Wednesday, January 31, 2007

UFC 67 Super Bowl Saturday

Card:

Frankie Edgar Vs. Tyson Griffin (Lightweight)
Edgar makes his debut in the UFC after amassing a 6-0 record in smaller shows. He trains with the Rhino Fight Team with UFC 45 vet Chris Ligouri. Frank has won by KO twice, submission twice and decision twice... difficult to say what he prefers. The only two guys he fought with winning records, the last two decisions, were both guys who train with BJJ schools, we have to assume that his submission defence is good, although his submission game is lacking.
Tyson Griffin won his first UFC fight by RNC over David Lee. Tyson continues to roll with a perfect 8-0 record. Griffin has KO wins over Urijah Faber, so we know that his sprawl game is good, and Duane Ludwig, so we know his stand up game is superb. Tyson trains with David Terrell's NorCal Fighting Alliance, so we know that he submission game is good.
While you can't really say that Frankie is being fed to the wolves in his first UFC fight, you can't say that they set him up with an easy fight. Tyson is just about as green in the UFC as Frankie, BUT the difference is in the quality of past opposition, and the strength of their teams. Tyson trains with the better team, and has had the better past opponents. To knock out Bang Ludwig is a great accomplishment. I don't think that Frankie is going to bring anything to this fight that Tyson has not seen before. Tyson by KO first round.

Terry Martin Vs. Jorge Rivera (Middleweight)
Terry Martin has had zero luck in the UFC. First James Irvin knocked him out with a crazy flying knee to start the second round of their fight. Then the ref had to pull Jason Lambert off of him the in second round the next time he fought in the UFC. Seems like the smart thing for Terry to do would be to try and keep the fight out of the second round. So, Terry did what most fighters do when they have difficulty in a weight class... they loose some weight. This will be his first fight in the UFC at 185. Out side of the UFC Terry has only lost one other fight, and that was to Stephan Bonner.
Jorge makes his return to the UFC after beating Edwin Dewees by KO on the TUF Final card. Jorge, a Team Elite fighter, is known for his good BJJ, and solid stand up game. He has beaten David Loiseau (Decision), Travis Luter (KO), and Dennis Hallman (Decision). He has been in there with the best, loosing to Anderson Silva (KO), Rich Franklin (Armbar), and Chris Leben (KO). Jorge's preferred method of winning is the knock out, and he gets them early and often.
I don't think that Terry will catch his break in the UFC against Jorge. Jorge by KO second round.

Sam Hoger Vs. Lyoto Machida (Light Heavyweight)
Sticky Fingers Hoger steps back in to the Octagon after loosing a decision to Rashad Evans way back in April. Sam trains at MFS, and is a very slick submission fighter. He has not yet been finished in an "official" fight (Forrest Griffin made him tap to strikes in the first TUF season) and has won by both submission and KO. He is 8-2.
Machida is one of those guys that you have never heard about, but who has beaten everybody. He is 8-0 and has beaten Stephan Bonnar by KO, Rich Franklin by KO, BJ Penn by decision in Penn's attempt in to the light heavies, and Vernon White by decision. Machida's style is very strange. He is a very active Shotokan Karate guy, along with being a very active BJJ guy... His stand up is just... weird. He stands almost squair to his opponent, almost in a TMA front stance. Yet from this stance he is able to be mobile, throw his kicks, and shoot powerfully. When he kicks he kicks with his arms wide open. Machida has a purple belt in BJJ, and trains with American Top Team. Interesting that a Japanese guy, from Brazil, trains at American Top Team... someone should check his Visa.
This is a bad match up for Hoger. Machida has a good sprawl, and I don't think that Sam can get him down. Machida also has a good rear hand punch (he switches his stance, and is equally good at landing the rear left and rear right) and I think that will spell Hoger's demise. Machida by KO second round.
Check out Machida working Bonnar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8zTpAFFsQQ

