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UFC 144 Preview – Hioki vs. Palaszewski

For all of you MMAVictor.com’s Fantasy MMA tournament participants it is time to hammer out the Hioki vs Palaszewski pick.  Speaking of MMAVictor.com, if you have not signed up yet for any of the free or paid MMA tourneys what are you waiting for?  It is free to sign up, no obligations and you we have three free cash payout tournaments available for UFC 144 right now!  Sign up here.

Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski

Five years ago I had the opportunity to sit front row and watch Bartimus in action at the IFL in Connecticut.  From that very minute I was hooked!  Sure, the kid has had some ups-and-downs over the years, but you cannot argue the kids heart and skill!   Hatsu is another great fighter too with some of the sickest BJJ submissions in the game that cannot go unnoticed.  This is going to make for an intriguing match up for the Japanese fans to watch and the Bartimus fans like myself to be on pins and needles till the end!

Now, conventional wisdom points this fight directly to a decision outcome, but I honestly don’t see that happening.  Bartimus likes finishing fights and if he makes the mistake of opening himself up to a triangle or rear-naked choke this ending will be fireworks for Hatsu.  With both of these fighters potentially being in-line for a shot at Aldo this fight has even more increased meaning too that should excite everyone watching.

Anyway, I believe this increased pressure is going to be the key to Bartimus’s game and I cannot see Hatsu being able to get Bartimus in that vulnerable position.  Bartimus is too experienced of a fighter to play the submission defense game for three straight rounds.  In the end, I see Bartimus stealing a TKO victory late in the second round.

Don’t agree with me on this pick?  That is cool – test your luck against me on MMAVictor.com’s free and cash tournaments for UFC144.  Trust me, I love taking money from people!

~Pete D.  (Follow me on twitter – @longhorns978)
MMAVictor.com Writer
Think you know MMA? Fantasy MMA at MMAVictor.com!

MMAVictor UFC 144-Predictions for ALL fights By Ben McPhee

Main card:

Will Edgar’s “Rocky” Story continue??

Lightweight Championship bout: United States Frankie Edgar  vs. United States Ben Henderson- Edgar’s “Rocky” story has been a great one from the beginning. Not only did he rewrite it from the beginning by beating his Apollo Creed (Bj Penn) twice but he also had wars with Gray “Clubba Lang” Maynard lol. Ben “Smooth” Henderson lives in my home town of Arizona and trains out of Glendale and a lot of people think we could be looking at the new champion after Saturday. Can Henderson end the “Rocky” story? Not only do I think this fight is going to be FOTN (fight of the night) but I don’t think this fight is going to decision. This is the hardest fight for me to pick but that’s my job. Henderson is going to be stronger, I give him the wrestling edge and the submission edge. I give Edgar the edge in speed, hands and striking. The big key is Henderson’s training partners. He won his last fight against Clay Guida because he had some of the best mimics helping him prepare and will be doing the same for the Edgar fight. How well can someone mimic Edgar? That is the real question. It’s very hard to bet against Edgar but I have to go with my hometown boy. I’m taking Ben Henderson by a 4th round choke to become the new Lightweight Champion.

Light Heavyweight bout: United States Quinton Jackson vs. United States Ryan Bader- This is a big fight becasue Rampage returns to Japan. Bader is another fighter out of my hometown and is a nice guy but this one is easier to call in my opinion. Bader has heavy hands, Rampage has a strong chin, Bader will try and wrestle, Rampage doesn’t get out wreslted unless your Jon Jones and Bader is not. Hands will fly and the Japan fans will see the knock out of the night. Rampage 2nd round knock out.

Heavyweight bout: New Zealand Mark Hunt vs. France Cheick Kongo- Both of these guys can strike but who can take a better punch? Does Hunt hit harded than Pat Barry? Let me answer those questions for you. Hunt can take a better punch and can hit harder than Barry, plus Hunt has a ground game. Hunt will hit Kongo harder than Frank Mir did and get this to the ground. Hunt 2nd round tko or submission.

