It is not too often that the 4th of July bookends a weekend. An extra day for partying, recuperating, and most importantly, gambling.
UFC 86 is giving us an added treat, with one of the most highly anticipated title matches in the organization’s history. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will defend his title against Forrest Griffin at Mandalay Bay on Saturday. There are several other intriguing bouts on the card also.
And for those of you who enjoy the obligatory cheesy holiday tie-ins, this is for you:
(In best Bruce Buffer voice) “UFC 86! THIS 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND! WHERE THE FIREWORKS WILL BE IN THE RING-UH!”
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (-265) vs Forrest Griffin (+220)
Finally we get an ‘Ultimate Fighter’ reality show coaching matchup that might live up to the billing. Previous ventures with Lidell-Couture, Ortiz-Shamrock, Penn-Pulver, and most recently, Hughes-Serra (injury) have all failed to deliver the goods in terms of excitement value.
The hype surrounding this one alone has already surpassed the others. These two don’t have the amount of outward animosity towards each other that other coaches shared. Despite the show’s feeble attempts to drum up some heat during one episode, both men came off as hilarious, genuinely good guys with a great amount of respect for each other.
Jackson is laid back to the point that you wonder how he maintains the levels of performance that he does. He has admitted that he trains as little as possible, and perhaps as a result, his team got walloped by Team Forrest on the show.
Griffin, on the other hand, is a maniac. About as intense as it gets once he sets his mind to it. He wins fights that he’s not supposed to. He is the ultimate scrapper. He pushed his team to victory after victory. I believe he has magical ears. They’re not as “cauliflowered” up as many MMA fighters’ ears. That has to be it.
Rampage made quick work of Chuck Lidell back when MMA fans thought Chuck was unstoppable. Forrest choked out Mauricio Rua in his last fight as a huge underdog. Unlike most title bouts, there isn’t a clear cut bad guy here. They both come off as guys you’d like to kick back and have a beer with. Except Jackson is now a devout Christian. So no beer for him.
It should be a wonderfully entertaining match. When it comes down to it, go with the guy who pushes his intensity to Mike Singletary-like levels. Go with the guy who knows how to take down the big dog. Go with the guy with the nice ears. Go with the money bet…..Forrest Griffin (+220)
Ricardo Almeida (-115) vs Patrick Cote (-110)
For everything that I love about the UFC, I have to laugh at times at fighters’ nicknames. UFC fighters own some of the worst monikers this side of 1930’s gangsters. Riptide, Bad, The Texas Crazy Horse, The Anvil, The Athlete, The Barn Cat, Gorilla, etc, etc etc…
Cote is coming off an impressive TKO in under two minutes against Drew McFedries. But in the battle of nicknames, Almeida (Big Dog) wipes up the floor with Cote (The Predator). “Predator” was so much cooler in the 80’s…an evil, pixelated alien. Now? A predator is someone who will probably be told to “put on that robe and sit down” by Chris Hanson. Not cool. Ricardo Almeida (-115)
Joe Stevenson (-220) vs Gleison Tibau (+180)
Season 2 winner Joe “Daddy” Stevenson goes up against Brazilian fighter Gleison Tibau. Tibau is coming off a loss to Tyson Griffin, who is also fighting tonight.
Stevenson was completely destroyed in his last fight against B.J. Penn. And I mean DESTROYED!
But that isn’t much to be ashamed of for Daddy. At this moment, Penn, Anderson Silva, Miguel Torres and Georges St-Pierre are the greatest pound-for-pound MMA fighters in the world.
I look for him to win this fight easily. Joe Stevenson (-220)
Josh Koscheck (-330) vs Chris Lytle (+250)
We get our first legitimate antagonist of the evening with Josh Koscheck. I remember during the first season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ rooting for everyone…anyone to beat this guy. When Diego Sanchez finally took care of business in the semifinals, I popped some bubbly and ran laps around my neighborhood naked. He is that unlikable.
With that being said, I hope you don’t get caught with your hand in the candy jar with this fight. Koscheck is a champion collegiate wrestler who has been improving on his stand-up game.
Lytle can never be blamed for ducking quality opponents. His last three losses have come against Matt Serra, Matt Hughes and Thiago Alves...all quality fighters. Unfortunately, we will probably have to add bad guy Josh Koscheck to that list on Saturday. Josh Koscheck (-330)
Tyson Griffin (-360) vs Marcus Aurelio (+280)
You hear the argument from time to time on message boards or ESPN, that boxing is better that MMA.
Without getting into too much of the semantics, I will tell you this:
If you ever catch Tyson Griffin’s year old fight against Clay Guida on SpikeTV sometime, sit back and enjoy. Griffin’s split decision victory was saturated with jam packed exciting action, cartoon-like submission attempts and escapes that would’ve made Clint Eastwood proud.
And that was when I knew that I would never ever bet against Tyson Griffin again. And neither should you. Tyson Griffin (-360)
If you get the opportunity, go out to your local sports bar and borrow (steal) the UFC 86 promotional poster that is falling out of the frame by the restroom like I did. Jesus will forgive you. But Rampage won’t.