Patrick Cote Vs. Scott Smith (Middleweight)
Cote is looking for his first win in the UFC after taping to a Travis Luter armbar in the TUF 4 finals. Patrick is a very tough guy from Canada, who just can't catch a break in the UFC. He made his debut against Tito Ortiz, and lost by decision. He lost his next fight by RNC to Joe Doerksen. Then Chris Leben out pointed him in his penultimate outing. Patrick sports a 8-4 record.
Scott Smith beat Pete Sell in the most dramatic win in UFC history. Pete hit him with a powerful body shot that made him double up, and with his last bit of energy before succumbing to the body blow, Scott managed to land a huge punch right on Pete's chin to knock him out, before collapsing. Scott lost his previous fight in the UFC tapping to a David Terrell RNC. Scott is 11-2.
Interesting match up, but I think that Patrick gets his first UFC victory. I don't think that either one of these guys has what it takes to finish the other, so I think it will be Patrick by decision.

Quinton Jackson Vs. Marvin Eastman (Light Heavyweight)
RAMPAGE in the UFC!! Quinton makes the jump to the UFC after fighting in PRIDE for many years. His last fight was a split decision win over the much smaller Matt Lindland in the WFA. Quinton likes to slam you. Over and over and over again. After slamming you a few times he likes to pound on you until you go to sleep or until the ref tells him to stop. Quinton's stand up is excellent, he was able to beat Chuck Liddell on his feet, and took out Kevin Randleman the same way. The only chink in Quinton's armor is his clinch defence. The boys from Chute Boxe showed that Jackson can not defend knees from the Thai Clinch. Both Silva and Shogun Rua knocked Quinton out with knees from the clinch.
Marvin Eastman is a kickboxer turned MMA fighter... that said, Mavin has no ground game to speak of. He has no sprawl to speak of, he has no submission game to speak of. Marvin is in there to knock you out standing, and no other way.
Great match up for Quinton's debut. Marvin will run at him and try to clinch up right away. Quinton will shoot slam him down, and pound him out for the win. Quinton by KO on the ground first round.

Mirko Cro Cop Vs. Eddie Sanchez (Heavyweight)
Cro Cop to the UFC!! Mirko is by all accounts the number 2 or 3 heavyweight in the world. He has improved his takedown defence to the point that he is one of the most difficult men in the world to take down. His ground game has improved to the point that he can not be easily submitted, and has passed out a submission win on his own. His stand up is legendary, and his big left leg needs to compete in its own division it is so feared. His record is 21-4-2.
Eddie Sanchez is a heavy handed wrestler out of California's Team Magnitude. He made short work of Mario Neto at UFC 63, knocking him out in the first 17 seconds of round two. Eddie is currently 7-0 vs less than stellar opponents. Eddie uses the KO to win his fights, only one of his fights ended a different way (he caught Anthony Ruiz with a triangle choke).
I give Eddie no chance. His only hope is to rush Mirko and get him up against the fence where Mirko will be in unfamiliar territory. Take him down, keep him against the fence and pound out a decision or a cut stoppage. Not likely. What will happen is that Eddie will rush after Mirko get caught with a few punches, then the head crushing left leg will end Eddie's night. Mirko Cro Cop by KO (Graveyard) first round.

John Halverson Vs. Roger Huerta (Lightweight)
Halverson is a Midwest kid making his debut in the big show. We last saw John way back in the VFC Lightweight Tournament in 2003 when he lost to Kendrick Johnson by choke in the first 30 seconds of their first round fight. Kendrick went on to loose to Jay Ireland. Anyway, he has done well for himself since then, amassing a record of 15-4 winning by KO and submission.
Huerta is on an 11 fight winning streak. His last fight was a decision victory over Jason Dent in his debut UFC fight. Huerta is known for his preferred submission the RNC, but has gotten the job done by KO as well. He is 20-1-1.
This fight I don't seeing going the distance, nor do I see John coming out on top. Huerta by RNC second round.

