Guest Brian Report post Posted January 14, 2006 I figure from here on out, any shows we discuss should get their own threads. I think Spike moved the time back because they wanted to make sure they had the lkast hour sans competition, as they figured that the Unleashed shows drew better for the second hour. Here's the card: Melvin "The Young Assassin" Guillard vs Josh 'The Dentist' Neer Jonathan "The Road Warrior" Goulet vs Duane "Bang" Ludwig Jason "Live Wire" Von Flue vs. Alex "Assassin" Karalexis Chris "The Crippler" Leben vs Jorge "El Conquistador" Rivera Drew "The Master" Fickett vs Josh "The People's Warrior" Burkman Spencer "The King" Fisher vs Aaron Riley Stephan "American Psycho" Bonnar vs James "Sandman" Irvin Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia vs Assuerio Silva I'm picking all the guys on the left to win, and the match-ups all look good. Hopefully they can fit five match on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted January 14, 2006 It's only a 2 hour card, my guess is that with intros, commercials, UFC 57 and TUF III buildup we'll only get 4 fights, especially if they're thinking of ever putting out the UFN series on DVD. Stoked as hell for what we're going to see, though. The main event is almost certainly going to deliver a serious beatdown which is what SpikeTV needs at this point. The UFN shows have all delivered in one way or another but none of them so far have had any "Holy Shit!" moments, save for maybe the finish to Koscheck/Fickett. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Brian Report post Posted January 14, 2006 Ultimate Fight Night 3 Monday, January 16, 2006 The Joint - Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, Nevada By Stephen Quadros, “The Fight Professor” As I watched the 78th Scripps Annual Spelling Bee, I weepingly realized…that I was inspired. Not because of the $22,000.00 in grand prize money or the scholarship that was awarded to the teen who won (I forget his name…), but watching the look on his face; he knew deep down inside that not only had he given his very best effort but that he had also achieved that ever elusive goal, to BE the best at what one does. Which brings us to the third installment of the popular Ultimate Fight Night series. I don’t know how well each of these fine lads fighting on this show can spell but I will speak with authority on the fact that they all yearn for and are heading for a chance to prove (or re-prove in at least a few cases) that they are ‘the best’. But realistically, that quest is a ways away for a good portion of them. Will some soon (prematurely?) face the fire as Nate Quarry did when he was squashed by UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin recently? I hope not. Only time will tell how these hopefuls fare as they careen towards that chance to carve a piece of the MMA pie for themselves. There ARE some bright prospects here. In a natural spin-off/sequel to any good UFC headliner, this “When Undercards Ruled The Earth” show might surprise us all. In a way the UFN series could become this generation’s Tuesday Night Fights (the old USA boxing show that launch many a career into stardom and resuscitated many more from professional extinction). Tim Sylvia Vs. Assuerio Silva Of course WE won’t get confused…even though it’s SYLVIA versus SILVA! Heck no. Hahaha. Being a commentator myself, I know that this match will be a challenge to announce. We’re probably going to hear their first names quite a bit during the broadcast. How will the fight go? “Wham, bam, thank you mam.” Those are actually lyrics sang by David Bowie way back in the early 1970s in the rock anthem “Suffragette City”. But even though dapper David was singing about a different kind of ‘smack up’ than we have here with S versus S, the song could easily be reinterpreted to fit what will inevitably happen when former UFC heavyweight Tim Sylvia hopes to send Brazilian wrecking machine Assuerio Silva rolling out on the UFC welcome mat on Saturday night. These two have big time punching power accompanied with basic ground skills. If that isn’t a combination for a train wreck, I don’t know what is. No truth to the rumor that Allstate balked at insuring either gent for this one. Sylvia didn’t look too clunky when he head kicked stationary Tra Telligman into the next millennium (UFC 54). But if PRIDE veteran Silva is on his game he will be ON Sylvia quick. I really can’t see how this will go the distance, somebody is going to land a punch on somebody’s dome and somebody is going to sleep. Who will the recipient be of this honor? Hmm. If Assuerio is going to turn Tim into a falling tower (Silvia is 6’ 8” tall) he will have to do it in panther-like fashion. He can’t wait on the outside and pick his shots. If The “Maine-iac” (Sylvia) is going to prevail he needs to keep it standing and fire long range rockets. But the fight’s outcome may all depend what kind of shape Silva is in, if he still possesses his quickness and if he can turn this into a phone booth situation. Traditionally the former Chute Boxe tough man (Assuerio) is always in great condition so I am forecasting a rain of punches…by both guys. Long story short, I lean towards the Brazilian to be giving the winning post fight interview. Stephan Bonnar Vs. James Irvin Stephan Bonnar is really going to be tested in this one. WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) heavyweight champion James Irving is a superb athlete with really quick hands. But most will remember him for his flying knee KO over Terry Martin (another WEC fighter) at UFC 54. And now that he has dropped down to light-heavyweight his confidence seemed to have grown. Bonnar will always be tied to one of 2005’s best MMA fights when he was eked out in the Ultimate Fighter Finals from TUF: Season 1 by Forrest Griffin. That match saw him slug with a slugger. Even Griffin commented in his interview after the match that he expected Bonnar to take him down and try to force a jiu-jitsu style match (Stephan is a disciple of Carlson Gracie). If Bonnar fights smart he will do just that, get Irvin on his back. There lies his not so secret plan to prevail. Fighting exclusively in a standing match with Irvin is a not a good game plan in my opinion. I believe that there is strong