The Man Of Fear: Chad Mendes

Chad Mendes has had a tougher time
finding a fight than winning fights.

There are many fighters in the UFC that instill fear in their opponents.  Anderson Silva, Jose Aldo, and Junior Dos Santos are a few examples of this.  Not a lot of people are willing to jump in the ring with these guys due to their ferocious fighting style and dominance as fighters.  Chad Mendes may not come across as the scariest guy in the UFC, but he seems to have caught the attention of many fighters.  

When people think of the 145 lb division, everyone knows Aldo reigns supreme.  He is undefeated in his WEC/UFC career and has won many of those fights in dominant fashion.  His leg kicks are so violent that his opponents fully expect to be in a wheelchair after the fight, win or lose.  Despite Aldo being the champion and one of the scariest guys in mixed marital arts, people are still willing to fight him.  Not only does everyone who weighs in at 145 pounds want a piece of him, but some of the smaller guys are 155 are willing to drop weight classes to face this man.  When you have the belt it does not matter how scary you are, people will fight you.

Chad Mendes on the other hand, is known for using his wrestling to dominate an opponent and take a decision victory.  Prior to his fight with Jose Aldo, his WEC/UFC record was a solid 6-0 with 5 decisions and 1 submission.  Since losing his title fight to Aldo, he has rallied off 2 first round KO victories.  This does not necessarily mean that Mendes is about to go on a knockout spree, but he is definitely proving that he is one of the most elite fighters in the sport.  Apparently Mendes is too good for his own good.  He cannot even find a top 10 fighter willing to fight him despite him being ranked as one of the top 3 guys in the division.  People know that it is too risky of a fight to take this guy on so he is in a peculiar spot.

So why do I say nobody wants to fight him?  Let us take a look:

• Jose Aldo turned down the fight originally scheduled from "injuries sustained in the Hominick title fight"
• Mendes won a fight while waiting for Aldo to get healthy so Aldo finally had to take the fight.  However he insisted it be in Brazil, where he was able to KO Mendes with a knee.
• Mendes beats Cody McKenzie with a KO due to a body punch in about 30 seconds
• Mendes scheduled to fight Hacran Dias; Dias pulls out days before the fight citing a shoulder injury
• UFC newcomer Yaotzin Meza takes the fight on less than a week's notice only to be knocked out in the first round.
• Mendes scheduled to fight Manny Gamburyan at UFC 157; Manny pulled out citing a thumb injury
• No replacement could be found for Mendes
• Mendes scheduled to face Clay Guida on UFC on Fox 7; Guida pulls out citing an undisclosed injury

It was just announced that Darren Elkins will step in for Guida and face Mendes on April 20th, for now.  Elkins has won 5 in a row and looked impressive in his win at UFC 158 despite the controversial stoppage.  The only reason he is willing to take this fight is because he has nothing to lose and like Mendes, cannot find a top 10 opponent.  He has beat nobody substantial in his 5 fight win streak and is taking a huge step up in competition in Chad Mendes.  Mendes at this point just want a fight.  Elkins knows this is a huge opportunity, and if he losses nobody will care.  He is expected to lose so even if he puts up a fight and still losses, people will notice his ability just to hang with top competition.  A win over Elkins does almost nothing for Mendes in his climb back into a rematch with Aldo.  Mendes is one of those guys that just wants to fight often.  He would fight 5 times a year if his opponents would actually show up without "injuries."  People just do not want to fight this guy because he is dangerous and he is a winner.  From his wrestling career to his mixed martial arts career, this is a guy that is a top level athlete who flat out wins.

As for Chad's standing in the featherweight division, nobody knows.  The featherweight at lightweight division are in a really weird scenario.  Everyone expects the winner of Jung vs Lamas to get the next title shot following the August match between Pettis and Aldo.  However, Aldo and/or Pettis could be heading up to 155 after the fight.  Throw in the fact that Henderson has his hands full with Melendez and you have a wild array of possibilities for these two weight classes.  The champion at featherweight, whether it be Aldo or Pettis, could immediately vacate his title to fight for the lightweight belt.  A featherweight tournament with the likes of Mendes, Edgar, Swanson, Porier, Koch, Lamas, Jung, and others could be in the works if this happens.  Mendes for now is a top 3 featherweight and needs a top guy in the division to step up and face him.  Enough being scared of Mendes.  If Swanson, Siver, Edgar, or others are looking to prove they are top guys in the division, they need to step up and face Mendes.

UFC 158 Thoughts

Jake Ellenberger scores a huge
KO win over Nate Marquardt.

Georges St. Pierre is one of the biggest draws in the UFC and there was nothing new when a sold out Bell Centre in Montreal was going wild for one of the worlds best mixed martial artists.  The welterweights put on a very entertaining show that had Montreal fans out of their seats.  This is a quick recap of what happened mixed in with my thoughts on the evening.

