Lei Tong

I suppose not, and I wouldn't mind seeing Baldomir possibly put the final nail in Gatti's career.

I never doubted that Gatti could draw a gate and TV crowd, especially with HBO constantly stumbling over themselves to verbally fellate him, but I suppose I just find it dissapointing that a B level fighter could win what some would consider a lackluster fight against an opponent brought in to make him look good, and then instantly get a title shot against a hard working fighter who's toiled and gone undefeated in the division since '98.

Would anyone care to back up their BLH picks with cash? Even in the world of MMA, Monson def. Hinkle is as good as "free money."

I'm not sure Gatti deserves a title shot so soon simply for being a "name."

Chuck Liddell def. Randy Couture via KO, Rd.2 - Assuming Chuck doesn't completely revert to his wildly swinging, former self, this should look like a slightly extended version of the last bout. Frank Mir def. Marcio Cruz via TKO, Rd.2 - Pure hope here. Mir was a huge question mark even before his injury, but I'm PRAYING he tears PDP a new one. Renato Sobral def. Mike Van Arsdale via submission, Rd.2 -It'll be interesting while it lasts, but MVA will lose his explosiveness eventually and get caught. Alessio Sakara def. Elvis Sinosic via KO, Rd.1 - Sinosic doesn't have the physical atributes to hang with most 205lbs fighters, much less one as big and explosive as Sakara. Brandon Vera def. Justin Eilers via KO, Rd.3 - Eilers is a tough dude, and has better movement than Whitehead or Scherner, but Vera is a patient guy, and will slowly pick him apart as the fight goes on. Paul Buentello def. Gilbert Aldano via KO, Rd.1 - Rock 'em, sock 'em robot match here, which Buentello wins based on some decent boxing skills and Aldano being 100% right hand and nothing else. Jeff Monson def. Brandon Lee Hinkle via submission, Rd.1 - Hopefully Monson gets Hinkle on his back sooner rather than later, so as to keep the lovemaking to a minimum. Joe Riggs def. Nick Diaz via Unanimous JD - Diaz tags Riggs early, and Joe keeps Diaz on his back for the rest of the fight, wildly missing his G&P and powering out of subs. Afterwards, he complains that no one wants to trade with him. Mike Whitehead def. Keith Jardine via Unanimous JD - Whitehead avoids a few scares standing and on the mat, winning almost purely on takedowns and positioning.

2 fights left to preview, but I know little about 3 of 4 fighters involved (sans Megumi Fuji). Until then, enjoy a Shooto Promo vid: Shooto highlight video

I'm obviously going to have to sellout to gain any interest here... Tequila Driver:

Alessio has actually been living in CA for a while, training with Millenia Jiu Jitsu. He's a better striker than Goulet, but I don't think his ground game is as good.

Ooh... bad example. "Lemme slap on a sloppy kimura without even securing position first, and then wonder why I can't get any leverage on it."

Rumina "Moon Wolf" Sato ROOTS Former Shooto Pacific Rim Lightweight Champion (Defeated Makoto Ishikawa for the title; vacated) Notable Wins: Makoto Ishikawa (Unanimous JD), Katsuya Toida (KO), Yves Edwards (Submission) Strengths: Great submissions from most positions; Decent clinch takedowns; Improved striking with decent power in his punches and lowkicks; Athletic; Weaknesses: Questionable chin; Often lackluster when not allowed to set the pace of a bout; Has fallen in love with his stand-up before with bad results; Poor takedown defense; Antonio Carvalho Shah Franco Notable Wins: Takeshi Inoue (Majority JD), Tommy Lee (Submission) Strengths: Versatile grappler, capable both from the top and bottom; Good knees in the Thai clinch; Decent puncher, standing and on the ground; Weaknesses: Weak wrestling; Tends to leave himself open from G&P; Vulnerable at range standing; Not overpowering in any single area; At stake: With both guys coming off losses, both need the confidence boost of a Top 10, and will put themselves within reach of the winner of Melendez/Pequeno,

Mitsuhiro Ishida T-BLOOD Notable Wins: Takashi Nakakura (TKO), Koutetsu Boku (Unanimous JD), Daisuke Sugie (Unanimous JD) Strengths: Great wrestler, with good takedowns and suplexes; Aggresive; Very scrappy, able to tough out submission attempts; Good ground control; Weaknesses: Not an offensive threat on his feet or from his back; Relatively small 154 pounder; Weak striking; Kenichiro Togashi Paraestra Hiroshima Notable wins: Ganjo Tentsuku (Unanimous JD), Koutetsu Boku (Submission), Yoichi Fukumoto (Submission) Strengths: Versatile; Good submissions, especially from guard; Good, technical boxing skills; Weaknessess: Lack aggression standing; Lacks striking versatility; Little KO power; Poor wrestler; At stake: The vacant Shooto Pacific Rim Welterweight Title.

