Dec 4, 2008 - 7:10:17 PM By: Jeremy Lieb, MMATorch Contributor
On Wednesday December 10th, we as MMA fans, get a treat...the free kind.
With 10 (yes TEN) matchups, with a nice chunk of them on Spike TV for FREE, what could be better? Perhaps the fact that it's three WHOLE HOURS of MMA fun. Or how about all of the proceeds going to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund? It's all there, on the 10th of December, and my thirst for action is looking to be quenched, without paying a penny. Now, on to the matchups:
Starting at the bottom of the card and working our way up, we have "The Manic Hispanic" Eddie Sanchez taking on "The Insane One" Justin McCully. What do you get when you mix a Manic with an Insane person? Well, besides two relatively dumb nicknames, you get a fighter who's lost to Antoni Hardonk, and a guy who's beaten him. Unfortunately for McCully (the guy who beat Hardonk), Sanchez can actually finish fights, and will most likely do so in this matchup. Knockout...or Stone Cold Stunner.
The problem is that with the exception of Hardonk's kickboxing skills, his ground game is ZERO. Why am I talking so much about a guy who's not even on the card? (Hint: look at the first sentence in this paragraph) If you get knocked out by a great fellow striker, there's no shame in it. HowEVER, if you consider yourself a great all around mixed martial artist, and you can't do more than hold that same fighter on the ground, your ship has sailed. This isn't to say that Justin McCully hasn't improved since his snoozefest against Hardonk...it's just that Sanchez probably has too. If you're betting on this fight, Sanchez should be as close to a sure thing as you may get on this card. Look for the ref stoppage by strikes...or Leg drop.
The next scheduled fight is Corey Hill versus Dale Hartt...and I'm not sure the audience could care less about this one. You have the tallest man to ever grace the lightweight division versus a guy who's almost certain to try and take him down for the sub. Will it happen? The last time I saw both of these fighters, they lost lackluster fights that experience would have helped them out of. So perhaps I'm wrong...it could be a better fight. This matchup is all about Hill keeping it standing, and Hartt looking for the takedown to equalize the 6 inch reach disadvantage. I expect Hill to win this one by the second round by strikes...or Frog-splash.
Coming up third is what most people may guess is a showcase fight for "Killa B" Ben Saunders of TUF fame, versus an unknown Brandon Wolff. Guess again. If the Wolff that's fighting is the same guy I found all over the internet, this one could shape up to be quite a showdown. Now assuming this IS the same Brandon Wolff, he's got a 7-2 record spanning a tour of Elite XC, WEC, and a mix of other companies. Oh, and he's got a 4 fight win streak currently intact. Will Big Ben be able to keep his undefeated streak in the UFC alive against the relatively unknown? Probably. BUT if this is the same Brandon Wolff that I found on YouTube, it's going to be a lot better that we all thought originally. Count on it. Oh, and count on Saunders to kick box and grapple his way to at least a win by decision...or Rock Bottom.
In next is a classic stand-up versus ground fight. Steve Bruno, fresh off losing his debut UFC fight, will most certainly look to stand and trade with Johnny Rees, a ground n' pound jiu-jitsu fighter who's also lost his debut UFC fight just under 5 months ago. Clearly, this is going to be a "who's going home" contest between the two, and THAT'S what is most likely going to make this a great potential match-up. And while I definitely respect Bruno's striking game, it's going to be hard to overcome Johnny "Sweep the leg" Rees' "take down and conquer" plan of attack. My prediction? A decision win by Rees...and not much else.
Now, onto fighters you've probably heard of. Luigi Fioravanti versus Brodie Farber. Now Luigi has had some great highlights, such as his clash with Jon Fitch, his knockout win over former welterweight champ Dave Menne, and his battle under short notice with Chris Leben when he first joined the UFC...all of his fights are entertaining, and who better for Luigi to face than a man who got knocked the F**K OUT in extremely entertaining fashion, the ex-logger, Brodie Farber? Yes, THAT Brodie Farber...the same man who was beginning to dominate Rory Markham in their fight in July, a mere second before Rory decided he didn't feel like losing this match, and almost kicked Farber's head off. This is not to discredit Farber, who is a great striker in his own right, but honestly, the advantage has GOT to go to Luigi here, in what will undoubtedly be a slug fest; and a great one at that. Luigi hits harder, and more importantly, has a proven chin...it takes a LOT to knock him out. My prediction? Luigi, by knockout, via fists...or Superkick.
