Just a quick post for my predictions for the main card tonight;
JARDINE vs PRANGLEY: Jardine, dec.
SOKOUDJOU vs ALEXANDER: Sokoudjou, tko, r1
DALEY vs MASVIDAL: Daley, tko, r1
VILLASENOR vs VILLEFORT: Villasenor, dec.
LARSON vs SAFFIEDINE: Larson, dec.
Ok, sadly I’ve left it a bit late and haven’t time to write up a full prediction for each fight this time, but here’s my picks:
LW CHAMPIONSHIP: FRANKIE EDGAR (C) vs BJ PENN
Edgar’s only chance is to, once again, use his speed to pick at Penn for a decision and avoid Penn’s tricky counter strikes. But Penn isn’t going to take it easy this time; he’s gonna go for the clince, get Edgar down and;
PENN, Sub, R2
RANDY COUTURE vs JAMES TONEY
If Randy has ANY ego in this and tries to stand with Toney; he’ll be out cold before he’s raised his hands. If Randy comes in like an MMA fighter, he’ll take him down and make him squeal;
COUTURE, sub, R1
DEMIAN MAIA vs MARIO MIRANDA
Maia, sub, R1
KENNY FLORIAN vs GRAY MAYNARD
Florian, sub, R3 OR Dec.
NATE DIAZ vs MARCUS DAVIS
Diaz, sub, R2
JOE LAUZON vs GABE RUEDIGER
LAUZON, sub, R1
ANDRE WINNER vs NICK LENTZ
Winner, tko, R2
JOHN SALTER vs DAN MILLER
MILLER, dec.
NICK OSIPCZAK vs GREG SOTO
Osipczak, tko, R2
MIKE PIERCE vs AMILCAR ALVES
Pierce, dec.
Ok, so this coming weekend sees Anderson Silva defend his title (and his record undefeated UFC title streak) against Politician/ Real Estate Broker/ Mouth; Chael Sonnen.
Here’s my thoughts…
ANDERSON SILVA vs CHAEL SONNEN
Silva seems to struggle against good wrestlers; Dan Henderson and Travis Lutter both controlled him until they gassed, and Sonnen is a better wrestler than both of them. Not only is he a better wrestler; he’s got great conditioning. His workrate is well known and this should be his best shot; take Silva down and control him with superior positioning (side control/ full or rear mount if possible) and GNP.
Silva’s best shot (obviously) is to keep it standing, and if he does; he’ll put Chael away without breaking a sweat. Silva HAS got some skills on the ground (he’s a blackbelt in BJJ under the Noguiera brothers) and, with his long legs and the likelihood of a double leg takedown landing Chael in Silva’s guard; a triangle choke (which Demian Maia subbed Chael with) is a possibility.
Chael’s work rate may also prove his undoing here, we’ve seen him handle a high work rate in 3 rounders…but with this being a title fight, Chael may not realise just how long 5 rounds are at his pace, and if he gasses; he may come unstuck.
Silva has also been told by Dana, in no uncertain terms, if he acts like he did against Demian Maia again; he’ll be fired. No arguements. So we may see a top form silva, like we saw against Leben, Forrest and Franklin (twice), a top form Silva is largely believed to be the best p4p fighter in the game.
Having said all this, however; I’m going to pick the underdog here; Chael Sonnen by dec. I just think Sonnen’s strengths (which are Silva’s weaknesses) and the fact Sonnen HAS to have prepared for this (the most important fight of his life) could just surprise everyone.
JON FITCH vs THIAGO ALVES
In a rematch from their UFN 5 fight (which Fitch won by tko) there are a few pertinent questions.
Alves has had well publicised health problems lately, and as a result hasn’t fought now in over a year. There is a chance his confidence may be shakey from the injury and the fact he hasn’t fought since AND is coming off a loss in his last fight against GSP at UFC 100.
Fitch has been active during the last 12 months, having fought 3 times since Alves last fought.
Alves’ keys to victory will be his far superior stand-up (and ko power) and his BJJ ability (despite being taken down last time, he was actively looking for subs and had Fitch in trouble a couple of times early on), Fitch is also notoriously slow and that should enable an on form Alves to control the distance.
Fitch will be looking, naturally, for the takedown and control where he can lie on top of Alves and try to pin him down for a decision.
If Alves is on form; I see him stopping Fitch in R3, after Fitch wears himself out. If not; Fitch, dec.
CLAY GUIDA vs RAFAEL DOS ANJOS
Guida struggled with Florian’s southpaw stance, and Dos Anjos is a southpaw and a decent boxer with good leg kicks.
Dos Anjos, Submission, R2
MATT HUGHES vs RICARDO ALMEIDA
Hughes is on a rapid decline in form, unable to really take down Renzo, despite Renzo not having fought in 3 years, he’s never been much on the feet.
Almeida will keep this standing, using leg kicks and his jab until Hughes can’t defend his takedowns any longer. Almeida has the ability (and size) to keep a rapidly aging Hughes on his back (where Hughes has never had any game) until he decides to end it.
Almeida, sub, R1
JUNIOR DOS SANTOS vs ROY NELSON
JDS is incredibly fast for a heavy weight and his boxing is too good for Nelson to contend with, so Nelson’s best chance is to take it to the ground, where JDS hasn’t really been tested and stay ontop. However, he’s not as good on the ground as people think; Schaub managed to just push him off top control, and he simply doesn’t have the cardio to go 3 rounds.
JDS will want to use his speed and power to demolish Nelson on his feet, much like Arlovski did, however; unlike Arlovski, JDS has a decent chin, so won’t be afraid to get in close and lay into Nelson.
JDS, KO, R1
UNDERCARD:
Dustin Hazelett vs Rick Story: Hazelett, dec.
