Cardio Freak MMA News Report 6.08.09: Knockout, Knockout, War

Posted by Jeremy Lambert on 06.08.2009

Cardio Freak is back with a preview of UFC 99. Is Wanderlei Silva's chin up to snuff? Is Cain Velasquez as good as hyped? How good is Marcus Davis? Plus a review of Strikeforce featuring great performances from the Cesar Gracie camp, news on Carano vs. Santos, and Kimbo is back. All that and the latest news from around the MMA world. It's stronger than Andrei Arlovski's chin, it's Cardio Freak on 411.



Welcome back to Cardio Freak everyone. I am your trainer Jeremy ‘Just Killin Time In Between Fights' Lambert.

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UFC 99: "The Best Overseas Card Ever" Preview

UFC heads to Germany for the first time in their history and they're delivering one hell of a card. I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to every single one of the main card fights and I find them all very intriguing in different ways.

Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin

"Knockout, Knockout, War."

Franklin and Silva are meeting at a catch weight of 195 pounds because Franklin, who wants to be a permanent fixture at 205, didn't want to drop to 185 for the fight. Things have heated up from there. Franklin talked about how he would love to train with Wanderlei after the fight but then decided to train with Anderson Silva leading up to this fight. Wanderlei took that as more of a sign of disrespect from Anderson but I wouldn't be shocked if he also thought it was disrespectful of Franklin as well. The loser of this fight will have two straight UFC losses, something neither fighter can afford.

We know what we're getting in this fight. Silva and Franklin are two fighters who love to move forward and strike with each other. Silva isn't very technical with his strikes though. He wings his punches with a reckless style and it's worked for him for many years. Silva rarely throws one punch at a time so I'm sure Franklin knows that if one is coming, another one is on the way. Franklin is going to be a tough match up for Silva. He mixes up his strikes well and finishes a lot of his combo with kicks to the body. I don't know how many kicks we'll see from Franklin though as Wanderlei has excellent timing on kicks, especially leg kicks. He senses when the kick is coming and then explodes with his wild punches.

Franklin's biggest weakest in past fights against guys named Silva was the muy thai clinch. I don't suspect he'll be having that problem this time around. Franklin will enjoy the height advantage over Wanderlei, something he didn't have over Anderson. It's going to be harder for Wanderlei to grab him in the plum clinch and then deliver the knees than it was for Anderson. I'd also like to believe that training with Anderson has given Franklin some sort of clinch defense.

My concern with Silva is that he's taken a lot of punishment over the years, especially in the recent years. He was brutally KOed by Mirko "Cro Cop", Dan Henderson, and Quinton Jackson. We've seen with plenty of the older guys that once you've taken one big knockout, the following knockouts come easier. Franklin has the power in his hands to turn the lights of Silva out.

That's why I think Rich Franklin will win this fight. I don't think Silva's chin will be able to hold up to the hands of Franklin. Look for Franklin to drop Silva with a left hand and then pound him out.

Either way, the "knockout, knockout, war" prediction from Wanderlei Silva will likely come true. The style of both fighters can bring nothing else. Silva's aggressiveness is going to lead to him getting the knock out, getting knocked out, or just being in a war. That's how almost every Silva fight goes and that's why he's earned the reputation that he has. We know Silva isn't going to back down and we expect the same from Franklin.

Official Prediction: Rich Franklin, TKO, Round 2

Cain Velasquez vs. Cheick Kongo

In a battle of two Heavyweights trying to break away from the pack, Cain Velasquez takes on his toughest challenge to date in Cheick Kongo.

