presto
14th June 2007, 23:36
A rather dissapointing card for the UFC's first visit to Belfast Northen Ireland, it looks more like a good 'ultimate fight night' card as opposed to a full blown pay per view event. No championship belts on the line, and to be honnest the fight's don't look that great on paper either. The headliner Rich Franklin vs Yushin Okami may not IMO be a great fight, and the other big name and fan favourite Forrest Griffen takes on Hector Ramirez (0-1 in the UFC). Ramirez isn't exactly a household name and many see him as a stepping stone to get Griffen back to winning ways. The possible highlight of the card just may be Tyson Griffin vs Clay Guida which looks a great matchup with 2 action packed fighters with something to prove.
Rich Franklin vs. Yushin Okami
FRANKLIN 21-2
OKAMI 20-3
For a possible middleweight title shot against Anderson Silva, Heavy hitter and former champ Franklin takes on Okami, a strong wrestler and GnP'er. Franklin was set to fight Martin Kampmann also a striker, but his opponent in Okami will be a very different affair. Okami may not be the prettiest fighter to watch, but he certainly gets the job done.
For me this fight can either go one of 2 ways, either Franklin kan keep the fight standing and possibly get a KO or Okami can out wrestle Franklin and get him to the ground for a decision. Not going to call this fight untill i get to see the odd's.
Forrest Griffin vs. Hector Ramirez
GRIFFEN 13-4
RAMIREZ 6-2-1
Fans favourite griffen will be desperate to get back to winning ways in this fight after suffering a couple of recent losses, first to Tito Ortiz is a close fought decision and last time out when he was shocked by the underdog Keith Jardine when he was quickly and devistatingly KOed.
Ramirez is a fighter who i am not too familiar with, who has a 0-1 record in the UFC with a loss to James Irvin, he does however have an impressive win over TUF3 star kendel Grove after just 68 seconds, and a decision loss to the impressive Rashad Evans.
As for the fight, Griffen needs to get serious for this fight, buckle down on his training and not underestimate his opponent, especially as his 2 recent defeats have cost him ranking spots in the top of a 205lbs division packed with talent.
Ramirez is a dangerous heavy hitter, which will always give him a shot at taking this fight, especially against the leaky defense of Forrest Griffen.
On paper this should be a Forrest Griffen victory, however like many of the recent shocks (gonzaga over cro-cop, serra over gsp, alexander over jardine) I won't be backing big on Griffen, maybe even opposing him - if of course the odd's are value.
Tyson Griffin vs. Clay Guida
GRIFFEN 8-1
GUIDA 21-7
This fight although lacking the big names (apart from Griffen, but not that one), may just be the fight of the night, and a great matchup. Both fighters are talented wrestlers, perhaps Guida may have the edge here, but Griffen has the edge in the stand up with the big punches. As for the cardio Guida is a cardio machine, with Griffen struggled last time out later on with his cardio, so Guida will have the advantage the longer the fight goes. Guida is rather an inconsistant fighter though with a 3-4 record since 2006 so will need to be in top form for this one.
as for a prediction, i think Griffen may just edge this one, but will need to take a look at the odd's closer to the fight.
Jason MacDonald vs Rory Singer
MacDonald is a fighter who i rate quite highly, although he's not a big name and last time out was pretty much beat up by Rich Franklin he has good wins over Ed Herman and Chris Leben. Rory Singer on the other hand is someone who i have little respect for, he simply quit TUF3 over a letter from his girlfriend (i think he has only been seing her for a few weeks) so was it worth throwing in his UFC career away for someone he barely knew? How Dana White invited him back i do not know, for someone to just quit TUF3 speaks volumes on his commitment to me.
MacDonald win.
Colin Robinson vd Eddie Sanchez
Sanches last fight in the UFC did him no favours, ok he was against the impressive cro-cop but he just backed off all fight after being totally overmatched. This matchup is a much better one for him against the 38 year old boxing specialist Robinson highting in his homeland. Robinson is on a great run going 5-0 already in 2007. This should be an explosive fight with both primarily stand up fighters, though 'brawler' Sanches does have some wrestling skills, though i do think this will be a stand up fight, a close one to call but if the odd's are ig enough i may just be betting on Robinson to exploit Sanchez weak defence with explosive punches.
Marcus Davis vs Jason Tan
Going into this fight Davis has dropped his 'Irish Hand Grenade' nickname to 'the Celtic Warrior', just incase calling himself 'the Irish Hand Grenade' may cause offence - not an ideal nickname when fighting in Belfast is it, but to change it to 'the Celtic Warrior' is probably just as bad as copying Irish boxing legend Steve Collins.
Davis is much more experienced than Tan and at a higher level too, so i would expect him to get a win here.
