UFC 101: Penn vs. Florian

[nford]

UFC 101 is approaching and I am looking forward to the main event and co main event as much as about any ppv. I'll go ahead and throw my picks out.

Date: Aug 08, 2009

Location: Philadelphia
Venue: Wachovia Center
Broadcast: Pay per view

MAIN CARD

Champ B.J. Penn vs. Kenny Florian (for UFC lightweight title)
I gotta give it to Penn but only because I think he is the best 155'r in the world. Florian is right behind him...or right ahead we will find out. Could go either way and should be a back and fourth battle. I'm excited to watch this.

Champ Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin (non-title fight)
The most skilled figher in mma vs the poster boy and maybe most exciting fighters in the UFC. This is great because we have all been bored with Silva's recent fights where his opponents didn't want to engage in a fight. Forrest will bring the fight and Silva will bring the pain. I believe Forrest could win this fight or a fight with anyone at 205 but I'm not betting against Anderson. Anderson by TKO in the 3rd.

Johny Hendricks vs. Amir Sadollah
Good luck to Amir. I'm crossing my fingers for him he doesn't hurt himself before the fight with his bad run of recent injuries before his fights. I think he will take this one I'm sure Joe Silva made this fight thinking Amir was more skilled. Amir by armbar in the second.

Ricardo Almeida vs. Kendall Grove
I give it to Da Spida. I think Grove will be able to keep the fight on the feet and Almeida doesn't have the great KO power that Grove has had trouble with in the past. Grove by decision.

Josh Neer vs. Kurt Pellgrino
Two pretty good light weights who should be pretty evenly matched. I would say should be up for fight of the night but with these two main events I'd say one of them will get it. Pellgrino by decision after showcasing superior wrestling.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Shane Nelson vs. Aaron Riley
John Howard vs. Tamdan McCrory
Thales Leites vs. Alessio Sakara
Dan Cramer vs. Matthew Riddle
George Roop vs. George Sotiropoulos*
Jesse Lennox vs. Danillo Villefort ?

[BengalHawk62]

Kenny Florian in an Upset by rear naked choke in the 3rd.

A. Silva wins by rear naked choke or guillitine (sp) in the 2nd.

Those are really the only two fights i care about in this PPV.

[MakeShift]

I think Kenny Florian has the tools to beat BJ Penn....I must admit, I'm rooting for the underdog and I think Kenny can pull off the Upset....I think its going to be an interesting fight, Kenny's Mental Toughness and Heart is thru the roof right now in his career and he's finally putting all his skills together,...and training with GSP can only help, considering he just beat BJ to a pulp....

Anderson Silva vs. Forrest is an awesome fight, and I don't think Forrest is going to go down like James Irvin did. Forrest is a dog and a true fighter. The way I look at it, Forrest has everything to gain from this fight, A. Silva has much more to lose and the pressure is on Silva to get his 10th consecutive UFC win......I don't think Forrest is just going to come in guns blazing, and I would have to believe he is stronger than A. Silva considering Forrest is already a huge LHW. Forrest has the tenacity and tools to defeat Silva........but then again I said the same thing about Franklin and Hendo.....

If I was a betting man, I'd put my money on A. Silva.....but the fan in me wants to see Forrest win....

[nford]

Originally Posted by MakeShift

I think Kenny Florian has the tools to beat BJ Penn....I must admit, I'm rooting for the underdog and I think Kenny can pull off the Upset....I think its going to be an interesting fight, Kenny's Mental Toughness and Heart is thru the roof right now in his career and he's finally putting all his skills together,...and training with GSP can only help, considering he just beat BJ to a pulp....

Anderson Silva vs. Forrest is an awesome fight, and I don't think Forrest is going to go down like James Irvin did. Forrest is a dog and a true fighter. The way I look at it, Forrest has everything to gain from this fight, A. Silva has much more to lose and the pressure is on Silva to get his 10th consecutive UFC win......I don't think Forrest is just going to come in guns blazing, and I would have to believe he is stronger than A. Silva considering Forrest is already a huge LHW. Forrest has the tenacity and tools to defeat Silva........but then again I said the same thing about Franklin and Hendo.....

