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UFC 74 Fight Card and MY PREDICTIONS
08/25/2007 7pm PT / 10pm ET
Mandalay Bay Events Center, Nevada

Heavyweight Title Fight/Main Event
Randy Couture Vs. Gabriel Gonzaga

This is the only fight that has me puzzled, on the one hand you question how much left does Couture really have, I mean he beat the worse champion in the history of MMA (Tim Sylvia). On the other hand you really question how good Gonzaga really is, and if his knockout of Mirko was a fluke or the real deal.

Prediction: Gonzaga in 5 Round Decision.

Josh Koscheck Vs. Georges St-Pierre

I am extremely anticipating this fight right here. The stakes are so high in this one, the winner will surely get a title shot at the winner of Serra/Hughes, but at the same time this fight right now will indicate who will be the future of the UFC's Welterweight division. Although I love GSP, I think Koschek's wrestling is all world class and if he can get GSP on his back he will win a boring 3 round decision, however if GSP can keep it on the feet than he has a good shot at knocking out Koschek.

Prediction: Georges St-Pierre with a Second Round KO, however I wouldn't be surprised by a Koschek boring decision win.

Roger Huerta Vs. Alberto Crane

I think Huerta has a great future and I don't know so much about Crane, so I can only pick who I know in this fight.

Prediction: Roger Huerta

Kurt Pellegrino Vs. Joe Stevenson

Pellegrino is a good solid fighter in my books, and will be Joe Stevenson's best fight to date IMO. However seeing how much Joe has progressed in his last 3 wins, I have to stick with Joe "Daddy" Stevenson in this one, his ground and pound and wrestling skills are amazing and I see him bringing this to the ground and getting the decision.

Prediction: Joe Stevenson by 3 Round Decision

Patrick Cote Vs. Kendall Grove

I'm not a fan of Cote, I think he is extremely overrated, and this fight is just another way for the UFC to build up Grove with a win, while he masters his style.

Prediciton: Kendall Grove by Submission

Renato Sobral Vs. David Heath

I love Babalu so there you know who I am picking in this fight. Plus I think David Heath's record (9-1-0) is inflated. He is not that good of a fighter, plus I think Babalu still has a lot to give to the MMA world.

Prediciton: Renato "Babalu" Sobral by Submission

Frank Mir vs Antoni Hardonik

I see this fight as the UFC just tryna rebuild Frank Mir up by giving him a wash of an opponent. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

Prediction: Frank Mir Wins by Knockout

Ryan Jensen vs. Thales Leites

Good fight between to up and coming Fighters in the Middle weight division. Amazing record thus far in both their careers. I like Thales Leites because, I've seen some fights from him where he flashes signs of brilliance.

Predicition: Thales Leites in a 3 round Decision

Clay Guida vs. Marcus Aurelio

I don't have any info about either fighter, so I will not make a prediciton.

Prediction: Unknown

Feel free to add your predictions.

Good to see this one pinned. Lookin' forward to reading it.

Some Latest News and Notes:

UFC Confirms Wanderlei Silva Signing, December Fight


It’s been a deal years in the making, but finally, one of mixed martial arts’ unquestioned greats • former PRIDE Champion Wanderlei Silva - will be returning to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Octagon this December for the first time in over seven years to take on the best 205-pound fighters in the world.

“Many fighters have a dream of fighting for the UFC, and as a champion for six years in Japan, my dream has always been to have the UFC belt,â€

Latest News and Notes:

Brock Lesnar wants UFC Deal:

A former NCAA heavyweight wrestling national champion and pro wrestling superstar, Brock Lesnar made his mixed martial arts debut in impressive fashion on June 2nd against Min Soo Kim. That fight was fulfillment of a one-fight deal with K-1.

Now, the 30-year-old Lesnar wants to compete in the UFC.

With his collegiate wrestling accomplishments and pro wrestling popularity, Brock Lesnar is one of the highest profile free agents in MMA. Sporting an MMA record of 1-0, what Lesnar lacks in MMA experience, he more than makes up for in potential pay-per-view buys.

Contacted by several promotions, Lesnar is tired of the run-a-round and is ready to ink a deal.

