UFC on FX 5: Browne v. Silva Predictions

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Travis Browne v. Antonio Silva 

Doctor Law: Two big boys going at it here. The fight is scheduled for 5 rounds, but it’s almost a guarantee that this doesn’t make it past the second round. Travis Browne is coming off of a drubbing of Chad Griggs (to the surprise of no one) and is unbeaten in his UFC career. Bigfoot Silva, on the other hand, has taken two AKA ass kickings in the past year from the hands of Daniel Cormier and Cain Velasquez. I wasn't as high on Travis Browne as everybody else when he first started, but he is slowly turning me around. He has good hands and is a decent wrestler. Bigfoot Silva, on the other hand, has great ground and pound and is a BJJ black belt. I think this is a close one, but I think Bigfoot finds a way to pull this one out. Bigfoot by 2nd round submission. 

Kid Presentable: The sell here is a clash of two very large heavyweights, but at the same time I am not entirely sold on either one of these guys. The only thing I am certain of in this fight as I am with all Silva fights, is that win or lose Browne will have some broken bones in his hands. Of the two I guess I am least sold on Browne as I have at least had Silva hover around the top 10 in rankings. Silva is the more well-rounded of the two and Browne has a propensity to gas. Silva believes he has the best stand up and ground game in the division much in the same sense that I believe I would be in the NBA if I were 3 inches taller(yeah, still no chance). But I still call the sub here. Bigfoot by submission 2nd round. 

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DJ Mark with a “K”: Over the last year or so I’ve become a fan of Travis Browne. At first he just seemed like another body in the UFC Heavyweight division for the top tier guys to get some practice in with but he’s really grown on me. I think this fight is perfect for Browne as well. Bigfoot Silva has a massive dome, that’s just a fact, and Browne hits hard. I think it’s only a matter of time before he lays his right hand all over his face. The real question is, will he break his hand on his head? To me, that’s always the most interesting part of a Bigfoot Silva fight. Browne by 1st round TKO 3:38 in. 

Lavender Gooms: Antonio Silva’s greatest trait is a dome piece that has a penchant of breaking the hands of people who crack him upside that large noggin. What I’m trying to tell you by highlighting such a useless trait is….he’s not going to win. Silva has slick BJJ and can cause trouble if he gets on top. As long as Browne can avoid that, he should be able to knock Silva out and send him to a three fight losing streak. Here’s to hoping he doesn’t break a hand though. Browne by KO in the 1st round.

Picking Browne: DJ Mark, Gooms
Picking Silva: Dr. Law, Kid P

It's MMAzing Consensus Rankings for September 2012

**Note: For an explanation of how we came to these rankings, please listen to Episode 22 of It's MMAzing Radio**

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Heavyweight

1. Junior Dos Santos
2. Cain Velasquez
3. Alistair Overeem
4. Daniel Cormier
5. Fabricio Werdum
6. Frank Mir
7. Josh Barnett
8. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
9. Roy Nelson
10. Stefan Struve

Light Heavyweight

1. Jon Jones
2. Dan Henderson
3. Rashad Evans

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4. Mauricio Rua
5. Lyoto Machida
6. Alexander Gustafsson
7. Phil Davis
8. Ryan Bader
9. Quinton Jackson
10. Glover Teixeira

Middleweight

1. Anderson Silva
2. Michael Bisping
3. Chris Weidman
4. Vitor Belfort
5. Tim Boetsch

6. Yushin Okami

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7. Alan Belcher
8. Mark Munoz
9. Luke Rockhold
10. Jake Shields

Welterweight

1. Georges St-Pierre
2. Carlos Condit
3. Nick Diaz
4. Johny Hendricks
5. Martin Kampmann
6. Jon Fitch
7. Jake Ellenberger
8. Josh Koscheck
9. Rory MacDonald
10. Nate Marquardt

It's MMAzing Radio - Episode 22

The gang breaks down the events of UFC on Fuel TV: Struve v. Miocic, Struve's future in the division and possible next opponent, Dan Hardy's evolution as a mixed martial artist, Brad Pickett's knockout of Yves Jabouin and Duane Ludwig's tragic injury. They also bring you their bi-monthly rankings and preview this Friday's UFC on FX: Browne v. Bigfoot event.