Unfortunately I must confess that I was occupied during the Facebook and FX portion of the night so I missed some of the fights.  However, I was able to watch 3 fights that I was able to find online.
Preliminary fight results:

• Roop defeats Duran via unanimous decision
• Dillashaw knocks out Tamura
• Story finishes Mulhern via 1st round TKO
• Makdessi edges Cruickshank via decision
• Mein wins via TKO against veteran Dan Miller
• Elkins gets a controversial TKO win over Carvalho
• Cote with controversy of his own squeaks out a split decision over Voelker

As for the prelims, Jordan Mein made a tremendous statement by being the first man to finish Dan Miller.  Many top middleweights have faced him and won, but Mein did it in significantly more spectacular fashion with the KO.  As for the Elkins stoppage, he was dominating the fight and rocked him.  After he saw Carvalho was rocked he swarmed him with punches and dropped him to the ground.  Yves Lavigne clearly thought Antonio was unconscious and pulled Elkins away.  However, Carvalho immediately jumped to his feet and questioned Yves.  It was one of those weird incidents where you cannot blame the ref too much, but it was definitely premature.  Elkins looked impressive nonetheless.  Cote's split decision win was called into question by many of the fans.  I have seen many sports pages where the comment section is lined with statements that Cote did not win and Voelker got screwed.  I have to say, I disagree.  The judges got this one right in my opinion.  The first round was close, but Cote did a lot from his back and scored points.  The second round was again close by I believe Cote really out struck Voelker and even rocked him early to win that round.  The 3rd round was dominated by Voelker but I think Cote earned a 29-28 decision on my scorecard.  This is one of those fights where it is good despite the controversy.  Cote would have lost 5 in a row (I'm counting his DQ win as a loss, which it should be) in the UFC if Voelker had gotten the nod by the judges.  Both men put on an exciting fight and demonstrated powerful chins.  Voelker will get another chance to impress in the UFC in the future so neither of these exciting fighters will be cut.  The fans are the winners in this fight.

Now on to the main card:

• Mike Ricci takes a unanimous decision victory over the Freakshow
• Camozzi takes a controversial split decision win over Nick Ring
• Ellenberger knocks Nate Marquardt out cold
• Hendricks takes a well deserved decision win over Carlos Condit
• GSP wins 50-45 on all 3 judges cards in a route over Nick Diaz

Colin Fletcher despite his loss is still a talented and entertaining fighter I will be rooting for going into the future.  He has his own creepy circus walkout music and a frightening mask to go with it.  He is a weirdo but you have to like him.  He held his own against Mike Ricci, but ultimately it was the Canadian outclassing him in every aspect of MMA.  Ricci still has work to do, but it was nice to see him win in front of his home crowd.

Ring showed disdain for Camozzi's striking by holding his hands by his waist the entire fight.  He gassed late and definitely lost the 3rd round.  However, I believe he won the first 2 rounds with his chipping away.  He landed a ton of leg kicks and a decent amount of punches.  Ring also pressed the pace.  It may have been Camozzi's leg kicks that stole the fight, but I cannot say for sure.  Controversial or not, congrats to Chris Camozzi for moving up the ladder with this win.

Jake Ellenberger could not be happier with how UFC 158 played out.  He has Rory MacDonald to thank for it all.  Had Rory not pulled out of his fight with Carlos Condit, I strongly believe it would have been Jake laying face first on the matt.  Instead, Hendricks got the nod against Condit and UFC veteran Nate "the Great" Marquardt stepped in to fight Ellenberger.  Nate looked like a tank in taking the Strikeforce belt with a win over Tyron Woodley but followed it up with an unimpressive loss against Tarec Saffiedine.  This is a big name to anyone who knows anything about MMA.  Not only did Jake win against this tough opponent, but he bloodied him up and knocked him out.  Jake made a lot of noise with this win over another top guy in the welterweight division, who should look to move back to middleweight again.  I was accurate in my prediction when I said Ellenberger would come out strong in the first round; however, Nate was not able to weather the storm like I thought he would.  This is testament to just how devastating Jake is to knock out a durable guy like Marquardt.  On a side note: these 2 won the walkout song of the night awards in my opinion with their choices.  Click their names for a listen: Nate Marquardt and Jake Ellengerger.

Johny Hendricks has been my horse to become the welterweight king ever since he knocked out Jon Fitch in 12 seconds.  I believe he is the man who would give GSP more fits than anyone else in the division.  That said, I was incredibly terrified that Carlos Condit would put the Hendricks hype train to a screeching halt.  That was not the case.  Give credit where credit is due, Condit gets an honorable mention for standing in there against some really really heavy left hands that render most of Johny's opponents unconscious.  He also was able to get up after all of the takedowns Johny had.  That said, Hendricks looked better.  He took Condit down with more ease than GSP did.  He went back and forth with Condit in the standup game.  They both landed some great shots.  Hendricks proved that in addition to his wrestling and striking that he can take a punch too.  Beating Condit is no easy feat, especially considering the nuclear bomb that is Hendricks' left hand had been broken in the 1st round.  Hendricks beat the consensus #2 welterweight in the UFC without the use of his #1 weapon.  Johny is for real and GSP should BEG for Anderson Silva, because that is a better matchup for him than Bigg Rigg.

