Cardio Freak 12.27.07: UFC 79 Preview

Posted by Jeremy Lambert on 12.27.2007

Cardio Freak is back with previews of Hughes vs. St. Pierre and Liddell vs. Silva. I'll tell you why each man will win and who will actually win, when the four square off this Saturday at UFC 79: Nemesis. Plus MMA Man vs. Machine debuts, Chuck Liddell knocks out the Top 5, and so much more.



Welcome back to Cardio Freak folks. I am your ‘Pick Em Expert' Jeremy Lambert, looking to add another title to my collection after this weekend. Lets not waste time this week and jump right into the top story. CUE THE PYRO AND BALLHOO~!

Top Story of the Week

UFC 79: Nemesis This Weekend

That's right, UFC goes out with a bang with UFC 79: Nemesis this Saturday. Instead of boring everyone with an extended roundtable where I just pick every fight and say a few words, I'm going to prove a little IN-DEPTH PREVIEW~! of the two big fights on the card: Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva and Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Hughes.

*Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva

---History: This is the fight every MMA fan has been wanting to see. It was supposed to happen in the finals of the PRIDE 2003 Grand Prix but Quinton Jackson didn't get that memo. It was supposed to happen late in 2006 but things fall apart between PRIDE and UFC. It was supposed to happen in September or November of this year but UFC wanted Chuck on the September card and Wanderlei wouldn't be ready by September. It then couldn't happen in November because Chuck wouldn't have enough time to party before getting back to training. It was supposed to happen after Chuck knocked out Keith Jardine at UFC 76, Keith Jardine didn't get that memo. At the UFC 76 post-event press conference, Dana White said, "Liddell vs. Silva just wasn't meant to happen."

Here we are months later and this Saturday, Liddell vs. Silva happens. It's no longer a fight to determine the best Light Heavyweight in the world, it's a fight to determine who still has it and who may want to think retirement. Wanderlei Silva is coming off back-to-back losses to Mirko Cro Cop and Dan Henderson. Chuck Liddell is coming off back-to-back losses to Quinton Jackson and Keith Jardine. Even though they were facing top-level guys, no one in this sport can afford to drop three straight fights.

Silva is only 31 but three straight losses and questions about just how good he is in America (you know, where they test for performance enhancing drugs) could cut his career short. I'm not saying Silva will retire if he losses because I don't think he will but a loss to Liddell would derail his career even further.

Liddell on the other hand is 38 going on 50 thanks to all the partying he's done over the years. People questioned his lifestyle going into the fight against Jackson and people questioned his desire going into the fight against Jardine. If Liddell loses this fight by knockout, I say he retires. It's probably not the ideal way he would want to go but 3 straight losses and a loss of focus is a lot to overcome.

---Why Wanderlei Silva Will Win: Wanderlei, like most people in MMA, has a punches chance. This is a guy who never stops moving forward and lets his hands go. Chuck was knocked down and out against Jackson and knocked down against Jardine. His iron chin is no longer iron and Silva has the power to finish him if they get into slugfest, unlike Ortiz and Sobral. Some of Silva's weapons are gone though. He can no longer knee and kick guys after he knocks him down and that could play a factor. Silva also loves to use the clinch and leg kicks, something that could give Chuck trouble and something that did give Chuck trouble against Jardine. Silva has never been one for gameplans but he's been training at Xtreme Couture, home of ‘Mr. Gameplan' Randy Couture. We might just see a different Silva in this fight, one no one, not even Liddell, expected to see. That element of surprise could lead to victory for Silva.

---Why Chuck Liddell Will Win: Chuck's gameplan ranges from, "I'm gonna knock him out in the first round" to "I'm going to punch him until he falls." So I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say Chuck wants to stand and bang. Chuck is a counter-puncher who could easily catch the over-aggressive Silva with a, "crazy looping punch from a weird angle." Chuck isn't fancy with his striking but it works. Chuck is one of those rare fighters who has power while he's backpeddling. Just like at the second fight with Renato Sobral. He caught him with a very good uppercut while he was trying to avoid the strikes and takedowns of Sobral. Silva will move forward and Chuck has the power to knock him down while he's moving away from Silva. Although I don't think Silva will try and take Chuck down, he would have to get past the LEGENDARY SPRAWL~! first. Chuck has been wanting this fight for years and that hunger could drive him to a victory.

