UFC 53 this weekend.

dlofnep

Well folks, it's that time again. Picks & Predictions here.

Full card.

Preliminary Fights according to MMAWeekly.com

- Nick Diaz vs Koji Oishi - Should be interesting and you have to feel bad for Diaz. He is one of the best fighters in 170, but this fight isn't on the main card. You know though if he's spectacular this will be shown on the main card.

- David Loiseau vs Charles McCarthy - Loiseau really has a chance to be a major player at 185 if he wins this fight. I've heard plenty of good things about McCarthy and listen to the radio show today so you can learn more about him.

- Nathan Quarry vs Shonie Carter - I was very surprised that so far this is on the prelim. The question you have to ask, is this a better fight that Buentello vs Jordan? Maybe, BUT the UFC needs to market Buentello for a title showdown in 2006 after Mir vs Arlovski...(that is if Eilers doesn't pull off the upset)

UFC 53 MAIN CARD ON PPV -

- Matt Serra vs Karo Parisyan - This is Karo's moment in the sun. If he wins, he most likely gets a shot at Matt Hughes. It's my opinion the UFC wants to showcase Parisyan on the main card to be a "credible" threat to Hughes. If Karo loses it's a HUGE loss for Parisyan and a great moment for Matt Serra.

- Forrest Griffin vs Bill Mahood - Does the public remember who Forrest Griffin is after no tv show for two months? UFC is banking on it putting him on the main card vs Bill Mahood. Griffin is always exciting and this should be a good fight regardless.

- Paul Buentello vs Kevin Jordan - If Buentello wins this fight, then he gets to sit back and watch a future fight between Arlovski and Mir, with Buentello getting the winner. If Eilers upsets Arlovski, (by the way which still could happen) then Paul gets a crack at the title next fight in a rematch vs Eilers.

- Evan Tanner vs Rich Franklin - This really could be the battle to see who the Ultimate Fighter 2 coach is. Should be a great title fight.

- Andrei Arlovski vs Justin Eilers - With the "UFC curse" looming there is no doubt Justin Eilers wins this fight Saturday night. Remember the UFC curse happens, anytime that Zuffa tries to set up blockbuster fights down the road. Call it bad luck or whatever, but the UFC has had horrible luck anytime they have a future blockbuster on the horizon.

Naos

Hmmmmm...

No idea.. PrideFC man myself

(although I will check it out and report my findings..)

Roper

Nick Diaz vs Koji Oishi

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Diaz
David Loiseau vs Charles McCarthy

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Loiseau
Nathan Quarry vs Shonie Carter

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Hmmmm, Quarry by decision
Matt Serra vs Karo Parisyan

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Parisyan
Forrest Griffin vs Bill Mahood

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Griffin
Paul Buentello vs Kevin Jordan ----Buentello
Evan Tanner vs Rich Franklin

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Franklin
Andrei Arlovski vs Justin Eilers

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Arlovski KO Rd1

mark.leonard

Nick Diaz vs Koji Oishi ==>Diaz

David Loiseau vs Charles McCarthy ==>Loiseau

Nathan Quarry vs Shonie Carter ==> Quarry, Mr. International is past it and I think this match is built to put Quarry on the "Map"

Matt Serra vs Karo Parisyan ==> Parisyan

Forrest Griffin vs Bill Mahood ==>Griffin (Bill Ma What now?)

Paul Buentello vs Kevin Jordan ==>Buentello

Evan Tanner vs Rich Franklin ==> Evan Tanner

Andrei Arlovski vs Justin Eilers ==>Arlovski KO

dlofnep

Good picks guys.. I have Evan Tanner over Franklin with Mark, purely because he gave up a little "post weigh-in" weight the last time with Rich Franklin and I think 185 suits Evan more. He's always winning matches when everyone doubts him.

cmb.

Nick Diaz vs Koji Oishi

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Diaz
David Loiseau vs Charles McCarthy

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Loiseau
Nathan Quarry vs Shonie Carter

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carter
Matt Serra vs Karo Parisyan

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too close to callForrest Griffin vs Bill Mahood

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Griffin
Paul Buentello vs Kevin Jordan ----Buentello
Evan Tanner vs Rich Franklin

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Franklin
Andrei Arlovski vs Justin Eilers

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Arlovski


is anyone else angry with the main event - no disrespect to eilers but wtf is he doing in a title fight? - i understand that others turned the fight down and there was somne early doubt over buentellos health but someone who was Ko'd in his last outing should not be put into a title fight while the man who ko'd him is in a nothing fight - really, what has jordan done? - hes had two 'name' opponents and lost both - granted the were early fights but still - its a shockingly bad main event - posibly the worst on paper in ufc history - im sure that the meathead population will enjoy seeing him become a human punch bag but its meant to be a sporting contest - and woree than this - what if he scored a fluke ko? - eilers Hw champ? - frightening

dlofnep

You know, I think it's Dana's marketing genius. He knows full well after the success of the ultimate fighter, he needs one visually strong show to keep the fans.. If this means slightly dissapointing the hardcore fans by throwing in Justin Eilers while Paul Buentello fights someone else, then so be it.

I think he wants to also build up Arlovski's name. At the moment, he's the interim champion. He needs more credibility with the belt so I guess Dana is going to try build on him.