If I was a betting man, I'd put my money on A. Silva.....but the fan in me wants to see Forrest win....

I agree that training with top competition only helps and GSP knew and had studied BJ so seeing what other people see would also be helpful but to win this fight there is no way that BJ will be able to use any kind of a similar tactic as GSP in my opinion. I will go ahead and say that Kenny will not be able to take BJ down atleast for the first couple rounds until he could wear BJ down.

As for Anderson vs Forrest I agree it is going to be an awesome fight. Forrest losing this fight only knocks him further down the LHW ladder which is a stacked division and where there are always title contenders. A win would put him in line for another title shot right away probably. Depending on how fast Lyoto beats Shogun he could fight Forrest next or after Rampage if he beats Rashad.

I also agree with you BengalHawk that there aren't any other fights with two huge names but there are some good match ups and its the UFC there are always good fights.

[Broken1]

I like Penn in this fight. And nearly all others for that matter.

He has the best hands of any fighter I have seen in the UFC. His punches are always crisp, and extremely accurate.

He beats Florian with his stand up in a very entertaining fight...we all know Florian won't back down...Penn is just too precise though...

[nford]

Originally Posted by Broken1

I like Penn in this fight. And nearly all others for that matter.

He has the best hands of any fighter I have seen in the UFC. His punches are always crisp, and extremely accurate.

He beats Florian with his stand up in a very entertaining fight...we all know Florian won't back down...Penn is just too precise though...

Any thoughts on Forrest vs Anderson?

[Broken1]

Originally Posted by nford

Any thoughts on Forrest vs Anderson?

I want to think Anderson easy. Aside from GSP, I think he is the most complete fighter in the UFC right now.

But Griffin just has so much heart...

I would say I don't know how, be it knockout or submission, but Silva wins this fight. He dominates American fighters, never losing to one. I expect that to continue.

[nford]

tonight!

[Mtank44]

Ah I almost forgot to make my picks!

Quickly: Penn, Silva, Hendricks, Neer

Penn seems to be in his best shape ever, and he is untouchable at 155 when he is in shape and focused. I will be rooting for Ken-Flo (worst nickname in sports) though.

Forest has a ton of heart but a questionable chin. I've heard a lot of prognosticators say that Griffin will try to swarm Silva and make it a dirty boxing contest, but last I check Anderson has one of the nastiest clinches in MMA. Silva via skill/TKO rd. 2 after finding his range, Rd. 1 if Forest trys to push the action too much and gets caught in the clinch.

Amir came in 3.5 lbs under weight, and this is the first time he has cut for 170, which means he messed it up. Not good to be under that much against a wrestler, plus he might be rusty since its been over a year since his last fight.

Neer wins a brawl that will probably be fight of the night!

Should be a fun one!

[nford]

Originally Posted by Mtank44

Ah I almost forgot to make my picks!

Quickly: Penn, Silva, Hendricks, Neer

Penn seems to be in his best shape ever, and he is untouchable at 155 when he is in shape and focused. I will be rooting for Ken-Flo (worst nickname in sports) though.

Forest has a ton of heart but a questionable chin. I've heard a lot of prognosticators say that Griffin will try to swarm Silva and make it a dirty boxing contest, but last I check Anderson has one of the nastiest clinches in MMA. Silva via skill/TKO rd. 2 after finding his range, Rd. 1 if Forest trys to push the action too much and gets caught in the clinch.

Amir came in 3.5 lbs under weight, and this is the first time he has cut for 170, which means he messed it up. Not good to be under that much against a wrestler, plus he might be rusty since its been over a year since his last fight.

Neer wins a brawl that will probably be fight of the night!

Should be a fun one!

Yea I thought about Griffin maybe trying to get the fight in the clinch but I think he would end up like Rich if he did that. From what I have seen it looks like he wants to take the fight to the ground and be on top.

Worst nickname...what about Joe Lauzon. J-Lau. or how about Jason "The Athlete" McDonald. Haha obviously your an athlete your competing in mma anyone in any sport could use that? haha I like both those guys just not their nicknames.

[collegeboi]

Bring that belt back to Hawaii bj.

