Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted January 28, 2006 Where: Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, NV When: Saturday February 4th, 10 PM Card Rundown Main Event for the UFC Light-Heavyweight Championship Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell © vs Randy "The Natural" Couture Frank Mir vs Marcio "Pe De Pano" Cruz Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs Mike Van Arsdale Alessio "Legionarius" Sakara vs Elvis "King of Rock n' Rumble" Sinosic Brandon "The Truth" Vera vs Justin Eilers Paul "The Headhunter" Buentello vs Gilbert "El Peligroso" Aldana Jeff "Snowman" Monson vs "The Iron Lion" Brandon Lee Hinkle Nick Diaz vs Joe "Diesel" Riggs "Iron" Mike Whitehead vs Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine They shoulda called this one "UFC 57: Nicknames". I'll post my full thoughts soon enough but any and all predictions and discussion belong here. Let's get it on!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lei Tong 0 Report post Posted January 28, 2006 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. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AmericanDragon 0 Report post Posted January 28, 2006 Couture will win if he doesn't get poked in the eye. He would have won the second fight too if hadn't gotten poked in the eye. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Your Paragon of Virtue 0 Report post Posted January 28, 2006 I'm gonna put a preview of this card soon on the front page. Probably will be up by Monday. I'll also do a review since those are generally more fun to write, as well as being easier. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted January 28, 2006 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. *Big Pop* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Brian Report post Posted January 29, 2006 Fuck Joe Riggs. I think Frank Mir will beat PDP by tongue twister. Pe will stick his tongue out, Mir will grab it and twist it, Rogan will call it a twister and Eddie Bravo will soon disown him for stealing his name. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted January 29, 2006 Hopefully Babalu will cut another scary promo like the one he did on Chael Sonnen where he talked about his girlfriend not being able to recognize him after. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted January 30, 2006 Predictions ho! Liddell def. Couture via TKO R2- I think Randy will survive the initial flury in the first round but as we saw in the MVA fight Randy's reaction time is getting slower and he almost got dropped a few times. Randy is not going to KO or TKO Chuck again so the only way I see this one going his way is if Chuck gets sloppy and leaves himself open for a submission. Mir def Cruz via Sub R2- I can only hope that PdP brings the dickery he's famous for and throws a multitude of leg kicks at Mir. Babalu def MVA via Sub R1- Both guys have good standup and while MVA is the better wrestler I think that will prove to be his downfall against Mr. Sobral. Sakara def Sinosic via TKO R1- Legionarius was throwing some awesome shots before he got his sack rearranged by Faircloth. Elvis definetly has a shot in this one as he was throwing some good punches at Forrest beore he got caught. Eilers def Vera via KO R2- Not much to say here. Both guys are going to try and put one another to sleep. Buentello def Aldana via KO R1- See above. I've only seen one Hinkle fight and zero Monson so the pick in this one means next-to-nothing. Uhh..........Hinkle by KO, R1. Yeah, that'll work. Diaz def Riggs via Sub R2 Jardine def Whitehead via TKO R2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
starvenger 0 Report post Posted January 30, 2006 Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell © vs Randy "The Natural" Couture (decision) Longer match, same winner. I don't know if Couture will get TKO'd again but Chuck's got a lot of momentum right now. Frank Mir vs Marcio "Pe De Pano" Cruz (TKO rd 2) UFC is pinning their HW hopes on Mir returning. So am I. Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs Mike Van Arsdale (sub rd 1) MVA will blow up relatively quickly. Alessio "Legionarius" Sakara vs Elvis "King of Rock n' Rumble" Sinosic (TKO rd 1) Hard to pick against a guy nicknamed "Legionarius". OK, well, it isn't, but it's a great nickname. Brandon "The Truth" Vera vs Justin Eilers (TKO rd 2) I don't really know either of these guys, but as a rule I don't root for people nicknamed "The Truth". Paul "The Headhunter" Buentello vs Gilbert "El Peligroso" Aldana (TKO rd 1) We've got a headhunter and a dangerous one. This will not be pretty. Jeff "Snowman" Monson vs "The Iron Lion" Brandon Lee Hinkle In a battle of Fighters I Don't Know, Hinkle won the coin toss. Nick Diaz vs Joe "Diesel" Riggs (TKO rd 2) Riggs should come in to the "Grease Medley" to mess with Diaz' head. This is Nick's chance to prove that he deserves another shot at Sanchez. "Iron" Mike Whitehead vs Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine (Decision) These guys are LHWs now, I think, so hopefully we'll see more action than their individual snoozefests during TUF 2. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lei Tong 0 Report post Posted January 30, 2006 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." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
starvenger 0 Report post Posted January 30, 2006 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." Hell no. In the real world, I wouldn't even bet on this match because I don't know anything about either guy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rendclaw 0 Report post Posted January 31, 2006 Speaking of Diego, what has he been doing lately? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Your Paragon of Virtue 0 Report post Posted January 31, 2006 He had a fight in November, and is prepped for a fight at the USA vs. Canada card in the beginning of March. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Brian Report post Posted January 31, 2006 Did anyone watch the Unleashed special tonight for this match? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Brian Report post Posted January 31, 2006 Unleashed was by far the best episode they've had so far. Everything clicked; hype, presentation, commentary, fight footage, and training footage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted January 31, 2006 While I liked it A LOT, I would have liked to have seen more talking heads in it - like with Horn vs. Liddell. This was just Dana, Tim Sylvia for some reason, and Hackleman. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lt. Al Giardello 0 Report post Posted February 1, 2006 "Iron" Mike Whitehead vs Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine (Decision) These guys are LHWs now, I think, so hopefully we'll see more action than their individual snoozefests during TUF 2. Keith Jardine/Rashad Evans was a great war. Problay the best fight on TUF 2. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