This is a classic striker vs. grappler battle. The only difference is that Cain can strike while Kongo can't grapple. I think is grappling is underrated as he has good takedowns and heavy ground and pound but it's not like he's been fighting world class wrestlers. Cain is a great wrestler who won't be taken down easily by Kongo. On the flip side, Kongo has never shown the ability to stay on his feet if someone wants to put him on his back. Even when he decided to put Herring on his back, it didn't take long for Herring to sweep him. If Cain wants this fight on the ground, chances are he'll take this fight to the ground. But does he want this fight on the ground? Out of Cain, Carwin, and Lesnar; Cain has the best stand up. Lesnar and Carwin may hit harder but Cain is the most technical of the three. He's coming off a dominant performance over Denis Stojnic but there's some backlash on him for not finishing impressively. Cain can't buy into this, "you need to score a standing KO and be exciting for us to take you serious" hype. Look where it got Josh Koscheck and Sean Sherk. Play to your strengths, not the excitement. If he tries to stand with Kongo, chances are he'll get knocked out. If Cain fights a smart fight, he'll put Kongo on his back and dispose of him relatively quick. Kongo offers nothing from his back other than the "flopping fish" technique.

Official Prediction: Cain Velasquez, TKO, Round 2

Marcus Davis vs. Dan Hardy

This might be the most interesting fight of the night given the heat between the two fighters. Long story short, Hardy thinks Davis is a fake Irishman (true) and Davis thinks Hardy has proved nothing (true) and it's spiraled from there.

I love this fight because I don't like Marcus Davis while I think Dan Hardy has a cool charisma about him. Let me clarify, I don't really have a problem with Marcus Davis other than I do think he's a fake Irishman but I have more of a problem with Marcus Davis fans who think he's this great fighter because he's beat a bunch of crappy fighters. The one time Davis stepped up in competition during this run, he was blown out by Mike Swick. Marcus Davis hasn't proven a thing and I find it to be a joke that people think he's anywhere near a title shot. Paulo Thiago with one uppercut proved more than Marcus Davis ever has. Is he a good fighter? Sure. He's going to beat most mediocre fighters but I don't think he's even competition against guys like Koscheck, Fitch, Alves, or even Hughes. Stop hyping Marcus Davis. His whole gimmick is that he fights overseas against mediocre Englishmen and wins. With one win over Akihiro Gono, I think Hardy has proved more than Davis.

Davis talks that he's going to stand and trade with Hardy, which probably means he'll shoot of a takedown because I think Davis is scared. The talk going into his fight against Chris Lytle was that he would stand in front of Lytle and trade with him until someone fell. Instead he backpedaled and countered. It's smart strategy, I won't knock him for that. But it just makes me believe that he won't do anything he says he will. He's going to have a tough time taking down Dan Hardy though because he has an excellent sprawl and Davis doesn't have the wrestling to do anything about it. They both have power in their hands to knock the other out but I give the advantage on the feet to Hardy. Davis is probably the better technical striker but I'll take Hardy's power and chin over Davis'.

If Marcus Davis wins this fight, I'll give him his due. I don't think a win over Dan Hardy, who really hasn't proven much either, justifies the talk that Davis is a title contender but I do think Hardy is Davis' toughest opponent other than Swick. It's going to be tough for Davis to take Hardy down if that's what he wants to do and I'm going to trust that Hardy's chin is good enough to take a good couple of punches from Davis while his power is good enough to knockdown or knockout Davis.

Official Prediction: Dan Hardy, TKO, Round 2

Ben Saunders vs. Mike Swick

This is probably the least interesting fight on the card but for some reason I'm still excited for it. I think a lot of people don't realize that Mike Swick is a true contender at Welterweight. He was a Yushin Okami victory away from possibly getting a Middleweight title shot, he's 3-0 at Welterweight, and he returned to his "Quick" ways in his last fight. Ben Saunders hasn't proven much compared to Swick but he's never been finished in nine fights and he's coming off a dominating performance over Brandon Wolff.

Many expect this fight to stay on the feet but I think Swick will have a different plan. Saunders is a dangerous fighter on the feet. He's a rangy fighter who uses his reach well and gave everyone Anderson Silva flashbacks after his muy thai performance against Wolff. Saunders is a dangerous fighter on his feet and I don't think Swick will be dumb enough to stand where it could go either way while he has a significant advantage on the ground. He's training at AKA with Cain, Koscheck, Fitch, and other great wrestlers so I expect his wrestling is good enough to put Saunders on his back and keep him there. Saunders has a couple of submission victories but one was against a guy who never made it while the other was against Ryan Thomas, who just seems to have a weakness for armbars. I doubt Saunders will be able to catch Swick in any type of submission off his back but stranger things have happened.