His cardio improved but not as much as it should be. Smart to let kenny drain himself

4th round sub! His training in cali really payed off, Sanchez next

[nford]

Wow Anderson. What an impressive fight. Anderson's striking is so precise and has so much power behind it. I mean Forrest was hurt badly from each of the three times he was knocked down. Anderson is the man and the best p4p fighter in the world. Think of any fighter in the UFC and who would he not be a favorite against? Lyoto maybe? He said this fight would never happen because they are training partners. Brock because of his pure size and wrestling? These are really the only two guys who I wouldn't pretty much write off Anderson's opponent. I'd like to see him fight someone like Kongo a big HW striker.

BJ dominated. His power was too much for Kenny which changed the fight early in the 1st. Diego has a good chin and should be a good fight with BJ, but after watching BJ's performance I will say it again. He is the best lightweight in the world.

[Beaker]

Silva made Forrest his beyotch. And I was hoping Forrest would win. Most awesome display of pinpoint striking I have witnessed.

[MakeShift]

Right on Yahoo.com they have an article on Silva, that he's considering a permanent move to LHW and giving up his middleweight title. Here's the link below

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slu...yhoo&type=lgns

Personally, if this happpens, I'd love to see Anderson move up... The match ups would be sick and a true test for Silva as the greatest fighter P4P

BJ Penn dominated Kenny in my opinion, and I think BJ's new strength and conditioning coach is exactly what Penn needed,..from my view, BJ seemed the fresher man by Rd. 4

Their saying Deigo is next, and if that does happen,...BJ better have even better conditioning cuz Deigo goes 100mph the whole time,...he proved what he can do against Clay and I don't know if BJ has fought a guy like Deigo and Deigo held his own OK in the WW Division so he's a big 155 when he steps into the octagon.

but the talk of Anderson giving up his belt to move up in weight permanently is pretty wild, considering Rich moved up in weight cuz he couldn't beat Silva , and in the end, I don't think the Silva-Lyoto friendship matters, Dana White said in the fan Q&A session that fight will happen....the Q&A session was real nice also, they have the whole thing on UFC.com in the video archive.

[bushy #2]

Originally Posted by Beaker

Silva made Forrest his beyotch. And I was hoping Forrest would win. Most awesome display of pinpoint striking I have witnessed.

forrest went down fron a jab...it wasnt hard, yes it was accurate but it wasnt hard, then he put his hands up as if to say "i quit", then ran out of the cage and back to his lockeroom.

that was the weakest display i have ever seen put on by forrest and i can only come to two conclusions....either he came unprepared(and i dought he came unprepared for the silva) or he threw the fight for some reason? i have seen forrest beaten to the point that i thought he would die, and last night he flop's over a jab that came from silva when he was backpeddling...come on!!!!!

[Broken1]

Originally Posted by bushy #2

forrest went down fron a jab...it wasnt hard, yes it was accurate but it wasnt hard, then he put his hands up as if to say "i quit", then ran out of the cage and back to his lockeroom.

that was the weakest display i have ever seen put on by forrest and i can only come to two conclusions....either he came unprepared(and i dought he came unprepared for the silva) or he threw the fight for some reason? i have seen forrest beaten to the point that i thought he would die, and last night he flop's over a jab that came from silva when he was backpeddling...come on!!!!!

Forrest was already hurt, that jab was clean, jarred Griffin's head, and more than anything caught him with something he didn't see. Griffin was moving in trying to strike, off balance, and was just hit with a punch he didn't see coming.

I don't believe he threw that fight. He has no reason to do so. He was just totally overmatched by Silva, who hurt Griffin with every punch he threw.

[MakeShift]

The only fighter that ever actually withstood Anderson Silva's attacks to the point of bloody, smashed nasal cavity beat down was against Rich Franklin both times, and that's why to this day, Silva will say Rich has been his toughest opponent he's ever fought, but I also thought, if there's anyone that could take that kind of beating too, was Forrest Griffin, but the results was the exact opposite.

