Power Rankings 12/30/06

Okay here are the Following the Flow Power Rankings. The fighters in each class are listed in a rough ranking with comments on the side. This isn't a pure talent level ranking system as that is not the only factor in determining who gets a title shot. Drawing ability is an important part of the decision making process on who fights who.



Heavyweight

Tim Sylvia - Nobody pays more attention to the recent signing of Cro Cop than the reigning champ. And yes Tim, he can kick that high. The flip side of that is that the big guy is gaining more respect these days. His sprawl looks good and he showed some grappling skill as well against a great grappler in Monson. There has been talk that he doesn't work to finish fights but if you look at his record you'll see that with a like number of fights he ehas less decisions than the best heavyweight in the world, Fedor Emelianenko.

Mirko Cro Cop - The resume says it all for Mirko. He's fought and beaten all the big names that Tim has not. Randleman, Wanderlei, Josh Barnett and a whole posse of others. Cro Cop is on the top of his game at this very moment. This is a great 'value' pickup for the UFC as Mirko is of a size that he could be a contender at two weightclasses. Everyone in the world wants to see a Mirko/Iceman matchup. Arlovski would be another world class match up.

Brandon Vera - Vera will get the next title shot if he doesn't go to PrideFC. I think he would succumb to Sylvia'a long arms and hard fists and am not sure it's a very compelling offering.

Arlovski - Andrei looked solid beating Marcio Cruz but nothing special but hey he's got acting lessons now.

Gabriel Gonzaga - He's got world class BJJ so he could be dangerous in the right circumstances. His takedowns looked pretty good too.

Jeff Monson - I'd like to see a Monson/Gonzaga fight.

Cheick Kongo - Despite losing his last fight Kongo is still in the hunt for a title berth. Yeah the heavyweights are that thin. I'd love to see Kongo vs Arlovski, who's with me?

Marcio Cruz - His only hope is to get Andrei down but I don't see it happening.

Antoni Hardonk - Looked decent in his win. I was like how the hell did he knock that guy out with a leg kick!?! In replay it was obvious that he actually got him with a punch then landed another punch then the kick. Nice combo.

Frank Mir - Well, he looked better than last fight.

Brad Imes - When will we see the big man again? Imes vs Sylvia would be fun to watch. If the Octagon doesn't collapse.

Dan Cristison - Lost to Mir but looked okay doing it, maybe gets another shot in the UFC. Cristison/Imes could be fun.


Light heavyweight

Chuck Liddell - The Iceman would knock out the his mom if she tried to stand with him. He's simply the best fighter in the UFC and maybe the best in the world. Behind Chuck's mohawk is just another fist! http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/

Tito Ortiz - Tito...........Tito.......what can I say. Well now maybe i'll get Ortiz/Sobral like i've been asking for. Any true fan of MMA should be licking their chop-s at tFunny how the best 205 lbs fighters,not named Chuck, are out of the title picture. Okay, okay one question. Where was Tito's shot? He'd drop and just sit there motionless like a turtle on a hot asphalt road. After the first round or so at any rate.

Renato Sobral - C'mon lets get Babalu in the Octagon. Ortiz would be my first choice, Jardine would suffice.

Quinton Jackson - I'm sure we'll have some vintage Rampage highlightes after his first fight. He's the next compelling title contender for Chuck and why not he has beat him before. Even if it was 2003. Despite not beating his elite foes Rampage possesses the right skillset to push Liddell, again. He was frequently quicker to the punch in their first fight, was hard to hit with good head movement, took a couple nice ones without blinking and rocked the champ several times. Rampage was good enough on his feet to give him chances to get the takedown and made good on the takedowns. But is Chuck on a different level now?

Michael Bisping - Bisping looked solid and Shafer looked pretty exciting with nice submissions skills. I want to see more Bisping. He could make a push for a title shot, there aren't a tremendous amount of other options and his striking

Rashad Evans - Evans hasn't shown much improvement at all since TUF. His style is basically lay and pray and avoiding submissions. Still shows potential with his boxing but like I said, no improvement. He beatdown Lambert nicely but still it seems his only ground weapon is to get a mount and then do the deed, he showed nothing from any other position. He can control anyone but do we want another, more athletic, Matt Lindland? NO.

Keith Jardine - Wow nice job Jardine. Sit back catch the wind from several whiffed punches, eat one or two and then wait for your moment to put a vicious beating down. Nice recipe. 95% Patience, 5% exertion.

Forrest Griffin - Forrest my man! Go back to the relentless assault that you used to use. Charge them and beat them in transition after transition until they ask for help. Stop this putting on a show crap.

Eric Shafer - A nice submission game with nice takedowns.

Matt Hamill - Tito's love child will get some action in the UFC and while wrestling/ground and pound is not my favorite style Hamill can do it very effectively. He beat a game Silverback Seth but Seth looked better than last time I saw him on the ground.

Seth Petruzzelli - Seth did alright for a guy who at last glance had hardly any groundgame going against an Olympic caliber wrestler. He was way to quick to slide into guard. C'mon work for top position and fall back to guard if need be. Too many guys take up jiu-jitsu and then become too complacent to jump to guard. Seth also needs to work on his hands but the potential is there because he is a pretty good striker already. Good at judging distances and moving away from danger.

Drew McFedries - Billed as a bigger Robbie Lawler he really showed that to be the best comparison of fighters ever. Talk about making a splash. Says he wants to drop to 185 and I think he'll be able to make hay at both but then it is still pretty early. Then again he is Miletich.

Alessio Sakara - I really liked the fight with Drew McFedries. It's a shame it ended as soon as it did. I like Sakara and hope to keep seeing him in the UFC but his groundgame is still a liability, unless he's on top.

Wilson Gouveia - This guy looked really good. He dominated the first round and despite collapsing in the final two I believe he was the better fighter. If he works on his cardio he could go bigtime. He was comfortable and light on his feet and his kick boxing was better than Jardine's and Gouveia is a BJJ guy, we didn't even see that part of his game. If Gouveia gets his act together he could be a damn good fighter.


Middleweight

Anderson Silva - Silva against Travis Lutter just isn't a compelling fight. It should be a nice knockout highlight though.

Rich Franklin - Who will Franklin fight next on his comeback trail? Swick? Or the winner of the Marquardt/Lister fight?

Mike Swick - Will we see a Swick/Franklin fight for number one contendership?

Nate Marquardt - Nate has been waiting in the wings for a while since being tested positive for a banned substance. He's got legit credentials to make a title shot run and may deserve it more than Swick but I doubt it will happen just yet. Unless the UFC is just letting him work out his contract and then cut him loose i'd say he'll get a title shot next year or early next year. Be patient Nate, it's coming.

David Loiseau - I want Loiseau vs Spider Silva so bad I can taste it. Loiseau looked like he was seeing ghosts against Mike Swick and he was afraid to throw hands.......and feet. Loiseau/Leben would be fun. A rematch with Evan Tanner would be nice too.

Evan Tanner - What next for the former champ? I'd like to see him go against Leben at some point that would be a war! C'mon Evan Tanner, we need you.

Jason McDonald - A sneaky win against Chris Leben has Jason "Not a stepping stone" McDonald making some waves. I'd like to see him square off against Terrell or Grove. McDonald is so long and rangy he really should work on his boxing or muay thai. If he could strike a bit and use his athleticism and length it would add another dimension to his already super submission skills.

Dave Terrell - Needs a fight, Marquardt would be a good one.

Dean Lister - Bring on Dave Terrell, what a grappling exhibition that would be.

Travis Lutter - As the winner of TUF he gets a title shot. I'm looking for an early KO by Silva who won't let Lutter close in and use his tepid takedowns.

Kendall Grove - The kid has heart, he's a taller Kenny Florian. Determination seems to be his great, and only, weapon at this point. I'd like to see a Grove/Terrell matchup.

Chris Leben - Wow. The Crippler is limping yet again. I'd like to see Chris against Kalib Starnes. That could be a quality matchup, so would Scott Smith come to think of it.

Scott Smith - I don't know about all the hype that Dana White put on the Smith/Sell fight afterward but the ending was truly amazing. One hell of a great finish.

Kalib Starnes - Kalib looked great on the show despite injuries, he's got a lot of skills. I'd like to see him fight Ed Herman. Starnes lost his last match but his opponent was solid. Kalib has real talent, watch out for him.

Ed Herman - Tough loss to the newcomer Jason McDonald but nothing to be ashamed of, his post-fights comments are a different story altogether.





Welterweight

George St. Pierre - I can see no reason to pay to see GSP dismantle and abuse Matt Serra. Bring on Diego!

Matt Hughes - Folk its time to come clean, I have a sickness. Underdogaphilia. I know, I know. My mom didn't warn me either. All the signs were there, a lifelong love of my Detroit Lions...okay that was the only sign but c'mon it's unmistake-able. About the time that Matt Hughes loses is the time I start gaining some respect for the guy. He'll be back but I think it might be some time. Personally I think all this he's aging, he's talking about calling it quits stuff is because he wants a break. Can you blame the guy he's what...32 and has 45 fights? Yeah man take a break and comeback in a year or two and be an absolute beast and really just be hitting your prime as a fighter.

Diego Sanchez - What a show! Diego blasted Riggs with a right hook then a knee and then the requisite flurry to the head before the ref stopped the carnage. Diego really is a nightmare.

BJ Penn - What now for the former champ? Does Penn drop down to lightweight now with losses to the champ and the number one contender? That would make a dynamite division just full to bursting. If so I want to see Penn/Sanchez first.

Karo Parisyan - Karo took it to Fickett and was trying to prove a point, especially after catching that nasty cut. Ouch.

Jon Fitch - Fitch is coming on strong. He's ultra-aggressive and it works. Those guys make good fights. I'd like to see him and Diaz go at it. Maybe even Karo.

Nick Diaz - That fight with Sherk was great, maybe a fight of the year contender. It may not have been as explosive as many but the technique in it was fabulous. Diaz always impresses me with his technique, whether boxing or grappling. The kid's game is just beautiful to watch. If only he'd keep his mouth shut and do the thing. He seemed to show class with Sherk at the end of the fight but no telling what happened after the decision was announced. Diaz has lost several tough, close decisions. Maybe you can fault him for not finishing them but that just seems picky when you see a young guy with the all around skills that Diaz has. He'll be champ one day mark my words. He could stand to be a little less defensive and go for some sub attempts.

