Brandon Vera fought on Ultimate Fight Night tonight against Reese Andy. Brandon moved down in weight and looked leaner, but I think cutting weight negatively affected his performance. Reese didn't perform like you would expect a UFC fighter to, yet, Brandon had difficulty finishing Reese off. After Reese threw several kicks, it was clear Brandon's stand up was much better. In fact, I didn't think this was a good match up. I thought Brandon was going to murder Reese. However, the fact that Brandon cut weight probably was what made the match go the distance. Dehydration and a lack of energy are common side effects of cutting weight. Some people can do it well, some people can't. It will be interesting to see what weight class Brandon continues to compete at. If he decides to stay at the light heavy division, I'm sure he'll have to change his eating/training habits.
Anderson Silva. Textbook counter. The punch was perfectly placed. The first punch is what started it all, and the second punch that landed flush on Irvin's face was the nail in the coffin. I was curious to see the match and thought the match might have some good exchanges. Well, there was one very good, very quick exchange. Silva is awesome.
Affliction Banned had some great fights tonight, too - 3 KOs, 1 TKO, 3 submissions...I thought the match ups were good overall, but I had my favorites. All of the people I thought would win did win. I had no doubt that Fedor was going to win, and win he did (rear naked choke in round 1). Barnett versus Rizzo was one match I was excited about. I think Barnett is a great fighter - a great balance between power and technique. I thought he was going to win and he didn't disappoint (KO round 2). Barnett has been in the game for a long time, but I still hope to see much more of him. Curious to know what Affliction has in store for their next event.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Thoughts on Brandon Vera's Recent Fight, Anderson Silva, and Affliction Banned
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
UFC 84 and 85; WEC and Pinoy Mark Munoz
I don't know about you guys, but I'm looking forward to the next few weeks. There are going to be a lot of great fights and I'm looking forward to watching BJ and Mark Munoz fight. UFC 84 is this weekend with a good fight card. I see BJ dominating the fight and don't think Sherk has anything on BJ. The only way I see BJ losing is if he isn't his "normal self." June 1 is WEC which also has a good fight card. I'm looking forward to watching Uriah and Mark Munoz. Mark is definitely someone to reckon with and I hope he goes far in the sport. I think he will do very well in his upcoming match. He has a solid background in wrestling and is training with a great fight camp. June 7, UFC 85, we'll get to see Brandon fight. I think he'll take the fight and can inflict the most damage striking. If the fight goes to the ground, then Fabricio has a better chance.
For those of you who do not know much about Mark Munoz, check out these YouTube clips I found.
Lots of other great fights will be on the three cards. I am definitely not going to miss any of them.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
No-Gi Chokes Seminar @ New Breed Jiu-Jitus Chicago
I was going to write a blog entry yesterday, but I fell asleep early. I guess my lack of sleep caught up with me. It's Sunday here and I'm not planning to train today. I have a couple of things I have to do before I leave for Chicago this weekend.
I'll be in Chicago from Friday to Monday, and will be conducting a "Chokes" seminar at New Breed Chicago on Saturday (noon to about 3 or 4pm). Other than that, I'll just be hanging out there.
As for last night's UFC. GSP--was there any doubt? He made Serra look like a complete beginner. Lutter? It seems like he didn't train much for the fight. I think the fight card was pretty lame. But, I'm looking forward to next months UFC in Vegas! Another trip perhaps?
Anyway, that's it for today. I'll get back to writing more tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Featherweight and Lightweight Fighters Who Want to Fight in the UFC
The UFC has clearly established itself as the mixed martial arts competition of the world. It's the competition every MMA fighter wants to compete in at some point in their careers. A lot of professional fighters would even take a lower fight purse just to compete in the UFC. However, some featherweight/lightweight fighters who dream of being in the UFC, simply cannot for a couple of reasons. First, the UFC strongly prefers heavier and bigger looking fighters even for their lightweight division (e.g. 170lb fighters who cut weight to make 155lbs). Second, it doesn't make complete sense to be a fighter who walks at 150lbs, for example, to face a talented fighter who walks around at 170lbs.