Anderson Silva Vs. Travis Lutter (Welterweight)
In just two fights Silva turned the UFC on its ear. His complete domination and destruction of Rich Franklin and Chris Leben put Brazil back on the map of the UFC world. Silva is known for his razor sharp Muay Thai skills, and his ability to get the KO from almost any direction. Silva is a BJJ black belt, yet he has never won a fight via submission (submission from strikes don't count). He knocks you out or wins a decision. Anderson is 17-4.
Travis is the winner of TUF 4 Middleweight division. He won the title in spectacular fashion tapping out Patrick Cote with an armbar. Travis is a BJJ black belt and certainly looked the part on TUF, tapping out Scott Smith and Cote, and controlling Pete Sell to get the G&P win. Outside of the show Travis is 9-3, with his biggest win being over Cote. Travis likes to win on the ground, but, as Marvin Eastman found out, he has the ability to knock people down.
Of Anderson's 4 (really three, one loss was a DQ due to kicking a down opponent) losses, half were by submission. One was by far the slickest heel hook ever throw in MMA competition ever (check it out: http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/ryo%20chonan/video/x8buh_ryo-chonan-vs-anderson-silva?from=rss ), the other time he just walked in to a triangle choke (Daiju Takase). He can be submitted, that is for sure, however can Lutter get him down to do it? Of Lutter's three losses, one was by KO (Jeorge Rivera), one by submission (Matt Lindland g uillotine), and one decision (Trevor Prangley). I do not think that Travis will have the ability to ground Silva, let alone submit him. Silva by KO first round.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Eat Less, Exercise More, Do It Forever

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070126/us_nm/diet_exercise_dc;_ylt=Alao2jktYRgeiLWUlWnG7VEDW7oF;_ylu=X3oDMTBhZDhxNDFzBHNlYwNtZW5ld3M

Lots of stuff in there that debunks many myths of diet and exercise.

Such as:
  • A calorie is a calorie, you loose it by diet, or you use it by exercise. No one food or one diet will help you loose them faster. It is about intake and expenditure.
  • More muscular people do not burn more weight at rest than non muscular people
  • There is no such thing as “spot” training. Your body losses fat in a programmed way. Doing sit ups will build muscle on your abs, not reduce the fat from them.
  • Atrophy causes muscle loss, diet does not. Only in cases of extreme starvation does the body burn muscle for fuel.

I have not read the study yet, this is just a reporter’s interpretation of the study’s press kit. The above statements may or may not reflect the findings of the actual study.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

$100 hamburgers rule!! oh, and GPS kicks butt.


Today I took the wife up for her first small airplane ride. We flew to a small airport about 52 miles from my home general aviation airport. I had a lot of fun. It had been several years since I did a trip "to" anywhere, and BOY, has general aviation changed.

When I did my flight training navigation was done with your compass, NDBs and, the almighty VOR. The wind triangle was your best friend and if you did not figure your true airspeed correctly, you were SOL, your Wind Correction Angle would be blown, and off course you went.
It really put me off anything other than local flights, unless I put in several hours of ground work ahead of time.

So I picked an airport not very far away with plenty of visual check points along the way so that I could make sure we were on course, regardless of the wind. I practiced my wind triangle problems so that on flight day I could get the winds aloft forecast and do my calculations quickly and accurately. I filled out my preflight work sheet just like a good pilot should.
Flight day rolled around and about a half hour before takeoff I got my winds aloft forecast and did my problems. We were good to go.

The aircraft we were flying in was a 1966 Cessna 172. Personally, I love the older 172s. They have that big 6 cylinder Continental power plants with those huge wings. The '60 version is not as good as the late '50s version though... I really like the big wing of the '55 - '60 version. I have never flown a more stable aircraft. But I digress.

This particular aircraft had a GPS installed in it. I had never really played around with a GPS before. I knew that they took a lot of guess work out of navigation, but how cool could they be? Very very very very cool as it turns out. Not only did it tell me my true heading, but it told me the bearing that I needed to follow, even the direction that I needed to track according to my true ground speed! It turns out that I did all of my prep work for nothing. Not really nothing, I enjoyed doing the problems, but it felt very good not to have to worry that maybe I had miss-calculated something. The GPS took all of the guess work out of the flight!
I think am going to buy my self a hand held GPS with moving map. That way I won't wander in to any Class C, or B airspaces unawares.

