Strikeforce Feijao TKOs King Mo

Posted on 22. Aug, 2010 by moneybags.

King Mo was defeated via TKO after first being caught with a nice series of offense from the Brazilian. First Mo drove Feijao into the cage and followed with a great body shot. Feijao has the Thai clinch and delivers two knees to Mo’s head. The first one misses, the second one staggers Mo. He stumbles backwards and Feijao grazes Mo’s chin with a reaching hook. It was probably more of a stumble, but Mo was rocked badly. Feijao follows with rabbit punches that keep Mo dazed, but the wrestler goes to what he knows and secures a single leg and pushes Feijao to the cage. Feijao kicks his hips out with Mo leaning on Feijao all the while Feijao is dropping hammerfists and now moves to elbows to the side of Mo’s noggin. Mo is doing nothing and then his arm goes limp. Big John McCarthy stops the fight in the second round.

Other fight recaps:

Tim Kennedy got robbed against Jacare Souza (in my opinion), but it was a razor close fight. However, Kennedy did the most variety of things.

George Gurgel got manhandled by KJ Noons and was KOd.

Bobby Lashley was beat by Chad Griggs in a 2nd round TKO. Very similar fight in the King Mo Fejao fight. Both guys were beaten while attempting and leaning in for a double leg while getting hammer fisted and elbowed from above. Weird.

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Fedor Emelianenko vs Fabricio Werdum Predictions

Posted on 21. Jun, 2010 by moneybags.

Strikeforce Emelianenko vs Werdum takes place Saturday, June 26th, live on Showtime at 10:00 PM EST.

Fedor Emelianenko vs Fabricio Werdum

Currently the odds show Fedor as a -800 favorite and Werdum as a +500 underdog.
Fedor’s record is 31-1 and his one loss is controversial. Fedor is arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the world and is ranked as the number one fighter in the world today.

We saw what Dos Santos did to Werdum. Fedor has similar big punching power and Werdum’s chin is suspect. Could Werdum possess the skills to defeat Fedor? He does. In Fedor’s fight with Nogueira he basically dominated. Nog has shown to be a much tougher fighter in terms of ability to take damage then Werdum has. So its a mild comparison, but the best comparison due to very highly regarded heavyweight jiu-jitsu ability and above average stand up strikers.

My final on this match is that Fedor’s power is too much for Werdum and his ability to avoid getting into submissions really reduces Werdum’s advantage like he did against his fight against Nog.

Bodog has Fedor at -800 and Werdum at +500
If you want to bet Fedor, Intertops has Fedor at -667 and Werdum at +450

Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos vs Jan Finney

Cyborg has a record of (9-1) in her fights and is a major favorite against Jan Finney who has a record of (8-7). The odds for this fight have Cyborg favored at -2500 and Finney a big underdog at +1200.

This is worth avoiding, but Cyborg will win. She is just too good and there is maybe 1 other fighter out there who even stands a chance of putting up a good fight.

Cung Le vs Scott Smith

Cung Le recently fought Scott Smith and was soundly winning the fight before he was caught with one punch from Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith that put Le on queer street. The odds for this fight have Cung Le who has a record of (6-1) with the lone loss to Smith at -400. Scott Smith who has a record of (17-6), a win over Cung Le already is the underdog at +260.

Cung Le was literally man handling Scott Smith in their fight with all kinds of kicks and punches including spinning backfists and spinning kicks. It was when Cung due to being out of shape and ring rust that he was hit with one left hook that wobbled Le, then Smith hit Le with another left that put him on the canvas. Then Smith followed with punches on the ground and Big John McCarthy stopped the fight.

In this fight Cung Le will have better conditioning and thus will be able to last for that last 2-3 minutes in the 3rd round.