Ed Herman vs Scott Smith
TUF3 fighter Herman takes on card filler Scott Smith. I would expect Herman to take this fight with his wresteling and ground and pound skills,
Dustin Hazelett vs Stevie Lynch
Hazelett has good striking and grappling skills wheras Lynch is primaraly a striker, i feel that Hazelett may have too much for Lynch in this one and the more well rounded skills to take the victory.
will have a look at the odd's + bets closer to the event.
Rich Franklin vs. Yushin Okami
FRANKLIN 21-2
OKAMI 20-3
For a possible middleweight title shot against Anderson Silva, Heavy hitter and former champ Franklin takes on Okami, a strong wrestler and GnP'er. Franklin was set to fight Martin Kampmann also a striker, but his opponent in Okami will be a very different affair. Okami may not be the prettiest fighter to watch, but he certainly gets the job done.
For me this fight can either go one of 2 ways, either Franklin kan keep the fight standing and possibly get a KO or Okami can out wrestle Franklin and get him to the ground for a decision. Not going to call this fight untill i get to see the odd's.
Forrest Griffin vs. Hector Ramirez
GRIFFEN 13-4
RAMIREZ 6-2-1
Fans favourite griffen will be desperate to get back to winning ways in this fight after suffering a couple of recent losses, first to Tito Ortiz is a close fought decision and last time out when he was shocked by the underdog Keith Jardine when he was quickly and devistatingly KOed.
Ramirez is a fighter who i am not too familiar with, who has a 0-1 record in the UFC with a loss to James Irvin, he does however have an impressive win over TUF3 star kendel Grove after just 68 seconds, and a decision loss to the impressive Rashad Evans.
As for the fight, Griffen needs to get serious for this fight, buckle down on his training and not underestimate his opponent, especially as his 2 recent defeats have cost him ranking spots in the top of a 205lbs division packed with talent.
Ramirez is a dangerous heavy hitter, which will always give him a shot at taking this fight, especially against the leaky defense of Forrest Griffen.
On paper this should be a Forrest Griffen victory, however like many of the recent shocks (gonzaga over cro-cop, serra over gsp, alexander over jardine) I won't be backing big on Griffen, maybe even opposing him - if of course the odd's are value.
Tyson Griffin vs. Clay Guida
GRIFFEN 8-1
GUIDA 21-7
This fight although lacking the big names (apart from Griffen, but not that one), may just be the fight of the night, and a great matchup. Both fighters are talented wrestlers, perhaps Guida may have the edge here, but Griffen has the edge in the stand up with the big punches. As for the cardio Guida is a cardio machine, with Griffen struggled last time out later on with his cardio, so Guida will have the advantage the longer the fight goes. Guida is rather an inconsistant fighter though with a 3-4 record since 2006 so will need to be in top form for this one.
as for a prediction, i think Griffen may just edge this one, but will need to take a look at the odd's closer to the fight.
Jason MacDonald vs Rory Singer
MacDonald is a fighter who i rate quite highly, although he's not a big name and last time out was pretty much beat up by Rich Franklin he has good wins over Ed Herman and Chris Leben. Rory Singer on the other hand is someone who i have little respect for, he simply quit TUF3 over a letter from his girlfriend (i think he has only been seing her for a few weeks) so was it worth throwing in his UFC career away for someone he barely knew? How Dana White invited him back i do not know, for someone to just quit TUF3 speaks volumes on his commitment to me.
MacDonald win.
Colin Robinson vd Eddie Sanchez
Sanches last fight in the UFC did him no favours, ok he was against the impressive cro-cop but he just backed off all fight after being totally overmatched. This matchup is a much better one for him against the 38 year old boxing specialist Robinson highting in his homeland. Robinson is on a great run going 5-0 already in 2007. This should be an explosive fight with both primarily stand up fighters, though 'brawler' Sanches does have some wrestling skills, though i do think this will be a stand up fight, a close one to call but if the odd's are ig enough i may just be betting on Robinson to exploit Sanchez weak defence with explosive punches.
Marcus Davis vs Jason Tan
Going into this fight Davis has dropped his 'Irish Hand Grenade' nickname to 'the Celtic Warrior', just incase calling himself 'the Irish Hand Grenade' may cause offence - not an ideal nickname when fighting in Belfast is it, but to change it to 'the Celtic Warrior' is probably just as bad as copying Irish boxing legend Steve Collins.
Davis is much more experienced than Tan and at a higher level too, so i would expect him to get a win here.
Ed Herman vs Scott Smith
TUF3 fighter Herman takes on card filler Scott Smith. I would expect Herman to take this fight with his wresteling and ground and pound skills,
Dustin Hazelett vs Stevie Lynch
Hazelett has good striking and grappling skills wheras Lynch is primaraly a striker, i feel that Hazelett may have too much for Lynch in this one and the more well rounded skills to take the victory.
will have a look at the odd's + bets closer to the event.