Monday, June 30, 2014

WSOF 11 Review

                                 WSOF 11

WSOF 11 Predictions
June 23, 2014
By Ryan Porzl

Cody Bollinger vs. Pablo Alfonso
Nickname:                                        Bam Bam         |    The Hurricane
Height:                                                5'10               |          5'8
Age:                                                      23                 |          31
MMA Record (WSOF):                15-3, 1NC (1-0) |     9-6 (1-0)
Arm Length:                                        67 in.              |       69 in.
Team:                               Joe Stevenson's Cobra Kai |   MMA Masters
Weight Class:                                    Bantamweight (135 pounds)

Notes:

Preview: Bollinger is riding a two fight win streak. His recent win was over Tyson Nam by unanimous decision at WSOF 8 (January 18, 2014). Alfonso is riding a three fight win streak. His recent win was over Miguel Torres by unanimous decision at WSOF 6 (October 26, 2013).

Prediction: Bollinger. Bollinger has more going for him. He has an even amount of knockout, submission, and decision wins so he should be comfortable no matter where the fight goes. He's faced tough competition in the past including Din Thomas, Shahbulat Shamhalaev, and Tyson Nam. Alfonso is mostly a submission grappler so his strategy shouldn't be hard to figure out for Bollinger. He's only won by knockout or TKO twice so he's not much of a striker or wields a lot of power. Also training with Joe Stevenson and the other trainer should help since Stevenson has been a very successful fighter in the past.

Melvin Guillard vs. Gesias Cavalcante
Nickname:                           The Young Assassin   |             JZ
Height:                                               5'9               |             5'8
Age:                                                     31               |             30
MMA Record (WSOF):       31-13-2, 2NC (1-0) |   18-7-1, 2NC (2-1)
Arm Length:                                      71 in.            |           71 in.
Team:                                     American Top Team |      Blackzilians
Weight Class:                                    Lightweight (155 pounds)

Notes: Guillard's WSOF debut.

Preview: Guillard is winless in his last two fights (1 loss, 1 no contest). His recent fight was a loss to Michael Johnson by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Manuwa (March 8, 2014). Cavalcante is coming off a win over Tyson Griffin by TKO at WSOF 4 (August 10, 2013).

Prediction: Cavalcante. Cavalcante may not be the same elite fighter he once was during his days in K-1 HERO'S but he's still a very talented and consistant fighter. Outside of an injury, you know what to expect from Cavalcante. Guillard is a talented fighter but he's one of the most inconsistant fighters of his generation. Guillard is one of those head cases where he doesn't always show up mentally for fights, gets careless and gets himself hurt, and constantly switches gyms with ATT being the fourth gym Guillard's called home in three years. Guillard is dangerous standing up but his ground game isn't the best. Not only are nine of his thirteen losses by submission but he's been caught and submitted when he's winning fights or out of nowhere only minutes into a fight. Guillard has seen himself time and time again have a fight won only to get caught with something and lose by submission or knockout. Cavalcante has a lot of good skills. He's a very well-rounded fighter with a near equal amount of knockout and submission wins. He's a very good grappler who's won with a variety of submissions including guillotine chokes, kimuras, armbars, and achilles locks. He's also a good striker and can hold his own in the stand up. Cavalcante also has never been submitted and only knocked out once which also including his trips into kickboxing. In his prime, Cavalcante has also shown a lot of dynamite as he's knocked out or TKOed Michihiro Omigawa, Hiroyuki Takaya, Nam Phan, and Vitor Ribeiro in fights that lasted less than a minute.

Jon Fitch vs. Dennis Hallman
Nickname:                                          None      |       Superman
Height:                                                  6'0        |           5'10
Age:                                                       36        |             38
MMA Record (WSOF):     25-6-1, 1NC (1-1) | 53-14-2, 1NC (0-0)
Arm Length:                                          74 in.    |            72 in.
Team:                American Kickboxing Academy |   Victory Athletics
Weight Class:                                     Welterweight (170 pounds)

Notes: Hallman's WSOF debut. Hallman is replacing Rouismar Palhares, Jake Shields, and Josh Burkman.