"We're playing the games, but I'm tired of playing games,â€

QUICK MATCH RESULTS

-Clay Guida def. Marcus Aurelio via Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27) after 3 Rounds.
-Thales Leites def. Ryan Jensen via Submission (armbar) at 3:47 of Round 1.
-Frank Mir def. Antoni Hardonk via Submission (armbar) at 1:17 of Round 1.
-Renato "Babalu" Sobral def. David Heath via Submission (anaconda choke) at 3:30 of Round 2.

-Patrick Cote def. Kendall Grove via TKO (strikes) at 4:45 of Round 1.
-Joe Stevenson def. Kurt Pellegrino via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after 3 Rounds.
-Roger Huerta def. Alberto Crane via TKO (strikes) in Round 3.
-Georges St. Pierre def. Josh Koscheck via Unanimous Decision after 3 Rounds.
-Randy Couture (c) def. Gabriel Gonzaga via TKO (strikes) in Round 3 to retain the UFC HW Title.

PRELIM FIGHTS
Fight #1:
-Marcus Aurelio vs. Clay Guida

Round 1: Fighters are hitting the cage now. Take a breath and get ready! Aurelio is out now wearing some kind of weird mask. We'll be first after round one, stick with us!

Feel out process to start the first. Guida is swinging wildly. The two flurry. Guida is the aggressor but is getting caught repeatedly hit by Aurelio's jab. Guida tags Aurelio and he loses his balance. MMANews.com has it 10-9 Guida.

Round 2: Guida takes Aurelio down, but doesn't stay for long before getting back to his feet. Guida with a low kick. Guida still swinging wildly with the hands. Aurelio attempts a takedown but Guida ends up on top. Aurelio gets guard. Guida landing shots. MMANews.com has this round 10-9 Guida.

Round 3: Guida works for a takedown but Aurelio defends, after trying to pull guard the whole fight. Aurelio with a high kick attempt. Guida is out-working Aurelio. Guida defends an Aurelio takedown attempt and lands a knee. Round ends. 10-9 Guida here also, should be 30-27. Not a terribly exciting fight, but the crowd was behind Guida pretty heavily.

Clay Guida def. Marcus Aurelio via Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27) after 3 Rounds.


Fight #2:
-Thales Leites vs. Ryan Jensen

Round 1: Both guys striking well early. Jensen tries a guillotine choke but Leites escapes. More striking exchanges and Jensen seems to hurt Leites a bit with a punch, but then Leites quickly takes Jensen down. He's got Jensen's back. They scramble up and while trying a takedown, Leites winds up on his back with Jensen on top. Leities tries an armbar but Jensen escapes. Leites again tries an armbar and this time he gets it, and the tap out for the victory.

Thales Leities def. Ryan Jensen via Submission (armbar) at 3:47 of Round 1.


Fight #3:
-Frank Mir vs. Antoni Hardonk

Round 1: Mir gets a takedown early. Hardonk working for a submission from the bottom, but Mir advances position and throws some elbows. Mir secures a kimura and gets the tap out for the quick submission victory.

Frank Mir def. Antoni Hardonk via Submission (kimura) at 1:17 of Round 1.


Fight #4:
-Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. David Heath

Round 1: Sobral with a takedown early. Sobral working ground and pound, landing shots even to the body. Heath is working from the bottom to his credit. Sobral attempts a can-opener neck-crank but gets nowhere with it. Sobral landing some elbows but Heath scrambles up. Sobral tries a takedown again but this time he wound up on the bottom, with Heath on top. Heath not doing as much on top. Sobral working well from the bottom. Heath lands a nice elbow to close the round, but MMANews.com still has it 10-9 for Sobral.

Round 2: Sobral with a hard left that slams into Heath's nose. He gets a takedown and unloads with strikes, bloodying up Heath badly. It seems like they're gonna stop it. They let Heath continue as he looks to advance position. Sobral punching away, blood continues to flow. Sobral secures a choke for the tap out victory. He held on way too long to the choke after the tap. Fans are letting him know about it. Sobral throws his hat to the crowd to play up to the boo'ing, it gets tossed right back by whoever caught it. Sobral wins by submission in round two.

Renato "Babalu" Sobral def. David Heath via Submission (anaconda choke) at 3:30 of Round 2.

