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By Joe Ferraro
Sunday night, exclusively in Canada on Rogers Sportsnet, UFC Live Two: Jones vs Matyushenko will be broadcast from the San Diego Sports Arena, in San Diego, California.Prior to the shows 9pm broadcast, we will be airing a special thirty minute preview show, where I’ll be joined by the latest addition to the UFC’s welterweight division, Jake Shields, as well as former 170 lbs title contender, Frank “Twinkle Toes” Trigg, who has long been considered one of the best analysts in the sports today. Never one to hold back on his thoughts, Trigg lays down the law on a variety of headlines from the world of MMA, while breaking down why Jon Jones will have a very difficult time with Frank’s training partner, Vladimir Matyushenko.
As for who I believe will win the main event as well as my thoughts on the rest of the card, I gave my original thoughts on this week’s episode of “The Showdown”, but I’m going to make some modifications, based on some further analysis. Here we go:
Main Card
Jon Jones vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Look for “The Janitor” to eliminate as much space from “Bones”, stuffing every aggressive attempt from the young phenom. He will likely work to grind out a unanimous judges decision. But, if he cannot eliminate that space, Jones will likely pull off some more incredible high light reel techniques. Once he explodes, especially on the ground, it usually means the beginning of the end for whomever is opponent will be.
Prediction: Jon Jones
Mark Munoz vs. Yushin Okami
“The Filipino Wrecking Machine” will look to use his American Wrestling to control “Thunder”, while setting up his ground and pound. Jason MacDonald told me that after his bout with Okami that the Japanese Middleweight has incredible strength and a great base. If he can use these attributes against Munoz, he will move one step closer to Dana White’s ominous prediction this week, that Yushin has been around for awhile and deserves a title shot.
Prediction: Mark Munoz
Jake Ellenberger vs. John Howard
This has fight of the night written all over it. Ellenberger gained my respect in his amazing bout vs Carlos Condit, while I have long enjoyed Howard’s explosive fighting style. This one will have me on the edge of my seat and like on Thursday’s radio show, I am having a difficult time picking a winner. Quite frankly, I just want to enjoy the bout, but for the sake of this article, I’ll go with “Doomsday”.
Prediction: John Howard
Tyson Griffin vs Takanori Gomi
I know there are only a handful of people (if that) that believe me when I say this may be the last time we see Gomi compete in MMA, I have this weird sense that this is the last time we may see “The Fireball Kid”. I’ve long been a fan of his, but in his last few bouts, he has been a shadow of his former self. He must win this fight - no ifs, ands or buts, and he must do it against a fighter who is looking to prove his last loss (vs Evan Dunham) was just a blip on the radar. Tyson is looking to make a statement to the UFC, that he is still a top contender in the division. If Gomi can’t keep up, it’s not going to be pretty.
Prediction: Tyson Griffin
Prelim Card
Note: So many of these fights are worthy of being on the broadcast, so I’m crossing my fingers that they make it on.
Paul Kelly vs. Jacob Volkmann
Unless Volkmann, can deal with Kelly’s explosive attacks, it’s going to be a long night for “Christmas”. He’s 1-2 in his UFC bouts, having lost to Martin Kampmann, but also going the distance in a loss to Paulo Thiago. That’s proof enough that he is extremely rugged. Kelly is 4-2 in the UFC but hasn’t faced the caliber of opponent that Jacob has. My heart says Kelly, my head says Volkmann.
Prediction: Jacob Volkmann
DaMarques Johnson vs. Matthew Riddle
This is another difficult fight to break down - both guys have the skills to dominate their opponent, but still have much to show before they can move up the UFC’s welterweight ladder. Riddle seems to always frustrate his opponents, finding ways to put them in difficult positions while Johnson just likes to beat the will to win out of his adversaries. If Riddle cannot keep Johnson contained, he may not make it the distance.
