The Jersey Kid returns with some predictions for today's UFC 132. How fitting that I'm IN The Jersey State as I write this!?
Champ Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber BAD BLOOD. Two simple words that can easily describe these two combatants. I'm excited to see this fight because these two guys are small, explosive and want nothing more but to be unleashed on their opponent standing across the cage. It can be said that Faber holds a slight edge with a prior victory at a heavier weight over Cruz, but I think we're pretty well matched. Cruz has only one loss on his record and it's against the The California Kid. Urijah was in the middle of an incredible run when they last faced and since has added a few notches to the loss column, creating doubt in the eyes of a lot of people who thought he was untouchable. Cruz is pumped andready, but I still have to go with Faber. I think aside from Brown's TKO over him, he's proven he can hang in there (see Jose Aldo fight). URIJAH FABER
Wanderlei Silva vs. Chris Leben WOW. A great matchup involving two fan favorites. Anytime Wandy steps into the ring I'm interested, same for Leben. These are two warriors who have proven that they could take a beating and give one. As difficult as it is for me to pick against Wanderlei, I have to say I give Leben the slight advantage as he is the younger fighter and between the two, the one that has at least made SOME changes to his style. What I question is if Leben fights a smarter fight or one that will see him throwing caution to the wind, and going for broke as he is often happy to do. CHRIS LEBEN
Ryan Bader vs. Tito Ortiz Oh Tito. How's your, "hacked" twitter account hanging? I have always been rubbed the wrong way by Tito, but still found myself rooting for him. I liken him to a Wanderlei or a Cro-Cop in the sense that I find myself wishing he'd come out on fire and show the tenacity (Tito's favorite word) and aggression he was once known for. There is a lot on the line for these two. Tito is rumored to be fighting for his job, which isn't that far fetched, especially considering he hasn't won in 5 years and the UFC's competition is pretty much non-existent right now. Bader is trying to reestablish himself as a contender in the Light Heavyweight division after Jon Jones derailed his train of recent success. If history tells us anything, I think it's safe to say it will repeat itself and Tito will have a hard time against the younger, stronger wrestler. Whatever happens Tito, just go out in a blaze. NO EXCUSES after the fight. I'd love to see him come out and annihilate Bader, pantomime the grave digging and throw on his famed T-Shirt. It should probably say something like, "I just Mastered-Bader from the top position." RYAN BADER
Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim "I'm a changed man." Don't know if Condit has ever proclaimed this, but he should. The Condit I witnessed in the Dan Hardy fight seemed like an entirely new fighter! He's scary. Greg Jackson suits him well. This in my opinion could very well be fight of the night. In fact, I'd bet their two purses on it. I am going to pick Condit here. He's more experienced against tougher caliber fighters and his reinvention will continue to raise his stake in the division. CARLOS CONDIT
Dennis Siver vs. Matt Wiman This fight contains to men that fly under the radar. Both of them continue to impress me in their recent outings. I don't really look at either as serious, "contenders" in the division, but they continue to work through some solid competition. A few more wins for either and you may see them close to this division's king of the mountain. I have to go with Siver here. I feel that Wiman is weakest when he is not pushing his own pace and Siver is a bulldog that will not stop coming forward. Both have been on the receiving end of flash knockouts and both have dished them out, so anything is possible. We should at the very least be ready for an exciting fight. DENNIS SIVER
Melvin Guillard vs. Shane Roller THE YOUNG ASSASSIN has to be one of the most exciting fighters in the division. He possess so much potential...PROVIDING he isn't fighting someone that could choke him out. UH OH...Roller is no stranger to guillotines and rear naked chokes.
Guillard needs to start strong, fast and aggressive. Take a page out of Benson Henderson's book when he fought Roller. Actually...that's a good fight to consider if Guillard takes the W. Joe Silva, you listening. Henderson vs Guillard. I'll pay for that, so I'll go with MELVIN GUILLARD.
Rafael dos Anjos vs. George Sotiropoulos SOTS! Always love watching Sotiropoulos (god I'm not typing that again if I can help it) fight. His fight against Joe Stevenson is still one of my favorites. He is a tireless, well-rounded worker and while I don't think he'll be a threat TREMENDOUSLY on the feet, he will take Dos Anjos convincingly. GEORGE SOTIROPOULOS (crap.)