Intertops has Cung Le at -333 and Scott Smith at +250

Josh Thomson vs Pat Healy

(16-3) -500 (23-15) +360
This is a really intriguing matchup as Pat Healy is a real dog of a fighter with a record of 23-15. Fighters tend to have problems with Healy’s wrestling and top control and just the constant pressure he puts on people. My personal opinion of Healy is that he is an extremely underrated fighter who has lost at key moments that have caused setbacks in terms of becoming a more popular fighter. Thompson is the better striker and is good at getting up from the ground, but due to injuries a year or so ago, is conditioning has suffered or appear to have suffered. Healy on the other hand is hungry and with being a severe underdog, I have no problems at all taking Pat Healy here on the winning side. Could Josh Thomson win via decision? Sure. Can he win via TKO? I don’t think so.

I’m taking Pat Healy here. Intertops has Healy at +300

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Strikeforce Los Angeles June 16th Predictions

Posted on 14. Jun, 2010 by moneybags.

Robbie Lawler vs Renato “BABALU” Sobral

Robbie Lawler is fighting Babalu at a catch weight of 195. I think this fight is favored for Sobral at the heavier weight as Sobral is dropping down.

Lawler known for his heavy hands and Sobral is known for being an ace on the ground. We haven’t seen anyone test Lawler’s ground game aside from Jason Miller years ago.

I lean towards Sobral because Sobral is good on his feet (good enough) and if it gets on the ground I think its fight over for Lawler.

MARIUS ZAROMSKIS vs EVANGELISTA CYBORG

I don’t see how Zaromskis loses this fight.

TREVOR PRANGLEY vs TIM KENNEDY

This is a cool fight actually. Prangley is a tough fighter who basically runs drawn out battles to a decision. However, Tim Kennedy, in my opinion is one of the most underrated fighters in all of mma. I’m not saying he is top ten, but he is right up there with some of the biggest names in terms of ability. He is a very smart fighter that has exceptional wrestling, takedowns, and submissions.

I expect Kennedy to win this fight.

KJ NOONS VS CONOR HUEN

I’m not really familiar with Huen, but I’ve checked his fight list. I lean towards the more powerful, explosive Noons here. How do I know that Huen is not explosive? All I know as that hes not going to be more explosive than Noons.

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Arlovski Couldn’t Figure Out Bigfoot

Posted on 15. May, 2010 by moneybags.

Andrei Arlovski could not get anything together against Antonio Silva. Silva’s reach seemed to be a problem for Arlovski.

Arlovski kept his hands low and his chin absorbed a lot of punches on the feet. Although lasting all 3 rounds, Silva, was too much body, too much reach. Arlovski looked timid and the fact that he couldn’t connect, really has me questioning if he still wants to do this.

Its not like Silva is even that amazing on his feet, however in this fight he did look good. Certainly, Silva is not known for his hands though.

Overall I thought the card was pretty weak. You don’t hear me say that often.

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Brett Rogers Pounded Out By Overeem

Posted on 15. May, 2010 by moneybags.

From what I could tell, Rogers beat himself before the fight started. He was backing up the whole time. It looked like the adrenaline dump hit him early, he couldn’t keep his hands up 25 seconds in.

That is not the reason he got beat though. Overeem is just better.

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Strikeforce Heavy Artillery Undercard

Posted on 11. May, 2010 by moneybags.

ANDREI ARLOVSKI vs ANTONIO SILVA

Firstly there are way too many “The Pitbull’s” in mma, but Arlovski has been with that nickname for years going way back in the UFC. This is not an easy fight for Arlovski at all. I almost am displeased with myself if I pick Arlovski. He has a wealth of talent and is certainly the more skilled striker in this fight. I think Arlovski boxes his way to a decision victory.

“JACARE” SOUZA vs JOEY VILLASENOR

Hard not to pick Jacare here. Villasenor on his feet will beat Jacare, but on the ground this fight is likely to end in the 2nd via sub. I think that is where Jacare wins it.

ROGER GRACIE vs KEVIN RANDLEMAN

Avoid.

