Small Shows Update 6/5/9

Paul Bradley - went 3 rounds with Mike Pierce at an unbeleivable pace.  He’s a little vunerable to punches, Pierce hit him a lot. Great mma body, he can control most guys who can’t match him physically.  Good strikers with great takedown defense can give him some problems, but he’ll impose himself on most others.

Leonardo Pecanha – long, but not skinny, submission guy who’s not afraid to mix it up standing.  he needs to be on the mat and scrambling.

Eric Henry – dangerous, but sloppy strikes.  solid wrestler will wear him out.

Red Fraser- a little bit of a plodder, but hes well rounded with some explosive striking.  For a guy with only 1 fight he pretty seasoned.

Erin Toughill – decent boxing, throughs hard punches. a little slow, but very determined

Emily Thompson – good takedowns but needs to control position better, could be that her opponent was good at escaping.  not a great boxer

Dream 9 Notes

Minowaman – still not a simple pushover.  dangerous leg holds can give anyone trouble who’s not good enough to control the action

Bob Sapp – showed a few more skills but still got in trouble once his first attack didnt finish the job.

Hong Man Choi – he’s still big.

Jose Canseco – wtf. he did have a good overhand right.

Jan Nortje – way too fat.

Sokoudjou – explosive and fast, but he was clearly unthreatened by nortje.  Awesome when he’s comfortable, but we didnt learn anything new about him.

Gegard Mousasi – Handled the bigger man with ease. Impressive on the ground.

Mark Hunt – No ground defense, obviously wants to stand and strike.

Kawajiri - took down and controlled a very physical JZ from the top. good counterpunching but JZ was a little sloppy.  Very good all round performance.

JZ Calvacante – Unable to do much from guard.  kawajiri was able to control him from the top for most of rd 1 (10 minutes).  kawajiri was counterpunching very effectively.  JZ was most dangerous with his choke attempts.  Good striker with sub defense is going to give him problems.

Abel Cullem – great submission defenses, very tough.  his standup is a little limited.  stay away from him as a favorite, wait for him to be an underdog against all but the very best guys.

Hideo Tokoro – good movement.  tokoro is best when he fights allround fighters that will mix it up.  tokoro is capable against anyone, although sharp strikers can nail him early on.

Takaya – a little sloppy in his striking. more physical than tokoro, but not as talented.

Maeda – plodding with not much explosion. works for position on the ground, but doesnt do much when he gets there.

Small Show Notes 4-23-09

Marius Zaromskis- dangerous striker, solid fighter.  capable against anyone.

Seichi Ikemoto – avg at best

Yuya Shirai - Nothing special.

Jason High – still unknown.  He’s aggressive.

Sam Jackson – big time cardio. non stop slugger.  overcame a tough opponent and some trouble in rd 1. his punching is very sloppy, but hard.  good mma body and heart. lots of potential.

Strikeforce – Shamrock vs Diaz Notes

Cyborg Santos missed weight by 7lbs. Cyborg is explosive like no other woman. Akano was completely overmatched, Cyborg powered thru all sub attempts. It’s hard to imagine Cyborg getting caught in a sub, she is too physical.

Hitomi Akano – not a great striker, decent sub attempts. She is pretty small and probably struggles against any tough strikers that can avoid her submissions.

Brett Rogers looked better than ever. His ground game and stamina are still in question, but his striking is solid. He is a full sized heavyweight who moves well and puts together combinations. He should be able to handle any lesser opponents without any trouble. Fairly safe favorite against inferior fighters.

Abongo Humphrey decent striker. Not enough size or firepower to hang with Rogers.

Benji Radach – Best he’s ever looked. His punching is more refined than i thought. He was winning the stand up against Smith until he got nailed. Did not fight a smart plan, i know he was supposed to take smith down. Damaged his hand and needs surgery to repair.

Scott Smith – another unbelievable late win. Why would anyone would stand a trade with him? His chin and recoverability is unmatched. However, there are signs he’s slowed a little. He was having some trouble getting off and was continually beaten be Benji, is Benji that good or Smith slowing? Stay away if he’s heavily favored.

