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UFC 101-Declaration-Previews and Predictions Part 6

155 lbs-Lightweight Championship: BJ Penn vs Kenny Florian
This is a match up that fight fans have been salivating over for years. While this was already a match up of two of the most well rounded fighters in the UFC, it has become more interesting due to the trash talk that has been going back and forth between these two as well as the fact that Florian has been training with the last man to defeat Penn, in George St. Pierre.

BJ Penn is the current UFC Lightweight Champion. He has also held the UFC Welterweight Championship as well as being the first non-Brazilian to win the black belt division of the World Jiu-Jitsu Champion after only 3 years of training. He is known throughout MMA as being one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world. Besides being a black belt in BJJ, he is also known for his phenomenal boxing and his superior takedown defense. He has a professional record of 13-5 with wins over Din Thomas, Din Thomas, Matt Serra, Takanori Gomi, Matt Hughes, Duane "Bang" Ludwig, Renzo Gracie, Rodrigo Gracie, Jens Pulver, Joe Stevenson and Sean Sherk. He has losses to Jens Pulver, Matt Hughes, Lyoto Machida and Georges St Pierre(twice). 5 of his wins have come by KO and 5 by submission with 3 coming via decision. 2 of his losses have been by KO and he has never been submitted. He also has one draw to Caol Uno. In Penn's last fight, he was completely dismantled by GSP. He appealed the fight to no avail due to the fact that one of GSP's corner men greased him during the fight. He will be looking to rebound from his last defeat and return to the Lightweight division for the first time in 15 months.

Kenny Florian was the runner-up for the Middleweight Ultimate Fighter 1 Championship in which he was dominated by Diego Sanchez. He has a career record of 11-3. He is known for being the type of fighter who stops fights! 10 of his 11 victories have come via stoppage, 7 by submission and 3 by KO with only 1 going to a decision. In his 3 losses, he has been KO'd once and lost 2 decisions. He has wins over Kit Cope, Sam Stout, Din Thomas, Joe Lauzon, Roger Huerta and Joe Stevenson. His losses have come to Drew Fickett, Diego Sanchez and Sean Sherk. He is currently on a 6 fight winning streak and will look to improve upon that by defeating Penn to capture the Lightweight Championship tonight at UFC 101. Florian is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai fighter who is incredibly well rounded and will no doubt be looking for the stoppage in this one. This will undeniably be his toughest fight and one he has wanted for quite some time.

Prediction: Penn is a master on the ground as well as on the feet. However, Florian does not appear to be far behind. Florian has made tremendous strides to improve each and every time he steps into the octagon. His progress in the sport is impressive and I'm sure this fight will show that once again. I believe this fight will come down to cardio and that has always been a concern of BJ Penn's. We have seen him gas several times in his UFC career. If Florian can withstand the early barrage from Penn and take this fight into the championship rounds he will come out on top. If not it will be a short night for Florian. However, I am once again going with the upset. I pick Kenny Florian by decision.

I know that this is the 2nd fight in a row in which I have picked the underdogs. These are both incredibly difficult fights to predict and I went with where I feel the greatest weaknesses are which in this case are Silva's lack of size and Penn's lack of cardio. I'm off to watch the fights. Here's hoping for an incredible night of fights!

UFC 101-Declaration: Predictions and Previews Part 5

205 lbs: Forrest Griffin vs Anderson Silva
In my opinion, this fight has the potential to be the fight of the year. We are seeing the current Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva step up in weight once again, to face fan favorite and former Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin. Many fans believe that Anderson Silva is a huge favorite to win but he has seemed to lose some steam in his last two fights. Forrest Griffin on the other hand, is coming off of a TKO loss in his first title defense against Rashad Evans. We will see who has the heart of a champion in this fight.

Forrest Griffin is best known as being the lovable, laughable, self-proclaimed dork who ended up winning the original Ultimate Fighter. His fight with Stephan Bonnar during the finale of TUF 1 is regarded as the single, most important moment in the history of MMA and the UFC. He is a Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist who trains with Extreme Couture. He has a professional record of 16-5, with wins over Jeff Monson, Chael Sonnen, Stephan Bonnar(twice), Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Quentin "Rampage" Jackson. His only losses have come to Dan "The Beast" Severn, Jeremy Horn, Tito Ortiz, Keith Jardine, and Rashad Evans. Of his 16 wins, 3 have come by KO, 7 by submission and 6 by decision. Out of his 5 losses, 3 have been by KO and 2 by decision. He has never been submitted. When you take a look at his losses, he lost to Dan Severn who is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame, in what was his first professional fight. He went on to win his next 8 fights before being defeated by Jeremy Horn via TKO. He won one more fight before joining the cast of The Ultimate Fighter. On the show, he defeated Stephan Bonnar to win the show. He then went on to win fights against Bill Mahood and Elvis Sinosic before being derailed by a controversial split decision loss to Tito Ortiz.(Most fans and mma experts feel Griffin won that fight) He then defeated Stephan Bonnar once again. In his next fight, Griffin was caught and defeated via TKO by Keith Jardine. He would then go on to win his next 3 fights against Hector Ramirez, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Rampage Jackson before losing his title at the hands of Rashad Evans by way of TKO. This will be his first fight since his knockout loss and you better believe Griffin is looking to redeem himself.