Anyway, the wife seemed to like the flight, she flew most of the way, and had fun trying to keep on course and on altitude. She said that she things that she will let me do the take offs and landings for now, but the middle part is hers. I think I am OK with that.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

今週運動をしませんでした。

今週、あまり運動をしませんでした。なぜ、なぜ、なぜ。月曜日運動をしました。午前、二時間柔道とMMAをした。午後はして、ウエイト をしました。
火曜日うんどをしませんでした。午前時間がなかったです。午後、つかれました。ばかです。
木曜日運動をしませんでした。午前長いミーチングがありました。でも、時間がありました。ほんとになまけものです。
今日、チムミーチングがありました。時間がない。しょうがないですけど、今日はぎの日だからいつもいい運動です。
今でぶです。ほんとにでぶ。
ともだちはUFCのファイトをまけました。私はかなしいです。
明日運度に行きます。キクボクシングとねわざ。

UFN Recap

Rich Clementi def Ross Pointon Submission (Choke) rnd 2
Meyer's Pick: Rich by RNC first round
No surprise

Din Thomas def Clay Guida Decision
Meyer's Pick: Din by armbar first round.
Shows credit to Clay by working to a decision

Ed Herman def Chris Price Submission (Armbar) 2:58 rnd 1
Meyer's Pick: Ed by armbar first round
You don't have to call me a prophet. Just worship me.

Josh Burkman def Chad Reiner Decision (Unanimous)
Meyer's Pick: Chad by armbar second round!!!
Chad fought a very tough guy to a decision. I hope the UFC calls him back.

Nathan Marquardt def Dean Lister Decision (Unanimous)
Meyer's Pick: Dean over the cheater by heel hook
Props to the cheater. If he passes his piss test, he should look to move up in rank.

Hermes Franca def Spencer Fisher TKO (Strikes) 4:03 rnd 2
Meyer's Pick: Spencer by ref stoppage KO third round
WOW... Spencer got caught by a Hermes haymaker punch??? Just Wow. I will never pick against Hermes again... except maybe against Sherk...

Jake O'Brien def Heath Herring Decision (Unanimous)
Meyer's Pick: Heath by KO first round
Keith has lost it. He gassed then complained to the ref about his inability to get up. I never want to see him again. Jake, however, I would like to see work on his offence a little bit... your takedowns are good, but DO SOMETHING WITH THEM!!!

Rashad Evans def Sean Salmon KO (Kick) 1:06 rnd 2
Meyer's Pick: Rashad by RNC first round
Nice kick. Glad to see Rashad get two finishes in a row. Now he needs to fight someone real.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Best Elbow Ever!!

UFC Fight Night 1-25 7 PM Spike TV

UFC has a GREAT card for UFN... only most of the good or interesting fights won't be shown. Not only that, but why oh why is Nate Marquardt on the card? I guess the UFC wants to reward the juicers, while letting the good fighters who play by the rules *cough* Ivan Salaverry*cough* waiting in the wings? Anyway...

Card and Meyer's Picks:

Ross Pointon Vs. Rich Clementi
Pointon is known for very heavy hands, and very little submission defence... Oh and he is hard to understand.
That's pretty much it... He fought mostly in his native England in the Cage Warriors organisation where he was taped out by Micheal Bisping, and.. Christ, everybody taps this guy out.
Rich Clementi was the first eliminated in the last season of TUF, loosing a decision to Shonie Carter. A fight that he should have won with out a problem, by the way. Rich is a BJJ guy who wins a lot by submission. He also wins a lot by KO. Rich is a well rounder fighter, that is having trouble finding his rhythm lately. He has lost his last two fights, one by decision to Carl Uno, and the other by RNC to Din Thomas. Rich seems to be the guy with tons of talent, who can never get it together in the big fight. He has a very respectable 25-11-1 record, fighting all kinds of big names... and mostly loosing to them.
I think that this time Rich is matched up with someone that he can take. Rich by RNC first round.

