If you ponied up and purchased Saturday’s UFC 117 pay per view or even went to a local bar and watched you were treated to one of the best nights of MMA fights ever.  There was a little bit of everything on this card.  You had two heavyweight contenders just throwing bombs on each other in the stand up.  You saw wrestling with ground and pound 101.  You were even given a few slick and innovative submissions.  If you weren’t entertained then you aren’t an MMA fan.  You should probably go watch that pathetic shell of itself they call boxing because you don’t know what MMA is all about.

Looking back at my predictions I picked 4 out the 5 winners.  I got one prediction pretty much dead on and almost, ALMOST had the main event picked to a tee.  But even with the winners I did pick right the results did surprise me.

I knew Roy Nelson was a tough dude but I didn’t think anyone could take Junior dos Santos’ lethal boxing.  Despite that Big Country looked absolutely gassed even in the second round he kept in there and kept trying to throw leather at Juniors jaw as well.  In the end dos Santos won a unanimous decision instead of my thought of a second round KO.  Either way Junior is next in line to face the winner of the Brock Lesnar/Cain Velasquez match up for the UFC Heavyweight Title.

I don’t know exactly why I was never a fan of Matt Hughes.  Part of it is that country boy persona.  Part of it was he sometimes cockiness towards opponents.  But one thing I can never deny is that the man is a legend in the sport and he still has some tricks up his sleeve.  I thought Hughes would take the Big Dog down and will and just punish him for three rounds but in the back of my head I had a feeling he could get a submission.  Hughes has always had a really good submission offense and I wanted to maybe say an armbar for the win but didn’t know if he could pull off a submission against Almeida.  Not only did he pull off a submission but one of the craziest ones I’ve ever seen.  It was part anaconda choke, part arm triangle, part bear hug.  But is was all awesome.  Ricardo went out like a light and woke up a few seconds later wondering where he was.

So what’s next for a man that has done almost everything in this sport?  He said he’s going to go hunting and spend time with his family.  Oh such a country boy that Matt.  But I have a thought on who I would like to see him face next.  How about the winner of the Dan Hardy/Carlos Conduit match.  It would be a great opportunity for either of those young men and we get to see if Hughes can still go with someone considerably younger than him.  Joe Silva, Dana White, make it happen.  (Because they read my blog anyway)

I think Clay Guida’s new nick name should be the Perpetual Motion Machine because that man does not stop moving.  And not only that but he keeps the same pace, always!  Guida pushed the pace very early with Rafael dos Anjos as they spend more time on their feet than I thought they would.  Clay got in some good punches will dos Anjos used very good leg kicks to keep distance.  But Rafael’s night went south after a Clay Guida punch seemed to have broken dos Anjos’ jaw and in the third round Clay just put his shoulder and all his weight into that hurt jaw and got himself a submission victory and back into the thick of things in the lightweight division.

After that was the potentials/maybe/we’ll see number one contender match up in the welterweight division.  Jon Fitch came in looking like his normal self with I don’t care hair and gnawing at his mouth piece.  Alves came in just not looking like himself.  He looked tired and dejected before Fitch even scored his first take down.  And really after that first take down the match was over.  Jon Fitch did what he always does.  He pins down his opponent and keeps them there while punching them in the face while they think about their predicament.

So with his decision win Jon Fitch may or may not fight the winner of Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck depending on who wins, what Jake Shields does in his octagon debut and just if Dana and Joe Silva want it to happen.  I think Fitch is the most deserving as I mentioned in my predictions post so hopefully Fitch will want to fight no matter who wins between GSP and Koscheck.

Then it was go time for the eagerly anticipated middleweight title match between the champion Anderson Silva and the challenger Chael Sonnen.  As you know I bought into the Chael hype and talk.  Silva pissed me off as a fan with his last number of title matches.  It was time to pay for those displays and I believed Chael was the one to dish out the punishment.

Photo by Esther Lin at MMA Fighting/Fanhouse

But even as Chael was my choice to win I think I was with almost everyone else when Chael went out there and pretty much did what he said he was going to do.  For four and a half rounds Sonnen put Silva on his back and tried his damn hardest to punch a hole in his face.  According to MMA Fighting and Compustrike Sonnen out struck Silva 289 to 29 through the entire fight.