Anderson Silva is a very well-rounded fighter. He is the current UFC Middleweight Champion, as well as holding the records for most consecutive UFC wins with 9 and is tied for most consecutive UFC title defenses with 5. He is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Tae Kwon Do and Judo. He is a great all-around fighter but is most well known for his vicious striking. He has a professional record of 24-4 with wins over Hayato "Mach" Sakurai, Roan Carneiro, Carlos Newton, Jeremy Horn, Lee Murray, Jorge Rivera, Chris Leben, Rich Franklin(twice), Nate Marquardt and Dan Henderson among others. His losses have come to Luiz Azeredo in his first professional fight, Daiju Takase in a fight he was dominating but got caught in a triangle choke, Ryo Chonan who caught him with a flying heel hook submission and Yushin Okama via DQ due to illegal kick to the head of a downed opponent. Silva is dangerous in all aspects of the fight game. He is widely regarded as one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world. However, his two most recent fights have been very disappointing to say the least. After his last fight, Dana White said that he was "embarrassed" by Silva's performance. Silva will no doubt, be looking to prove the nay-sayers wrong. He has also challenged Roy Jones Jr to a boxing match when his UFC contract is up. There will be added fuel to Silva's fire due to the fact that Jones Jr will be ringside to watch the fight. Silva has stepped up in weight once before to defeat James Irvin via KO but make no mistake about it, Forrest Griffin is no James Irvin.

Prediction: Anderson Silva is the more well rounded fighter and probably the more dangerous fighter. However, I have learned to NEVER doubt the heart of Forrest Griffin. If Silva fights the way he has in his last two fights, Griffin will dominate the fight. If Silva returns to form and attacks like he did against Franklin and Leben it could be a short night for Griffin. In the end, I have to go with the upset and pick Forrest Griffin to win via decision. Griffin is a huge Light Heavyweight and at the weigh-ins yesterday appeared much bigger than Silva who looked as if he had literally just gained fat to take the fight. This could have an immense impact on his cardio and as we have seen time and time again Griffin is a cardio machine. Griffin wins

UFC 101-Declaration: Predictions and Previews Part 4

170 lbs-Amir Sadollah vs Johny Hendricks
This fight marks the long awaited return of Amir Sadollah. After winning The Ultimate Fighter 7: Griffin vs Jackson, he was sidle lined by an infection. Johny Hendricks is a former WEC fighter who will be making his octagon debut.

Amir Sadollah tried out for The Ultimate Fighter without having any professional mma experience. However, the lack of experience did not keep Dana White from choosing him to be on the show. This proved to be a move that Dana White would not regret. Amir made it onto the show by defeating Steve Byrnes by submission. He then went on Gerald Harris(TKO), Matt Brown(submission-triangle choke), and CB Dolloway(submission-arm bar). He then went on to fight CB Dolloway again at the Finale. He once again defeated him via arm bar. Since his stint on the Ultimate Fighter, Amir has not had much luck even stepping foot into the octagon. This will be his first fight since June 21st, 2008. He is a Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Sambo fighter who is currently training at Extreme Couture. We will finally get to see Amir step back into the octagon, as well as how much of a factor the time off will be.

Johny Hendricks is a wrestler with a spotless record of 5-0. 4 of those five wins have come by stoppage(3 KO's, 1 submission). His lone decision win was his most recent fight. Hendricks battled Alex Serdyukov to pick up a unanimous decision victory and win fight of the night honors at WEC 39. As a wrestler, Hendricks was a 4 time All American at Oklahoma State. He was also a three time Big 12 Conference Champion. He is a decorated wrestler and will be a tough test for Sadollah in his return to the octagon.

Prediction: Sadollah has defeated skilled wrestlers in Gerald Harris and CB Dolloway(twice). Although in the Dolloway fights he was in trouble before setting up slick submissions in both fights. Hendricks will look to take this fight to the ground and pound out a victory. Sadollah has the edge on his feet and has a very good ground game as we have seen in his past fights. I predict Sadollah will win via submission.

UFC 101-Declaration Previews and Predictions Part 3

185 lbs-Ricardo Almeida vs Kendall Grove
Ricardo Almeida is a 3rd degree black belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Along with BJJ, he is also an accomplished wrestler and boxer. Along with this feat, he has many other accomplishments in the sport, including being a former Middleweight King of Pancrase. He has a professional record of 10-3, with 4 wins coming by submission and the rest via decision. He has notable wins over Eugene Jackson, Kazuo Misaki, Ryo Chonan, Matt Horwich and Nate Marquardt.

