Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson Picks

This weekend brings us another offering from the now-Zuffa owned Strikeforce. We'll get to see three of the final PRIDE belts step into the cage in the form of former Pride Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko and former Pride Middleweight and Welterweight Champion Dan Henderson. That fact is only there for nostalgia, as Fedor has dropped two straight finishes and Henderson lost both of his title unification matches in the UFC but from a fan perspective its freaking awesome (Plus, with Dan being the current SF Light Heavyweight Champ it shows at least one of these fighters is still on top). Also on this card we'll see Meisha Tate challenge Marloes Coenen for the Strikeforce Womens Welterweight title. And if that isn't enough violence, we'll get to see Robbie Lawler and Tim Kennedy beat one another up with some Scott Smith vs. Tarec Saffiedine in there for good measure. I have to give Strikeforce a big A plus for putting this card together, as it feeds my curiosity and my lust for violence in one sweeping move.

Anyway, onto the picks.

Main Event: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson

Most Pick: Henderson by Decision

Steele Pick: Henderson by Decision. A lot is being made of size in this fight, however Dan has shown his ability to fight heavyweights before (in the early UFC days) and with the confidence of two knockout wins in recent memory, he'll manage to squeeze out a decision win over the Brett Favre-ish Fedor, who seems to already have half his mind and one foot out of MMA.

Marloes Coenen vs. Meisha Tate

Most Pick: Tate by Split Decision
Steele Pick: Tate by Decision, because as tough as Coenen is I believe Tate is the more well rounded fighter, and she'll be coming into a fight where Coenen's confidence has to be hurting from getting her ass handed to her for over three rounds in her last title defense. I can see this ending early, but most likely it'll be Tate by UD.

Tim Kennedy vs. Robbie Lawler

Most Pick: Lawler by Decision

Steele Pick: Kennedy by Submission, because I have to support a fellow soldier here and I think Kennedy has a more diverse arsenal to assault Lawler from. Much like his last fight, Tim will avoid the power and take this to the mat, where his submission game will add another win to Tim's tool belt.

Paul Daley vs. Tyron Woodley

Most Pick: Woodley by Decision

Steele Pick: Woodley by Decision. This fight is just going to be a rewind of Koscheck and Daley all over again, with Daley unable to get out from under the smothering wrestler. Fairly easy win for Woodley unless he gets caught.

Tarec Saffiedine vs. Scott Smith

Most Pick: Saffiedine by KO
Steele Pick: Saffiedine by TKO. This fight comes down to one thing, movement and chin. Saffiedine has better movement and a better chin...no need for judges here, TKO in the second.

Why Urijah Faber Isn't Done

Why Urijah Faber Isn't Done
A.J. Burns – Steele's MMA

On July 2, Urijah Faber enters the Octagon at UFC 132 for what will be the 19th title fight of his career. A professional fighter since 2003, Faber has amassed a record of 25-4 fighting in promotions ranging from King of the Cage, to Gladiator Challenge, until rising to the top of the 145 pound division in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion; becoming the face of the organization and of the lighter weight classes in general. These are facts, any web search will show you this. What you won't see though is why Faber is going to be at the top of the mountain in mixed martial arts for years to come.

Faber is a natural bantamweight, with a skill set complete with submissions, top-tier wrestling, and a vastly arrayed arsenal of strikes that has allowed him to dictate the pace and position of his fights. An examination of his losses reveals that he generally struggled when facing a vastly larger opponent who was uncommonly skilled in one discipline. For Jose Aldo, his hand speed and range allowed him to neutralize Faber's ability to close the distance and wear Aldo out. Against Mike Brown he faced a highly skilled wrestler, who was able to use his size advantage to take Faber down and keep him down. Only one other man has beaten Faber professionally, Tyson Griffin; another skilled wrestler (Griffin beat Faber via TKO in 2005) and a longtime 155 pound contender. These are the only men to face The California Kid and emerge with a hand raised.

On the other hand, Faber has excelled in every area of MMA. His striking hasn't diminished, his wrestling hasn't dropped off, and he can still submit a dude too. He has managed to keep his training fresh, training with a wide range of fighters in virtually every weight class and from every background possible. His recent drop to 135 pounds now puts him in front of an almost undefeated champion in Dominick Cruz. I say almost undefeated because the only blemish on Cruz's 18 fight record is a first round submission loss to the then WEC Featherweight Champion Faber in 2007. While Cruz has improved since that loss, Faber has improved as well. Now in his natural weight class, Urijah will have the luxury of being the bigger guy on a regular basis. In comparison to UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, Faber shares many of the same traits that kept Couture at an elite level for so long. He is a good strategist and never lacks a good game plan, and he has the same ability to adjust to an opponent on the fly.

Overall Faber has every advantage in this fight. He has the experience, talent, preparation, and the drive to succeed in becoming only the third fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two separate weight classes*. He is a fan favorite who will continue to be a draw for the UFC for years to come, and is already a certain lock for induction into the UFC Hall of Fame upon his retirement. So look out Dominator, on July 2nd your second loss is coming from the only man to beat you.

*Faber held the Featherweight Championship in the Zuffa owned WEC. Since the UFC had no Featherweight division at the time, and the linear title was converted to the UFC Featherweight Championship, this belt counts. Faber will become the third fighter, after Couture and BJ Penn to be a two division titleholder under Zuffa ownership.