Thiago Alves - Thiago's standup is amazing. Quick hands, easy KO power, nice kicks and a huge, 77" arm length. Alves' sprawl is pure explosion. He's ready to make a splash. I want to see Thiago against Melvin Guillard. Tell me that wouldn't be some Sh!t.

Kuniyoshi Hironaka - He lost to Jon Fitch but looked composed, patient and skilled doing it. At least the groundwork. He might even deserve to be ranked higher here but his lack of notoriety in the states hurts him. I'd like to see more of Hironaka myself and am glad the UFC is bringing in more talent from outside the U.S. Let's see Hironaka/Riggs!

Joe Riggs - I think a rematch with Nick Diaz would be worth watching.

Josh Koscheck - Josh's standup looked very good and very crisp, very light on his feet. He looks ready to make some serious noise.

Josh Burkman - What next for Burk? I'd like to see him against Kos.

Josh Neer - Neer looks like he can give just about anyone a good fight. I'd like to see a Fickett rematch with Neer rearranging his grill but that's just me.

Marcus Davis - It was nice to see Marcus in the Octagon and his boxing made for some realy fine standup. I'd like to see more of him. Neer would be a strong matchup, Riggs maybe too.



Lightweight

Sean Sherk - The new lightweight champ! He performed about as expected i'd say. He took every round but could not finish off Florian and probably looks worse today than Florian does. I'm sorry to say it looked more like lay and pray, as opposed to ground and pound.

BJ Penn - If Penn drops down expect him to get a title shot rather quickly and I expect him to take it home to Hawaii. I think Fisher is his biggest threat.

Spencer Fisher - Fisher beat a decent looking Dan Lauzon. Fisher looks to be next in line for a title fight and with his impressive all around game that would be fun to watch. He fights Hermes Franca next and the winner of that will be the number one contender, until the Penn/Pulver rematch anyway.

Kenny Florian - Florian is still progressing nicely on his standup. He consistently scored with kicks to Sherk's midsection but could not defend the takedown and despite several game sub attempts never was much of a threat. Great heart staying in there the whole fight though.

Joe Stevenson - Joe still needs some big wins to make a run at a title shot and Dokonjonosuke Mishima doesn't really count but still is a nice win. Mishima's got fights against some really good guys on his record.

Hermes Franca - A nice ground game and he could see title contention soon.

Jens Pulver - Jens needs at least one win against a top contender before getting a title shot.

Mark Hominick - C'mon UFC let's see Hominick vs Cummo or Pulver.

Yves Edwards - Got a beatdown from the very strong Stevenson. What next for Edwards who's 0-2 in recent UFC bouts? Sam Stout would be a good start.

Sam Stout - Right about here I would think. I think he would lose to Stevenson so Edwards would be a better matchup.

Joe Lauzon - Bursting onto the UFC with a win against a former champ is a big deal. Lauzon might have been the beneficiary of a bad matchup for Pulver though. Pulver's a striker and wanted to keep things standing but Lauzon had a huge reach advantage. The next fight will tell us if Lauzon is for real or not. Oh, and get a decent nickhame man. J-Lo? Ughhhh. (shivers)

Dokonjonosuke Mishima - I look forward to seeing more of the guy myself but I do have a soft spot for judoka. Check his record he's got some strong experience. I am a bit surprised that someone with so many decisions on his record caught the eye of Dana White but then again catching people's attention is what Mishima does so well. He's a true entertainer.

Jorge Gurgel - I was surprised that Jorge couldn't get a takedown on Hominick. Not one and by the 3rd he had a couple shots that he just couldn't take advantage of because of his wind. Surprising.

Dan Lauzon - Got some work to do but could see some fights.

Duane Ludwig - Ludwig against Edwards would be a nice fight. Or Cummo.

Luke Cummo - Luke is rumored to be fighting Ross Pointon. Luke will have the advantage on the standup for sure and should be able to win this if he doesn't get caught with a haymaker. I'm still waiting for Cummo to get someone he can stand and trade with, maybe this will be it.

Melvin Guillard - In this the deepest weight class Melvin seems to have the ability to give just about anyone a run for their money on 'any given Sunday'. Raw power, explosive quickness, very good striking, uncanny balance.....it's just not fair. Melvin vs Sherk would be worth watching, as would a fight against Fisher.

The MMA world

Well things have gotten interesting in the world of MMA the last few days. As reported in MMAWeekly and Sherdog.com the UFC has acquired the WEC and many fighters from the WFA. All this still with the talk of Pride being up for sale and several of Pride's biggest fighters looking, or possibly looking, elsewhere for fights.

I really haven't touched on Pride too much in this blog so let me do so now. Despite watching UFC since the mid-nineties and being a loyal fan I have nothing but admiration for the Japanese based organization Pride Fighting Championships. Pride really embodies the warrior spirit of its fighters. Pride simply throws together great fights, time and time again. No worries about a certain fighter losing and thus a championship contender wasted, no throw them together and let them bang. You have to love that. Of course it helps that Pride has the deepest pool of talent in MMA to work with. Not that, as some would say, they have all the best fighters, but that they have the deepest level of them. Mostly at the heavier weightclasses. UFC's welterweight and lightweight classes are the cream of the crop but as you go heavier it's obvious that Pride has the advantage. Whatever else happens let's hope that Pride can weather the storm and keep close to it's warrior code of throwing together the cream of the crop and letting the chips fall where they may.

That being said, things they are a changin'. For a long time UFC didn't pursue the big names or didn't pursue them with enough cash in hand. Now though after, presumably, building up a great name and plenty of capital Dana White is going after the big fighters and when the stable is full I think we might get to see those great fights we want to see in the Octagon. Let's keep in mind though that competition is always best for the consumer.

Heath Herring will add depth to the woeful heavyweights in the UFC. I can see him getting a title shot rather quickly given the lack of incumbent candidates.

Quinton Jackson is tailor made for the UFC, he's everything they want. He's brash, larger than life, talented and brutal. His Rampage slams will be highlight material in short order I am predicting.

Along with these newly acquired fighters there are some others that are there for the taking and hopefully we'll see the UFC pick up on them.

Fedor Emelianenko is doing a series of one fight contracts, seeing action in Pride as well as BodogFights. Why not a fight or two in the Octagon? Yeah, probably not but it would be nice wouldn't it and it would bring some of the international fans to the UFC.

Aleksander Emelianenko is a 6'6 250lb striker who, while not on his brother's level, would be a fine addition and would be an intriguing matchup for Tim Sylvia, heavyweight champion. Would Big Tim be able to handle a fighter without that huge reach advantage he always claims?

Mirko Filipovic is also available as well and this guy is amazing. He's clearly number 2 in the world behind Fedor and says he'll go wherever to get that fight but the UFC has to be pretty appealing. CroCop is a superb striker and could be a contender at both HW and LHW. I'm drooling at the thought of a Liddell/Filipovic fight. Two of todays best knockout artists teeing off on each other?? Wow.

MMA Camps

Here are, in no particular order, the major players on the MMA scene. It's not meant to be a complete list just some information for those who are interested. Knowing where and with whom a fighter trains can be a helpful resource.


MILETICH FIGHTING SYSTEMS
Pat Miletich
Matt Hughes
Jeremy Horn (at one time. he has started his own school now)
Rich Franklin (at times)
Spencer Fisher
Jens Pulver
Robbie Lawler
Drew McFedries
Josh Neer
Tony Fryklund
Mike Whitehead

TEAM QUEST
Randy Couture
Dan Henderson
Matt Lindland
Chris Leben
Nate Quarry
Ed Herman
Josh Haynes
Chael Sonnen
Quinton Jackson?
Evan Tanner (at one time)

TEAM PUNISHMENT
Tito Ortiz
Kendall Grove
Matt Hamill
Quinton Jackson
Karo Parisyan (has done some training with Team Punishment)
BJ Penn (has done some training with Team Punishment)


HAMMER HOUSE
Mark Coleman
Kevin Randleman
Phil Baroni
Brandon Lee Hinkle

BRAZILIAN TOP TEAM
Rodrigo Noguiera
Rogerio Noguiera
Murilo Bustamante
Ricardo Arona
Paulo Filho
Antonio Silva (at one time)

CHUTE BOXE
Wanderlei Silva
Mauricio Rua
Murillo Rua
Kazushi Sakuraba (has done some training with Chute Boxe)
Evangelista Santos
Anderson Silva (at one time)




AMERICAN TOP TEAM
Jeff Monson
Seth Petruzzelli
Din Thomas
Marcus Aurelio
Denis Kang
Thiago Alves
Jorge Santiago
Wilson Gouveia
Antonio Silva
Charles McCarthy


AMERICAN KICKBOXING ACADEMY
Mike Swick
Josh Koscheck
Paul Buentello
Trevor Prangley
Jon Fitch

THE PIT
Chuck Liddell
Jason Von Flue

Greg Jackson's Gaido-Jitsu
Diego Sanchez
Rashad Evans
Keith Jardine

Fighter Analysis : David Loiseau

David seems like a great guy and class act. He's still pretty young so he has time to improve and as a guy who has already had a title shot that sounds dangerous. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately depending on your perpective, he also has room to improve. Loiseau is a guy you just can't help but cheer for, at least I can't. The only significant names he has beaten are Joe Doerksen and Evan Tanner. In terms of worlwide MMA Loiseau really doesn't rank in the top ten.

Striking : Loiseau is a pretty good striker who is more unorthodox than fearsome. If he works hard on his Muay Thai he could be damn good, he has a ton of potential in that regard.

Grappling : On the ground his back defense and his elbow from guard are what he is known for and for good reason. This skillset gives him a pretty good all around ability but he is not overwhelming anywhere.

Control : The Crow hasn't shown much ability or lack thereof in the areas of taking his opponent down or sprawling (keeping from being taken down).

Chin : Going five rounds with then champion Rich Franklin showed a solid chin and tons of determination as David was thoroughly roughed up. Combine that with his grappling defense and you have a guy that can go the distance with a lot of guys.

How to attack : Still a striker the best thing to do would be to take him down and mount him. His ground defense is damn good so just pound on his ribs and keep top position and worse case scenario eke out a decision or break a rib. I know, not very exciting.

What to work on : I think David would be best suited to keep working the muay thai and sprawl. With an improved standup game that would relegate his groundgame to secondary weapon status he looks much more dangerous.

