Ultimate Fight Night 15

[jmt225]

UFC presents 'Ultimate Fight Night 15' this Wednesday, and I haven't been this excited for an 'Ultimate Fight Night' ever. The show features a lot of fighters I really like, and it's actually on my birthday, so that's a plus as well. So, here's the main card:

Lightweight (155lbs)
Josh Neer (23-6-1) vs. Nate Diaz (8-2-0)

Lightweight (155lbs)
Mac Danzig (18-4-1) vs. Clay Guida (22-9-0)

Light Heavyweight (205lbs)
Eric Schafer (9-3-2) vs. Houston Alexander (8-2-0)

Middleweight (185lbs)
Ed Herman (14-6-0) vs. Alan Belcher (12-5-0)

Lightweight (155lbs)
Joe Lauzon (16-3-0) vs. Kyle Bradley (13-5-0)

Light Heavyweight (205lbs)
Ryan Jensen (13-4-0) vs. Wilson Gouveia (10-5-0)



If you follow TUF as much as I do (I actually own every season on DVD), then you know this show is a big treat for its fans.

First of all, I've always been a HUGE Nick Diaz fan, so when I first watched his little bro in TUF Season 5 (my favorite season, by the way), I instantly became a fan and he is now one of my favorite fighters. So I am really excited for this fight and am heavily rooting for him to pull off a victory. I'm positive he can. Neer looked great in his last fight against Din Thomas, but he was dominated against Nate's brother Nick a few years ago and I think at this point, Nate is better then Nick was back then. So it should be a fun fight, but I see no plausible reason why Nate Diaz should lose this one. If he goes on to win this and maybe one or two more fights, a shot at the UFC Lightweight Title shouldn’t be too far down the line.

Mac Danzig vs. Clay Guida has the potential to be Fight of the Year. All of Clay's fights are exciting as hell, and Danzig proved on TUF 6 and his fights after (and before the show, to be honest; he should've had a chance in the UFC long before TUF 6) the show that he is someone to be reckoned with. I see Mac winning this via submission, but it won't be easy and Clay should put up one hell of a fight.

Eric Schafer vs. Houston Alexander should be okay. I'm not too familiar with Schafer (only saw his fight against Bisping), but Houston is a strong striker with a glass jaw. This one should end early with someone getting KOed.

Ed Herman is one cocky son of a bitch. I hated him at first on TUF 3, but I've come to like him since then and I hope he does well Wednesday. He needs an impressive showing badly, but it won’t be easy against a guy like Alan Belcher, who looked really good in his last couple of fights before losing to Jason Day recently.

Joe Lauzon vs. Kyle Bradley should be a GREAT fight. I'm a huge fan of Lauzon, and Bradley's not so bad himself (though I only really like him because he's from my hometown and went to a rival high school, which I assume we played football against one another during his senior year, since he was apparently on his school team), but I'm pulling for Lauzon in this one. Regardless, it should be a fun contest. Lauzon has to bounce back from his lost against Kenny Florian and I think he will in tremendous fashion.

And I don’t know too much about Ryan Jensen, but Wilson Gouveia is a pretty decent fighter. It might be a good fight.

All in all, should be a great show. Like I said, if you followed the seasons throughout the last couple of years of The Ultimate Fighter, then you should really be looking forward to this show. If not, but you’re still a fan of MMA, you should check this out anyway, because it’s a guarantee you’re going to see some great fights nonetheless.

 

[Kasey]

Lightweight (155lbs)
Josh Neer (23-6-1) vs. Nate Diaz (8-2-0)
I'd be blowing smoke up the internet's collective ass if I didn't say that I hope Neer puts lil' Nate to sleep. I'm the polar opposite of the TS in that I can't fucking stand the Diaz brothers. A lot of talent, but zero class and no smarts on how to evolve their game and utilize their potential to the best of their respective abilities (especially Nick). Neer has the experience edge and this time Nate won't be able to fall back on his cardio to save his skinny ass like he did when he fought in Denver the last time.

Lightweight (155lbs)
Mac Danzig (18-4-1) vs. Clay Guida (22-9-0)
I think Guida has this one in the bag. He's due for a solid performance and this is it. Granted, Danzig has plenty of potential, but I still think that Guida is the more well-rounded and scrappy fighter. Not to mention that Guida has one hell of a chin and I can still remember Danzig's last trip to Japan and how that ended up. Guida is certainly not Tommy Speer and this fight I believe will show it.

