Wanderlei Silva to Fight Michael Bisping at UFC 110

Wanderlei Silva was rumored to be facing Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 110 on February 20 in Australia. All that seems to have changed. Wanderleir’s new opponent appears to be Michael Bisping. Thew news comes by way of Fighters Only Magazine.

Bisping bounced back from a UFC 100 loss to Dan Henderson with a big win over Denis Kang at UFC 105. Bisping will look to string together a series of wins to climb back into title contention.

This fight is very possibly going to be the headliner. However, Anotnio Rodrigo Nogueira has stated his desire to fight on this card.

No word has been given on who Akiyama will face or if he will remain on this card.

Why Fans Should Love Josh Koscheck

There are a lot of things I do not understand.  One of the things I really cannot figure out is the avid fan hatred for Josh Koscheck.  Perhaps some people do not like him because he rubbed some people the wrong way during his time as a cast member of the first season of the Ultimate Fighter.  Perhaps some remember him and Bobby Southworth soaking Chris Leben with a hose or various other incidents.  Perhaps some view Koscheck as cocky.  Perhapms some don’t like that he will go at it verbally with fans.  However, I think Josh Koscheck possesses everything fans should love in a fighter.

There is not a fighter in the UFC who is more willing to step up to the plate than Josh Koscheck.  He is literally willing to fight anyone at anytime.  I honestly believe he would fight 10-12 times a year if he could.  How many times has he stepped in late notice?  Koscheck is always willing to fight.

Koscheck also finishes his fights.  He has only gone to a decision 6 times in his career.  Oh yeah and some of those decisions were to the likes of Georges St. Pierre, Chris Lytle, Thiago Alves, and Diego Sanchez.  My point is that he is not a lay n’ pray wrestler. 

Furthermore, he puts on a show.  He came onto the scene as a wrestler with limited stand up skills.  However, Koscheck has shown to be a serious striker.  He finished Frank Trigg, Dustin Hazelett and Yoshiyuki Yoshida with strikes.  I think Koscheck can stand and bang with anyone in the welterweight division.  He is an exctiing fighter.  Not to mention his improved striking skills, when he goes to the ground he looks to finish with either ground and pound or a submission like we say against Anthony Johnson.  So, Kos is fun to watch love him or hate him. 

Also, he has heart.  There are several times he has overcome adversity in a fight and come back to win.  No fight showed that more than the Anthony Johnson fight.  An illegal knee to the head and a thumb in the eye did not make him quit.  Quiting was never an option. 

He is also charismatic.  I mean, he may not be the nice guy that we see in Georges St. Pierre or Minotauro Nogueira, but he has personality.  He is marketable.  He is a good employee.  He is a good fighter.  He is a warrior. 

Josh Koscheck has all the intangibles to make him a fan favorite.  I honestly do not know why he is not one of the most popular guys out there.  The haters remain.  I know why people love Randy Couture.  I know why people love Georges St. Pierre.  I know why people love Chuck Liddell.  Josh Koscheck fits the mold.  He is an elite fighter who brings it every time he steps into the octagon. 

Fans, stop hating Josh Koscheck and realize that he is exactly what you want in a fighter.  Well, maybe that is not the best option.  Maybe Koscheck himself is fueled by the fan hate.  I am sure he’d like to hear a little more cheers ever so often, but I wonder if the hatin’ is not what motivates Koscheck.  I guess fan opinion does not matter too much.  It may impact him as far as marketing and endorsments are concerned, but regardless of what you think about Koscheck he very well could end up being one of the best ever in the UFC.  In my opinion he is on his way to be a UFC Hall of Famer and I think he is a legit threat to Georges St. Pierre.

UFC 106 Winners and Losers

Winners

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira – Little Nog was the biggest winner of the night.  Hardcore fans knew Nogueira was a top ten light heavyweight, but here he impressed everyone with his destruction of the talented Luiz Cane.  Not only did he impress everyone, but he earned himself an extra $70,000 for KO of the night.  He is seriously in title contention now.

