411 MMA Fact or Fiction 10.22.08: Silva Will KO Cote in Less than 60 Seconds, Jardine on his way to 2009 Title-Shot, and MORE!!!

Posted by Bren Oliver on 10.22.2008

Was UFC 89 a yawner? Is Michael Bisping the UFC's second-best Middleweight? Would you want to see Josh Koscheck fight GSP a second time? Are you anxiously awaiting Fedor Emelianenko's new reality show? Verbal sensei Larry Csonka and student Daniel "Daniel-san" Plunkett debate these topics and more in this week's Fact or Fiction - NOW with LESS EliteXC!

'Ello govnuhs! UFC 89 is in the books, Dana White is once again Stateside, and MMA fans are happy they saved their PPV payola for the UFC's upcoming venture into the "Windy City" instead of spending it watching two headlining bouts go to the judges' scorecards. This week's fact or fiction will focus on those two shows, as ProElite's bankruptcy hadn't become official by the time it went to press. Rest assured it will get some play next week, but in the meantime, EliteX-See-ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!

Popping his "FoF" cherry this week is one of 411Mania MMA's newest additions, Daniel Plunkett. He claims to write "The Greatest MMA Column" - somehow I think Kevin Iole would dispute that while verbally fellating the UFC in the process. He's up against stiff competition and I'm not just saying that because he's just finished "reading" the Rachelle Leah Playboy. Hey yo!! Facing Plunkett is our resident chieftan, Larry Csonka. Each has some strong opinions to share in regards to our six savory special ingredients - the topics - so let's not waste time with any more formalities.

Readers...are you ready? Fellow columnists...are you ready? Then, America, with an enlarged heart and an empty skull, I say unto you the words of my Uncle...


ALLEZ FACT OR FICTION!!!!!!!


1. UFC 89 was disappointing in terms of its entertainment value.


Daniel Plunkett: FACT. Only one fight on this card truly delivered. Brandon Vera didn't perform the way he is capable of, making his fight with Jardine lacking a lot of excitement. Bisping vs. Leben was not the stand up war many had expected it to be. Sokoudjou vs. Cane and Davis vs. Kelly were nothing to write home about before their endings. While this wasn't a bad event, I was expecting more from it.


Larry Csonka: FACT. I think I've been pretty clear on this, between the "My Take on MMA" column and the "Wrestling News Column". Basically, NO BUYS to UFC 89. It wasn't a bad event, but it just wasn't a very good one; disappointing IS the best way to describe it. The fights we saw were fine, some pretty good, and one that was a cure for insomnia. At the end of the night all I could think was, "Jesus, this show has lasted forever." That's not a good thing. In the end I was VERY glad that this was a fee show, because I would have been very disappointed if I had paid $45 for this. NO BUYS indeed.



SCORE: 1 for 1. Somehow I don't see UFC 90's main event going to the judges...


2. Keith Jardine will earn a UFC Light Heavyweight title-shot sometime during 2009.



Daniel Plunkett: FICTION Jardine hasn't showed enough consistency for me to answer fact. He has 2 men in front of him in the title hunt, the winner of Rampage/Wanderlei, and Lyoto Machida. That means Jardine may have to fight twice before he could potentially get a title shot, both of those fights would be against top fighters, and while Jardine has the talent to win against top fighters, he hasn't shown that he can consistently win against them.


Larry Csonka: FACT. Keith Jardine has a 14-4-1 record, which isn't bad at all, more importantly he is 6-3 in the UFC, which is what they will look at. He has wins over Forrest, Chuck and now Vera in the division and from all accounts the UFC likes him. Knowing the UFC and how they like to make rematches and such, I could see Jardine getting a title shot, if Forrest is still champion. I am not saying he deserves one, because I would make his win a few matches, or at least beat someone on the rise like Machida or Cane, but I just have the feeling that he'll get a shot.



SCORE: 1 for 2. Jardine has also been a good sport in terms of his contract. While he's definitely made more than the commission-reported figure, at least in the Griffin and Liddell bouts, "The Dean of Mean" has never trashed the UFC for not giving him a better deal. It's hard to say if Jardine will get a title-shot in the near future, as he's a bit too inconsistent for me to give the possibility a definite thumbs-up. For every big win he has an equally unimpressive loss.



3. Michael Bisping is the UFC's second-best Middleweight.



Daniel Plunkett: FICTION. If you don't consider Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin middleweights, it's still fiction. I have Yushin Okami and Nate Marquardt ahead of him still. He's only had 3 fights in the weight class, while guys like Okami and Marquardt have consistently fought and beaten upper tier middleweights.


