DIEGO SANCHEZ: BETTER OFF AT 155?

 By John Gagne

 

 Since Diego has been in the UFC he has chose to fight out of his weight class since. He was never a big middleweight when he won the first season of TUF. When he dropped to welterweight I thought he would be much better suited for that division. But his last four fights have been less then stellar. Two of those four were losses, and the other two were less than impressive wins over sub-par competition.

 

Now we have a chance to see Diego to perform at what I believe is his true weight class. He will be large for a lightweight, a lot larger than he was at welterweight. He will finally have a chance to fight guys smaller than him. 

 

However, his first test will not be an easy one. He will take on Joe Stevenson, who has been on a slight decline as of late. Hopefully this fight will get Diego to realize that this weight class will suit his style and size better.

 

He already holds a win over number one contender Kenny Florian. Although that fight took place at middleweight, and Kenny has grown amensly as a fighter. The potential for a rematch at lightweight already has me wondering who will take it.

 

I also believe this move to lightweight creates a more realistic chance for Diego to attain a UFC title. He lost to the number three and four welterweight fighters, so that leads me to believe he would lose to GSP. Considering GSP beat both of the fighters that beat Diego. Sanchez can match up well with anyone in that weight class. He has a very good ground game. Both in submissions and submission defense, and both sides of the wrestling game, as well as cardio for days. If he an tune his striking game a little more he has a chance to fight for the lightweight title by the end of 2009 beginning of 2010. 

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ULTIMATE FIGHT NIGHT: LAUZON VS. STEPHENS

 By John Gagne

 

 This fight does not have the potential to be a ground battle like the Franca vs. Lauzon. But what it does have is two tough as nails fighters, who are looking to move up the UFC lightweight ranks. This fight will be a battle. Each fighter brings a different game to the table.

 Joe Lauzon started off his career as a premier grappler for NAGA or the North American Grappling Association. These grappling events featured Joe in many tough superfights. He also made a name for him self in the New England MMA scene at a very young age.

 Joe didn’t get his big break until UFC 63. Where we saw Joe TKO MMA legend Jens “Little Evil” Pulver. Joe also holds a victory over WEC featherweight champ Mike Thomas Brown. Joe has only seen defeat two times in his career in the octagon. The first was against fellow New Englander Kenny “Ken Flo” Florian. And the second loss was Manny Gamburyan in the semi-finals of TUF 5.

Jeremy Stephens is no slouch. He is a tough guy that’s very well rounded. Besides Spencer Fisher, I believe Joe Lauzon will be he toughest test in UFC. Most of Jeremy’s victories are via TKO or KO. Knowing that we can all assume he wants a stand up war. Even though Joe Lauzon has improved his striking. I feel the edge goes to Stephens.

However Jeremy Stephens has suffered two of his three losses by submission. If you look at Joes record on the other hand. He has most of his wins via submission. It will be interesting to see how this fight unfolds. Can Joe Lauzon get Stephens down? I think so, that’s why I am taking him in the second round rear naked choke or heel hook.

The odds for this fight are pretty good. The bookmakers are not making Joe a huge favorite. I would take him hands down. 

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MMA-NEWS.NET POUND-FOR-POUND TOP TEN

 

By John Gagne

 

 

1. ANDERSON SILVA
2. GEORGES ST. PIERRE
3. FEDOR EMELIANEKO
4. BJ PENN
5. MIGUEL TORRES
6. RASHAD EVANS
7. QUINTON JACKSON
8. THIAGO ALVES
9. FRANK MIR
10. MIKE THOMAS BROWN

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John’s UFC 94 Predictions and Worth the bet!
UFC 94 Fight	John’s Pick	Method	Round	Minute	Worth the bet?
Georges St-Pierre v. BJ Penn	Winner: BJ Penn	Technical Knock Out	4	3	Yes - BET!
Lyoto Machida v. Thiago Silva	Winner: Lyoto Machida	Unanimous Decision	3	5	Yes - BET!
Stephan Bonnar v. Jon Jones	Winner: Jon Jones	Unanimous Decision	3	5	Yes - BET!
Manny Gamburyan v. Thiago Tavares	Winner: Manny Gamburyan	Technical Knock Out	1	4	Yes - BET!
Jake O’Brien v. Christian Wellisch	Winner: Jake O’Brien	Unanimous Decision	3	5	Yes - BET!
Matt Arroyo v. Dan Cramer	Winner: Dan Cramer	Technical Knock Out	2	3	Yes - BET!
Chris Wilson v. John Howard	Winner: Chris Wilson	Submission (Arm Lock)	1	4	Not Worth It
Jon Fitch v. Akihiro Gono	Winner: Jon Fitch	Technical Knock Out	2	3	Not Worth It
Nate Diaz v. Clay Guida	Winner: Clay Guida	Unanimous Decision	3	5	Yes - BET!
Karo Parisyan v. Dong Hyun Kim	Winner: Karo Parisyan	Technical Knock Out	2	3	Not Worth It

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THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF BJ PENN

By John Gagne

 

We all know that BJ Penn posses an amazing Brazilian Ju-Jitsu game, but what else does he offer. And do his weaknesses out weigh his strengths? I will review them all, and take a look at the components that make up a great fighter. And if being a great fighter in one aspect, while lacking in others. Will help or hurt him, and how much.