UFC 131 Picks - The Main Card

The UFC returns to Vancouver with another stacked night of fights with UFC 131: Dos Santos vs. Carwin. Carwin is returning to competition for the first time since losing via second round submission to Brock Lesnar at UFC 116, and Dos Santos is returning after a decision win over Roy Nelson and coaching stint on the Ultimate Fighter. Oddly enough, Carwin is stepping in for Lesnar...who after coaching against Dos Santos suffered a return of his diverticulitis, and is out for the foreseeable future. On the line is a shot at current titleholder Cain Velasquez, who will be making his return from rotator cuff surgery to make his first title defense.

In the co-main event we will see the featherweight debut of former lightweight title contender Kenny Florian versus top-10 featherweight Diego Nunes. Florian successfully made the weight cut so this should be a pretty good fight. But now on to the picks.

UFC 131 Main Card Picks

Junior Dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin

Most Pick: Carwin by TKO, due to Carwin being the more complete fighter...excellent boxing combined with outstanding wrestling. The only question is whether or not his gas tank will hold out for three rounds,

Steele Pick: Carwin by TKO. I have to agree, Dos Santos hasn't faced an elite wrestler like Carwin yet...and his ground game will likely be tested for the first time. On the feet I give Dos Santos a slight advantage, but with Carwin's punching power...it might be a short night for Cigano.

Kenny Florian vs. Diego Nunes

Most Pick: Florian by Decision. Florian is a master tactician, and only struggled against the bigger wrestlers at 155. This is his fight to lose, the only question is how his body performs with the cut to 145.

Steele Pick: Florian by Decision. Sound logic once again, Florian is the better fighter in this writers opinion.

Jon Olav Einemo vs. Dave Herman

Most Pick: Einemo by Submission, due to Herman's suspect takedown defense when attempting various strikes, and Einemo's resume as one of the better submission grapplers in the heavyweight division.

Steele Pick: Herman by TKO. I like Einemo, but Herman has been the far more active fighter...and Einemo hasn't fought since a 2006 loss to Fabricio Werdum. Herman will have the better conditioning, and the better chin.

Demian Maia vs. Mark Munoz

Most Pick: Munoz by KO, citing Maia's rudimentary striking. While not the best striker himself, Munoz unloads punches in bunches with plenty of power behind them.

Steele Pick: Munoz by Decision. This is a bad style matchup for Maia. Munoz is far more willing to take damage to win this fight...and this is going to be a damaging fight for both men. Maia has a dangerous guard, but Munoz is active enough with sweeps and passes to stay out of too much danger.

Donald Cerrone vs. Vagner Rocha

Most Pick: Cerrone by KO, because for all his smack talking...Cerrone is a complete fighter. He mixes his punches, kicks, and grappling very well with Greg Jackson in his corner.

Steele Pick: Cerrone by TKO. Rocha is a submission ace, but I don't see him locking anything on the uber-active Cerrone, who will (with Yoda in his corner) knock the crap out of Rocha and take home his second UFC win.

UFC 129 Picks

After almost a month on the sidelines, the UFC returns with an awesome fight card lined up for us in Toronto on April 30th. UFC 129 is the long awaited contest between UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre and the Everywhere Else Champion Jake Shields. Also included is the UFC debut of Jose Also versus hometown boy Mark Hominick. We also get to see the 'is he really retiring' swan song of Hall of Fame member Randy Couture against former champion Lyoto Machida. Rounding out this card is a Light Heavyweight bout between Vladimir Matyushenko and Jason Brilz, along with a Lightweight showdown between Mark Bocek and former WEC champ Ben Henderson. Will Randy really retire? Will Shields pull the upset? Will Aldo dazzle? Does anyone really care about Matyushenko or Brilz at this point? We look forward to April 30th so we can have all those answers and more.


Georges St. Pierre *Champion vs. Jake Shields

Most Pick: St. Pierre by Decision, because he has dominated so much up to this point that its hard to imagine anyone knocking him off the top. His game continues to improve, but he's not much of a finisher anymore.

Steele Pick: Shields by Decision, don't place bets on this one...but every time I pick against Shields he burns my ass and wins. So while my gut says GSP, I'm going to pick Jake for once.


Jose Aldo *Champion vs. Mark Hominick

Most Pick: Aldo by TKO. No one has been able to handle Aldo as of yet and as one of the top three pound for pound fighters, everyone expects Aldo to end this quickly.

Steele Pick: Aldo by TKO. I have to agree with the consensus here, although Aldo has been sidelined by a back injury I don't see this ending any other way than with the champions hand raised. I like Hominick, and I love his striking...I just don't see it being enough.

Randy Couture vs. Lyoto Machida

Most Pick: Machida by Decision, because once again everyone questions the Hall of Famers age and the technical prowess of Machida.

Steele Pick: Couture by Decision. Although I think Machida is a good fighter, he finds himself facing the master strategist of the sport. I don't see age being a factor here, as Couture will close the distance and wear out the former champion en route to a three round decision.

Benson Henderson vs. Mark Bocek

Most Pick: Henderson by Decision. Lost in the hype of the Showtime kick, Henderson is still a force at 155, and everyone sees him taking this one in a lopsided fashion.

Steele Pick: Henderson by Submission. Coming off the loss to Pettis, I see Henderson making a statement in his UFC debut.

Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Jason Brilz

Most Pick: Brilz by Decision. Brilz should have beaten Lil' Nog. He is by far the better striker of the two, and most see him outpointing the veteran.

Steele Pick: Matyushenko by Decision. I disagree with the majority of analysts on this one. I see the wily veteran controlling the pace of the fight, landing the better takedowns and taking a three round decision win.