Official Prediction: Mike Swick, Decision

Caol Uno vs. Spencer Fisher

Caol Uno returns to the UFC after spending the last few years in Japan. He's not getting an easy fight in a very game Spencer Fisher though.

Fisher's biggest weakness is Uno's biggest strength, that being wrestling. Despite training with the Miletich camp for many years, Fisher never really developed a good wrestling game. He's competent on the ground but you can put him on his back rather easily. Of his 25 wins, 23 have came via submission or decision so you know Uno is great at putting guys on the mat and controlling them with a superior top game. Fisher is a tough guy to finish so I don't expect Uno to submit him but he has a good enough top base to keep him on the ground for 15 minutes.

On the feet, Fisher has the advantage. He's not afraid to strike, he has a great chin, and he has power in both hands. Uno's chin is a tad questionable as five of his 11 losses have come via (T)KO with three of those losses knocking him completely out. Fisher's best chance is to catch Uno early with a flurry of punches like BJ Penn or time the shot of Uno and catch him with a knee on the way in.

Uno will likely fight a cautious fight, which means going for the takedown immediately and grinding out at decision.

Official Prediction: Caol Uno, Decision

Mirko "Cro Cop" vs. Mustapha Al-Turk

That's right, six fights on this card and the UFC return of Mirko "Cro Cop".

There's not too much to this fight. It's a designed win for "Cro Cop" and if he wins, great but if he loses he'll probably be back in Japan by the end of the month. Mustapha Al-Turk isn't a good fighter. Simple as that. His shot isn't good enough to get Mirko to the ground and his striking isn't anywhere near the level of the K-1 veteran. He could catch Mirko with a big punch or kick but that's the only way he can win this fight. He's not going to out-strike Mirko or bully him in the clinch or on the ground. He's going to catch him with a big shot and that's the only way he's going to win this fight.

I don't think Mirko is washed up like a lot of people want to claim. Can he still be a top level Heavyweight? That remains to be seen. But he can still beat mediocre Heavyweight's. If he can't beat a guy like Al-Turk, he should probably just retire. That may sound harsh but the worst thing a fighter can do is hang on too long. Losing to top guys in the division on a consistent basis doesn't mean you're not a good fighter. It just means you're not as good as those guys and you're probably not going to be the champion anytime soon. But losing to mediocre fighters that you should probably destroy in 30 seconds means you're just done as a fighter. Loses to Gonzaga and Kongo followed by a weak performance against Overeem doesn't mean "Cro Cop" is a washed up fighter. A loss to Al-Turk does.

Official Prediction: Mirko "Cro Cop", TKO, Round 1

Wrap Up

I expect this to be a good show with the potential to be a great show depending on how certain fights go. Obviously UFC is expecting some rather quick fights considering they're trying to fit six fights on the show, something they've never done before. With no title fights it seems like a possible task but lets not forget that UFC 76 had no title fight and was a minute or two away from going long on PPV thanks to some rather long fights.

As always, 411Mania will have you covered if you can't watch the show and we should have live coverage of the 3 PM showing.

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Strikeforce: "Cesar Gracie Represent" Review

Strikeforce delivered another good event this past Saturday that saw the likely end to a disappointing career, a grappler throwing 400 strikes in under three rounds, the possible arrival of a Heavyweight threat, and jiu-jitsu defeat striking.

Jake Shields defeated Robbie Lawler by Submission in Round One

First off, I thought the announcers were horrible in this fight. They kept saying, "Jake Shields looks uncomfortable on his feet" and that was a complete discredit to Jake Shields. He's not a world-class striker and probably has the worst striking I've ever seen by a guy who is a legit top five fighter in his weight class but I thought he looked fine on his feet on Saturday. Go back and watch his fight against Paul Daley and then watch this fight again. There's a huge difference in his striking. I thought he did a good job keeping distance with the jab and body kick before closing the distance and clinching. Robbie Lawler made a mistake and left his neck out in the clinch against a world-class grappler and Shields made him pay with an arm in guillotine choke. To be honest about it, Jake Shields made Robbie Lawler look like an amateur fighter. Outside of a couple of body shots in the clinch, Lawler never really hit Shields with a punch. He showed a good ability to get back up once taken down but Shields still knew he could take him down and he wasn't going to have that kind of explosiveness in his escapes if the fight dragged on. Lawler got caught in a hold he probably shouldn't have been caught in given his caliber as a fighter but Shields has, to quote Joe Rogan, "top of the food chain jiu-jitsu" and he can't make that kind of mistake against him.

