UFC 87: Seek and Destroy

[Slim Pickns]

UFC 87 Seek and Destroy

August 9th at the Target Center in my hometown of Minneapolis, MN is UFC 87. I will be going to the event as well as the pre fight weigh ins and Q and A with Dana White, George St. Pierre, Jon Fitch, Roger Huerrta, Kenny Florian, Brock Lesnar, and Heath Herring. I have yet to obtain a press pass for the post fight Q and A but will try my best to get one.

PPV Card
Main Event Welterweight Championship
George St. Pierre vs Jon Fitch
Most people here seem to think this will be a cakewalk for GSP. I don’t think it will be as easy as they say. No one has given Fitch a chance since he started his run at the UFC. He was left off the Ultimate Fighter Season One (not eliminated, he didn’t even make the show), yet he made it to the UFC anyway by winning fights. Then, he was seen as the understudy to Mike Swick, his training partner who made the semifinals of the show. Fast forward two years, Swick is at the rank of journyman while Fitch hasn’t lost a fight since joining the UFC. He is also undefeated at the weight of 185, his only two losses ever come from fighting bigger opponents at 205. Jon Fitch is the staple argument as to why the Ultimate Fighter TV show is bogus. The guy wasn’t good enough to sit in a house and fight a bunch of idiots, but he is good enough to warrant a shot at the World Title. GSP has only one weakness, inexperience. While he is physically better the everyone, his two losses have big glaring problems. He tapped out to a Matt Hughes kumara not realizing there was only one second left in the round. Then, he got flat out sloppy, thinking Matt Serra was a pushover. Serra made him pay with his very underrated strikes. GSP looks better on paper, but Fitch is more than capable of putting him away.

Kenny Florian vs Roger Huerta
This bout is pretty much a number one contender match for the World Lightweight Title. Both men are on a roll, Florian’s last loss came from Sean Sherk pretty much laying on top of him for five rounds. Florian lost the fight by decision, but he didn’t really lose. Huerta has had trouble putting away some of the more skilled competitors in the UFC, but he really hasn’t come close to losing. His lack of finishing technique could end up hurting him against the crafty Ken Flo.

Brock Lesnar vs Heath Herring
This is probably the match you are anticipating the most. Brock Lesnar is the most exciting rookie in the game today. He has unbelievable athletism for a man his size. He also has blazing hand speed and of course phenomenal wrestling. Originally scheduled to fight Mark Coleman, Brock find himself staring at Heath Herring. Herring is a Sambo master with great strikes and submissions. In almost everyway, he is an upgrade over Coleman. The Coleman fight was the UFC’ way of having Brock destroy a legend with name value, Now, Lesnar has a much tougher task against a veteran who knows how to exploit weakness, which should have Brock worried (Frank Mir anyone?)

Jason McDonald vs Demian Maia
Demian Maia is an undefeated fighter who put himself in the spotlight by taking TUF favorite Ed Herman and choking him out unconscious, all while landing blows to the head at the same time. Jason McDonald, has made a career out of beating younger and more heavily hyped fighters. I doubt he can keep that streak going here, but you never know with this veteran that loves to crush all the hype.

Manny Gamburyan vs Rob Emerson
This is going to be a ground battle where we will almost definitely see some brutal ground and pound. Its all going to come down to who gets the first takedown. My guess is Manny, the dude is tenacious and will more than likely maul Emerson.

Non PPV fights aka fights I get to watch and you don’t
Cheick Kongo vs Dan Evenson
Andre Gusmo vs Tomasz Drwal
Steve Bruno vs Chris Wilson
Ben Saunders vs Jared Rollins

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Most people on this forum will check out the results of this show, purely to see how Lesnar is doing. The naysayers will say he's shit and will be back wrestling before you know it. I don't feel that's the case. He lost, bug deal. It's better to have blemishes on your record than to have a fight streak of 15-0 against nobodies. He's also already the biggest star in that division even with one loss out of one fights.

And no Cheick Kongo on the fight card. Score.

 

[Slim Pickns]

Cheick is one of the most boring fighters to watch. He was the rumored opponenet for Lesnar when Coleman went out.

