The Good UFC 144 – UFCs return to Japan was a successful one featuring an entertaining night of fights and a couple memorable moments. Things started out with a bang as Issei Tamura knocked out Tiequan Zhang in the second round of the opening bout. Despite being out of the cage for a year Riki Fukuda showed no rust as he beat up Steve Cantwell over three rounds to win a decision. Kid Yamamoto was one of the more popular fighters to the crowd in attendance but that couldn’t help him get a win and dropping to 0 and 3 in the UFC. Kid hurt opponent Vaughan Lee but was unable to put him away and was stunned later in the round himself. A dazed Yamamoto took Lee down only to be caught in a triangle choke which Lee transitioned to an arm bar to get the submission. Another one of the crowd favorites Takanori Gomi barely survived a reverse triangle from Eiji Mitsuoka at the end of the first round to come back and stop Mitsuoka with strikes in the second round igniting the fans.   Anthony “Showtime” Pettis exemplified his nickname after dropping Joe Lauzon with a headkick and finishing him with a few punches in the opening round of the first bout on the pay per view. With the impressive win Pettis may very well earned himself a shot at the lightweight championship. Hatsu Hioki cruised to a ground oriented decision over Bart Palaszewski to put himself in line to face featherweight champ Jose Aldo next though he says he’d prefer a couple more fights first. Next up was the most surprising moment of the night as after getting dominated for the first two rounds by Yushin Okami, Tim Boetsch came out for the third throwing everything [...]

  Marcos Maidana vs Devon Alexander – This weekend offers us a contrast in styles as Marcos Maidana squares off with Devon Alexander in contest between two of the junior welterweights best. Maidana is a balls to the wall slugger who has shown the ability to put opponents in danger both early and late in fights. Alexander on the other hand is a slick and savvy boxer who’s had his share of ups and downs in the past year inside the ring. Maidanas last high profile bout was one in which he barely got by Erik Morales with a split decision in a fight many thought he’d win with relative ease. For his part after a disasterous unification bout with Timothy Bradley that saw him lose his titlle via technical decision, Alexander rebounded with a disputed split decision win over Lucas Matthysse in his home state of Missouri, where this match is taking place. Can Maidana get the victory that many feel his fellow countryman deserved or will Alexander pick up a big win on his way back to the top of the 140 pound division?   916Chris’ pick – This is one of those fights where I need to think logically and seperate who I think is going to win from who I’d like to see get the victory. Truth be told I’m not a big fan of one nor do I dislike the other but based on recent history it’s alot easier for myself to root for Maidana in this instance given some of the debatable results in Alexanders recent bouts along with that whole Bradley debacle. Devon is a good technical fighter yet his style doesn’t necessarily translate into entertaining viewing. That said it’s hard not to favor Alexander in this one being as he is the [...]

The Good Jake Ellenberger vs Diego Sanchez – Wednesday night Jake Ellenberger and Diego Sanchez went to battle in the UFCs debut event on FUEL TV and ultimately left the cage with possibly more questions than answers. Fighting in front of his hometown fans in Omaha, Nebraska it seemed early on as if would be an easy night for Ellenberger as he battered Sanchez around the cage knocking him down and damaging his nose at the end of the first round. The second round saw more of the same as Diego could not get any offense going while Jake controlled the stand up and after taking Sanchez down dropped some punishing elbows. The third round began like the previous two with Ellenberger getting the better of the exchanges until Diego was able to land some strikes of his own and bloody Jakes face. With the fight nearing an end Sanchez was able to get Ellenberger to the gound end secure his back alternating between strikes and rear naked choke attempts in effort to finish his foe. Unfortunately for Diego time was not on his side as Jake was able to escape and get back to his feet and throw a few final punches as the contest closed. Ellenberger would be awarded a unanimous decision based on his effort in the first two rounds but everyone was left wondering what may have taken place if the fight had been scheduled for 5 rounds.   First round finishes – Unless you’re on the recieving end of one everybody enjoys a finish in a fight and this past week saw a few memorable ones, in the opening round no less. First up was former Ultimate Fighter winner Jonathan Brookins knocking out Vagner Rocha with a handful of punches. This was notable as coming into the bout Brookins [...]

  Diego Sanchez vs Jake Ellenberger – I know, you’re thinking it’s a bit early in the week for predictions but being as UFC on Fuel TV takes place on Wednesday it must be done. Much like past UFC on Versus and Spike TV as well as current UFC on FX cards this event is not loaded with big names but could still be entertaining highlighted by the main event between Diego Sanchez and Jake Ellenberger. Last we saw Diego he was winning a unanimous, if not controversial decision over Martin Kampmann in a war 11 months ago. During his abscence from the octagon he dealt with a hand injury along with other distractions in his personal life, however he says things are better now and he is ready for this fight physically and just as important mentally. On the other side, after a debatable decision loss by split decision in his UFC debut to Carlos Condit, “The Juggernaut” has reeled off five sraight wins. In his previous bout Ellenberger scored the biggest win of his career stopping Jake Shields in a mere 53 seconds. With another impressive win here Ellenberger can establish himself at the top end of title challengers at welterweight while a victory for Sanchez will  reestablish his name in the division and with fans whom are skeptical of his prospects at this stage.   916Chris’ pick – First off I have to say this prediction would be harder to decide if UFC would stick to some consistency in regards to the length of their main events. Awhile back they announced all main events would be 5 round fights but as with Jim Miller vs Melvin Guillard as well as this bout that’s obviously not the case which is too bad for Sanchez. Diego is one of a handful of fighters [...]

The Ugly Joel Casimero vs Luis Lazarte – Like most other boxing fans I didn’t see this fight as it took place but was made aware of it’s aftermath not long after it’s conclusion. A brief synopsis is Filipino boxer Joel Casimero got a tenth round stoppage against local Argentine fighter Luis Lazarte when the referee stepped in and stopped the bout. Immediately after some of the fans in attendance attacked Casimero and his team in an unruly and deplorable display. They say a picture is worth a thousand words but fortunately in this day and age we have video which the following of speaks for itself.   The Bad Demetrius Andrade vs Angel Hernandez – I’ve noted previously how this season of ESPN2s Friday Night Fights has gotten off to a slow start and this past weekends main event between Demetrius Andrade and Angel Hernandez was another example of why. Granted the knockout itself by Andrade was visually impressive but considring the opposition such was expected. Andrades original opponent pulled out of the fight as was his replacement allowing for Hernandez to step in on short notice. Angel was coming in off 3 straight losses and his last win in 2009 was against an equally spent Antwun Echols yet after passing a series of tests he was cleared to compete. As soon as the bout started it was clear Hernandez had no business being in the ring let alone against an undefeated talent like Andrade. Demetrius would drop Hernandez twice in the second round prompting referee Steve Smoger to end the contest. This was a fight that should not have been allowed to take place, in particularly as a televised main event but such is the business of boxing.   The Good N/A – For those unfamiliar N/A stands for [...]