As for the main event, not much needs to be said.  I have been saying that this fight is a joke for a long time.  Hendricks should have been the main event.  Hendricks should have fought GSP for the belt.  I honestly thing GSP knows Hendricks is the guy that gives him the most problems so he begged for this fight to buy himself some more time.  I also think GSP hoped and prayed Condit would be his protector and beat Hendricks for him.  No more running now Georges, Hendricks is coming for you.  GSP obviously dominated again and was never in any danger against Nick Diaz.  Diaz called him names and retired when he lost like he always does.  This fight was pretty much unimpressive and predictable.  I went a little crazy and predicted a GSP KO, which obviously did not happen.  Oh well, GSP was not as mad at Nick as Dana White had led us to believe and the fight was not as exciting as promised.  Thankfully the other 4 welterweights put on a show and GSP's next fight will be far more interesting.

I went a solid 7/12 on the night to move my prediction totals to 42/81 (52%)

Fighter bonuses of $50,000:

Fight of the Night: Hendricks/Condit

KO of the Night: Jake Ellenberger

Submission of the Night: none

But wait, I am not done yet.

Some final thoughts on the night and the future of the welterweight division:

As for the future of the division, I think things are very clear.  Nick Diaz can retire or fight again, I do not really care.  Hendricks against GSP needs to happen and Johny could pull of the win.  I think it is great that Hendricks has won impressively in his last 2 fights on the same card as GSP.  The fans of GSP know who Hendricks is now and have a feel for what this guy is capable of.  This will make the fight an easy sell since fans of GSP know this guy is legit.  Condit has dropped 2 in a row, so I would hate to see him fight Rory and potentially lose 3.  Condit should look to fight Robbie Lawler or Josh Koscheck next to try and bounce back from these exciting and close losses.  Rory MacDonald was pulled from this card, but I would like to see him take on Jake Ellenberger.  Jake made a huge statement, but he is not ready for GSP until he can beat his training partner Rory.  This would be an exciting fight that will be important for the future of the division.  As I mentioned earlier, Marquardt should probably move back to middleweight.  Lastly, I think Jordan Mein earned a reputation with his win and he should look to take on a guy near the top 10, like Court McGee or Tarec Saffiedine.

3 Stars of UFC 158:

• Johny Hendricks
• Jordan Mein
• Jake Ellenberger

Time To Start Over in Calgary

Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff playing
in an outdoor game for the Flames.

Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff have been the faces of the franchise in Calgary for many years now, but it is time to say goodbye.  I get it, you do not want to be the guy known as the GM who traded away 2 of the best players in franchise history, but it is time to trade these guys.  Jay Feaster will always be in the shadows of Mike Milbury when the list of the worst GMs in NHL history is brought up, but 2nd place isn't always bad.  After all, 2nd place is a place Calgary has not seen in a long long time.  As much as I would love to rant about how awful Calgary is and how they are doomed for years to come, I would rather propose my thoughts as to how Calgary can change this and once again reclaim prominence in the Western Conference.

Step 1: Fire Jay Feaster!  Many foolish hockey fans give Feaster credit for bringing a Stanley Cup to Tampa Bay.  I remember him as the man that crippled Tampa Bay so much that even Steve Yzerman and Steven Stamkos cannot return this team to the playoffs.  Lecavalier, St. Louis, Malone, Ohlund, and others have obnoxious contracts the Lightning cannot afford.  He is doing the same thing in Calgary with wonderful moves such as: trading Dion Phaneuf to keep Jay Bouwmeester, signing Jiri Hudler, signing Dennis Wideman, and trading for Mike Cammalleri.  Oh and do I have to mention the offer sheet he made for Ryan O'Reilly?  O'Reilly was playing in the KHL and would need to clear waivers if another team signed him.  That means had Colorado not matched the offer sheet Feaster made, then Calgary would have had to give Colorado a 1st and 3rd round pick next year (potentially a top 5 pick!) in exchange for a player who would not make it past Columbus when going through waivers.  This could have been the biggest blunder in recent sports history, but Colorado does not have the brightest GM either.  Get Feaster out of Calgary before it is too late.

Step 2: Dismantle team: Anyone over the age of 35 should be immediately traded by Calgary.  Iginla and Kiprusoff and fan favorites but they are getting this team no closer to the playoffs.  Iginla is a UFA at the end of the season, so it only makes sense to trade this man to a playoff contender.  Get draft picks or top 6 forward prospects.  Build around these guys and use your draft picks to build a brighter future.  Kiprusoff could be a perfect fit on a team who sees a goalie injured before the deadline.  Maybe Ottawa or even Tampa Bay would be interested in dishing young talent for this veteran goalie.  As for Iginla, who wouldn't want this guy.  If you have 7 million available under your salary cap, throw this guy on your roster.  I see St. Louis, Dallas, Anaheim, Detroit, or even Nashville as potential destinations for him.  Get Cammalleri and Bouwmeester out of there too if you have potential suitors.  The younger this team gets, the better.

