UFC 130 was a night where certain fighters impressed and others just did their thing. Brian Stann looked to have solidified himself in the Middleweight Division. Travis Browne flies up the Heavyweight Division. Rick Story looks to call another person out. And Demetrious Johnson wins against a former Champion on short notice. A great night of fights.

1. Rampage Jackson dominates Matt Hamill everywhere

Rampage Jackson defeated Matt Hamill in relatively easy fashion. He was able to stuff all 17 takedowns Hamill was able to offer, and with every takedowns there were punches and knees that followed. He made him pay at every point in the fight. I thought it was quite impressive, but does it warrant a fight with Jon Jones. Only Dana White and Joe Silva knows that.

2. Frank Mir defeats Roy Nelson in the battle of cardio

I really thought Roy Nelson was going to come into this fight a bit slimmer, but that was definitely not the case. Although, I thought Frank Mir was going to come in fit as well — which he did look the part. During the fight, you saw both fighters just gas. Mir definitely did the most damage and had the better game plan. I’d like to see Nelson lose some weight to compete better in the Heavyweight Division.

3. Travis Browne channels Superman against Stefan Struve

The battle of the giants: Stefan Struve vs. Travis Browne. I expected this to be a war, and it was looking to deliver until Browne went ahead and did that Superman punch knockout. I had a take a double take when I saw it. If you haven’t seen it, make sure you do. It’s too bad Struve continues to be on wrong side of the highlight reels.

Read more

UFC 130 was a super stacked card, and you can really see it because after Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard pulled out of the main event due to injuries — the card still looked amazing. There’s a lot of implications here for a lot of the weight divisions.

• Rampage vs. Hamill looks to be a #1 Light HW Contender matchup
• Mir vs. Nelson gets a crack at the winner of Dos Santos vs. Carwin
• Alves vs. Story looks to shake up the Welterweight Division
• Stann vs. Santiago looks to shake up the Middleweight Division

1. Rampage is evolving as a fighter and will incorporate more wrestling

On paper, this looks to be a perfect for fight for Matt Hamill since he’s a premier wrestler and we all saw what Rashad Evans was able to do to Rampage Jackson with his wrestling. Although, I really don’t see that happening again. Look for Rampage to mix it up and catch Hamill with an uppercut or a knee in the fight to end it.

Prediction: Rampage Jackson via TKO

2. A slimmer Roy Nelson beats Frank Mir everywhere the fight goes

Both Frank Mir and Roy Nelson are premier Heavyweights in the UFC, but this fight is definitely going to rocket one of them back into the Championship picture. I really think Nelson is starting to figure out that he needs to up his game (and lose some weight) to start fulfilling his potential and I think he’s going to do that against Mir. I see this being a grappling match with the clinch and ground game highlighted. Big Country FTW!

Prediction: Roy Nelson via unanimous decision

Read more

At UFC 124, you saw why Georges St. Pierre is considered one of the pound-for-pound best MMA fighters in the world. Along with a great main event, it showed the return of Thiago Alves to vintage form and a scary Lightweight Contender in Jim Miller. It was fun night of fights and the Montreal fans were as crazy as ever. Here were the results from the event:

1. GSP completely dominated Koscheck with ease

The most amazing aspect of Georges St. Pierre’s game is that he’s able to completely take his opponents out of their comfort zone. We’ve seen it with his wrestling, kickboxing, and now against Josh Koscheck — his boxing. He literally kept Koscheck at bay with a stiff jab that landed consistently throughout the whole fight. It was truly a mixed martial arts fight where you saw everything, mostly coming from GSP.

People are going to criticize GSP for not finishing the fight, but come on — he completely dominated. I really thought Koscheck would have a chance against him, but after this fight — I don’t see anyone in the UFC Welterweight Division beating GSP.

(-1) Prediction: Josh Koscheck over Georges St. Pierre

2. Stefan Struve escapes a submission and lands a TKO

I really thought Stefan Struve was a huge mismatch against Sean McCorkle. Then in the beginning of the round, McCorkle was very close in ending the fight with a keylock — my jaw literally dropped thinking the fight was over. Luckily, Struve was calm enough to escape and reverse the position into his mount on McCorkle. From that point, the fight was over. Let’s see Struve fight a Top 10 Heavyweight.

(+1) Prediction: Stefan Struve over Sean McCorkle

Read more

On the heels of the TUF 12 Finale, the coaches will battle it out at UFC 124. Are you part of Team GSP or Team Koscheck? It seems most of the WeHeartMMA community is leaning toward Georges St. Pierre (103 notes) instead of the challenger Josh Koscheck (13 notes). I just know it’s going to be a crazy crowd up in Canada, and I can’t wait for Saturday’s fights. Here are my predictions, and be prepared to be blown away.

1. Koscheck will test St. Pierre’s chin and it will fail

Georges St. Pierre is probably the most well-rounded MMA fighter ever. A true mixed martial artist. If he fought Josh Koscheck ten times, he would win nine out of the ten. He’s got all the tools to do so.

(1) He has the better technical striking from his karate along with training with both Phil Nurse (Muay Thai) and Freddie Roach (Boxing).
(2) A well improved ground game courtesy of John Danaher (BJJ black belt under Renzo Gracie).
(3) The best coaches in his corner, Firas Zahabi and Greg Jackson.
(4) Considered to have best wrestling utilized in MMA.
(5) GSP is an athletic beast.

There’s nothing negative I can say about him, but I still have the feeling the 10% chance he has of losing will be reality this Saturday and I’ll tell you why. Josh Koscheck has nothing to lose, similar to when Chael Sonnen fought Anderson Silva, all the pressure is on the champion. He’s fighting in GSP’s hometown. He just needs to focus.

Koscheck has got the tools to beat GSP and one of those tools is his big right hand. He has knockout power. I mean lights out, good night type of power. And I hate to say this, but GSP doesn’t have the strongest chin in the game. He’s made a living of not taking a ton of punishment. If Kos is able avoid the takedown, mixes up his striking with punches and kicks, land some takedowns here and there — he may be able to open up an opportunity for him to land a knockout.

That’s definitely a big if, but I think Kos is going to shake up the UFC Welterweight Division with his heavy hands. TEAM KOSCHECK FTW! What say you, GSP fans? 

Prediction: Josh Koscheck over Georges St. Pierre via KO

2. Stefan Struve finally shuts Sean McCorkle up

I don’t see this ending well for Sean McCorkle. Stefan Struve has fought high quality opponents since he’s been in the UFC, and has the battle scars to show for it. Plus, the kid is only 24 22 years old — he’s tough as they come. The key in this fight will be distance. If Struve is able to keep the fight in kicking distance, it’s over for McCorkle since he’ll be eating a ton of kicks from that 6’11” frame. I see McCorkle trying to take the fight to the ground and not being able to do so. Look for a meaner Struve on Saturday anxious to take someones head off.

Prediction: Stefan Struve over Sean McCorkle via TKO

Read more