Welterweight bout: Japan Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. United States Jake Shields- Akiyama’s debut at welterweight could be good or really bad. If Shields can get this to the ground and “lay and prey” he will be fine but if he gets hit like he did in the Ellenberger fight, then it’s night night time. I think Shields has a great chin (Look at his fight with Dan Henderson) and can take a punch but showed different in his last fight. Ellenberger is no joke so I’m not taking anything away from him but are you saying that Ellenberger hits harder than Hendo? I guess so. I don’t think fighting in Japan is going to make a difference for Akiyama but you never know. I’m going to keep it safe and take Shields by Unanimous decision in a possible snooze fest.

Middleweight bout: Japan Yushin Okami vs. United States Tim Boetsch- Boetsch has been the bigger fighter ever since dropping down to 185 but not in this fight. Yushin Okami has a great chin, wrestling/ground and pound and great heart. We saw none of that in his loss to Anderson Silva. So will the old Okami be back or is he done? This fight will be the true test. Boetsch will try and wrestle Okami after his wild punches won’t work and get frustrated after he can’t get him to the ground. Yushin will be too big and Boetsch’s toughest opponent to date, if the real Yushin shows up. Yushin by Unanimous

Featherweight bout: Japan Hatsu Hioki vs. Poland Bart Palaszewski- Hioki was no joke in other organizations and in my opinion is a joke in the UFC. They want him to be #1 contender and I just don’t see it. He looked horrible in the George Roop fight and I still think Roop won that fight. Palaszewski is ready for a war and has warned Hioki if he wants to strike like he did in the Roop fight, then it will be a short night for him. I’m going a little personal in this fight (which you NEVER do) but oh well. I do believe in my pick though. Bart 1st round KO.

Lightweight bout: United States Anthony Pettis vs. United States Joe Lauzon- I am so excited for this fight!!! Lauzon thinks if he wins this fight that he will get offered the #1 contender spot for the lightweight title after the Edgar/Henderson fight. So he will be fighting with extra purpose on Saturday. They both agreed to this fight months ago and Pettis waitied  for Lauzon, so maybe Pettis knows something we don’t. This fight could go either way. Both can strike, wrestle and both have good ground games. Lauzon has awesome submissions and ground work and Pettis has the most underated ground game in the division in my opinion. I think Pettis will be able to make this his fight and walk out with a Split decision in what could also be FOTN. Pettis Split decision or 2nd round tko.

Preliminary card (FX)

Lightweight bout: Japan Takanori Gomi vs. Japan Eiji Mitsuoka- Will Gomi lose and receive his papers? Gomi just looks for his right hand knock out but will that be enough? Mitsuoka isn’t new to the sport and will be looking for a huge win. I have to stick with the favorite and go with Gomi 1st or 2nd round tko/ko.

Bantamweight bout: Japan Norifumi Yamamoto vs. England Vaughan Lee- Kid Yamamoto hasn’t looked that good since entering the UFC and will be fighting for his job. Lee is new and should get out worked. Yamamoto Unanimous.

Middleweight bout: Japan Riki Fukuda vs. United States Steve Cantwell- Steve “Can’t fight well” will lose again and be let go from the UFC. Fukuda 2nd round tko or Unanimous.

Bantamweight bout: Japan Takeya Mizugaki vs. United States Chris Cariaso- Cariaso will be too small and he will get out striked and out wrestled. Mizugaki 3rd round tko.

Preliminary card (Facebook)

Featherweight bout: China Zhang Tiequan vs. Japan Issei Tamura- Wrestler vs Submission artist usually makes it a striking war. Tamura is taking this fight on short notice after Leonard Garcia got hurt, then Nam Phan got injured. I think Tamura will smother Tiequan and be able to escape his submissions. Tamura Unanimious.

And get your picks in on www.mmavictor.com. Enter for free and win money in 3 of our free money leagues. Join for free and win money, what do you have to lose!!!!!?????