Preview: Fitch is coming off a win over Marcelo Alfaya by split decision at WSOF 6 (October 26, 2013). Hallman is riding a three fight win streak. His recent win was over Aleksey Shapovalov by submission at Union of Veterans of Sport: Cup of Champions (December 21, 2013).

Prediction: Fitch. For one thing, Hallman is taking this fight on only three weeks notice which is not a lot of time to prepare a fight especially for a fighter like Fitch. Fitch hasn't looked elite in a long time but he should still take this. In his last fight against Marcelo Afaya, he showed some improved striking which should help him in this fight and he even dropped Afaya. He's a very good wrestler and grinder who is capable of taking fighters down and keeping them down for fifteen minutes. He's also a big welterweight while Hallman is more of a lightweight and hasn't competed in Welterweight in a long time. Hallman is also a grappler and has won most of his fights by submission but Fitch is well known for his submission defense. Even the highly decorated grappler Demian Maia couldn't submit him in fifteen minutes despite trying. While Fitch has lost to Josh Burkman last year by technical submission, Burkman rocked him before the guillotine choke. The problem for Hallman is he doesn't have the power Burkman has and probably won't be able to stun him like Burkman.

Justin Gaethje vs. Nick Newell
Nickname:                                             None            |     Notorious
Height:                                                    5'11            |         5'10
Age:                                                          25              |          28
MMA Record (WSOF):                    11-0 (4-0)        |     11-0 (2-0)
Arm Length:                                           70 in.            |        74 in.
Team:                                      Grudge Training Center | Fighting Arts Academy
Weight Class:                                          Lightweight (155 pounds)

Notes: For the WSOF Lightweight Championship

Preview: Gaethje is undefeated with eleven wins. His recent win was over Rich Patishnock by TKO at WSOF 8 (January 18, 2014). Newell is undefeated with eleven wins Sabah Fadai by submission at WSOF 7 (December 7, 2013).


Prediction: Gaethje. Gaethje has a lot of things going for him. He's a very good striker with a ton of power. He's training at Grudge Training Center with Trevor Wittman who is a very good striking coach. He's also a southpaw which could throw Newell off. He's also a decorated wrestler and can be very explosive. Newell is a talented fighter but has a lot of problems going into this fight. For one, he mostly uses his wrestling to get fighters to the ground and submit them. However, Gaethje is a very good wrestler in his own right and is probably the best wrestler he's faced to date. If he can't get the fight to the ground then he'll be in trouble because he's a one armed fighter and it's doubtful he'll outstrike Gaethje. Newell is also not very familiar with long fights. With the exception of one fight, every other fight has not gone beyond the first round. If this fight goes to the second, third, and beyond it's unknown how Newell will perform. Gaethje has also been in big fights as he's main evented shows before and he's faced name fighters like Drew Fickett, JZ Cavalcante, and Dan Lauzon. Newell has done neither. The fact the pressure could be too much is something to consider since he's never main evented a show like WSOF or faced someone the caliber of Gaethje.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

WSOF 10 Predictions

                                             WSOF 10

WSOF 10 Predictions
June 17, 2014
By Ryan Porzl

Thursday, June 12, 2014

UFC 174 Predictions

                                            UFC 174
UFC 174 Predictions
June 11, 2014
By Ryan Porzl

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Bellator 121 Predictions

                                              Bellator 121


Bellator 121 Predictions
June 1, 2014
By Ryan Porzl

Rodney Wallace vs. Kelly Anundson
Nickname:                          Show Nuff the Master |       Crossface  
Height:                                               5'9                 |           5'11  
Age:                                                     32                |             29  
MMA Record (BMMA):            21-8-1 (1-0)        |        7-2 (1-0)
Arm Length:                                     72 in.             |          72 in.
Team:                                        Chute Boxe Piraju | American Top Team       
Weight Class:                             Light Heavyweight (205 pounds)                         

Notes: Bellator MMA Summer Series 2014 Quarterfinals. Anundson was originally scheduled to face Carlos Eduardo.