Nick Diaz – dominated Shamrock everywhere. not scared to stay in pocket and throw. his jab was effective. he looked a little heavy but showed 0 effects/

Frank Shamrock – shot. struggled to engage, way to defensive. still over-run.

Gilbert Melendez- filled out some and looked much fitter than he was against thomson. completely dominated an inferior fighter on short notice, exactly as he should.

Play-by-Play

WEC 40 Aftermath

Takeya Mizugaki – was much better than anyone expected agains Torres. he avoided the ground at all costs. Mizugaki continually moved forward and threw punches, but not many combinations. Did not seem to have big time power, he hit Torres plenty but never rocked him. Good defensive, limited offense means all his fights should be close.

Miguel Torres – what can you say, he’s one of the best fighters in the world. commanded every aspect of the fight, realized his opponent was dangerous and didn’t fool around.

Joseph Benavidez – outworked curran for 3 rounds. he effectively avoided currans punching and bjj game, escaping several submission attempts. his offense is still limited, but his defense is sound. did not completely control curran from the top, but was very active.

jeff curran – did not push the action and settled into Benavidez gameplan. no combinations and had trouble sweeping. was unable to secure several submission attempts. was soundly beaten.

Ben Henderson – got a slow start, escaped a good guillotine attempt and immediately took control of the fight with strong striking. Henderson has proven to be a solid all round fighter. He is still a little sloppy and could have trouble with a wrestler that can keep the pressure on, Roller nearly did it. Good win though.

Shane Roller – Not as physical as I previously thought. Couldnt seal the deal and then got caught. Maybe he learns a lesson, maybe he’s not that good. Not really sure.

Rafael Assuncao – Much better striking than i thought. He’s a powerful little dude with a great mma body. Moved well and overcame a reach disadvantage. Should be a tough opponent for anyone in his division. Looks like a solid choice against lesser fighters.

Jameel Massouh – has a long way to go. his striking is very sloppy, crisp/technical puncher will tear him up. probably struggles against any physical wrestlers too, not good enough striking to keep those guys off him.

Bart Palaszewski – tried to fight smart with a couple takedowns, but he’s become strictly a stand-up fighter. his biggest problem is that he allows his opponents to become comfortable, because he’s not applying pressure. younger, quicker guys are give him fits.

Anthony Njokuani – Bart’s not an easy KO. NJ escaped a couple takedowns, showing he’s improving. he’s dangerous against anyone who cant get him down quickly. Mir said guys in his gym dont like to spar with him cuz his kicks come so fast.

Small shows- update 3.27.9

Thomas Longacre – dangerous striking with very good combinations. not the biggest guy and may get frustrated with a solid wrestler who can close some distance and take him down. Longacre appears to be able to handle himself against any kickboxer/muay thai types. could be a great underdog in short notice type situations.

Hector Lombard – will be successful if he lands in the US. Cuban Olympian may not be an unknown, but he’s somwhat unknown here. His recipe of strength, speed, power and explosiveness will give anyone in the 185lb division big problems. Not overmatched against anyone.

Small Shows – update 3/9/9

Angelica Chavez – explosive striking and finished with a kimura. determined with some real ability. not quite cyborg yet, but she’s very good. this was her first fight

Stephanie Palmer – overwhelmed be the aggressive striking of chavez.

Rafeal Freitas - decent submissions but still sloppy and needs more stength.

Mano Otero – Frustrated. possibly suffered an injury and could not compete well.

Adam Oakey – classic bully. a skilled striker will give him big trouble, particularly a counterpuncher. has some physical tools and could be a real problem for skinny submission guys. lot of work to do.

Dustin Kempf – hard to tell much, creative to say the least. came to fight in great shape

Lyle Sansoucie – good mma body. took control and then got caught be a crazy kick. no telling how badly he was hurt, but he did not defend after the kick.

Nick Duell – relaxed. dude has talent. good strikes and vicious elbows from top, no hesitation. good mma body. should go to bigger shows pretty soon. like his chances against any mid-pack gatekeeper types. a good wrestler might give him some problems, but he’ll walk thru anyone weak.

Josh Miller – could not tell much

Frank Caraballo – overcame some early aggression and wore down his opponent, decent prospect, but a little slow.

Phillip Tomblin - needs to tighten up his game.