Step 3: Be Patient; Draft wisely:  The Edmonton Oilers have been spoiled by having the 1st overall pick three years running.  The Calgary Flames will have the benefit of great picks if they go with the rebuilding route.  It is not in Calgary's best interest to do what Edmonton did.  Learn from the mistakes of your rivals in Alberta.  Do not take players who can make the biggest impact on your roster now.  Take the players who can have a strong and long lasting impact on your team in the future.  If somebody were to ask me if Taylor Hall is, or will ever be, a better player than Tyler Seguin I would laugh in their face before saying a very confident no.  RNH is solid but is he better than Landeskog, Huberdeau, Strome, Larsson, or some of the other guys drafter after him?  I do not think so, but stay tuned.  Nail Yakupov has shown endless talent in his brief NHL stint so far; but he has also showed he is scared to get hit and is too small to handle the physicality of the NHL.  The Oilers addressed immediate issues.  They drafter pro-ready players over the best players.  And it is because of this that the Oilers are still mediocre despite Sam Gagner and Jordan Eberle carrying the team on their backs.  The Flames need to think long term, and not simply draft guys that can plug holes in their lineup now.  Think about how good Edmonton would be with Seguin and how Boston would still be good, but maybe Stanley Cup-less had they had Taylor Hall instead.  I understand a desire to be good, and get good quick, but patience is a virtue that should be used when drafting future talent.

Step 4: Make a REAL free agent splash:  Jay Feaster was on top of the world when he announced Hudler and Wideman were joining the Flames this season.  It only cost them 9.5 million dollars to get these 2 guys!!!  It is a joke.  Sign a real top level guy UNDER the age of 32 to build around.  Iginla is too old to build a team around at this point in his career.  Someone like Corey Perry, Nathan Horton, Valtteri Filppula, Alexander Semin, or Ryane Clowe would do the trick.  Heck, maybe they can pull off a Minnesota Wild and grab 2 of these guys in one offseason.  Either way, they need some serious talent and they need to pay money to get one of these guys to build around.  Then when your young guys hit their mid 20s and are ready to contend for a Stanley Cup, you have a savvy veteran ready to lead the troops into battle.  Obviously step 4 is not possible without the most important step 1 being completed.  Have I mentioned Jay Feaster is bad at his job?

I hope the best for Calgary, because it pains me to see Iginla and company at the bottom of the pack.  Do what is best for both parties.  The Flames are better off trading him, and Iginla deserves another run at a Stanley Cup before he retires.  Radical movement is necessary to get this organization turned around, and I hope my 4 steps or something similar can be utilized to get Calgary back on the map.  If nothing changes in Calgary, the battle for Alberta will be the only meaningful games Calgary will play in the next 5 seasons.

NHL Power Rankings (2 of 4)

Most teams have completed around 24 of their 48 games and so far every team is still in the playoff hunt.  That sets up another exciting 24 games to finish the short year of hockey.  Here is my 2nd of 4 power rankings:

Crosby and Kunitz are tearing it up
and making defensemen look stupid.

1. Chicago Blackhawks
2. Anaheim Ducks
3. Boston Bruins
4. Montreal Canadiens
5. Pittsburgh Penguins
6. Los Angeles Kings
7. Carolina Hurricanes
8. Toronto Maple Leafs
9. Ottawa Senators
10. Minnesota Wild
11. Vancouver Canucks
12. San Jose Sharks
13. New Jersey Devils
14. New York Rangers
15. St. Louis Blues
16. Detroit Red Wings
17. Dallas Stars
18. Nashville Predators
19. Winnipeg Jets
20. Washington Capitals
21. Colorado Avalanche
22. New York Islanders
23. Colorado Avalanche
24. Columbus Blue Jackets
25. Philadelphia Flyers
26. Edmonton Oilers
27. Calgary Flames
28. Tampa Bay Lightning
29. Buffalo Sabres
30. Florida Panthers

How the divisions break down:

Atlantic:

Kunitz and Crosby look unstoppable.  The Penguins offense has not taken a step back despite losing Malkin to injury.  If they can sure up their defense they could be a cup contender.  Jersey slipped a bit but are still hanging around the playoff picture.  Nash looking better every day in New York.  Islanders hanging in there while Philly continues to struggle.  Flyers team defense and goaltending might be the worst in the league.

Northeast:

Boston has played the least amount of games and yet they are still on Montreal's tail.  The Habs continue to impress as Carey Price enters the group of elite goalies in the league.  Price could steal team Canada's starting goalie job from Luongo/Ward/Brodeur/Fleury.  Ottawa staying in the mix despite Karlsson and Anderson being injured.  Toronto thriving under new coach.  Buffalo a disaster, no reason to be as bad as they have played.

