The UFC 103 Prediction Competition

Hey, I'm not afraid to try new things around here. They just usually make me look bad and I quickly ditch them. Well, this should be no different. I've been watching MMA for around 12 years. Since moving to New Orleans, I've been watching the UFC events with some people fairly new to MMA. My friend, Asia, has been less than impressed with my prediction "skills" that I display here even though she's been watching MMA for two months. Which brings us to this new feature. I will test the knowledge I have gained over the 10+ years of watching MMA against Asia's haphazard process of picking fight winners. Take it away, Asia...

As a newcomer to the viewing world of MMA I’ve noticed a few crucial things, and by crucial I mean uneducated girly observations. I’m not talking about the fact that half the time they look like they’re hugging or giving a friendly seminar demonstrating various sexual positions. I’m actually talking about the fighting aspect (this time.)
In my limited experience I tend to think if a guy looks bigger, faster, and more powerful he probably is. Just like in the real world when you’re witnessing a bar brawl you don’t put your money on the skinny guy wearing the Star Trek tee. I’m also inclined to say when a “kicker” is going up against a “puncher” (I’m sure there’s some technical term for it but hey, what do I know?) I’d place my bet on the hands. Those fights just remind me of a Chihuahua trying to take a pit bull out at the ankles; unlikely and somewhat comical. That being said I think I’m getting pretty good at this whole “prediction” thing. Apparently there is some kind of scientific and/or statistical analysis I could be referencing, but I’d put ten cents on this next fight no problem.

Given my limited knowledge (that means I fast-forwarded through the UFC countdown on Spike) for the first fight I’m definitely going with this Vitor guy. My primary reason is based on the fact that “Phenom” is a way cooler nickname than “Ace.” They might as well call him “Skippy” or “Sport” if they want him to lose so badly. Secondly, from what I gather Belfort has a vendetta, and you don’t go up against guys with vendettas (it’s just a fact.) Sorry Rich, your up-to-date fighting tactics and recent applicable experience are going to get you nowhere fast.

The next fight was a little trickier to pick, the countdown told me virtually nothing about this Cro Cop bloke which leads me to believe he is a force with which to be reckoned. The man needs no introduction? That’s scary in itself. Also, from what I gathered about the other guy he seems a little sluggish. Santos, I wish you the best of luck but I’ve got my .02 cents on Mirko.

“Semtex” vs. the “Hitman” was easy. I have no idea what a “Semtex” is so I’m going to side with the dude named after an assassin, also a really great video game.

For the next fight I can’t bring myself to side with Blondie. His high-pitched voice and cocky attitude got my blood boiling and now I just want “Twinkle-Toes” to kick his ass.

There’s one more fight for which I’m going to attempt to use my sub-par reasoning skills; Tyson Griffin up against Hermes Franca. To determine my pick I simply went to the UFC website and checked out their listed “strengths.” Griffin apparently has “aggressive ground and pound” whatever that means, where Franca “The Unreal” has excellent groundwork, constant submissions, and the ability to stand and trade punches (in addition to his cool nickname.) I tend to think the ability to stand and trade punches is an essential part of all this fighting non-sense, so I’m going with the guy who has his basics down.

Just to recap, Asia picked Vitor Belfort, Mirko Cro Cop, Frank Trigg, Martin Kampmann, and Hermes Franca. I think she also made fun of me for gambling at Cent Sports. I have a feeling this is going to be ugly for one of us.

As always, the lines are from Bodog and my picks are in bold.

Martin Kampmann (-500) vs. Paul Daley (+300)
And right away I lose my parlay. Daley makes his UFC debut filling in for an injured Mike Swick against Kampmann who is looking for a title shot. Everything I know about MMA suggests Kampmann should win convincingly. Daley has some nice knockout power though. Crazier shit has happened. Damn, that's good analysis.

Tyson Griffin (-350) vs. Hermes Franca (+275)

Josh Koscheck (-500) vs. Frank Trigg (+300)
I'm not a fan of Kos the "bad boy" but as a fighter he is pretty tough. I like him to get back on track against Trigg and so does Vegas. This fight wouldn't be worth touching with real money.

Junior Dos Santos (-170) vs. Mirko Cro Cop (+140)
Dos Santos has crazy power and Cro Cop has just looked like he is finished in the sport. But Vegas has it pretty close and I'll take the up and comer.

Rich Franklin (-135) vs. Vitor Belfort (+105)
Another close fight according to Vegas. But it wouldn't matter how big a dog Vitor is, I can't bet/root against him. He's been my favorite fighter since he burst onto the scene with world class BJJ and some of the fastest hands on the planet. Rich Franklin is the ultimate company man and I mean no disrespect. But really, we should all be rooting for Belfort. Who doesn't want to see Vitor Belfort fight Anderson Silva for the 185 title?

Alright, don't forget to check back to see me obnoxiously gloat in victory. Or if this entry is missing for some reason, it's, uh, because we're having server issues. Yeah, that's it.

[img from MMA Weekly]