Saturday, May 24, 2008

UFC 84: Why I Liked Bikini Kill

The time has come. I skipped a rundown of the last UFC because it really wasn't worth any of our time, but the planets have aligned again allowing BJ Penn to descend to earth and fight for all of our benefit. If you want to watch a promo, apparently directed by Michael Mann's pet chimpanzee, go here. It is actually pretty ok. I enjoy the Machida scetion as well.

Let's start with the undercard:

Salaverry vs. Palhares: Salaverry, who possesses the best tattoo in all of MMA, is one of my favorite fighters. I don't know, however, how much he is in to it anymore. That is the common line on him. Palhares is a submission wizard. I want Salaverry to pull it out but I will not be surprised to see Palhares get a quick sub. I will call Salaverry by decision.

Wellisch vs. Carwin: Carwin looks the part. Wellisch plays the part. I think this could be a very boring fight. I will call Carwin by G-n-P TKO in the 1st in hopes that the heavyweight division will get more interesting. Reality will probably have Wellisch laying on top of him for 15 minutes.

Clementi vs. Etim: Slidell's on Clementi is own a very unexpected roll. It continues with a TKO in the 2nd.

Tan vs. Kim: I don't care. Kim by armbar.

Koppenhaver vs. Yoshida: This isn't beating up drunks in front of the gym. Yoshida by dirty boxing TKO in the 3rd.

Sokoudju vs. Nakamura: Pride revival. To judoka go at it wearing shorts. Nakamura is a tough mother (shut your mouth.) Sokoudju might be a fluke. Who knows? Sokoudju is the bigger guy and I will give him the advantage. Sokoudju TKO in the 2nd.

Silva vs. Mendes: Silva has every advantage in this fight. Silva by TKO in the 2nd.

To the Main Card

Ortiz vs. Machida: I actually like both of these fighters a lot. I think everyone is kind of pulling for Ortiz to win so we can see what he does to piss off Dana White afterwards. This is his last fight for the UFC and you know he is motivated. On the other hand, Machida is one of my favorite fighters to watch. His style is completely unique. He uses karate as his base and has a very solid ground game. He is also undefeated. Tito could get the takedowns and punish Machida from the guard, but Machida's game is to stay away and only land decisive strikes. It will be hard for Tito to a hold of him. I am going with Machida by decision.

Gouveia vs. Reljic: Gouveia by TKO in the 2nd. No question.

Silva vs. Jardine: Is it okay to like someone who was so obviously on steroids? I do love Silva. He is a different fighter now though. A good fighter, but a different one. He is small for the division. He is better in a ring. Jardine isn't one of my favorite fighters but I admire his awkwardness. It is very hard to fight him. With the reach advantage I am calling Jardine by decision. His leg kicks are dinosaur like and his defense is solid. One caveat; What is Silva pulls the jiu-jitsu black belt out of his back pocket? Hmmmm....

Penn vs. Sherk: You know my opinion on BJ Penn. He lives above other fighters. Penn was out-striking GSP in his loss. Penn was not out-wrestled by Matt Hughes until he separated his ribs. Sean Sherk's striking is technical but not powerful. Sean Sherk's conditioning is not in question. He is a great MMA wrestler, but so is BJ Penn. Sherk is hard to submit, but are we forgetting that Joe Stevenson is too, but he was. Most people are saying it will come down to who wins the 3rd round and takes the decision. I see BJ beating up Sherk, taking the back and choking out Sherk in the 2nd. Call me crazy. Call BJ crazy when he licks up Sherk's blood.

This is a really good card, and I am looking forward to it. If you have never watched BJ Penn fight, please do. It will probably be more interesting then you think.

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