 

MMAVictor Version 2.0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
U.S./Canada-February 22, 2012- MMAVictor cleans up the site and releases version 2.0
MMAVictor has cleaned up the site and has announced version 2.0. MMAVictor.com has improved all functions for the site to make it better and more visually stunning to the viewer’s eye. Its the same design, just much cleaner. There is now support for tablet and mobile devices.  We added more information in the grids for more information as well.  We fixed a few bugs and made the UI more intuitive.
MMAVictor.com mma fantasy site is easy and different in its own right. Members join for free with very simple/quick registration. After becoming a member, players then choose to join or create a many leagues as one sees fit. Members then decide to play for free or for actual cash in our money leagues. Leagues can have as little as 3 members, all the way to 20 and can play for free and $5 all the way to betting $200 if you’re feeling brave. Members win fights based on winner, round, method, minute and a bonus for all four. MMAVictor.com has also started “Pay Out” pools where members can enter a FREE pool that pays out for the top winner. These pools are created by the sites owner Victor Ientilucci.
MMAVictor.com is a mma fantasy site started by Victor Ientilucci President of Mega Website Services. MMAVictor.com launched in Canada and is now doing the United States as well. It’s fun, easy and free to join. MMAVictor.com has a large following and a lot of new members from networking, facebook, twitter, radio and promotion by our own writer/blogger Ben McPhee, mmavictor.com member “jiggler”- all time point champion. Fantasy.ufc.com is NOT around anymore. The newest and hottest Fantasy MMA game is mmavictor.com. Come join the mma fantasy fun that you have been missing and be a part of the first ever mma fantasy site with their own affiliate program.
Contact:
Ben McPhee
@mmawriter1
@mmavictor

Ben’s Fight News: Nate Marquardt Signed to Strikeforce

After getting released from the UFC right before his welterweight debut against Rick Story for high testosterone levels, Nate Marquardt is back in Zuffa.

Shortly after having his suspension lifted by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, Marquardt signed with top U.K. fight promotion BAMMA, the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts.  He was set to make his promotional debut at BAMMA 9: Marquardt vs Yoshida on February 11, 2012 against Yoshiyuki Yoshida to determine the inaugural BAMMA Welterweight Champion.

On January 13, 2012, Marquardt was released from his contract with BAMMA officially due to the promotion pushing back BAMMA 9, and therefore his promotional debut, to March 24, 2012. Sources close to the situation believe that the release was due to the promotion not being able to afford the fighter’s contract. Dana White recently announced that Nate Marquardt has signed with Strikeforce, his debut is still uncertain but it will be at Welterweight. As a fan of Nate “The Great” Marquardt, welcome back to Zuffa.

Rumor has it that Nate will make his Strikeforce debut at welterweight against Tyron Woodley for the vacant Strikeforce welterweight championship.

 

UFC 144 Preview – Akiyama vs. Shields

For all of you MMAVictor.com’s Fantasy MMA tournament participants it is time to talk about the Sexyama and Shields matchup.  Speaking of MMAVictor.com, if you have not signed up yet for any of the free or paid MMA tourneys what are you waiting for?  It is free to sign up, no obligations and you can win bragging rights or cold hard cash!  Sign up here.

Sexyama vs Shields

Not going to lie, I want to pick Sexyama for my MMAVictor pick just because of his nickname, but unfortunately, that is not how MMAVictor works.  Not to mention, Sexyama is dropping down in weight for this fight, so that is a cause for some concern.  Then again, Shields is coming off two ugly loses, so who really knows with this fight.

For these reasons alone, I think this a solid match up for the Japan card and I really think this fight has the opportunity to be a surprise.  Sexyama enjoys throwing hands and Shields has proven time and time again that he isn’t quite the best at it.  Shields’s ground work though doesn’t even need to be analyzed here, so it is safe to say that Sexyama himself is going to avoid that at all costs.  At least that wouldn’t be the ideal game plan for him to be successful.

The way I see this fight going is similarly to the Shields fight with Mayhem.  Sexyama will try to use his size and standup to control Shields and if the fight does get to the ground, Sexyama will try to look for that rogue submission attempt.  Sadly for him, Shields isn’t going to be surprised by this nor is Sexyama smart enough to be able to catch him.  Otherwise, you can kiss Shields UFC career goodbye.  My MMAVictor.com money goes on Shields via unanimous decision or submission in round two.  I honestly cannot see Shields losing 3 fights in a row – just can’t.

I guess you can say Sexyama isn’t going to be able to bring the Sexy back…  Wow, terrible joke – promise a better one next time!