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It's MMAzing Radio - Episode 21

The gang talks about the results of UFC 152, Vitor's near arm bar, Jon Jones' overall performance, the flyweight title fight, Demetrious Johnson as UFC champion, Michael Bisping's performance against Stann and his future title hopes, and Marcus Brimage's big upset. They also preview UFC on Fuel TV: Struve v. Miocic and Strikeforce: Melendez v. Healy.

UFC 152 Predictions

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UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Jon Jones (c) v. Vitor Belfort

Doctor Law: There is really no reason to go through all of the stuff that happened with Jon Jones with respect to the UFC 151. We went through it in detail in episodes 18 and 19 of It’s MMAzing Radio (click here to get the episodes through iTunes). Overall, let’s just say this: if there is a less media-savvy athlete in MMA, I haven’t seen him. This kid’s head appears to be firmly lodged up his own ass. That being said, he is one of the greatest fighters in the world and I don’t see him losing this fight. He’s just too big, too athletic and too good of a wrestler for Vitor. That being said, Vitor has dynamite in his fists and will be very dangerous for the first 3 minutes of this after. After Jones gets past that, he’s gravy. Jones by 2nd round submission.

Kid Presentable: Had you given me a thousand guesses as to who would have replaced an injured Hendo, I never would have responded with this match. Vitor leaves being on the verge of a MW title shot, to leaving the pack behind for a chance at the belt a weight class higher. I often theorize the question of what it must be like for people like Vitor who know they could knock out any man on the planet, and Belfort certainly can. That fact means that he will always have a chance in a fight but this one doesn't look good. In his most recent light heavyweight tilt, due to missed weight, even a dead on his feet Rumble Johnson managed to take Vitor to the ground. Had it not been for an oddly quick standup, maybe that fight doesn't end the same. Bones will certainly take Vitor down, because he has taken everyone in the division down. There, Bones will be right for once about something he said to the media... that he does indeed have the most vicious ground and pound since Tito Ortiz made it famous. Jones by savage GnP elbows, Round 2

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DJ Mark with a “K”: There’s a ton of pressure on Jon Jones right now. He just signed a massive deal with Nike and is in the worse standing with his ‘fans’ then he’s ever been because of his choices regarding UFC 151, listen to our older podcast on all of that ;) so he needs a win here bad. Luckily I think Jones is more than capable of dispatching Belfort. While Belfort has the x-factor here with his amazing hands, I don’t see him doing what Shogun/Rampage/Lyoto failed to do. Jones via TKO 2nd round.

Lavender Gooms: PR wise, Jon Jones hasn’t had a good month to say the least. It’s not a stretch to say that he is diminished in the eyes of many and many more people think less of him now. Even so, he is an absolute cold-blooded killer. The only chance Belfort has is if somehow, someway, he can get inside the considerable reach of Jones and knock him out. That’s not going to happen however, Jones will style on Belfort like he does all his other opponents so far. And hail to the Buffalo State Bengal football team for defeating the #1 ranked UW-Whitewater last Saturday. I know it’s D-3 but cut me some slack. Jones by submission in 2nd.

Picking Jones: All of us.
Picking Belfort:

It's MMAzing Radio - Episode 20

The gang talks about the massive changes to UFC 153, Cole Konrad's retirement, King Mo's future in both Bellator and TNA, Kurt Angle as an MMA announcer, Renzo Gracie's crime fighting exploits, and the first episode of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin v. Team Nelson. Also, the gang previews this weekend's UFC 152 card in its entirety.

It's MMAzing Radio - Episode 19

The gang talks about the card that never was: UFC 151. Also, they break down this weeks additions to the Jon Jones saga, talk about Atlantis and Aquaman, the One FC card, Phil Baroni and Jens Pulvers' respective futures in the sport, the weirdness of One FC's rules, the viability of Pride rules in Modern MMA, the new show about AKA, and the big news of the week: Aldo v. Edgar being booked for UFC 153.