Chris Horodecki Talks WEC Debut
Dan Hardy Will Still Fight for Title Despite Impressive Koscheck Performance
UFC 106, while looking like a pretty poor card turned out to be fairly decent. Josh Koscheck took on Anthony Johnson in the co-main event of the evening. If you were to get past the eye pokes and attempted illegal knees the fight ended up being really good.
After the fight when Koscheck said the he is “the number one freaking contender in this weight division” and also mentioned that Dan Hardy “hasn’t fought anyone like me.” While it might be true that Koscheck has come up against some better competition he has already had his shot at the champion and came out without the victory.
Simply because of the reason that Koscheck has already had his shot at the champion (non-title fight, UFC 74) I think it was wise of Dana White to keep his rising British star in the title fight.
Where can Koscheck go from here though? Well Jon Fitch is always around for a fight in the new year if he wins at UFC 107. The fight would be a good third fight or co-main event on Superbowl weekend with the main event being Hardy vs GSP.
If Jon Fitch was to lose his fight at UFC 107 against Mike Pierce Koscheck could be given a fight against Thiago Alves once Alves has recovered from his PCL tear that put him out of UFC 107.
What say the readers? Who should Josh Koscheck fight? Should he have been given the title shot?
UFC 106 Main Card Predictions
Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin
UFC 106 marks the return of Tito Ortiz to the UFC. It won’t be an easy fight for him though against TUF 1 winner and former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin.
I am going to pick Forrest Griffin to win this fight via a unanimous decision. I think every round will be highly contested but Forrest will pull away with two out of three of them to win the fight 29-28 on the scorecards.
Josh Koscheck vs Anthony Johnson
This fight is going to be a close one. I doubt it will go to decision because someone is going to get knocked out. The question is who?
I am going to go with Anthony Johnson to win by the KO in the 2nd round. Johnson has had fewer fights than Koscheck but the fights I have seen him in have been some solid fights with some amazing KO’s to go along with it.
Paulo Thiago vs. Jacob Volkmann
One of the better fights on the card is between Paulo Thiago and the undefeated Jacob Volkmann. Thiago has one loss, a decision to Jon Fitch and eleven wins putting him at 11-1. Volkmann is 9-0 but has not faced the quality of competition that Paulo Thiago has come up against.
I think the fight will go to a decision and Paulo Thiago will take it unanimously.
Luiz Cane vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
This will be Little Nog’s first fight in the UFC and he will have to face some tough competition in opponent Luiz Cane whose only loss was a DQ.
The winner of the fight will be based on where it takes place. Cane must keep it standing because Nogueira has a much superior ground game. If it was to hit the ground and stay there for a significant amount of time I would have to take Nogueira for the win. I doubt it will though so I am going to pick Luiz Cane via TKO in the third round.
Amir Sadollah vs Phil Baroni
This fight should really be an undercard bout. Amir Sadollah has two pro fights one of which was a TKO loss in under a minute. Phil Baroni is 13-11, 13-11!!!
Just because I hate Phil Baroni with a passion I am going to pick Amir Sadollah. Amir can win anyway he likes just as long as the UFC drop Baroni after the fight for being useless. Just for the sake of it I will pick Amir Sadollah to win via TKO round 1.
UFC 106: Forrest Griffin Interview
UFC 106: Tito Ortiz Interview
UFC 105 Betting Picks
UFC 105 is tomorrow! Don’t wait till it is too late to place bets though, the event starts at 1PM EST!
This is going to be a new segment here on MMA-Live showcasing our bet picks for events. We will keep track of our unit counts and overall record of the picks.
If you feel you want to bet on the event you can do so through BetUS. BetUS is one of the biggest and most trusted gambling websites in the United States. Remember though, always keep gambling fun, don’t bet more money than you can afford to lose.
Things to bear in mind before we start:
- If you want to place bets yourself you will need an account at BetUS or another Sportsbook.
- These odds were taken at the time of writing the article from BetUS, odds can fluctuate but tend not to move too much over the period of a day
- We can not foresee the future so bet at your own risk, we will not take liability for your losses.