Kendall Grove was the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 3:Ortiz vs Shamrock. On the show he had wins over Ross Pointon, Kalib Starnes and Ed Herman. In his next fight, he defeated Chris Price via submission due to strikes. He went on to defeat Alan Belcher by KO in his next fight. Grove then lost two consecutive fights. He was the victim of brutal knockouts at the hands of Patrick Cote and Jorge Rivera. He has since then rallied to defeat the late Evan Tanner and Jason Day. His professional record is 10-5 with 2 KO's and 6 submissions. All 5 of his losses have come via stoppage. He has been knocked out by Joe Riggs and Hector Ramirez as well as Cote and Rivera who were mentioned above. His only other loss came by submission to Savant Young. He is a very well-rounded Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai fighter who has trained with Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture. He is currently training in Hawaii with BJ Penn.

Prediction: This is a very difficult fight to call but I would give the edge to Grove. He has good take down defense and a good ground game. Almeida is not much of a striker and most of his wins have come via decision. Grove has only had a fight go to a decision twice and he has won both of those fights. I predict that Grove uses his reach advantage to pick Almeida apart and eventually wins via decision.

Dana White Bashes Strikeforce!

As predicted, Dana White has verbally lashed out at Strikeforce over their recent acquisition of Fedor Emelianenko. Although, White previously claimed that Strikeforce was running their business properly and that he had nothing but respect for them, that has all changed since they recruited Fedor to sign with their promotion. Dana White recently had this to say when asked about the signing:

"They have no money, no fighters. They're a small town show. Cung Le hasn't defended his title since like 1997. Josh Thomson hasn't defended his belt in like two years. Who's their other champion? Alistair Overeem? He hasn't defended the belt in like two years. It's Strike-Farce. It's a little regional show with no one in it...[Fedor Emelianenko will] put them out of business. They have no money and no distribution. You know how many people watch their fights? Their last fight [on Showtime cable], 245,000 people watched that fight. That's nothing...I offered him a great deal. I guarantee you the Strikeforce deal wasn't in the same universe with ours, it wasn't close. They probably didn't even pay him as much as Affliction was."

While many may call White a hypocrite due to his recent comments about Strikeforce, I actually applaud him for this statement. White is doing what he does best. He is promoting his organization while downplaying the competition. In doing so, many of the UFC's faithful followers may not tune in to watch Strikeforce. White is performing his job to the best of his ability and in doing so has laid down the gauntlet against Strikeforce MMA. Is this just a matter of sour grapes, or is he right as he has been in the past? Nobody can answer that question at the moment, but if he does turn out to be right, it will be another case of Dana White's superiority over the rest of the fight game.

Rashard Lewis Tests Positive!

It was announced today that Rashard Lewis tested positive for a raised level of testosterone and will be suspended 10 days by the NBA. Lewis responded with what seemed to be a sincere apology and took responsibility for his actions. He claimed that he simply took a supplement but did not know what was in it. What turned out to be in it was DHEA. DHEA is the prevalent steroid in the human body. It raises testosterone levels very minimally. Lewis had the drug in his system but it seems to be a simple case of ignorance as opposed to deception. His reaction to the suspension appears to be heartfelt and he is handling it very appropriately. He will miss the first 10 games of the regular season.

Prince Fielder Tries to Take the Fight to the Dodgers in their Locker Room!

Every fan knows that there is no such thing as turning the other cheek in baseball. Time and time again, we see pitchers intentionally plunk batters, which leads to the other team responding in the same fashion. More times than not, it is the team's top batter that falls victim to this baseball ritual, if you will. This practice has often led to bench clearing brawls, suspensions and heated rivalries. However, never has there been a reaction quite like this.

Trouble began brewing(no pun intended) in the seventh inning. With his team trailing by 9 runs, Chris Smith grazed Manny Ramirez with a pitch that sent him to first base. Everything seemed fine until the ninth inning when Fielder stepped to the plate. With two outs in the 9th, and his team ahead by a huge margin, Guillermo Mota returned the favor by pitching at Fielder, which led to his ejection from the game. After being hit by the pitch, Fielder stared out at the mound with a confused expression on his face. The game ended shortly thereafter and that is when the real trouble began.

Immediately following the game, Fielder headed in the direction of the Dodgers' locker room. With his teammates following after him, he pressed forward, unleashing a slew of profanity. He was grabbed from behind by teammates Bill Hall and Casey McGehee as well as being cut off by stadium security. After the game, Fielder responded to the issue by saying, "He came inside. It just got away from him." "It happens. That's baseball. He tried to come inside." This was obviously a sarcastic remark following the events that took place.