 

 

STRENGTHS

1. BJJ
2. IMPROVED STRIKING
3. GREAT GAME PLANS
4. TAKEDOWN DEFENSE
5. WARRIOR SPIRIT
6. ABILITY TO PSYCH OUT AN OPPONENT
7. RAW TALENT
8. FLEXIBILITY AND DEXTERITY

 WEAKNESSES       

1. DOES NOT ALWAYS TRAIN AS HARD AS HE SHOULD
2. GETS COCKY IN SOME CASES
3. CARDIO IS NOT WHERE IT SHOULD BE
4. LACKS ELITE TRAINING PARTNERS

      

 Out of those strengths and weaknesses. BJ has many more strengths then weaknesses. Now we have to weigh them all. We will see how much these strengths and weaknesses. And figure out when it comes to the total package as a fighter, which prevails.

 

The biggest strength is without a doubt is his BJJ ability. Followed closely by his warrior spirit. These I feel are the most significant out of all BJ’s strengths. He out classes everyone he faces on the ground. And when BJ wants to fight, he is more driven then many other fighters. His Hawaiian spirit is felt every time he steps in the cage. Some would also say he has a little bit of a crazy side. As we have seen when he licks the blood of his gloves after any victory where his opponent bleeds.

 

As for his weaknesses, the number one is his ability to stay motivated while training. BJ has shown in many fights; like the second Matt Hughes fight or the first fight with GSP. That he does not always show up prepared. I believe his training partners and talent all attest to this. He has been known to have everyday fighters with training with him. Now I am not taking anything away from his camp. We just do not see the big names helping his preparations. His amazing talent is also weakness. Things come so easy to BJ, he thinks that at 80% he is better than most at 100%. In some cases it’s true, but that will not fly with GSP.

 

If I had to say pick between which BJ possesses, more strengths or weaknesses. I pick strengths. Even though the weaknesses BJ has may directly cause his demise. I do feel that his strengths will make up for it.

 

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I don’t know if any of you caught the UFC Primetime last night on Spike TV, but I am actually really enjoying these background looks into the top fighter’s training camps.  First, I am really impressed with George St Pierre’s training camp and facility.  They seem to be taking this to the extreme of serious and watching GSP train (even if it’s just a glimpse) is incredible.  I was actually really impressed with some of the athleticism show by George St. Pierre.

BJ Penn’s camp and training on the other hand looked more relaxed.   Maybe because of the way they presented it with BJ Penn training in Hawaii while GSP trains in the harsh cold of Canada.  But BJ said something last night that caught my attention.  He said “I’ve been training this way for 10 years and it works for me”.  Obviously the man knows what he’s doing and how to be successful.  Another quote I liked I think came from his brother saying that BJ was a fighter and GSP is just an athlete.  That’s a pretty powerful statement.

I’m really, really looking forward to this UFC fight.  I think the UFC Primetime episodes definitely helped peak my interest too.

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This weekend in Dublin, Ireland, UFC 93 will be kicking off with a great Main Event of two huge names in MMA… Rich “Ace” Franklin and Dan “Hendo” Henderson. The winner of this fight should catapult himself right into the middle of the Light Heavyweight title picture to challenge the current champ, Rashad Evans. Clearly understand this…it’s extremely easy to sit on my couch eating pizza and slamming beer to be critical of fighters when the heaviest workload I’ll be doing is racing to the bathroom between fights. Although, after 16 years of watching MMA evolve into the most complete and exciting combat sport on the face of the planet, I feel that it’s my duty to throw a few opinions out there to create some discussion on how these fights will go. With that being said, let’s get into it…

Rich Franklin (24-3) vs. Dan Henderson (23-7)
This fight will be very exciting with a lot of punches being thrown both standing and on the ground. These athletes are at a very high level with their strength and conditioning and both know how to win.

Franklin has only three loses in his career and two are from Anderson Silva (pound-for-pound the best) and one coming from Lyoto Machida (undefeated). That’s one hell of a resume, but outside of those two fighters, he’s beaten a truck load of “B” fighters and has never taken out an A-lister. He has good hands, solid muy thai, high pressure ground-n-pound, and decent wrestling. He is a good representative of the modern fighter demonstrating a high level of intelligence, solid game planning, and the ability to adapt within the octagon when adjustments are needed. This makes him the complete package.

Henderson on the other hand is a throw back to the Gladiators. He is truly a bad-ass and the alpha male. With a long history of training with Randy Couture and Matt Lindland, a resume of wins over many of the industry’s best light heavy and middleweight fighters, and a little asterisk by his name that says Olympian, there are very few names in the history of this sport that can provide a more decorated and celebrated career than Hendo.

Ultimately, the fight will be won upon who can apply and execute their game plan better than their opponent. I see the fight being a technical bout initially with Franklin possibly out scoring Henderson in the first round with more disciplined hands, but Henderson will turn this bout into a dog fight and end up bull dogging Franklin in the later rounds. His dirty boxing will slow Franklin’s pace and movement down allowing Henderson to score takedowns and applying his heavy ground-n-pound attack. Eventually, Franklin will succumb to the overwhelming pressure and will fatigue because he has never seen the strength or animosity of a wrestler of this magnitude. My prediction is Henderson by TKO in the third.

-MMA Punch Fight Analyst Jon Terrazas

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