Now before you say something unintelligent like, “Well it was all on the ground.”  Let me offer myself to give you an example if you so wish.  I will be happy to sit in your guard and punch you in the face for about 23 minutes if you don’t think that is impressive.  See the little Love/Hate Mail link up top you get get a hold of me there if you would like to take up that offer.

But over those 4 and a half rounds Chael looked confident.  He looked dominant.  He looked like a champion.  And then just like that Silva locked in a triangle choke.  Whether or not Sonnen actually tapped or meant to tap is something only Chael can answer.  And so far Chael has not answered that question.  But instead of making excuses Chael took the defeat like a man.

“I worked hard and did what I could do all that nice stuff, but at the end of the day you either get your hand raised or you don’t, and I didn’t.” Sonnen stated in the post card press conference.

Silva in victory got down on all fours at Chael’s feet and bowed to him.  Finally someone made Anderson work hard and he knew it.  But then this display of humility was slightly over shadowed by his remarks in the post fight interview that he hurt his ribs in training and was told not to fight by his doctor.  If true yes he was a warrior for fighting through it but it also looks like he was making excuses for his performance against a man who really was the better fighter that night.  But I guess Anderson will be Anderson and haters gonna hate.

So that brings up the question as to whether Chael deserves an immediate rematch.  Yes the “tap” is questionable but there wasn’t much of an argument from Chael against the ref’s decision to stop the match.  And as much as I was even thinking he didn’t tap and want to see Sonnen as champion I think he shouldn’t get an immediate rematch.  Vitor Belfort has been quietly sitting back and waiting for his shot.

Belfort was suppose to fight Silva at UFC 112 in April but an injury forced him to pull out of the fight.  He was then leap frogged in the pecking order by Sonnen.  He has been waiting patiently and now he deserves his shot at the belt.

As for Chael who should he fight next?  Maybe the winner of Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama or how about the ever resilient Chris Leben?  I would even maybe like to see a rematch with Yushin Okami with the winner of that maybe fighting for the title.  Okami has greatly improved since his lose to Sonnen and would give them both a tough match for a future title shot.  Again this is all up to Joe Silva and Dana White.  That is unless they want my help.  At which that Love/Hate Mail button up top is a great  way to get a hold of me guys.

I just realized that since reopening my blog I haven’t written anything about MMA yet.  Shame on me, shame.  So what better way to start writing about it again then with the upcoming UFC 117 tomorrow night.  And this card on paper should be an absolutely great night of fights including on

e title match and two fights with title implications.  Oddly enough ever fight on the card involves an American against a Brazilian.  Coincidence?

So now I will for a few minutes pretend I’m a part of real MMA media and give you my take on what to expect of the five scheduled live fights.

Clay Guida vs. Rafael dos Anjos

This match will probably piss the normal meathead crowd off because I imagine it will be on the ground the majority of the fight.  Clay likes to take people down and smash away while dos Anjos is a BJJ wiz.  So my thought will be that this fight will be won or lost on the mat.

If Guida can be mistake free and do what he does best then I think he can definitely take it.  But one mistake can lead to a submission being slapped on.  I think even as intense as Guida is he is too smart to make silly adrenaline rush mistakes.

My Pick: Clay Guida by decision

Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida

This one has potential to be just like the first as UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes takes on another BJJ specialist in Ricardo Almeida.  I like this because it sort of has some story behind it as Almeida goes out to face the man that beat up his mentor Renzo Gracie.

Hughes is getting up there in age and not everyone can be a freak of nature like Randy Couture but Hughes has only lost 3 times in the past 6 years and those were to Georges St. Pierre twice and Thiago Alves.  Not bad if you ask me.

Almeida has though has been looking very good since returning to the octagon in 2008.  His only loss was a close split decision to Patrick Cote and his last two wins were against Kendall Grove and the up and coming Matt Brown.

In the end I think it will be again who wins the fight on the ground.  Even though I am not a huge fan of the guy I think Hughes as one more win him with this one.