PPV FIGHTS

Fight #5:
-Kendall Grove vs. Patrick Cote

Round 1: Back and forth equal fight until the end, where Cote blasts Grove with a shot that drops him. Cote follows in with brutal punches, then tries a rear naked choke. That seemed to be the end but Grove held on with about 25 seconds left. Unfortunately, Cote was still in mount and pounded and already wousy Grove into stoppage.

Patrick Cote def. Kendall Grove via TKO (strikes) at 4:45 of Round 1.


Fight #6:
-Joe Stevenson vs. Kurt Pellegrino

Round 1: Good first round. Pellegrino lands a solid punch and follows with a quick takedown early. Doesn't do much with it and Stevenson ends up getting two decent guillotine choke attempts, one that Pellegrino was stuck in for a bit. Pellegrino finished the round on top landing a couple big shots. MMANews.com goes 10-9 Pellegrino, but you could argue otherwise.

Round 2: Another good round. Tons of good shots landing on the feet for both, maybe more for Stevenson this round. Pellegrino seems to be getting tired. Clear 10-9 round for Stevenson, although Pellegrino started to slowly make it difficult to score towards the end, just didn't have enough time before the horn sounded.

Round 3: Good round for Stevenson, Pellegrino was gassed for the most part of it. In the middle of the round the referee restarted the fighters on their feet, and think Heath Herring vs. Mark Kerr/Tom Erikson without the stoppages. Stevenson was a mad man. 10-9 Stevenson, and 2-1 to get the right to be called the winner.

Joe Stevenson def. Kurt Pellegrino via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after 3 Rounds.

Fight #7:
-Roger Huerta vs. Alberto Crane
Round 1: Huerta round, 10-9. Crane had him on his back for a bit but Huerta escaped and lumped up Crane's eye and cut it slightly with a single shot. Crane had a few guillotine attempts but nothing doing.

Round 2: Another Huerta round. For most of the round Crane laid on the ground curled up and seemingly couldn't even stand up on his own. Huerta looked to finish him a few times, but the fight is still going. I don't see how they let Crane out for the third, but we'll see.

Round 3: For some reason they let it continue. Crane is in bad shape. Huerta is dominating. Crane again looks like he can't get up on his own. At one point, Crane caught Huerta's foot and was behind him trying to pull him back in like a sitting german-suplex. Huerta kept his balance and used the big screen to see where Crane was to throw punches/elbows behind his own back! Awesome! Huerta gets on top and pounds out Crane for the TKO.

Roger Huerta def. Alberto Crane via TKO (strikes) in Round 3.


Fight #8:
-Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck

Round 1: Close, unexciting first round. Each got a takedown (GSP took Koscheck down almost immediately with ease) and did nothing much with them. 10-9 GSP?

Round 2: GSP takes Koscheck down with ease again early in the second. He remained on top the entire time. Most of the round was GSP working on a kimura and never getting it. 10-9 GSP, but round one was arguable so he's not on a comfy lead heading into the final round, which is going on now..

Round 3: GSP dominates the round, Koscheck did next to nothing here and took more punishment than most rounds, with elbows and punches with GSP on top.


Georges St. Pierre def. Josh Koscheck via Unanimous Decision after 3 Rounds.


Fight #9:
-Randy Couture (c) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (UFC HW Title)

Round 1: Couture dominates round one. He's got Gonzaga's nose broken badly and spewing out blood. He took him down, hit him with standing elbows and punches that had great effect. Easy 10-9 round for Couture.

Round 2: Couture dominates big time once again. Gonzaga almost quit at one point, they broke to stop on Gabe's wishes and he merely had blood in his eyes. They restart, Couture finishes the whole round in the clinch up against the fence. Everytime there is distance, you get worried for Couture, and he's not taking him down at will either.

Round 3: Couture gets caught with a head kick, strikes at distance with Gonzaga briefly before taking him down. Once he got Gabe down he ground and pounded until Herb Dean jumped in to stop it.

Randy Couture def. Gabriel Gonzaga via TKO (strikes) in Round 3 to retain his UFC Heavyweight title.