Southeast:

Carolina was not wrong to grab Jordan Staal and Alexander Semin this off season.  Despite Ward being hurt, they still sit on top of the Southeast.  Winnipeg is still hanging in the playoff picture.  Tampa Bay is clueless in their defensive zone and might miss playoffs despite St. Louis and Stamkos putting up stupid good numbers.  Florida keeps losing those OT games, but they won't have 17 OTL's propelling them to the playoffs this year.  Washington is improving but still bad.  Ribeiro Washington's MVP at the halfway mark.

Central:

Chicago finally lost a game but they are basically a lock for either the 1 or 2 seed in the west conference.  Detroit, Nashville, and St. Louis pass each other every day as they jostle for position.  2 of those 3 should make the playoffs.  Columbus has lost 3 of their best players and yet, they find themselves on a 5 game winning streak.  Could they be rallying around their defensive style and Bobrovsky?

Northwest:

Vancouver continues to roll Cory Schneider out as their "starter," but Luongo has significantly superior numbers.  They need to trade one of them or start utilizing the tandem better.  Minnesota is on top of the division as people may have suspected.  Yes, Suter and Parise are good enough to transform a bottom 5 team in the NHL into a playoff team.  Alberta continues to be a joke of a hockey province.  Colorado finally has O'Reilly back but it could be too late for them to make a playoff push.  In other news, Jay Feaster of the Calgary Flames wins worst GM of the year for the 5th time in 8 years and still has a job in Calgary after he almost traded a 1st and 3rd round pick to Colorado so Ryan O'Reilly could play for a different team (probably Columbus).  He has Garth Snow to thank for the 3 years he lost.

Pacific:

As expected this entire division is good again.  If the season ended today all 5 teams would see the postseason.  The Ducks continue to surprise and could even take the President's Trophy right out of Chicago's hands.  It is amazing what Getzlaf and Perry can do with contracts on the line.  The Sharks continues to take every game into overtime, yet cannot seem to get a win streak going.  The Kings look like their former selves, kind of.  They are winning again but its Bernier getting it done in net, not Quick.  Also they are scoring at will and mediocre defensively.  Completely different looking team from last year but it is the winning that matters most.  Dallas and Phoenix are hindered by a budget but they still play tough hockey and look to stay in the playoff mix to the end.  Side note: Joe Nieuwendyk made a puzzling trade by trading a 3rd round pick and Michael Ryder to Montreal for Erik Cole.  Ryder was on a 7 game point streak and killing it with Eriksson and Benn, but I guess he saw something in Cole....

UFC 158: GSP VS Diaz

Carlos Condit puts on a show win or lose.

For the 2nd time in a row at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, top welterweights GSP, Johny Hendricks, and Carlos Condit will be the main attraction.  Georges will again be defending his title in front of the home crowd in Montreal, while Hendricks again will be taking the back seat in the co-main event.  Condit and Hendricks will be battling it out for a chance to fight for the welterweight title.  GSP is doing more than just simply defending his belt when he squares off against Nick Diaz on Saturday night.  He has vengeance on his mind and he wants to beat Diaz silly for his offensive comments.  Throw in top welterweights Nate "the Great" Marquardt taking on Jake Ellenberger and you have quite a night of fights.

Let me begin with the Facebook portion of UFC 158 starting at 7pm:

• George Roop realized the featherweight division is too stacked for him and he is trying to get a fresh start at 135lbs.  He will be taking on a man with a 1-2 UFC record in Reuben Duran.  Everyone knows the UFC has to make crazy amounts of cuts so there is a lot on the line in the first fight of the night.  I see Roop laying it all out there and impressing in his bantamweight debut.  Roop via first round KO.
• T.J. Dillashaw had his only professional mixed martial arts loss on the Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale against John Dodson.  He will be taking on Japan's Issei Tamura in the second fight on Facebook. Tamura lost his only fight outside of Japan when he fought Raphael Assuncao in San Jose and I see him losing his Canadian debut on Saturday.  Dillashaw via submission (RNC).
• Closing out the Facebook portion of Saturday night will be welterweights Rick Story and Quinn Mulhern.  Story has dropped 3 of his last 4 but he is the only man to defeat #1 welterweight contender Johny Hendricks.  Mulhern is just another Strikeforce guy looking to impress in his UFC debut.  Story has only been submitted by ridiculous submission expert Demian Maia so i see Story using submission defense and squeaking out a split decision.  On a side note, the only time I picked against a Strikeforce guy in my picking career was when i picked Koscheck over Lawler.  Needless to say, Lawler destroyed him with a first round KO.  Don't make me regret this Rick Story.  Don't do it!