Anderson Silva completely schooled Griffin, and I thought it was funny when Silva knocked Forrest down, and actually helped him back up to his feet, then dance around, pound on his chest and tell Forrest to "Bring It" with his hands, only to step back and drop Forrest again.......haha, wow

but like Forrest said in a pre fight interview, "Anderson Silva just makes great fighters look bad"....

[Mtank44]

Originally Posted by bushy #2

forrest went down fron a jab...it wasnt hard, yes it was accurate but it wasnt hard, then he put his hands up as if to say "i quit", then ran out of the cage and back to his lockeroom.

that was the weakest display i have ever seen put on by forrest and i can only come to two conclusions....either he came unprepared(and i dought he came unprepared for the silva) or he threw the fight for some reason? i have seen forrest beaten to the point that i thought he would die, and last night he flop's over a jab that came from silva when he was backpeddling...come on!!!!!

As Broken1 said, he was hurt. Forrest had a dislocated jaw already and had lost his hearing that's why he ran out of the ring. He definitely did not throw the fight.

Anderson was simply amazing last night. He made a former LHW Champion look like he had never been in a fight in his life. His head movement was on par with the best boxers in the world (watch the whiffs leading to the second knockdown, its like he was in the matrix!) and Forrest's misses left him wide open for punishment.

Silva is just on another level, and I don't think anyone outside the HW division can beat him save Lyoto and 1) They pretty much refuse to fight one another and 2) if they do fight, I bet it will end up being a glorified sparring session because of their friendship. I do support a permanent move to LHW after he beats Hendo again just so we can see some new matchups for him.

BJ just can't be beat at 155. He hasn't lost a bout at that weight since 2002! Diego will only give him problems if he loses his focus, and I don't see that happening quite yet, I think he will bust his rear until he can somehow get Dana to give him another shot at GSP. Diego may have held his own at WW, but BJ has dabbled there as well and is in fact a former UFC WW champion so I don't think that will be an issue haha.

[Beaker]

Originally Posted by bushy #2

forrest went down fron a jab...it wasnt hard, yes it was accurate but it wasnt hard, then he put his hands up as if to say "i quit", then ran out of the cage and back to his lockeroom.

that was the weakest display i have ever seen put on by forrest and i can only come to two conclusions....either he came unprepared(and i dought he came unprepared for the silva) or he threw the fight for some reason? i have seen forrest beaten to the point that i thought he would die, and last night he flop's over a jab that came from silva when he was backpeddling...come on!!!!!

Jab or not it was pinpoint where it had to be for a knockout. Do you know that a knockout only requires 7 lbs of pressure if delivered in the right spot at the right angle? But yes, Forrest did run away. Dana said he thinks Forrest could be in Mexico by now and hasnt seen or spoken to him.

[MakeShift]

Originally Posted by Mtank44

As Broken1 said, he was hurt. Forrest had a dislocated jaw already and had lost his hearing that's why he ran out of the ring. He definitely did not throw the fight.

Forrest was not hurt at all, no broken or dislocated jaw...he's fine....just his ego is hurt.....here's the link

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/...9333&zoneid=13

[Mtank44]

Originally Posted by MakeShift

Forrest was not hurt at all, no broken or dislocated jaw...he's fine....just his ego is hurt.....here's the link

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/...9333&zoneid=13

Thanks for the update, I was going off of those "previous reports" of his injury. That makes the backpeddling jab KO all the more impressive haha

[nford]

If anyone actually thinks that Forrest threw the fight or just gave up your crazy. Forrest got knocked down twice before that and was obviously hurt. Silva's striking is amazingly accurate. Look at how he knew exactly what the distance was before he threw the last jab to knock Forrest out. Forrest was coming forward throwing punches and Anderson would just take a step back. The last punch Forrest threw landed about 1/2 inch from Anderson's chin and he was still coming forward into Anderson's punch. Forrest did not give up he was completely outclassed similar to Rich Franklin. Forrest is a super tough guy who was an underdog in TUF, an underdog in against Shogun who he beat 3 rounds then choked out. He was an underdog against Rampage who he beat in a decision.

As for moving up in weight. I do not think Silva will ever give up his belt at MW and I do not think he will ever try to gain the LHW belt unless somethin happens to Machida and he loses the belt.