---How It Will Happen: They'll take the center of the octagon and they will bang it out. I think Silva will sprinkle some kicks in with his punches and I think Chuck will check them better than he did against Jardine. After some stalling and back up punches, Wandy will let his hands go, Chuck will avoid, and Chuck will knock him down and out. Chuck will do his usual celebration, talk to Joe Rogan, plug the after-party, and go get drunk.

*Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre for the Interim Welterweight Title

---History: At UFC 50, Matt Hughes defeated Georges St. Pierre via armbar just as the first round ended to capture the vacant Welterweight Title. After Hughes won 4 straight fights and St. Pierre won 5 straight fights, they met again at UFC 65. There, St. Pierre went on to destroy Hughes in two rounds to capture the UFC Welterweight Title. Hughes defeated Chris Lytle at UFC 68 to earn a title shot and St. Pierre lost the title to Matt Serra at UFC 69. It was announced that Matt Hughes and Matt Serra would be coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 6 and that they would meet for the Welterweight Title at UFC 79.

As The Ultimate Fighter 6 drew to a close and UFC 79 become closer, Matt Serra herniated a disc in his back and was forced to withdraw from the fight. After considering Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves as replacements for Hughes, St. Pierre stepped up. UFC made it official just days later: Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre for the Interim Welterweight Title.

Hughes has not fought since UFC 68 and has been training for months for a fight. St. Pierre defeated Josh Koscheck at UFC 74 in August and is taking this fight on just over a months notice. Hughes is obviously better prepared and in his mind, this fight will go differently than the fight at UFC 65.

---Why Matt Hughes Will Win: Hughes will win this fight if he can take the fight to the ground and neutralize GSP. Hughes' dream is to knock someone out but that's tough to do when you've never been known as a good striker with any type of power. Matt Serra proved that GSP has a suspect chin though so maybe Hughes will get his knockout but I wouldn't bet on it.. We all know that Hughes is going to try and use his strength to takedown GSP and then pound on him or work a submission from there. He can't afford to stand on his feet with GSP because GSP will likely pick him apart much like he did at UFC 65. Hughes has an advantage in training as well since he's been preparing for a fight for months now while GSP probably let himself go a bit after his fight with Koscheck. I'm sure GSP stays in good shape year round but there's a difference between in-shape and fighting shape. Hughes may want to test the cardio of GSP, knowing he didn't get a full training camp in. If Hughes can push this to the later rounds, he has a very good chance to steal the rounds and either win the decision or finish him.

---Why Georges St. Pierre Will Win: St. Pierre is a much better striker than Hughes and he showed great takedown defense in his second fight with Hughes and against Koscheck. If St. Pierre can keep this fight standing, we'll likely see a repeat of UFC 65. GSP didn't let his hands go against Koscheck and rather took him down, which could tell someone that he's afraid to get hit after the Serra fight. Still, GSP is a much better striker than Hughes and hold the advantage on the feet. Even if it goes to the ground with Hughes on top, GSP is no slouch. He could easily catch Hughes in a submission and end it. GSP could also turn the tables on Hughes and put him on his back, where no wrestler wants to be. The worry with GSP will be his mental state and his training. Will the fact that he knows Hughes had a full training camp get into his mind and make him push the action, thinking he has to end it early because he won't be all there conditioning wise late? Little things like that have bugged GSP in the past so it could easily play a factor this Saturday.

---How It Will Happen: Despite both guys saying this fight will be different than the second one, I just don't see it. Hughes will try to take GSP down and he'll fail because St. Pierre's wrestling ability is outstanding. On the feet, GSP will likely pick apart Hughes. I think Hughes will survive one round longer this time out though and that at some point, the fight will hit the ground. Still, before the third round ends, GSP will be going for the backflip, likely landing on his knees, and Dana will put the Interim Welterweight Title around his waist.