Larry Csonka: FICTION. This is a hard one, but I do not think that he is ready for Silva, but as I check the Middleweight Roster of the UFC, he's getting close. But there are a lot of good talents in there:

* Fihlo
* Sonnen
* Leites
* Maia
* Miller (Dan)
* Palhares
* Reljic
* Kimmons
* Kampmann

So while Bisping has looked good since moving to Middleweight, and while he is getting close to a title shot, the facts are that he needs to go through one of two of THESE guys before he can even be considered the second-best middleweight in the UFC. If his head is on straight, Filho is that guy.



SCORE: 2 for 3. While he may not be the UFC's second-best 185 pound fighter, Bisping is definitely their second-most marketable (and therefore has a better chance at earning a shot at the belt than anyone else on that list). You also left Nate Marquardt off the list, plus "The Count" is rumored to be fighting the winner of Franklin vs. Henderson so that puts two other potential opponents in the mix. At least Bisping has been realistic about the situation and stated he feels he needs at least another win or two over the division's best to be considered a real contender.


---SWITCH!!!---


4. At UFC 90, Anderson Silva will knock out Patrick Cote in less than a minute.


Larry Csonka: FICTION. While I think Anderson Silva has the ability to KO jus about anyone in less than a minute, I just don't see it happening here. Sure he killer Irvin, and that's because Irvin is a straightforward fighter that is used to dominating and jacking jaws. And then Silva killed him. While I fully expect Silva to defeat Cote, I also expect this to be competitive, for a short time at least.


Daniel Plunkett: FICTION. I think he will knock him out within 3 minutes. Anderson likes to feel out his opponents in the opening minute or two of the fight, this fight will be no different. But once he starts to attack, it's over.



SCORE: 3 for 4. Fifty-nine seconds is still a "short time".


5. If Josh Koscheck beats Thiago Alves, and Georges St. Pierre retains his championship against BJ Penn, you wouldn't mind seeing "Kos" getting another crack at defeating GSP.


Larry Csonka: FACT. While If Josh Koscheck has already lost to GSP, he is 11-2 and in his fight with GSP he handled himself well, even in loss. If Koscheck defeats Alves then I would give him another crack at GSP. Not only for the solid record or performance against him last time, but for his character. The bottom line is that people LOVE GSP and he comes off as the ultimate face, that crazy nipple tweaking freak that you just have to cheer. Koscheck is that cocky asshole that you LOVE to HATE. Seriously, he could come out holding a kitten and have one of those novelty checks to donate to charity and people would take a shit on him. While match-ups make fights, and while we all love to have the absolute top contender in the spot, personalities make money; and this fight would do well in the buyrate department due to that.



Daniel Plunkett: FACT. While I don't think he would win, he was more competitive in his fight against St. Pierre than anybody has been outside of GSP's losses. There would be nobody else ready for a shot at the title by then, so I would rather see this rematch then any other fight for the Welterweight Title.


SCORE: 4 for 5. Sorry, but St. Pierre threw Koscheck around like a Cabbage Patch Ragdoll. I haven't seen anything since that bout telling me he's improved enough to merit a different result than what was the case three fights prior a possible rematch taking place. Still, I'm not too worried about it, as no title-fight is set until Dana White advertises it. Alves vs. Koscheck being a #1 Contender's match has yet to be uttered from the UFC President's lips, and even it had been, he's usually as full of sh*t as he is of "f*ck".


6. You will tune in to watch the newly developed reality show based around the premise of its winner fighting Fedor Emelianenko.


Larry Csonka: FACT. Fact, fact indeed. Why? Because I love shows like Big Brother, Tough Enough, the Ultimate Fighter and so on. I like watching different personalities interacting with each other, I am curious to see if they will get drunk and trash the house and I want to see who they can actually get for this thing. And finally, I want to see the 16 sick f*cks that are actually fighting for the right to face Fedor Emelianenko. Seriously, who does that sort of thing? That's like signing up for a Roshambo tournament, with the winner getting kicked in the nuts by the world's largest steel-toed boot.


Daniel Plunkett:5 FACT. How could you not want to watch this show? It will be the only show on television where you root for the person you hate most to win. Only to watch them be destroyed by the best heavyweight to ever live.


SCORE: 5 for 6. Has Csonka found Randy Harrison Jr., perhaps?

On an unrelated note, an anonymous source tells me VH1 also has a program in the works, starring Fedor, called "Russian Into Love". The premise will involve Emelianenko living in a rented Hollywood house with 16 trashy ex-strippers, reality-show castoffs, and aspiring models. Each week they will compete in various challenges in hopes of winning his love. Additionally, Fedor will kick a girl out of the house on every episode in a candle-lit ceremony where the unfortunate lass is arm barred into submission. Stay tuned for more details!


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Join us next week when two more participants discuss UFC 90 results, ProElite going the way of the dodo, and a few other issues lingering out there in the land o' MMA...