Josh Koscheck – We knew Koscheck was talented.  Most regard him as a top 5 welterweight in the world.  He has improved so much since his stint on TUF 1.  At UFC 106 he went against a very tough Anthony Johnson.  What impressed me was his heart.  He took an illegal knee and a thumb to the eye and he came back stronger.  By the way, some question whether there was an eye poke, but I can assure you there was a thumb to the eye just prior to the knee and Joe Rogan and crew missed it.  What I am trying to say is Koscheck could have quit the fight and had Johnson DQ’d.  He didn’t.  He came back and he worked his game and sunk in a choke for the victory.  Oh yeah, he earned $140,000 in bonuses for submission and fight of the night.  He also is close to a title shot, but I think Hardy gets it before him.

Forrest Griffin – I wasn’t overly impressed with Griffin.  I was not as dazzled as his man crush, Joe Rogan.  However, I think he won the fight.  It was close. It wasn’t 30-27 though.  Forrest was not dominant, but he won.  Winning does not always make you a winner of the night, but after 2 straight losses it does for Griffin who is back on the winning side.

Ben Saunders – I was very impressed with Saunders.  I have to admit I did not think much of Saunders through his appearance on TUF 6.  Quite frankly, I was surprised he was still in the UFC.  However, he destroyed Marcus Davis.  He was the first one to KO Davis.  He may have the best knees in the UFC, he gives Anderson Silva’s muay thai a run for his money.  Despite a loss to Swick, Saunders moved up big time in the UFC welterweight ranks.  He also instilled fear into a lot of welterweights.

George Sotiropolous – He is a guy who has looked really good in the UFC. His overall game keeps improving and he looke dgreat against Jason Dent.  Look for George to fight next at UFC 110 in Australia.  A win there will really move him up the ladder.

Amir Sadollah – I have always been a doubter of Amir.  I thought he was beat up by Gerald Harris and C.B. Dolloway in TUF before securing come from behind wins.  He looekd horrible against John Hendricks.  However, against Baroni he showed a good chin and great muay thai.  This was an important win for the TUF winner and a good night for him as well. 

Losers

Tito Ortiz – I don’t think Ortiz looked horrible.  He didn’t look great either.  I think that may be ring rust.  I am not a fan, but I think with some more training and fixing his cardio he can be a force again.  However, his comeback was spoiled.  He thought he won the fight, but that does not matter.  The good news is that he may have a case for a rubber match against Griffin and maybe even a coaching stint on TUF.  Ortiz will be back.  I think this loss can be chalked up to bad luck.  I think he would have beaten Mark Coleman, his original opponent who withdrew due to injury. 

Marcus Davis – He looked bad in his loss to Saunders.  Davis may be done.  He was brutally KO’d.  We may see him on the next UK card, but he needs to do something drastic to get back on track.  Perhaps his age has caught up with him.  Or perhaps Saunders is that good.  Davis may just be the weltwerweight gatekeeper and Killa-B just happened to break through to the upper level at UFC 106.  Bad night for the Irish Hand grenade.

Brock Larson – I once regarded Larson as a top 20 guy in the world.  However, back to back losses to unknowns may equate his firing from the UFC.  I am sure Strikeforce would love to have him.  However, he looked bad against Brian Foster.  This really hurt his career.  Not a good few months for Minnesota Mixed Martial Arts fighters.

Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman at UFC 109

It appears that a battle for the ages will take place at UFC 109. As 46 year old Randy Couture will battle 44-year old Mark Coleman. The bout has been verbally agreed to, but no bout agreements have been signed.

Couture is coming off of a controversial victory over Brandon Vera at UFC 105. Meanwhile, Coleman is coming off of a knee injury that forced him out of his UFC 106 bout with Tito Ortiz.

The two UFC Hall of Famers were scheduled to meet at UFC 17, but the fight never panned out, but hopefully this one will. If the fight takes place it will bet he first time that two UFC Hall of Famers fight.

Both guys have a solid wrestling pedigree and one would have to believe that conditioning would be a key here. A win over Coleman could merit a title shot for Couture.

UFC 109 is expected to take place on February 6th and very well could be headlined by a middleweight title fight between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort.