~Pete D.  (Follow me on twitter – @longhorns978)
MMAVictor.com Writer
Think you know MMA? Fantasy MMA at MMAVictor.com!

UFC 144 Preview – Okami vs Boetsch

For all of you MMAVictor.com’s Fantasy MMA tournament participants it is time to breakdown the Yushin Okami and Tim Boetsch middleweight matchup.  Speaking of MMAVictor.com, if you have not signed up yet for any of the free or paid MMA tourneys what are you waiting for?  It is free to sign up, no obligations and you can win bragging rights or cold hard cash!  Sign up here.

Yushin Okami vs Tim Boetsch

Very interesting matchup here pitting two very formidable opponents that smells like a decision outcome from a mile away.  With that said, Okami is coming off of a loss to the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world Anderson Silva and Tim is coming off a very decent victory over the very craft Nick Ring.  Neither fighter has really impressed me as of late, but both can stand and trade so there is always that chance someone catches lightning in a bottle.  Sadly, I just really don’t see that lightning striking.

Honestly, I have been going back and forth in my head on how I see this fight going and I keep hitting the same wall.  Okami is going to play the Carlos Condit game and Tim is going to try to step in and knock him out.  Unfortunately for Tim, Okami’s style makes it increasingly more difficult to grab that lightning and Okami loves riding out decisions.  Does this mean that Tim has no chance of a knock out?  Of course not, but I still lean towards Okami’s elusiveness being the limiting factor for Tim.

Anyway, my MMAVictor.com bet here lands on Okami by decision, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Tim landed an overhand and finished the fight.  The problem is though will Tim be able to get close enough for the overhand all while avoiding Okami’s elusive striking and clinch game?  I guess we will just have to wait and see!

~Pete D.  (Follow me on twitter – @longhorns978)
MMAVictor.com Writer
Think you know MMA? Fantasy MMA at MMAVictor.com!

UFC 144 Preview – Pettis vs Lauzon

With UFC 144 almost here I am going to spend the next couple of days breaking down each main-card fight individually to get you all ready for your MMAVictor.com’s Fantasy MMA tournaments!  Speaking of MMAVictor.com, if you have not signed up yet for any of the free or paid MMA Tourneys what are you waiting for?  It is free to sign up, no obligations and you can win bragging rights or cold hard cash!  Sign up here.

Anthony Pettis vs Joe Lauzon

Will this be the fight that Joe Lauzon gets the credit he deserves or will this be the fight that Anthony Pettis proves he is ready for another title run?  For these two reasons this fight has fight of the night potential written all over it!

With that said, both fighters are great practitioners on the ground with Lauzon having a slight submission grappling advantage including several key submission victories over talents like Melvin Guillard and Curt Waburton.   Meanwhile, Pettis I believe holds a far more superior boxing and kickboxing advantage which both have spelled trouble for Lauzon in the past.  For this reason, I believe Lauzon is really going to have focus on getting this fight to the ground early while hoping to avoid Pettis’s unique striking style.

If Lauzon can truly dictate the pace of this fight and control Pettis with his ground game I believe that Lauzon has the abilities to finish Pettis fairly quickly.  At the same time, is Lauzon really good enough to sneak another early round submission against a guy who dominated Ben Henderson?  Doubt it.  For this reason alone my MMAVictor.com pick is going to Anthony Pettis via a second round TKO.

Again, I feel that Lauzon has an opportunity to make this a fight, but I believe that Petti’s experience and more well-rounded game will be the inevitable undoing for the Massachusetts prodigy.

~Pete D.  (Follow me on twitter – @longhorns978)
MMAVictor.com Writer
Think you know MMA? Fantasy MMA at MMAVictor.com!

Greg Jackson’s Fake Conflict

A long time ago Greg Jackson made the inevitable mistake of saying that if two of his fighters ever squared off he would never corner either guy out of respect.  Well, it looks like that was just all fake “coach’em up” BS since Greg has since openly committed to cornering Jon Jones in the highly anticipated light heavyweight championship match against his former Jackson MMA student Rashad Evans.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Evans has not been a student at Jackson MMA in a long time, so technically there is no conflict of interest here but boy does it smell of Jackson MMA fake BS to me.  Listen, I get it, Greg is in this whole thing to make money off of winners but lets be real, why do you have to go out and publicize the decision to the world?  In reality, this is no news to me at all.  From the minute Evans got injured a few years ago it was all about the Jon Jones party and Greg wanted to be front and center.  Seriously, Greg Jackson new full well that not only was Jones extremely skilled and gifted, but he new that he could easily roll Jones into being the next big thing.  Something that Greg seemed to have felt was obviously lacking with Evans.