While I do not condone pitchers throwing at batters, the reality of it is, it happens. When one of your top hitters is beaned you have to expect retaliation. I understand that it's frustrating but it is a part of baseball. However, in this circumstance it did not appear that Ramirez was thrown at intentionally. Furthermore, the pitch that hit Fielder was thrown by Mota, a former teammate of his. Finally, with the Dodgers up 17-4 was there really a need to throw at Fielder with two down in the final inning? I do not have the answers to these questions but I can certainly understand Fielder's feelings regarding the situation.

With that being said, Fielder is still in no way justified for his actions. Despite the situation, he is still required to maintain his professionalism. This is not the first time that we have seen Fielder explode. One year ago today, Fielder blew up and went after teammate Manny Parra in the dugout after Parra was removed from the game. He had to be restrained by teammates in that incident as well. This is unacceptable behavior and cannot be tolerated.

In conclusion, these two teams will culminate their series tonight and many will be tuning in to see if there are any fireworks involved. When all is said and done, the person that ultimately comes out as the loser in this situation is someone who was not involved in any of it. The player I'm referring to is Ryan Braun. Pitchers are going to back up their teammates, but I don't believe many of them will be lining up to throw at Prince from now on. Sorry Ryan!

UFC 101-Declaration-Preview and Predictions Part 2-Pellegrino vs Neer

155 lbs:Kurt Pellegrino vs Josh Neer
This is a battle between two fighters that consistently put on an amazing show and come to fight each and every time those cage doors close.

Kurt "Batman" Pellegrino specializes in wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has a career record of 13-4 with 9 of those wins coming via submission. He has a UFC record of 5-3 with wins over Junior Assuncao, Nate Mohr, Alberto Crane, Thiago Tavares and Rob Emerson. His losses have come against Drew Fickett, Joe Stevenson and Nate Diaz. He has been in the cage with some of the best that the lightweight division has to offer and faces a tough test against Neer. Look for Pellegrino to take this fight to the ground and work his jiu-jitsu.

Josh "The Dentist" Neer is a wrestler who also possesses good Muay Thai skills. Neer has been in and out of the octagon on several occasions with varied success. He has a cumulative record of 25 wins with 12 knockouts and 9 submissions. This will be Neer's 9th fight in the octagon and he will be looking to break .500 in this outing. He has wins over Melvin Guillard, Joe Stevenson, Din Thomas and Mac Danzig. His four UFC losses have come against Drew Fickett, Josh Burkman and Nick and Nate Diaz. Neer is a member of Miletich Fighting Systems. He has the ability to finish this fight on the ground or on the feet. I am inclined to think that he would prefer to keep this fight standing and utilize his height advantage, as opposed to rolling with an experienced jiu-jitsu fighter with 9 submissions to his name.

This is an intriguing match up due to the fact that these two have common opponents in Mac Danzig, Drew Fickett, Joe Stevenson and Nate Diaz. Neer defeated Danzig and Stevenson and came out on the losing end against Fickett and Diaz. Pellegrino defeated Danzig but lost to Stevenson, Fickett and Diaz. If this is any indication of how this fight will turn out you'd have to give the edge to Neer. However, mma fighters continue to improve and mature each and every day and we will be seeing two greatly improved fighters when they come to the cage on Saturday night. Will "The Dentist" be able to knock some teeth out of "Batman's" mouth or will Pellegrino play the hero on August 8th?

Prediction: In a very tough fight, which could very possibly win fight of the night, Neer wins by decision. I believe he has strong enough wrestling to neutralize Pellegrino's take down attempts and his stand-up will be the deciding factor.

Strikeforce signs "Jacare"!

Fresh off the heels of the Fedor signing, Strikeforce continues to make moves to improve their roster. They recently announced the signing of Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza. Souza is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner with a record of 10-2 with 9 of those wins coming by way of submission. He has only one loss since 2003 and that came in 2008 when he was knocked out with an upkick that was thrown by Gegard Mousasi. He is widely regarded as the best submission fighter in the sport today. He has trained with Black House as well as Xtreme Couture. He was the 2005 ADCC Absolute Division runner-up, the 2005 ADCC 77-87kg winner, the 2004 and 2005 openweight World Jiu-Jitsu Champion and most recently, the 2008 Dream Middleweight Grand Prix runner up. His most notable fights have come against Jason "Mayhem" Miller. In 2008, "Jacare" defeated Miller via submission. They signed for a rematch in May of this year which was ruled a no-contest due to an illegal kick that cut "Jacare" so badly that he was unable to continue. Souza is also known for fighting to a draw in a submission match against Randy "The Natural" Couture. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza may not be known by the casual mma fan but he is held in high regard by the hardcore fans. He will not get a chance to showcase his skills in America. Strikeforce continues to add high profile fighters to their roster, which is great for the American mma fans. They are also the only mma promotion that Dana White respects. You have to think though, that White may be growing tired of them signing these top level fighters. With them really being his only competition now, will we soon see White lash out at them as he has done with others in the past? Only time will tell.