The Science of Finding A Main Event

I think the UFC is struggling to put together main events. The reality is that there are not many guys who in an of themselves can carry a card. A main event calibur fighter does not necessarily mean that they are the best fighter, but it does mean that they are a viewer draw. For example, I do not think Tito Ortiz is by any means a top 5 light heavyweight right now, but he is a fan draw. On the other hand there are guys like Yushin Okami who are top 10 in the world, but are barely enough draw to make the main card.

There are 6 things that go into making a fighter main event worthy…

1. Fighter’s Skill/Ability – We like watching B.J. Penn, Anderson Silva and Georges St. Peirre because of their skills.

2. Title or Divisonal Implications – A title fight is always a big draw.  If the bout is not a title fight a main event needs to have title implications such as a number one contender match-up.  There are the rare exceptions (Nogueira vs. Couture).

3. Personality/Marketability – Charisma has a huge impact of whether someone is a main eventer.  The reality is some fighters are just not very marketable and it hurts their careers and their wallets.  Promoters market personalities as much as they do skill.  It maybe should not be that way, but it is.  Guys like Forrest Griffin have come a long way on charisma and personality.

4. Polarizing Figure – I don’t like this, but it is true.  Fans will tune it to watch guys we love to hate.  There are some fighters who have as many people who hate them as love them.  Guys like Tito Ortiz, Brock Lesnar, Kimbo Slice, and Matt Hughes are polarizing and they draw viewers.  The moral of the story is that if people hate you they will watch you. 

5. Exciting Fighters – It is no secret that fans would rather watch two guys sluf it out than two people clinch the whole time.  Some fighter’s style make them main event calibur guys.  Wanderlei Silv is the best example.  He has struggled in his last 5-6 fights, but fans still love him because he brings it and is always exciting.

6. Name Recognition – Some people can stay main eventers based on their name and what they have done in their past.  Guys like Cro Cop can still draw fans because he is a legend.  I personally love the legendary match-ups and these type match-ups can headline a card (i.e. Couture vs. Nogueira or Matt Hughes vs. Renzo/Royce Gracie).  Right or wrong names like Kimbo Slice and Brock Lesnar draw viewers based on name recognition and a promoter would be dumb not to tap into that.

7. A Storyline – A comeback/return fight is exciting.  Tito Ortiz returning from surgery will draw viewers.  Randy Couture coming out of retirement to face Tim Sylvia drew fans.  Rivals Matt Hughes and Matt Serra finally squaring off draws fans.  The promoters job is to build a storyline or a way viewers can relate so they want to watch.  Rags to riches stories and the like draw viewers.  This is the purpose of the coutndown show.  Some fights hoiwever are harder to market.

The Guys who can carry a card and always be a draw…
Heavyweight:
Brock Lesnar
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Light Heavyweight:
Chuck Liddell
Randy Couture
Lyoto Machida
Rich Franklin
Shogun Rua
Rampage Jackson
Rashad Evans
Forrest Griffin
Tito Ortiz

Middleweight
Anderson Silva
Vitor Belfort
Dan Henderson
Wanderlei Silva

Welterweight
Georges St. Pierre
Matt Hughes

Lightweight
B.J. Penn

The Guys Who With the Right Match-Up Can Be A Main Eventer or Solid Co-Main Event Regardless…

Heavyweights:
Frank Mir
Shane Carwin
Mirko Cro Cop
Cain Velasquez
Cheick Kongo
Gabriel Gonzaga
Junior Dos Santos
Ben Rothwell
Kimbo Slice

Light Heavyweight:
Keith Jardine
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Thiago Silva
Luis Cane
Brandon Vera

Middleweight:
Nate Marquardt
Yoshihiro Akiyama
Michael Bisping

Welterweights:
Josh Koscheck
Jon Fitch
Dan Hardy
Mike Swick
Matt Serra
Thiago Alves

Lightweights:
Kenny Florian
Diego Sanchez

Fight Night Main Eventers

Light Heavyweights:
Matt Hamill
Jon Jones

Middleweights
Demian Maia
Chael Sonnen

Welterweights:
Anthony Johnson
Carlos Condit
Martin Kampmann
Karo Parisyan

Lightweights:
Gray Maynard
Nate Diaz
Clay Guida
Roger Huerta
Sean Sherk
Joe Stevenson
Tyson Griffin
Frankie Edgar