possibility that this fight will go the distance and because I have a high opinion of both men, I foresee the winner AND the loser to be (relatively) secure in a future inside the Octagon. But I am not ruling out a KO (most likely by Irvin) or a submission (by Bonnar) either. My pick to win? Yikes, the pressure! James has a knockout punch but needs work on his ground game. Stephan represents the reverse of that coin. My heart tells me Bonnar but my gut tells me Irvin so my brain will be the tiebreaker: I pick Bonnar to win a really hard fight in a breakout performance. Chris Leben Vs. Jorge Rivera Chris Leben really impressed me when he out scrapped tough Canadian Patrick Cote. I really imagined that Leben would end up getting short circuited in the advent that they stayed on their feet for long. He not only hung tough with the Canadian but he controlled the fight with his natural propensity for getting directly in his opponents face. Jorge Rivera poses an even greater test for Chris because the Bostonian is a superb Muay Thai fighter (under the tutelage of Mark Dellagrotte) with and ever-improving ground game. After losing a hellacious battle to Rich Franklin in UFC 50 he snuck off to England’s top notch Cage Rage organization and gained a great reputation by beating Alex Reid in one of those highlight clip KOs and weathering the grappling onslaught and then decisioning Gracie Barra’s Marcelo Azeredo. The speed bump he hit while traipsing in the land of teatime and Wembley was in a guy who is in most people’s top ten (let alone top five) in Anderson Silva. Rivera fell to the Brazilian after a spirited effort. Which bring us to Leben versus Rivera. If Chris can continue his mind over matter routine he can take this one. It all depends on what mental artillery each guy brings to the cage. If Jorge isn’t completely focused and doesn’t come out on fire, Chris Leben will ad him to his belt notches. Melvin Guillard Vs. Josh Neer “Do you know who I am?” Those words set New Orleans survivor Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard apart from the rest of the pack on The Ultimate Fighter 2. Cocky? Do ya think? I say, so what. The kid’s a warrior (not to mention a New Orleans resident who survived 23 hurricanes last year!). And who could forget when he went into Dana White’s office and put forth the proposition that he was going to drop out of the show because he couldn’t handle it…only to turn around and tell the UFC president he was joking. I like this guy’s persona/energy and even though he is/was a diamond in the rough, when it comes to the technical aspects of the game, he could rise very high in the sport because of what goes on in his head. Melvin’s opponent, Josh Neer, AKA “The Dentist”, is a man who just loves to throw down with whoever is in front of him. He seems to have gotten better on the ground too but has lost there too. I think Melvin will win this by ground and pound. Duane "Bang" Ludwig Vs. Jonathan Goulet It’s good to see Duane Ludwig back on American TV. But he is in against a tough fighter in Jonathan Goulet (Canada). Goulet has beaten some good fighters like Jeff Joslin (decision), Shonie Carter (Submission/choke), Tony Fryklund (TKO, Avenging an earlier loss) and John Alessio (decision). The only ‘potential’ problem he faces going into this one is that all five of his losses have come by way of KO or TKO. Technically speaking that’s not good when you face a slick striker like Ludwig. Duane has had his shares of woes however, coming off two losses back-to-back in his last two fights. Everyone was shocked when Sam Morgan KO’d him but not surprised when BJ Penn submitted Ludwig. So because I believe that momentum is always a factor, I would say that Goulet has a solid chance here. Alex Karalexis Vs. Jason Von Flue Ooh, this is going to be good. I pick Jason in a dogfight. And his post-fight interview should be interesting too. Drew Fickett Vs. Josh Burkman Drew Fickett can’t hang back in this one. If he does he will fall prey to the hustle of Josh Burkman. But if Drew dictates he could/should win by submission. Spencer Fisher Vs. Aaron Riley Everyone knows Aaron Riley as the man who can take a punch. But he has other tools too, like the ability to GIVE one. He is also is very sound at escaping submissions. Fisher is well rounded and has an impressive record of 15-1 but he is going to lose this particular match. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Your Paragon of Virtue 0 Report post Posted January 14, 2006 He thinks Aaron Riley is gonna win? Crazy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snuffbox 0 Report post Posted January 14, 2006 Brian - Nice Tuesday Night Fight reference. I hope that is what these Spike shows end up being because the growing fanbase (myself included) need a solid education on the upcoming fighters. IVe liked most everything Ive seen so far and Im following it closer with each show I see. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Brian Report post Posted January 14, 2006 That's not me, that's Quadros. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snuffbox 0 Report post Posted January 14, 2006 I really shouldve noticed that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted January 14, 2006 http://www.ufc.tv/ is THEE place for Ultimate Fight Night news and resources. A TON of video interviews up, Bonnar brings up a certain name that raised my eyebrows and that would KICK SO MUCH ASS if it happened, given the history behind Bonnars JJ trainer, and very few things gets me more hyped than watching fighters hit the heavybag and mits. The show starts at 10pm. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 Oh, and Meltzer says that the undercard fights are going to be shown on episodes of Unleashed, which is awesome IMO. One step closer to Danas dream. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 Ok, I am FREAKING THE FUCK OUT RIGHT NOW! On SPIKETV.com they have "Tune in for the most important announcement in UFC History, Jan 16th" HOLY SHIT. It also says it will "Change the UFC forever" !!!!!!!!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Your Paragon of Virtue 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 Is the name you're speaking of VITORIA?! I've watched WWF too long to think that this announcement is bullshit, but I will say that the UFC has yet to disappoint when it comes to big announcements, so I'll reserve judgement. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 I'm thinking its a weekly TV fight show, or a 5 year deal with SPIKE, or it's the Monthly Live Fight Card that has already been announced but not announced to a large audience. (That would essentially be the same as the Weekly TV fight show, where they use the undercards as content for each month). And yes, Bonnar vs. Belfort would be amazing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 http://www.spiketv.com/index.jhtml#shows/f...ght/index.jhtml Kinda sucks to navigate given the video, but still, lots of great stuff on it. I recommend going to the flipbook section and checking out the photo of the blonde ring girl and then the photo of Randy Couture and Fez. It's so wrong. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Your Paragon of Virtue 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 Which UFN had Tito in it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 I think he was there to support Salaverry at UFN1 and there was a big issue with sponsorship and they were freezing Tito out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Your Paragon of Virtue 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 But I didn't think they would take any pics of him, I mean the guy was a hated enemy. It wouldn't make sense for the UFC to have tried to publicize him if he tried to bury him in all those other ways. Unless....SWERVE~! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lei Tong 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 God, Quadros is such a fucking tool. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 The camera guy probably isn't instructed by the UFC to take only a certain amount of photos of certain things. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Your Paragon of Virtue 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 The Cameraman who was taping the event was told not to focus on Tito at all for UFC 52 apparently. It wouldn't surprise me if they wanted to avoid him in pics too, since they pretty much denied his existence. This was all a set up. Well played Dana White. VERY well played. Quadros isn't that big a tool, you're overexaggerating here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 Camera men taking photos are different from Camera men shooting video. Shooting video means that it gets shown on screen and the fans react. A photo can just be for stock purposes. This is all irrelevant and boring, though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Your Paragon of Virtue 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 I was just trying to feed more into the myth that is Sleazy D. The whole idea of the Tito angle being a work is ridiculous. But I wouldn't put it past Dana and his awkward smile. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Your Paragon of Virtue 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 Speaking of Tito, I was watching that Documentary Relentless:Tito vs the Lion's Den. It's interesting stuff that dates back to his debut and ends with his second fight with Mezger, it's all told from the perspective of his old manager. It's a pretty interesting look at some Behind the Scenes stuff at the time, and it's also kind of cool to see how some current UFC figures, like Buffer and Silva, were around at that time. I'll U/L if there's enough interest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 Throughout UFC history, there have been many groundbreaking announcements, moments that have both stunned and thrilled fight fans. But there's never been anything like this.On Monday, January 16th, during the Spike TV broadcast of Ultimate Fight Night 3, the UFC will raise the bar once again by announcing the biggest news in the organization's history, something that will stun the world of mixed martial arts.Don't miss this landmark moment in MMA history on Monday night. The Spike TV broadcast begins at 10pm ET/PT. -ufc.tv Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 Man, fuck a Sunday. I need me some Monday, stat! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
razazteca 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 Throughout UFC history, there have been many groundbreaking announcements, moments that have both stunned and thrilled fight fans. But there's never been anything like this.On Monday, January 16th, during the Spike TV broadcast of Ultimate Fight Night 3, the UFC will raise the bar once again by announcing the biggest news in the organization's history, something that will stun the world of mixed martial arts.Don't miss this landmark moment in MMA history on Monday night. The Spike TV broadcast begins at 10pm ET/PT. -ufc.tv Chuck Norris's company is going to do cross promotion with UFC? Chuck Norris is going to roundhouse kick Joe Rogan! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 Some possibilities, realistic and not......... - Rogan vs Snipes - Cross promotional shit w/ PRIDE - Return of Frank Shamrock (Ha!) - Return of Light-Heavyweights - First UFC show in California Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Your Paragon of Virtue 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 Many think it will either be UFC 58 in Cali or the monthly show RRR was talking about. Either way those announcements, while huge, don't really scream "BIGGEST ANNOUNCEMENT EVA!@" to me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 Yeah, I mean the last live TV show had the return of Tito and Ken, return of BJ and the announcement of Chuck/Randy III. This shit has a lot to live up to. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 UFC goes from having 6 live shows a year to having 18, as well as, new content shows each week. How is that not huge? Remember 2004? Remember 2003? Remember when we couldn't get this shit on a weekly basis and had to wait MONTHS for shit we will get every week now? That's huge. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Big_Jay101 Report post Posted January 15, 2006 The Light heavyweights never left pal^^^...Im sure you meant Lightweight though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