Mike Swick recently beat the ghost of David Loiseau, not the real thing. It was horrible to look at and I think it even left a bad taste in Swick's mouth. I really hope the young Canadian can get it together and get back into contention.

Power Rankings 11/20/06

Okay here are the Following the Flow Power Rankings. The fighters in each class are listed in a rough ranking with comments on the side. This isn't a pure talent level ranking system as that is not the only factor in determining who gets a title shot. Drawing ability is an important part of the decision making process on who fights who.



Heavyweight

Tim Sylvia - Big Tim finally showed something in his game beside the old 1, 2 and a good sprawl. He had a couple submission attempts and showed good positioning on the ground. Heck, maybe the guy deserves to be champ. Good thing because he seems dead set on keeping it.

Brandon Vera - Vera put it on Frank Mir hard and looked good doing it. He continues to show a lot of heart and great all around skills. He really doesn't have any high level wins to deserve a title shot but yet here he is, it'll happen. No this Frank Mir does not count, sorry.

Arlovski - Andrei fights on December 30th, Merry Christmas everybody. If he avoids the takedowns this will be a messy fight for Cruz. If it hits the ground we'll get to see more of Andrei's groundgame. Maybe there is a reason he doesn't take things to the ground very often. I'm just sayin'...

Jeff Monson - At one point during the fight I was railing at Monson, giving him the business on how to get Sylvia down. Shove his butt into the fence and use that to your advantage, it's damn hard to sprawl when your backed up against a wall. It later became obvious that this advice was irrelevant. I truly thought the fight would be over if Monson got the takedown. Not only was I wrong in that, it looked like Tim was the better groundfighter too! I am hoping for a strong comeback from the bulldoggish grappler. You have to love a guy who is an unapologetic individual.

Cheick Kongo - Despite losing his last fight Kongo is still in the hunt for a title berth. Yeah the heavyweights are that thin. I'd love to see Kongo vs Arlovski, who's with me?

Marcio Cruz - His only hope is to get Andrei down but I don't see it happening.

Antoni Hardonk - Looked decent in his win. I was like how the hell did he knock that guy out with a leg kick!?! In replay it was obvious that he actually got him with a punch then landed another punch then the kick. Nice combo.

Frank Mir - Well, he looked better than last fight.

Tom Murphy - With the dearth of contenders here Murphy might just have an opportunity at some big time names.

Brad Imes - When will we see the big man again? Imes vs Sylvia would be fun to watch. If the Octagon doesn't collapse.

Dan Cristison - Lost to Mir but looked okay doing it, maybe gets another shot in the UFC. Cristison/Imes could be fun.


Light heavyweight

Chuck Liddell - My god I can't wait for December 30th.

Tito Ortiz - The longer the fight with Liddell lasts the more danger Tito will be in. Don't think he won't be hearing an invisible clock counting down to the moment Chuck's right hand connects. That being said I think Tito will be able to get the champ on the ground. I won't even waste space talking about what would happen then, we all know.

Renato Sobral - At some point I want to see Sobral vs Ortiz but that wouldn't be until next year at the earliest....and will it be a title fight? Until then there are a few nice options for Babalu to fight. Griffin.....Rashad Evans...and Bisping would be interesting choices. Hamill possibly too.

Forrest Griffin - Keith Jardine huh? Well it is a surprise. Two fan favorites who will most likely stand and bang like the top brass likes. When will Forrest go back to his strongsuits?

Michael Bisping - It's a shame Bisping got cancelled because of visa issues. Damn I want to see him fighting. He's amazing on the standup and the groundgame.

Rashad Evans - Evans hasn't shown much improvement at all since TUF. His style is basically lay and pray and avoiding submissions. Still shows potential with his boxing but like I said, no improvement. He beatdown Lambert nicely but still it seems his only ground weapon is to get a mount and then do the deed, he showed nothing from any other position. He can control anyone but do we want another, more athletic, Matt Lindland? NO.

Matt Hamill - Tito's love child will get some action in the UFC and while wrestling/ground and pound is not my favorite style Hamill can do it very effectively. He beat a game Silverback Seth but Seth looked better than last time I saw him on the ground.

Seth Petruzzelli - Seth did alright for a guy who at last glance had hardly any groundgame going against an Olympic caliber wrestler. He was way to quick to slide into guard. C'mon work for top position and fall back to guard if need be. Too many guys take up jiu-jitsu and then become too complacent to jump to guard. Seth also needs to work on his hands but the potential is there because he is a pretty good striker already. Good at judging distances and moving away from danger.

Drew McFedries - Billed as a bigger Robbie Lawler he really showed that to be the best comparison of fighters ever. Talk about making a splash. Says he wants to drop to 185 and I think he'll be able to make hay at both but then it is still pretty early. Then again he is Miletich.

Alessio Sakara - I really liked the fight with Drew McFedries. It's a shame it ended as soon as it did. I like Sakara and hope to keep seeing him in the UFC but his groundgame is still a liability, unless he's on top.

Keith Jardine - I think the loser of Jardine/Griffin should be happy to stay in the UFC, if they do.

Wilson Gouveia - This guy looked really good. He dominated the first round and despite collapsing in the final two I believe he was the better fighter. If he works on his cardio he could go bigtime. He was comfortable and light on his feet and his kick boxing was better than Jardine's and Gouveia is a BJJ guy, we didn't even see that part of his game. If Gouveia gets his act together he could be a damn good fighter.

Stephan Bonnar - Stephan is going to be out of the UFC for a while if not forever. He'll disappear from this list too but just for those wondering I saw him about two weeks ago at a RFC event in Tampa doing commentary. Yeah.


Middleweight

Anderson Silva - I don't know how good the groundgame is but you can see his standup is worldclass. What will happen when he lands flush on Rich's jaw? Okay so it was a knee that caught Ace flush either way it's a win. "And new UFC middleweight champion...." Who gets the first title defense? Swick? That could be a hell of a good fight.

Rich Franklin - The fight with Anderson Silva is going to be dangerous. The only knocks on Ace are his chin and lack of wins against credentialed fighters. This fight will test both of those things. So now Ace has to fight his way back to contention. Unless Dana White hands him a shot now which honestly would be just silly. I want to see Rich on the comeback trail, see him get fired up. Franlkin vs Marquardt still seems like a good fight.

Mike Swick - He looked like the better fighter against the Crow. Too bad Loiseau forgot to show up. Swick is pushing hard for a title shot and may well get it soon. I'm not sure what Silva winning the belt does to change things as far as whoever wins TUF 4 but Swick figures in there somehow. The standup fight in a Silva/Swick fight would be explosive, hell don't blink! For that reason and because Swick's stock is on the rise I expect him to get either the next title shot or the one after it.

Nate Marquardt - Nate has been waiting in the wings for a while since being tested positive for a banned substance. He's got legit credentials to make a title shot run and may deserve it more than Swick but I doubt it will happen just yet. Unless the UFC is just letting him work out his contract and then cut him loose i'd say he'll get a title shot next year or early next year. Be patient Nate, it's coming.

David Loiseau - I want Loiseau vs Spider Silva so bad I can taste it. Loiseau looked like he was seeing ghosts against Mike Swick and he was afraid to throw hands.......and feet. Loiseau/Leben would be fun. A rematch with Evan Tanner would be nice too.

Evan Tanner - What next for the former champ? I'd like to see him go against Leben at some point that would be a war! C'mon Evan Tanner, we need you.

Dave Terrell - Needs a fight, Marquardt would be a good one.

Chris Leben - I'm sure Leben is going to try his damnedest to destroy his next opponent and word is it will be Jason McDonald who looked amazing in his UFC debut and could be an up and comer.

Dean Lister - Bring on Dave Terrell, what a grappling exhibition that would be.

Travis Lutter - As the winner of TUF he gets a title shot. I'm looking for an early KO by Silva who won't let Lutter close in and use his tepid takedowns.

Kendall Grove - The kid has heart, he's a taller Kenny Florian. Determination seems to be his great, and only, weapon at this point. I'd like to see a Grove/Terrell matchup.

Jason McDonald - What an impressive with over Herman. He's going to fight Chris Leben soon it looks like and that could be interesting. I don't want to hazard a guess on the winner of this this fight having not seen enough of McDonald. In looking at his record I see two things of note. The first is that he has not been knocked out. The second is that in 17 wins he's finished all but one, 15 by submission. Nice. Still I wonder how likely Leben, coming from Team Quest, is to fall to a submission.

Scott Smith - I don't know about all the hype that Dana White put on the Smith/Sell fight afterward but the ending was truly amazing. One hell of a great finish.

Kalib Starnes - Kalib looked great on the show despite injuries, he's got a lot of skills. I'd like to see him fight Ed Herman. Starnes lost his last match but his opponent was solid. Kalib has real talent, watch out for him.

Ed Herman - Tough loss to the newcomer Jason McDonald but nothing to be ashamed of, his post-fights comments are a different story altogether.

Rory Singer - Rory really choked on TUF so i'm not terribly impressed with him but he has some skills. I think he'll get beaten once or twice more and be out of the UFC.




Welterweight

George St. Pierre - Wow what an asskicking! Can I say that? Guess so, my blog ain't it, but anyway GSP looked like a monster out there. Like BJ his quickness allowed him to sting Hughes on several opportunities without taking a beating himself. Stuffing the takedowns, all two of them, was key as much a key as anything though. I had almost hoped that GSP would lose and move up to middleweight but hey the guy deserves this title like few others do.

Matt Hughes - Folk its time to come clean, I have a sickness. Underdogaphilia. I know, I know. My mom didn't warn me either. All the signs were there, a lifelong love of my Detroit Lions...okay that was the only sign but c'mon it's unmistake-able. About the time that Matt Hughes loses is the time I start gaining some respect for the guy. He'll be back but I think it might be some time. Personally I think all this he's aging, he's talking about calling it quits stuff is because he wants a break. Can you blame the guy he's what...32 and has 45 fights? Yeah man take a break and comeback in a year or two and be an absolute beast and really just be hitting your prime as a fighter.

Diego Sanchez - Diego looked his strongest against Karo at the end which speaks volumes for his cardio. He's a legit contender and will get the call after the Hughes/GSP bout. If he beats Riggs expect him to get a title shot. Truth is i'm surprised he's got to earn it again. Can you imagine the hype of him in a title fight with his undefeated record?