The only reason Brock has naysayers is because he lost in his second fight. However, no other fighter has ever gotten interest from the UFC with only one fight under their belt. The reason you see fighters with 15-0 records (Bisping) is because they fight nobodies for 15 fights, then get to the UFC and are touted as undefeated sensations. The fact is, Brock fought a former world champion and nearly won, thats impressive.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Cheick is one of the most boring fighters to watch. He was the rumored opponenet for Lesnar when Coleman went out.

I've endured him twice in England. But the whole division at the moment is pretty dull.

The only reason Brock has naysayers is because he lost in his second fight. However, no other fighter has ever gotten interest from the UFC with only one fight under their belt. The reason you see fighters with 15-0 records (Bisping) is because they fight nobodies for 15 fights, then get to the UFC and are touted as undefeated sensations. The fact is, Brock fought a former world champion and nearly won, thats impressive.

Lesnar gave the rub to Mir in that fight. And he needed it. After being a former champ he's done almost fuck all and was only in title contention because of how barren the division is. Mir should thank Lesnar for getting him the TUF job.

 

[Slim Pickns]

I wonder if Lesnar would have gotten the TUF job had he won. That would have been funny having a guy with two fights coaching guys with ten plus fights on their record. It would have however, been the highest rated season for sure. Brock is a draw and I'm guessing this Minnesota crowd will pop huge for him here. Say what you want about the two main event fights, Brock is the draw for this show.

I'm actually excited for the Welterweight fight though. Everyone is calling Fitch a pushover, but he has beaten the TUF winner of the season that he was apparently not good enough to be on. He also is undefeated at 185 and more experienced than George. Everyone sees a GSP mauling, I think it will be competitive.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I wonder if Lesnar would have gotten the TUF job had he won. That would have been funny having a guy with two fights coaching guys with ten plus fights on their record. It would have however, been the highest rated season for sure. Brock is a draw and I'm guessing this Minnesota crowd will pop huge for him here. Say what you want about the two main event fights, Brock is the draw for this show.

It would have been great. But no. I think they were just capitalizing on the victory. Also added to the fact that the Heavyweights haven't had a season dedicated to just them yet. They shared season 2, but who really remembers the contestants in that division. They also didn't have a heavyweight coach.

I'm actually excited for the Welterweight fight though. Everyone is calling Fitch a pushover, but he has beaten the TUF winner of the season that he was apparently not good enough to be on. He also is undefeated at 185 and more experienced than George. Everyone sees a GSP mauling, I think it will be competitive.

I don't expect anything other than a GSP victory. But I still don't think it'll be a cut and dry victory for him.

 

[Slim Pickns]

You are probably right, but its still going to be exciting. I'm hoping people order this for Brock and then get wowed by Huerta and Florian. The lightweights only started recently proving to be a draw for the UFC, though the title is always featured on a strong card. However, with Penn being champion, Florian and Huerta hold the divisions sucess in there hands. If they can steal the show from Brock, and cause a showdown with Penn, The UFC will have a lightweight division that actually has some longevity.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I've been high on Huerta for a while now. I'd much prefer to see him vs. Penn than a lot of fights at the moment. I was a fan of Pride for years so it was Sherk that actually got me intrested in the division. But with Penn probably stepping up to face GSP his next Lighweight fight will probably be his last for at least a year.

 

[Slim Pickns]

The rumored Penn vs GSP fight is apparently set for December. Its just a rumor at this point but its worth something.

Sherk is a smart fighter who has mastered cutting weight. However, his recent strategy of get as light as possible to overpower opponents has brought him wins, but not exciting fights. With fans getting more and more bored with that style and his recent loss to BJ, Sherk may need to re-evaluate what to do with his career. If he decides to jump back up to welter or middle, he'd easily be dismantled by either of those divisions champions. I like the guy, I've actually gotten training advice from him, but I think he may need a huge exciting win just to get back on the radar.

Huerta has been high on my list as well. He's young, exciting, and tough. He can win fights in an exciting way. He's what that division needs right now.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Huerta has been high on my list as well. He's young, exciting, and tough. He can win fights in an exciting way. He's what that division needs right now.

