411 MMA Fact or Fiction 01.25.12: Evans vs. Davis, Pat Barry’s Overhaul, Sonnen vs. Bisping, More

Posted by Todd Bergman on 01.25.2012

Will Chael Sonnen vs. Michael Bisping be a better fight than Sonnen vs. Munoz would have been? Will Rashad Evans beat Phil Davis at UFC on FOX 2? Are Melvin Guillard’s inconsistent performances puzzling? 411’s Todd Vote and Mark Radulich debate these topics and more in this week's 411: Fact or Fiction: MMA!

Season 2, Week 18, Tournament Bouts
Welcome back to the 411 MMA: Fact or Fiction headquarters. I'm your host, Todd Bergman and this week; I welcome you back to what's quickly become one of the more popular articles on 411mania.com. This week's battle features Mark Radulich against Todd Vote. As with tradition, I'm going to dish about something in the world of MMA that's on my mind. This week, it's the recent changing of the UFC on Fox 2 card. Originally, Chael Sonnen was to battle Mark Munoz is what was a quasi-#1 contender match up. The general word on the interwebz was that Mark Munoz (while insanely talented) was going to be outclassed in this fight. Chael Sonnen is a meat-grinder inside the Octagon and I just don't think that Munoz would be able to outlast the wrestling and overall skill of Sonnen. I understand that Munoz is a great wrestler but Chael Sonnen is the best wrestler in MMA and his skills are top of the food chain (thanks Joe Rogan). I like the fact that when Munoz went down with the injury, the UFC quickly found a better opponent in Michael Bisping. This fight truly becomes a #1 contender fight because I rank Bisping higher in the Middleweight division than Mark Munoz. Bisping probably won't fair better than Munoz but it's worth a shot right? If only this fight had more time to be built up with all of the unholy trash-talk that both guys produce. Enough of the jibber-jabber, let's get into the introductions of both guys.




This week's FoF combatants are:

Blue Corner: Mark Radulich
Nickname: "Sevendust"
Fighting out of: Tampa, Florida
FoF Record: 3-5
411 Column: MMA Contributor/Political Zone

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Red Corner: Todd Vote
Nickname: "Gin Blossoms"
Fighting out of: Washington, DC
FoF Record: 4-7
411 Column: MMA Contributor/Video Games

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1.) You are puzzled by Melvin Guillard's inconsistent performances.

Mark Radulich: FICTION Nope, not in the slightest. Guillard strikes me as someone who is a victim of his ego. From what I've heard in his past interviews and his performances from last year, what I see is someone who takes a small victory and creates a grand delusion from it that he is better than he really is, which results in huge mistakes. There was a comedian that once said (and I'm paraphrasing here), "give a guy a rope and he thinks he's a cowboy." Guillard just about murdered Evan Dunham around this time last year and went around demanding a title shot immediately after. Mind you that before the Dunham KO he'd beaten Jeremy Stephens, Waylon Lowe and Ronys Torres. My point being that I think he has a tendency inflate his skill level and thus leaves himself open to attacks from more methodical and patience opponents. Guys who are thinkers in the cage will always prevail over Guillard who is blessed with great physical attributes but doesn't seem to have it together mentally. His lot in life is to be an inconsistent mid-tier UFC fighter.

Todd Vote: FICTION. I almost completely agree with Mark on this one. Guillard certainly does seem to have a bit of an ego based on his middle of the road victories. Hell, even reading his comments after his loss to Miller, where he calls himself and Miller the top two guys in the division, then says the rest of the division is afraid to fight either one of them. Where Mark and I start to separate on Guillard is where Mark says Guillard tends to inflate his skill level. I don't think that is so much the case as much as he tends to rely to much on his striking and doesn't work enough on the other aspects of the game. I think that he could make it to the next level, but not as long as he refuses to learn how to defend against a choke.

SCORE: 1-1

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2.) Pat Barry showed an overall improvement in his MMA skill set during his fight with Christian Morecraft.

Mark Radulich: FACT Of course he did. All but one of his losses in the UFC have been by submission, one of which was by fellow kick boxer, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic. Morecraft put it on him in this fight and instead of getting panicked when he was in trouble, he was calm, patient and was able to keep the fight going until Morecraft gave him the opening he needed to strike. Nobody is looking for Pat Barry to become Jim Miller but if he wants to survive in the UFC he has to at least be able to defend against submission specialists, which is what he accomplished in this fight.

Todd Vote: FACT. But how much? Let's face facts, Morecraft is a middle of the road heavyweight, and I wouldn't exactly call Morecraft a submission wizard. While Barry was able to defend against the submissions in the fight, you have to take into consideration what would happen if Barry was put in the same spot against a higher level talent. I think it would have ended things differently if say, Frank Mir had attempted the same submissions that Morecraft tried against Barry.

SCORE: 2-2

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3.) Jim Miller should fight Nate Diaz next to determine the next #1 Lightweight Contender.

