UFC Options

[Robert]

Any UFC fans?
I got bored with it a long time ago but now I'm interested again.
I happen to catch a marathon rerun of the ultimate fighter show (season 8). I normally can't stand reality shows but found this one entertaining. It was interesting to get a behind the scenes look at what their training regiment is like. I ended up liking it so much, I downloaded or ebayed the other 7 seasons of the show. Now I'm really hooked on watching all the UFC fights. Back in the early glory days it was amazing to watch Royce Gracie completely outclass every opponent. Now I see the same overwhelming technical abilities in Lyoto Machida. It's amazing this guy hasn't been given a title shot yet with a 14-0 record in MMA.
He already easily beaten several previous title holders.
I guess a lot of people have complained his fights are boring. I think he's the most interesting people to watch because his style is completely different than anyone else fighting. Everything from his stance to his striking method is just so far beyond everyone else out there right now. For example he landed a perfect switch-kick in his last match, never seen that before in a UFC fight. I read on 1 site which compiles fight stats, Lyoto Machida lands the highest percentage of strike of all the fighters in the UFC. Not only that, he also has one of the lowest percentages of received strikes, where an opponent tries to hit him an succeeds. It will be interesting to see how well he fights after taking a lot of damage, because it's never happened in his previous 14 fights.

I predict once he gets a title shot in the 205lb division, he will probably set a new record for the longest winning streak.

[Robert]

Fight Night for UFC 98, I'm so exited, can't wait.
My cul-de-sac is having a little block party tonight, I'm moving my big screen into the garage so whoever is interested can watch it.
I'm looking forward to so many of the fights.

Rashad Evans Vs. Lyoto Machida
This is going to be a war. Im pretty sure my boy Machida will win the fight.
I've been doing a lot of reading about him, his fight statistics are amazing. He's got a 14-0 record while taking less punishment than any other fighter in the whole UFC. This is copied from one of the sites which does fighter stats.

One of the best ways to measure effective defense and dominance is to look at the number of strikes a fighter absorbs. This gets a little tricky when making comparisons because not all fights are the same length. So instead of using a cumulative total, we use a ratio. The easiest way to consistently calculate this is to figure the number of strikes absorbed divided by the number of minutes fought. That gives you the number of strikes absorbed per minute of fighting, which we abbreviate as SApM. Here are some SApM figures for the current slate of UFC champions:
Anderson Silva: 0.71 SApM Georges St. Pierre: 1.01 SApM BJ Penn: 1.23 SApM Rashad Evans: 1.39
Machida's career SApM is is 0.64
In fact, the only MMA fighter in the whole world with a lower SPaM is the great Fedor Emelianenko, with a SApM of 0.59

Some of Machida's other stats is...
He's never been knocked out
He's never even been knocked down from a punch.
He's never lost a single round on the judges scorecards.

Maybe Evans will win but I find it amazing that even though Evans himself has an undefeated 18-0 record, he's considered the underdog by a 3/1 margin.



Matt Hughes Vs. Matt Serra
Will be another great fight. I think Serra has a 50/50 chance. Serra by all rights should be fighting in the lower weight class. He's the only 5'6" fighter in the 170 lb division. His real strength is his jujitsu but his size really holds him back. It's really funny to watch him fight someone the size of Hughes because Serra's legs are barely long enough to lock him in his guard.
One of those guys will be crying when the match is over, they both hate each other.
I love Serra's new quote
"I already feel like a winner just knowing I get to hit Hughes in his face."
That's freaking awesome.

I even like several of the under card matches
Sean Sherk Vs. Frank Edgar
Phillipe Nover Vs. Kyle Bradley Some people don't like the 155ers but I think they put on some of the best fights, they are always so active.
Krzysztof Soszynski Vs. Andre Gusmao . Soszynski will never be a title holder but he puts on a good fight.



It's going to be great......