UFC 146: Mir vs Junior Dos Santos

[D. S. Veteran]

His girlfriend must be like Katya Kasanova from Archer to withstand such punishment.

[Rappy Veteran]

[D. S. Veteran]

Well, consider the followin:

1. Dana has assured us that Cain vs Mir is going forward.

2. There is going to be a title fight at UFC 146.

3. The Rally for Mark Hunt is dead and buried.

4. It would do incredible damage to the brand to let Overeem fight for the belt, even if he gets licenced.

5. JDS has pounded in the faces of every other Top 10 HW outside of Frank Mir.

So the only possible answer is... AT UFC 146, WE ARE GOING TO SEE THE FIRST TRIPLE THREAT MMA MATCH FOR THE UNDISPUTED UFC HW BELT, PLAYA! JDS vs MIR vs VELASQUEZ. First one to get a KO, TKO or Submission gets the belt.

[D. S. Veteran]

UFC 146: Mir vs Junior Dos Santos has been confirmed by Dana White himself. Probably because Overeem told him his defense is TRT or something worse. I'll post a card write-up AFTER I watch UFC 145 :rofl:

[dippednbutter]

This card is still pretty decent but no where near what is was with the prior match ups. I'm thoroughly disappointed in the switches.

[D. S. Veteran]

So after a lot of changes in the line-up due to Ubereem's failed drug test and suspension, we have UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Mir which has a Main Card comprised of 5 HW fights. Great thing this card isn't fought at altitude like in Denver. Let's look at the card.

Preliminary card (Facebook)

Mike Brown vs. Daniel Pineda - Since his loss to Jos? Aldo, Mike Brown hasn't been the same. He went from a strong, dominant fighter to a guy that has to work very hard for decisions and loses to guys he should have walked all over like Rani Yahya. He still has some name value in the FW division but his championship days are clearly over. Seeing how he's already 36, he should retire whatever the result of this fight is. Pineda is a well rounded guy who's a finisher. His submission over Mackens Semerzier was very nice, knocking him down and switching from a guillotine to a triangle. Facing Brown is a step up in competition but I think that either Brown brings it hard or Pineda has the skills to take home the win, possibly by KO (let's not forget that Brown was KO'ed by Manvel Gamburyan).

Kyle Kingsbury vs. Glover Teixeira - Kingsbury got his can smashing win streak broken by Bonnar. Not only did he lose but he was thoroughly dominated in the fight. Glover's record has some name wins like Ricco Rodriguez, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Joaquim Ferreira, the only guy that holds a win over Dos Santos, but all of those fights happened way past their prime. This fight can go either way, it just depends on who's more of a can.

Dan Hardy vs. Duane Ludwig - Hardy needs no introduction: average striker, 0 fight IQ (deciding to box with Chris Lytle, a former pro-boxer), no wrestling and on a 4 fight losing streak. He did once fight for the belt but since then it's all been downhill. He gets yet another chance (without getting forced to drop to LW) in the UFC, buried in the prelims against Ludwig, a middle of the pack fighter but a very solid on at that. Seeing how he put on a Muay Thai clinic against Amir Sadollah, Hardy better bring a gameplan. Can Hardy win this fight? Sure. Will he? No... he should be fighting Akyiama instead of Thiago Alves (biggest missmatch of the year).

Preliminary card (FX)

Jacob Volkmann vs Paul Sass - Volkmann is the LW litmus test: if you can't beat him, you're not good enough to fight in the UFC. He's a strong wrestler who's on a 5 fight win streak but will never leave the undercard because his style is even grindier than Fitch. He's more akin to Ben Askren. The UFC can't really step him up in competition because there's a very good chance that he would win and then what would they do with him? They're having fight Paul Sass, a clearly good grappler but that has never faced a strong wrestler. Michael Johnson doesn't count, he sucks. Volkmann is certainly aware of his skillset and will be prepared. Sass must be ready to either keep the fight standing or force Volkmann into his guard if he wants to win this.

Jason Miller vs. C.B. Dollaway - After the complete blowout that was the Bisping fight, Miller gets another chance in the UFC against C.B. Dollaway. Dollaway is on a 2 fight losing streak, agravated by the fact that both losses are by KO. Miller is getting a suposedly accessible fight for him but Dollaway is going to be fighting for his job. I don't think Miller will try to strike with him because that's not his strong suit. If Dolloway can keep it standing and gas Miller out, he can probably win this.

Evan Dunham vs. Edson Barboza - Barboza is a future LW contender in the making. His KO of Terry Etim will forever be on highlight reels everywhere. He's strong, agressive and very well rounded with a penchant for devastating leg kicks. Dunham represents more of a step sideways than a step up in competition but unless he can stiffle Barboza with wrestling, he's losing this fight. If he choses to keep it standing, he's certainly losing. It's Barboza's fight to lose.

Diego Brandao vs. Darren Elkins - The winner of the last season of TUF, Brand?o, surprised everyone by submitting Dennis Bermudez who looked like he was getting the TKO. He KO'ed his way trough the TUF house so he certainly has power in his hands. Facing him is Darren Elkins, a middle of the road fighter who holds wins at FW over clear cut duds like Omigawa. It's quite an accessible fight for Brand?o and he should probably take it by KO or TKO.

Main card

Mark Hunt vs. Stefan Struve - This all HW card opens with a very interesting fight. Twitter had this whole movement for Mark Hunt to challenge for the title after Overeem tested positive. It was as absurd as it was amusing. Hunt is a very likeable guy but no way in hell could he beat JDS. He gets to fight Struve, a guy known for either taking incredible amounts of damage before winning the fight or losing in spectacular fashion. Hunt has a HUGE size and reach disadvantage and if Struve fights smart and has finally learned to use his long reach, he can blast him without ever being in real danger. If Struve lets Hunt close the distance, he may very well end up KO'ed in next year. Struve should really take some lessons from Semmy Schilt and learn how to "fight tall". Of course if Hunt wins this one... he's a top contender 1 fight away from a title shot? That would be interesting.