A few conclusions can be drawn from this…

1. Talent and ranking does not necessarily make one a main event calibur fighter

2. The Heavier weight classes are more of a draw even if the lighter weight classes put on equally as exciting fights

3. There are some match-ups which fans have no interest in seeing, therefore match making is a key

4. Exciting fighters get higher billing (i.e. Wanderlei Silva)

5. With all this said finding a main event is not an exact science.  Two guys could fit all the above categories and the fight would still not be compelling.  I think that is what we see in the upcoming Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz fight as well as the Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva fight.

UFC Needs A Boost

The UFC is having a bad few weeks.  The injury bug has ruiend 3 or 4 fight cards.  Several stars are sidelined with injury.  They appear to have lost the services of Dan Henderson and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.  The UFC needs a boost.  I believe the best boost can come from a new signing.

The problem is that much of the top talent is already under contract.  Who could they sign? 

Takanori Gomi - He is in Las Vegas right now working on signing with either UFC or Strikeforce.  While I do not think he is a contender anymore, he is a big signing and would be a good addition to the lightweight ranks.  Perhaps the UFC can get it done this week.

Dan Henderson - His demands seem to be too much for the UFC and all signs point to him signing with Strikeforce.  The irony of it is that I cannot imagine Strikeforce paying what the UFC would.  Henderson’s greed may cost him money.  The question is whether or not he wants to fight the best in the world.  There are 2 or 3 good fights for him in Strikeforce and much more than that in the UFC.  I think the UFC should figure out how to get it done with Hendo.

Ricardo Arona – He is sidlelined with a knee injury right now which may stall his signing.  The UFC is not the most likely destination for the former PRIDE star though.

Shinya Aoki has talked opnely about fighting in the UFC, but he is still rumored for DREAM’s New Year’s card and Strikeforce in 2010.  Alistair Overeem is still tied up with DREAM and Strikeforce as well.  Gegard Mousasi and Jake Shields still have a fight left on their Strikeforce contract.  Robbie Lawler is still contracted to Strikeforce. 

Renzo Gracie’s signing is expected to be announced as is an impedning bout with Matt Hughes.  However, that is not a huge signing.  I’d love to see some other mid-tier veterans signed like Gilbert Yvel, Ricco Rodriguez, Melvin Manhoef, and Pedro Rizzo.  There are other prospects I’d like to see the UFC get like Glover Teixeira, Andre “Chatuba’ Santos, and Jimmy Wallhead.

Perhaps there could be someone that I am unaware of that is free of a contract that could sign with the UFC.  All I know is the UFC needs something to boost them and I don’t look for any boost to come from UFC 106.

Injuries Devastating the UFC

I don’t know if the UFC is putting on the best cards any more.  Frankly, I don’t know if they are even putting on the 2nd best cards right now.  The next few UFC events are mediocre at best.  Granted, it is not all the UFC’s fault.  Injuries have caused them to change their plans on several cards.  Initally UFC 106, 107, and 108 were going to be mega cards.  Now, I don’t know if I will purchase them.

UFC 106 was scheduled to feature a heavyweight title fight between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, but Lesnar’s prolonged illness forced that to be scrapped.  Now the main event is a re-match of a fight between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin.  While both have large fan bases neither has won a significant fight for a while.  This fight was a solid co-main event, but not a good main event.  The card took another hit when the Ricardo Almeida withdrew from his bout with Jon Fitch.  The UFC’s answer…replace it with a fight between Phil Baroni and Amir Sadollah.  Neither guy has shown the skill to be even a mid-level fighter.  Meanwhile a few solid fights remain on the undercard.  Poor decision making by UFC.

