411 MMA Fact or Fiction 12.02.09: Kimbo/Houston, Silva/Bisping, TUF10 Winner & MORE!

Posted by Jeremy Lambert on 12.02.2009

Will Houston Alexander vs. Kimbo Slice make it out of the first round? Will Roy Nelson win The Ultimate Fighter 10? Should UFC cancel UFC 108? Does Wanderlei Silva vs. Michael Bisping excite you? 411's Daniel Bonnizzio and Adam Tool debate these topics and more in this week's edition of 411 MMA Fact or Fiction!

It's the last month of the year but there's no shortage of MMA on the horizon.

To debate The Ultimate Finale 10 and the latest news from around the MMA world this week we have the man with the best Takedown in the business, he is Daniel Bonnizzio. His opponent is someone who always gets two thumbs up from me, direct from FiveOuncesofPain, please welcome Adam Tool.

In the words of John McCarthy…LET'S GET IT ON!

1. Roy Nelson will win The Ultimate Fighter 10.

Daniel Bonnizzio: FACT But really, who else is there to say? Right now, the biggest names to win TUF are Nelson, Schaub, and Jones (coincidentally, people who won their way out of the first round handily). Nelson for his experience and in-cage knowledge, Schaub because he comes in out of the famed Greg Jackson camp, and Jones because of his sheer size and apparent jiujitsu skills, something the other heavyweights seem to lack a bit on. Otherwise, the talent pool seemed a bit lacking. I'm putting my money on Big Country right now to win it.

Adam Tool FACT. Despite the fact that we're three days away from finding out who will win this thing, at the moment we've still got six names to choose from. Amongst the fighters currently left, Daniel already mentioned which three could be considered the favorites. I'm not putting money on Mitrione, McSweeney, or "Titties" to get the job done, as I believe the finals will come down to Nelson vs. Jones. As much as I'd love to see "Big Baby" get that six-figure contract you have to give the edge to Nelson's skills and experience being the big difference maker.

SCORE: 1 for 1.



2. The December fight you're most interested in is Diego Sanchez vs. BJ Penn.

Daniel Bonnizzio: FACT But really, what other fights are interesting right now? We have the TUF Finale which is always fun, we have the UFC 107 co-main event with Mir/Kongo, and we have the Strikeforce: Evolution card featuring Melendez/Thomson II which could be great. Outside of the rumored Aoki/Kawajiri bout for Dynamite!!! there's not too much competition. Diego has the ability to really push BJ's abilities, and I think that BJ will be able to keep Diego on his feet. The only fight in my head that comes close to this is the Melendez/Thomson bout at Evolution, but Penn/Sanchez has me the most excited.

Adam Tool FICTION. Daniel, you ignorant slut (I've waited a long time to get that line into FoF). I can't be the only one that is pumped to see Jon "Bones" Jones square off against Matt "The Hammer" Hamill, can I? You've got the extremely innovative offense of Jones against the ever-improving striking skills of Hamill, in a bout that will likely send one man into the upper echelon of the light heavyweight ranks. I'm fairly certain that the two fighters' wrestling backgrounds will cancel each other out, which will likely lead to an epic slugfest. In regards to Penn vs. Sanchez I may be guilty of just assuming the result is a foregone conclusion. BJ Penn is better than anyone else in the world at 155 and that won't be changing after UFC 107.

SCORE: 1 for 2.

3. Urijah Faber should get a Featherweight title shot if he defeats Raphael Assuncao.

Daniel Bonnizzio: FICTION As top-flight a competitor as both men are, there is plenty of talent in the WEC featherweight division who hasn't been in the title scene and are on the cusp of receiving a shot. Faber has just recently had title shot against then-champ Mike Brown, and lost again albeit most likely due to injuries. Josh Grispi, Dominick Cruz, even Manny Gamburyan are all in the hunt for a title shot. Personally, I would love to see Faber get past Assuncao and then rematch him with the aforementioned Dominick Cruz for a number 1 contender. Cruz's only loss to date was in a match with Faber, so a rematch with title implications would be great to watch.