Clay Guida Vs. Din Thomas
Clay almost got caught in a Justin James armbar before getting loose and catching Justin with a RNC. Clay is all about cardio, and fights like his hair is on fire... Clay is 21-6, with all but one of his losses coming by submission. Clay simply out works you in the fight. He keeps coming and coming and coming. He is fun to watch.
Din Came off of a huge RNC win over Rich Clementi to make his return to the octagon official. Din trains with American Top Team in Florida, and is known for his strong boxing and quick submissions. He seemed to have improved his striking during the show, and that only supplements his game. Din has fought everybody at 155, and has a "win some, loose some" record in the UFC. He beat Jens Pulver, but got knocked out by BJ Penn. He beat Matt Serra, but lost to Carol Uno. His overall record is 21-6.
While Clay is fun to watch, I don't think that Thursday will be his night. Din trains with the best MMA submission team in the USA, and will be fighting in front of a home town crowd. If Justin can almost catch Clay, Din will tear him apart. Din by armbar first round.

Ed Herman Vs. Chris Price
Ed has been kind of a disappointment for the UFC. He first lost to Kendal Grove in the TUF final, then got caught in a triangle choke by Jason MacDonald, a guy Ed was supposed to walk through. Ed trains with Team Quest, and, surprise, is known for his wresteling and G&P. Ed normally will use his wrestling and the G&P to set up a armbar or a RNC. His record is 17-6.
Chris Price was Kendal Grove's first victim after winning TUF. Chris really is an unknown, we did not get to see much of his style vs Kendal. Chris is 9-1.
Again I think that Chris was brought in to be destroyed by Ed Herman. That is the only reason that I can come up with. Ed by armbar first round.

Chad Reiner Vs. Josh Burkman
Chad... I train with Chad, and of course you will get the usal biased opinion from me. Chad and I used to trade submission for submission, but lately his cardio has gotten so good that he simply takes his game to a higher physical level, and he is able to stymy me. I still give him fits standing up though. Chad has ran through all of the fighters locally, and then went on to do very well against national competition. He made it to the semi final match in the Extreme Challenge 170 tournament, loosing his only loss to Dusin Hazelet by KO in the final. He beat BJJ black belt Jay Jack in Ring of Fire, and holds the Victory Fighting Championship welterweight belt.
Josh Burkman is a Team Quest fighter, who has a big mouth. So big in fact that Jeremy Horn choked Josh completely out then spit on his unconscious body. Despite the big mouth Josh is super tough. He beat Josh Neer by decision, beat Melvin Guillard by decision, and choked out Drew Fickett. His record is 17-4.
The telling thing in this fight is that all four of Josh's losses are by submission. Chad is no Drew Fickett, but he has a definite chance of putting Josh on his back and finishing the fight. I have to go with my man here, Chad by armbar second round!!!

Dean Lister Vs. Nate Marquardt
Dean Lister nearly put us to sleep by boredom during his last fight (win decision) with Yuki Sasaki. I love a good ground match, but this was a clinic in the Lay and Pray style of fighting. Not normally Dean's style though. Of Dean's 9 wins, only one is by decision, the rest he settles by submission. Dean is a BJJ black belt and an active competitor in the big grappling events around the world. His stand up is not really that great, but his ground game more than makes up for any weakness there.
Nate is on a winning streak lately, winning his last 5 fights. Nate is too known for his ground game, BUT he is not known as a dynamic fighter. He is a very patient ground fighter taking few risks, and typically grinds out the long decision win after holding on to top position. Of those 5 fights that he won, 3 were by decision. Oh and he has been known to supplement with Vitamin "S."
This should be a good ground fight, however if the fight is decided on the ground, Dean Lister is walking away with the win. Dean over the cheater by heel hook.

