MAIN CARD
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett (for WAMMA heavyweight title)
Gegard Mousasi vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral
Vitor Belfort vs. Jorge Santiago
Paul Buentello vs. Gilbert Yvel
Takanori Gomi vs. Rafaello Oliveira
PRELIMINARY CARD
Paul Daley vs. Jay Hieron
Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon
Ben Rothwell vs. Chase Gormley
L.C. Davis vs. Javier Vazquez
Mark Hominick vs. Deividas Taurosevicius
Lucio Linhares vs. Mikhail Zayats
Rob Broughton vs. Jessie Gibbs
Wow is this card stacked. Definitely the best card of the year so far in my book. Let's just hope the fights aren't let downs.
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett. Can't wait for this one. Fedor will be fighting his first damn good opponent in awhile. Although his last two fights were against top heavyweights, i wouldn't put them above Barnett. A win over Barnett would solidify Fedor's top spot in the HW division. I see this one being on the feet mostly, Barnett will probably look to takedown Fedor, but Fedor has the best scramble in the sport, so I can't see Barnett keeping Fedor down in a dominant position for too long. On the feet i would give Fedor the edge. I feel this one will go to decision. Fedor is impossible to finish, and Barnett ain't easy to finish either. I got Fedor via unanimous decision.
Gegard Mousasi vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral. Damn am I split for this one. You have the greatest young talent out there today against a veteran in Babalu who's having another good run with his five fight win streak. I really don't know who will take this one. Stand up i would definitely give the edge to Moussasi. Both have a good ground game, but credentials would say Babalu is far superior on the ground due to being a black belt in BJJ. Don't let this fool you though, Gegard has submitted a black belt in Denis Kang, and he trains in the Red Devil gym, the very same gym that Fedor trains at. So I'm sure Gegard can hang on the ground with highly regarded submission fighters. As i said earlier I'm really split on who will take this, I'm also a big fan of both, but i find myself siding for Babalu more. I wouldn't be surprised to see this turn into a great back and forth submission fight. I'll go out on a limb here and say Babalu takes this one via submission
Vitor Belfort vs. Jorge Santiago. Well ever since his release from the UFC Santiago has apparently much approved. Hes looked great in his matches in Sengoku, but outside of Kazuo Misaki, i would say Vitor is Santiago's first top tier MW since his recent run. I honestly don't think Santiago brings anything to the table that Vitor isn't better at. Both are black belts in BJJ, though Santiago holds more submission wins, Vitor's black belt should be more then enough to keep himself safe on the ground till he can scramble back to his feet. On the feet Vitor's hand speed would be too much for Santiago i feel. I got Vitor winning this one via KO.
Paul Buentello vs. Gilbert Yvel. Originally Tim Sylvia was suppose to take on Buentello, but i guess with his recent embarrassment losing to Mercer, they didn't want him on the card. Which i feel is a damn good call. For Sylvia to lose to Mercer in a fuckin MMA just embarrasses the sport. Especially consider Sylvia isn't a nobody, he belongs in the bottom of the barrel for that. Anyway, back on topic. With Yvel now as the replacement for Sylvia, i expect this fight to be slugfest. Both of these guys like to stand and bang, both have pretty sloppy technique i feel also. So like i said, a slugfest. I got Yvel winning this one via TKO
Takanori Gomi vs. Rafaello Oliveira. Wow, just fuckin wow. The Takanori Gomi fighting over here in the US, for the 2nd best biggest promotion in the state(till it folds). Gomi, Babalu, Barnett, Fedor, Gegard, Vitor, damn is this main card stacked. Maybe its just because I'm a big fan of all the fighters i mentioned, but like i said best card of the year in my book. Adding Gomi is just icing on the cake. I'll be honest and say I've never heard of Oliveria until this fight was announced. Hes 8-1 against nobodies, so really nothing of note. From the few fights i found he seems to have a decent ground game. This is a big opportunity for Oliveria. A win over one of the greatest LW's of all time would give him some name recognition, and would probably be brought back by Affliction. Nonetheless i don't know enough about Gomi's opponent to really make a guess here, but i really do hope Gomi pulls the win here. He hasn't looked great as of late, but helpfully hes on top of his game for this fight.