BJ Penn - What now for the former champ? Does Penn drop down to lightweight now with losses to the champ and the number one contender? That would make a dynamite division just full to bursting. If so I want to see Penn/Sanchez first.

Karo Parisyan - I was disappointed at the Karo that showed up against Diego. The standup looked to be a step backward from his last fight. I am so looking forward to Karo destroying Drew Fickett. Hahahahaha.

Joe Riggs - Riggs is over-rated. The winner of his fight with Diego will most likely get to fight the new welterweight champion. Please don't ask me what he did to deserve it, i'm clueless.

Jon Fitch - Fitch is coming on strong. I'd like to see him and Diaz go at it. Maybe even Karo.

Nick Diaz - That fight with Sherk was great, maybe a fight of the year contender. It may not have been as explosive as many but the technique in it was fabulous. Diaz always impresses me with his technique, whether boxing or grappling. The kid's game is just beautiful to watch. If only he'd keep his mouth shut and do the thing. He seemed to show class with Sherk at the end of the fight but no telling what happened after the decision was announced. Diaz has lost several tough, close decisions. Maybe you can fault him for not finishing them but that just seems picky when you see a young guy with the all around skills that Diaz has. He'll be champ one day mark my words. He could stand to be a little less defensive and go for some sub attempts.

Kuniyoshi Hironaka - He lost to Jon Fitch but looked composed, patient and skilled doing it. At least the groundwork. He might even deserve to be ranked higher here but his lack of notoriety in the states hurts him. I'd like to see more of Hironaka myself and am glad the UFC is bringing in more talent from outside the U.S.

Josh Koscheck - Josh's standup looked very good and very crisp, very light on his feet. He looks ready to make some serious noise.

Josh Burkman - What next for Burk? I'd like to see him against Kos.

Josh Neer - Neer looks like he can give just about anyone a good fight. I'd like to see a Fickett rematch with Neer rearranging his grill but that's just me.

Thiago Alves - Alves has ability he's just not using it.



Lightweight

Sean Sherk - The new lightweight champ! He performed about as expected i'd say. He took every round but could not finish off Florian and probably looks worse today than Florian does. I'm sorry to say it looked more like lay and pray, as opposed to ground and pound.

BJ Penn - If Penn drops down expect him to get a title shot rather quickly and I expect him to take it home to Hawaii. I think Fisher is his biggest threat.

Spencer Fisher - Fisher beat a decent looking Dan Lauzon. Fisher looks to be next in line for a title fight and with his impressive all around game that would be fun to watch.

Kenny Florian - Florian is still progressing nicely on his standup. He consistently scored with kicks to Sherk's midsection but could not defend the takedown and despite several game sub attempts never was much of a threat. Great heart staying in there the whole fight though.

Joe Stevenson - Joe still needs some big wins to make a run at a title shot and Dokonjonosuke Mishima doesn't really count but still is a nice win. Mishima's got fights against some really good guys on his record.

Jens Pulver - Jens needs at least one win against a top contender before getting a title shot.

Mark Hominick - C'mon UFC let's see Hominick vs Cummo or Pulver.



Yves Edwards - Got a beatdown from the very strong Stevenson. What next for Edwards who's 0-2 in recent UFC bouts? Sam Stout would be a good start.

Sam Stout - Right about here I would think. I think he would lose to Stevenson so Edwards would be a better matchup.

Joe Lauzon - Bursting onto the UFC with a win against a former champ is a big deal. Lauzon might have been the beneficiary of a bad matchup for Pulver though. Pulver's a striker and wanted to keep things standing but Lauzon had a huge reach advantage. The next fight will tell us if Lauzon is for real or not. Oh, and get a decent nickhame man. J-Lo? Ughhhh. (shivers)

Dokonjonosuke Mishima - I look forward to seeing more of the guy myself but I do have a soft spot for judoka. Check his record he's got some strong experience. I am a bit surprised that someone with so many decisions on his record caught the eye of Dana White but then again catching people's attention is what Mishima does so well. He's a true entertainer.

Jorge Gurgel - I was surprised that Jorge couldn't get a takedown on Hominick. Not one and by the 3rd he had a couple shots that he just couldn't take advantage of because of his wind. Surprising.

Dan Lauzon - Got some work to do but could see some fights.

Duane Ludwig - Ludwig against Edwards would be a nice fight. Or Cummo.

Luke Cummo - Luke is rumored to be fighting Ross Pointon. Luke will have the advantage on the standup for sure and should be able to win this if he doesn't get caught with a haymaker. I'm still waiting for Cummo to get someone he can stand and trade with, maybe this will be it.

Melvin Guillard - In this the deepest weight class Melvin seems to have the ability to give just about anyone a run for their money on 'any given Sunday'. Raw power, explosive quickness, very good striking, uncanny balance.....it's just not fair. Melvin vs Sherk would be worth watching, as would a fight against Fisher.

Bad Intentions

Another double title bout PPV, sweet. Okay let's get to the nitty gritty.

Hughes versus St. Pierre
A rematch of a shocker of a fight. St. Pierre looked better against the champ than anyone else not named BJ Penn has done. GSP seems to be as strong Hughes and much quicker. Add in his wrestling skill and you have a recipe to make things hard on the champ. Look for GSP to keep things standing as long as possible while the champ might oblige him for a while until deciding to take him down and do the usual nasty bit of business on him. Despite BJ's making Matt look very, very human I don't see GSP winning this one. Not that he doesn't have a chance, just that I think Hughes will win.......again.


Sylvia versus Monson
Monson has some pro boxing experience but the longer this fight is on the feet the worse chance he has of winning. Oddly enough the opposite is also true. Sylvia on the ground will be in just as much trouble as Monson is on his feet. This is going to come down to takedowns and takedown defense. Period. If I were Monson i'd be practicing all those wrestling takedowns, judo takedowns and even some World Cup soccer style tripping of necessary. I am going to go out on a limb and say it, I bet Sylvia gets Monsoned.

Mir vesus Vera
Wow this looks to be a nice little non title bout. Talk about a grappling exhibition! Vera has the advantage in the striking so expect him to keep it there as much as possible but if the opportunity presents itself to get on top of Mir he'll take it quick-like. I hope Mir has himself in better shape and has shaken the rust off his game from his long layoff. The old Mir is a grappling wizard but Vera is very talented in that regard as well. Anyone who competes at the ADCC is going to be. I'm taking Vera.

Fighter Analysis : Rich Franklin

Ace might be the best 'all around' fighter in the game. His striking his considered his bread and butter and he's got punching power enough to flatten his opponents, as evidenced by his superb finishing record. His kicking gives him a varied arsenal to work with even if it's not truly fear inducing. His footwork is possibly the best in the game and is beautiful to watch.

His ground and pound is very good, his knees become a factor when he has his man down and of course the hands don't get any less heavy. Add to this a slick submission game and you have a nice all around game and Franklin is known for using his smarts in the octagon. The only question mark on the groundgame is his wrestling/control. We just haven't seen enough to know how good, or bad, it is. From the little i've seen it looks decent. Enough to not be a glaring weakness I suppose.

I think after this loss we will see a more focussed and determined Rich Franklin. Not that he was not those two thins beforehand just that I think he will be even more dedicated to attacking his opponents weakness. As we all saw he stood with Anderson Silva and we all know that was the Spider's strongsuit. Of course we also need to take into account that the fight was still very young when it ended, it might be that he was working up to a shoot. We won't know now, will we?

Regardless, who wants a piece of a more determined Rich Franklin? Well let's face it they all do, but who can handle it? I for one am looking forward to finding out.

How to beat him: With Rich I think it starts with his chin. Attack him hard and fast and do not let him be the aggressor and just try to land one flush. I think that is truly the key to beating the former champion. Oh and I would put him on his back whenever possible, like a turtle I think he's probably weakest there. Hold him down, beat on him and stay away from any submissions.

Power Rankings 10/15

Okay here are the Following the Flow Power Rankings. The fighters in each class are listed in a rough ranking with comments on the side. This isn't a pure talent level ranking system as that is not the only factor in determining who gets a title shot. Drawing ability is an important part of the decision making process on who fights who.



Heavyweight

Tim Sylvia - Sylvia's next bout would be against Jeff Monson it looks like and Big Tim has already said he won't get taken down. We'll see. He's gone if he does get taken down though. Monson is monster on the canvas.

Jeff Monson - I'd love to see Monson take the belt from Sylvia. The grapplers get second son status sometimes but Monson is an Abu-Dhabi vet and can hang with or beat anyone on the floor. It would be one hell of a reach advantage for Sylvia though. Tim's sprawl will decided this one.

Brandon Vera - Rumor has it that Vera fights Mir next which will be a stern test and one that would most likely, if he wins, get him a title shot. Hell if either man wins he'll get a title shot i'd guess.....there's just no one else.

Arlovski - What now for Arlovski? I bet we see him in K1 for a bit until he can get a good streak going or until we get a new champ.

Cheick Kongo - Kongo and Vera look to be the guys who can make a run at the title next. I'd love to see Kongo vs Arlovski, who's with me?

Marcio Cruz - Cruz looked alright despite losing to Monson. Who next for Cruz? Mir?

Frank Mir - Can Vera make a name off the former champ? Can Mir actually make some sort of comeback? If he beats Vera he may well get a title shot.

Tom Murphy - With the dearth of contenders here Murphy might just have an opportunity at some big time names.

Brad Imes - When will we see the big man again? Imes vs Sylvia would be fun to watch. If the Octagon doesn't collapse.

Dan Cristison - Lost to Mir but looked okay doing it, maybe gets another shot in the UFC. Cristison/Imes could be fun.


Light heavyweight

Chuck Liddell - Liddel destroyed Sobral easily but man I can't wait for the Liddell Ortiz rematch. My god that could be a war. Can Liddell stuff an Ortiz takedown? I'm thinking maybe some, but not all.

Tito Ortiz - Beat down and owned Shamrock but then that was kind of expected wasn't it. Ortiz/Liddell is going to be explosive.

Renato Sobral - At some point I want to see Sobral vs Ortiz but that wouldn't be until next year at the earliest....and will it be a title fight? Until then there are a few nice options for Babalu to fight. Griffin.....Rashad Evans...and Bisping would be interesting choices. Hamill possibly too.

Forrest Griffin - Who next for Forrest? Did someone say Babalu? C'mon Forrest let us see the groundgame. Stop trying to cater to the fans or UFC brass and do what you do best.