Crash & burn? Ricco & Kerr.

Well, Jhun effectively ended the "Trigg pounds guard players" myth, nearly submitting him near the end of the first. As much as I hate the boring motherfucker, Shields can fucking roll, and proved such when he placed 3rd at Abu Dhabi. He's also a good wrestler, which, when put together, equals "RNC." Shields was pretty much Trigg's worst match-up coming into the tournament, and considering how the first round unfolded, I'm changing my mind and picking Shields to take the whole thing.

Shields is taking the tournament, with only Condit possessing a possibly bad match-up of styles for him.

Hiroyuki Abe Abe Ani Combat Club Notable wins: Alexandre Franca Noguiera (KO), Kimihito Nonaka (Unanimous JD) Strengths: Capable puncher with good power; Very gutsy; Decent grappler from the top; Weaknesses: Wings punches when overly aggressive; Willingness to take punishment often risky; Succeptable to submissions on the bottom; Possible adverse effects of numerous beatings at 155lbs.; Weak wrestling; Tankei Fujimiya Shooting Gym Yokohama Notable wins: Yutaka Nishioka (Unanimous JD) Strengths: Strong puncher with good fundamentals; Capable wrestler with good takedown defense; Can dirty box in the clinch; Weaknesses: Undeveloped submission game with a questionable guard game; Often inactive in the clinch; Striking power diminishes as fight wears on; Has never been a 15 minute fight; At stake: For Abe, a chance to show that he stills what it takes to compete at 143lbs; For Fujimiya, a win over a tough, established veteran.

Double post.

Tatsuya Kawajiri & Mitsuhiro Ishida Volk Han & Andrei Kopylov: Grumpy Old Pwnage Akihiro Gono & Kazuo Misaki Norifumi & Atsushi Yamamoto: Reggeaton Wrestling School Makoto Ishikawa & Ganjo Tentsuku: Mullet Militia Tetsuji Kato & Takuya Kuwabara: PUREBRED Adorable Phillip Perez & Cole Escovedo

Well if it's based simply on skill level, Menjivar > Loiseau

... I don't get it.

I think Andrei murders Bitch Tits, submits Hunt, and gets G&P'ed into oblivion by Fedor.

Well, despite being a good fighter, I don't think his retirement hurts the division much. The only true successor to his title flew the coop years ago (Gono), and he's only defended his belt sporadically since, often looking lethargic. Hopefully, now that there's a hole to be filled, some other fighters can step up their games and prove themselves.

Akira Kikuchi Killer Bee Current Shooto Middleweight Champion (defeated Jake Shields for the title) Notable wins: Jake Shields (Unanimous JD), Katsuya Inoue (TKO), Jutaro Nakao (Majority JD) Strengths: Very strong top game, combining good control, G&P and submissions; Strong; Good takedowns; Improving stand-up; Weaknesses: Weak bottom game; Unrefined striking; Shinya Aoki Paraestra Tokyo Notable wins: Kuniyoshi Hironaka (TKO), Keith Wisniewski (Technical Submission), Seichi Ikemoto (Submission) Strengths: Crafty grappler, with submissions from many positions; Extremely agile; Improved G&P; Weaknesses: Too willing to go to his back; Undersized for 167lbs; Mediocre stand-up, tehcnique and strength wise; Questionable mental toughness; At stake: The Shooto World Middleweight Title, and a reinforced position in the Top 5 of the world.

Don't think too hard about it, because even in his prime, Royce wasn't that good. He just happened to be the chosen BJJ representative sent to pwn the early UFC's. The game has evolved past him now, and I expect this massacre to be his swan song (though, I also figured him being unable to beat Tokoro would've been it).

Poor showing from Tim, but Silva's a tough guy.

Bang is going to be fighting in the most wrestler-saturated division in MMA. He's toast.