The Good Ji-Hoon Kim vs Yakubu Amidu – If there were no other fights this weekend I could’ve based this entire column on this past edition of ESPN2s Friday Night Fights alone. For now I’ll stick to the opening bout between FNF favorite Ji-Hoon Kim and Yakubu Amidu which was the first fight of this season that brought the excitement featured so often last year on Friday nights. After putting together a string of wins with entertaining performances Kim recently hit a rough patch losing back to back fights decisively to Miguel Vazquez and Lenny Zappavigna respectively. After a bounce back win over nondescript opposition Kim looked to get back on track against twice beaten Amidu. The contest looked intriguing on paper given the styles but fortunately for Kim, Amidu played right into his hands choosing to trade punch for punch for the majority of the bout. This benefited Kim who was the bigger and stronger of the two. Amidu was often off balance as well with his head straight up thus accentuating many of Kims punches. The 10 rounds were competitive but in the end the Korean fighter would earn a well deserved unanimous decision and remind FNF viewers of why he is a fan friendly fighter both for better and worse.   The Bad UFC on FOX 2 – UFC looked to improve on their debut on FOX with a three card bill that figured to go one of two ways, unfortunately based on the feedback of many fans it ended up being worst case scenario. The event as a whole was not terrible by any means as the preliminary bouts featured a few entertaining fights and some exciting finishes. However the fights shown on FOX themselves offered little to be excited about and no finishes as all three contests went to decision. [...]

  Chael Sonnen vs Michael Bisping – After a less than ideal debut the UFC makes it’s second appearance on FOX with a recently reshuffled card that on paper is more intriguing than the originally scheduled one. With Mark Munoz having dropped off due to injury Michael Bisping jumped at the opportunity to face Chael Sonnen in the co-main event with the winner guaranteed a shot at middleweight champ Anderson Silva. In a weeks time this matchup has already garnered more interest than the one it’s replacing as well as the main event between Rashad Evans and Phil Davis. This comes as no surprise as I mentioned in a previous article both Sonnen and Bisping are two of mixed martial arts more polarizing fighters. The stakes are high for both but a win for Sonnen could lead to one of, if not the biggest fight in the history of MMA. No pressure right?   916Chris’ pick – Like most I’m definitely more interested in thas fight than I was Sonnen/Munoz. That said I’m not sure it will be as competitive. Although Bisping only has one definitive loss inside the Octagon, against Chaels former teammate Dan Henderson no less, his resume isn’t exactly a who’s who of the sport. Sonnen on the other hand has been on a tear through some of the UFC middleweight divisions best the last couple years even in his loss to Anderson Silva. Opponents such as Silva, Yushin Okami, Nate Marquardt, and Brian Stann who have had full training camps to prepare for Chaels takedowns have had little success in stopping them which makes me skeptical a Bisping with little more than a weeks notice will be able to defend against them. I think Chael takes down the Brit at the start of each round and keeps him [...]

The Good UFC on FX – The UFC has been on a roll of late with their events and that continued Friday with their debut on the FX network. On paper the card didn’t look anything to get too excited about yet that is exactly what we got. The show got off to a blazing start as the first three preliminary bouts all ended in the opening round which if you add the last four fights from the previous event, UFC 142, saw 7 first round finishes in a row inside the octagon. Most memorable of the three was Nick Denis making a successful UFC debut knocking out Joseph Sandoval with standing elbow strikes to the head, a technique rarely seen used with such results in mixed martial arts. Things slowed down with Charlie Breneman grinding out a decision over Daniel Roberts but picked back up as Jorge Rivera was triumphant in his final fight stopping Eric Schaefer in the second round of their contest.   The momentum continued once the main card on FX began where Pat Barry after surviving two early submission attempts dropped Christian Morecraft with a sweeping left hook and subsequently finished his grounded opponent with four power punches putting Morecraft out. Next up bantamweights Mike Easton and octagon new comer Jared Papazian engaged in a back and forth three round scrap that saw numerous toe to toe exchanges. After 15 hard fought minutes from both Easton would have his hand raised via majority decision.   The final two fights of the night shared similar results as the victorious combatants would battle through early adversity only to turn the tables and finish their opposition all before the first round was complete. First Josh Neer survived a flash knockdown and later being hurt to the body by Duane Ludwig before getting the fight to the [...]

  Melvin Guillard vs Jim Miller – Coming off a tremendous event in Brazil the UFC will make it’s debut on FX this Friday night headlined by Melvin Guillard taking on Jim Miller. This is one of the few occasions I can recall where an event features two fighters coming off losses featured in the main event and while typically that might be frowned upon this match is an exception to the rule. Before each of their losses both Guillard and Miller were poised at a title shot in the lightweight division before being upset by Joe Lauzon and Ben Henderson respectively. In theory had they both won their previous outings them facing off would’ve been as likely as this scenario. As for the matchup, you have to assume the explosive Guillard will want to keep it standing where he is one of the fastest and most powerful punchers at 155 pounds. Miller is an above average wrestler and grappler and being as the ground has often been Melvins kryptonite I imagine he’ll be looking to take it to the mat asap. Who has the advantage, hard to say but we shall attempt to anyhow.   916Chris’ pick – You would think with Guillard having struggled in the past with grapplers and coming off a loss to an opponent who may not be as good as the one he’s facing here Miller would be the smart bet. Well, nobody has ever confused me for class valedictorian. If Melvin can keep it together, which is no sure thing, I think he can box up Miller and possibly stop him. That said, if Miller gets him to the ground Guillard will likely to go into panic mode before getting choked out. For better or worse I’m going with the outcome I’d prefer to see, Guillard by [...]