UFC 57 (Couture vs. Lidell III)

[IBProfane]

Who else will be watching UFC 57 tonight? I'm more excited about this than the Super Bowl. That's probably the norm for a big MMA fan. Here's my predictions on tonight's event...

Undercard...

Mike Whitehead vs. Keith Jardine

-Two TUFers. I know very little about each. I'd say Mike Whitehead based on potential but it could go either way. I'll take Whitehead by decision.

Paul "The Headhunter" Buentello vs. Gilbert Aldana

-Don't know much about Aldana but he only has 5 fights in which he's 5-0. I'll take Buentello even though he looked sloppy in his last fight. Aldana will be overwhelmed in his first big show. "The Headhunter" by KO.

Brandon Lee Hinkle vs. "The Snowman" Jeff Monson

-I remember Monson was a pretty good wrestler when he fought in the UFC four years ago. Hinkle's only UFC fight was against Sean Gannon and he destroyed him. I think Monson will win this by either ground and pound or by decision.

Alessio Sakara vs. Elvis Sinosic

-I think Elvis is under rated, very slick on the ground. Has probably had the toughest list of a opponents in UFC history. But...too bad for Elvis this is Sakara's coming out party. Sakara has some nasty hands, maybe the best in the UFC. If he has a good sprawl, he should destroy Elvis on the feet. This could be flashes of old Vitor Belfort. Sakara by KO.

Main Card...

Joe "Diesel" Riggs vs. Nick Diaz

-Ahh...probably the two most hated men in the UFC short of Tito Ortiz. Personally I love Diaz and hate Riggs. They are both have heavy hands but I think Diaz is a more accurate striker. Even though Riggs has more powerful punches, I see Diaz clipping him ala Diaz/Lawler a few years ago. Diaz by KO.

Frank Mir vs. Marcio Cruz

-Mir's back. It'll be interesting to see how he looks coming off a serious leg injury. Both guys have serious ground skills. I think this could most definitely be a stalemate. I think Mir will come out victorious. The judges won't let him lose if it goes that far. Mir by decision.

Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Mike Van Arsdale

-Babalu is the most under rated fighter in all of MMA period. Van Arsdale is a 40 year old olympic level wrestler. It's hard to tell just how good Van Arsdale is. He gave Couture a pretty good battle a few months ago. That may have been Randy's decline, or maybe Van Arsdale is that good. It's a good match up, but Babalu will overwhelm Van Arsdale. I think Mike will get the takedown and get caught in an armbar or a triangle. "Babalu" by submission.

Brandon Vera vs. Justin Eilers

-Last time Eilers fought he blew out his knee. Vera had one fight on the Ultimate Fight Night in which he impressed many, but didn't really impress me. This could go either way, I think Eilers may be able to overpower Vera, Brandon is more of a light heavyweight than a heavyweight. Eilers by KO.

Randy Couture vs. Chuck Lidell III

-The rubber match. Man...it's gonna be a war. I have questions about Randy's age, I think he might be breaking down. I would love nothing more for than Randy to prove me wrong. Chuck's sprawl is so good Randy won't be able to come straight at him. I think this fight will probably go 2 rounds, and I see Chuck catching Randy with his trade mark looping left hook. Chuck by KO.

[monkeyboy]

I'd like to, but I have to work. I've found UFC to be much more exciting recently than 90% of the pay per view boxing that comes our way. I think it's Chuck's match to lose. He just explodes on people. Then again, it's hard to bet against Randy.

[MahatmaPetey]

Jardine by TKO. Whitehead will choke against a decent opponent. It sucks that whitehead gets a shot in the UFC after his embarrassing performance on TUF.

Buentello by KO in the 1st. Aldano will have about a minute worth of offense, and then he'll keel over on his own from lack of cardio or skill.

Jeff Monson by submission. He's been very active in submission matches, and Hinkle trains at Hammer House, so he probably doesn't even know what a submission is. rear naked choke.

Sakara by TKO. Elvis has decent standup, but no power. If he could get Sakara on his back he could do something, but his takedowns are terrible. He'll probably try to pull guard at some point and get pummeled, cut, and TKO'd.

Diaz by submission. People are comparing this matchup to Diaz/Sanchez, but that's a mistake. Yea Riggs is stronger, and could probably control the fight from the top for a little while, but he doesn't have the submissions that Sanchez has. Diaz was constantly moving from his back in the last fight, and he'll catch Riggs with something eventually.