Shane del Rosario vs. Stipe Miocic - Shane was going to fight Gonzaga but after the card got switched around, he gets to fight Stipe Miocic. This is a very bad fight for him either way because not only is he a pretty average HW who's been fighting even worse guys than him in Strikeforce, he's coming in from a very long layoff after a car accident. Miocic is has strong wrestling credentials, very good striking and is pretty much the second coming of Mirko. The beating he put on Joey Beltran was pretty goddamn epic. He couldn't KO him like Lavar did but he clearly beat him down in every way he could. Can Rosario win this fight? Sure, it's the HW division, anything can happen. But it won't be easy.

Roy Nelson vs. Gabriel Gonzaga - Roy is the HW litmus test. He's 1-3 in his last 4 fights, the sole win being his retirement of Mirko Filipovi?. Still, those loses are to the Top 5 of the HW division so there's not really any shame in that. He does have the skillset to succeed should he chose to drop to LHW but why should he? He's an entertaining fighter and the UFC likes him enough to keep him around. Why drop from a very nice standing in the HW division to fight at LHW? It's not like he has championship aspirations at his age. Gonzaga is back to the octagon after a small period of "retirement" due to losses to JDS and Brendan Schaub. He was much more motivated at UFC 142 and fought to his strenghts instead of trying to recreate his Mirko KO against better strikers. Nelson is a tough test for him: he's got better striking than him and they're pretty equal in the grappling department. Gonzaga needs to come in very motivated and with a good gameplan in order to get a win and climb back up to relevance in the UFC. He does have the skillset to one day fight for the title if he applies himself.

Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva - Velasquez was going to face Mir and the winner would get the next title shot. Now he faces Silva but I don't think the title shot clause applies. Silva is coming in from a loss to Velasquez's training partner, Daniel Cormier. He's big, sure, but he's slow as molasses. He's always relied in his size advantage to get wins but he can't beat a fast HW. Velasquez should have no trouble punching his face until it's bleeding like a faucet. He has the wrestling to keep it standing and the speed to get the win. Winner of this fight probably has to fight the winner of the SF HW tournament to get a title shot (if the winner doesn't get a direct one).

Junior dos Santos vs. Frank Mir - As soon as Overeem ****ed hot, Mir was my first choice to take his place. He's the most underappreciated fighter in the HW division, despite holding a 3 fight win streak, the latest of which is a brutal submission over a highly regarded fighter. He's a legitimate HW and has earned his title shot. That being said, it will be almost impossible for him to win this fight. He generally comes in at 265 and doesn't really have a frame that can support that kind of weight, causing him cardio problems. His recent losses are due to getting rushed and punched HARD by Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin. There is no doubt in my mind that JDS punches harder, faster, and way more accurately than them. The only way Mir can win this fight is probably by submission but he will have a very hard time getting JDS to the ground since his double leg doesn't really exist and to trip JDS he has to get close up to him and JDS knows how to defend and throw a bomb in your face. As for JDS, he's very physically fit and the only time his cardio was really tested was when he seemed a bit tired of punching Roy Nelson in the face. His fights speak for themselves and a picture is worth a thousand words.

And last but not least...

I guess it's pretty clear who I think is going to win this fight. If Mir pulls off the upset... I will be very, very surprised.

[D. S. Veteran]

Two new changes due to injury:

Dave Herman vs Roy Nelson - The only thing Dave Herman has going for him is a slight size advantage. Everywhere else, advantage Roy, especially in the grappling department.

Jamie Varner vs Edson Barboza - Jamie Varner was the WEC LW but then we went into a steep decline. Seeing how he recently lost a fight to Dakota Cochrane and is coming in on short notice, I don't think he has a shot in hell to beat Barboza.

[Shaun N.]

"It felt like I got kicked by a horse" --Brock Lesnar I don't really see dos Santos winning, but I'm sure he'll at least put on a show.

I saw that fight, Brock dropped right after that kick.

[Rappy Veteran]

[D. S. Veteran]

Mark Hunt Out Of UFC 146, Lavar Johnson Vs. Stefan Struve Official

Another change to the card. Struve needs to take it to the ground fast, lest he be KO'ed like he was against Travis Browne.

[Rappy Veteran]

Weigh-in results:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

Champ Junior Dos Santos (239) vs. Frank Mir (261)

Antonio Silva (264) vs. Cain Velasquez (240)

Dave Herman (233) vs. Roy Nelson (254)

Shane Del Rosario (246) vs. Stipe Miocic (245)

Lavar Johnson (248 ) vs. Stefan Struve (255)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX)

Diego Brandao (145) vs. Darren Elkins (145)

Edson Barboza (155) vs. Jamie Varner (156)

C.B. Dollaway (186) vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller (185)

Dan Hardy (170) vs. Duane "Bang" Ludwig (171)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

Paul Sass (156) vs. Jacob Volkmann (155)

Kyle Kingsbury (205) vs. Glover Teixeira (204)

Mike Brown (145) vs. Daniel Pineda (146)

[dippednbutter]

Prett much how I thought the card would go.

Mir was easy pickins.

Cain did what I thought he would.

Nelson won by overhandright, called it in the room of alchies.

Del Rosario is a B fighter.

Lavar got exposed for being the one trick pony he is. Had Barry held him down, no problem, but skinny man had to show him up.

I screwed up. Like Yoda would say... Money you could make young padawan.

[TheElite]

I actually didn't think that Valesquez would do it with that much ease. That cut really didn't do Silva any favours at all.