UFC 86 is giving us an added treat, with one of the most highly anticipated title matches in the organization’s history. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will defend his title against Forrest Griffin at Mandalay Bay on Saturday. There are several other intriguing bouts on the card also.
And for those of you who enjoy the obligatory cheesy holiday tie-ins, this is for you:
(In best Bruce Buffer voice) “UFC 86! THIS 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND! WHERE THE FIREWORKS WILL BE IN THE RING-UH!”
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (-265) vs Forrest Griffin (+220)
Finally we get an ‘Ultimate Fighter’ reality show coaching matchup that might live up to the billing. Previous ventures with Lidell-Couture, Ortiz-Shamrock, Penn-Pulver, and most recently, Hughes-Serra (injury) have all failed to deliver the goods in terms of excitement value.
The hype surrounding this one alone has already surpassed the others. These two don’t have the amount of outward animosity towards each other that other coaches shared. Despite the show’s feeble attempts to drum up some heat during one episode, both men came off as hilarious, genuinely good guys with a great amount of respect for each other.
Jackson is laid back to the point that you wonder how he maintains the levels of performance that he does. He has admitted that he trains as little as possible, and perhaps as a result, his team got walloped by Team Forrest on the show.
Griffin, on the other hand, is a maniac. About as intense as it gets once he sets his mind to it. He wins fights that he’s not supposed to. He is the ultimate scrapper. He pushed his team to victory after victory. I believe he has magical ears. They’re not as “cauliflowered” up as many MMA fighters’ ears. That has to be it.
Rampage made quick work of Chuck Lidell back when MMA fans thought Chuck was unstoppable. Forrest choked out Mauricio Rua in his last fight as a huge underdog. Unlike most title bouts, there isn’t a clear cut bad guy here. They both come off as guys you’d like to kick back and have a beer with. Except Jackson is now a devout Christian. So no beer for him.
It should be a wonderfully entertaining match. When it comes down to it, go with the guy who pushes his intensity to Mike Singletary-like levels. Go with the guy who knows how to take down the big dog. Go with the guy with the nice ears. Go with the money bet…..Forrest Griffin (+220)
Ricardo Almeida (-115) vs Patrick Cote (-110)
For everything that I love about the UFC, I have to laugh at times at fighters’ nicknames. UFC fighters own some of the worst monikers this side of 1930’s gangsters. Riptide, Bad, The Texas Crazy Horse, The Anvil, The Athlete, The Barn Cat, Gorilla, etc, etc etc…
Cote is coming off an impressive TKO in under two minutes against Drew McFedries. But in the battle of nicknames, Almeida (Big Dog) wipes up the floor with Cote (The Predator). “Predator” was so much cooler in the 80’s…an evil, pixelated alien. Now? A predator is someone who will probably be told to “put on that robe and sit down” by Chris Hanson. Not cool. Ricardo Almeida (-115)
Joe Stevenson (-220) vs Gleison Tibau (+180)
Season 2 winner Joe “Daddy” Stevenson goes up against Brazilian fighter Gleison Tibau. Tibau is coming off a loss to Tyson Griffin, who is also fighting tonight.
Stevenson was completely destroyed in his last fight against B.J. Penn. And I mean DESTROYED!
But that isn’t much to be ashamed of for Daddy. At this moment, Penn, Anderson Silva, Miguel Torres and Georges St-Pierre are the greatest pound-for-pound MMA fighters in the world.
I look for him to win this fight easily. Joe Stevenson (-220)
Josh Koscheck (-330) vs Chris Lytle (+250)
We get our first legitimate antagonist of the evening with Josh Koscheck. I remember during the first season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ rooting for everyone…anyone to beat this guy. When Diego Sanchez finally took care of business in the semifinals, I popped some bubbly and ran laps around my neighborhood naked. He is that unlikable.
With that being said, I hope you don’t get caught with your hand in the candy jar with this fight. Koscheck is a champion collegiate wrestler who has been improving on his stand-up game.
Lytle can never be blamed for ducking quality opponents. His last three losses have come against Matt Serra, Matt Hughes and Thiago Alves...all quality fighters. Unfortunately, we will probably have to add bad guy Josh Koscheck to that list on Saturday. Josh Koscheck (-330)
Tyson Griffin (-360) vs Marcus Aurelio (+280)
You hear the argument from time to time on message boards or ESPN, that boxing is better that MMA.
Without getting into too much of the semantics, I will tell you this:
If you ever catch Tyson Griffin’s year old fight against Clay Guida on SpikeTV sometime, sit back and enjoy. Griffin’s split decision victory was saturated with jam packed exciting action, cartoon-like submission attempts and escapes that would’ve made Clint Eastwood proud.
And that was when I knew that I would never ever bet against Tyson Griffin again. And neither should you. Tyson Griffin (-360)
If you get the opportunity, go out to your local sports bar and borrow (steal) the UFC 86 promotional poster that is falling out of the frame by the restroom like I did. Jesus will forgive you. But Rampage won’t.