Prediction: DaMarques Johnson
James Irvin vs. Igor Pokrajac
Thankfully, James Irvin is back in the division where he belongs - light heavyweight. It was disturbing to see how he looked at middleweight, as the cut down to 185 lbs was not a sight to behold. He’s now facing a desperate fighter in Porkrajac, who is winless in the octagon, losing both his UFC bouts (the first to Matyushenko and the second to James Te-Huna). Mind you, he did go the distance with “The Janitor”, so that does mean that “The Sandman” will have to work very hard to take out one of Mirko Cro Cop’s teammates. Irvin is also on a two fight losing streak, but can he do what he’s never done in the octagon before - go the distance? Plus, coming off another, in a multitude of injuries, the deck is stacked against him.
Prediction: Igor Pokrajac
Brian Stann vs Mike Massenzio
Stann is a tough cookie who has been training closely with Jon Jones, alongside Team Greg Jackson. Unfortunately for Massenzio, I believe he will suffer from Octagon rust, as he hasn’t competed since December of 2008, a loss to C.B. Dollaway at UFC 92. With that being said, if he can take Stann down and put him on his back, he may be able to pull off a submission, but I doubt he will be able to do so, as Stann’s rhythm will likely dictate the pace of this fight.
Prediction: Brian Stann
Darren Elkins vs. Charles Oliveira
Elkins is 12-1, and is looking to derail Oliveira (12-0) who has yet to taste defeat in his MMA career, one that saw him start as a welterweight, prior to moving down to the lightweight class. Charles is a highly touted Brazilian prospect that many within the UFC have quietly stated can wreak havoc at 155. Elkins is a perfect match up for him, as Darren will not be pushed around and will take it to his opponent from the opening bell. Or will he?
Prediction: Charles Oliveira
Rob Kimmons vs. Steve Steinbeiss
Kimmons is 2-2 in the UFC, while Steinbeiss has yet to taste victory inside of a Zuffa cage, having lost a split decision to Carmelo Marrero at WEC 39 and via guillotine to Ryan Jensen at UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs Guillard in September of 2009. Both guys are well rounded, but Kimmons sticks out for me as the fighter who will likely dictate where this fight will take place and for how long it will last. He is far more experienced than Steinbeiss and should be able to handle the Arizona Combat Sports middleweight.
Prediction: Rob Kimmons
Misc MMA News and Notes
• Zuffa LLC - owners of the UFC and WEC, has filed suit against Bellator FC and Ken Pavia, from MMA Agents, for “alleged theft of trade secrets”. Zuffa somehow got access to an email that was sent from Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney, that thanks Pavia for various Zuffa documents that were emailed to him, so as to alter them for Bellator’s use. The organization has since hired Patrick English, to represent them in this matter vs Zuffa, and who believes all will be fine and nothing will come from this. The real question is whether Bellator FC can handle the costs of litigation, considering they are not a multi-million dollar promotion generating live gate revenues and pay per view numbers to off set these legal costs. Here’s hoping all can be worked out, and this will not have any impact on Bellator’s Season Three offerings, which start in a few weeks.
• You can now add MC Hammer to the list of folks entering the MMA marketplace, as the Grammy award winner has recently been announced as the CEO of Alchemist Management, a firm that represents the likes of Nate Marquardt, Vladimir Matyushenko, Jorge Rivera and James McSweeney.
• Impact FC is making headlines this week as the event organizers behind the Australia based promotion are apparently feuding over an issue we have seen far too many times in MMA. Some of the fighters have yet to be paid for their services, while promoter Thomas Huggins and financier Andrew McManus point the finger at one another, as to who is/was responsible for paying these athletes. I’ve talked at length about this very topic for years, and as I said on Thursday’s radio show, the old adage proves once again that if you don’t know MMA Promoting history, then you are doomed to repeat it, and find yourself in the MMA grave of so many of the promotions that showed so much promise, but imploded, some even after their first show. Mind you, I firmly believe that it’s not just the promoters to blame here - some this falls on the Athletic Commission, the fighters and their management. Most commissions collect the money for the fighters in advance and when this is not the case, well, compete at your own risk.
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