Obviously, I do not expect everyone to agree with me here, but I am here to remind you all that before you anoint Greg the trainer of heroes remember one thing – he is just like every other trainer out there.  They love you when they have you and wave goodbye to you when they are through with you.  Thankfully, Evans saw the writing on the wall sooner rather than later and made the conscious decision to move on at the right time.  This by no means will guarantee Evans success against his former mentor, but at least this shows he understands the game and is ready for the verbal war that is about to ensue.

Lastly, I will never blame Greg for the decision he made, but I have a tough time respecting him for perpetuating a fake cornering conflict.  Everyone knows he was NEVER going to corner Evans so why even make it news?  Train your fighter, get him ready for a war and in the end shake Evan’s hand for putting forth a great effort against an amazing talent – win or lose.  Seriously, don’t try to make this simple business decision anymore complicated then it has to be.

Don’t agree with me?  Love Jackson MMA to death?  Great – hit me up on the comments section or tweet me below and send me your thoughts.  I would love to hear it!

Also, if you are looking to test your Fantasy MMA skills go sign up at MMAVictor and play against the thousands of others in single event tournaments!  Remember, it is free to sign up and they offer free and paid outings.  So what are you waiting for?

~Pete D.  (Follow me on twitter – @longhorns978)
MMAVictor.com Writer
Think you know MMA? Fantasy MMA at MMAVictor.com!

Post Fights with Pete D. – CW45

I finally got the opportunity this afternoon to watch the very underrated Cage Warriors 45 card from Saturday night in North London. The card was filled with some very good up-and-comers and even had a New York Giants style “guarantee” from the nights main event winner Bobby Brents. Not to mention, one of the SICKEST elbow strikes I have EVER seen landed in modern day MMA competition. Seriously, if you missed the card I suggest you find time to watch the replay now because it is worth every second!

Main Card:

  • Main Event – Bobby Brents defeated Rogent Llorent via arm-triangle submission in the first round.  Just like the New York Giants in Super Bowl 46, Bobby Brents guaranteed a victory and boy did he get it.  Llorent a black belt in BJJ looked great on his feet at the start of the fight, but Brents showed no fear whatsoever and refused to step back.  Once the fight made its way to the ground it was very disappointing to see Llorent basically give up side control and then boom – arm-triangle choke and the fight was over.  Very surprising ending, but extremely satisfying I am sure for Brents who is looking for something bigger next time out.
  • James Reese defeated Brad Wheeler via unanimous decision in a very one-sided affair.  If this fight was about how many failed Kimura attempts per fighter Wheeler would have won easily.  Unfortunately for him, that was basically all the offense he showed as Reese thoroughly dominated the affair.  Although, it should be noted that Reese just didn’t want to finish this fight and that to me was disappointing.  Hopefully, when he re-watches the tape he will feel different about the effort going forward.
  • In a middleweight tournament opening round bout, Chris Fields defeated Jack Mason by TKO in the first round.  This quick battle started with an awesome display of Muay Thai kickboxing!  Seriously, within the first 60 seconds of the fight Mason was dropped with a vicious head-kick by Fields and seconds later Fields followed up with an intense barrage of hammer fists en route to an awesome TKO victory.
  • Steve O’Keeffe was no match for Conor McGregor who won by KO in the first round.  Something tells me Mr. O’Keeffe forget he had a fight last night.  Literally, Conor came out blazing with fists, knees and vicious elbows that made me and even the referee cringe a little.  I don’t know much about Conor, but this certainly put him on my radar.
  • In another striker vs grappler match up Dave Keeley elbowed himself to a victory over Eddy Bengtsson in the first round.  Can you feel that?  Yep, that is the sound of Bengtsson’s head smashing against Keeley’s elbow.  Honestly, I feel bad for Bengtsson in this fight as he tried to bring the fight to his world, but little did he know that Keeley didn’t care one bit.  After a series of failed submission attempts Keeley finally connected with a couple of elbows and a series of hammer fists to put Bengtsson to sleep.
  • In the bloodiest battle of the night Brett Sizeland defeated Brett Bassett by doctor stoppage (TKO) in the second round.  I know, when is this SICKEST elbow strike coming?  Well, I saved the best for last!  Sizeland connected with an early intense elbow in the first round and the blood from that cut was more than enough to warrant a doctors stoppage.  Sadly for Bassett, it took an entire extra round before he could get stitched up.  Great opening to the night though let me tell you!
Remainder of the  Card:
  • Jacek Toczydlowski defeated Shah Hussain via unanimous decision.
  • Charlie Watts defeated Chad Brown via submission to punches in the second round.
  • Ben Hajir defeated Michael Jones via arm bar submission in the third round.