Shields called out Cung Le after the fight, wanting a shot at his Middleweight title and that's obviously the right fight for Strikeforce. Now it's just up to Cung Le to decide whether or not he wants to act in crappy movies or be a fighter and defend his title like a true champion would. Sooner or later I think Cung will defend the belt but lets just hope that it's sooner rather than later.

I'm not sure where Robbie Lawler goes from here. Strikeforce has a Middleweight division but at the same time they do a lot of catchweight fights featuring guys who are Middleweights and Welterweights. Lawler complained about having to cut the extra weight during the lead up to this event so I wouldn't be shocked if he refuses another catch weight fight. If that's the case, you can probably rule out a rematch with Nick Diaz. Maybe Frank Shamrock, who sat at ringside and called the action, loved seeing Lawler lose because he thinks that's a favorable fight for him in the near future.

Brett Rogers defeated Andrei Arlovski by KO in Round 1

Can Andrei Arlovski get some type of chin surgery that adds bone and makes his chin stronger? Is that possible?

I don't want to take anything away from Brett Rogers or his victory over a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and a top 10 fighter but he won how everyone expected him to win. He would swing early and hope that his big fist landed on Arlovski's weak chin. That's what happened. It's a big win and a nice win to have on your resume but it didn't really prove anything. I already knew Rogers hit really hard and that Arlovski goes to sleep if you breath on him wrong. This fight just re-assured that. I still don't think Rogers is a good striker as far as being technical, I don't think he has good striking defense, and I've never seen his ground game. He has power though and anyone with power is always in a fight. Maybe he has a great sprawl or can develop a great sprawl in order to keep the fight standing most of the time but I'm reserving my judgment on Rogers until at least after the Overeem fight. If he can beat Alistair Overeem and the fight lasts longer than two minutes, I'll give him credit.

As for Arlovski, he needs to stick to fighting just grapplers or something. It's clear that he can't take anyone's punch and that's bad news when you fight at Heavyweight and seemingly everyone hits hard. I think he can kiss a boxing career good bye because the "backing up with your head up and chin out" defense isn't going to get you very far as a pro boxer.

Nick Diaz defeated Scott Smith by Submission in Round 3

Nick Diaz is a great man. I know a lot of people don't like him but he's always in entertaining fights and his antics before, during, and after fights get people talking.

Say what you will about his striking but damn if it isn't effective. I believe the final count was something like 400 strikes thrown with over 200 landing. He doesn't have one punch KO power but when you can throw 400 strikes in just under three rounds and not get tired, do you really need one punch power? Scott Smith had no defense for the striking of Diaz yet was still in the fight. I don't know if Smith has just to decided to cash in on his "comeback" reputation by looking like he's about to collapse while covering in the corner and then winging the big right hand or by actually collapsing as the round ends and then getting the big KO in the next round but you know while you were watching this fight you expected Smith to hit the hail mary KO. The fact that I can't tell anymore if he's faking or if he's really hurt make him even more dangerous.

Strikeforce must do Diaz vs. Riggs next. It's seemingly another step down for Diaz after his win over Frank Shamrock but the pre-fight hype alone will be worth it. We all know that they don't like each other, they got into a fight at the hospital, and Diaz felt he won the decision in their UFC fight. He should get a chance to avenge that loss. Since Strikeforce doesn't have a Welterweight champion or really a Welterweight division, they can keep giving Nick Diaz fights at a catchweight and build him into some type of "Catchweight Killer." I've heard worse ideas.

