James Wilks vs Claude Patrick
Welterweight Division - 170lbs
I'll just mention it now, the way the UFC operates, any time they have a card in England, it will be loaded with English fighters. Any time they have a card in Canada, it's full of guys with beady little eyes and flapping heads. So isn't it fitting that they start this card off with the winner of The Ultimate Fighter: Team US vs Team UK, James Wilks. Wilks proved to be a surprise finalist on TUF, utilizing his length and ground skills.
Patrick comes in with a wrestling background and is known for having great strength for a welterweight. 9 of his 12 victories have come via submission, with 6 of those coming from Guillotine Choke.
Both of these fighters are more comfortable on the ground, attempting submissions. Since Patrick holds an advantage in the wrestling department, there is a chance Wilks may try to keep this one on the feet. He will most certainly have trouble warding off Patrick's takedown attempts, and it will only be a matter of time before he is dragged down to the mat. Expect to see Claude walk away with another submission victory under his belt. After recently releasing former TUF winner Efrain Escudero, don't be surprised if the UFC decides to let Wilks go following this bout, as there is little room in the ever-growing welterweight division.
Cheick Kongo vs Travis Browne
Heavyweight Division - 265lbs
Kongo is 1-2 in his past three bouts, having lost consecutive fights to Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir before picking up a much needed win over Paul Buentello. Another win here is vital for Kongo if he has any hope of remaining relevant in the suddenly deep heavyweight division.
Browne came into the UFC with a 9-0 record, 7 of those wins coming from T(KO). He finished off TUF alum James McSweeney in the first round, and has now earned himself a shot at more legitimate competition.
Kongo is a specimen. He is probably the last person I would want to see standing across from me in the Octagon. He has shown a brutal killer instinct in his fights against CroCop, Wellisch, Evensen, and Al-Turk. His main weakness lies in his ground game, which was exploited by Cain Velasquez when the two fought last year. Fortunately for Kongo, there is very little chance Browne will take this fight to the ground, as he too also loves to stand and bang it out. Kongo should hold a distinct advantage in the speed department, allowing him to beat Browne to the punch in most exchanges. At 6'7, Browne is a tall and lumbering fighter, and in the event that he eats a shot and goes down, it is unlikely he will be able to get back to his feet with haste. Expect Kongo to come out and overwhelm his opponent en route to another TKO beat down in the first round.
John Hathaway vs Mike Pyle
Welterweight Division - 170lbs
Pyle is an experienced fighter, having fought names like Rampage, Jake Shields, Jon Fitch, and Shonie Carter, while accumulating a 19-7 record. Hathaway (Englishman) on the other hand has been fighting only 4 years and has been on a tear, going 14-0 since 2006.
Hathaway shocked much of the MMA world last May when he dominated perennial contender Diego Sanchez for three rounds. Another win here for Hathaway would almost certainly earn him a shot at an elite contender such as Fitch/Alves/Hardy/Condit/Shields/Kampmann (WW division is kinda stacked).
Pyle is 2-2 since entering into the UFC. He did defeat Jon Fitch when they fought, although it was back in 2002. Since then Pyle has shown a willingness to engage with anyone, but seems to always come out on the short end when facing top level opposition.
Pyle is one of those fighters who goes in and fights. With a strong BJJ background behind him, Pyle doesn't mind engaging on the feet or on the ground. In this bout against Hathaway, Pyle may be in a little over his head. Hathaway showed an incredibly strong wrestling game against Sanchez which we are NOT used to seeing from English fighters (wrestling has normally been their weak point). Hathaway has shown a good amount of power and technique on the feet as well, both of which will certainly cause problems for Pyle. Expect the Englishman to overwhelm Pyle early on the feet before dragging him to the mat and finishing him off with GnP, leaving him laying dead on the mat like a Pyle of shit. ...sorry, just had to get that one out. But seriously, Hathaway looks like the best fighter to come out of England thus far. This kid is legit.
Carlos Condit vs Dan Hardy
Welterweight Division - 170lbs
This fight is the main reason I will be watching this card. Hardy (Englishman) finds himself in the Octagon for the first time since dropping a 5 round decision to champion Georges St. Pierre. Hardy had been riding a 12 fight win streak up to that point, excluding a DQ loss in 2007 due to groin kicks. It will be interesting to see if the loss has shaken Hardy's confidence. Before the GSP fight, we heard plenty of trash talk out of the kid from Nottingham, but for this fight he has been a bit more quiet.
Former WEC welterweight champion Condit comes into this fight on the back of a potential Fight of the Year candidate when he defeated Rory MacDonald in June. If you haven't seen the fight I highly recommend watching it. Condit has always been a very entertaining fighter, showing a great killer instinct in the ring, and tremendous skill both striking and on the ground.