Michael Bisping - I'm surprised Bisping hasn't had a fight yet sine the TUF finale. I'm sure one day we'll see a Bisping/Hamill match which would be compelling indeed, i'd also like to see Bisping against the young guy Gouveia. You know, a warm up before he takes on some of the heavies.

Rashad Evans - Evans hasn't shown much improvement at all since TUF. His style is basically lay and pray and avoiding submissions. Still shows potential with his boxing but like I said, no improvement. He beatdown Lambert nicely but still it seems his only ground weapon is to get a mount and then do the deed, he showed nothing from any other position. He can control anyone but do we want another, more athletic, Matt Lindland? NO.

Matt Hamill - Tito's love child will get some action in the UFC and while wrestling/ground and pound is not my favorite style Hamill can do it very effectively. He beat a game Silverback Seth but Seth looked better than last time I saw him on the ground.

Seth Petruzzelli - Seth did alright for a guy who at last glance had hardly any groundgame going against an Olympic caliber wrestler. He was way to quick to slide into guard. C'mon work for top position and fall back to guard if need be. Too many guys take up jiu-jitsu and then become too complacent to jump to guard. Seth also needs to work on his hands but the potential is there because he is a pretty good striker already. Good at judging distances and moving away from danger.

Alessio Sakara - What next for Sakara? Petruzzelli? Jardine?

Stephan Bonnar - Things are getting ugly for Bonnar, he's not improving, he's losing and now tested positive for banned substances. AND HE STILL LOST?!? Get it together man.

Keith Jardine - Jardine looked slow, stiff and awkward against Wilson Gouveia but he should that he's tough and has good cardio which was enough. There really hasn't been much improvement though and my enthusiasm for Jardine is waning.

Wilson Gouveia - This guy looked really good. He dominated the first round and despite collapsing in the final two I believe he was the better fighter. If he works on his cardio he could go bigtime. He was comfortable and light on his feet and his kick boxing was better than Jardine's and Gouveia is a BJJ guy, we didn't even see that part of his game.



Middleweight

Anderson Silva - I don't know how good the groundgame is but you can see his standup is worldclass. What will happen when he lands flush on Rich's jaw? Okay so it was a knee that caught Ace flush either way it's a win. "And new UFC middleweight champion...." Who gets the first title defense? Swick? That could be a hell of a good fight.

Rich Franklin - The fight with Anderson Silva is going to be dangerous. The only knocks on Ace are his chin and lack of wins against credentialed fighters. This fight will test both of those things. So now Ace has to fight his way back to contention. Unless Dana White hands him a shot now which honestly would be just silly. I want to see Rich on the comeback trail, see him get fired up. Franlkin vs Marquardt still seems like a good fight.

Mike Swick - He looked like the better fighter against the Crow. Too bad Loiseau forgot to show up. Swick is pushing hard for a title shot and may well get it soon. I'm not sure what Silva winning the belt does to change things as far as whoever wins TUF 4 but Swick figures in there somehow. The standup fight in a Silva/Swick fight would be explosive, hell don't blink! For that reason and because Swick's stock is on the rise I expect him to get either the next title shot or the one after it.

Nate Marquardt - Nate has been waiting in the wings for a while since being tested positive for a banned substance. He's got legit credentials to make a title shot run and may deserve it more than Swick but I doubt it will happen just yet. Unless the UFC is just letting him work out his contract and then cut him loose i'd say he'll get a title shot next year or early next year. Be patient Nate, it's coming.

David Loiseau - I want Loiseau vs Spider Silva so bad I can taste it. Loiseau looked like he was seeing ghosts against Mike Swick and he was afraid to throw hands.......and feet. Loiseau/Leben could be fun.

Evan Tanner - What next for the former champ? I'd like to see him go against Leben at some point that would be a war! C'mon Evan Tanner, we need you.

Dave Terrell - Needs a fight, Marquardt would be a good one.

Chris Leben - Leben is going to be hungry after being dismantled by Silva. I still say bring on Riggs.

Dean Lister - Bring on Dave Terrell, what a grappling exhibition that would be.

Kendall Grove - The kid has heart, he's a taller Kenny Florian. Determination seems to be his great, and only, weapon.

Joe Riggs - Riggs is over-rated. He didn't deserve a shot at Hughes and he lost. I think he should be on TUF 4 myself. Can you say Riggs vs Leben??? Mmmmmm.

Jason McDonald - What an impressive with over Herman. I look forward to seeing more from the Canadian in the future.

Kalib Starnes - Kalib looked great on the show despite injuries, he's got a lot of skills. I'd like to see him fight Ed Herman. Starnes lost his last match but his opponent was solid. Kalib has real talent, watch out for him.

Ed Herman - Tough loss to the newcomer Jason McDonald but nothing to be ashamed of.

Rory Singer - Rory really choked on TUF so i'm not terribly impressed with him but he has some skills. I think he'll get beaten once or twice more and be out of the UFC.

Scott Smith - Smith vs Herman would be interesting.


Welterweight

Matt Hughes - Matt beat Penn because of patience and cardio but for those two rounds Penn looked like the better fighter. Truth be told Hughes didn't win so much as Penn lost when he gassed out big time. Next up, St. Pierre. The welterweights are deep and have some really spectacular fighters.

George St. Pierre - You can bet GSP's cardio will be where it needs to be and the fact that Penn made Hughes look thoroughly human only helps. Would Hughes have been as upset with GSP saying he was unimpressed by his (Hughes') performance against Penn if it weren't true?

Diego Sanchez - Diego looked his strongest against Karo at the end which speaks volumes for his cardio. He's a legit contender and will get the call after the Hughes/GSP bout.

BJ Penn - What now for the former champ? Does Penn drop down to lightweight now with losses to the champ and the number one contender? That would make a dynamite division just full to bursting. If so I want to see Penn/Sanchez first. Oh yeah. It would be after Diego gets a title shot of course, UFC won't risk a prime contender getting a loss before he gets the title shot.

Karo Parisyan - I was disappointed at the Karo that showed up against Diego. The standup looked to be a step backward from his last fight. Karo vs Koscheck would be fun.

Jon Fitch - Fitch is coming on strong. I'd like to see him and Diaz go at it.

Nick Diaz - That fight with Sherk was great, maybe a fight of the year contender. It may not have been as explosive as many but the technique in it was fabulous. Diaz always impresses me with his technique, whether boxing or grappling. The kid's game is just beautiful to watch. If only he'd keep his mouth shut and do the thing. He seemed to show class with Sherk at the end of the fight but no telling what happened after the decision was announced. Diaz has lost several tough, close decisions. Maybe you can fault him for not finishing them but that just seems picky when you see a young guy with the all around skills that Diaz has. He'll be champ one day mark my words. He could stand to be a little less defensive and go for some sub attempts.

Kuniyoshi Hironaka - He lost to Jon Fitch but looked composed, patient and skilled doing it. At least the groundwork. He might even deserve to be ranked higher here but his lack of notoriety in the states hurts him. I'd like to see more of Hironaka myself and am glad the UFC is bringing in more talent from outside the U.S.

Josh Koscheck - Josh's standup looked very good and very crisp, very light on his feet. He looks ready to make some serious noise.

Josh Burkman - What next for Burk? I'd like to see him against Kos.

Josh Neer - Neer looks like he can give just about anyone a good fight. I'd like to see a Fickett rematch with Neer rearranging his grill but that's just me.

Thiago Alves - Alves has ability he's just not using it.

Josh Haynes - Lost to Rory....good.


Lightweight


Sean Sherk - The new lightweight champ! He performed about as expected i'd say. He took every round but could not finish off Florian and probably looks worse today than Florian does. I'm sorry to say it looked more like lay and pray, more than ground and pound.

Spencer Fisher - Fisher beat a decent looking Dan Lauzon. Fisher looks to be next in line for a title fight and with his impressive all around game that would be fun to watch.

Kenny Florian - Florian is still progressing nicely on his standup. He consistently scored with kicks to Sherk's midsection but could not defend the takedown and despite several game sub attempts never was much of a threat. Great heart staying in there the whole fight though. I think he won some fans last night.

Jens Pulver - Jens needs at least one win against a top contender before getting a title shot.

Mark Hominick - C'mon UFC let's see Hominick vs Cummo or Pulver.

Joe Stevenson - Joe still needs some big wins to make a run at a title shot.

Yves Edwards - Got a beatdown from the very strong Stevenson. What next for Edwards who's 0-2 in recent UFC bouts? Sam Stout would be a good start.

Sam Stout - Right about here I would think. I think he would lose to Stevenson so Edwards would be a better matchup.

Joe Lauzon - Bursting onto the UFC with a win against a former champ is a big deal. Lauzon might have been the beneficiary of a bad matchup for Pulver though. Pulver's a striker and wanted to keep things standing but Lauzon had a huge reach advantage. The next fight will tell us if Lauzon is for real or not. Oh, and get a decent nickhame man. J-Lo? Ughhhh. (shivers)

Jorge Gurgel - I was surprised that Jorge couldn't get a takedown on Hominick. Not one and by the 3rd he had a couple shots that he just couldn't take advantage of because of his wind. Surprising.

Dan Lauzon - Got some work to do but could see some fights.

Duane Ludwig - Ludwig against Edwards would be a nice fight. Or Cummo.

Luke Cummo - Luke is rumored to be fighting Ross Pointon. Luke will have the advantage on the standup for sure and should be able to win this if he doesn't get caught with a haymaker. I'm still waiting for Cummo to get someone he can stand and trade with, maybe this will be it.

Melvin Guillard - In this the deepest weight class Melvin seems to have the ability to give just about anyone a run for their money on 'any given Sunday'. Raw power, explosive quickness, very good striking, uncanny balance.....it's just not fair. Melvin vs Sherk would be worth watching, as would a fight against Fisher.

Unstoppable

Well tonight is the night. At long last! I'm looking forward to these fights and the two main events will be electric, I can just feel it.

I think Rich Franklin will retain the belt but Spider is going to be his most dangerous opponent to date. Spider has fought more big name fighters than the champ has. With wins over Carlos Newton, Jeremy Horn and Hayato Sakurai on his resume his wins over Leben, Lee Murray and Jorge Rivera seem like small print footnotes. Look for Rich to use his footwork to good effect. On Countdown, Spider Silva says it is going to be a chess match. Yet it is and I give the edge to Ace because his knowledge and all round skill makes him so well suited to capitalize on mistakes by his foe. Rich by KO.