Jeremy Roenick to Call it Quits?

There is speculation that Jeremy Roenick will be ending his NHL career in a news conference on Thursday. Jeremy Roenick has played for 5 NHL teams and 2 Olympic teams over the course of his 20 year career. He was drafted in the 8th round of the 1988 NHL Entry Draft and made an immediate impact. He led his team to the playoffs for the first 12 years of his career and made a Stanley Cup appearance in 1992 while playing for the Chicago Blackhawks. He made the U.S. Olympic Team in 1998 and 2002. He has scored 513 career goals, landing him in 36th place for goals scored and making him only the 3rd American to score 500 goals in his career. He also has 703 career assists putting him in a tie for 39th place on the NHL career scoring list with a total of 1216 points.

While his play has always been solid, his attitude certainly has hindered his reputation. Roenick, known as someone who always speaks his mind, has had several outbursts that have landed him in hot water. In 1996, Roenick led his team into battle against the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Semi-Finals. In one particular game, Roenick was tripped on a breakaway, yet no call was made. When asked about the incident, Patrick Roy stated that "I would have saved it anyways." When Roenick heard of this statement he responded by posing the question of "I'd like to know where Patrick was in Game 3, probably up trying to get his jock out of the rafters." What he was referring to was a play in which he had scored a breakaway goal. Roy rebuttaled with "I cannot really hear what Jeremy says because I've got two Stanley Cup rings plugging my ear."

Roenick found himself in the midst of controversy once again during the NHL Lockout of 2004-2005. Certain fans were claiming that NHL fans were spoiled. When Roenick was asked what he thought he told those fans to "kiss my ass" and stated that they were jealous. He went on to ask that those fans never again attend an NHL event or watch the games on tv.

In 2006, Roenick attacked USA Hockey, alleging that they "blackballed" him and were being disrespectful by not inviting him to join the team for the Olympics that year. In February of 2006 it was announced that Roenick was one of the NHL players being investigated in connection to a nationwide gambling ring.

It appears that although Roenick is retiring, he will still be in the spotlight. He had a brief acting stint this year as well as being a co-host on The Best Damn Sports Show. Roenick has had a great career on the ice and whether it was done intentionally or not, has set himself up for a nice career once he hangs up his skates. Love him or hate him, the truth of the matter is, fans love to watch him.

UFC 101-Preview and Predictions-Part 1-The Undercard

155 lbs:Shane Nelson vs Aaron Riley
This fight is interesting due to the fact that these two have already fought once in a fight that has been called by some "the worst stoppage in UFC history". The last time they fought Shane Nelson won via TKO 44 seconds into the fight. It was a controversial stoppage which is why they will be fighting again on Saturday.

Shane Nelson is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter with a career record of 12-3 with 2 knockouts and 3 submissions. His three losses have all come by way of decision. He was a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter:Team Nogueira vs Team Mir. He has a UFC record of 2-0.

Aaron Riley is a well rounded fighter with a green belt in Tae Kwon Do and a green best in Judo. He has a record of 27-11-1 with 18 of his wins ending via stoppage. He has a record of 1-3 in the UFC with a win over Jorge Gurgel and losses to Nelson, Spencer Fisher and Robbie Lawler. He has losses to many top fighters such as: Yves Edwards(twice), Falaniko Vitale, Eddie Alvarez and Ryan Schultz. He has a notable win over Michihiro Omigawa. He is a tough, experienced fighter that has something to prove in this fight. He will be a tough test for Nelson.

Prediction: Riley via decision

185 lbs: Alessio Sakara vs Thales Leites
Oh how the mighty have fallen. Leites went from fighting for the Middleweight Championship to fighting on the undercard of UFC 101.

Thales Leites is a world-class Brazilial Jiu Jitsu practitioner with a BJJ blackbelt under Welton Ribeiro. He has a career record of 14 wins and 2 losses and a UFC record of 5-2. He has wins over Pete Sell, Nate Marquardt and Drew McFedries. His fight with Marquardt was a controversial decision win. Marquardt had points deducted in the 2nd and 3rd round to give Leites the win. Leites' most recent fight was against Anderson Silva for the Middleweight Championship. He lost via decision in a lackluster fight to say the least. After his controversial win over Marquardt and his poor showing against Silva, many fans are wondering if he belongs in the UFC. He will be looking to prove that he is still a dominant fighter who deserves to stay in the Octagon.