A quick overview of betting on MMA
OK this section is for those of you that have no idea how the American Odds system works. If you do understand it just go right ahead and skip to our picks.
For our example we will take the odds for the fight Mike Swick vs Dan Hardy from UFC 105.
As you see above both fighters have a numeric value next to their name. The fighter with the lowest numerical value which in this case is Mike Swick is considered favorite (-225<180). When a number is negative like Mike Swicks that means you must place $225 on him to win $100 or $2.25 for every $1 you want to win.
In the case of Dan Hardy and his positive number of +180 that means that for every $100 you wager you will win $180 if Hardy wins.
The Picks
I had this feature in mind for a while here on MMA-Live but here is the problem I am facing starting right now. From a gambling perspective UFC 105 is shoddy. The fights really are too close to call and there are really no good underdogs on the card. I am going to try my best though at making myself some cash and hopefully help you make some as well if you are also betting on BetUS.
Now I left it late but I still think that it is worth a bet. Brandon Vera @ -110 against Randy Couture. Vera was even at one point but I never took the bet as I hoped the action would lean more toward Couture as he is the fan favorite.
Why I am taking Brandon Vera - Randy Couture is now 46 years old. He lost his last two fights against bigger opponents and dropped down into light heavyweight where he will fight Vera. Vera has a reach advantage, height advantage, age advantage and pretty much every other advantage you could throw at him.
How much to bet – For this fight I will be betting 2 units to win 1.82 units. For those that don’t know, a unit is how much you are willing to place per bet if you have $20 in your account and want $1 per bet $1 is your unit. So 2 units would equal to $2.
My second bet will be James Wilkes @ +125 over Matt Brown.
Why I am making this bet – James Wilkes destroyed DeMarques in the TUF finale. Why wouldn’t I take this bet? I think Wilkes from what I saw on the show and of his finale fight is a much more superior fighter than Matt Brown.
How much to bet - I will be betting 3 units on this fight to win 3.75 units.
UFC 105 Bets:
- Brandon Vera -110 over Randy Couture — 2 units to win 1.82
- James Wilkes +125 over Matt Brown — 3 units to win 3.75
Total 5 units to win 5.57
UFC 105 Undercard Preview and Predictions
Here we go, UFC 105 takes place tomorrow from Manchester, England and here are MMA-Live’s undercard preview and predictions. Leave us a comment after reading to tell us you opinions on the predictions. Don’t forget we will also be posting live updates tomorrow on the site as the fights happen.
Andre Winner vs Rolando Delgado
Up first at UFC 105 is TUF lightweight runner up, Andre Winner, taking on another TUF alumni, Rolando Delgado.
I myself don’t see why Delgado is even in the UFC. He is 6-4-1 in professional MMA and to me has not proved that he deserves to be fighting at the level he is at currently.
Andre Winner put in a great performance in his TUF finale fight against Ross Pearson, unfortunatly for him he fell the wrong side of a decision that could really have gone to either fighter. Winner is currently 12-3 in professional mixed martial arts.
I see the fight being played out with mainly stand-up fighting and in the end it will go to a decision which will favor Andre Winner
Prediction: Andre Winner via unanimous decision
Alexander Gustafsson vs Jared Hamman
This is one of the two fights that will not showcase a British fighter at UFC 105. Both fighters will be making their UFC debut.
Alexander Gustafsson is massive for a light heavyweight fighter coming in at 6’ 5”. The height will surely play out to his advantage as well as the fact that he has never lost a fight. Gustafsson is currently 8-0 in MMA with only one fight going the distance.
Gustafsson’s opponent Jared Hamman is an American fighter whose current MMA record is 10-1 with no fights making it to the decision. Hamman’s one loss to Poai Suganuma at ShoXC was over in 15 seconds due to a flying knee. Hamman did get his chance to avenge the loss four months later and succeeded.
With this fight you have two guys that are starting to come into their prime as fighters. One win if spectacular enough is all they need to get onto a main card in the future. Due to the fact that Hamman has faced off against some tougher opponents throughout his career I am going to pick him for the win via TKO due to strikes in the first round.