UFC 107 was expected to feature a main event of TUF 10 coaches Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans.  That would be a big draw.  However, Jackson elected to play B.A. Baracus in the new A-Team movie rather than fighting Evans.  Not the UFC’s fault.  Their answer…Diego Sanchez vs. B.J. Penn.  I like this fight.  It is main event worthy.  However, the card lacks support.  The Fitch vs. Alves fight was booked for a few days until Alves was forced off with injury.  The Buentello vs. Duffee fight excited me, but Duffee was forced off with injury and replaced by Stefan Struve. I like the Mir vs. Kongo and Florian vs. Guida match ups though.  UFC 107 is worth my money, but I still question the UFC’s replacements.  I don’t get replacing Alves with Mike Pierce.

UFC 108 has been hurt big time.  This was originally going to be AndersonS ilva vs. Vitor Belfort, however Silva will not be recovered from elbow surgery in time.  Then this was supposed to be where Carwin vs. Lesnar was moved, but again the fight has been pushed back.  The UFC did good and found a heavyweight clash with title implications between Cain Velasquez and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.  However, serious staph infection has forced Nogueira out of the bout.  Three solid main events down, so what does the UFC do?  Make Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva the main event.  I mean come on.  I like the fight, but not as a main event.  Silva is good and exciting, but is he ready for main events?  This again was a good co-main event, but as the main event I may not order it.  The rest of the card is better than avergae.  Tyson Griffin vs. Jim Miller, Junior Dos Santos vs. Gabriel Gonzaga, Joe Lauzon vs. Sam Stout, Carlos Condit vs. Paul Daley. However, the card lacks a main event.

The common denominator right now is a lack of main events.  Losing Henderson and Rampage hurt the UFC.  Injuries to champion St. Pierre, Silva, Machida and Lesnar really hurt.  Several main events are on the docket though.  You’ve got Silva vs. Belfort, Lesnar vs. Carwin, Shogun vs. Machida II, St. Pierre vs. Hardy.  Perhaps November-January will stink for the UFC and traditionally big cards like their New Year’s and Super Bowl cards will be less than stellar.  However, with all these fights coming up maybe March-June will be good months. 

The bottom line is Strikeforce is ebating the UFC.  Strikeforce consistenly is putting on better cards.  Would you rather watch Fedor vs. Rogers or Ortiz vs. Griffin?  The crappy buys UFC 106 will get will answer that one.  Even Strikeforce’s Dec. 19th card is better on paper than anything the UFC has coming up.  Sorry UFC, move over Strikeforce and even WEC are putting on better cards than you.  I think they are seeing that the falure to purchase EliteXC was a mistake. 

The solution?  Better matchmaking.  Some managment changes.  Sign Henderson back.  Find better main events.  Stop making fair co-main event fights main events. WEC merger.  A big name signing.  Stop putting fights like Baroni-Sadollah on the main card. 

I have always been a huge UFC guy.  I root for the UFC to do well.  However, I think the UFC is in serious trouble and they may be uprooted as the premeire MMA organization in 2010.

Winners and Losers of UFC 105

Winners:

• The British Fighters – The British fighters dominated the day at UFC 105.  Six British fighters earned victories at UFC 105.  Dan Hardy may have been the biggest winner of the night as his victory over Mike Swick earned him a title shot against Georges St. Pierre.  Michael Bisping struggled in round one against Dennis Kang, but he recovered nicely with a big win in round 2.  Ross Pearson looked fantastic and showed that he has potential to really climb the lightweight rankings.  Andre Winner destroyed Roli Delgado in what was a highlight reel KO.  Slick Nick Osipczak beat up on Matt Riddle.  Lastly, John Hathaway really looked good against Paul Taylor. 
• Matt Brown – Brown has been one of the best guys to come out of TUF 7.  He looked fair on the show, but since the show he has looked great.  He only has one loss and that was a controversial loss to Dong Hyun Kim.  He followed that with an impressive crushing of Pete Sell.  Brown handed it to TUF winner James Wilks.  I was impressed with Brown. 
• Randy Couture – He did not cause jaws to drop, but he showed that even at 46 he can hang with the top 205ers.  I didn’t agree with the decision, but the victory was certainly good for Randy and will create some excitment about a second fight at 205.  Mark Coleman?  Tito Ortiz?  Forrest Griffin? 