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett (for WAMMA heavyweight title)
Gegard Mousasi vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral
Vitor Belfort vs. Jorge Santiago
Paul Buentello vs. Gilbert Yvel
Takanori Gomi vs. Rafaello Oliveira
PRELIMINARY CARD
Paul Daley vs. Jay Hieron
Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon
Ben Rothwell vs. Chase Gormley
L.C. Davis vs. Javier Vazquez
Mark Hominick vs. Deividas Taurosevicius
Lucio Linhares vs. Mikhail Zayats
Rob Broughton vs. Jessie Gibbs
Wow is this card stacked. Definitely the best card of the year so far in my book. Let's just hope the fights aren't let downs.
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett. Can't wait for this one. Fedor will be fighting his first damn good opponent in awhile. Although his last two fights were against top heavyweights, i wouldn't put them above Barnett. A win over Barnett would solidify Fedor's top spot in the HW division. I see this one being on the feet mostly, Barnett will probably look to takedown Fedor, but Fedor has the best scramble in the sport, so I can't see Barnett keeping Fedor down in a dominant position for too long. On the feet i would give Fedor the edge. I feel this one will go to decision. Fedor is impossible to finish, and Barnett ain't easy to finish either. I got Fedor via unanimous decision.
Gegard Mousasi vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral. Damn am I split for this one. You have the greatest young talent out there today against a veteran in Babalu who's having another good run with his five fight win streak. I really don't know who will take this one. Stand up i would definitely give the edge to Moussasi. Both have a good ground game, but credentials would say Babalu is far superior on the ground due to being a black belt in BJJ. Don't let this fool you though, Gegard has submitted a black belt in Denis Kang, and he trains in the Red Devil gym, the very same gym that Fedor trains at. So I'm sure Gegard can hang on the ground with highly regarded submission fighters. As i said earlier I'm really split on who will take this, I'm also a big fan of both, but i find myself siding for Babalu more. I wouldn't be surprised to see this turn into a great back and forth submission fight. I'll go out on a limb here and say Babalu takes this one via submission
Vitor Belfort vs. Jorge Santiago. Well ever since his release from the UFC Santiago has apparently much approved. Hes looked great in his matches in Sengoku, but outside of Kazuo Misaki, i would say Vitor is Santiago's first top tier MW since his recent run. I honestly don't think Santiago brings anything to the table that Vitor isn't better at. Both are black belts in BJJ, though Santiago holds more submission wins, Vitor's black belt should be more then enough to keep himself safe on the ground till he can scramble back to his feet. On the feet Vitor's hand speed would be too much for Santiago i feel. I got Vitor winning this one via KO.
Paul Buentello vs. Gilbert Yvel. Originally Tim Sylvia was suppose to take on Buentello, but i guess with his recent embarrassment losing to Mercer, they didn't want him on the card. Which i feel is a damn good call. For Sylvia to lose to Mercer in a fuckin MMA just embarrasses the sport. Especially consider Sylvia isn't a nobody, he belongs in the bottom of the barrel for that. Anyway, back on topic. With Yvel now as the replacement for Sylvia, i expect this fight to be slugfest. Both of these guys like to stand and bang, both have pretty sloppy technique i feel also. So like i said, a slugfest. I got Yvel winning this one via TKO
Takanori Gomi vs. Rafaello Oliveira. Wow, just fuckin wow. The Takanori Gomi fighting over here in the US, for the 2nd best biggest promotion in the state(till it folds). Gomi, Babalu, Barnett, Fedor, Gegard, Vitor, damn is this main card stacked. Maybe its just because I'm a big fan of all the fighters i mentioned, but like i said best card of the year in my book. Adding Gomi is just icing on the cake. I'll be honest and say I've never heard of Oliveria until this fight was announced. Hes 8-1 against nobodies, so really nothing of note. From the few fights i found he seems to have a decent ground game. This is a big opportunity for Oliveria. A win over one of the greatest LW's of all time would give him some name recognition, and would probably be brought back by Affliction. Nonetheless i don't know enough about Gomi's opponent to really make a guess here, but i really do hope Gomi pulls the win here. He hasn't looked great as of late, but helpfully hes on top of his game for this fight.