Mark Radulich: FACT If for no other reason than there is nobody left at the top of the LW division for Jim Miller to fight that isn't already slated to fight someone or is coming off of a win themselves. Anthony Pettis is fighting Joe Lauzon the same night as Edgar vs Henderson and I suspect that the winner of that bout will take on the winner of the title fight, which means that if Miller wants to fight sometime in the next 6 months or so, he has to take a fight with another contender. Guida and Maynard are both coming off of losses, as is Cowboy Cerrone. After that you have Sotiropoulos but he's also fighting on the UFC 144 card against Gomi, so like I said, if not Diaz then who exactly? Also, people were intimating before the Cowboy/Diaz fight that the winner of that encounter was in the mix for a title shot but probably later rather than sooner. I think Diaz vs Miller makes all kinds of sense for this summer as an eliminator so that the winner will fight for the title in the fall.

Todd Vote: FICTION. I know that both are coming off of wins, with Diaz looking the best he has looked yet in the octagon. But Miller is now 1-1 in his last two fights. Since when does a big loss in a #1 contenders match, followed by a win against Guillard move you right back into title contention? When you consider that the man fighting for the title next, Ben Henderson, is coming off a big win against Miller, how anxious are we to see that fight again already? I would be okay with seeing a fight between the two, but I don't think winner should get a title shot just yet.

SCORE: 2-3

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VIDEO INTERMISSION

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4.) Rashad Evans will beat Phil Davis this weekend.

Todd Vote: FACT. At least I am sure hoping so. It might be the only way we will ever see Evans vs. Bones. On paper, the wrestling might be similar, but that is on paper. Evans brings better striking, and a hell of a lot more experience in a big fight environment. I do, however, look for Rashad to play it kind of safe and try to grind out a decision, and not take to many risks in the fight.

Mark Radulich: FACT. I completely agree with Todd. I think Evans has it over Davis in the striking department if it comes to that but ultimately what will end up happening is he will sit on Davis for the duration of the fight so that he can safely transition into his title shot with Bones in Hotlanta! I think Davis is in the position Bader was in this time last year. Bader looked like a hot prospect and was summarily knocked down a peg, first by Jones and then Tito Ortiz of all people, putting his title aspirations on ice for the foreseeable future. In my opinion, that's what we'll see happen this year with Davis. He'll be outclassed by Evans and probably be well clear of title contention for 2012.

SCORE: 3-4

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5.) Chael Sonnen vs. Michael Bisping is a better fight than Sonnen/Munoz.

Todd Vote: FACT. I think Munoz vs. Sonnen would have been more competitive, but any time Michael Bisping fights, I get excited at a another chance to see someone smash his face in. I know Sonnen has been wanting that job for a minute so hopefully that is what we see. I hope Sonnen takes Bisping down, and pounds on his face for the duration of the fight.

Mark Radulich: FACT. It's better in that we'll have another striker vs grappler scenario, which is always fun and it's also better because it is more interesting. Munoz is a fine fighter and all but as much as most people don't want to admit it, fine doesn't sell tickets. As I've said on the 411 Ground and Pound Radio show, Chael Sonnen is by no means a world beater, he's just the most colorful guy in the UFC middleweight division and he's had moderate success and in a fairly shallow pool of top tier talent. For that matter, the same thing can be said of Bisping. Neither of them set the world on fire skill-wise but their personalities are such that they create interest and interest, which generally makes for a better fight.

SCORE: 4-5

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6.) Charles Oliveira & Evan Dunham will regain their previous fighting mystique at UFC on Fox 2.

Todd Vote: FACT. I sure hope so, at least in Dunham's case. But really, what would a return to form be for either one? They just had a two fight losing streak, it's not like they are out there 'Shamrocking' it up and losing every single fight they are in. Dunham won his last fight, and Oliveira unfortunately ran into Cowboy Cerrone.

Mark Radulich: FICTION. They had fighting mystique? OK, if you say so. The interest in Dunham was he was a youngin' who was tearing up the joint until Guillard punch him the face. Whatever "mystique" he had he's lost and when the source of your mystique is youth combined with being undefeated, you can't really resurrect it. Nine out of 10 times once your mystique is gone you are not getting it back. Dunham may go on to be a champion some day and that's fine but as far as some ethereal mystique, I'd say that ship has sailed.

SCORE: 4-6

Much like a Jim Miller fight, 411 MMA: Fact or Fiction is constantly producing epic battles. Last week, I actually selected a winner but I'm not doing that this week. I feel like Vote and Radulich brought a tremendous amount of fire. The winner this week is for you the consumers to decide because I don't want to disappoint any of these guys. Come back next week as we open up February with a tremendous battle featuring two yet to be named wrestlers. Remember to support your local MMA and keep your tapping hand strong.

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411mania MMA Fact or Fiction Scoreboard!

Larry Csonka: 8-1

Samer Kadi: 5-5-1

Jeffrey Harris: 4-8

Todd Vote: 4-7

Scott Kuczkowski: 8-6

Jonathan Solomon: 4-2-1

Steve Cook: 4-2

Dan Plunkett: 7-2

Todd Bergman: 4-1

Dustin James: 1-5

MMA Fighter Jason High: 1-0

Jon Butterfield: 4-4

Mark Radulich: 3-5

Alex Watt: 1-5

Stewart Lange: 3-2

Wyatt Beougher: 3-3

Jeremy Lambert: 4-1

Jack Bramma: 0-1

Robert Winfree: 1-2