The lightweight title bout is a little harder to figure. I see Sherk taking this because he's just too powerful. He was too powerful at 170 and will be even more so now. I like Kenny and he's a tremendous underdog but it seems like he's yet another TUF guy coming on too early. He's looked good to be sure and I see a nice future for him but I don't see him beating Sherk tonight. Sherk by TKO.

I haven't seen Dan Lauzon fight so maybe I should keep my mouth shut but I don't see Spencer Fisher losing. Fisher should be fighting for the title I believe and will be shortly regardless. Spencer's game is beautiful to watch and his all around skill is utterly amazing. Fisher by TKO.

That's all the fights I feel informed enough to call tonight, sorry folks. Then again these three fights promise to be sensational. Damn, I can't wait.

The Final Chapter.

Tito finally put to bed this rivalry and the two managed to even come out of it looking classy and respectful. Well, assuming Shammy has enough sense to retire anyway. If anything I was surprised it took Tito so long to finish it. Hell, Shammy looked pretty good for a while.

The rest of the night seemed to be a showcase for Team Punishment. Matt Hamill beat a game Seth Petruzzelli. Classing ground n pound with a smidgeon of lay n pray. Seth really needs to work on his boxing and sprawl and was a little too quick to slip to guard rather than fight for dominant position. Yeah Hamill is a world class wrestler but you still have to try. The Silverback's takedown defense looked pretty good so I really think he could have had a chance to get Matt on his back at least once and I think the wrestler might just fold as a lot do in that spot.

Kendall Grove is the perfect protege` for Tito. A solid framework of heart and work ethic that the former champ can pour his knowledge and skills into. With him and Hamill, Team Punishment looks pretty damn solid. Kendall didn't look overpowering in any area other than relentlessness but at his age and with the tools he has he could be very dangerous in five years.

Jason McDonald had the upset of the night when he soundly beat a talented fighter in Ed 'Short Fuse' Herman. Not only that but out grappled a strong grappler. And a guy from Quest at that! This was the fight of the night, beating Hamill/Petruzzelli by a good margin. Each fighter showed that he could overcome adversity and reverse his opponent. On more than one occasion then getting reversed himself!

Having never seen the Canadian I half groaned when they said he was a submission fighter. Maybe Shammy fighting later that night had me thinking of his Lion's Den 'submission fighters'. Wow was that the wrong reaction. McDonald's jiu-jitsu was phenomenal. Honestly, Minotoro came to mind and that his high praise. When he came out of that roll with a triangle choke I swear I thought I felt urine trickling down my leg. (I just spilled my water thanks for the concern though.)

The Further Evolution of MMA

It's this humble writer's opinion that we are finally seeing in the game today the strikers standing up and (yes, pun intended) pushing their collective way to the forefront. For years grapplers have dominated MMA but finally we are seeing some strikers excel. And it's not just Chuck Liddell I am talking about here. A short list would include :


Tim Sylvia
Andrei Arlovski
Mark Hominick
Sam Stout
David Loiseau
Luke Cummo
and maybe, hopefully, Anderson Silva

Now it's not to say that strikers have never acheived anything in MMA. Not at all, but by and large it has been the grapplers. First the Jiu-Jitsu wave led by the Gracie clan. Then, and especially in America and the UFC, the wrestlers. BJJ was dominant for so long because of the lack of knowledge of submission moves but now that awareness has circulated they aren't as dominant, if you don't have some ground and pound to soften up your foe then against a decent fighter you just won't win. More recently the wrestlers have taken over with their ability to control their opponents body. At first they were susceptible to the submissions holds but now that they are training to recognize and defend they have, in my opinion, become the most dominant group. i.e. Matt Hughes, Tito Ortiz, Rashad Evans, GSP, Ed Herman, Randy Cout....okay let's just say Team Quest and stop there.


It's no surprise that the standup guys have borrowed from the grapplers, and more specifically the wrestlers to finally push themselves to a higher level. Liddell is the best but not the only example of this. Other high level examples would include Pride's Wanderlei Silva, Rampage Jackson (formerly of Pride) and Cro Cop.

Part of wrestling is controlling the level and that is what had been lacking in the typical strikers arsenal. Developing a strong sprawl is now fundamental to excelling in MMA. All the Muay Thai, boxing or Tae Kwon Do credentials in the world don't do a damn bit of good once you're underneath the next NCAA champ to hit the Octagon. It's just plain fact.

Defend the takedown. Keep things standing and then finally let the grapplers get a taste of what it's like to be out of their element. From the big picture vantage point it plays out like a chess game.....but who makes the next move? I don't know but I will be watching!

How to Beat : Current Champions

Tim Sylvia
Tim's style is straight up boxing. One two, one two. With his reach, knockout power and a pretty good sprawl that's all he's really needed.

How to beat him : Use leg kicks to soften up those long legs of his then when he's softened up and sluggish take him down and put him on his back, see how good his guard is, i'd bet not that great.

Biggest threat in the division : Might be Monson. The two are polar opposites in size and style. If Sylvia can defend the takedown then he'll knockout the Snowman at some point. But if Monson can use his low center of gravity to shoot in and grab a leg then he'll get Sylvia in a submission, just a matter of time.

I have to wonder if things would have been different if Andrei Arlovski had taken him to the ground and went for GnP or a sub attempt. Interestingly Andrei's kicking is good enough to wear out the legs of Sylvia he just didn't do enough in the regard. I think Andrei was too worried about how he wanted to win rather than if he could win.

Chuck Liddell
Chuck's preferred method is, gasp, to knockout his foe. He's willing to give his opponent a target to throw knuckles at so that he in turn can throw his own. And we know who hits harder, don't we? When things get slow he's more than willing to open up his hands, drop them a bit and even at times look to his corner; All with the intention of inviting his opponent to swing so he can counterpunch. Hey, it works.

How to beat him: Randy Couture proved you can beat him with more technical boxing and in the clinch but he also got KO'd twice trying to do it, so it's a gamble to be sure. If you were to fight the Iceman you'd want to take him down and neutralize his best weapon, that right hand, but it's proven a very difficult task to get him down and even more so to keep him down.

Biggest threat in the division: Coincidently it's his next opponent, Tito Ortiz. I think at this stage Tito has better takedowns than Randy so there is that chance he can get the champ down and we know what happens when Tito gets you down. I think it best to mixup standing and trading with shooting, make him wonder when the shoot is coming and use it to get some punches our kicks in then shoot. Easier said than done but not impossible, especially for Tito who has all the tools he needs already.



Anderson Silva
Well it's a good thing I procrastinated on this blog as long as I have or I would have Rich Franklin here instead of the Spider, and how foolish would that look. Then again we would be able to see if I was right. I wouldn't have been. I would not have said Silva would demolish Franklin in the clinch. No way, never.

Silva has great standup, hits hard and is very, very accurate with the strikes. Silva has pretty much every middleweight in the UFC at a disadvantage on the standup.

How to beat him: Take him down. Silva has his BJJ black belt from 'Minotoro' Nogueira so he's not pushover on the mat but I do think he's a little less dangerous there. Take him down, control him and pound on him and I think he can be beaten.

Biggest threat in the division: Tough call. There doesn't seem to be one guy that embodies the weaknesses that the Spider possesses like in the HW and LHW classes. Maybe Marquardt but I think more than him would be Franklin when he gets going on his comeback.

Franklin didn't work to attack Silva's areas of weakness, he wanted to beat him at his own game and we see that this was not effective. Franklin's GnP would be perfect for taking out the new champ.


Matt Hughes
While he has a complete game Matt sticks to his bread and butter as much as possible. Taking his man down and pounding on him until the referee steps in or until a submission opening arises.

How to beat him: Stuff the takedown attempts like BJ did and instantly you have Hughes scratching his head. Be quicker than the champ and use striking to your advantage and if it has to go to the ground be on top, test his guard.

Biggest threat in the division: BJ Penn & George St. Pierre. Both have the strength and grappling technique to defend teh takedown as well as have the quickness to give Hughes fits. Not to mention they both have superior striking skills as well. Hughes says he wants to KO someone so use his ego and try to get him to prove he can do it.

It would also be interesting to see Hughes versus Sanchez. They have similar styles so it would be a matter of who can dominate who. Interestingly Sanchez could be undefeated when they do finally meet up.



Sean Sherk
Sherk is a Matt Hughes clone but with faster hands and less of a submission game. He wants to take you down and beat on you with elbows and that's about it. His standup looks better than Hughes' albeit not as varied. Sherk relies on the old one two and little else.

How to beat him: Like any wrestler, put him on his back. Test his guard. In the GSP fight he was on his back and got beat down. Stuff the takedowns, ala GSP and you'll be in his head for sure. Then just use superior striking to pick him apart. No kicks though, please.

Biggest threat in the division: I think Spencer Fisher is the best lightweight in the UFC but his skillset actually plays into Sherk's hands. Sherk would most likely take him down pretty easily. Fortunately Fisher's guard is dangerous. Spencer's judo takedowns could counteract Sherk's wrestling ones but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

Sherk isn't unbeatable by any means but at the lightweight level there doesn't seem to be anyone ideally suited to beat him. I'm not saying Fisher can't beat him just that he's not best suited for it. If BJ Penn comes back down to lightweight I think he could get the belt fairly easily.

Why 'Spider' Silva is dangerous to Rich Franklin

The weakest part of Rich's game is his chin. In his only loss he got knocked out and I haven't seen his chin tested sufficiently since then to negate the image of him crumpling. Now add a little Muay Thai technician, ala Anderson Silva, and you have an interesting mix. Am I saying Rich is going down? No but the threat is real folks. Especially if he pops down to one knee after they touch gloves. Hahahaha sorry a little TUF humor there.

Rich has a lot going in his favor for this fight, don't get me wrong. Just the size disparity alone will be pretty obvious. I look at Silva and wonder how he can weigh 185lbs. I look at Rich and think the same thing but for the opposite reason. As long as they stand, and Rich says he's willing to throw hands with anyone in the middleweight division, the risk is that he could get caught and bam, we have a new champ. On the ground I give the advantage to Rich and his ground and pound would win over rather quickly i'd say.

Still I would hazard to say that Chris Leben's chin is a cut above Franklin's and he was.....sorry for this UFC fans but it is appropriate....rocked by Spider at least twice.