He's also young and very handsome. He's be a great marketing tool for UFC to try different areas.

If Penn & GSP is possibly set for December then I guess it's all down to the outcome of this match. GSP loses and they won't bother. The whole point of Penn moving up is so he can try to be a double champ. A non title match would be worth seeing again, but it wouldn't have the same appeal.

 

[Slim Pickns]

I'm conflicted, while i think GSP will win, I'm unsure if Penn would fight the Florian/Huerta winner before December or not. If he fights before, then he's more worn out than GSP, but if he fights GSP first then Huerta or Florian will have to wait until next March or April to get their shot. This is the rare case where UFC has two good options, and will have to chose.

BJ Penn vs GSP will not have nearly the appeal if one of them loses. Right now, Anderson Silva is even getting asked about a potential GSP fight. Silva's agent says GSP has to prove himself, and a win over Penn would do that. We could be looking at a lot of potential weight class moves. Who says Huerta won't want any of GSP if he wins?

 

[jmt225]

In my opinion, Herring couldn’t be a better match-up for Lesnar. For one, win or lose, Lesnar gets respect for fighting a reputation like Heath Herring. But for two, Herring’s style is perfect for Brock to be able to kick his ass. Herring’s takedown defense is absolute shit. And not only is his takedown defense bad, but the dude has no BJJ skill whatsoever. However, the danger of Herring is his stand-up. It’s amazing and he would definitely destroy Brock were they to box the entire time (much like Penn vs. Sherk), but Lesnar isn’t that fucking ******ed.

Anyway, I would say Lesnar wins this by TKO, but Herring is one tough motherfucker, so I say by the end of the night, Lesnar wins by unanimous decision. I think Lesnar will be able to continuously put Herring on his ass throughout the fight, and have the power to stay on top of him however long he wants. I bet he’s also going to be able to pass his guard a few times, too. Mir’s much better on the ground than Herring, and Brock easily passed his guard in the first few seconds of their fight. But like I said, unless the Ref does an early bullshit stoppage, I don’t see Herring getting knocked out or giving up. Luckily for him, Brock doesn’t have the submission skills yet to risk locking one on. I’m positive Brock’s going to depend on his ground and pound for this fight, and that definitely works to Herring’s advantage since he can take a beating like no other. However, in the end, I truly believe Herring is going to be Lesnar’s stepping stone. I could be wrong, but I really do believe this is Lesnar’s coming out party. Herring’s just a great match-up for Lesnar IMO. Should be an awesome fight.

Florian vs. Huerta should be a decent fight. I'm not a big Florian fan as I believe he tries to win all his fights by cut stoppage, and personally, I think that's kind of shitty, but I don't think he has the ability to catch Huerta like that. Huerta's developing into one of the top fighters in the World and if he wins this fight, in my opinion, he deserves a title shot.

And nothing against Jon Fitch, but there's no way he wins. GSP is just too fucking good right now. BJ Penn and Nick Diaz are the only two fighters around that weight class that I believe could give him a run for his money, but other than those two, GSP isn't losing to anybody any time soon.

 

["Rush" GSP]

First off Slim...thank you for trying to invigorate UFC onto these forums.

I am very excited about this card for three reasons. GSP is my favorite fighter, brock lesnars second fight, and the ken flo vs huerta match.

To me if GSP is focused this match will be a cake walk. He is superior in my eyes in every aspect there is. He will out wrestle a world class wrestler, out strike a striker..you name it he will do it.

Lesnars second match should have an even bigger atmosphere seeing hes from Minnesota. I expect him to win he would have won his first match but had one slip up cost him.

To me the fight of the night is gonna be Florian/Huerta. I like both guys games a lot and to me tjhis is the match i'm most excited for.

I think UFC pulled off a realluy good card with these three top match;es and i will definitely be ordering it.

