Author: Drew Ellis (Page 12 of 14)

      Faber looks to regain title against Jose Aldo in WEC PPV debut

      April 21, 2010 /

      Urijah Faber is known as the “California Kid,” but Saturday won’t be this “kid’s” first go-around.

      The 30-year-old veteran of World Extreme Cagefighting faces the biggest fight of his career this Saturday when he takes on WEC Featherweight Champion, Jose Aldo.

      That title contest will be the main event of WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber presented by AMP, from the Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif.

      “For me, I am fighting one guy who is going to be trying to beat me up and I am going to be trying to beat him up. It is pretty primal for me,” said Faber during a conference call on Tuesday.

      Aside from the pressures of having a title fight in his hometown of Sacramento, the WEC is also entering into the pay-per-view market for the first time on Saturday night.

      The broadcast airs live on PPV starting at 10PM ET/7PM PT.

      Continue reading »

      Mixed Martial Arts, UFC

      Strikeforce: Nashville Predictions

      April 17, 2010 /

      MMA Promotion Strikeforce hosts its second CBS televised event tonight with Strikeforce: Nashville. The main card has just three fights set, but all three are title fights. Here are my picks for tonight’s event.

      Middleweight Champion Jake Shields (24-4-1) vs. Dan Henderson (25-7)
      Dan Henderson is making his first appearance in Strikeforce after leaving the UFC in a contract dispute. He immediately steps in to fight Jake Shields, the middleweight champion who is a natural welterweight. Shields has had success at the bigger weight class, but in this fight, he will have trouble controlling Henderson on the ground like he has past opponents. Henderson is a very solid all around fighter and his bigger size should allow him to get the win by either knockout or decision.

      Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi (28-2-1) vs. Muhammed Lawal (6-0)
      Two very different people meet in this fight as Mousasi is like a silent killer. He stays composed and just runs through opponents while Lawal is very loud and cocky despite having just six professional fights. Lawal is good on his feet with powerful strikes, but in this fight, he will need to fight off his back against Mousasi, who can take the fight anywhere. Lawal has a puncher’s chance, but Mousasi will be smart enough to get the fight to the ground, where he will win by submission.

      Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez (-160) vs. Shinya Aoki (+130)
      This fight should be very competitive. Melendez has won his last three, but all of his fights have been fast paced and close. His win over Josh Thompson won him the title, but now he faces Aoki who bounces around to different weight classes and finds success in each. Melendez will look to use boxing and wrestling to win while Aoki will try to use quickness and submissions. Look for Melendez to win a hard-fought five-round decision over Aoki, but each fighter will have their chances to finish the fight.

      Mixed Martial Arts, UFC

      UFC 112 Recap & Reaction

      April 11, 2010 /

      UFC 112 left a memorable mark in the history of the organization for a number of reasons.

      First, it was the first UFC held in the Middle East.

      Second, it saw one of the biggest upsets in the history of the UFC from a betting stand point.

      Third, you saw one man display dominance over another in a fighting sense by literally not fighting.

      Many fans and even UFC President Dana White are upset with middleweight champion Anderson Silva for his display against Demian Maia. For those who didn’t see the fight, Silva was so far superior to his opponent that he spent most of the fight taunting him and swearing at him in Portuguese. Silva displayed in the first round that he could simply do whatever he wanted, landing every strike he threw at him while taking no damage. So he then chose to start dancing, standing still with his hands at his arms, and challenging his opponent to hit him in the face rather than overwhelm him and finish the fight. The fight, which lasted 25 minutes when it really had no business going more than 25 seconds, angered the fans to no end and forced White to storm off and not even watch the final round.

      Continue reading »

      Mixed Martial Arts, UFC

      UFC 112 Preview & Predictions

      April 10, 2010 /

      The UFC hosts UFC 112: Invincible this Saturday at 1PM ET from Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. as the promotion makes a trip to the Middle East for an outdoor event. Here is a look at the card, which features two title fights, and my picks for the main card bouts.

      UFC Middleweight Championship: Anderson Silva (25-4) vs. Demian Maia (12-1)
      Silva is arguably the best fighter in the world in any weight class and Maia might be the best submission fighter in the UFC today. This style matchup has led to some boring fights for Silva in the past as the grapplers have avoided striking with him at all costs, but something tells me Maia knows he will have to mix it up. Should Maia get the fight to the ground, he can win, but likely Silva is going to knock him out first. Look for the champ to retain with a either a first round TKO or a boring five round decision.

      UFC Lightweight Championship: B.J. Penn (15-5-1) vs. Frankie Edgar (11-1)
      I truly feel that Edgar has the right fighting style to beat Penn, he simply lack the physical size needed to execute his plan. Edgar has the quickness to hang with Penn and the wrestling ability needed to win, but his size is not big enough to get Penn to the ground. Edgar will have to push a tremendous pace in order to really get Penn to slow down enough to be effective with his wrestling, and even if he can, we don’t know what kind of conditioning he has or what kind of damage he will have to take. Edgar is a tough guy that will give Penn some problems, but ultimately Penn will get the win by choke in round three.

      Continue reading »

      Mixed Martial Arts, UFC

      UFC 111 Predictions

      March 27, 2010 /

      UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy takes place tonight from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey and the main card features five fights and two championship bouts. Here is a look at the main card bouts and my picks for the winners.

      UFC Welterweight Championship: Champion Georges St. Pierre (19-2) vs. Challenger Dan Hardy (23-6)
      In any fight, each man has a puncher’s chance and that is about all Hardy has going for him. He will have to win the fight standing because St. Pierre is far superior in his wrestling and submission skills. St. Pierre is also very good at not getting hit and that will be what helps him win this fight. Look for him to score multiple takedowns and ware Hardy down as he scores a fourth round TKO and then makes the jump to the middleweight division for his next big career move.

      UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship: Frank Mir (13-4) vs. Shane Carwin (11-0)
      Carwin was set to face Brock Lesnar for the UFC Heavyweight title in November, but Lesnar’s illness has set up this fight with the winner getting a belt and then the shot at Lesnar in the summer. Mir wants this fight on the ground while Carwin wants it on his feet. Carwin has not had a UFC fight go past 91 seconds, but it should take longer to dispose of Mir on Saturday. Mir can test Carwin on the ground and in submission fighting, but he will have to eat a punch to do it. Mir has left himself open before and Carwin will be quick to strike when he does it on Saturday to score a TKO late in the first round.

      Continue reading »

      Mixed Martial Arts

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