ANTWAIN BRITT vs RAFAEL “FEIJAO”

Not familiar with Britt. “Feijao” is a beast though.

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Strikeforce Overeem vs Rogers

Posted on 11. May, 2010 by moneybags.

Alistair Overeem vs Brett Rogers

I think the guys on Inside MMA said it best. The early part of the fight puts the advantage into Alistair’s hands due to his strength, experience, and overall skill. However, remember his fight against Badr Hari in K-1?

This is how I see this fight going. Brett Rogers is absolutely no joke when it comes to his stand up. He KO’d a technically superior Andrei Arlovski, cut and gave fits to Fedor in the first round of their fight, and just has that “reach out and knock you out power.” He is one of the few that have that even in the heavy weight division. Probably, Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem, Shane Carwin, possibly Roy Nelson, and of course Rogers are the few heavy weights that have that 1 punch lights out cold, big ass arm power.

The difference between Overeem and Rogers is that the stand up of Rogers is probably better. However, Overeem can win more ways. His knees, kicks, and hooks are excellent. However, as the fight goes even into the late 1st round, he will likely be defending more than striking. The winner of this fight will have the best cardio not the best striking.

If Overeem fights against superior strikers he usually loses. He lost to Chuck Lidell, Little Nog twice, Shogun Rua twice. However, he beat Paul Buentello. Buentello though barely makes the heavyweight division. He was overpowered into the cage and frankly Overeem fought a smart fight.

Rogers is arguably one of more powerful fighters Overeem has fought against. A smart fight for Overeem would probably be to take Rogers down.

I don’t think it happens. I like Rogers in an upset.

No line yet.

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Strikeforce Nashville

Posted on 14. Apr, 2010 by moneybags.

Main Card

DAN HENDERSON VS JAKE SHIELDS
The main card features newly acquired UFC fighter, Dan Henderson vs the middle weight champion Jake Shields. An interesting talking point is that this fight is being fought at a disadvantageous weight for Shields and an advantage for Dan Henderson. So its technically not a middleweight fight, but its for the middleweight belt. Its also Shields last fight on his contract. Also Dana White has been vocal about acquiring Jake Shields to the UFC. Moreover, Jake Shields can be seen on the latest Ultimate Fighter series as one of Chuck Lidell’s assistant coaches.

This ingredient list makes for a very nice play on Henderson. The odds likely won’t be too in favor of one or the other. The likelihood of Dan Henderson winning, imo, is high just based on the mental aspect and Shields head is probably not going to be in this fight. Expect Dana White to be calling Shields right after the fight.

My pick is Henderson to win.

GEGARD MOUSASI VS MUHAMMED “KING MO” LAWAL
This is going to be a great fight. Two reasons: Gegard has been tearing people up and so has King Mo. Mo is a wrestler with ground and pound and bomb throwing standup, while Mousasi is a K-1 level striker who has taken out the likes of Jacare, Denis Kang, Renato Sobral, Melvin Manhoef, Gary Goodridge, & Sokoudjou.

If you look at the ways these two guys can win, you have to give the edge to Mousasi. Lawal will give anyone trouble with his speed. However, the technique outside of his wrestling ability is subpar. The experience edge definitely goes to Mousasi.

At -250 I like Mousasi. Expect Mousasi to be fighting off his back though much more than we have seen him lately.

GILBERT MELENDEZ VS SHINYA AOKI
Gilbert Melendez is kind of like Lawal in that he is a great wrestler with a huge gas tank and will just wear you down and beat you up. Aoki though is a surgeon. He will be looking for submissions the whole time. Gilbert’s game plays into Aoki’s hands, however, Melendez trains with some top notch jiu-jitsu guys so I’m not sure Aoki is going to be able to catch Melendez. The oddsmakers see it this way as well and have Melendez as a -155 favorite.