Power Rankings 9/24

Okay here are the Following the Flow Power Rankings. The fighters in each class are listed in a rough ranking with comments on the side. This isn't a pure talent level ranking system as that is not the only factor in determining who gets a title shot. Drawing ability is an important part of the decision making process on who fights who.

I have added the TUF guys to the lists.


Heavyweight

Tim Sylvia - Sylvia's next bout would be against Jeff Monson it looks like and Big Tim has already said he won't get taken down. We'll see. He's gone if he does get taken down though. Monson is monster on the canvas.

Jeff Monson - I'd love to see Monson take the belt from Sylvia. The grapplers get second son status sometimes but Monson is an Abu-Dhabi vet and can hang with or beat anyone on the floor. It would be one hell of a reach advantage for Sylvia though.

Brandon Vera - Vera beat Ass. Silva quickly, which is nice but proves very little other than a half step up in competition. Rumor has it that Vera fights Mir next which will be a stern test and one that would most likely, if he wins, get him a title shot. Hell if either man wins he'll get a title shot i'd guess.....there's just no one else.


Arlovski - What now for Arlovski? I bet we see him in K1 for a bit until he can get a good streak going or until we get a new champ.

Paul Buentello - I think we'll see the Headhunter against Sylvia or Mir pretty soon. Personally I think Sylvia would be the better fight. Lots of hands but that reach would be hard to deal with. Ass. Silva would be another nice fight. Or maybe Vera.

Marcio Cruz - Cruz looked alright despite losing to Monson. Who next for Cruz? Mir?

Frank Mir - Can Vera make a name off the former champ? Can Mir actually make some sort of comeback?

Assuerio Silva - Is his contract up yet?

Seth Petruzzelli - Man I hope this is true that he'll be fighting in August. Seth needs a ground game but if he gets it he could be a contender in this weakest of UFC divisions. His striking is superb and he has a strong feel for it but rumor is he's going against Matt Hamill, ouch. If Seth can get one or two good shots to the head on Hamill and ring his bell, which looks to be very susceptible to it, then he can steal this match and maybe get something going in the UFC.

Tom Murphy - With the dearth of contenders here Murphy might just have an opportunity at some big time names.

Brad Imes - Lost to Cristison

Dan Cristison - Lost to Mir but looked okay doing it, maybe gets another shot in the UFC.


Light heavyweight

Chuck Liddell - Liddel destroyed Sobral easily but man I can't wait for the Liddell Ortiz rematch. My god that could be a war. Can Liddell stuff an Ortiz takedown? I'm thinking maybe some, but not all.

Tito Ortiz - Beatdown and owned Shamrock but then that was kind of expected wasn't it. Who next for Tito? Liddell's dance card seems full with Babalu and then Wanderlai Silva so Ortiz needs someone. Bisping would be interesting but probably counterproductive for the UFC.

Renato Sobral - At some point I want to see Sobral vs Ortiz but that wouldn't be until next year at the earliest....and will it be a title fight? Until then there are a few nice options for Babalu to fight. Griffin.....Rashad Evans...and Bisping would be interesting choices.

Michael Bisping - I'm surprised Bisping hasn't had a fight yet sine the TUF finale. I'm sure one day we'll see a Bisping/Hamill match which would be compelling indeed, i'd also like to see Bisping against the young guy Gouveia. You know, a warm up before he takes on some of the heavies.

Rashad Evans - Evans hasn't shown much improvement at all since TUF. His style is basically lay and pray and avoiding submissions. Still shows potential with his boxing but like I said, no improvement. He beatdown Lambert nicely but still it seems his only ground weapon is to get a mount and then do the deed, he showed nothing from any other position. He can control anyone but do we want another, more athletic, Matt Lindland? NO.

Forrest Griffin - Who next for Forrest? Did someone say Babalu?

Ken Shamrock - Look for Shammy to retire after Tito puts it on him.....again.

Matt Hamill - Tito's love child will get some action in the UFC and while wrestling/ground and pound is not my favorite style Hamill can do it very effectively. Future champion though........? Eh. Looks like he gets a crack at the Silverback, Seth Petruzelli. It will go to the ground but will Matt be able to finish?

Alessio Sakara - He lost to Dean Lister but Sakara is still fighting at a higher level than the guys below him so he sits here still. I'd like to see him against Bonnar in a nice little boxing match. At least until Bonnar takes him down and submits him.

Stephan Bonnar - Things are getting ugly for Bonnar, he's not improving, he's losing and now tested positive for banned substances. AND HE STILL LOST?!? Get it together man.

Keith Jardine - I kind of think Jardine got robbed in that fight with Bonnar, I think we'll see more of him. Jardine looked slow, stiff and awkward against Wilson Gouveia but he should that he's tough and has good cardio which was enough. There really hasn't been much improvement though and my enthusiasm for Jardine is waning.

Wilson Gouveia - This guy looked really good. He dominated the first round and despite collapsing in the final two I believe he was the better fighter. If he works on his cardio he could go bigtime. He was comfortable and light on his feet and his kick boxing was better than Jardine's and Gouveia is a BJJ guy, we didn't even see that part of his game.

Sam Hoger - He looked pretty good in his loss to Evans. He really hasn't lived up to the potential I saw in him when he was on TUF, he just hasn't improved any.


Middleweight

Rich Franklin - The fight with Anderson Silva is going to be dangerous. The only knocks on Ace are his chin and lack of wins against credentialed fighters. This fight will test both of those things. I'd look for Rich, despite what he says, to take it to the floor and GnP. The middleweights are pretty deep and there is a lot of intriguing fights that could happen and any number of guys who could put a run together for a title shot. Rich is going to stay busy.

Spider Silva - Wow that was one hell of a victory over Leben. Silva made a huge splash in his first UFC bout. I don't know how good the groundgame is but you can see his standup is worldclass. What will happen when he lands flush on Rich's jaw?

Mike Swick - He looked like the better fighter against the Crow. Too bad Loiseau forgot to show up. Swick is making a run for a title shot but first you have Spider, then the winner of TUF 4, so it could be a while.

Nate Marquardt - It's rumored that Marquardt will be facing David Terrell next which would be a nice little jiu-jitsu match. I'll take Nate.

David Loiseau - I want Loiseau vs Spider Silva so bad I can taste it. Loiseau looked like he was seeing ghosts agains Mike Swick and he was afraid to throw hands.......and feet. He needs a good bounceback fight. Leben would be a stiff test but I would like to see it.

Evan Tanner - What next for the former champ? I'd like to see him go against Leben at some point that would be a war!

Dave Terrell - Needs a fight, Marquardt would be a good one.

Chris Leben - It looked like Leben got knocked out twice in that fight and at any rate he was thoroughly dominated in a 49 second fight. OUCH. Still I wonder what would have happened once the fight went to the floor.

Dean Lister - Bring on Dave Terrell, what a grappling exhibition that would be.

Joe Riggs - Riggs is over-rated. He didn't deserve a shot at Hughes and he lost. I think he should be on TUF 4 myself. Can you say Riggs vs Leben??? Mmmmmm.

Kalib Starnes - Kalib looked great on the show despite injuries, he's got a lot of skills. I'd like to see him fight Ed Herman.

Ed Herman - He really deserved that contract and I look forward to seeing him fight again. Not talking though.

Kendall Grove - The kid has heart...and vicious knees. He still needs polishing but he's intriguing with that crazy length he has, if he learns to use it to maximum effect he could be really good and having that crazy cardio certainly helps.

Chael Sonnen - Lost to Jeremy Horn, yet again. I'd be surprised to see Sonnen in the Octagon anytime soon but then again I was surprised to see him get another shot this last time.

Trevor Prangley - Lost to Chael Sonnen, ouch. Too bad because I think he was on the fastrack to contendership by UFC.

Luigi Fioravanti - The kid is tough and pretty god all around. I'd like to see him against Starnes or Herman.

Rory Singer - Rory really choked on TUF so i'm not terribly impressed with him but he has some skills. I think he'll get beaten once or twice more and be out of the UFC.

Scott Smith - I wonder if he signed a three fight deal? He's on TUF 4 so we'll get to see a bit more of Hands of Steel.


Welterweight

Matt Hughes - Matt beat Penn because of patience and cardio but for those two rounds Penn looked like the better fighter. Truth be told Hughes didn't win so much as Penn lost when he gassed out big time. Next up, St. Pierre. The welterweights are deep and have some really spectacular fighters.

George St. Pierre - You can bet GSP's cardio will be where it needs to be and the fact that Penn made Hughes look thoroughly human only helps. Would Hughes have been as upset with GSP saying he was unimpressed by his (Hughes') performance against Penn if it weren't true?

Diego Sanchez - Diego looked his strongest against Karo at the end which speaks volumes for his cardio. He's a legit contender and will get the call after the Hughes/GSP bout.

BJ Penn - What now for the former champ? Does Penn drop down to lightweight now with losses to the champ and the number one contender? That would make a dynamite division just full to bursting. If so I want to see Penn/Sanchez first. Oh yeah. It would be after Diego gets a title shot of course, UFC won't risk a prime contender getting a loss before he gets the title shot.

Karo Parisyan - I was disappointed at the Karo that showed up against Diego. The standup looked to be a step backward from Karo's last fight.

Nick Diaz - That fight with Sherk was great, maybe a fight of the year contender. It may not have been as explosive as many but the technique in it was fabulous. Diaz always impresses me with his technique, whether boxing or grappling. The kid's game is just beautiful to watch. If only he'd keep his mouth shut and do the thing. He seemed to show class with Sherk at the end of the fight but no telling what happened after the decision was announced. Diaz has lost several tough, close decisions. Maybe you can fault him for not finishing them but that just seems picky when you see a young guy with the all around skills that Diaz has. He'll be champ one day mark my words. He could stand to be a little less defensive and go for some sub attempts.

Josh Koscheck - Josh's standup looked very good and very crisp, very light on his feet. He looks ready to make some serious noise.

Josh Burkman - What next for Burk? I'd like to see him against Kos.

Josh Neer - Neer looks like he can give just about anyone a good fight. I'd like to see a Fickett rematch with Neer rearranging his grill but that's just me.

Jon Fitch - Beat Thiago Alves who looks like he has some talent of his own. We'll see more Fitch.

Drew Fickett - I flat out don't like this guy. He's a jiujitsu guy and thats about it.

Josh Haynes - Rumor has him fighting Rory Singer. Who cares?