At 8pm Saturday night the FX portion of UFC 158 will begin with a bang:

• The Detroit Superstar, Daron Cruickshank, will be taking on John Makdessi in a lightweight battle.  Makdessi will enter this fight with a mediocre 3-2 UFC record.  As for his opponent, Daron Cruickshank is the reason I began following mixed martial arts.  When I heard a friend of mine talking about her step brother being on The Ultimate Fighter Live, I could not help but tune in.  Little did I know I would be captivated by the sport of MMA and I have Daron to thank for that.  I will root for him and blindly pick him to win every fight.  I have confidence in him and I am taking him to deliver another spectacular knockout.  Cruickshank via KO.
• The second fight on FX shockingly will be between welterweights! (6 of 12 fights on this card are welterweights)  Jim Miller's older brother Dan will be looking to build on his 1-0 welterweight record when he takes on Jordan Mein.  Mein has won 8 of his last 9 with his only loss being to top welterweight Tyron Woodley via split decision.  Yet again we have a UFC veteran vs a Strikeforce prospect.  Even though Miller has lost 5 of his last 8, when you look at his opponents (Sonnen, Bisping, Maia, Marquardt, and Palhares) you can give him a little bit of a break.  Throw in the fact he has never been finished in his mixed martial arts career and I have more faith in Miller.  I think Mein is at the beginning of a potential great career, but I am taking Miller to win a decision.  I think the Strikeforce train is about to come to a temporary halt.
• Despite a 5-1 UFC record and 4 fight winning streak at featherweight, Darren Elkins has yet to make noise.  However it is hard to pick against him until he faces a quality opponent.  Antonio Carvalho is not a quality opponent.  He has 5 professional losses to guys I have never heard of and I see Elkins making it 5 in a row with a win on Saturday.  Elkins via decision.
• Patrick Cote was the first man to last more than 2 rounds with Anderson Silva until his knee suddenly gave out on him.  He followed up that fight with back to back losses which resulted in him being cut from the UFC.  After a solid stint with other organizations he came back to the UFC only to be defeated by Cung Le.  Alessio Sakara then went on to knock him out, only to have the fight ruled a DQ win for Cote.  If not for this VERY controversial disqualification, Cote would be 0-5 in his last 5 UFC fights.  Like other fighters who know their UFC lives are on the line, Cote decided to switch up his like by dropping down a weight class.  Meanwhile his opponent Bobby Voelker only seems interested in fighting Roger Bowling.  They have met 3 times since May 2010, with Bobby winning the last 2 meetings.  Although I talked about the Strikeforce train being derailed at UFC 158, it does not mean they will go winless.  I am taking Voelker via TKO so I don't get in trouble for disrespecting Strikeforce guys too much.

That brings us to the PPV portion of UFC 158.  It is 10pm Saturday night so get to the nearest bar showing the fights and get ready for more action:

• The PPV portion begins with a pair of TUF runner ups in Mike Ricci and Colin Fletcher.  Ricci lost in the finale of one of the most brutal seasons of TUF.  However he trains at Tristar Gym in Montreal with GSP and Rory MacDonald.  Ricci shows a lot of promise and he could be a future star in the UFC.  As for Fletcher, all I really know about him is he has some ugly teeth and scary tattoos.  He represents the UK against the hometown boy in Ricci.  I am going with Ricci via decision but I have little info to back up my prediction.  When in doubt you have to side with the home team.
• Next up is a middleweight bout between Chris Camozzi and Nick Ring.  I must admit I have never seen Camozzi fight so I do not know what he is capable of.  However, I am a big fan of what I have seen out of Nick Ring.  His only career loss is to top middleweight Tim Boetsch.  His last win was over Court McGee, and after seeing Court trounce Josh Neer I have to say that Ring is for real.  I do not know what to expect as far as excitement for this fight is concerned, but I do think Ring is a lock to win this fight.  Ring via decision.
• Had Jake Ellenberger finished Kampmann, he may have been headlining this event as the top contender to GSP.  Instead, he got knocked out and sent to the back of the line.  Former top UFC middleweight Nate Marquardt will be looking to avenge his loss to Tarec Saffadine when he makes his return to the octagon on Saturday.  These are two finishers looking to jump back into the top of the welterweight mix.  I have flip flopped a bunch of times on this one but I think I am going with Marquardt via split decision.  Yes I know I just called them both finishers.  However, Ellenberger is known for gassing early in fights.  Marquardt has not been finished by anyone since Anderson Silva in 2007.  I see Nate weathering the early storm in the first round only to come back and win the next two.
• Speaking of going back on forth on who I think will win a fight:  Carlos Condit against Johny Hendricks has me more baffled than any fight of recent memory.  I love both of these guys.  Condit is such an accomplished mixed martial artists and he pushed GSP to the brink of defeat in a tremendous fight last time he was in the octagon.  He has a devastating striking game with some crazy kicks.  Hendricks is the wrestler who used Chuck Liddell style wrestling to keep the fight standing and knock people's heads off.  Hendricks has fought and defeated the top of the division in Fitch, Koscheck, and Kampmann.  I have labeled him as the man born to dethrone GSP before and I am sticking with it.  Love you Carlos, but you do not have the wrestling to handle Hendricks.  I am more worried about Condit winning with an armbar than I am worried about his striking game (which again is top of the division striking).  This is simply because I do not know where Johny's jiu jitsu is at right now.  I think Johny will take Carlos down and do damage before ultimately catching him with his striking.  Hendricks has a nuclear bomb for a left hand and yes, I am predicting it will strike again.  3rd round KO win for Johny Hendricks.  I know MMA math is not perfect but Condit lost to Kampmann, who was bested by Hendricks in under 2 minutes.  This gives me a tad bit more reenforcement that my pick isn't too dumb.
• Normally I like to build up a main event before I jump into my prediction.  I like to show why this challenger for the title is unique and intriguing.  Nick Diaz does not pose any new challenges GSP has not already dealt with.  This is a joke of a fight since Diaz is coming off of a banned substance suspension and a loss to the man GSP just beat.  Hendricks should be fighting GSP on Saturday night,  not that I don't love the co-main event of UFC 158.  That said, GSP will trounce Nick Diaz and defend his title with relative ease.  Here is where I throw you the curveball: Georges St. Pierre will knock Nick Diaz out.  The man known for defensive fights and winning decisions with wrestling will beat Diaz at his own game and out box the tremendous striker.  GSP via 4th round KO that send the Bell Centre into an explosion!

