UFC 107 - Penn, Kongo, Florian, Belcher. PAY ME!
When I think UFC, I think Memphis, Tennessee. Maybe once Cheick Kongo is done with his fight, he can record a country record. There could be a huge untapped market for giant black Frenchmen in country music. At least I’d buy it. UFC 107 winners – coming right up.
BJ Penn -300
Diego Sanchez +250
A five round LW championship bout headlines the event, and what a matchup it is. For BJ Penn (14-5-1), it marks his continued rebound since the near-death experience he had at the hands of GSP. For Sanchez (23-2-0) it is a chance to soar with the eagles. This should be one of the good ones, but in the end, Penn’s skills and experience will down his exciting opponent. I’ll be on The Prodigy.
I’ve lost so much money lately betting against my favorite fighters against guys I hate or could care less about. I love Guida (25-7-0) so you know what that means, right? That’s right, I’m all over Florian (13-4-0). I’m a real winner.
BJ Penn -300
Diego Sanchez +250
A five round LW championship bout headlines the event, and what a matchup it is. For BJ Penn (14-5-1), it marks his continued rebound since the near-death experience he had at the hands of GSP. For Sanchez (23-2-0) it is a chance to soar with the eagles. This should be one of the good ones, but in the end, Penn’s skills and experience will down his exciting opponent. I’ll be on The Prodigy.
Penn-Sanchez for LW title
I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say that Sanchez’s stare downs make me want to run out my living room screaming. He will always be one of the most intense guys to ever don the gloves. After a slight mid-career hiccup in which he lost consecutive meetings against Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch, he is back, riding a 4-fight winning streak. He has beaten some of the game’s best in Kenny Florian, Nick Diaz, Karo Parisyan, Joe Riggs, Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida. In that last one, Sanchez and Guida put on quite a show, with Diego pulling out a split decision victory.
The belt belongs to BJ Penn, and as talented as Sanchez is, I just can’t see it exchanging hands on this night. BJ just has too many weapons and ways to put a man down and out. Look for some patented glove licking by the champ when this one is all over.
Frank Mir -190
Cheick Kongo +165It could be a bad thing that I’m taking a guy with no ground game (Kongo, 24-5-1) against a guy with excellent ground game (Mir, 12-4-0). Time will tell. I just feel that the Mir hype train has been spiraling out of control since his fight against Big Nog. Mir looked like a world-beater in that one, which we later found out that Noguiera was under the weather. I’m not holding anything against Mir for his last match against Brock Lesnar where his face doubled as a side of beef. Once Lesnar gets on top of someone, it will be hard for anyone to escape.
Does anyone remember a fight back in February, 2006 which featured Mir’s first fight back from his motorcycle accident against Marcio Cruz? I remember it quite well. I was huge on Cruz. I can’t recall what the odds were, but he was a sizable dog. Frank Mir’s face was pummeled so brutally, that everyone at my house, everyone in the crowd, was pleading with the ref to end it. It came out of nowhere and it was ugly. If anyone can repeat this performance, it’s Kongo.
More of this please
I was impressed with Kongo’s last fight against Cain Velasquez. He took a beating, and still was able to rock Brown Pride several times. I didn’t think he had that kind of persaverence in him. I’m taking a shot at him avoiding Mir’s submit attempts long enough to flex his muscle on his chin. And yes, I am afraid.
Kenny Florian -220
Clay Guida +180I’ve lost so much money lately betting against my favorite fighters against guys I hate or could care less about. I love Guida (25-7-0) so you know what that means, right? That’s right, I’m all over Florian (13-4-0). I’m a real winner.
I’m glad to see Guida shed some of that “boring fighter” reputation he was gaining when he dropped a split decision to Sanchez. He’s a fun guy to watch once he gets going. It’s unfortunate that he’s going against a top-tier stud in Florian, because as much as I enjoy Guida, I enjoy money even more.
It’s time for Florian to begin his own comeback after losing to BJ Penn recently. Below that very top tier, there’s not many guys who can compete with him. His UFC losses have come against Sanchez, Sean Sherk and Penn. He beats guys like Stevenson, Roger Huerta and Joe Lauzon. To me, Guida fits that second category of fighters – exciting, capable of winning any fight, but never going to break into that upper echelon of competitors.
On a Christmas-themed side note, Guida is nicknamed ‘The Carpenter’ because he used to be one. I always thought it was because his flowing mane made him resemble Jesus. Either way, once Florian’s elbows are done with him, he will resemble the crucifiction scene to a tee. Wait, maybe that was an Easter story. Whatever, money on Florian.
Merry Easter
Wilson Gouveia -125
Alan Belcher -105In my opinion, both of these guys are perennial UFC journeymen. That’s nothing to dismiss however, as I feel that this could be the sleeper Fight of the Night. Both guys can put on a show for the crowd and display some heavy fists. I’m looking forward to it.
The good news for Belcher (13-5-0) is that hes’ not fighting an Asian. He’s 0-2 against guys named Yoshihiro and Yushin. Unless Gouveia (12-6-0) changes his name to Wilshichito, he should be fine. Both are coming off of a loss, and I see Belcher enduring some flurries by Gouveia for an exciting win in the later rounds.
***REMINDER*** To get in the SBR UFC 107 Capping contest.
***REMINDER*** To get in the SBR UFC 107 Capping contest.
. I didn't have the balls to touch the guida/florian fight but GL to you with that 25UNIT PLAY. 