I predicted all of the fights correctly for a change. Though I thought Shields would win, I really wanted Mayhem to win. He is actually one of my favorite fighters. My buddy met him a few times when Mayhem went to Justin Fortune's gym that my friend used to go to. He didn't work with him or anything because I guess the MMA guys work on one side and the boxers work on another. But he said he got to talk with him quite a bit and thought he was a good guy.

I was a little up in the air on the Werdum/Silva fight. But my gut told me to go with Werdum. The other two fights were pretty much a sure thing for Fedor and Mousasi.

I will say I wish the women's prelim fight would have been televised. I would have liked to see more of them since it was a 145 lb match and they are both in the same division as Gina Carano and Cris Cyborg. Though I don't think either of them would have a shot at beating Cyborg or Carano. Coenen's biggest fight was a loss to Erin Toughill and Modofferi's biggest fight was a loss to Tara LaRosa. and a win over Jennifer Howe. The fight Saturday was supposed to be a rematch between Coenen and Toughill, but Toughill had to pull out. Personally, I would like to see Toughill get a shot at Cris Cyborg.

I don't know if anyone here is a fan of women's MMA or not. For the most part, it's not as fun to watch as the men. But when you are talking about the top tier women fighters like Megumi Fujji, Satoko Shinashi and people like that, the fights can be as impressive, if not more so than the men.

phantasmzombie wrote:

I'm glad Couture won but damn I thought he looked better the last two fights, which he lost. It was so close though I wouldn't have been surprised if Vera had got the win. I wonder who Couture will fight next, or if they will even sign him again, his 3 fight contract is up.

Before the Nogueira fight, he signed a new 28 month/6 fight deal.
Rumor has it, he could be pushed into a title fight with Machida, or possibly a number one conteder fight between him and the winner of Evans/Silva. I would prefer he at least get another fight in at LHW before Dana just gives him a title shot. I don't really care if they bump him to the top of the division, I just think he needs to readjust to the division first. I say this because I agree that he looked better in his last two fights at HW. He didn't look bad tonight. He fought his fight and dictated the pace. I just don't think he looked as good as he has.

NEWS UPDATE: It also now appears that Lesnar is pretty bad off and he probably won't be ready to fight by Jan 2nd either. They may have to make an interim championship while he is out.

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/White-No-Return-in-Sight-for-Ill-Lesnar-20949

ANOTHER UPDATE: Nogueira has pulled out of UFC 108 with (another) staph infection. This means that Velasquez will be without an opponent, again. No word yet on who could replace Nogueira, or if Velasquez will even still fight. Carwin's name was mentioned but he had decided to have knee surgury while waiting for Lesnar to get healthy.

This is gonna be a big weekend in MMA.

Friday, former World's Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowski makes his MMA debut for Poland's KSW 12 show. While it's not a huge fight for MMA, I am very interested to see how he will do.

Saturday, UFC 107:

Main Card
Lightweight Championship bout: B.J. Penn (c) vs. Diego Sanchez
Heavyweight bout: Frank Mir vs. Cheick Kongo
Welterweight bout: Jon Fitch vs. Mike Pierce
Lightweight bout: Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida
Heavyweight bout: Paul Buentello vs. Stefan Struve

Preliminary Card
Middleweight bout: Alan Belcher vs. Wilson Gouveia
Lightweight bout: Matt Wiman vs. Shane Nelson
Welterweight bout: Johny Hendricks vs. Ricardo Funch
Middleweight bout: Rousimar Palhares vs. Lucio Linhares
Welterweight bout: DaMarques Johnson vs. Edgar Garcia
Welterweight bout: Kevin Burns vs. TJ Grant

I will go ahead and make my main card predictions. Struve, Fitch, Kenflo, and my boys Mir and Sanchez. GO DIEGO!!!

I have to pick Diego because he is one of my favorite fighters. Logic tells me BJ is the favorite. But I think Diego does have a shot if he can control the pace of the fight. I don't think (hope) he isn't dumb enough to stand and strike with Penn. But I think his grappling is superior enough compared to Penn's that he can control the pace on the ground. He is very aggressive so hopefully, he can keep BJ on the defensive while on the ground. Plus, BJ Penn has been known to get gassed from time to time. So I'm hoping if Diego can keep a steady pace, he can wear him down. But, then again, Diego hasn't had a five round fight since he joined UFC. So I hope he doesn't wear himself out.

As for Mir, he used to be my favorite fighter. But he was talking so much garbage going into the Lesnar fight that it just left a bad taste in my mouth and made me feel that Lesnar's post fight comments were justified (other than the shot at the sponser, which was uncalled for). So I was actually rooting for Lesnar over Mir. I still like him, but his attitude has sucked lately.

Mariusz Pudzianowsk debut.

To me, he looked very green. But he is very explosive. But for me, it is hard go gauge how good he will be.

So, UFC 107 was both good and bad for me. I'm a fan of both Mir and Sanchez. So...yeah.

Diego did show a lot of heart. I really wish he would have mixed it up. He wasn't going to get that single leg and it became predictable that he was going to keep trying. Switch legs, go for a double leg, try a judo throw or a trip, try to slam him, etc. Even if he isn't successful, at least he is switching it up as to keep Penn guessing and not be so predictable.

I'm not bashing Diego for this because he was lucky he was still in it, but something that bothers me is when you have a guy, clearly behind on points, in MMA, boxing, etc, and rather than going for the win, they do enough to make it through to the end. Maybe its just me, but if a title was on the line, and you couldn't win a decision, wouldn't you throw caution to the wind and go slugfest on the guy? Its your only shot at a win. You have to do it. But a lot of guys don't. Is it a pride thing? Would they feel better going the distance rather than risk being KO'd/subbed in the last round? I don't get it. If you aren't going to push yourself when its all on the line, I'm sure there is somebody out there who would.

The Slice fight was a joke. But I blame Houston for it. Kimbo was clearly frustrated that Houston wasn't engaging. I actually admire Kimbo for remaining patient and not falling into the trap of rushing in. But the whole thing had the stink of two guys who had a "can't lose", rather than a "must win" mentallity if you get what I mean. Rather than concentrating on the glory of winning, they seemed afraid to lose, so they were extra cautious. Kimbo knew losing would probably be the end of him. Houston didn't want to be the guy who Kimbo beat to get in the door. But like I said, I blame it more on Houston than Kimbo.

I missed UFC 108. I am looking forward to 109. Even though I don't think Couture/Coleman should be a main event, I still want to see it. Plus there are plenty of good fighters on the card. I will also keep an eye on the Hague/Tuchscherer fight. Two HWs at the "make it or break it" points in their careers. Both have a good record. Both bouncing back from a loss. Both have potential, but haven't been tested by many quality fighters.