overthrow against a ruthless dictator. Whitaker plays an FBI agent in the film.
According to Couture's agent Matt Walker, Couture's role is a major one originally conceived for Wesley Snipes and rewritten for the former UFC champ.
The project is the third major movie role Couture has signed onto for 2009, along with thriller Relentless and Lionsgate action film Warrior (MSNBC.com).
It’s good that Randy is forging a career for himself now that his MMA career appears to be winding down. It sounds like a good part and the movie has a good enough cast to definitely be a big hit. Sylvester Stallone showed with the recent additions to the Rocky and Rambo franchises that he still has some box office power left. Forrest Whitaker is an Academy Award winner who has starred in recent hits like The Last King of Scotland, Vantage Point and Street Kings. Jet Li is an international film star who has starred in big films like Lethal Weapon 4, Romeo Must Die, Hero, The Forbidden Kingdom and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Jason Statham is also coming into his own in Hollywood due to the success of The Transporter franchise as well as films like Death Race, Crank and The One.
While Couture clearly has an A level cast to back him up in this film, I hope he can hold his own on the screen with the A list stars. His acting skills have been alright considering what I’ve seen him in so far, but hopefully he can really do a good job in a movie that is likely going to be very big. With Couture starring in this film now as well as having roles in two others films in 2009, one wonders when exactly Couture will find the time to actually fight in 2009…
Cro Cop to fight on New Year’s Eve
From Mirko's official blog:
I'm excited to let you know that I have accepted DREAM's offer to fight against Hong-man Choi on December 31 at Dynamite show. We arranged all details and the contract has been signed - the fight is officially on.
I must say I'm happy with this opportunity to fight again in this year. This wasn't the best year for me and I'm hoping that I'll end it in a good spirit. I'm also happy to fight again in Japan at New Year's Eve, which is always truly a fantastic experience.
So how do I feel about this fight? I already told you that I'm excited and it's really a problem for me to accept this fight with only 14 days left to go. I've been training hard after my last fight and I'm ready to face the Korean giant. When you fight the opponent of that size, you just have to take the fight very seriously. Under MMA rules he's not experienced, but he's big and strong and that makes him dangerous (mma-id.com).
After that groin injury that he suffered against Overeem in September, I didn’t expect to see Cro Cop (23-6-2) to fight again in 2008 and I didn’t expect Mirko’s next opponent to be Choi. Despite his relative inexperience, Choi is 1-1 in MMA; Choi is a dangerous fight for Mirko. Mirko is 6ft 3, but is still giving up a foot in height and over a hundred pounds in weight. Mirko will need to fight a smart game plan to pull this one off, he should use his powerful leg kicks to cut the big man’s legs out from under him. It’s a very dangerous fight and on very short notice so hats off to Cro Cop for showing that despite the brutal shots to the groin from Overeem, Cro Cop’s testicular fortitude is still functional.
This is Cro Cop’s last chance to show fans that he can still hang with the elite. After his disastrous run in the UFC, going 1-2, and his getting dominated by Alistair Overeem before the fight was stopped and ruled a no contest because of Overeem’s low blows, people are still wondering if Cro Cop has anything left. If he defeats Choi on New Year’s Eve, he can continue on. If he loses then he is going to be looked at as a past his prime fighter.
Until next time, this has been another edition of the MMA News Feed. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!
Questions or comments,
e-mail  Matthew at: mdegonzaque@hotmail.com
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