My best estimate is that this fight goes the distance and Melendez wins via decision because he will be the busier and more damaging fighter. I would love to see Aoki pull off the sub, but its not likely to happen.

Melendez will win.

Undercard

JASON MILLER VS TIM STOUT
Miller is way favored here. Don’t touch it, but Miller will win.

CHRIS HAWK VS OVINCE ST. PREAUX
DUSTIN WEST VS ANDY UHRICH
JOSH SHOCKMAN VS CALE YARBROUGH
ZACH UNDERWOOD VS HUNTER WORSHAM
DUSTIN ORTIZ VS JUSTIN PENNINGTON
CODY FLOYD VS THOMAS CAMPBELL

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Strikeforce Miami Diaz vs Zaromskis

Posted on 23. Jan, 2010 by moneybags.

Nick Diaz VS Marius Zaromskis

Nick Diaz hasn’t faced a striker like Zaromskis before. Maybe Gomi in his hey day, but the intensity that Zaromskis brings is like Diego Sanchez mixed with a K-1 striker mixed with BJ Penn’s accuracy and this looks like it could be a Zaromskis victory.

Zaromskis is a pressing fighter, but so is Nick. Marius hasn’t really fought a fighter like Nick yet who throws alot of punches, keeps attacking, and strikes from all kinds of angles.

Zaromskis is good, really really good, but he hasn’t been ground tested, and he hasn’t had his cardio tested in a fight the way Diaz is going push it.

Nick Diaz is favored -210 @ Bodog and am PSYCHED for this fight.

Cristiane Cyborg Santos vs Marloes Coenen

Coenen is a very experienced fighter, but you have never heard of her before because Women’s MMA is not a well known subject in North America yet. Coenen has fought over 20 fights to Santos 9. Coenen is a very cerebral fighter who has a great ground game and a very good striking game as well. This will be the biggest stage Marloes Coenen has fought on. Santos can bring tremendous power, speed, accuracy, and technique. Coenen also has technique, speed, accuracy, but lacks power in comparison. We haven’t seen Santos ground game tested, but based on who she is training with, you have to think its right up there.

If Santos is power, Coenen is finesse. This should be a good fight.

Intertops has Santos @ -556 and Coenen @ +350, because of the odds, I like Marloes Coenen

Robbie Lawler vs Melvin Manhoef

If Lawler is smart, he will get Manhoef to the ground and utilize all those wrestling skills he has acquired over the years and put Manhoef away. If Lawler decides to swing his cock with Manhoef, I think Robbie will get knocked out. Manhoef is a dangerous puncher and has fought at the K-1 level of striking. This means Manhoef will typically be able to put combinations together that the usual MMA fighter is just not used to doing. Especially American MMA fighters who are traditionally more wrestling minded, which Robbie is.

I just can’t decide if Lawler is going to do the smart or stupid strategy. Now that I think about it though. Robbie isn’t exactly Mr. Submission, so that leaves Manhoef a little more wiggle room in the “not worried about being submitted” department. Add that up with the chance of Lawler wanting to test hands with Manhoef, Lawler not really ever facing a guy who can kick like Manhoef, and you get advantage Manhoef.

Manhoef is favored @ Bodog -200 and that is where I lean

Hershel Walker vs Greg Nagy

Hershel Walker is favored -500 @ Bodog, but I’m avoiding.

Bobby Lashley vs Wes Sims

The fight has been announced. Even though Wes Sims is extremely experienced, Bobby Lashley presents that Brock Lesnar type size difference and wrestling ability that will give any fighter problems. However, this is Wes Sims, extra tall, extra susceptible to being taken down.

Lashley should pound out either an exciting first round finish, or if Sims is prepared a Lashley wins a boring 3 round decision.

Either way I like Lashley to win, but the odds @ -1100 makes this fight totally unavoidable for me. However, Bodog does have odds on this fight if you like it.

