Having three wrestling sons, I have become an avid fan of amateur wrestling with bleacher butt. More than a decade ago, I was also exposed to a MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) tournament called the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). That "tournament" format no longer exists. It was just too brutal to expect a surviving warrior to last three battles in a single night! Today the UFC is an eight-fight card, fought four or five times a year with the best MMA fighters in the world participating. Weight classes divide the competition, and today's fighter is a well-trained athlete, verse in cross-training and all martial arts disciplines. One dimensional fighters don't last long in the UFC, but wrestlers have certainly made their mark.
Prior to becoming a UFC champion, Randy Couture was a four-time national champion in Greco-Roman wrestling. He was also the Pan Am Games champion and placed ninth in the 1997 World Championship in Poland.Here's a look at my predictions for the UFC 56 fight card:
MATT HUGHES (38-4) over Joe "Diesel" Riggs (26-6) by submission
Hughes, a two NCAA All-American wrestler for Northern Illinois, has lost only once in the past four years (to BJ Penn). Matt is a physical freak, strong and thick, who has won 12 fights by (T)KO and 17 by submission. He can beat you either way, and fights a heavy handed opponent in Riggs who has only a "puncher's chance" to take Matt out. But, that is not likely to happen, as Matt usually gets his way with his opponent and has a remarkable lift and takedown that draws crowd approval. Once there on his back, the weight-class drop (Riggs) will eat numerous elbows from Hughes, as his punching power diminishes to worthless.
This is as sure a bet as there is on the card, unless Hughes has grown bored with winning. I see Hughes choking out his opponent in the second round. Riggs was a late substitute for the injured Karo Parisyan.
RICH FRANKLIN (20-1-1) over Nate Quarry 14-1 by submission
Franklin emerged on the scene a few years ago after teaching high school in Cincinnati. His passion for the sport has driven him to become a UFC champion and coach of an Ultimate Fighter team on Spike TV (Matt Hughes is the other). The Ultimate Fighter show can be seen on Monday nights on Spike TV. Quarry is a by-product of last year's show, and has lead pipe fists that may surprise Franklin. But, Franklin's experience and calm demeanor give him the patience necessary to expose his opponent's weaknesses.
Franklin should retain his belt with a second round arm bar submission.
GEORGES ST. PIERRE (10-1) over Sean Sherk (28-1-1) by TKO
I have enjoyed watching the young Canadian, St. Pierre, develop. He just gets better with every fight. This is one hungry and focused fighter, well-trained with workout partner Yves Edwards, and getting stronger and quicker with each battle. Sherk has been out of action most of the past year, fighting only once while taking time off to get away from the sport! St. Pierre is the opposite. He is hungry for the title. Both have lost only to Hughes.
It's "deer-in-the headlights" time. I see St. Pierre over-powering Sherk in the first round, leading to a fight stopping TKO. Georges dishes out elbows until the ref stops the action.
JEREMY HORN (85-14-6) over Trevor Prangley (11-2) by submission
Nobody has more MMA experience than Horn, yet he is three years younger than the South African, Prangley. Trevor's a wrestler with a big heart, but with a limited arsenal of MMA weapons to use. While Horn's a submission artist who can take a sledge-hammer punch from Chuck Liddell and get up from the canvass. There's no quit in either of these dogs. The action will surely be on the ground. These guys aren't punchers.
Horn schools Prangley with a third round submission on an ankle lock.
KEVIN JORDAN (7-3) over Gabriel Gonzaga (4-1) by KO
Two heavyweights, Jordan a pure puncher, while Gonzaga's four wins all coming by submission, rare for a heavyweight. Jordan was recently put to sleep by Paul Buentello's submission, and has a KO on his resume suffered at the hands on one "Cabbage," Wesley Correira. Buentello went on to get KO'd by champion Andrei Arlovski in a matter of seconds in UFC 55. Not a good sign for Jordan. But maybe he learned from this episode and will avoid going to the mat with a jiu-jitsu fighter.
I'm playing a hunch that he has, and that this underdog lands a fight-stopping blow to the head of Gonzaga in the second round. Rabid UFC crowds love knock-outs.
SAM HOGER (6-1) over Jeff Newton (4-1) by submission
Newton is a 38-year old fitness freak who specializes in surf-boarding and rock climbing. He boasts of confidence drawn from years of kickboxing and karate competition. But his limited MMA experience will make him fodder for a younger, more motivated opponent. Hoger, 25, felt insulted by Newton's pre-fight words questioning his athleticism. Motivated opponents usually do well against arrogant ones.
I see Hogar submitting Newton in the first round with a rear-naked choke. Newton's UFC career may be a short one.
NICK THOMPSON (22-8) over Keith Wisniewski (19-5) by KO
Prior to getting into MMA, Nick Thompson was a wrestler for the University of Wisconsin.I'll give it to Thompson on a surprise second round KO.
ANSAR CHALANGOV (7-0) over Thiago Alves (13-3) by KO
The Russian, Chalangov, is out of the mold of Oleg Taktarov, an early UFC pioneer, who could get beat up all fight, only to win at the end with some well-planned submission hold. Chalangov studies Taktarov's fights. He also looks up to Fedor Emelianenko, the Russian Pride Fighting heavyweight champion. Fedor has hands of stone. The name of Dennis Hallman is also on the resume of Chalangov victims. Yet Hallman beat Matt Hughes twice with submission holds! Yet he fell prey to this Russian. That's a scary thought.
Alves is a Brazilian fighter known for his good striking abilities. He is a product of the Ultimate fighter show, who lost his last fight to Spencer Fisher by triangle choke. I think that makes him want to fight this fight on his feet. Big mistake. Chalangov ends it in the second round with a series of elbows to the head in a ground-and-pound clinic, Oleg Taktorov style. The Russian Bear is alive and well.
So, that's it for now.
Eight MMA fights with eight predictions to match. Hope you enjoy the show.
More later.
The UFC Monster
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