Again, I cannot stress this enough if you missed Cage Warriors 45 go watch the replay now!  Don’t forget too, if you think you know MMA, then join MMAVictor.com and test your skills against the best in free or paid Fantasy MMA.  What are you waiting for?  Go sign up now!

~Pete D.  (Follow me on twitter – @longhorns978)
MMAVictor.com Writer
Think you know MMA? Fantasy MMA at MMAVictor.com!

Pete’s MMA Training Corner

Almost 10 years ago I stepped foot into MassBJJ in Acton, Massachusetts (combat sports academy) with a set of Sprawl shorts and a super tight black-on-black Tapout t-shirt.  The hope was to not only survive my first Muay Thai class but go in and show everyone that I could bring it.  Little did I know what I was getting myself into and soon did I realize I was in way over my head.

Being a certified personal trainer and former football player I figured Mauy Thai would come easy and a beginner class would be nothing for me to handle.  That was until I stepped into the academy and was handed a jump rope to warm-up.  I know, what is the big deal about a kids style jump rope?  Well, it was the first time I ever used a jump rope, so the experience was embarrassing to say the least.  The jump rope won all five rounds and by the time I was ready to put on my Fairtex gloves I could already see the group labeled me.  Yep, I was just another “wannabe.”  Just another Tapout shirt wearing, Sprawl short buying “wannabe” who was never going to come back.

Unfortunately for me, the disappointment didn’t stop there.  Within 15-20 minutes of open sparring Nate the instructor came over to me and said “Hey, have you ever boxed before?”  I responded with a “Nope, never, this is my first time doing anything like this.”  Nate then proceeded to nod his head and responded with a “Wannabe, you got a lot to learn.”  Regrettably, I had me feet placed in the wrong direction; I was a righty trying to fight like a southpaw.  Honest mistake if you ask me but in reality how much lower could I go?  Thankfully, that was the last piece of embarrassment of the night!

Now, I may not have gained any friends that night, but there is one thing everyone learned that night – I brought it.  Sure, I may have brought mostly embarrassment to myself with my poor wardrobe selection and smug “wannabe” attitude but I never broke.  I never stopped, never backed down and most importantly never gave up!  Almost 10 years later and a couple of Mauy Thai bouts later I am no longer that “wannabe” – I am a “fighter.”

Honestly, I hope everyone who read this article gto a good chuckle at my expense.  The goal here was to stress to all of you “wannabes” out there to not be scared.  If you think you got what it takes and you want to bring it – just do it!  Who cares if you can’t jump rope.  Who cares if you wear too much MMA swag.  Who cares if you don’t know a jab from an uppercut.  If you want to make it don’t be afraid to embarrass yourself, learn a little and simply never give up!  Remember, it is always the ones who give up too soon who are the ones who regret it the most!  Trust me, it will all be worth it in the end!

Look for more of Pete’s MMA Training Corner coming soon to the best Fantasy MMA site in the world MMAVictor.com.  Trust me, if you can’t make it at the academy maybe you can make it in either free or paid fantasy MMA!!  So, what are you waiting for?  Go try it out now!

~Pete D.  (Follow me on twitter – @longhorns978)
MMAVictor.com Writer
Think you know MMA? Fantasy MMA at MMAVictor.com!

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