Greg Soto – well rounded fighter who looks comfortable in the ring. saw some good takedown defense that led to a slick anaconda. striking looked sharp too. pellegrino trainee.

Brett Kohan - all right! a heavyweight that is in shape and has some athletic ablity. lots of kicking combo’s, decent hands too. hes fast and moves around good. seemed to avoid the ground, probably for a reason. aggressive, explosive striker. im guessing he will be the guy moving forward against almost anyone.

Rafael Sapo – little to slow and sloppy. but has some power.

WEC 39 Post Fight Notes

Mike Brown - qwik KO of Garcia didnt tell me much.  Brown is obviously better than what people thought before he beat Faber.  Appears to be a consumate pro and in typical ATT fashion fights his style.  He’s got a shot to beat Faber again.

Leonard Garcia – never had a chance to do anything.  i still think his best game is bjj, but he’s somehow gotten hyped as a big puncher.  i think hes going to struggle against physical wrestlers.  his best chances are against sloppy brawlers.

Bart Palaszewski – Bartimus always fights to the level of his opponent and allows guys to hang around too long.  He can bang with anyone, but has to come from behind constantly.  Rule:  Never play Bart as a decent favorite, only as an underdog from today on.

Ricardo Lamas- completely controlled Bartimus with some good wrestling, doing just enough to keep the ref from breaking the action.  Barts good at escaping and getting to his feet, so Lamas must be a strong sob.  Lamas needs more of an offensive attack but he’s young and has a great mma body.  He’ll destroy anyone that is somewhat weak.  Possibly have trouble against a fighter with good TD defense that can throw combos.

Jose Aldo – Fast and dangerous, he’s good.  Mickle didn’t provide much competition though.  Aldo is the best pure striker in that division.  Still dont know what will happen when someone fights back or takes him down.

Chris Mickle – overmatched against Aldo.  he’ll struggle against any of the WEC guys.

Rob McCullough – really struggle to “get off.”  third fight in a row where hes been tentative.  maybe he will be better against someone if hes pressing the pace.  did nothing in rd three when fight was on the line.

Marcus Hicks – should have won against Rob,  just didnt realize it. Not sure whats going on with Hicks, he was tentative and reluctant to mix it up.  Not the same fighter that debuted in WEC.

MMAWeekly Play by Play and Results

UFC 90 Parlay Picks

UFC Parlays are offered at only two betting sites currently, 5Dimes (review) and BetUs (review). Both sites allow mixed sport parlays, combining boxing, football and UFC picks is acceptable. You can also combine fighters in different events, i.e. Rampage at UFC 90 and Brock Lesnar at UFC 91.

There are lots of theories about parlays, but not much specifically concerning how to profit from parlaying UFC or MMA fights. Obviously, you must pick winners. Don’t bother with value bets or longshot underdogs, you’d be better off just playing them straight up.

The favorites seem to be overpriced for UFC 90 which is a good reason to play a few parlays. Instead of betting on the “value” offered by an underdog you have little confidence in, try putting together a few combinations that will pay-off better than a simple straight up bet.

Here’s a few two-man options that will return almost even money, take your pick of one fighter from group A and one fighter from group B:

Group A

• Sean Sherk (-245)
• Gray Maynard (-240)
• Burkman (-240)

Group B

• Dan Miller (-350)
• Spencer Fisher (-350)
• Big Nog (UFC 92) (-360)

If you have an underdog you like at UFC 90, you’re already getting a great price. Miller and Fisher are very likely winners, you could maximize your profit by making a 3-man parlay using the guys from group B.

UFC 88 – Free MMA Gear and Money Contests

UFC 88 Heavyweight Contest Prize

Zewkey.com is having 2 Free contests to go along with UFC 88 on Saturday night.  MMA Warehouse gear will be award to the winner of the Pickems contest.  Its a fantasy betting style contest with the winner being the person who “earns” the most from their picks on the full UFC 88 fight card.

The second contest is sponsored by JustBet and the winner gets a Free Bet worth $75.  It’s also a fantasy betting style contest with a few different options. JustBet is also offering a special deposit bonus to anyone wanting to deposit funds for football season.

Both contest are free to anyone who wants to enter.