Phil Davis vs Rodney Wallace: Davis, dec.
Tim Boetsch vs Todd Brown: Boetsch, dec.
Johnny Hendricks vs Charlie Brenneman: Hendricks, tko, R1
Stefan Struve vs Christian Morecraft: Struve, dec.
Ben Saunders vs Dennis Hallman: Saunders, tko, R2
So, tomorrow night sees UFC once again put on a free show on the Versus 2 channel. Headlined by young superstar Jon “Bones” Jones vs the near-40 year old veteran; Vladimir Matyushenko.
Here are my predictions for the card
MAIN EVENT; JON JONES vs VLADIMIR MATYUSHENKO
Matyushenko’s best hope is to outwrestle him, get top control and get a dec. Matyushenko has heavy hands so if he could get inside and land some punches there’s a possibility of a ko, I dont think Jones has ever been hit and his frame is similar to Kendall Grove’s, so maybe his chin is too?.
But, having said that, I see a standard Jones performance- explosive takedown followed by brutal elbow gnp for the win, R1
YUSHIN OKAMI vs MARK MUNOZ
Munoz is an excellent wrestler and that appeared to be Okami’s weakness when facing Sonnen, but since that fight Okami has been training with Sonnen so his wrestling should have gotten better and Okami has heavy hands; his striking looked really good in his last fight, whereas Munoz hasn’t got a great chin.
Munoz could grind out a dec. but im going with Okami with the tko, R2.
JAKE ELLENBERGER vs JOHN HOWARD
This is a tough fight to call and I see alot of scrambling as both fight for position. All that will tire Howard out and Ellenberger will start to take control on the feet and in the grappling as the fight goes on.
Ellenberger Dec.
TAKANORI GOMI vs TYSON GRIFFIN
I’m calling the upset. Gomi’s main weaknesses are against submission grapplers or bigger fighters. Tyson isn’t a big lightweight and hes started to rely more on his striking lately. Tyson’s key to victory will be to out wrestle Gomi, but I doubt he’ll even try to.
Gomi, tko, R1
JACOB VOLKMANN vs PAUL KELLY
Volkman is a one dimensional grappler and Kelly’s aggressive style will force Volkman to mainly be on defence the whole fight.
Kelly, dec.
DAMARQUES JOHNSON vs MATTHEW RIDDLE
Riddle is a tough kid with alot of heart, hes also a bit of a one dimensional wrestler and Johnson is very dangerous off his back, having a couple of subs of the night.
Johnson, sub (Triangle?), R1
JAMES IRVIN vs IGOR POKRAJAC
It’s just gonna be a slugfest but I think Igor is the tougher and technically better fighter.
Igor, tko, R1
BRIAN STANN vs MIKE MASSENZIO
Here, Stann will use his wrestling to keep the fight standing, but not over commit, so he wont be taken down. I see a drawn out, circling stand up dominated bout, with Stann peppering Massenzio with shots for the full 15 minutes, as Jackson has Stann fighting smart these days.
Stann, dec.
…I don’t know enough about the other fighters to call them
So I have now finalised exactly HOW I will get my ass back into shape when I recover fully from my current injury (broken left fibula, probably another 4 weeks from now).
Currently, I’m in a bad way (aside from the ankle) I haven’t trained properly in around 12 months and have only just realised how bad it’s gotten.
So, starting when I’m healed, I shall embark upon an 18 week Macrocycle, comprised of the following phases;
1. Anatomical Adaptation (weeks 1 – 4)
The goal here is to use light weights/ high reps to prepare the tendons, ligaments and connective tissue (which have not had a great deal of work for around 12 months) for the upcoming stresses of the following phases, mainly to prevent injury and, thus, further setbacks.
2. Hypertrophy (Weeks 5 – 10)
Here the aim is primarily to increase the mass and cross sectional area (size) of the muscle, using moderate weights, for the purposes of increasing muscle fiber count (and thus potential for strength gain) and, plain and simple; vanity 
3. Maximal Strength (Weeks 11 – 14)
Here’s where the real gains come in, after increasing the size of the muscles for 6 weeks, it’s not time to fill them up with strength!. Using high weight, low reps, the aim is to teach the brain to activate maximum muscle fibers when lifting, in order to increase absolute strength. This is done without necessarily increasing muscle size and, thus, weight.
4. Conversion (Weeks 15 – 18)
In the last phase of this cycle, we take all the strength we’ve built and convert it into explosive, dynamic strength (ie; POWER!) using plyometric exercises and power lifts. This is the ultimate goal, as this makes the strength sport specific.
So today I caught my own eye as I walked past a mirror; and I saw a lot more than just the dull grey of my iris…
About a year ago, I started to lose interest in training; not conciously, it just seemed to fade away like the colour of a cheap pair of jeans, washed too many times in a machine. Where once I was training 4-5 days a week, I got to the stage where 1-2 times a week would be all I managed.
The worst part about this was that I KNEW I wasn’t putting the hours in; I just didn’t care. I’d go to a training session and go through the motions, then I’d come away and, if you were to ask me 30 minutes later what we’d done that say, I’d have had no idea.
Just a year ago, I’d have told you step-by-step, told you what I’d worked out to evolve my game; I’d even be able to tell you the colour of shirt my sparring partners were wearing. But now, the passion that used to flow from me, was reduced to small drips; evaporating rapidly.
But today I saw something in my eye, and felt something in my heart, that I’d been missing a long time.
Since my injury, all I can think about it how much time I wasted when I could’ve been training; all I want to do is train. This injury may end up being a good thing for me, afterall.
…so there you are, Dan, where the hell have you been for so long?…welcome back!
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