Prediction: Jared Hamman via TKO due to strikes in round one
Paul Kelly vs. Dennis Silver
This will be Paul Kelly’s second fight at 155lb after winning in his lightweight debut against Rolando Delgado in Germany at UFC 99. Every time Kelly has won in the UFC the fight has gone to a decision. His one loss in MMA and in the UFC was at the hands of Marcus Davis while Kelly was fighting at welterweight. Davis made Kelly tap to a guillotine choke at UFC 89.
Dennis Silver has more experience than Kelly in professional fighting but with that experience comes some extra losses. Silver is 14-6 in MMA, 4-3 in the UFC with one fight gaining him KO of the night. A majority of Silver`s wins come from submission victories. Unlike Kelly Silver likes to finish off the fight and not leave it in the hands of the judges.
I think Kelly will win this fight via a decision. The only way I see Silver winning is if he manages to catch that one sweet shot that will send Kelly down to the mat. Other than the one crazy shot, Kelly has this one in the bag.
Prediction: Paul Kelly via unanimous decision
Nick Osipczak vs Matt Riddle
Here we go with another two TUF alumni. Osipczak was a fighter on season 9 of the show (US vs UK) where he made it to the semi-finals but lost to the man who would become the runner up of the show, DeMarques Johnson. Despite losing on the show Osipczak went on to fight at the finale where he defeated American Frank Lester via rear naked choke in the first round. Osipczak is currently 4-0 in MMA with all four fights ending in the very first round.
Matt Riddle took part in TUF season 7 (Rampage vs Griffin) where he put on some great performances. One fight that will probably always be on his highlight reel was the knockout of Dan Simmler. Simmlers jaw was broken in two places after the punch. Riddles pro MMA debut was against Dante Rivera at the TUF 7 finale where he won via decision. Since then Riddle has won two more fights both of which were by decision. Riddle is currently 3-0 in MMA.
My prediction is Osipczak will tap him good. I won’t go with Osipczak’s recent trends and say a rear naked choke; instead I will go with an armbar.
Prediction: Nick Osipczak via armbar in round one
Terry Etim vs. Shannon Gugerty
Terry Etim will be stepping back into the Octagon this weekend looking to improve on his current three fight win streak against Shannon Gugerty. Etim is a fairly experienced fighter whose current record stands at 13-2 with both losses in the UFC and both by decision. Etim has been the recipient of two UFC “Submission of the Night” awards during his career.
Shannon Gugerty will be making his fourth appearance in the UFC this weekend. Like Etim he is a ground fighter looking to capitalize on all submission opportunities. Nine of his twelve mixed martial arts wins are by submission. Gugerty has three losses in MMA.
My prediction for this fight is another Brit win. I think Etim has a superior ground game and just based on the fact that Gugerty has been caught before I think he can be caught again.
Prediction: Terry Etim via rear naked choke in round 3
Paul Taylor vs. John Hathaway
This is the final prelim fight and it features two British Fighters. One of those fighters Paul Taylor has been around the UFC since UFC 70. His MMA record is 10-4-1(1NC) with a UFC record of 3-3. One of Taylor’s more recent fights against Chris Lytle at UFC 89 was shrouded in controversy after a unanimous decision win for Lytle when many believed that Taylor had won the fight.
Taylor’s opponent this weekend is John Hathaway. Hathaway is currently undefeated in MMA and has two of those wins in the UFC. This fight will be Hathaway’s third fight of the year.
I see Hathaway taking the fight but I expect a solid performance form both fighters. Taylor has won three fight of the night awards in his time at the UFC and I hope he helps Hathaway win one as well.
Prediction: John Hathaway via unanimous decision
Dana White’s UFC 105 Video Blog Part 3
Dana White’s UFC 105 Video Blog Part Two
Wallpaper From New UFC Ring-Girl Pics
It is 1680 x 1050 in resolution so it should fit most monitors… Just click on the image above then once the bigger version loads right click on it and “Set as desktop background.”