Brian Bowles vs. Takeya Mizugaki This a a fight that could easily be on a main card. These two dudes are no joke. I have to think both of them have this in common, their best fights were against former title holder, Miguel Torres. Mizugaki lost a close decision and Bowles knocked Torres senseless. I see this going the distance and spending most of the minutes on the ground, but I think Bowles will control Takeya for the Win. BRIAN BOWLES
Aaron Simpson vs. Brad Tavares As many wins as Simpson possess, finishing opponents on the feet...I think he's going to try to control Tavares on the mat. Tavares is a great young fighter who looks better with each fight. I like the former Ultimate Fighter competitor here. BRAD TAVARES.
Anthony Njokuani vs. Andre Winner ANDRE WINNER is an interesting cat. I still haven't figured this guy out. I think he can be serious in this division, but he's not very consistent in my opinion. I think he can keep Njokuani at bay much like Edson Barboza did. I take ANDRE WINNER for the win.
Jeff Hougland vs. Donny Walker I don't know much about either fighter here and will make this pic solely on their past opponents. DONNY WALKER (because I think of Blue Label when I hear his name.)
I was nearly done with it a few days ago and then my browser shut down unexpectedly and all was lost...
It has been a while since my last blog and I will do my best to recap as much as possible.
So after I came down with the terrible 24hr bug on the Opening Day of Aladdin, I was able to rest all of Saturday on my day off. I felt loads better, but was still nervous about coming in on Sunday.
I woke up feeling much better and took extra time to hydrate and warm up in the morning. My throat was feeling a little rough, but I felt confident that I could go at about 90% physically. I got to the theatre and saw that I was going to be doing the last two shows of the day as Aladdin and the first two as my other role which was both good and bad. It was going to be nice to have the first two shows to really let my body get warmed up and since I tend to feel the sickest early in the morning and later at night, I figured I'd be in good shape to perform my shows. The downside was that when I do the last two shows, I have a hard time eating lunch on our break between shows 2/3 because I don't like coming back on a full stomach to go full out in the show. I was a bit concerned with NOT eating, because I still physically felt pretty weak. I ended up pulling through and ate just the right amount for lunch and closed my eyes to rest a bit. Next thing I knew, I was told that we had 25 minutes left till show and I was nowhere near ready, not to mention I had just come out of a deep sleep! I ran up and down the stairs a few times and did some sit-ups and pushups while warming up vocally and headed to the dressing room to throw on the costume. Because of my cold, I was freezing so I kept moving to stay warm until we received the, "Places!" call. I ran upstairs and then ran up the second set of stairs o my starting place and felt pretty good, the sleep had done had done wonders. I felt great for the show and popped some emergen-c and dayquil before the next show and felt even better for the last show. Before the first show, I will admit I started to get nervous because I was hoping that I would not get sick during the show like I did two days earlier. Once we started and the first number was done, I knew I'd be fine.
Monday was a fun day at the theatre. I had Katie, Laura and Kevin coming to see the show but found out that I was not going to be doing Aladdin that day so they were going to see me do all of the stunts, which they were fine with...who are you kidding, they got park-hoppers for free, of course they were fine! In the past the show did not perform on Mondays and this would be the first time it was not dark. The first show was on it's way and as my first stunt was in motion, I realized something was off. I could just tell the timing was off with where I was positioned and where the music normally is at that point. Sure enough, the time came when I was to fly across the stage and nothing happened. I instantly thought of the contingency- but quickly realized I had not been briefed on this situation! How could that slip through the cracks, they are sooooo thorough?!?! I had the common sense to stay put because I was still harnessed and attached to cables and could not just cover and run off stage. I figured that they would just be stopping the show and I would be experiencing my first--and then I was OFF! All of a sudden I was being flung across the stage, thankfully I wasn't hit by one of the swords that are usually slicing through the spot where I am not standing in. Right away, the techs and assistant stage manager are asking if I am OK after I land and I was alive, so I said yes. I was waiting for someone to tell me that I had jumped or anticipated the cue but no one said anything. As the rush calmed down, I started to feel a little pain in my lower back, no doubt coming from my sudden departure from stage. Turned out that the cue was running slightly behind and due to all of the cues in the show and each number, they couldn't bring it to current time without stopping the show since some of the cues are timed to the music...I survived and had a great rush to start my day, what more could I ask for?