Hermes Franca Vs. Spencer Fisher
Hermies!!!!
BJJ Black Belt Hermies Franca is on FIRE not loosing a fight in 2006, and he had seven fights. Oh, and he did not go the distance in any one of those fights. Two KOs, one triangle, and four armbars. Hermies is the king of submissions in the UFC, getting them from any angle. He was getting beaten in his fight with Jamie Varner, then pulled some crazy armbar completely out of his neither regions in the third round to win the fight. Hermies is one of the principal instructor/owners of the Armory in Florida, but keeps close ties to former teams of American Top Team and Brazilian Top Team. He has been training with both Nog brothers, Marcus Aurelio, and Bustamante to get ready for this fight. Hermies' record is 17-5.
Spence is 5-1 in the UFC, his only loss coming by decision to Sam Stout... oh and he did not have time to train for that fight, he took the fight on two days notice, and he fought two weeks before at 170, and he had to cut 25 lbs the day before the fight. Spence is an animal. He has good submissions, and heavy heavy hands. I like him because I got to see him fight so often around here.
Spece trains out at MFC with Matt Hughes, Tim Sylvia, and Josh Neer. All respect his punching power and solid wrestling. His record is 19-2.
This will be a very good fight. Spence is very tough to finish. So tough in fact that no one in his two losses has done it. Spencer has won in all ways, but he favors the triangle choke and the KO. I don't think that Spencer will want to get on the mat with Hermies, not when he has such a huge advantage over Hermies in the stand up department. Hermies is not known for his great takedowns, and the reason he was loosing to Jamie Varner is that Hermies tired himself out trying to take Jamie down. For sure Spence hits harder than Jamie, and for sure Hermies has been working on his takedowns, and his cardio. Tough call, and even though I like Hermies a lot, I think that Spencer is a bad fight for him. Spencer by ref stoppage KO third round.

Jake O'Brien Vs. Heath Herring
Jake is 11-0, and starting to catch his stride in the UFC going 2-0. He has defeated Kristof Midoux by KO and most recently Josh Shockman by decision. Ok, that's all I have on Jake. Seriously, I don't know much about the guy.
Heath Herring was the number four man in PRIDE before he left the organisation. True, he was so completely dominated by the top three that no one in their right mind would give him a rematch with any of them, but he still was in there giving everything he could. Heath is a very strong kickboxer, his right high kick has put down many good fighters (Tom Erickson and Mark Kerr to name two). He also has a very strong submission game tapping several opponents out (13). Heath is 26-11.
This is an interesting fight. Jake is no push over, but he has never faced anybody like Heath Herring before. Heath has faced the greatest in the world, Jake is not going to scare him. While I think that Jake will be game, he is no Fedor, Nog or Cro Cop. Heath by KO first round.

Rashad Evans Vs. Sean Salmon
Rashad finally got a finish in his last fight knocking out Jason Lambert, and, after eight straight decision wins, it was a welcome sight.
Rashad is very methodical in his fighting. He uses his considerable wrestling talent to ground his opponents, where he works them over with a solid position game and good striking. He just has very little power on the ground. He is very strong on the ground, he just can't punch from there. He was able to catch Jason Lambert with a big right hand to end the fight, but before then the fight went as all his other fights go. Big double leg, good positioning, tiny tiny smacks, stand up, repeat. Rashad is undefeated at 14-0.
Sean is a wrestler out of Wisconsin, who makes his debut in the UFC. A virtual unknown, Sean has yet to fight anybody of importance. His 9-1 record is impressive, but only half of the fighters he has faced even have winning records. One guy was 5-22.
Honestly the UFC is really stretching if they want us to take this fight seriously. On paper it is such a miss-match that had I been a Florida Athletic Commission offical I would have voted not to allow this fight. Salmon is a very small fish (pun!! pun!!), while Rashad is the next big thing in the UFC's 205 weight class. I think that the UFC just brought somebody in so that Rashad can finish them, so he can beat his reputation of being a "Lay & Pray" fighter. Rashad by RNC first round.

There it is!! Go CHAD!!!! I hope the fights go quick enough so that we get to see you fight!

First Post

Welcome to my blog. I have not a clue what to do with it, but everybody else has one so I figure I need to have one too. I figure I will put what ever vomits out of my brain on this thing, if I remember to post.

Who am I? I do a little bit of everything. I am a pilot. I speak some Japanese. I practice Mixed Martial Arts. I like to speculate on MMA. I am a Libertarian. I hate the socialists. I hate religion. Anyway all should become apparent as I post more.

こにちわ。マットです。これは私のblogです。今日本語を勉強をしています。たぶんこれはおもしろいです。日本語が好きですけどむずかしです。多分ここでちょっとれんしゅをします。ようこそ!