Light Heavyweight (205lbs)
Eric Schafer (9-3-2) vs. Houston Alexander (8-2-0)
Schafer has only one thing he needs to do to beat Houston as evidenced in Houston's fight with Thiago Silva: GET IT ON THE FUCKING GROUND. Plain and simple. Houston handles floor combat like a disoriented tortoise.

Middleweight (185lbs)
Ed Herman (14-6-0) vs. Alan Belcher (12-5-0)
I got a strange feeling that somehow Ed Herman is going to take it. I don't know what it is, though. Call it women's intuition minus the vagina or something.

Lightweight (155lbs)
Joe Lauzon (16-3-0) vs. Kyle Bradley (13-5-0)
Bradley is a solid up-and-comer, but I feel that Lauzon has progressed more in the last year than people can tell by his fight with Florian. The only thing that hurt Joe in that fight was the cardio factor and the issue regarding elevation (which is why I fucking hate Denver when it comes to sports). I think the tutelage of Penn will show and I look for Joe to pull out the RNC.

Light Heavyweight (205lbs)
Ryan Jensen (13-4-0) vs. Wilson Gouveia (10-5-0)
This to me is kind of a pick 'em. Gouveia needs to fight a LOT smarter than he did against Goran Reljic and not just stand in there looking to bang. He has some solid skills and his camp breeds well-rounded fighters. He should be an example of that. Dare to dream, though.

 

[jmt225]

Thought it was a fantastic show. Definitely one of the best 'Ultimate Fight Nights' in a while.

Joe Lauzon vs. Kyle Bradley was the only fight not shown on TV that I bothered watching on UFC.com, and it was a good fight. Lauzon had a very impressive showing. I was happy for him. I look forward to seeing what they do with him next.

Eric Schafer vs. Houston Alexander kicked off the show and it was awesome while it lasted, simply because the crowd was so into it, rooting for their hometown boy Houston Alexander. Unfortunately for the fans there though, Houston is just too inexperienced on the ground to ever beat a top lever BJJ fighter. I had no idea about Schafer's credibility in BJJ until they talked about it, but once they did, Houston's chances of winning went down largely in my mind and it showed why in the fight. He is just horrible on the ground. Schafer passed his guard without even trying it seemed. Absolutely pathetic showing by Houston.

Ed Herman vs. Alan Belcher was a very good fight I thought, but I completely disagreed with the judge’s decision. I, personally, had Herman winning the first and third rounds. The first one was close, but he still got that one 10-9 on my card. Herman got a couple of takedowns in the first and wasn't dominated in the stand-up like he was in the second round. The third round, Herman completely controlled. So again... good fight, but bullshit decision, in my opinion.

Mac Danzig vs. Clay Guida wasn't as good as I hoped for. Danzig looked great in the first round, but gassed really quickly and I think that's why Guida won the second and third rounds so easily. I never thought Danzig was the type to have such terrible cardio, but I guess I was fooled. Hopefully he bounces back from this, and I also look forward to seeing what's next with Clay Guida.

Nate Diaz vs. Josh Neer was definitely Fight of the Night. I enjoyed every minute of it and I completely agreed with the two judges that scored the fight for Nate. But Neer was impressive as hell. His take down defense was great, and he defended submissions MUCH better then I thought he ever could have. But it's because he was defending nearly the entire fight why he lost. The reason I'm such a huge fan of the Diaz bros is because they go non-stop, 100% bell to fucking bell. They don't ever let their opponent catch a breath, and that's why Nate was able to win this bout. Every time Neer thought he had some sort of opening to do something to Nate, Nate just figuring out a way to apply another submission, in which case made it look like Nate had the upper hand most of the fight and the reason the judges scored it the way they did.

Can't wait to see what's next for Nate Diaz. Hopefully, it's against a well known name. Someone like Huerta or something. Also, loved the post fight interview by Nate as well where he called out Noons for ducking his brother. I've been pissed at Noons for that situation for a while now, so I'm always going to enjoy someone calling his ass out.

Anyway, all in all, tremendous show for free TV and TUF fans in general.

 

[Final Form Snyper.]

The following are the bonus winners from September 17th's UFC Fight Night 15. Three awards were issued to four fighters with each picking up $30,000 extra for their performances.


Knockout of the Night: Alessio Sakara

Submission of the Night: Wilson Gouveia

Fight of the Night: Nate Diaz and Josh Neer.

I didn't think that the Nate Diaz vs Josh Neer was fight of the night, I thought that maybe Mac Danzig vs Clay Guida was going to be.