Predictions:
GSP dominates to a second round win
Lesnar wins via knockout in round one
Huerta wins by decision over FLorian

 

[Slim Pickns]

Unless there is an unexpected injury in the final days of lead up, the card shown in the original post will be the final card for August 9ths event. Overall, another solid card from UFC, as they will need buys seeing as UFC 88 is sub par (hoping for Chuck to bring in buys), UFC 89 is halfway a joke, and 90's main event is Silva vs Cote which most will expect to be a route.

I'm still seeing a number of posters giving Fitch less than flattering comments, something that seems weird for the 22-2 upstart. The guy has surpassed everyone on the reality show that the so called experts deemed better than him. He defeated the show's winner, and hasn't lost at 185. While all signs show for a dominant run from GSP, I think guaranteeing a victory for a guy who got mauled by Matt Serra is jumping the gun a little. If I had to bet money, I'd bet on George. Since I don't have to bet, I won't.

 

[8five]

I'm picking Fitch in this, and im gonna give reasons. If you look at GSP and his recent wins they have been due to gameplanning. Against Hughes he recognized that if he kept it standing with solid takedown defense it was his optimal chance to win. Against Koscheck he knew if he could get Josh on his back, Josh was out of his element. Lastly against Serra, Matt is great on the mat but is clearly outsized in the matchups and his game isnt effective against someone as physically dominant as GSP. As for Fitch I dont know what GSP plan is going to be. The kid has takedown defense as well as amazing takedowns, he has submissions from his back and from on top as well as very good standup. To be frank I would take Fitch now over Hughes in his prime and I think on 8/9 ur gonna see why, the kid is the best in this weight class right now at least I hope so for my wallet cause i'm betting the dog

 

[Slim Pickns]

Everything you just said about Fitch is true, however I wouldn't put money on him. This fight really could go either way. Again, If I had to pick, it be GSP, but the smart thing to do is just not bet. People have GSP destroying Serra and Hughes burned into their eyeballs while they completely forgot about his losses to those same two. There is nothing in my mind that tells me Fitch cannot do the same. With that said, GSP is GSP and can beat anyone including the highly respected Jon Fitch.

 

[Frank the Frowner]

If you were to place a bet on tonight's fights, looking at the odds, I would say that Tamden McCrory is a very good bet. He's looked very good, and built up an impressive resume until his last fight, and he's taking on Luke Cummo, who sports a 6-5 record. I'm even thinking of putting $50 down on him for tonight... he's a real good underdog pick.

I think that Fitch is going to be a much tougher challenge for GSP than people are giving him credit for. Fitch is on a very impressive streak that is too hard to overlook. I can see it going three rounds where GSP finally gets the best of him in a good back and forth contest.

Lesnar is going to destroy Herring and finally put the nay-sayers to rest. It will be a very quick and impressive first round victory, where I can see him unloading on Herring the same way he did Mir. Herring does not have good submission skills at all, and will not be caught up in the same trap that he was before.

K-Flo vs. Huerta is going to be the true fight of the night. Two top lightweights going at it. Their styles are going to mix real well together... and it's going to go to the judges, I feel. There's no way that one will be able to put away the other with only three rounds. Both are extremely tough and extremely great fighters.

Don't forget to participate in the pick'em, which can be found here: http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?p=542339

 

[Slim Pickns]

I am about to leave for the Target Center to continue my UFC weekend. I have had such a blast with this event and feel that anyone who calls this a bloodsport would have had their opinions changed after meeting the fighters yesterday. I have autographs from nearly all fighters on the card plus Sean Sherk (met him plenty of times), Matt Hughes (again), and Clay Guida. I'm going to write a column in the lounge tomorrow because I feel I could write a novel about how great this has been.

After seeing the weigh in, I'd be willing to bet money that Lesnar is going to destroy Herring in a minute. He looked absolutely amazing at the weigh in while Heath looked average. GSP had his usual ripped physique and Fitch looked the same as he always does. After long thought, I changed my mind and went with Ken Flo in the third big fight of the evening.

 

[jmt225]

So, SPOILERS ahead. If you plan to download the show and don't want any clue on who wins any of the fights, THEN DON’T READ ANY FURTHER!!