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are kind of fuzzy right now. I know it was a mixture of work at Apple, unpacking, cleaning and decorating the apartment and nursing the poor dog who was recovering from his surgery. I think I also fit in some Christmas shopping too.
Friday, I was headed to Disney for some shopping and to give a good show cheer to Emily who was going to finally be going in as Jasmine in the show. She was booked to do the first three shows of the day, which was I'm sure exciting for her. I stopped in and said hello and then took off for the day. Shortly after leaving, I got a text from Carl saying that they had to stop the first show....TWICE...AND they almost had Dylan, one of our Genies, fall down a trap! Mind you, our show is only 40 minutes long and when they stop a show, they have to clear everyone in attendance from the 2,000+ theatre...so they did this once, then shortly after had to do it again. The second show of the day also was cancelled to fix whatever was the issue from the first show. The third show finally was fine and Emily was able to get through her show. Poor girl.
Saturday was work again at apple and I rocked my great elf ears, which everyone loved. We also watched The Wrestler that night, which was AMAZING. I grew up a wrestling fan and know that shit inside and out and it was all fresh for me. I felt like I was watching a documentary and even Erin and Casey enjoyed it, who are not quite into the world of Sports Entertainment. I've been a fan of Mickey Rourke ever since reading a touching article about him while I was in College. They mentioned his meteoric career and his quick downfall that left him shunned from the business and how he was working on his comeback. He went on to do, "Once Upon a Time in Mexico", "Spun" and, "Sin City" which begun to create a buzz around the man once hailed as the, "New Brando". I couldn't have been more in awe of a performance. It was edgy, raw, specific and unlike ANYTHING you have ever seen! Regardless of his past problems and troubles in the entertainment business, I can't see them denying him a nomination for an Oscar and although I haven't seen, "Milk" yet, I'm thinking he will take the crown.
Sunday was back at Aladdin and I was doing the last two shows again but we were told right away that we would have to use some of the contingencies due to some of the effects being out of order. LOL It doesn't make for the best show, but we have to move forward and that's the way it goes, better than no show I guess. That wasn't enough, the theatre gods were not through poking fun and when I get shackled near the end, the shackle broke right off, which was a bit awkward considering it is my main obstacle in the scene! But wait, the second show they said it was fixed and when they get put on me I usually move my wrists and thrash them to break out and this time it worked! I broke open the shackle so now one was just dangling there and thank god Monte who was playing one of the guards, saw and just grabbed me which lead Marc to do the same. Regardless of that, people enjoyed the show and apparently, I was proposed to during my first show when I was riding through the audience on the Elephant. I didn't hear it at the time, but I think they might have come back to the last show, because this set of girls kept screaming at me like I was a Backstreet boy. They had competition though and might have lost the cheering battle to Erin and Katie who came to the last show too. I must have been asked, "Do you know the two blondes in the front row?" at least 7 times from different cast members. They sat dead center and were screaming and laughing the whole time like giddy school girls LOL I waved to them during the curtain call and they lost it, probably because I can look pretty silly up there at the end dancing to the choreography LOL After the show we three went out to eat at Downtown Disney and had the BEST tram ride back to the car...and when I say BEST I mean ABSOLUTE worst LOL It was FREEZING and the conductor was singing every christmas tune under the sun, but replaced all the words to fit a disney theme! LOL Katie loved it!
