Wednesday’s Ultimate Fight Night on Spike TV kicks off a big week for the UFC. Immediately following the free event will be the premier of the much talked about 10th season of The Ultimate Fighter, featuring the highly entertaining Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson as opposing coaches. You also may have heard of one of the contestants as well – Kimbo Slice. Many will tune in to see how that diabolical experiment goes. Then on Saturday, UFC 103 will be available on pay per view. But first up will be UFN tonight at 8 PM ET. Oh, did I mention that it’s FREE??
Nate Diaz -255
Melvin Guillard +215
If you’ve ever read any of my MMA articles, you know that I am not a fan of the Diaz brothers. The attitude that they carry and disrespect that they show their opponents has lead me despise the brothers dim. As a result, I bet against Nate Diaz (10-4-0) all throughout his early career. It cost me dearly, as the lanky fighter came through with one creative submission after another. Finally at the beginning of this year, I said “No more!”
I made a decision to put aside my disdain for Diaz for the betterment of my wallet. My nod of respect was met with the same arrogance that the Diaz boys show an opponent when he offers to touch gloves before a fight. I’d been waiting to see Nate Diaz lose for years, and finally Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson were able to take him out. I wasn’t able to fully enjoy the experience, as I lost a bit of cabbage backing my nemesis. I won’t be making that mistake again.
Melvin Guillard shares a short, stocky frame with Guida and Stevenson. Both of those men were able to overpower Diaz enough to earn decision victories. Both Diaz and Guillard seem to be excited that Melvin has more of a reputation to stand and bang. I think this will work out great for Guillard, as long as when he does knock Diaz down, he does not make the same mistake that many others have.
Melvin Guillard
As tempting as it is to jump on a guy when he falls to his back, Diaz is not the one to mess with. Once his arms and legs begin swinging all around is when he is at his best. His Jiu Jitsu training makes him a submission specialist, and he can make much larger foes tap at any given moment.
Can Diaz really lose a third in a row? I believe that he can. It seems like his mystique has left him. Guillard has KO’d or submitted many opponents himself, and if he fights smart, he should be able to knock around Diaz as well. If Guillard comes out sporting his ‘Demolition Man’ bleach blonde mop, then I know he will be summoning the powers of Wesley Snipes within him, and all will be well.
Gray Maynard -330
Roger Huerta +270
One of the original Pink Hamsters, Gray Maynard (8-0-0, 1 NC) returns to try to keep his undefeated record alive. A strong wrestling game means that “The Bully” Maynard could explode into a glorious menagerie of magenta just minutes into the fight. While I may be the only person to find this entertaining, what we can all agree on is some easy cash for this fight.
I missed you buddy
While Maynard has been on quite a roll, Huerta (22-2-1, 1 NC) is returning to the Octagon for the first time in over a year. Despite his impressive record, after just his second loss to Kenny Florian, Huerta jetted for Hollywood. He landed a role in a movie based on a fighting video game called ‘Tekken.’ As amazing as I’m sure that film will be, it’s good to have Huerta back where he belongs – for now.
The problem is that this isn’t quite the welcoming party that he is hoping for upon his return. Huerta has always been an exciting fighter, but I’m looking for Maynard to take him to the ground early and control the fight with ease. A prop bet to take a gander at here is for the fight to last 3 rounds (-320). Maynard has won four consecutive unanimous decisions, and a fifth here would not be a surprise. Hopefully he doesn’t mess up Huerta’s good looks too much. He might need them for a starring role in ‘Frogger: The Movie.’
Nate Quarry -250
Tim Credeur +210
Nate Quarry (17-3-0) seems like a nice enough fighter. His record speaks for itself and he certainly possesses the power to end many bouts early. But this isn’t as much about him as it is his opponent. I’m not even a fan of Quarry’s since in his last fight he brutalized the ultimate Pink Hamster so badly that the UFC gave him his walking papers. I miss you Jason MacDonald, you glorious glowing Canadian!
No, this is purely Operation Fade Tim Credeur (13-4-0). I know he is riding a three fight win streak, but not really coming against anyone significant. He goes by the name “Crazy.” Well let me tell you just how crazy he is! Everyone watch out for this guy!
On his UFC page under strengths, there is nothing listed. Just blank. What does that tell you? But once you get into his bio, Crazy just couldn’t shut up. It has to be the longest page of responses ever given to these questions. Funny, he doesn’t look Puerto Rican.
Amongst his heroes, Credeur lists Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt, Che Guevara and Nelson Mandela. Well that’s a pretty normal looking list. Then he continues in the same breath to add Yves Edwards and Rich Clementi. Huh? How do you add two mediocre MMA fighters to that list? What a clown.
Finally, there is the little-known fact that Tim Credeur likes to write to my wife on MySpace. I don’t know if it still goes on or not, but she showed me some of his messages some time ago, and Tim Credeur was actually hitting on her! The last fighter to pull this very same stunt was Jens Pulver, and he went on to lose 5 of his next 6. It sure is going to be fun to watch Quarry dole out some punishment on this home wrecker.
Steve Cantwell -300
Brian Stann +250
This is the grudge match of the night as each own a victory over the other. Stann (6-2-0) won by KO in March 07. Cantwell (7-2-0) got some payback with a TKO in August 08.
Cantwell is coming off of a loss at the hands of Luiz Cane, but he is best known for his previous fight, when he dislocated Razak Al-Hassan’s elbow and jumped around the Octagon like a moron making arm breaking motions. What’s the matter with these kids today? This occurred on UFC’s Fight for the Troops event. Now, Cantwell will get to fight the actual troops.
Brian Stann is a real life war hero. His nickname is “All American” for God’s sake. As a Marine, he has seen plenty of action in Iraq. Given this information, it would probably be interesting to see him fight Al-Hassan sometime. But for now, I’ll take a nice dog payout against Cantwell.
Stann has dropped two straight to Cantwell and Krzysztof Soszynski. Before this slide, he had knocked out six straight guys in the first round. That’s rather impressive. I’ll take a +250 stab that he can rediscover this form.
So two big favorites and two big dogs for me. Be sure to stick around for TUF 10 after the fights. My pick is former NFL player Marcus Jones. I’m sure that half of the show’s budget went towards oxygen tanks for Kimbo. Also, don’t forget to register in SBR’s Free UFC 103 Capping Contest here.
Can Kimbo do it?