Jason MacDonald vs. Demian Maia:
Maia defeats MacDonald by submission (rear naked choke) at 2:44 of round 3

Not really too familiar with either of these guys, but I saw Maia's fight against Ed Herman and remember being impressed, and he impressed me again tonight. He's undefeated, so it looks like he has some serious potential for finally being another big name the UFC needs in the Middleweight Division. Look forward to his future. Good fight.

Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta
Florian defeats Huerta by Decision (Unanimous). All three judges scored the bout 30-27

Wow... this fight shocked the hell out of me. I've been blindly looking past Florian's vastly improvement since the first season of TUF because I simply don't like him, but he earned my respect tonight. Whether Huerta took him too lightly or he was just overrated to begin with since he basically has beaten no-names, Florian still looked great in there against someone I consider to be a very good fighter. I look forward to seeing if Florian will be able to show that same kind of dominance on someone like BJ Penn or some of the other upper-tier guys in the division.

Manny Gamburyan vs. Rob Emerson
Emerson defeats Gamburyan by KO at 0:12 of round 1.

I thought after the Florian fight, no more shockers were going to come my way, but boy I was wrong. The Ultimate Fighter Season 5 is by far my favorite season ever, and I thought for sure Manny was going to kill Emerson. While Emerson never looked like a chump in any of his fights, he never looked that good either and Manny always looked awesome. But what the fuck happened tonight? Manny has to be in shock right now. There's no way, even after a 12 second knock out, that I can sit here and honestly say Emerson is the better fighter. Manny needs to get his shit straight, otherwise this loss will end up being the death of him professionally wise.

Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring
Lesnar defeats Herring by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 30-26

Ahh, the fight everyone was looking forward to, and what a fun one it was. You know, not to toot my own horn, but earlier in this very thread I made a prediction regarding this, and it went as followed:

"I would say Lesnar wins this by TKO, but Herring is one tough motherfucker, so I say by the end of the night, Lesnar wins by unanimous decision. I think Lesnar will be able to continuously put Herring on his ass throughout the fight, and have the power to stay on top of him however long he wants. I bet he’s also going to be able to pass his guard a few times, too. Mir’s much better on the ground than Herring, and Brock easily passed his guard in the first few seconds of their fight. But like I said, unless the Ref does an early bullshit stoppage, I don’t see Herring getting knocked out or giving up. Luckily for him, Brock doesn’t have the submission skills yet to risk locking one on. I’m positive Brock’s going to depend on his ground and pound for this fight, and that definitely works to Herring’s advantage since he can take a beating like no other. However, in the end, I truly believe Herring is going to be Lesnar’s stepping stone. I could be wrong, but I really do believe this is Lesnar’s coming out party. Herring’s just a great match-up for Lesnar IMO. Should be an awesome fight."

Man, I love being right.

Anyway, I'm super stoked about this. I knew Lesnar had it in him to pull off that kind of performance. I wasn't expecting him to look so good early in the fight stand-up wise, but he's really coming around. Now, if only he could get down some BJJ, he'll be unstoppable.

Oh, and a lot of people want to talk about his antics after the fight, but it doesn't bother me personally. I mean, my two favorite fighters of all time are Tito Ortiz and Nick Diaz, so showboating and talking shit isn't going to get bother me in the least bit. However, I must say to the ones who do believe Lesnar is a douchebag because of his reaction after winning, let me ask you this: Would you say what Lesnar did is less classy than spanking your opponent on the ass while dominating him? Let's not forget that what many consider to be the ultimate class act in MMA, Randy Couture, did exactly that to Tito Ortiz. Seriously, I hope there aren't many here who make a big deal out of this like other places on the net are. To me, Lesnar was pumped, and Herring was talking a lot of shit before the fight. Emotions can run wild in those circumstances.

Welterweight Championship bout: Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch
St. Pierre defeats Fitch by unanimous decision. The judges scored the bout 50-43, 50-44, 50-44.

This fight was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. Fitch showed A LOT of heart, and he should be very proud of his performance. But GSP was just too much for him. GSP is pretty much too much for anyone around his weight class, except for maybe two or three guys, and one of those guys, in my opinion, happens to be BJ Penn. I cannot wait for GSP vs. Penn 2 now. That is going to be a fantastic fight. I loved the hype that was set up for it tonight.