Predictions entering UFC 158: 35/69: 50.07%

Updated Fighter Rankings (3-6-13)

Renan Barao keeps destroying top bantamweights
on his way to a superfight with Dominick Cruz.

A little bit late on the March update for fight rankings but here is how Brutal Sports ranks the MMA world:

Pound for Pound:

1. Anderson Silva
2. Jose Aldo
3. Jon Jones
4. Georges St. Pierre
5. Dominick Cruz
6. Renan Barao
7. Benson Henderson
8. Cain Velasquez
9. Demetrious Johnson
10. Ronda Rousey

Heavyweight:

1. Cain Velasquez
2. Junior Dos Santos
3. Daniel Cormier
4. Fabricio Werdum
5. Antonio Silva
6. Mark Hunt
7. Frank Mir
8. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
9. Travis Browne
10. Alistair Overeem

Light Heavywight:

1. Jon Jones
2. Alexander Gustafsson
3. Lyoto Machida
4. Glover Teixeira
5. Phil Davis
6. Dan Henderson
7. Rashad Evans
8. Shogun Rua
9. Ryan Bader
10. Gegard Mousasi

Middleweight:

1. Anderson Silva
2. Chris Wiedman
3. Vitor Belfort
4. Yushin Okami
5. Luke Rockhold
6. Michael Bisping
7. Costa Philippou
8. Ronaldo Souza
9. Tim Boetsch
10. Alan Belcher

Welterwight:

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Johny Hendricks
3. Nick Diaz
4. Carlos Condit
5. Rory Macdonald
6. Demian Maia
7. Dong Hyun Kim
8. Tyron Woodley
9. Martin Kampmann
10. Jake Ellenberger

Lightweight:

1. Benson Henderson
2. Gilbert Melendez
3. Anthony Pettis
4. Gray Maynard
5. Jim Miller
6. Michael Chandler
7. Eddie Alvarez
8. TJ Grant
9. Nate Diaz
10. Khabib Nurmagomedov

Featherweight:

1. Jose Aldo
2. Ricardo Lamas
3. Chad Mendes
4. Cub Swanson
5. Chan Sung Jung
6. Frankie Edgar
7. Erik Koch
8. Denis Siver
9. Dustin Poirier
10. Clay Guida

Bantamweight:

1. Dominick Cruz
2. Renan Barao
3. Urijah Faber
4. Eddie Wineland
5. Scott Jorgensen
6. Michael McDonald
7. Brad Pickett
8. Brian Bowles
9. Rafael Assuncao
10. Mike Easton

Flyweight:

1. Demetrious Johnson
2. Joe Benavidez
3. John Dodson
4. John Moraga
5. Darrel Montague
6. Jussier Formiga
7. Ian McCall
8. Darren Uyenoyama
9. Chris Cariaso
10. Louis Gaudinot

Women's Pound for Pound:

1. Ronda Rousey
2. Miesha Tate
3. Cristiane Santos
4. Jessica Aguilar
5. Sarah Kaufman
6. Sara McMann
7. Jessica Penne
8. Alexis Davis
9. Marloes Coenen
10. Liz Carmouche

Top 5 noise makers since last rankings:

1. Mark Hunt
2. Cub Swanson
3. Ronda Rousey
4. Renan Barao
5. Yushin Okami

UFC on Fuel TV: Silva VS Stann

Wanderlei Silva (blue gloves) and Rich
Franklin put on a show like always.