I also demand a Scott Smith vs. Phil Baroni fight just because we're guaranteed a knockout in that one. Smith isn't really a great fighter but always seems to have exciting fights and Baroni is a guy who will stand and bang it out with Smith.

Joe Riggs defeated Phil Baroni by Unanimous Decision

We need Mark Coleman doing commentary for every single fight in the history of MMA starting now. And I want him to do commentary like he clearly favors one fighter over the other and he thinks he's cornering that fighter.

"GET THE FUCK UP PHIL!" "HIT HIM PHIL!" "DON'T GET HIT PHIL!" "PHIL, GET THE FUCK UP!"

That right there is great corner advice.

Joe Riggs won but after his post fight promo made me dislike him anymore. "I had two broken hands, I had the flu, and Phil Baroni is a great fighter." You're not a doctor, you won, and Phil Baroni is a great fighter for the first two minutes. I really hope we get Diaz vs. Riggs next because I want to see Joe Riggs get punched in the face 200 times. Make it happen Strikeforce.

Mike Whitehead defeated Kevin Randleman

"THIS CROWD IS HERE FOR YOU KEVIN!"

So much for the comeback of Kevin Randleman. He looked rather out of shape, had the gas tank we all remember, and lacked the killer instinct he's always lacked. He was taken down at will, picked apart on the feet, never really threw more than one punch at a time, and still almost won early in the third round. It wasn't really an impressive performance from Mike Whitehead but he got the win so good for him. I guess he'll now fight Mike Kyle, who KOed "Feijao" Cavalcante in the undercard, for the right to face Renato Sobral for the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight title. Hopefully Kyle wins that fight because I don't think anyone is clamoring for a Sobral vs. Whitehead rematch.

Wrap-Up

Another good show from Strikeforce. Whitehead vs. Randleman wasn't very good and I couldn't get into Riggs vs. Baroni but the top three fights were are excellent for difference reasons. They also set up their next show by announcing Carano vs. Santos and Thomson vs. Melendez so kudos to them for knowing to promote in advance.

Playing to Your Strengths

Kimbo Slice will be a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 10: The Heavyweights. The two teams are coached by Light Heavyweights Rashad Evans and Quinton Jackson

Wait for it………..

Wait for it………..

HE'S BACK, JOE!

Just when everyone thought Kimbo Slice was done with MMA forever, UFC announced early last week that he would be a contestant on season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter. I wasn't that excited for the season when it was announced that Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans would be coaches but now I'm very interested. Not because I think Kimbo Slice is a charisma machine who is going to make me laugh or think in every scene he's in. But because there's now intriguing going into the season. Dana White previously stated that the only way he would allow Kimbo into the UFC is if he competed on and won TUF. Now it's Kimbo's turn to make Dana eat his words. Everyone is the house will be gunning for Kimbo. No one believes he's a real fighter and they all want to be known as the guy who beat Kimbo on TUF. Just the story of "who will get the chance to fight Kimbo?" is interesting to me.

Here are things that I worry about though:

Kimbo Slice has overrated charisma. He's the center of attention in any room he's in because of his "legend" and look but watch or listen to his interviews. He's not the most exciting person in the world. He's not going to ham it up for the cameras or anything like that and I generally believe that he doesn't even like so much attention on him. This can be broken if he's around the right people though. In videos with Jason Miller and Bas Rutten, he holds his own in terms of comedy and just having a good time. Maybe being around Quinton Jackson will get him to break out of his shell but I'm not expecting much from Kimbo in terms of delivering any great promos or anything like that.

He needs to be around Quinton Jackson to be more entertaining but he needs to be around Rashad Evans to be a better fighter. Kimbo doesn't strike me as a hard worker. He reportedly split with Bas Rutten because he stopped listening to Bas and bought into his own hype. Maybe Seth Petruzelli knocked him back down to earth and he'll work hard to prove doubters wrong but I wouldn't hold my breath. Quinton Jackson isn't going to give him great training. We all saw Jackson on TUF 7. He was a rather lazy head trainer. If he's going to be lazy, Kimbo is going to believe that he can be lazy. Rashad Evans doesn't strike me as someone who is lazy. He seems like the type of guy that shows up and works hard every day and is pushed by Greg Jackson and great fighters like Georges St. Pierre, Nate Marquardt, Keith Jardine, Donald Cerrone, ect… to do more than he wants to. That's the kind of coach Kimbo needs. He needs a guy who is going to push him past his limit.