Alessio Sakara is a striker by trade but also has BJJ experience. He has a career record of 13-7 with 8 of his wins coming by way of KO and 2 by way of submission. He has also been knocked out 3 times and submitted twice. In his UFC career he is 4-4 with wins over Elvis Sinosic, Victor Valimaki, James Lee and Joe Vepedo. He has losses to Dean Lister, Drew McFedries, Houston Alexander and Chris Leben. His UFC career has been a rollercoaster ride, filled with ups and downs. It seems that everytime he steps up in competition he steps down the UFC ladder. A win over Leites would go a long way to launch him back up that ladder.

Prediction: Leites via Submission

170 lbs: Danillo Villefort vs Jesse Lennox
This is a battle of two UFC newcomers who are looking to find a home in the world famous Octagon.

Villefort is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Blackbelt and a Judo fighter with a record of 9-2 with 3 KO's and 5 Submissions. Both of his losses have come by TKO. He is the god-son of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. His last fight was a TKO win over Mike Campbell in the WEC.

Jesse Lennox is a freestyle fighter with a record of 10-1. All of his fights have ended via stoppage. In his lone loss, he fell victim to a kneebar in the 2nd round. He has 5 Knockouts and 5 submissions to his name. He is a Miletich Fighting Systems fighter who is very well rounded.

Prediction: Lennox via TKO

155 lbs: George Sotiropoulos vs George Roop
In the BATTLE OF THE GEORGE! We have two fighters from The Ultimate Fighter who have also trained together!

George Sotiropoulos made his debut on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs Team Serra, losing to Tommy Speer via KO in the semi-finals. He is a BJJ black belt with a record of 9-2. 6 of his wins have come via stoppage. His only losses have come to Kyle Noke and Shinya Aoki who were both very formidable opponents. His loss to Aoki came via DQ after a groin strike rendered Aoki unable to continue. He is coming off of UFC wins over Billy Miles and Roman Mitchiyan. He will be making his first appearance at 155 lbs in the matchup.

George Roop was a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs Team Mir, losing in the semi-finals by way of 2nd round submission to Philipe Nover. He is a wrestler and BJJ fighter who holds a record of 9-4 with 4 wins coming by submission and 1 by way of KO. He is
1-1 in the UFC with win over Dave Kaplan and a loss to Shane Nelson.

Prediction: Sotiropoulos via Submission

170 lbs: Matt Riddle vs Dan Cramer
Riddle and Cramer were both fighters on The Ultimate Fighter 7: Team Rampage vs Team Forrest. They were both on Team Rampage and both suffered losses on the show to Tim Credeur. Apart from that they couldn't have been more different on the show. Riddle was a brash, trashtalker while Cramer was more of the strong, silent type.

Matt Riddle is best known for delivering the most brutal knockout in the history of The Ultimate Fighter. In the fights that determined who got on the show, Riddle faced off against Dan Simmler. In the opening moments of the 2nd round, Riddle delivered a shot to the jaw of Simmler that dropped him to the mat. He then followed up with three shots on an unconscious Simmler. The shot broke Simmler's jaw in two places. He entered The UFC with no professional experience and has since gone 2-0 with wins over Dante Rivera and Steve Bruno. He is a wrestler, boxer and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighter and is currently training with Xtreme Couture.

Dan Cramer also entered The Ultimate Fighter with no professional experience. He is currently 1-1 with a win over Matt Arroyo. He trains with American Top Team and is a boxer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner.

Both of these fighters possess a lot of potential, which should make for an intriguing fight.

Prediction: Riddle via decision

170 lbs: John Howard vs Tamdan McCrory
This fight has the potential to be fight of the night. Both Howard and McCrory have a ton of heart and do whatever it takes to win their fights. This should be a great fight!

John Howard is a relative newcomer to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He burst onto the scene with a decision win in January over the very tough Chris Wilson. He is a Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu student with an overall record of 11-4. 2 of his wins have come via KO and 6 have come by way of submission. In his 4 losses, 3 have come by stoppage. He is currently on a 4 fight winning streak and hopes to keep the streak alive on August 8th.

Tamdan McCrory is a well rounded, freestyle fighter with a professional record of 11-2. 10 of his wins have come by stoppage with 6 coming by way of KO. He has a UFC record of 3-2 with his two losses coming to Akihiro Gono and Dustin Hazelett via submission. He is a very large welterweight who possesses a great deal of power and heart.

Prediction: McCrory via TKO

Thank you for reading my undercard preview and predictions for UFC 101: Declaration. I will be writing previews of the rest of the fights in the coming days. Check back each day to see a new preview and prediction.

Plaxico Burress Indicted on Two Counts!

After answering two hours of questions and being "honest and remorseful" Plaxico Burress has been indicted on one count of "possession of a loaded gun not in your home and not in your place of business," and one count of carrying the weapon with "intent to use it unlawfully against another." Burress faces a mininum 3 1/2 year prison sentence if convicted of these charges. He has the option of accepting a plea to serve two years or face trial in 2010. His teammate Antonio Pierce was not indicted of any charges and is in no danger of legal penalty.