Mir by TKO in the 1st. If this goes past the 2nd round, Mir will be in a lot of trouble. His cardio sucks to begin with, but coming back from a serious injury and putting on as much muscle mass as he did will only make it worse. Cruz is much better than Mir on the ground, but his takedowns are awful. If Mir is careful, he should be able to drop some good elbows from the top and stop Cruz inside 5 minutes. Or he can keep it standing and land a KO.

Babalu by submission. Van Arsdale is the better wrestler by far, but his cardio is suspect. Babalu has crisp striking, good submissions from his back, and cardio for days. Van Arsdale could win a decision, but i don't think he can go 15 minute without getting caught by someone like Babalu.

Brandon Vera by KO. Eilers fucking sucks, and this will just go further in proving that. I don't think Vera is the next top heavyweight contender in the UFC like everyone else does, but Eilers is just as bad as everyone else thinks he is.

Couture by TKO in the 4th. This is a hard fight to pick...Randy looked less than stellar against Van Arsdale, but that's a completely different style match up. I think training with Arlovski will help Randy a lot, and hopefully he'll have his head movement back on display here. Chuck could certainly catch Randy like he did in the last fight, but he'll have to do that inside the first two rounds. If it goes beyond that, he's fucked. Chuck still doesn't have good cardio, and Randy is still a machine. Horn never put any pressure on Chuck, so he could just sit back and knock gumby around the ring. If Randy keeps the pressure on, but doesn't rush in like an idiot like last time, this should look like their first fight. i hope.

[tbird2340]

Man, I'm so bummed that Randy lost. I like Chuck too but there is no one more classy then Randy. I will truly miss him :(. Obviously that slip cost him and it may have been a different outcome if he hadn't..

So who won the Jardine / Whitehead fight? It wasn't shown!?

[krazykat72]

The retirement was a good call by Randy. It seems age has finally caught up to him. Hopefully UFC will keep him around in an analyst/ PR role.


-Paul Jacobi-

[MahatmaPetey]

jardine won a unanimous decision. and Sakara beat the holy hell out of Sinosic for a decision.

[J-Dubya]

Why weren't all the fights shown on PPV? My girlfriend and I were at a bar for the fights and they only showed 6.

[tbird2340]

That's what I was wondering.. How do you know Sakara beat the holy hell out of Sinosic if it wasn't on the PPV? Did you read about it?

[BravesMG]

I'm still pretty surprised by the thrashing Mir got. I knew his opponent was good, but damn that was terrible. He said himself he probably wasn't ready after the fight, I'm curious to see how long it takes him to get back on.

[MahatmaPetey]

www.mma.tv www.mmaweekly.com are good sites for mma coverage, with pictures and results and interviews and whatnot.

*hopefully this works* here's a Sinosic/Sakara pic:

http://69.46.29.2:8080/absoluteig/gallery/UFC57/fights/04_Sakara_vs_Elvis_Sinosic/SakaraSinosic115UFC57.jpg

[MahatmaPetey]

the Mir fight was unfortunate. Cruz is a much better grappler than Mir, and once he got position, he wasn't giving it up. Mir was doing alright until he got cut, and from there it was all downhill. i'd imagine its hard to defend yourself when you've got blood pouring into your eyes.

I'd love to see Monson fight Cruz in mma. neck crank!

[tbird2340]

So why weren't those fights on the PPV? I mean, they advertised them on the fight card? I'm guessing there are certain time restraints and they put the best fights on? But it's live so how do they know which ones will be the "best"?

[TheNightFlier]

So why weren't those fights on the PPV? I mean, they advertised them on the fight card? I'm guessing there are certain time restraints and they put the best fights on? But it's live so how do they know which ones will be the "best"?

My guess is probably the time restraint. It wouldn't surprise me to see them pop up on one of the Monday night Spike UFC shows soon.

[MahatmaPetey]

Jardine/Whitehead
Sakara/Sinosic
Buentello/Aldano
Monson/Hinkle

all were on the undercard and happened before the ppv started, so they showed what they had time for. Of course, if they didn't have goldberg yap for so long they could have fit in the Sakara fight, but there's always tons of filler. its the same thing with any boxing card.