Losers

Brandon Vera – I personally thought Vera won that fight.  I gave Randy round one and Brandon round 2.   I believe that is clear.  Round 3 I gave it to Vera in large part due to the takedown at the end.  I don’t think vera looked bad, but his inability to create space and work his striking was bad and his stock had to fall some.  However, he may have gained soe quality exposure and a lot of people felt he won that fight.  He will be back.

Mike Swick – Many people seem to think Hardy just was really good Saturday.  I think Swick looked sorry.  He proved he will never be a contender.  He showed no heart.  He could not recover from those big shots of Hardy.  This loss really hurt Swick who had the chance of a lifetime.  He dropped big time in my rankings.

Rumor: Matt Hughes vs. Renzo Gracie at UFC 109

Speculation began to swirl of the possibility of Renzo Gracie fighting in the UFC against Matt Hughes following Twitter posts by Lorenzo Fertita which seemed to suggest the possibility.   Those rumors took another step when Around The Octagon published a report that their sources confirmed that the bout would take place at UFC 109 on February 6th.

The lenegendary Gracie fighter holds a career record of 13-6-1, but he has not fought since he defeated Frank Shamrock in February of 2007.  Actually, Gracie won the fight because Shamrock was DQ’ed due to a knee while he was still on the ground.  Gracie’s jiu jitsu skills could make for an interesting match though as the Gracie family seems to age well in the sport.

Matt Hughes is a legend in the sport and seemingly has no interest in just taking fights or even slowly climbing up the wleterweight ladder.  Hughes wants the big fights.  He wants the fights that motivate him.  He has recently stated that he has no desire to fight the young up-and-coming welterweights such as those American Kickboxing Academy welterweights (Fitch, Swick and Koscheck).  However, a fight with Renzo Gracie must be appealing.  It is a fight against a legend in the sport.  It will certainly have fan interest.  It will test him.  And it is a fight he has to feel he can win.   Hughes last competed in May when he defeated Matt Serra at UFC 98.  Notablly, Hughes owns a huge victory over one of the biggest Gracie names when he defeated Royce Gracie at UFC 60 in 2006 in what was one of the biggest UFC events of all time.  Hughes is already a legend himself and a sure fire Hall of Famer and a fight against Renzo Gracie would certainly be interesting.

It is very compelling that there is potential for two fighters from the Gracie family to fight at UFC 109 as Rolles Gracie, a top heavyweight prospect is rumored to appear ont he card against Mostapha Al-Turk.

UFC 109 is expected to be a big event as the UFC always seeks to put on a better than average card for Super Bowl weekend.  It is already rumored that wleterweights Matt Serra and Frank Trigg could meet at the event.  No main event has been mentioned.

Nate Marquardt vs. Chael Sonnen Possible For UFC 110

Sportsnet.ca is reporting that a middleweight bout between Nate Marquardt and Chael Sonnen is possible for UFC 110 on February 2oth in Sydney, Australia. 

While Nate Marquardt (29-8-2) was awaiting a potentially pending bout with Dan Henderson for UFC 108, it appears he has decided to move on and face Chael Sonnen (24-10-1) instead at UFC 110.  Sources have informed me that the two are awaiting bout agreements and will be added to an already stellar card that the UFC is building for their debut in Sydney, Australia in February.

If this comes to fruition it looks like UFC 110 is shaping up nicely.  The event already is expected to be headlined by a middleweight clash between Wanderlei Silva and Yoshihiro Akiyama.  Also, it is expected that heavyweights MIrko Cro Cop and Ben Rothwell could fight at this event.

Nate Marquardt has had an impressive run in this UFC and looks to geta s econd shot at Anderson Silva.  Marquartd lost to Silva in a previous title fight, but there is no doubt that Nate has shown great improvement since that bout.  Most recently Marquardt finished BJJ standout Demian Maia in less than a minute at UFC 102. 

Chael Sonnen also looked impressive in his last outing when he destroyed top middleweight contender Yushin Okami.  Sonnen, the former WEC star is looking to get his shot at Silva’s belt.

I would have to believe that the winner of this bout would be in line for the winner of the Silva vs. Belfort fight.