What I like is that Kimbo is willing to do this. I don't know if UFC came to him or he came to UFC with this idea but the fact that he's willing to do this shows me that he's serious about being in MMA. He could have made more money in boxing, Strikeforce, Affliction, or Japan but he's taking no money (unless SpikeTV is paying him) to try and win the UFC contract. It shows that he wants to prove doubters wrong. And I think that's his whole motivation for doing this show. No one believed he was a real fighter and he certainly didn't help his case last October when he ended up out on the canvas after a 14 second loss to Seth Petruzelli. Now he's got a chance to be a real fighter. Even if you don't believe TUF was what it once was, it still gives fighters instant validation in the UFC. You win TUF, you've accomplished more in doing that than winning the championship on most local and regional shows.

No matter your opinion of Dana White or this move, he's a genius for pulling this off. Kimbo is going to bring TUF ratings so that's already a positive. Then he's in a win-win situation. Either Kimbo wins the show and Dana has a new money maker to play with or Kimbo loses on the show and Dana can claim victory about being right.

The biggest negative about this whole thing is that we won't get to see Lyoto Machida try and teach Kimbo Slice the art and technique of MACHIDA KARATE. Can you imagine Kimbo combining the art of street fighting with the art of Machida Karate? Talk about an unstoppable fighter.

Josh Koscheck will take on Frank Trigg at UFC 103

This is a tough first fight back for Frank Trigg. Despite coming off a KO loss to Paulo Thiago, Josh Koscheck is still one of the best welterweights in the world. If Koscheck fights a smart fight, he should win. His wrestling is better than Trigg's and Trigg isn't going to threaten with many submissions off his back. If Koscheck thinks he's a K-1 striker again, he could find himself looking up at the lights like he was at UFC 95. It will be interesting to see what Trigg brings to the table after a rather long layoff from top competition and going back to the Welterweight division. That's why I think this is an even more winnable fight for Koscheck. He's catching Trigg at the perfect time.

I like this match making by UFC. If Koscheck wins, he puts himself right back into the title picture because even though I don't think Trigg is a top Welterweight anymore, he's still a guy with some name value. A win for Trigg re-establishes him in the Welterweight division and possibly leads to the story of the aging veteran looking for one last shot at glory. The better situation is Josh Koscheck winning because I don't think anyone buys Frank Trigg as a real contender against Georges St. Pierre especially after their first fight. The only downside is that a Koscheck loss pretty much puts him out of title contention for a year or two because if he can't beat Trigg then he doesn't have much of a chance against anyone else. But then again if he can't beat Trigg, just how good is he?

Studying Tape



Knockout, Knockout, Knockout, Knockout

Sparring Session

Underwater Ice Bath

Strikeforce announced that Gina Carano vs. Cristiana "Cyborg" Santos and Josh Thomson vs. Gilbert Melendez will headline the August 15th event

I think I speak for everyone when I say…..FINALLY!

Carano vs. Santos has been rumored for what seems like a year now and Strikeforce has finally put it together. I don't know if this fight is going to be the main event on the show, it's seemingly being built that way, but this could easily be the main event without much complaint. The only complaint I would have is that I don't think any fight should go ahead of a title fight. But Strikeforce has done it before and they've planned on doing it again, it just hasn't worked out for them thanks to injuries. Now if they make Carano vs. Santos for the Women's Championship then my complaint becomes invalid.

Has this fight cooled off though? It was a big deal late last year but Carano hasn't fought since October and Santos is coming off the big weight controversy. I think Gina Carano is going to sell no matter what because any man with a pulse loves seeing a hot chick throw down. But Santos isn't perceived as the killer that she once was. She's not looked at as being bad for the sport because she missed weight by an insane amount, murdered a little Japanese girl, and then celebrated like she won the title. I honestly don't think this fight is as big as it could have been. Carano is still Carano but being out of the public eye hurts her and Santos seems to be public enemy #1 in the women's division. Strikeforce also did nothing to make me excited for this fight on Saturday. They showed a mediocre YouTube like highlight video of Gina Carano and that's it. No highlights of Santos and no interview with either fighter. I did the exact same hype job for Silva vs. Franklin with the Silva video above. Pay me UFC.