Preview: Wallace is riding a two fight win streak. His recent win was over Ariel Gandulla by unanimous decision at Hard Knocks 36 (May 10, 2014). Anundson is riding a four fight win streak. His recent win was over Volkan Oezdemir by submission at Bellator 115 (April 4, 2014).

Predictions: Wallace. This one is the hardest for me to predict since I know almost nothing about either fighter and have gone back and forth. However, I go with Wallace. Wallace is the more experienced fighter as he's competed much more than Anundson has. He's also more well-rounded as he can box and is a former state wrestling champion. Anundson is more of a wrestler and I'm not sure how his striking is. He doesn't show a lot of power as he's only won one fight by knockout. Wallace has also shown very good takedown defense in his fight with Carlos Eduardo. If he can prevent Anundson from taking him down then he should have a very good chance of winning this fight. Anundson has only gone the distance once and that was his debut four years ago. It's possible that if he can't finish Wallace then he could tire out especially if he keeps trying takedowns and can't get them.

Carlos Eduardo vs. Egidijus Valavicius
Nickname:                                    Cachorrao       |             None
Height:                                              6'2               |              6'1
Age:                                                   32               |               35
MMA Record (BMMA):               11-3 (1-1)     |            26-10 (1-0)  
Arm Length:                                   74 in.           |             75 in.
Team:                                           Nova Uniao    |           Flawless MMA     
Weight Class: Light Heavyweight (205 pounds)                            

Notes: Bellator MMA Summer Series 2014 Quarterfinals. Eduardo was originally scheduled to face Kelly Anundson. Valavicius was originally scheduled to face Mikhail Zayats.

Preview: Eduardo is coming off a loss to Rodney Wallace by unanimous decision at Bellator 116 (April 11, 2014). Valavicius is riding a two fight win streak. His recent win was over Atanas Djambazov by TKO at Bellator 110 (February 28, 2014).

Predictions: Valavicius. Valavicius is a longtime veteran with a lot of skills. He's a good striker with a lot of power as fifteen of his wins are by knockout. He has six submission wins under his belt as well so he's dangerous on the ground. His chin is very reliable as he's only lost two times by TKO and one was by doctor's stoppage. Half of his losses have been by way of submission but he hasn't been submitted in eight years. Eduardo is a prospect but his performances aren't what he would've wanted. He won his debut fight but got clipped by his opponent. Valavicius is far more experienced and if he clips Eduardo then he'll finish him. In his recent fight against Rodney Wallace, he didn't seem to have any answer when his takedowns were blocked. Eduardo does have wins by knockout but doesn't seem as comfortable standing as he is on the ground. 

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Terry Davinney
Nickname:                             The African Assassin         |      The Punisher
Height:                                              5'10                         |           6'0
Age:                                                    30                           |       Unknown     
MMA Record (BMMA):             14-12 (0-0)                 |        10-7 (1-0)
Arm Length:                                  78 in.                        |        Unknown
Team:                                          Team Quest                  |      Team Shoot
Weight Class:                               Light Heavyweight (205 pounds)                            

Notes: Sokoudjou's Bellator debut

Preview: Sokoudjou is riding a two fight losing streak. His recent loss was to Konstantin Erokhin by KO at Fight Nights – Battle of Moscow 14 (December 7, 2013). Davinney is riding a two fight losing streak. His recent loss was to Travis Wiuff by TKO at Driller Promotions – O-Town Throwdown (April 12, 2014).