I don't agree with Eilers getting a shot but I can see why Dana picked him.. I expect nothing less than an exciting throw down.

Fozzy

Just caught the event there on Bravo, not as bad as I had been expecting, but nothing too spectacular either. Forrest Griffin was impressive, Tanner and Franklin had a well fought fight, pity Tanner didn't bring it to ground though. Can't see anyone beating Arlovski for a good while!

dlofnep

Nothing spectacular? I ttink it was one of the best UFC events in recent history! There wasn't one boring fight on the card. It's a pity you didn't get to se Nate Quarry dismantle Shonie Carter or that weird guy from Pancrase get beat down. I caught it elsewhere.

Great event! Tanner showed the heart of a lion.

Roper

On Tanner Vs. Franklin...

I thought it was great, big heart and all. But basically it was a slightly better than average striker vs. a bad striker. Franklins jab is poor but kept catching Tanner cos he's no head movement.
I couldn't understand why he tried to stay standing.

cmb.

Roper wrote:

On Tanner Vs. Franklin...

I thought it was great, big heart and all. But basically it was a slightly better than average striker vs. a bad striker. Franklins jab is poor but kept catching Tanner cos he's no head movement.
I couldn't understand why he tried to stay standing.

have to agree - ive always liked tanner (maybe its because weve been watching him in the ufc for 6 years (ufc 18?) and was a little dissapointed - not because he was outclassed but the maner in which he went about the fight - ok he caught him beautifully but as rogan called it - he didnt set anything up, had no lateral movement - he simply kept walking into franklin looking for the straigh right and got punished

was also annoyed that we didnt get to see carted v quarry and diaz v oishi - two of the fights i wanted to see most

EPO_MAN

can't believe tanner lost.....hopeto see him bounch back.

dlofnep

Tanner should of held back and countered Franklin a little bit more.. He was more effective when he did.. I think he would of done well to get in close for an upper body clinch so he could take it to the mat.. His normal shot was being neutralised by Franklin every time.

Fozzy

dlofnep wrote:

Nothing spectacular? I ttink it was one of the best UFC events in recent history!

I haven't actually seen a UFC event in some time now, and I didn't catch the whole of this one. Maybe my vision is a bit skewed!

If the first round of the Tanner/Franklin fight had gone on for another 2 minutes, I honestly believe Tanner would have won. Would have loved to see him as a trainer for The Ultimate Fighter too

damo

me and my brother headed down to see it from new york, really good fights i thought - very good show the way its organised etc. just a pity about the redneck apes littered throughout the crowd

mark.leonard

dlofnep wrote:

Tanner should of held back and countered Franklin a little bit more.. He was more effective when he did.. I think he would of done well to get in close for an upper body clinch so he could take it to the mat.. His normal shot was being neutralised by Franklin every time.

He shot twice I think, and both times he took him down, it was a really lacklustre fight, agreeing with Roper neither of them looked like top class combat athletes.

As for the show in general I thought the main card was poor - first fight between Buentello and Jordan was a disgrace they both looked like out of shape bar room brawlers and not a good ad for the sport at all. The Serra match was good and big props to Forrest Griffin, he looked pretty fantastic!

dlofnep

I think the Buentello/Jordan fight was alright.. Although they weren't doing graceful backflips, they were dropping each other with shots. The card was laughed at infact by the majority of the MMA community but when it came to the crunch, the final product was a great show.

Karo/Serra was a great fight!

mark.leonard

dlofnep wrote:

I think the Buentello/Jordan fight was alright.. Although they weren't doing graceful backflips, they were dropping each other with shots.

We'll just have to agree to disagree then John, I thought it was a very poor match!

dlofnep

Sure thing Mark. No worries.

Roper

big props to Forrest Griffin, he looked pretty fantastic!

Yes he did, but the opponent........ stumblebum material I thought. Just an opinion!

Yes Mark, I thought Tanner Franklin was a poor fight. Essentially a bad boxing match. Once Tanner went to shoot he was gassed anyway and couldn't make it count. I think Franklins a good all rounder but his striking looked poor IMO.

Geiger

Just wondering, were you guys watching this on Bravo or was it being covered on another channel?

Also, is PrideFC being shown on any channels in Ireland?

dlofnep

Bravo and no, Pride isn't been aired in Ireland. I download all the shows.

sleepwalker

whats pride like compared to ufc dlofnep ?

dlofnep

sleepwalker wrote:

whats pride like compared to ufc dlofnep ?

Well, there is alot more production value that goes into the show.. Think of being in a stadium with 50-60 thousand people all of who are respectful and don't boo at fighters, regardless of their nationality or if they are not the most exciting fighter to watch.

I'm not going to say Pride has better fighters than the UFC because the UFC has more weight divisions and both fighters have had limited success in each respective company. It's a never ending argument.

The only difference between Pride and the UFC is that Pride is fought in the ring and the rules are a little more lenient. Stomps are allowed when someone is on the ground and what not. Also, there are no clothing regulations.. Fighters can and sometimes do wear a gi.

Here are some pictures of Pride so you can get an idea of what it's like.

http://www.boxingbar.com/articoli/prideshockwave2004/Shockwave2004.JPG