Overall, great card. By the end of it, I felt I got my money’s worth and that’s all I ask whenever I spend money on anything. Lesnar winning definitely stole the show for me, but everything else about this card was great as well. I can't even imagine how great of a night you had Slim, but I definitely look forward to your review.

 

[Slim Pickns]

This was, without a doubt, the best UFC card of the year so far. It even surpassed 84, which had two of my favorite fighters on the card. You can say I'm biased because I went there, but come in here and tell me this wasn't the best event all year and I'll gladly show you how wrong you are.

Starting with the prelims...

Rollins vs Thomas
A fairly decent reaction for these two, because they were the first guys to come out. Rollins wins by submission in a ok match. Give Thomas a full training schedule and I bet he'd win.

Wilson vs Bruno
Big reaction for both as the crowd had filled out, so its the first fight most people saw (I'm a freak and got there early). Lackluster battle with Wilson outclassing Bruno the whole way to a decision win.

Jones vs Gusmo
Gusmo took a knee to the groin in the first round. Then in the second, he acted as if he got hit again so that the ref would give him a break. Replay showed that he didn't get hit, but rather that HE landed a groin shot on Jones. Gusmo goes into defense mode and get routed in the only pure borefest of the night.


Cheick Kongo vs Dan Evenson
HUGE POP for Cheick, though I don't know why, he hasn't done anything other than be over hyped. I guess its because he's the first big name to compete. He utterly destroys Evenson with strikes and the crowd is going WILD!

Cummo vs McCrory
Great showing by both. This was similar to the main event because Cummo was tough enough to hang in, but didn't have the gameplan to do any damage. He looked good, but McCrory looked awesome and had the crowd chanting huge for him as they announced the unanimous decision victory.

McDonald vs Maia
This is what happens when you get two solid grapplers in the octagon together. After two evenly matched rounds full of attempts and reversals, Maia finally caught McDonald in a rear naked choke and won the match.

Huerta vs Florian
Crowd is nuts for our boy Huerta. That didn't translate to anything though as Florian looked like he knew exactly what Roger was going to do at all times. Florian won in a shockingly lopsided fight.

Gamburyan vs Emerson
BAM! It was over. Manny apparently forgot that his takedowns are good and that Emersons hands have proven effective. He went in swinging and got caught in 12 seconds. The guys behind me kept asking all night when the Manny fight was coming on. Then they went to piss after the Huerta Florian fight and missed the whole thing.

Lesnar vs Herring
One of the loudest crowds I've ever hear for anyone. Brock is taunting as if he's in the WWE and he's got this crowd going wild. He lands a huge right that sends Herring into a backwards summersault (no joke). Brock utterly destroys him for three rounds while bobbing his head to the crowds chants. It was one of the biggest beatings I've ever seen dished out. It was so bad that the third round had people stop cheering and just sit and feel bad for Heath. When Lesnar was announced the winner, the crowd went bananas.

GSP vs Fitch
Not what I had expected at all. I can tell you this, if anyone has more fans going out of this event than they had going in, its not Lesnar, its Fitch. They guy took everything GSP has run over guys like Hughes and Serra with and didn't go down. Most in the crowd thought if you gave George ten rounds, he still wouldn't have gotten the finish. Unfortunately for Fitch, you don't become champion by showing good effort and he is not the UFC Welterweight Champion.

Now, a little extra sidenote from my UFC experience. During the meet and great from the day before, I met all the fighters plus Hughes (again), Sherk (for the millioth time) and a guy who I feel you should all know is one of the nicest and most respectful people I have ever met, Clay Guida. Clay signed extra copies of his photos for free, and when someones camera broke and was holding up the line, he tried to fix it for them rather then boot them out. It was a nice gesture and was something all the MMA bashers should see before the call this a mindless bloodsport.

UFC 87 was one of the funnest weekends of my life. I may be headed to UFC 90 in Chi Town if my friends can arrange it.