Predictions: Sokoudjou. This could be a toss-up since I don't know anything about Davinney and I do know about Sokoudjou's weaknesses. However, this fight seems like a stylistically favorable fight for Sokoudjou. Sokoudjou's does have a lot of good skills as he's a very decorated judoka and is a good striker with a lot of power. Having a 78 inch reach advantage should also be helpful. Davinney shouldn't be too much of a threat either. Sokoudjou has lost most of his fights by knockout but Davinney isn't much of a knockout fighter as only two of his wins have come via knockout. Davinney is also easy to finish as six of his seven losses have been by way of stoppage. He's been knocked out three times and submitted three times. Sokoudjou has a lot of power so he shouldn't have too much trouble knocking Davinney out. Davinney is mostly a submission fighter but Sokoudjou hasn't been submitted in over five years and his two submission losses were to Lyoto Machida and Renato Sobral.

Austen Heidlage vs. Phelipe Lins
Nickname:                                            None             |       Monstro    
Height:                                                   5'11             |            6'2    
Age:                                                         24               |            28   
MMA Record (BMMA):                    7-0 (0-0)        |       8-0 (1-0)  
Arm Length:                                       Unknown       |         79 in.
Team:                                                  Unknown       |     Nova Uniao      
Weight Class:                                   Light Heavyweight (205 pounds)                            

Notes: Heidlage's Bellator debut. Heidlage is replacing Joey Beltran.


Preview: Heidlage is undefeated with seven wins. His recent win was over Matt Gauthier by submission at Three River Throwdown (April 26, 2014). Lins is undefeated with eight wins. His recent win was over Travis Clark by submission at Bellator 116 (April 11, 2014).


Predictions: Lins. Lins is one of Bellator's biggest prospects and should go far in this tournament. He's a big, strong light heavyweight with a huge reach. Lins has displayed knockout power when he competed in his native Brazil with half of his wins coming by way of knockout. Lins has also shown submission skills by not only winning his recent Bellator debut by submission but it was the fastest submission win in the history of Bellator's light heavyweight division at only 40 seconds. As for Heidlage, there's not much to get behind. For one, he's taken this fight on short notice so it's unknown how prepared he is. Second, I have no idea what his reach is or where he's even training for this fight. Lins will be training at Nova Uniao which is one of the best gyms in the world and he should be ready for this fight.

Eric Prindle vs. James Thompson
Nickname:                      The American Soldier |       Megapunk
Height:                                              6'4             |            6'5
Age:                                                   37              |            35
MMA Record (BMMA): 8-5, 1NC (3-4, 1NC) | 19-14, 1NC (0-0)
Arm Length:                                   79 in.           |       Unknown
Team:                                               CSW          |      Team Trojan     
Weight Class:                                   Heavyweight (265 pounds)                           


Notes: Thompson's Bellator debut


Preview: Prindle is riding a two fight losing streak. His recent loss was to Javy Ayala by TKO at Bellator 111 (March 7, 2014). Thompson is unbeaten in five fights (4 wins, 1 no contest). His recent win was over Colin Robinson by submission at UXC II (March 1, 2014).


Predictions: Prindle. Prindle is the last of a dying breed in Bellator given the evolution of the heavyweight division. Despite being a lummox, he should be able to pull this off. Thompson is definitely a good stylistic opponent for Prindle. While Thompson has a lot of tools for victory, he has a lot of flaws as well. His chin has been considered one of the weakest in the history of the heavyweight mma and it shouldn't take much for Prindle to knock him out. Another problem is the fact that he'll bull rush right to his opponents and fight extremely careless. This type of behavior got him knocked out in only eleven seconds against Alexander Emelianenko in his PRIDE debut. Say what you will on Prindle but he can take a punch. He's only lost by TKO once in his career and that was a doctor's stoppage so Prindle does have a very good chin. He's also a good boxer as was very successful as an amateur where he won many titles in the army. Prindle will also want to win more since his back is against the wall. He's currently winless in his last five fights in Bellator and is on a two fight losing streak. Another loss will see him get released from the promotion so he should be more motivated for this fight.