Thiago Alves - Alves has ability he's just not using it.

Kit Cope - Work on that ground game man. If he gets another shot I think Diaz (if he isn't kicked from the UFC) would be interesting. Wait wait wait....Joe Riggs in a standup war! Yeah baby!



Lightweight


Sean Sherk - Sherk looked pretty damn good against Diaz. His handspeed was excellent on the standup and he looked pretty comfortable. At 155 he will be devastating. MMAWeekly says that Sherk fights KenFlo for the title. There's a few guys that seem to get left out of that picture but I guess there will be time to sort that out after a champion is crowned....er..belted. This is the deepest division to say the least.

Kenny Florian - This guy is a genius on the ground and his standup is coming along too. Throw in smarts and heart and you have the making of a potential champion. Sherk is not a walk in the park though he's a great wrestler and has quick hands what a battle that will be and possibly for the belt! I'm not sure Florian can deal with Sherk's power but then again look at what Penn was doing to Hughes. KenFlo isn't nearly as quick though.

Spencer Fisher - Fisher has it all. Great boxing, great takedowns, great submissions. I would be surprised if Fisher doesn't win the belt at some point, he's a monster. I'd like to see him fight, well, anyone really. Fisher is as exciting a fighter as there is in the UFC.

Jens Pulver - A very suprising upset at the hands of Joe Lauzon. I was wondering why the UFC didn't just hand him his belt back since he was the champ and there hasn't been one since. Now I know.

Mark Hominick - Hominick executed his gameplan perfectly against Jorge Gurgel, though I am sure many people give him grief for literally running from the Brazilian on a couple occasions. I say if you can suck up that pride and execute your gameplan like that, good job. Just don't expect to improve your fan base. He fights Joe Stevenson next so we'll see more of the same i'd imagine.

Joe Stevenson - Can he take down Hominick?

Yves Edwards - Got a beatdown from the very strong Stevenson. What next for Edwards who's 0-2 in recent UFC bouts? Sam Stout would be a good start.

Sam Stout - Right about here I would think. I think he would lose to Stevenson so Edwards would be a better matchup.

Joe Lauzon - Bursting onto the UFC with a win against a former champ is a big deal. Lauzon might have been the beneficiary of a bad matchup for Pulver though. Pulver's a striker and wanted to keep things standing but Lauzon had a huge reach advantage. The next fight will tell us if Lauzon is for real or not. Oh, and get a decent nickhame man. J-Lo? Ughhhh. (shivers)

Jorge Gurgel - I was surprised that Jorge couldn't get a takedown on Hominick. Not one and by the 3rd he had a couple shots that he just couldn't take advantage of because of his wind. Surprising.

Duane Ludwig - Ludwig against Edwards would be a nice fight. Or Cummo.

Luke Cummo - Luke is rumored to be fighting Ross Pointon. Luke will have the advantage on the standup for sure and should be able to win this if he doesn't get caught with a haymaker. I'm still waiting for Cummo to get someone he can stand and trade with, maybe this will be it.

Melvin Guillard - In this the deepest weight class Melvin seems to have the ability to give just about anyone a run for their money on 'any given Sunday'. Raw power, explosive quickness, very good striking, uncanny balance.....it's just not fair. Melvin is drawing very close to the point where he can't be taken down. When someone tries he is superb at reversing it and taking them down and getting on top. Which is good but then again he's better off not being on the ground at all at this point in his career. Anyway he could give anyone a run for their money it seems. Will he be champ one day? I couldn't say for sure but he could make just about any champ lose some sleep. Guillard vs Fisher needs to happen.

Post Ultimate Finale 3

Things pretty much shook out the way I expected though I cannot say I called Grove to win, just hoped. Both he and Ed deserved contracts, it was the right way to go for sure. I procrastinated my way out of putting my picks down for posterity prior to the fights so no need to humble yourselves before me.

I did have every intention of taking KenFlo though, ya know. Okay bady rhyming but I couldn't resist. The guy has heart and he's tough on the ground and weathered a few storms on his feet and looks like a real fighter for sure. Not that Stout couldn't beat him just that Florian has that all around game. Rumor has it that Florian will be fighting Sean Sherk for the belt later this year. While that will be a nice fight, watchout for Sherk's quick hands, it seems a bit odd. Edwards, Hominick and now Pulver get left out fo the mix? Okay I could see Edwards not playing a factor since Hominick beat him but why not have Pulver in there fighting for the belt? Maybe that is why it's just a rumor.

The Gouveia/Jardine fight was decent. Jardine is just slow, stiff and awkward looking but his cardio is good and he's tough and that is how he pulled out the win. That and a nice leg kick jab. Gouveia was pretty impressive in that first round, if he gets his back sorted out and gets on a better cardio regimine he could be someone to watch out for. We didn't get to see his groundwork but he's a BJJ guy from American Top Team so you know he's got skills there. His standup looked very fluid and he was in a comfort zone. Truly he beat himself in this fight more than anything else. Not that Jardine doesn't deserve credit for hanging tough but Gouveia looked like the better fighter.

Starnes vs Grove TUF4

This was a decent fight, best of the show i'd say but then that's not saying much this year. Anyway Kalib showed some really sharp skills in there and may not have been ahead on points but defintely was the better fighter out there. It will be interesting in the future to see if this rib injury is real or not, as well as the leg injure that has been rumored. Is he a strong fighter who can be beaten phyically into losing his cool or has he just been plagued by injuries and been stoic about the pain? Honestly this is a guy with less to lose than the other guys because he clearly belongs in the UFC and I wonder if that played a factor.

Nothing against Kendall but yes he looked to be the second best man in there. Give him credit for cardio because he was still fresh at the end of the fight. His strikes lacked pop and I don't think they did much bad toward Kalib but scoring points is important too. Grove's knees loooked to be about his best weapon. I also wonder if there was a typo in the tale of the tape because despite being 6'6 Kendall only had a half inch reach advantage on the Canadian. Kendall looks raw and in need of polishing but he also looked very coachable in there so he could have a nice future.

TUF 4 Seminfinals

Well finally we get down to the nitty gritty. Here's our analysis of the fighters and what could happen.

Light Heavyweights

Michael Bisping
I think it will be quite an upset if 'the Count' doesn't bring in that contract. His Muay Thai looked very sharp in his only fight and he's been in JJ for something like fifteen years so that should be a strength as well. His biggest weakness is his wrestling and one worry is that the rest of the LHW's all have wrestling background, so he'll have to watch for that. His biggest threat seems to be his training partner, Matt Hamill. In what little I have seen of Bisping I would say the best way to attack him would be to work the clinch, keep him close and try to pound on him. He doesn't have a very muscular frame so a good wrestler could probably keep him close and control him as long as they don't get caught with a sub attempt. I see a good future for Bisping in the UFC and him being a contender in the mid term future.

Matt Hamill
This guy's wrestling is superb and his boxing was okay. Keep in mind he beat Nichels who's standup looked almost as good as my four year olds, so lets not get too high on his boxing. I think his biggest threat is Bisping or maybe Josh Haynes. Hamill doesn't take shots to the head too well so i'd ring his bell and then go all out on him. He doesn't seem to have much of a sub game and isn't a knockout artist so he cannot win a fight suddenly so at worst you're looking at most if not all of his fights being by lay n pray. I don't see much of a future for Hamill in the UFC unless he shows he can take a beating and keep coming.

Josh Haynes
He looks like a big puncher and has some wrestling so expect a sprawl and brawl gameplan from Haynes. I wasn't terribly impressed over all but I bet if he connects flush things would get interesting in a hurry. His biggest threat would be Bisping. The way to attack Haynes would be to stay back and use length against his short arms. His hands have decent speed but he seems to react slow so I think a Bisping could slip in and land something then back off and evade the berserker like response from Haynes. Haynes could see some fights in the UFC but I don't expect much of a splash from him. Sorry man.

Jesse Forbes
Well what can I say he doesn't deserve to be here but he is so lets get down to it. Jesse is a wildcard and seems to have a nice ground game but maybe susceptible to a submission, ala Noah. His biggest threat would be Bisping for that very reason. To beat Jesse i'd keep it on the feet as much as possible and look for the knee when he shoots. If that doesn't connect try for a quick sub as you tumble to the ground. Jesse could have a future in UFC mainly because he's young and has time to improve.



Middleweights

Rory Singer
I'm not sure about this guy. Is he a well rounded fighter with some experience or is he a journeyman who has peaked? Yes his kick to the head on Soloman was a bit of a fluke but he finished it nicely and took advantage which is what you want. Singer could be a sleeper. His biggest threat would probably be Ed because of the raw power disparity between the two. Despite his wrestling experience I think I would keep it standing against Rory, I don't see him taking down his opponent consistently, and beat on him. Unfortunately none of the remaining guys are strikers so that could play into his favor. Singer could have something of a future in the UFC but probably never be a contender.

Kendall Grove
Probably the biggest x-factor in the group. His length makes him dangerous whether on the ground or standing up. If his standup is decent he could use that to his advantage whomever he fights. His biggest threat would be Ed most likely because, again, of the strength disparity. I would attack Grove, take him down and try to isolate one of those long limbs. Grove could have a future in the UFC but how much of one remains to be seen, I just haven't seen enough of his game yet.

Ed Herman
Ed looked good in his win over Danny but then again Danny has no groundgame. Ed and Kalib have to be the favorites to with this weightclass in my estimation. His groundgame looked good, the pounding aspect okay and yes he won by sub but Danny was pretty much begging for an arm bar at that point so there are still some question marks. Ed's biggest threat is most likely Kalib. It plays to Ed's favor that there are no true strikers left as that is his big weakness. Ed could have a bright future in the UFC as he is young and has a solid looking game right now. His big mouth could be one thing that helps him out even if he is seen as a heel.

Kalib Starnes
Kalib seems cool and calm under pressure and he made such quick work of his first opponent that I would pick Starnes to win if it were not for his broken leg. His biggest threat would probably be Ed and his power. To beat Kalib i'd try to work standup and just generally frustrate his game plan. Kalib is older than a lot of TUF guys which means he has probably less upside but he's already good and could be a solid UFC fighter tomorrow.

How the fights will play out.....well who knows other than Dana White. It would be a shame to not have Matt and Mike in the finals facing off so expect that to happen. The middleweight class is more wide open but look for Ed against Kalib or maybe Kendall.