Sunday, November 18, 2012

My Thoughts On UFC 154

Wow!  I absolutely loved that fight card!  Granted, I had to eat a lot of my words, but it was still a fun night!  Here are my thoughts on each of the matches:

Hominick vs. Garza: Despite Hominick getting busted open early on, the first round seemed pretty even, with Garza almost getting an armbar and Hominick rocking him with a right hand and nailing him on the ground with a knee.  However, in the last two rounds, Garza dominated Hominick with ground-and-pound and easily defended against his omoplata attempts en route to getting the unanimous decison.

Bocek vs. Dos Anjos: Again, I though the first round was even.  Nonetheless, in later rounds, Dos Anjos seized control with numerous takedowns and better striking.  At the end of the third round, he was simply toying with Bocek, who was discouraged and gassed, before getting the decison.

Carmont vs. Lawlor: This is the only fight in which I successfully predicted the winner.  However, this is due to a really poor split decision in favor of Carmont.  Lawlor got two guillotine chokes locked in and controlled most of the fight with better wrestling.  Granted, it wasn't the most exciting match of the night, but I still thought that it was better than a lot of people give it credit for.  The fact is that there is a difference between two closely matched grapplers straining for an advantage and a couple of bums just laying on each other.  I think that the more serious MMA fans will understand that difference.  Then again, I also thought that the judges' would understand the difference between the winner and loser of this match and look how that turned out. 

Hendricks vs. Kampmann:  I was so stunned by Hendricks' flash KO of Kampmann that I did CM Punk's "Go To Sleep" gesture!  I was skeptical of Hendricks at first.  His KO of Jon Fitch was impressive, but he had a lot of trouble with Koscheck (whom I personally thought was the true winner of their UFC on Fox brawl).  For that reason, I didn't think that Hendricks would be more than an elite gatekeeper like Ryan Bader.  That being said, I had to eat those words last night!  I think that Hendricks has earned his title shot and that Dana White should drop the stupid Silva vs. GSP angle.

GSP vs. Condit: This fight was definitely the best match of the night!  Again, I had to eat my words, because GSP looked better than ever and dominated Condit.  That being said, Condit refused to give up, even after his face was split open with an elbow.  He even knocked GSP down with a roundhouse to the head in the third round.  I heard that the champion hasn't been knocked down since he was upset by Matt Serra.  At any rate, Condit had heart and tenacity, but GSP was just on another level, controlling the fight with takedowns and ground-and-pound while being careful to defend against all of Condit's submission attempts from the guard.  GSP even told Condit that he was his toughest opponent so far.  That in and of itself shows just how tough the "Natural Born Killer" was. 

That being said, while GSP has supplanted Matt Hughes as the best welterweight of all time and is probably the third best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, I don't think putting him against Anderson Silva is a superfight.  Silva is much bigger and more innovative and GSP would be a heavy underdog.  If Condit was able to rock him with a roundhouse, how would GSP handle Silva's striking?  Not to mention that GSP hasn't cleaned out his division.  He still has Hendricks and Nick Diaz left.  Silva, on the other hand, only has Weidman and Bisping.  Those two are definitely the top of the heap when it comes to the middleweight division, but are not even in the same stratosphere as Silva when it comes to fighting ability.  So I stand by my belief that the true superfight should be Anderson Silva vs. Jon Jones.  They have a more similar build and size than Silva and GSP, not to mention the fact that they are comparable in their raw athleticism and talent.  They are also extremely creative and innovative fighters who aren't afraid to take high risks to put on a show, although Silva overdoes it sometimes.  Come on, Dana! Make it happen! 
 

Saturday, November 17, 2012

My UFC 154 Predictions

Hominick vs. Garza: Hominick KOs Garza in Round 2.

Bocek vs. Dos Anjos: Bocek submits Dos Anjos in Round 3.

Carmont vs. Lawlor: Carmont KOs Lawlor in Round 2.

Kampmann vs. Hendricks: Kampmann wins by split decision after an all-out war.

St-Pierre vs. Condit: Condit wins by unanimous decision. 

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Reliving Essex For NaNoWritMo!

Today, I wrote the first two pages of my Essex memoir: "King Johnson of Essex."  I lived in England for 6 months while studying abroad and absolutely loved it!  My brother, Rogelio, is getting married this month and that made me nostalgic, because I met him, Peter, T.J., Kathrine, Dmitry and Tom over a the University of Essex.  It's the one place where I've truly felt at home.  Even when I came back to the college campus in Colchester two years ago, once I got over the fact that all my friends were gone, it still felt like home.  So now, I've decided to commit my memories to paper and temporarily put "Black Swan Origins: Nineveh" on the shelf.  It's about time that people heard about the events that led me to recommit my life to Christ.