UFC® 97: Redemption - Saturday, April 18, live on Pay-Per-View from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. There are some fantastic match-ups here. We all know that the ‘Spider’ will probably win. Hope Cuck can come back. The MacDonald/Quarry fight should be great. The ‘Crow’ & Ed herman – awesome. Sam Stout & Matt Wiman will be guaranteed entertainment. Anderson Silva v Thales Leites Chuck Liddell v Mauricio Rua Krzysztof Soszynski v Brian Stann Cheick Kongo v Antoni Hardonk Steve Cantwell v Luiz Cane Eliot Marshall v Vinicius Magalhaes Denis Kang v Xavier Foupa-Pokam Jason MacDonald v Nate Quarry David Loiseau v Ed Herman Mark Bocek v David Bielkheden Ryo Chonan v TJ Gran Sam Stout v Matt Wiman Thanks, Tom
Anderson Silva v Thales Leites Chuck Liddell v Mauricio Rua Cheick Kongo v Antoni Hardonk Eliot Marshall v Vinicius Magalhaes Denis Kang v Xavier Foupa-Pokam Sam Stout v Matt Wiman SHould be a good event. I often wonder how easy it would be to make alot of money off betting on UFC events. If you researcehd the fighters and know about the sport it's normally quite easy to guess who is going to win. I'm not sure about the chuck shogun fight. It all depends if shogun had sorted his cardio out or not. I only put who I thought would win on the fighters that I know about.
I hope Anderson Silva and Cheick win. I'm not really a Liddell or Rua fan really. Watching Silva fight is always a highlight for me.
Had a friend remark the other day that he can't get excited about seeing Silva fight these days, because he can't believe he'll ever lose. He's probably right in this case. I think Leites has the ground skills to challenge Silva, but he'll get murdered before it gets that far. I think Chuck stands a good chance of beating Shogun. Shogun uses a wide-open, aggressive striking style that leaves him open for counters. He's never been KO'd before, but Chuck is the kind of guy that gives people their first KO loss. Rua has stated that he wants to take the fight to the ground (good luck), and Chuck has been training with ATT's boxing coach. Could be a really exciting fight. Other picks: Kongo-simply a better striker, plus he's started to work on his TD's and GNP Stann-Krzyzstof has more experience, I think, but Stann's a KO artist, and I can't go against a Marine. Cane-better record, little more experience MacDonald-I just don't think Quarry is that good. Kang-unless he pulls a Kang again. Marshal-just 'cause I know who he is Loiseau-here's hoping the Crow is back. Good match-up, though. Chonan-karate guy who's awkward for others to fight Wiman-he's more well-rounded. Bielkenhaden-another good match-up, but I just think he's better.
I like watching Vinicius Magalhaes fight. You know the second it hits the ground a submission will be happening in about 30 seconds and hopefully he will have improved his stand up and take downs.
Anderson Silva v Thales Leites Obvious choice, altho I think Leites will give him a lot of trouble on the ground. Travis Lutter managed to take Silva down but got done by triangle. Leites wouldnt make the same mistake I think Chuck Liddell v Mauricio Rua I really want to say Chuck, as I've (and the rest of MMA fans,hopefully) been screaming to finally change up his style. He's been training at ATT...but if Rua has finally got his act together then I think he'll take it. Krzysztof Soszynski v Brian Stann More of a toss up between the 2. I just like Krzystof. Cheick Kongo v Antoni Hardonk Another hard one to pick over, but Kongo is simply a beast. Wonder if he's still angry that he aint got a title shot yet? Anyone remember the "They're wasting my time" speech? Steve Cantwell v Luiz Cane I really havent seen much of Cantwell apart from a couple of WEC fights. Elliot Marshall v Vinicius Magalhaes As long as Elliot doesnt do anything stupid, like taking it to the ground. Denis Kang v Xavier Foupa-Pokam I'm still suprised with Kang's last fight. Hopefully he's gotten back in gear. Jason MacDonald v Nate Quarry I really dont rate MacDonald at all. Not even as a Gatekeeper, but he has shown he's dangerous and seems to jinx TUF alumnis'. David Loiseau v Ed Herman Once again if Loiseau gets back to his old self then he should take it. Ed unfortunatly hasnt had a good run so far. Mark Bocek v David Bielkheden Ryo Chonan v TJ Gran Unfortunatly I dont think I know TJ Gran, but I always choose Chonan anyway Sam Stout v Matt Wiman First connect wins. I think most of these actually might go to decisions. Kongo/Hardonk is gonna be a stand up war, which actually is the only fight I'm really looking forward to. (and Ryo Chonan)
They make it seem so much cooler: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PoMkM36Qwo"]YouTube - Time For War - Chuck Liddell vs. Mauricio Rua[/ame] On the preview last night, it looked like Shogun was really working his conditioning, and that Chuck was working on his boxing defense. If they've both taken this fight seriously, it could be, well, a war.