Adam Tool FACT. Daniel makes a good case for some other guys getting a shot, but the fact remains that Faber is the WEC's biggest star and that counts for something. Jose Aldo may be familiar to fans that follow all the action on Versus, but there's a huge chunk of the MMA audience that's still getting to know the guy. He needs a big-time fight to validate his reign and there's none bigger than Faber. Besides, if Faber wins the belt back it's not like that's a bad situation for the company (particularly if they're still planning to make a run at PPV). If nothing else I say match Grispi up with the winner of Faber/Assuncao and then you have an undisputable #1 contender. Just don't let Manny Gamburyan near the belt, please?

SCORE: 1 for 3.

Video Intermission

Sneak Peek: The Best for Last

4. Wanderlei Silva vs. Michael Bisping excites you more than Silva vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama.

Adam Tool FICTION. My excitement level drops down because I'm a bigger fan of Akiyama than I am of Bisping. In Akiyama's case this was his opportunity to face a guy who's well-known and respected by the UFC faithful, and had he gotten the win over Silva it likely would have catapulted Akiyama into title contention. The fight we have now is much better from a marketing standpoint since Bisping has such a bigger name, but in terms of my personal excitement level I would rather see "Sexyama" in there.

Daniel Bonnizzio: FICTION Personally I think that Bisping/Silva would have been great PRIOR to the UFC 100-induced coma suffered by Bisping, but that's just me. Sexyama has some of the best judo I've ever seen and in a division that is lacking in any real judo players (granted there aren't many period) it's a nice breather. Plus, Sexyama would have been able to at least defend well in the clinch game, because I still think that if Wanderlei is able to get into a good clinch he can murder anyone. All that side though, I am excited for Silva/Bisping, just not as much as for Silva/Akiyama.

SCORE: 2 for 4.

5. With all the injuries hitting the card, UFC should cancel UFC 108.

Adam Tool FICTION. Everyone's disappointed that the previous main event choices have all fallen through, and I don't think anyone truly believes that Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva is worthy of the headliner status. That being said, this card is still remarkably deep. Silva has a chance to firmly entrench himself in the upper-levels at 205, while Evans will look to bounce back from his crushing defeat at the hands of Lyoto Machida. Should "Shogun" Rua capture the LHW strap next year the winner of this fight could jump right into contendership. The rest of the card is littered with fights that should make hardcore fans drool, including Tyson Griffin vs. Jim Miller, Carlos Condit vs. Paul Daley, Joe Lauzon vs. Sam Stout, and Martin Kampmann vs. Rory Markham. UFC 108 may not be the blockbuster year-end event that the company wanted, but it's still a compelling enough card for fans to check out.

Daniel Bonnizzio: FICTION And leave January without a numbered event, let alone a PPV? The UFC isn't going to do that, and like Tool said the card is still deep. Silva/Rashad is a nice main event to see if Thiago Silva is for real for real after his KO loss to Lyoto and his recent massacre of Keith Jardine, or to see if Rashad gets back into title contention quickly. Undercarding the night we have two fun fights between Semtex and Carlos Condit, and a FOTN candidate in Tyson Griffin and Jim Miller. While I am more hesitant to whip out my wallet for this event, I would still shill the money for it.

SCORE: 3 for 5.



6. Kimbo Slice vs. Houston Alexander will not make it past round one.

Adam Tool FACT. Unless one of these guys has developed some sort of ground game, then there's no reason to think this lasts longer than a few minutes. Everyone knows that this fight has slugfest written all over it, and with two powerful punchers trading blows I have to believe that one of them will be falling down before the buzzer. Both fighters were on the receiving end of two of the fastest knockouts of last year, so once the fight starts it would be wise to avoid blinking.

Adam Tool: FACT A million times fact. Kimbo has some huge hands. Houston has some fast and heavy hands. Those hands, from both guys, are going to meet the others' face hard and often. That is the recipe for a quick KO, from either side. Houston is going to look to Muay Thai his way to a Kimbo-KO, and Kimbo is going to look to punch punch punch his way to knocking Houston out. I don't see this fight even remotely hitting the ground until said KO happens, and when it does, bombs are being dropped. If this makes it even halfway through the first I'll be shocked.

SCORE: 4 for 6.

Daniel and Adam started off rocky but patched things up by the end. I don't expect Kimbo Slice and Houston Alexander to do the same thing this Saturday.

Come back next week as two more MMA writers debate the fallout of the Ultimate Finale 10, preview UFC 107, and so much more in 411 MMA Fact or Fiction.

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