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Results To My Predictions
*Bolded Fighter was my pick*

Marcus Aurelio vs Clay Guida - No Pick
Ryan Jensen vs Thales Leites - Correct
Frank Mir vs Antoni Hardonik - Correct
Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs David Heath - Correct
Kendal Grove vs Patrick Cote - Incorrect
Joe Stevenson vs Kurt Pellegrino - Correct
Roger Huerta vs Alberto Crane - Correct
Georges St. Pierre vs Josh Koscheck - Correct
Randy Couture vs Gabriel Gonzaga - Incorrect

Final Results: 6-2

*On a Side Note - When I saw Gabriel Gonzaga at the weigh-ins and saw how out of shape he was and that belly he had, I knew Randy Couture was gonna kill him. Gabriel Gonzaga has had a history of being out of shape, but after the Cro Cop fight in which he looked to be in good shape, you would think he could stay motivated for a world title fight.

lol @ lesnar

Thanks for posting these articles.

For those of you who watched UFC 74 tonight also saw that at the end of Babalu's fight Sobral refused to let go of a choke, even when referee Steve Mazzagatti tried to pry his arms off Heath's throat. Not only are there talks of taking away his purse from the fight, he may be suspended for his actions. Kizer said he was withholding payment and would likely require Sobral to come before the commission to explain himself.

The upcoming sixth season of Spike TV’s popular “The Ultimate Fighterâ€

UFC CHAMP COUTURE CONFIRMS BROKEN ARM

Randy Couture proved why he is considered one of the most legendary fighters of all time last Saturday night when he defeated Gabriel Gonzaga via third round TKO to retain his heavyweight title. He also finished the fight with a broken arm as Couture discussed in an interview with MMAWeekly Radio on Monday.

The injury occurred in the third round when Couture blocked a high kick from Gonzaga and still the 44-year-old champion continued and finished his opponent shortly after.

“Obviously he’s got a very, very good high kick and obviously after Mirko he’s got some confidence throwing it,â€

BABALU RELEASED FROM UFC

Renato “Babaluâ€

Can't wait till Saturday.


It's gonna me a wicked wicked show. Rampage vs Henderson, I can't call it. But Quentin is my dood.

Can't wait till Saturday.


It's gonna me a wicked wicked show. Rampage vs Henderson, I can't call it. But Quentin is my dood.

The most anticipated fight in a longggggg time for me. Probably since the Cro Cop Fedor fight. I love rampage Jackson, but Henderson is too deadly. I will be making my predictions again soon.

FEDOR STILL HAS NOT SIGNED TO FIGHT

Fedor Emelianenko is universally regarded as the top heavyweight, if not the top overall, fighter in the mixed martial arts world. Ever since the purchase of Pride FC by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, who’s Zuffa, LLC, also owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Fedor has also become the most highly sought after fighter on the planet.

The longtime heavyweight champion in Pride, the promotion’s demise has left Fedor with no other choice but to look elsewhere for employment. The popular assumption of course is that he will end up in the UFC fold along with most of the other top fighters from the Pride organization.

With Fedor’s management team reportedly having met with UFC officials earlier this week, the widespread speculation has been that terms were reached and that it was all but a done deal that Fedor would soon fight in the Octagon.

According to a report by Josh Gross, that is not necessarily so. Fedor’s management team said that while the UFC offer is the most lucrative offer that the #1 ranked heavyweight has received, there are still several sticking points that have kept them from recommending their client sign with the sport’s largest promotion in the world.

As has long been speculated, Apy Echteld, one of Fedor’s managers, confirmed that the UFC’s requirement of exclusivity is still one of the reasons that the deal has not been approved, as well as the contract not being guaranteed. These are very important points to Fedor and several other organizations vying for his services are willing to concede them according to Echteld.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON… AND NEPHEW

Since leaving the UFC, Ken Shamrock has been keeping himself busy. Not only has he been coaching his Nevada Lions in the International Fight League and revived his Lion’s Den fight team, he has also been training his family to follow in his footsteps.

Last Saturday at Fight At The Falls in Oroville, Calif., a Ken Shamrock Productions event, Shamrock’s oldest son Ryan stepped into the cage, where his father was one of the early pioneers.

It seems Ryan has been a diligent student. In just one minute and fifty-one seconds, he choked out Josh Besneatte, who was also making his fight debut, in the first round.

The family fun doesn’t stop there either. Not to be outdone by his cousin, the elder Shamrock’s nephew, Jeff Jorgenson, in another bout of debuting fighters, also finished his opponent, Kyle Davey, with a choke in the first round.