Undercard:

Jay Hieron vs Joe Riggs

Very tough fight to call here. As their skillset is very similar. Both can KO people on their feet and both do well in the GNP. However, both are not great off their back, or at least they used to not be.

This fight brings together two former UFC fighters from the mid 2000 era now who have had to fight outside the UFC after being cut, but now in the number two organization. These guys have probably been through alot emotionally in terms of the business end of MMA. This fight is probably going to be an emotional one and wouldn’t be surprised to see either fighter crying at the end of it.

Riggs likes to be everywhere except on his back. He has had major back problems in the past, but it appears from his recent fight streak he has that mended. Heiron has really had a nice fight win streak going carried over from his days in the IFL.

Due to Hieron’s wrestling ability I can see him taking Riggs down and controlling the fight.

Bodog has Hieron @ -325

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Strikeforce Evolution Predictions

Posted on 15. Dec, 2009 by moneybags.

CUNG LE (6-0) vs SCOTT SMITH (17-6)

One of the most dynamic strikers in MMA is Cung Le. I’ve mentioned previously about the way Le uses momentum of the opponent against themselves when talking about Jon Jones, Cung probably does it the best. Then you combine the ability to deliver huge devastating kicks, like mule kicks, windmill kicks, and actually land them, gives Cung a huge striking advantage over Scott Smith. I’m a huge fan of Scott Smith because he has been in some of the most exciting finishes of all time. Being a martial artist myself, I used to watch almost anything on ESPN that was martial arts related. Cung Le used to be in the Sanda tournaments and always won – 17-0 in fact. San Shou martial art has an emphasis on throws and putting taking the opponent down, however, not the traditional way such as a wrestler’s takedown. The way they do it is trips, sweeps, and striking an opponent when they are at off balance points. Fighters don’t have someone like this to train with and is why MMA fighters have trouble with Cung Le. Smith will have trouble as well.

Cung is too much in the striking department in terms of variety, too much cardio, too much in the judo/sansho department. Smith doesn’t take anyone down. So in terms of how a fighter can score points Cung Le wins that possibility hands down. If you incorporate KO ability they both have it, but Smith is likely to have more one punch KO power.

Bottomline: Cung Le will win.

JOSH THOMSON (16-2) VS GILBERT MELENDEZ (16-2) – LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

These buddies meet again after they have each won one fight with Thomson winning the last meeting. It actually wasn’t even close the last time they fought. Thomson has been out with another injury. I lean towards Thomson again, but this one is very close, because you never know if Thomson’s injury is fully healed.

I would avoid.

RONALDO “JACARE” SOUZA (10-2) VS MATT “THE LAW” LINDLAND (21-6)

Should be a good match. Souza is a great grappler and so is Lindland. Neither is a particularly good striker on the feet. Expecting this to go to a decision.

As far as grappling matches go, I would lean towards Souza to win.

MUHAMMED “KING MO” LAWAL (5-0) VS “IRON” MIKE WHITEHEAD

Whitehead has improved tremendously in his last few fights that I’ve seen, however, Lawal will be way too dynamic.

I like “King Mo” to win

“RUTHLESS” ROBBIE LAWLER (16-5) VS TREVOR PRANGLEY Undetermined Opponent

This will be updated as soon as we know who the opponent is.

Under Card

ANTWAIN “THE JUGGERNAUT” BRITT (9-3) VS SCOTT LIGHTY (5-0)
Scott Lighty is a beast. I’m picking Lighty.

BRYAN TRAVERS (13-1) VS DAISUKE NAKAMURA (20-11)

If you ever want to see a fighter who is an armbar and kumura specialist, its Nakamura. Many American fighters haven’t fought against someone like this yet. Good to see Nakamura state side. There is a chance Nakamura could lose this on points since submission attempts aren’t scored like they are in Japan. However, I think Travers hasn’t faced someone of Nakamura’s ability and therefore Nakamura will be able to catch Travers in one of his patented subs.

Nakamura via submission in the second.

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