Next up on the free fight bonanza, we were supposed to have "The Answer" Frankie Edgar against the newest highlight in the lightweight division, "More Handsome Than Thiago Tavares" Matt Wiman. Frankie Edgar is a stud, a great fighter, and unfortunately, as of December 2nd, injured and off the card. While I'm writing this, the injury is still undisclosed, but what IS disclosed is his replacement. That man is Jim Miller, fresh off of his victory at UFC 89 over David Baron. Frankie Edgar was going to be Wiman's toughest challenge yet. Instead, he'll be fighting a man who went the distance with Edgar in the Reality Fighting show back in '06, and is riding a 7 fight win streak with a 12-1 record. So, Miller might STILL be Wiman's biggest challenge yet instead. Miller is a submission artist while Wiman is a striker AND BJJ man. This should make for a great fight with my prediction going to Wiman winning by decision...or Walls of Jericho.
Coming in 7th on the card is TUF Season 7 standout Tim "my standup is hilarious looking" Credeur versus Nate "I'm the guy who beat Johnny Rees" Loughran. Look for this fight to remain standing for a short while, as both of these gentlemen have a great ground game. Credeur is a legitimate black belt in BJJ, but his standup is comical at best...or at least it was the last time we saw him. Then you have Loughran, who may not be AS good on the ground in the sub game, but will ground and pound you quickly if the opportunity arises. Look for Nasty Nate to win this one in the second round by strikes or rear naked choke...or by Tombstone Piledriver.
Third from last we have what I'd consider to most likely be a showcase fight for Steve "At least I beat Brian Stann's ass the 2nd time" Cantwell, when he faces some random fellow by the name of Razak Al-Hassan. I didn't find much on this fighter when I researched him, so this could either be an easy win for Cantwell, or better yet, a HUGE sleeper bet on Al-Hassan. How big? Imagine the money you could've made had you bet on Dos Santos over Werdum...yeah...not too shabby. So in essence, anything is possible here...but I'm going with the rule, and not the exception. I'll take Cantwell by TKO in the first round...from punches...or Cobra Clutch.
Alright...it's heating up. Our second to last matchup is with a guy I like to watch, and a journeyman who doesn't watch his hair. Mike Swick is the former, being an exciting fighter (with the exception of his sub-par performance against Josh Burkman) who has the ability to truly entertain the crowd. The latter is Jonathan Goulet, whose hair speaks for itself. Have you seen this thing? Apparently JG, Cabbage and Heath Herring all go to the same stylist...("Yeah, can you just cut it a little, and then completely go crazy with the colors and stuff?) On a more serious note, Goulet is a warrior; but with a 4-3 record in the UFC, along with a seriously suspect chin, this should be Swick's game. Then again, he's lost before...so who knows. If Swick goes "ballsies out", it's his fight to lose. My prediction is Mike "Quick" Swick by decision...or Choke Slam.
Are you ready for the main event? Josh Koscheck is; and after his loss by decision to "The Pitbull" back in October, he should be hungrier than usual. Standing in his way is Yoshiyuki Yoshida, or "Zenk" as his friends and mother-in-law like to refer to him. Yoshida is a Judo-beast, who buzz-sawed his way through TUF season 6 castmember Jon Koppenhaver like a knife through butter back in May at UFC 84. However, Koscheck, or "Jerky Bastard" like most people like to refer to him, is a wrestling machine, whose standup has vastly improved over the last couple years. This truly can be a standup war, but with Yoshida's judo skills, I highly doubt he'll let that happen for long. Look for Yoshida to attempt takedowns after Koshchek's standup holds him up, and then a bunch of annoying squirming around on the ground for an upper hand(did that come out wrong or WHAT?). Honestly, I don't know who to pick here. Koscheck is most definitely the odds on favorite, but 3 things tell me to bet on Yoshida.
1) I hate Josh Koscheck.
2) Skilled Judo fighters can seriously mess up the gameplan of wrestlers.
3) I hate Josh Koscheck.
There...that's a good set of facts to use in your betting arsenal, right? Honestly, this SHOULD be Koscheck's fight, and that's why if you ARE betting on this fight, you should be doing so for Yoshida...because not only will you see more in return, but if you bet on Koscheck and WIN, then at the end of the day, you still cheered for a bastard.
All in all, this card is shaping up to be a great free night of fights to catch on Spike TV; and with any luck, will raise the bar for future free cards that Dana White has the generosity of bestowing on us as MMA fans. Then again, it could just be opportunity to show us more video game commercials that never end...cuz CLEARLY, that's what we're watching for.
Oh, and sorry...just ran out of cake...Lesnar took the last piece.
-Jeremy Lieb
"Looking forward to Couture vs Liddell 63"
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