UFC 77 – Hostile Territory

bitboy

bitboy

bitboy

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WAR UFC! Anyone else really pumped for this card? Being a huge Vera fan I’ve been waiting some time for this. Card is as follows:

Rich Franklin Vs. Anderson Silva
Tim Sylvia Vs. Brandon Vera
Eric Schafer Vs. Stephan Bonnar
Alan Belcher Vs. Kalib Starnes

Undercard:

Alvin Robinson Vs. Jorge Gurgel
Jason MacDonald Vs. Yushin Okami
Demian Maia Vs. Ryan Jensen
Josh Burkman Vs. Forrest Petz
Matt Grice Vs. Jason Black

My predictions for the main card are in bold.

Although I think Rich will come way better prepared than previously, I believe the same can be said for Anderson. His stand-up is some of the best I’ve seen, and his ground is no joke. I really think Silva beats Rich regardless of where this takes place and retains the title. Hopefully it will be slightly more competitive than the previous bout though.

Vera is the man. Although my mind says Timmeh has the edge with this one, and I’m struggling to see how he is the underdog at the bookies, my heart is screaming Vera. 11 months out of the game, and no doubt this will be Vera toughest test, but he is so well rounded. The only thing I see stopping him is Tim’s size, but lets hope that doesn’t happen. WAR Vera!!

As for the other main card bouts, I feel Bonnar and Starnes have the edge. Although you could be fooled into thinking I've just picked the fighters on the right hand side:o

Oh, and I’m reading rumours that the winner of the MacDonald / Okami bout is next in line for a title shot (obviously against Silva:p). WTF is up with it being on the undercard then? I think it should be a pretty sweet match.

For those wanting to watch it will show on Bravo – 21st of October at 9PM, or you can get the PPV from the UFCs website if you pay them some dolla. Keeping in line with their rather flash PPV websites, the UFC have set one up for 77 here.

I wonder what they will say about Randy's departure......Can't wait!
 
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Rich Franklin Vs. Anderson Silva
Tim Sylvia Vs. Brandon Vera
Eric Schafer Vs. Stephan Bonnar
Alan Belcher Vs. Kalib Starnes

I disagree with the first two, I like Rich and I think he'll be 100% improved over their first meeting and I don't think Anderson is as good as a lot of people think.

I think Tim will be seriously up for this fight, as he just loves being the champion and this is a big step towards another shot, although Vera is a very good fighter and could easily win.

Having said that, I've a 0 - 6 in the last two events.:(
 
Big Kev said:
Having said that, I've a 0 - 6 in the last two events.:(
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Haha, the last few PPVs have been filled with so many upsets it really does make for some tough pickings. Fortunately I’ve not posted my past predictions anywhere else so will state now I expected Cro Cop to lose two on the bounce, Serra to easily win the WW title and for Chuck to be outpointed by the Dean of Mean. Honest guv:D

I could see Rich taking it by GnP, but do strongly favour Anderson in this one. As for Tim / Brandon it really is a tough one to pick. I expect a post surgery Tim to be a lot sharper than he was against Randy (I picked Tim for that one), but Brandon hasn’t really fought at Tim’s level yet so despite his impressive performances it truly is a tough one to call. I really am letting my heart do the picking for that one.

Roll on Saturday, or Sunday as it is for us UKers.

Ninja edit - Can I ask Kev, considering the PPV is shown live on the net, what the spoiler rule will be over here come this weekend?
 
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CliffyG said:
Does this mean Bravo will only be showing 4 bouts again? If you buy the PPV does you get all the undercards?
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Nope. As far as I'm aware, we 'see' the same as those purchasing the PPV (albeit with lots more adverts)! Depending on timings, the UFC will usually show some of the undercard fights at the end of the PPV, with the rest available for purchase from the UFCs website. Kinda sucky, but at least we get it for freeeeeeee!
 
Thats pants, was bad enough with 5 fights in 3 hours let alone 4 :(. Luckily i just Sky+ it and can skip through the majority of the crap but that kind of detracts from the event. I'd really like to see all the fights though.
 
CliffyG said:
Luckily i just Sky+ it and can skip through the majority of the crap.
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Totally. As much as I love MMA I can do without the huge gaps between bouts. A lot of it isn't even filled with anything noteworthy. V+ / Sky+ truly is a godsend:D

The undercards may well end up on unleashed, or 'wired' as they are calling their new MMA show in the states. I assume that may make its way over to Bravo in the future.
 
bitboy said:
Ninja edit - Can I ask Kev, considering the PPV is shown live on the net, what the spoiler rule will be over here come this weekend?
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I think we know that there probably won't be anyone using the PPV version to watch the fights, so best keep the spoilers until it's being shown on Bravo.