My Pick: Matt Hughes by decision

Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves

This is a rematch a lot of hardcore MMA fans have been wanting to see.  These two welterweights clashed in 2006 the first time with Fitch coming out victorious but in the time since then Alves has improved significantly including a string of wins over such names as Chris Lytle, Karo Parisyan, Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck.  The two do share the fact that they both have received title shots at GSP already.  And they were both man handled for 5 rounds in their respective shots.

Fitch has strung together 4 wins in a row since his loss and this will be Alves first fight since the loss to GSP.  Fitch gets crapped on a lot by fans for what is thought of as boring fighting.  He takes his opponents down and grinds to wins most of the time.  He wants to finish them but has seemed to have problems with doing so.

Alves is a beast with his stand up but an irregularity in his brain recently pushed this fight back and it will be interesting to see how he fairs from a long lay off and this medical condition.  Rumors are also going around that Alves is having a hard time cutting weight to make the 170 lbs limit.  Will that play a factor?

Dana White has said that the winner of this fight very well could get to fight the winner of the GSP/Koscheck match for the title.  I think Fitch definitely deserves to be in those talks but Alves is on his first fight back after his title shot and I don’t think he should be thrown back in immediately with one win.  But it’s not my job.

My Pick: Jon Fitch by decision

Roy Nelson vs. Junior dos Santos

This is one of the ones I’m really looking forward to.  It’s no secret I’m a fan of Big Country.  A lot of my friends hate him.  Mostly because he beat up their false demigod Kimbo but many just think he’s a big fat moron.  My retort is just watch the man fight.  He is a world class grappler who’s BJJ is constantly underrated and can do pretty damn good on his feet too.  Don’t believe me?  Ask Brendan Schaub and Stefan Struve if he is any good with his striking.  That is if they remember that their fights with him.

Junior dos Santos has just torn through the heavyweight division with his stand up.  His last five wins are over Fabricio Werdum, Stefan Struve, Mirko Cro Cop, Gilbert Yvel and Gabriel Gonzaga.  There isn’t a chump in that batch.  I would say dos Santos deserves a title shot now and doesn’t need to fight another fight to prove it.  He has been an absolute terror on his feet and he should be when you train at Black House with Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida.  His ground game hasn’t really been tested yet but he is currently a brown belt in BJJ under the Nogueria brothers, who apparently know a thing or two about jui jitsu.

It should be a very entertaining fight.  Nelson claims he isn’t afraid to stand and bang with dos Santos but that he isn’t an idiot either and if he feels that isn’t working will try to take it to the ground.  I for one would really like to see who dos Santos handles himself on the ground.  But in the end I’m thinking my boy Roy may be in the way of a freight train on it’s way to the title.

My Pick: Junior dos Santos by 2nd Round KO.

UFC Middleweight Title: Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen

If it weren’t for Chael Sonnen most people wouldn’t care about this fight.  Chael sold this card, plan and simple.  After Silva’s last three lackluster title defenses Chael came out guns a blazing.  He said what was on everyone else’s minds about Anderson and he didn’t let up.  He called Silva everything you can think of and even offered Silva a deadline to which he could pull out of the fight.  Gold I tell you!  And I for one have taken the Kool-Aid and believe in Chael.

Silva has looked totally uninterested in his last three title defenses.  He even tried to say that Vitor Belfort was undeserving of a title shot after only one fight back in the UFC.  Yes this came from the guy that got a title shot after only one fight.  Anderson must have never met the kettle.  I’m hoping that Chael’s pro wrestling like trash talk will make Anderson want to actually fight.  Will he?  I’m not sure.

I’ve been saying for awhile to friends and pretty much anyone that will listen that Silva is a counter striker.  He is quick enough and strong enough to take advantage of overly aggressive opponents (see Leban, Franklin, Irvin, Griffin).  While he is still a world class striker he just isn’t the same if the other fighter isn’t trying to attack him.  Cote, Lates and Maia learning from others didn’t charge in swinging like a sever year old wearing boxing gloves.  They tried to work their game.  It didn’t work but they tried.  Anderson then just kept looking for the opportunity to counter instead of becoming the aggressor himself against these fighters that aren’t known for having amazing stand up.