BABALU ISSUES STATEMENT FOLLOWING NSAC HEARING

Renato "Babalu" Sobral issued the following statement after his initial hearing before the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Friday regarding his actions in a bout with David Heath at UFC 74. In the days after the fight, Sobral was released from his UFC contract.


To My Family, Friends, Fans and Sponsors:

Since UFC 74, I have wanted to speak publicly about my fight with David Heath. I waited to do so, however, out of respect for the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Zuffa, Inc. and Dana White. After all, it is their efforts that have legitimized Mixed Martial Arts in the sports world and I realize that my conduct has unintentionally hindered those efforts. For that, among other things, I am deeply sorry.

I have been fighting professionally since 1998. Prior to my fight with David Heath, my professional record was twenty-seven wins with seven losses. Fourteen of my victories came by way of submission. Not once was I ever accused of holding a choke or submission too long. If anything, there has always been and continues to be a great camaraderie between my opponents and I after the fight.

Being a professional mixed martial artist is more than a career to me. It is my livelihood and my way of life. Consequently, I am deeply sorry for any embarrassment that has been brought upon the sport, other mixed martial artists (especially David Heath), my Academy and most importantly, my family.

As if the embarrassment were not enough, my actions during the fight with David and my comments afterwards, have already resulted in severe financial loss to my family because as you know, in addition to my win bonus still being withheld, yesterday I was released from my contract with the UFC.

There has been much talk about things that may have been said to me by David Heath at the weigh-in. What David said to me at the weigh-in didn’t matter then and doesn’t matter now. What matters are my comments after the fight. And, regardless of what you may read by so called MMA experts on the internet, I never said that I purposefully choked-out David Heath. In short, my post-fight comments, while inappropriate, were not intended to be comments about the choke. Rather, they were intended to be comments about the aggressive performance that I put in.

I did not intentionally choke out David Heath. The first that I realized that David had tapped was when people told me that he did after the fight. When I finally had the chance to view the tape, I see that he did. When David tapped, I did not feel it. I wish I did for I would have let it go. Instead, I continued to hold it. Not because I was upset or wanted him to lose consciousness. I held it because I didn’t know he tapped and I was intent on winning the fight. Holding on to a choke a little long is not an uncommon mistake made in training, and never in my career have I witnessed or heard of an injury resulting from it.

When I had the choke, I was not looking the referee in the eyes as one commentator erroneously observed. Nor did I hear the referee issue any verbal command to release the hold. Instead, my head was down to strengthen the move and my eyes closed with focus. As a result, I did not feel the referee tap me the first time either. It was not until he put his hands on my right shoulder that I felt him trying to separate us. When I felt this, I immediately released the choke.

After [Friday's] hearing [with the Nevada State Athletic Commission] I traveled to the UFC’s office to meet with Dana White. Contrary to recent reports in the media, this meeting was not to discuss my being released from the UFC. In fact, this meeting was arranged prior to my even being released from the contract. The purpose of the meeting was for me to personally apologize to Dana while at the same time thank him for all the opportunities that the UFC has given to my family and I. Unfortunately, I was unable to meet with Dana due to a calendaring error Nevertheless, thanks Dana and my apologies.

I am a professional fighter. This is what I do for a living. I do not hold a day job and then train at night to fight. I know nothing else but how to fight. This is how I support my family.

On behalf of my family and friends, I appreciate the support that you have given me over the years, not to mention in the recent week, and I am hopeful that I will have the opportunity to fight again in the State of Nevada.

Thank you.

RENATO 'BABALU' SOBRAL

UFC 75: Fight Card and Predicitons

Main Event

UFC LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT & PRIDE MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BOUT:
QUINTON JACKSON VS. DAN HENDERSON

I was on the fence all week for this fight, and debated both possibilities. If this stays on the feet, Rampage is going to win this fight, either by K.O, or by points. Now if Henderson can take this to the ground he is going to dominate this fight. I also asked myself, what was more impressive, Rampage K.O ing Chuck, or Henderson K.O ing Silva, I found no sure answer there. So in the end I'm going with my gut here, and saying that Rampage gets it done, with a 3rd round K.O.

Prediction: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson by K.O.

[color=green]HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT:
MIRKO “CRO COPâ€