Good try though.;)
 
Not the best card in the world, although it's hard to follow on from UFC 75 & 76! UFC 78 is looking pretty poor too (I can't believe Bisping vs Rashad Evans is going to be the main event). Luckily Karo Parysian fighting, who's always entertaining.

Looks like they're saving the good stuff for UFC 79: Hughes vs Serra, Wanderlei, BJ Penn, and possibly Nog vs Kongo.

Back to UFC 77: For the main two events, common sense says Anderson Silva and Brandon Vera.. however that won't make me any money. So i'll probably stick £10 down on the Double of Franklin and Sylvia winning. Will make around £60 if that happens :)
 
Can't see Franklin beating Silva, unless he drastically changes his gameplan from the last fight ( which he surely will ) - either way, Silva is untouchable in that division imho, KO in the 1st/2nd.

As for the Tim Sylvia fight, my word, how much do I hope he gets beat. Vera is a decent fighter, although he hasn't really fought anyone with top credentials I still feel he'll get the win. Vera via KO 3rd/4th ( hopefully!!!! )

Other than that, can't see Schafer troubling Bonnar and Starnes should have too much for Belcher.
 
McBain said:
Silva is untouchable in that division imho, KO in the 1st/2nd.
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Yeah, pretty much all the UFC divisions are pretty stacked now, apart from Middleweight. There are at least 4 people who are at the same level (or above) Silva, but sadly they're either elsewhere or at the wrong weight:

Paulo Filho - WEC
Dennis Kang - K1
Matt Lindland - Coaching in IFL
Dan Henderson - Light Heavyweight... atm

The most likely fight is if Dan Henderson moves back to Middleweight. That would be an awesome fight, and my money would definitely be on Hendo. :)
 
Unfortunately Dan isn't wanting to drop, although I agree it would give a bit more depth to the div. Infact, I'm hearing he aint that happy with his contract just now. Really hope they get it sorted as Dan is a true warrior and brings a lot more than your average MW / LHW.

At MW you've got Anderson and Rich......then very few others who I feel really have a shot at the title. Could almost end up like the AA / Timmeh situation they had at HW a while back.
 
Looks a lame card to be honest, but as someone else said, we've been spoilt recently.

Where's Tank Abbot these days? I love watching the old UFC's (ie 1-20). When it was muay thai vs judo and not so... er.. MMA!
 
I saw tank fighting in CageRage a few months ago, got beaten by a guy called "mark the smiler" or something!

The proper proper oldschool UFC is where its at...there were some epic encounters and as much as they tried to make Tank become champion, he never managed it:/
 
Interesting article from Dave Meltzer on Yahoo Sports here. Linked to MMA Junkie as the Yahoo link is hooge :/

Looks like confirmation that the winner of Timmeh / Brandon will be in line for a title shot:

The winner, provided he escapes without a serious injury, will fight for the vacant title in early 2008. Two scenarios have been discussed. In one, the winner would face the winner of the Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira-Cheick Kongo match taking place sometime this winter. The second is Nogueira and Kongo won't fight, and Nogueira will face the Vera-Sylvia winner in the championship match.

Would still like to see Big Nog v Kongo. Despite the upsets lately Nog really has to take this one easily. I'd only see him losing if he chooses to stand (which I guess he may well do) AND his iron chin fails him.

ALLI said:
Where's Tank Abbot these days?
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He was going to be fighting Kimbo Slice at CFFC but event organisers pulled the plug. Kimbo has since signed with EleteXC, so unless they decide to bring in Tank too then I can't see it happening.

Nickg said:
where is Mark Hunt at these days? (hvy weight)?
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According to some folk he's signed to the UFC, I think even Dana confirmed that much in an interview. No real news apart from that though. Dunno if he's struggling to make 265, if the UFC just aren't sure of their plans for him, or something entirely different!
 
Yeah I think Nog will quite easily take the HW title off either Vera or Sylvia. But then again I said that about Cro Cop.. and boy was I wrong there! Mark Hunt would be awesome to see in the UFC. I'd love to see:

Hunt vs Slyvia
Hunt vs Kongo

Considering it's physically impossible to knock Mark Hunt out, he'd make awesome matches against any other striker. He'd probably get subbed pretty quickly by Big Nog though.

EDIT: Anyone betting on UFC 77?

I notice that at Paddy Power, a £5 bet on all 4 underdogs in the main 4 matches (well 3 main, 1 undercard technically) could net £265.94! Considering all 4 underdogs won last time (and I won £70 there!), it's well worth a punt for £5! :D

I'll probably stick £5 on that combo, then £5 on my actual prediction:
23:59 Yushin Okami v Jason MacDonald
23:59 Stephan Bonnar v Eric Schaffer
02:50 Anderson Silva v Rich Franklin
02:50 Brandon Vera v Tim Slyvia

That combo is only £57.89 though with £5 bet :(
 
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