Chael I think will be aggressive but not on his feet.  I look for Sonnen to shoot and shoot early.  He will try to take to the ground and smash Silva’s face.  Chael’s words not mine.  Now Silva is a black belt in BJJ but we don’t see it too often because he’s so good on his feet.  It will be interesting to see if Chael thinking, “CHAEL SMASH” gets him caught in a submission.

So which way do I choose.  I’m going to have to say I’m a suck and I am buying the hype.

My Pick: Chael Sonnen by decision

So there you have it folks.  Predictions for UFC 117 from no one with real credentials in the media.  Just a big fan of MMA.  And by that I mean someone that doesn’t boo when the fight is taken to the mat and two ground guys go to work methodically.  Let me know what you think will happen and maybe I’ll tell you that you are wrong.

Hopefully I can write more about MMA in the future.  Maybe I’ll do a follow up and continue to do these preview/predictions.  What do you think?

So for the past few months my sister in law has been partaking in an upstart roller derby team down here called the Palm Beach Roller Girls.  They are still pretty new and last night was their first match/game/bout or whatever it is technically called in this sport.  Being a kick ass brother in law I went to show my support and they took on the South Florida Roller Girls from Port Saint Lucie.

And with that I begin my rant.  The so named South Florida Roller Girls are from Port Saint Lucie and that in my mind is not really South Florida.  It is considered the Treasure Coast and by beer distributing standards it is Central Florida.  And if you know me then you know that if it’s a standard in beer it is true with everything else.  So I think a name change should be in the cards there.

Now if you are use to roller derby from movies or TV you probably think there is a big old track with banked turns and junk.  Not here.  This is flat track derby and I think that has more potential for great spills, if that’s the sort of thing you want to see.  Because come on, that is some of the draw of roller derby.

Now on to the actual match.  The girls on each team have creative nicknames and numbers and dress up and modify their uniforms and equipment accordingly.  They show a good amount of creativity with this and it’s great to see a sport where the participants can do so.  Hell even the coaches and refs have nick names and gimmicks.  This is like pro wrestling on skates already! I like it.

The rules are a little hard to pick up at first but eventually you seem to get it but there is still a lot I have no clue about.  There is a lot of hand signals that the refs do including some obvious ones and some not so.  I swear they were making some of the shit up.  I’m still a little hazy on the scoring but it seems like most games can be really high scoring.

It was pretty exciting to watch.  The South Florida Roller Girls were fast.  Apparently a number of them have been doing roller derby for a long time.  Their jammers we small and like greased lightning.  The Palm Beach Roller Girls lacked these little speedsters but then again they are almost all mostly new to doing this compared to the opponents.

Also the Palm Beach jammers were getting too many penalties.  And since they are the only players on the track that can score points you can’t really score if your in the box.  Yeah their are penalties and I think some of those rules are kind of pansy.  Let them go.  No blood no foul they use to say right?

Oh man and was the MC for the match boring.  He barely spoke and when he did he had zero personality.  I think I am going to make a push for a mutiny for me to take over the position.  I could definitely liven things up in there.

And last but certainly not least, the amount of future ex wife material there was off the ways.  So I have a thing for girls with tattoos and piercings and crazy hair and stuff.  Is it so wrong?  Not at all.

So to sum it all up we have a number of attractive girls that are being creative going out on roller skates and smashing into each other.  Then they go out drinking afterward.  Yeah it was a good time and I think you would have a good time too.  Be sure to check out more information about the Palm Beach Roller Girls at http://palmbeachrollergirls.com/

Way to go boys! And if you have no idea what is going on then you are a terrorist. Nuff said!

History was made last night as Roy Halladay led the future 2010 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies to a perfect game.  I’ve been saying this man is a machine for quite some time.  But I think only now is Halladay himself realizing this.  He must have had a close brush with a razor while shaving that revealed his true metal self in the cut.  Now he knows he can truly not be defeated.  Too bad for the Marlins they had to be the first victims of this discovery.

I don’t have a lot else to say other than it is only a matter of time before Doc is pitching every inning of every game for us.  He already pitches all innings in his loses.  Well those days are done.  The rest of the pitching staff will just sit back and watch as this man/machine takes over baseball.  Then after baseball, the world!