What does this mean for Burress? While he can play in the upcoming season, it is questionable of whether or not anyone will give him that option. There is also the question of whether or not he will face sanctions by the NFL for these charges. While Burress is incredibly talented, he has found himself in precarious situations for a good portion of his career and would more than likely bring some unwanted attention to the team that signs him.

Not only did Burress shoot himself in the leg but he also unintentionally took yet another shot at the credability of the NFL. He is another example of a great NFL player that let poor decision making effect his career. I hope for the NFL's sake that players start focusing as much on making good plays off of the field as they do on the gridiron on Sundays.

Fedor Signs a Deal with Strikeforce

Fedor Emelianenko has reportedly signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce. This is a great deal for Fedor, M-1 Global and Strikeforce. The question is, is it a great deal for the fans? My answer to this is that it is a good, but not great deal for the fans. MMA enthusiasts have wanted to see Emelianenko fighting in the U.S for years and this deal satisfies those desires. However, fans will be disappointed that they will not get to see the dream matchups of Fedor/Couture, Fedor/Lesnar or Fedor/Carwin. Fedor will have some decent opposition in Strikeforce but the talent level there is nowhere near what it is in the UFC.

Let's look at the potential matchups that Strikeforce has in their bag of tricks. Alistair Overeem is the current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion and probably the biggest threat to Fedor. He holds an overall record of 29-11 with all but 1 of his wins coming by either KO or submission. However, it seems that everytime he steps up to face top competition he does not fare so well. He has losses to Sergei Kharitonov, Mauricio Shogun Rua(twice), Ricardo Arona, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira(twice), Fabricio Werdum and Chuck Liddell.

Brett Rogers has done very well as of late, boasting a record of 10-0 with all 10 wins coming by stoppage. However, only 1 of his wins has come over a quality opponent and that was his most recent win over former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski. Rogers won that fight by knockout only 22 seconds into the first round. Other potential matchups include two fighters that have been cut by the UFC: Fabricio Werdum and Paul Buentello. These will make for some interesting fights but not the blockbusters that could have been.

While it will be nice for the casual fan to be able to see Fedor live in action, the question that's been debated for several years still remains unanswered. They say that to be the best you have to beat the best and until Fedor steps foot into the octagon of the UFC we will not truly know if he is the best.

A Cycle in Chi-Town?

A rare feat was witnessed Sunday evening as fans got to see Melky Cabrera become the first Yankee since 1995 to hit for the cycle. It all started with a 3 run shot in his first at bat against Mark Buehrle to give the Yankees a 3-o lead in the 2nd. His success against Buehrle continued with a double in the 4th. Cabrera then went on to hit a run scoring single in the 5th. The lone blemish on Cabrera's day at the plate came on a groundout in the top of the 6th inning. When Cabrera stepped up to the plate in the top of the 9th, the feat was possible but would be difficult to complete with the most difficult part of the cycle remaining. If Cabrera was going to complete the cycle he would need to hit a triple. Before coming up to the plate, Cabrera's teammates told him to go for third regardless of the type of hit that came off of his bat. Chances of the feat happening became very real when Cabrera launched a line drive over Jermaine Dye's head in right. He beat the throw and slid into third to become the first Yankee to complete the cycle since Tony Fernandez in 1995. What was equally impressive was that he accomplished this feat off of the man that just fired a perfect game in Mark Buehrle. Not only did Cabrera hit for the cycle, but in doing so drove in 4 rbi's and scored 3 runs, accounting for 6 of the team's 8 runs. Yes you read that right, 6 of the team's runs due to the fact that one of the RBI's that came from his homerun was his own. This marks the 2nd time in a week that Mark Buehrle was involved in a piece of baseball history. Although, something tells me he's probably not as excited about this game as he was to make history in his last outing.

Uncertainty in the Cleveland Browns' Camp?

When asked about the quarterback situation in Cleveland, new head coach Eric Mangini indicated that there was not yet a clear starter and that he was not in any kind of hurry to name a starter. He also indicated that once a starter was named there would be no turning back once a starter is named. He went on to claim that he fully expects both quarterbacks to be in a Browns uniform this season.

When the Browns drafted Brady Quinn they fully expected him to be their QB of the future. However, in 2007 Derek Anderson had a fantastic season! Anderson threw for 3,787 yards with 29 TD's and 19 INT's, while also scoring 3 TD's on foot. He boasted a completion percentage of 56.5%, which called Quinn's future into question. During the 2008 season, Anderson sputtered coming out of the gate throwing 9 TD's and 7 INT's through the first 8 games before being replaced by Quinn. All Quinn could manage was 2 TD's and 2 INT's in 3 games. All of this created a great deal of concern from within the Cleveland Browns' organization. Combine that with a new coach taking over and you've certainly got a reason to be worried.

