The Phantom

It's time once again for those Warriors of the Octagon to showcase their talents, this time from The Honda Center, Anaheim, California. So here's a place to post your pre and post fight discussions.

MAIN CARD

* Mauricio “Shogun� Rua vs. Forrest Griffin
* Keith Jardine vs. Chuck Liddell
* Jon Fitch vs. Diego Sanchez
* Lyoto Machida vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
* Tyson Griffin vs. Thiago Tavares

UNDERCARD

* Wilson Gouveia vs. Jason Lambert
* Michihiro Omigawa vs. Matt Wiman
* Justin McCully vs. Christian Wellisch
* Diego Saraiva vs. Jeremy Stephens

Slimdust

I really like this card, so I am sure I will catch it with some of my buddies at a sports bar.

The Phantom

The 3 fights I’m looking forward to seeing obviously are the Shogun/Griffin, Jardine/Chuck and Fitch/Sanchez fights.

The latter should be fight of the night in my opinion. Diego will be looking to put the loss to Koscheck well and truly behind him. This is a tough fight for him and one which I think he may end up losing.

Chuck is also looking to put a loss behind him, and unlike Diego, I don’t think Chuck will have a problem with Jardine. I’m going for a first round KO win for the former champ.

I’ve not actually seen Rua fight, but I know he’s a good fighter. I’ve always like Griffin. He was my favourite in TUF 1, and I always cheer for him. I’ll be cheering for him again on Saturday (well Sunday, coz that’s when I’ll download it), but I think Rua will probably be too strong for him.

Another good card from the UFC, hope it delivers like previous shows.

tapout189

I think Diego will take it, simply because he has fought against much tougher competition. With wins over guys like Joe Riggs, Nick Diaz, Karo Parisyan, and Jorge Santiago (who recently submitted Jeremy Horn) and only 1 loss, to another top contender, no matter how much everyone hates him. Fitch's only recognizable victories have been against Thiago Alves, Shonie Carter, and Josh Burkman, none of whom would stand a chance against Diego.

With Forrest vs Shogun, I'm pulling for Forrest, even though he is almost a 3:1 underdog. I think his striking is much more technical than Shoguns, and he is definitely stronger. As long as the fight remains standing, it's Forrest's fight to lose. On the ground, although his BJJ is underrated, Forrest is more than likely out-matched by Shogun.

Jardine vs Chuck should be a slugfest. Jardine is the more technical striker, with Liddell having far superior power. Liddell should get the knockout, but with both fighter's chins being suspect, one solid punch and the fight could go either way...ask Forrest.

My lil brother and another guy on the Dorm grappling
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vak33XwdljI

Zar

I'm sorry sir but I have to strongly disagree. Forrest is all heart in his striking, he says it himself, he is the guy youdon't want to emulate if looking for technique, while Shogun's Muay Thai is amazing and I am so excited to see his use of elbows.

Jackie Pies on Jackie Pies:
"Did I ever mention that I'm not really made of pie? Nor have I ever baked myself into a pie."

tapout189

That's true in Forrest's older fights. But in his last fight, he looked extremely sharp. With Shoguns inability to uses his soccer kicks and stomps, although Shogun definitely has an edge overall, I think Forrest has much more of a chance than people are giving him.

My lil brother and another guy on the Dorm grappling
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vak33XwdljI

Zar

And now I shall eat my words sir. Forrest looked great last night.

Jackie Pies on Jackie Pies:
"Did I ever mention that I'm not really made of pie? Nor have I ever baked myself into a pie."

tapout189

Lol...yeah he did. Diego's loss was a little disappointing, but he seemed to give it all he had, very competitive fight.

My lil brother and another guy on the Dorm grappling
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vak33XwdljI

The Phantom

How out of shape was Shogun?? I'm really glad he won.

I can't believe Chuck lost again. I must admit I probably severely underestimated Keith Jardine, but I still expected Liddell to win.

Haven't seen the Sanchez fight yet, it's a nightmare (no pun intended) to find quality match by match downloads for this event.

Blitzkrieg

WC Hall Of Famer

Holy crap! I just watched Shogun get schooled by Griffin! Wow.. Same trend continues. PRIDE = Overrated.