There you have it folks, AN IN-DEPTH LOOK~! at the two big fights on Saturday. For a quick preview and predictions from myself and the rest of the staff on every fight at UFC 79, make sure to check out the roundtable.

Man vs. Machine

IGN loves to run a Man vs. Machine gimmick during the NFL Season using the latest installment of Madden NFL and some random guy. Well since I am the greatest pick em player alive, I decided to run the same little gimmick. My opponent? Adam Ryland's newest simulator: World of Mixed Martial Arts and real world modded data. Unfortunately, not every fighter on the card is currently in the game so I'm only going to run the televised portion of the event.

UFC 79: Nemesis

*Machine
-Eddie Sanchez over Sao Palelei in Round One via Submission
-Melvin Guillard over Rich Clementi in Round Three via KO
-Rameau Thierry Sokodujuo over Ryoto Machida via Decision
-Wanderlei Silva over Chuck Liddell in Round Three via KO
-Georges St. Pierre over Matt Hughes via Decision

*Man
-Eddie Sanchez
-Melvin Guillard
-Rameau Theirry Sokodujuo
-Chuck Liddell
-Georges St. Pierre

Come back next week for full results.

To Know Is To Love

This week we examine the….Guard



The guard is a position where the fighter on top is enclosed by the legs of the fighter on the bottom. It is often referred to as a neutral position between fighters.

Practitioner: From the top, Fedor Emelianenko and Tito Ortiz are great at inflicting damage from the guard. Most fighters look to improve their position but those two use their strength to drop punches and elbows from the closed position. On the bottom, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is great at controlling the posture of the top guy and always looking for submissions.

On The Offense: It's very tough to finish someone from the guard. As mention, Tito and Fedor are great at it but they are a rare breed. Most fighters use punches from the guard to soften up their opponent in order to pass to a better position, normally starting with half-guard (explained last week). Another passing technique involves the fighter on top pulling his opponents head up (called the can opener) forcing their opponent to break apart their legs, allowing them to get out of guard and improve their position. Fighters like to posture up to improve their striking from the guard position.

On The Defense: There are a variety of submissions to be used from the bottom position of the guard. If you can slide your legs up to a high guard (also know as a rubber guard) then you potentially set yourself up for an armbar or triangle choke. Another technique used by fighters is grabbing an opponents arm and either locking in a kimura or flipping the opponent over, ending up in the mount position. Most fighters are satisfied by using wrist and body control to either force a stand up or scramble to their feet.

Top 5

Chuck Liddell Knock Outs

5. Alistair Overeem at Pride Total Elimination 03
4. Renato Sobral at UFC 40: Vendetta
3. Randy Couture at UFC 57: Liddell vs. Couture 3
2. Tito Ortiz at UFC 47: It's On
1. Randy Couture at UFC 52: Liddell vs. Couture 2

Dana White On…

M1 offering Fedor to UFC to fight Randy Couture

Those fuckin Russians are crazy. They offered Fedor and then wanted half of all the profits. UFC didn't get where were at today by giving half the profits to companies who don't know jack shit about business. Fucking Monty Cox just wants to leech off our success. He would pray that I would accept, pray that Fedor beat Randy, and then pray that someone would give a shit about his company. Who the fuck has Fedor beaten in the past year? I wasn't going to give Fedor the satisfaction of fighting the number one heavyweight in the world after he'd been sitting on his ass for a year while Randy fucking Couture was beating guys like Tim Sylvia, who was twice his size, and Gabriel Gonzaga, who had just knocked out Mirko Cro Cop. If Fedor wanted to fight the number one heavyweight in the fuckin world, he should have been fighting other top heavyweights not in UFC, like that prick Josh Barnett. M1 wants to ride our coattails and that's not happening. Now they'll try to leech off of Pride's success and I fucking bet you that they'll be so deep in the hole by the end of the year they'll fucking be begging us to buy them out.