I'm very interested to see how this fight ultimately plays out. While Condit is down to bang with anyone on the feet, he doesn't have the best striking. He went toe to toe with Martin Kampmann for three rounds and lost via decision. Against a guy like Hardy, who relies almost entirely on his hands and his power, Condit probably won't make it three rounds if Hardy is able to connect flush. This means Condit's best bet is to take Hardy to the ground. Rarely one to finish a fight with ground and pound, Condit relies more on his slick ground game to pull off any submission he can get a hold of. Condit's one problem is that he takes big risks when going for submissions. Rather than maintaining dominant positions and trying to pass, Condit has been known to make wild attempts at armbars and triangle chokes as well as trying to secure his opponent's back. Having only been submitted 3 times in 30 fights, Hardy has shown a great ability to escape submissions, especially armbars (watch his fight against GSP). If this fight goes as I expect, which I really hope it does, it will be a back and forth war between Hardy and Condit, going from exchanges on the feet to transitions on the ground back to the feet and back down to the mat until the bell sounds at the end of the third round. Almost a guaranteed fight of the night, can't wait for this one. I'm 100% rooting for Condit in this one, but from an analytical standup, I think Hardy will take it.
MAIN EVENT
Michael Bisping vs Yoshihiro Akiyama
Middleweight Division - 185lbs
It honestly disgusts me that this is a main event. Akiyama, also known as "Sexyama", has an enormous gathering in Japan. I suspect the reason he is on the main event is to attract that Japanese audience. I mean, the guy lost his last bout against Chris Leben, and now he's in the main event? Come on.
Bisping (Englishman) hasn't been any more impressive. After defeating Chris Leben in 2008, Bisping was 3-0 in the middleweight division and on the verge of a title shot. He then got the Hendo Hammer from Hell - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzP91Rn0wSE&feature=related, how about a slow-mo replay - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHHX0YboWTM.
So anyways, Bisping got KTFO and is now 2-2 since that win against Leben. If he wants any chance of staying relevant in the MW division, he needs a win here over Akiyama. Even though this division is pretty thin right now, Bisping hasn't really impressed anyone recently and is pretty much on everyone's shit list. On the other hand, is Bisping wins, he could be looking at potential fights against Okami/Marquardt, Leben, Belcher, or Maia. Sadly, those are the elite fighters right now in the UFC MW division. No wonder Anderson Silva has been giving everyone golden showers.
On to the fight. Though Bisping doesn't have much power in his hands, his strength has always been his ability to put together combinations using his hands, feet, knees and anything else he can throw at you. Similar to Nick Diaz, he aims to wear down his opponents through an accumulation of shots, not just one big blow. Sadly, Akiyama is able to take a hell of a shot. In his bout with Leben, Akiyama went toe to toe with the Crippler for almost three rounds, eating shots and firing right back. If your unaware, Chris Leben has blocks of cement for hands. If this kid hits you clean, you're going to sleep, end of story. This means Akiyama should have no problem eating whatever shots Bisping throws at him while firing shots right back.
Akiyama's greatest strength lies in his grappling. A highly accomplished judo practitioner, Akiyama is the type of fighter who tends to abandon any gameplan and just let the fight go wherever it goes. Because of this attitude, many times he ends up not even using his judo and instead throwing punches. As far as this fight goes, Bisping is good at staying on his fight, and if taken down, good at getting back up. So while Akiyama holds a substantial advantage in the clinch department, it probably won't be too much of a factor. I expect these guys to stand and exchange for three rounds. I don't know if either of them has enough power to put the other one away, but there is definitely a chance that this one ends with a TKO at some point. I see Akiyama taking it, due to the fact that he outworked both Alan Belcher and Chris Leben on the feet, and if Akiyama IS able to execute a judo throw or two, they could be very beneficial in winning rounds.
So there it is, five free UFC bouts, four of which feature English bastards, to feast your eyes on this Saturday. While these fights do have promise to be exciting, it's a shame that none of them have any immediate title implications. Any of the winners from this card will probably need at least 2 more victories before they could earn a shot at the title, especially the Hardy-Condit and Hathaway-Pyle fights due to the fact the welterweight division is absolutely loaded with talent. Keep on eye on not only Hathaway, but also upcoming welterweights Ricky Story and Mike Pierce, as they have been slowly working their ways up through the division and crushing everyone in their path.
I have to say, I am much more excited to post my predictions for next week's UFC event which has title implications in almost every bout. Honestly all five fights on the main card are more interesting than the Bisping vs Akiyama matchup. There is also actually a title fight on the card, which is good news to hear since the UFC is having more and more cards featuring non-title fights as the main event. Anyways, tune in this Saturday to at least check out Hardy and Condit go to war. I was right when I told everyone to watch Jose Aldo, so do the right thing, and watch the free event.
LW - Edgar, Florian, Ross Pearson, "Baby" Joe Lauzon
WW - Diaz bros, Kampmann, Koscheck, John Howard
MW - Wanderlei, Belcher
LHW - Rich Franklin, Rampage, Mousasi, Jon Bones
HW - Big Country, JDS, Brett Rogers, Todd Duffee
WW - Diaz bros, Kampmann, Koscheck, John Howard
MW - Wanderlei, Belcher
LHW - Rich Franklin, Rampage, Mousasi, Jon Bones
HW - Big Country, JDS, Brett Rogers, Todd Duffee
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