In this statement, Eric Mangini has done two things. He has let his quarterbacks know that once he chooses a starter he is indeed going to stand by them. This should help their performance and their confidence level by keeping them from looking over their shoulder all season long. However, he has also shown uncertainty by stating that he will be keeping both of these young quarterbacks. I believe that Eric Mangini is unquestionably doing the right thing. He is instilling confidence into each quarterback while also doing what's best for his team. Regardless of what Mangini has said, if the QB that wins this position battle comes out firing on all cylinders, do not be the least bit surprised to see the other quarterback wearing a different colored jersey come season's end.

Fedor to Strikeforce?

After Affliction closed it's doors, MMA fans have been waiting to see what the future holds for many fighters. However, the one fighter on every one's mind is Fedor Emelianenko. For the last week, Dana White has been negotiating with M-1 Global to make Fedor a UFC fighter. However, M-1 Global has repeatedly refused to accept any deal that doesn't include co-promotions with M-1. Dana White has remained steadfast in his refusal to co-promote with any other fight organization. White indicated this weekend that it did not appear likely that Fedor would be signed by the UFC. It appeared that Emelianenko would be headed back to Japan where the competition is weaker and the fights are not televised here in the States. However, Strikeforce has reportedly made an offer for Fedor that includes paying him $1 million dollars per fight and allowing for co-promotion with M-1 Global.

I'd like to take a look at the implications that a deal like this holds for Fedor, Strikeforce, and the fans of the sport. This is a great deal for Fedor! This deal gives him a large purse for each fight and allows him to co-promote, while offering him quality heavyweights to match up against. Strikeforce currently lays claim to a heavyweight roster that includes Alistair Overeem, Paul Buentello, Fabricio Werdum and Brett Rogers. This would give him stiff competition for quite some time, while also allowing him to get the exposure of being a household name.

For Strikeforce this could go either way. On one hand, they're signing the man who is viewed by many as being the top heavyweight fighter in the world. On the other hand, they're paying one fighter $1 million dollars a fight which is similar to the contracts handed out by the now defunct Affliction MMA. Is this another case of a smaller MMA organization paying too much for their fighters, which will eventually lead to their downfall? For many reasons, I don't believe that it is. Strikeforce has been in the fight business a long time, opening their doors in 1985 as a kickboxing operation. They switched from kickboxing to MMA in 2006 and began promoting events. They have a stable of fighters that includes: Phil Baroni, Nick Diaz, Gina Carano, Mitsuhiro Ishida, Robbie Lawler, Cung Le, Gilbert Melendez, Joe Riggs, Kevin Randleman, Benji Radach, Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, Evangelista Santos, Frank Shamrock, Jake Shields, Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Bobby Southworth, and Josh Thompson among others. Affliction was known for putting all of their eggs into one basket by signing a slew of top heavyweights, while leaving their other divisions to suffer with mediocre fighters. That is clearly not the case with Strikeforce. Affliction only had 3 shows scheduled over the course of an entire year. Strikeforce has put on 5 shows this year already and in 2008 had 8 shows. Strikeforce has been around a long time and is in no way a flash in the pan organization such as Affliction. Affliction or "the t-shirt guys" as Dana White called them, jumped into a pool without knowing how to swim. Strikeforce is led by Scott Coker, who has been swimming strong since 1985.

The biggest winner if this deal does happen is the fan of MMA. Strikeforce has deals with Showtime and CBS! That means that we could see Fedor Emelianenko fighting on FREE TV!!! While I would rather see Fedor fighting the top heavyweights that the UFC has on their roster, Strikeforce has the potential to make some very interesting fights that fans would love to see. Though, it appears there will be no Fedor vs Couture or Fedor vs Lesnar, Fedor vs Overeem or Fedor vs Rogers are a pretty good consolation.

Cliff Lee Shines on his First Day as a Philly!

There was a great amount of speculation that the Phillies were making every effort to acquire Roy Halladay prior to the non-waiver trade deadline on Friday. However, instead of meeting the lofty demands of the Toronto Blue Jays, the Phillies made a deal with the Cleveland Indians to obtain the rights of pitcher Cliff Lee. At the time, many Phillies fans expressed disappointment, but after last night's performance, I think it's safe to say that their disappointment did not last very long. Cliff Lee was brilliant last night! He pitched a complete game, allowing 4 hits, one run and two walks while striking out 6 to lead the Phillies to a 5-1 win over the Giants. He had a no-hitter going into the sixth inning and. While this is a very impressive stat line, his night did not end with his performance on the mound. He also went 2-4 at the plate with a double.
While the fans may have initially felt a sense of disappointment when their team was unable to acquire Roy Halladay, they have to be thrilled with the fact that they landed an equally impressive ace without giving up the top prospects that the Blue Jays were asking for! Overall, it was a great night for Cliff Lee and an even better night for the Phillies and their fans.