Prick of the Week

No MMA star really pissed me off this week but a boxing star decided to rile up the MMA world. That's why this weeks prick is….'Pink' Floyd Mayweather

Here is the scoop from 411's MMA News Section:

According to reports, Mark Cuban has been discussing a deal with Floyd Mayweather to put the pound-for-pound best boxer in the world into a Mixed Martial Arts bout. If such an agreement were to be reached Mayweather would fight for Cuban's fledgling HDNet Fights promotion based out of Dallas. Leonard Ellerbe, an associate of Mayweather told ESPN "When Floyd makes his move, obviously it's going to be a mega event. We don't have a timetable. Floyd is taking some time off, but Floyd understands what is involved. You have to take time to go out and understand what you're getting involved in, and he's ready to do that."

Cuban for his part has said that if he and Floyd can't come to terms financially on a deal that would see him fight, Mayweather could still become involved in MMA and HDNet Fights through investing, developing and training fighters for the promotion. Said Cuban, "Floyd is considering fighting with HDNet Fights. We are going to let him visit some gyms to talk to some folks about what it would take to learn. He knows it won't be easy. But he is getting involved with MMA and HDNet Fights one way or another. He is pumped about it. He wants to go on to the next big thing. Floyd is a brilliant marketer. He follows the money."

If Mayweather were to compete in MMA he would be competing in the featherweight division which features such stars as Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver.

Is that bullshit I smell? If Floyd Mayweather takes many months off, trains MMA, and proves to me, and a lot of other people, that he's serious then more power to him. Problem is, I'm not buying it. Floyd is a talker when it comes to the media. He's made some bold statements to the media in the past and hasn't followed up. I give Floyd all the credit in the world when it comes to boxing but he can talk a big game in that sport and back it up. MMA is a whole different ball game.

I'm not going to get into Floyd's chances in a MMA fight because I don't think he'll ever get in a MMA fight. If and when he does, then I'll break down his chances. Again, if Floyd takes the Kimbo Slice route and gets in the gym at Xtreme Couture or Team Quest or begins training with a respectable fighter, more power to him and I can't wait to see him fight. Until that time comes, quit talking Floyd. Go about your boxing, do the rematch with Oscar De La Hoya, make more millions, and stop talking MMA unless you're completely serious about doing it.

Now, if Floyd does decide to venture into MMA, now is a great time. He's made his millions in boxing, he's beaten seemingly everyone out there (I don't follow boxing so someone please tell me if there is a guy who stands a chance against Floyd), and he has a MMA outlet through Mark Cuban and HDNet Fights. If he's going to move to MMA, now is the time. If he's not going to do it now, he's likely never going to do it.

Floyd, I think you're a great boxer and I think you're pretty awesome for having people like 50 Cent and Mark Cuban as part of your entourage for fights but either fight or shut up and stop being a prick.

I'd post a GIF of someone knocking out Mayweather but it's never happened so instead I'll just post a video of Mayweather getting knocked out in a different fashion:



Training Partners

Bren Oliver puts a smile on my face with MMA Christmas songs. MANY BUYS~!

Leland Rolling takes a look back at 2007 in the UFC.

Lotfi Sariahmed breaks down the IFL World Grand Prix Finals better than anyone on the net.

Matt McEwen continues his look back at the UFC with UFC 28: High Stakes.

Morgan Marx takes a look at UFC 79: Nemesis.

Bren Oliver gets double the love this week as he not only wrote Christmas Songs but he also interviewed Mark Cuban. Someone increase this mans pay.

AND IT'S ALL OVER!

I want to thank everyone for once again clinking the link to Cardio Freak. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and got everything they asked for. I was fortunate to receive a six-month subscription to UFC On Demand, which means I can watch even more MMA in my spare time. I may also review a fight or two every week because that's the kind of giving person I am.

Next week should be huge with a report on UFC 79 including the debut of a little thing I like to call the MMA Star Rating System and cameo from the man who created the Cardio Freak graphic and who put half the work into the rating system, that man being, ‘Isaac'. That and so much more next week so ya'll come back now ya hear?

I leave everyone with the following picture of two GREAT~! men



Take care everyone.