I also hope they set the weight limit at 200 pounds or so just to guarantee the fight takes place.

I think I've talked about Thomson vs. Melendez a hundred times so I won't go into it again. Hopefully both guys are healthy going into this fight and no one has to pull out last minute. Their first fight was great and I expect their second fight to be right. I like the idea more than I did previously because now Melendez has a win under his belt. I like Josh Thomson but I'm worried that the injuries over this past year and the layoff is going to catch up to him in the rematch.

Gegard Mousasi will take on Renato Sobral at Affliction 3. Also on the card will be Vitor Belfort vs. Jorge Santiago

I think this works out well for all parties. Mousasi gets a big time fight at a higher weight class and Belfort gets a big fight at Middleweight. While I think this Affliction card lacks the name value that previous cards had, it makes up for it in talent.

Both of these fights are interesting for their own reasons. Sobral is an established fighter and the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champion while Mousasi, despite having a great record, is still a bit of a mystery. He has wins over good fighters but his best win is over Denis Kang who is notorious for mentally freezing and losing, which is exactly what he did in the Mousasi fight. He's a well-rounded fighter but so is Sobral and Sobral has fought much tougher competition. This will be the true test for Mousasi. If he can defeat Sobral then he'll prove that he's a legitimate but if he loses then I'm afraid he'll just be a good fighter who beats guys he should but can't beat top level fighters. Mousasi seems to have a weakness against armbars and that's not a good thing against a great grappler like Sobral. Mousasi might be best served to keep the fight on the feet because Sobral has shown that his striking is good but not great.

Jorge Santiago might not be a big name Middleweight for Belfort but he's a guy that's been on tremendous winning streak since exiting the UFC with his latest victory coming via triangle choke against Kazuo Misaki. He's a well-rounded fighter who can give Belfort problems wherever the fight may go. Belfort looks like a new man at Middleweight though. His power has translated and he looks even faster. He's training at Xtreme Couture, which has to help his mental game because you know Randy and Co. push him on a daily basis. Belfort has always had the talent, he was just mentally weak. I think Xtreme Couture has corrected his mental problem and a mentally prepared Vitor Belfort has been scary thus far in Affliction.

Taking Time Off

Big thanks to my friends Mike & Amanda for their hospitality last week. Love you guys.

Overseas Training

Judo Gold Medalist Satoshi Ishii has signed with World Victory Road

This came as a shock to some but not to all. Ishii said he would be signing with the UFC but obviously had second thoughts as he decided to take what is likely a lot more money and say in Japan to compete under the World Victory Road banner. This is probably the smarter move for Ishii. He'll be well compensated and likely protected in Japan while he wouldn't get too many easy fights in the UFC I doubt he would get paid much considering the casual fan has probably never heard of him. It would have been nice to see Ishii on this season of The Ultimate Fighter with Kimbo Slice but I guess that dream is now crushed.

I really don't know much about Ishii other than he was and possibly still is training at American Top Team and he's a Gold Medalist in Judo. Just based off that, that makes him a scary man. Anyone with a background in a style that isn't one of the more popular styles can be a competitive fighter. It's one of the many reasons why I think Lyoto Machida is undefeated. It's tough to find a guy that can replicate his style of karate and most fighters aren't training year round to compete against karate fighters. Just like you're not training year round in Judo. If he can develop a good striking game, I think he can be a top Heavyweight in this sport. It's not going to happen overnight though.

AND IT'S ALL OVER~!

That does it for me folks. I'll be back next week with a very late WEC review and a UFC 99 review. Take care everyone.

And remember you can follow me on Twitter.

Cardio Freak Sources: Dave Meltzer and the Wrestling Observer, Bryan Alvarez and Figure Four Weekly, MMAWeekly, and MMAMania