The UFC is putting on the 2nd of 3 fun cards scheduled for Fuel TV in 2013 from Japan this Saturday night. A legend of the sport meets a highly respected middleweight at 205 lbs in the main event.  Wanderlei Silva is one of the pioneers of the sport and has one of the biggest fan bases of any fighter.  He is a Pride legend known for his very violent and action packed fighting style.  He has taken some serious damage over the years because of this style, but he has taken in a tremendous amount of fans in doing so.  Another fan favorite will be standing across from Silva in the main event.  Brian Stann is a well respected war hero in America.  Not a lot of people dislike this guy because of his service to this great country and for his exciting fighting style.  He is a well rounded guy who is great in every discipline in mixed martial arts.  Wrestlers and grapplers have gotten the better of him in the past, but Wanderlei is not about to turn this into a wrestling match.

Every weight class from featherweight through heavyweight will get exactly one fight on the main card which I like.  Sometimes a card is heavy on a certain weight class (like UFC 158 being 50% welterweight) but this one is a perfect mix of weight classes.  The night will start in the welterweight division.

• Both Dong Hyun Kim and Siyar Bahadurzada are coming off of wins over Paulo Thiago in their last fights.  Despite a 7 fight win streak and a lot of promise being shown, I do not like Siyar's chances in this fight.  He has some solid striking and KO power, but Kim is one of those guys whose grappling is on another level.  He does not let you breathe and is relentless in smothering you on his way to a win.  So long as he does not have another fluke muscle spasm like he did against Maia, I see Kim winning via decision.
• WEC veteran Rani Yahya has battled some of the UFC's top bantamweight and featherweight fighters over the years.  He will be taking on Mizuto Hirota who will be making his octagon debut.  After Lawler beat Koscheck I told myself I will never bet agaisnt a Strikeforce guy making his UFC debut again.  However Hirota went 0-1 in his brief tenure in Strikeforce and I do not see him winning against a veteran like Yahya.  Yahya via submission. (north/south choke or RNC?)
• The next fight will take place between 2 middleweights looking to skyrocket up the rankings with a win.  Hype machine Hector Lombard disappointed in his octagon debut but he really made a statement in his second fight with a nasty KO win over Palhares.  Yushin Okami is one of those guys that is a relentless grappler who is stronger than the majority of middleweights.  He spoiled Alan Belcher's title hopes with his stifling style of fighting and will be looking to do the same against Lombard.  In his last appearance in his home country of Japan, Okami looked dominant through 2 rounds only to have Joe Rogan jump out of his seat in excitement as Tim Boetsch knocked him out early in the third round.  I have picked against Lombard in his first 2 UFC fights, and I am going to do it for a third time.  I think he is too small to avoid the bigger and stronger fighter in Okami.  Like Belchar, Lombard will have the skills to beat Okami but will be held helplessly against the cage or on the ground by the experienced grappler.  Okami via decision.
• After a 2-2 record in the welterweight division, Diego Sanchez is returning to lightweight where he was only bettered by BJ Penn in a fight for the title.  Gomi is coming in off a 2 fight winning streak and looking to make it 3.  Gomi had success in Japan back in his Pride days, but has not had too much success in the UFC thus far.  I like Gomi and would like to see him climb the lightweight ranks again, but I think Diego will handle him with relative ease.  Sanchez via decision.
• The skyscraper Stefan Struve will be taking on the Super Samoan Mark Hunt in a very important heavyweight match.  Hunt only has an 8-7 MMA record with a 6 fight losing streak in the middle of his career, but he is not to be underestimated.  Especially since 4 of those losses were to Mousasi, Overeem, Barnett, and the great Fedor Emelianenko.  The man on a 3 fight winning streak even holds a win over main event fighter Wanderlei Silva.  Meanwhile his opponent Struve is coming off a highlight reel KO over formerly undefeated Stipe Miocic.  All but 1 of Struve's fights have been finished, win or loss.  Look for these two to go to war, and look for the KO.  I like Hunt but Struve will have one of the most ridiculous reach advantages you will see in a fight.  I am taking Struve via head kick KO.
• Wanderlei Silva is definitely a fan favorite and a winner in Japan.  However, his UFC record is a less than stellar 3-6.  In his last 2 fights he almost finished Rich Franklin but lost that fight to a decision, and came back from a beating to knock out Cung Le.  You have to love this guy but that does not mean he is going to win this fight.  Stann's last 3 losses have been to top guys in Davis, Sonnen, and Bisping.  He is a beastly middleweight who is fighting at 205 on Saturday.  This is a temporary move because he is getting a chance to face a legend in Silva.  I only see good wrestlers (like Davis, Sonnen, and Bisping) being good enough to beat him.  Stann will stand and bang with Silva like he did with Leben and should clip him at some point.  I will take Stann with a 3rd round KO.  Wanderlei may have to retire in front of the capacity crowd in Japan.  He will always be a legend of the sport and hopefully it is not his last time in the octagon.

Predictions are at 31/63 entering Japan's event.  Looking to get at least 5 out of 6.  Very confident in this event.