UFC 81

What's the point of running a blog if you can't have the world see what you're thinking? Here are some of my thoughts on UFC 81.

1) Frank Mir is back! UFC 81 is the first time I've seen the "old" Frank Mir since his destruction of Tim Sylvia before his big accident. This happens just in the nick of time as the UFC's heavyweight division was sorely needing a boost in the arm...more on that later.

2) Brock Lesnar is a threat. Go back and watch Tank Abbott vs Frank Mir, then watch Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir. What you'll notice is that Lesnar is a genuine threat to anyone in the UFC heavyweight division. He is strong and his takedowns were awe inspiring. His GNP looked solid (with the exception of the over anxious hit to the back of Mir's head. Lesnar just needs a little more experience, then watch out heavyweights.

3) Tim Sylvia redeems himself. In an ironic turn, it took Tim Sylvia loosing a match for him to redeem himself as a fighter. I see fans lining up to see the next Sylvia fight. Tim made this one exciting and his comments in defeat should endear himself to UFC fans.

4) Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is the toughest man alive! Sure, Fedor is the worlds best heavyweight MMA fighter. Sure Mirko is a better striker, but nobody takes punishment, then comes back like Big Nog. Watch Nog vs Sapp, Nog vs Cro Cop, Nog vs Herring and now Nog vs Sylvia. The man is tough as nails and is BJJ is outstanding.

Other fighters who looked really good were Chris Lytle and Nate Marquardt.

On the Pride vs UFC issue. I hope that UFC 81 helped put the whole Pride vs UFC rivalry behind us. Werdum defeated Gonzaga in 80, Nog beat Sylvia, Rampage holds a title, Silva holds another. Let's face it, the Pride and UFC fighters are and were on par with each other...styles make fights, let's just watch the next year and enjoy fighter vs fighter and not "former Pride fighter vs UFC fighter".

I hope you guys enjoyed UFC 81 as much as I did, I hope to see some of you either in Columbus or Montreal (if only I could get tickets to Montreal...the UFC fight club presale is already sold out...I hope more become available on Thursday for newsletter, then Friday for general).

UFC 81 is being held on February 2nd, 2008. It features a heavyweight title bout and the UFC debut of Brock Lesnar. I'll be posting the full UFC 81 results on fight night. For now, take a look at the UFC 81 fight card below.

UFC 81 Fight Card

Main Event

• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Tim Sylvia
  
• Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir
  
  Undercard
  
• Jeremy Horn vs. Nate Marquardt
  
• Marvin Eastman vs. Terry Martin
  
• Ricardo Almeida vs. Rob Young
  
• Tyson Griffin vs. Gleison Tibau
  
• Kyle Bradley vs. Chris Lytle
  
• Tim Boetsch VS. David Heath
  
• Rob Emerson vs. Keita Nakamura
  

Full UFC 81 results will appear after the jump on fight night. Continue reading "UFC 81 Results" »

Here are the official UFC Results UFC 81 Predictions. For UFC 81 Results, come back here on fight night (February 2nd, 2008.

Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir
I have no idea who most people are picking in this one. I suspect that those who've watched a lot of WWE wrestling will pick Brock Lesnar and those who have studied, or are big fans of Jiu Jitsu will pick Frank Mir. I give a slight edge in the standup to Frank Mir, mostly due to his height advantage and the fact that he's been training MMA longer than Lesnar. The edge in wrestling obviously goes to Brock Lesnar due to his college wrestling background. In the submission department again the nod goes to Frank Mir.

My UFC 81 Prediction for this fight is Frank Mir by submission.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Tim Sylvia
Pride vs UFC? Striker vs Submission specialist? Champion vs Champion? Yes on all counts. Striking edge goes to Sylvia, but only for his outside game and ability to use his reach. Big Nog throws more combinations than Silvia does, but not with as much power. On the ground there should be little doubt that Big Nog is better. If Nogueira can get this to the ground then I think Tim Sylvia is in big trouble.

My prediction is a submission victory for Nogueira, but I can see Tim getting a boring 5 round decision victory if Big Nog is unable to take this one to the ground.

Jeremy Horn vs. Nate Marquardt
I'm a fan of Jeremy Horn, but this is the "what have you shown me lately" world if MMA. I have to take Nate Marquardt in this matchup.

Marvin Eastman vs. Terry Martin

Eastman always seems to be involved in good fights and since he's down to 185 I think that his power will really shine. I pick Marvin Eastman by KO.

Other fights on the card are:

Ricardo Almeida vs. Alan Belcher
Tyson Griffin vs. Gleison Tibau
Kyle Bradley vs. Chris Lytle
Tim Boetsch VS. David Heath
Rob Emerson vs. Keita Nakamura

Don't forget to come back to ufcresultslive.com for UFC 81 Results

Tim Sylvia has stated that he will be fighting at UFC 81 on February 2nd. It's also known that Randy Couture turned down an offer to fight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira around the same event. So, the question at hand is:

Will Tim Sylvia be fighting Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the vacant title on February 2nd? My opinion is an emphatic yes.

UFC 81 will also feature the UFC debut of Brock Lesnar when he takes on former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir.

There are a number of UFC events on the horizon. Of course the one everybody is waiting for is UFC 79 where Matt Hughes will take on Georges St Pierre for the third time and for me it doesn't get any better than Wanderlei Silva stepping into the Octagon against Chuck Liddell.

There are a few good UFC events to watch in the upcoming two months:

UFC best of 2007 (December 4th on Spike)
Ultimate Fighter Finale (December 8th on Spike)
- Featuring Clay Guida vs Roger Huerta (and Ultimate Fighter finals)
UFC 79 (December 29th on PPV)
- Featuring Chuck Liddell vs Wanerlei Silva and Matt Hughes vs Georges St Pierre
UFC Fight Night (January 23rd on Spike)
UFC 80 (January 19th on ? (in England, possibly Spike?)
- Featuring BJ Penn vs Joe Stevenson
UFC 81 (February 2nd on PPV)
- Featuring Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir

The best of 2007 is sure to be a hit with UFC fans and it will of course be free on Spike TV.

December 8th will showcase some of the best two fighters in the 155lb division. Clay Guida and Roger Huerta are two fighters who "bring it" every time they step into the cage. I don't care where this fight goes, it will be exciting.

What more can I say about the December 29th card. If you are going to order one UFC PPV this year, then order this card. The two co main event bouts will be spectacular and the card is stacked from end to end. What a nice late Christmas present from the UFC to the fans...if only it was free too.

On January 19th the UFC lightweight picture becomes a bit clearer as BJ Penn (one of my all time favorites) takes on Joe Stevenson. These are two submission masters, but I think the difference here may be experience...BJ Penn is good everywhere and he's made of rubber. I like Joe Stevenson, but I just don't see any position where he has an advantage over Penn.

On January 23rd, 2008 Corey Hill will once again step into the Octagon. If you watched the 155lb season of the Ultimate Fighter you will definitely remember hill. After all, how many 155lb fighters walk around at 6 feet 4 inches?

Despite his inexperience, Hill had good showings during the show with a victory over Rob Emerson and a loss to eventual winner Nate Diaz.

Hill brings a good amatuer wrestling background and (of course) a decisive reach advantage into every fight.

Gray Maynard will also be fighting on January 23d. Maynard had a good showing and was an early favorite to take the season.

On February 2nd we get to find out two things.
1) Is Frank Mir going to make another run at the UFC heavyweight title?
2) Is Brock Lesnar for real?

Of course, UFC Results will have the full event results here.