starvenger 0 Report post Posted February 1, 2006 No, that would be Von Flue/Gurgel. Pretty much all the HW fights during TUF 2 were bad, Evans/Imes and Macdonald/Imes being the exceptions. I really didn't see anything from Jardine during his fight with Evans. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted February 1, 2006 Macdonald/Imes was complete and utter ass. Bad fight with one of the worst submission endings I've seen in a while. Not bad as in "Hey, he got tapped, that sucks" but "Hey, it took him about 3 minutes to locke the triangle on, you're a fucking idiot for not getting out". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AboveAverage484 0 Report post Posted February 1, 2006 I think if Couture can stick to his gameplan and not get caught he has a great chance of winning Saturday. I can't see Couture getting caught like he did last time, I also think the "eye poke" had a great deal to do with Liddell's victory as well, not taking anything away from it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrRant 0 Report post Posted February 1, 2006 I just realized Couture is from Everett, WA. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naiwf 0 Report post Posted February 1, 2006 I hope Chuck puts the stamp on Randy and gives him an even more brutal KO just so we don't have to hear about the eye poke anymore. If Fedor can get dumped on his head and still submit Randleman 20 seconds later, Randy should be able to not lose his mind and start swinging for the fences because he got a finger in the eye. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted February 1, 2006 The difference between what you stated being that Randlemans suplex was 100% legal, the eye-poke clearly was not. Randy wasn't swinging for the fences because of the eye poke, watch the replay. He catches Chuck, who staggers back and Randy makes the mistake of rushing forward and missing a shot which gave Chuck the chance to throw the punch that ended it all. But don't worry, even if Chuck KO's him again you'll still be hearing about the eye-poke, at least as long as Tito Ortiz has a voicebox. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naiwf 0 Report post Posted February 1, 2006 The difference between what you stated being that Randlemans suplex was 100% legal, the eye-poke clearly was not. Randy wasn't swinging for the fences because of the eye poke, watch the replay. He catches Chuck, who staggers back and Randy makes the mistake of rushing forward and missing a shot which gave Chuck the chance to throw the punch that ended it all. But don't worry, even if Chuck KO's him again you'll still be hearing about the eye-poke, at least as long as Tito Ortiz has a voicebox. What I'm getting at is that Randy lost his focus and went for a KO because he was a bit angry about the eye poke. He said that himself on the UFC thing the other night. As a result he abandoned his gameplan and paid for it by getting KTFO'd. Randleman's suplex was far more damaging than a thumb to the eye but Fedor kept his cool and made him tap almost in the same length of time that Couture ended up wondering who he was and why the lights were shining in his eyes. I just think it's kind of sad that I've yet to hear a Randy fan accept that he got knocked out moreso because of bad strategy than catching a bad break. At least with the Vitor eye incident it was a fluke thing and everyone could see that, although even then some conspiracy theorists suggested that Belfort knew he could cut Randy with his glove seams. If that was the case Vitor should have been unbeatable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rendclaw 0 Report post Posted February 1, 2006 I saw that fight, and its not like Chuck did it intentionally. If Randy got pissed and tried to trade with Chuck because of that, he deserved to get KTFO'ed. Hopefully the rubber match will be good and there is a clear-cut winner, and there is no reason to cry and whine on either side. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted February 1, 2006 I'm not sure if I'm the person to tell the story/stories but there's many-an-account from fighters who'll tell you that Chucks thumb landing in their eye was no accident. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Your Paragon of Virtue 0 Report post Posted February 1, 2006 Tito and Vernon White don't really count. At the time, Tito didn't make a big deal out of it and accepted defeat, but since then has exaggerated the tale. For anyone to think that Chuck's KO punch of Vernon was a thumb in the eye is ridiculous. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AboveAverage484 0 Report post Posted February 2, 2006 I'm gonna go ahead and be a dick and guarantee a Randy victory. I thought Chuck's victory in the last fight was flukish to say the least so this fight I'm looking for a repeat of their first encounter. If anyone wants to make an avatar bet, I'm game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Your Paragon of Virtue 0 Report post Posted February 2, 2006 I don't have one right now so sure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lei Tong 0 Report post Posted February 2, 2006 Tito definitely did get thumbed, and there were post fight pics of his grotesquely swollen eye. The problem is, it's pretty hard to argue that Chuck is such a master strategist that he knew that by throwing a high kick at that moment, Tito would block it awkwardly and send his own thumb deep into his eye. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