So where do all the talented fighters in the world below 155lbs go? A lot of them hope the UFC will start a lighter division, but I'm not sure that will happen any time soon. The WEC has positioned itself to be a competition that highlights lighter fighters, yet, the WEC does not have the same popularity and impact as the UFC. There are always MMA organizations in Japan that like light fighters, but they generally do not pay much.
Are the top MMA competitions solely for heavier fighters? I understand that the general public like watching bigger and stronger fighters go against each other. However, many fight fans know that lighter fighters can put on a great show of athleticism and technique. I recently read about a person who tried out for a 155lb spot on the Ultimate Fighter. The person seemed to have the skill and the right personality for the show; but, he just was "too small." His walking weight was around 155lbs, but the producers wanted people who were heavier and who would cut weight to fight.
I don't know what's in store for guys like Uriah Faber, Kid Yamamoto, etc. Maybe their respective organizations (e.g. the WEC) will truly be the top competitions for lighter weight fighters. Who knows. As one of the "small guys" in the sport though, I'd love to see featherweights get more credit and more exposure.
On another note, I just realized that "Crazy" Tim Credeur is in this season of Ulimate Fighter. Tim belongs to the BJJ Revolution Team and is a BJJ Black Belt. We used to train together in La Habra, CA when Rodrigo Medeiros and John Ouano were teaching there. Now, Leo Viera has taken over the school. (For a while, Javier Vasquez had his own school there.) It was nice to see him there and I hope he does well.
Just some random thoughts for today. I'm preparing for a big exam and have to get back to studying. . .
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Brandon Vera vs. Fabricio Werdum at UFC 85: Who do you think takes it?
I was talking with some friends today about upcoming matches. When we discussed Brandon Vera versus Fabricio Werdum, I immediately said that I thought Brandon would win. He has more tools and is a better fighter, overall. In fact, I think Brandon has a big advantage over many other fighters in his division--his stand up. A lot of the active Heavyweight fighters seem uncomfortable and ineffective when striking compared to Brandon. For the other fighters who have good stand up, I don't think their ground games are up to par. A lot of people say they'd like Brandon to drop to the Light Heavyweight division. But, who knows? Maybe Brandon knows he has a better chance of winning the title as a Heavyweight because he believes he has better overall skills.
With Couture gone, and Minotauro as the Interim Champion, I wish the Heavyweight division had some more high level and equally balanced fighters. I think Minotauro is great, but think his striking ability (or lack thereof?) might be a problem. I think Brandon will beat Werdum. If he does, I think he can take it all the way to the top. What do you think?
Thinking about being a well balanced fighter, I am amazed how so many people still believe that focusing on BJJ alone is enough for MMA, or that being a high ranking BJJ fighter guarantees that you'll be great at MMA. I don't know what makes people think this, but it still happens. It's been seen in the UFC and other events, time and time again, that fighters who are skilled in grappling only, are getting destroyed. All MMA fighters have to cross train in every aspect of the game. This doesn't necessarily mean you have to become a master at every single move, postition, strategy, etc., but I think there's a certain minimum skill level to attain. Afterwhich, I think one should not focus on strengthening their strengths, not necessarily strengthening their weaknesses.
Why do I say this? If you were weigh the costs and the benefits of strengthening your weaknesses versus strengthening your strengths, I think you'd recognize that you'd become a more effective fighter by doing the latter. Again, this all assumes you have a certain minimum skill level in all areas of the MMA game (if you're a pro fighter, the level would be higher than an amatuer, of course). Once you have reached that minimum level in your weak areas, your strengths will "kick in" to offset your weaknesses. It might be easier to use an example.
Let's take a grappling example to convey my point, although this applies to takedowns, striking or other areas. Imagine that you are great at playing half guard while always on your right side, and that you are horrible when you use the position lying on your left side. Have you ever noticed that because of your strengths (half guard or other skills), you can generally "make" your opponent fall into a position that allows you to play while on your right (strong) side. If for some reason your opponent forces you to play on your left side, you have that minimum level of skill on your weak side/area, combined with your strengths, that you use to move yourself into a stronger position.
This doesn't mean that you should never work your weaknesses. That minimum level that you should have always changes. But, it's a good idea to continually focus on your strengths. If you spend too much time on your weaknesses, you will neglect the talent that has gotten you as far as you've gone today.