Monday was a treat with Casey and her boyfriend coming in to see the show. I had told them beforehand that I was probably not going to be performing as Aladdin that day, but they still braved the weather and came out as it poured down in Anaheim. Good thing they did, because they ended up having me do the first two shows of the day as Aladdin so they were able to catch the first show...boy what a first show it was! Everything was going great until the quick change leading into the Prince Ali number. For some reason, I didn't make it. Everything felt like it was going smoothly and right on time and then all of a sudden I hear, "The Elephant is cut, he is going to have to walk!" I wasn't ready in time to get into position so it was time for the dreaded...WALK OF SHAME. If you've been anywhere on this planet, you've probably seen Aladdin at least once and know can probably remember the big number when he comes in on an elephant in a parade to propose to Jasmine. If you don't remember, we have a nice sound cue of an elephant loud as shit to remind you, so imagine the surprise when the music hits and out comes...the dancers and Aladdin walking through the crowd..OH! without the big Prince ALi turban, just his nappy, sweaty hair LOL Welcome to the walk of shame. So I hammed it up and shook hands, kissed babies, stopped for pictures and did everything I could to draw the focus and not get lost in the shuffle. It actually wouldn't have been that bad, had I had my turban. That was what I was most embarrassed about. Fast forward about 15 minutes towards the end of the show and we are back to the famous shackle part of the show...well this time once I got the shackles on and was thrown to the floor, I nearly broke my thumb. In fact, I was sure I did because of the excruciating pain I was in right away. I landed flat on my thumb and it bent all the way back. Thank god by that point I am huffing and puffing and sweat is pouring down my face, because I was able to just blend it all in together, but I thought I was done for! I just reached down and gave a little yank and felt something pop and waited it out. I of course had a meet and greet following and wanted to see my friends so I went down for a little, but by that point I knew it wasn't broken because I was able to move it a lot and the pain had gone down significantly. I finished, went down to the athletic trainer where he confirmed that it was not broken and then he wrapped it beautifully for the next show, but I was not able to move it the same which I was a little nervous about especially considering I did not make my quick change fast enough the last show. However, it worked out and actually ended up being my best performance to date!
I had some gifts to pick up after and shopped before coming back to pack, clean and exchange gifts with Erin. I got everything done that I needed to and thank god, because at one point I was dead tired and wanted to just wake up an hour earlier to finish and I'm glad I fought through it because I over slept a little and nearly missed the cut off time at the airport to check my bags!
So Tuesday was the flight back to the family in NJ which I was really excited about. I realized that I hadn't been back since the same time last year which was kind of sad and scary considering how fast I felt the year went by. It was great to see them and it was freezing back east! We ate pizza from the famous Scorntino's and rested at home...in sweaters and sweat pants...and a hat and scarf lol I was a little sad at night talking to Erin because that morning she also dropped off Wolfy to the trainer's house and he would be there for the next 3 weeks :(
Wednesday I picked up a few things from Walmart and then the rest of the family was coming to my house to hang out. It was great to see everyone and we ended up bugging out with Karaoke till like 1:30am lol everyone was all horse from singing, but we had a blast. Of course they wanted me to sing Whole New World, which I'm not going to lie, I did want to sing it too but it was the Peabo version which is a little whack and way to high for me. It was a true Karaoke moment LOL but was fun because I sang it with Alexis (my little sister). SPeaking of....she is sooo TALL! and smart! I also talked to the trainer earlier that day and she helped put my mind at ease when she told me how good Wolfy was and how he was getting along fine. I can understand how my parents probably felt at times.
Christmas Day we opened gifts and I was still waiting for a package to arrive that had one last gift for my parents, sister and Peter. We then went to eat at my grandma's and then hit up my aunts house for the remainder of the night. I was able to see all my aunt's and uncle this trip which isn't always the case, so it was great for me!
The day after Christmas I went to Peter's house to stay for the night and we pure bugged out. I brought my Red Pajama One Piece and my elf hat and before we sat down to play Rockband, we decided to hit up the liquor store. I decided I would go in full costume and Peter was beyond embarrassed but still allowed us to talk him into filming the whole thing. We pulled up and I was walking to the store and could see about 8 or 9 people standing near the door and I walked in and shouted, "Merry Christmas!" Mind you, we were at a place not far from a shady part of Trenton but I obviously didn't care...I left that to Peter who was saying that I was probably going to get shot by some Bloods or something. I told him that they would clearly see and understand that I was celebrating and bringing Christmas to everyone. We got some good footage and there were some people that were staring and it was priceless. Later that night, I was showing Peter how to import his video into iMovie and I quickly cut something together and added a song within 30 seconds to give him an example and it ended up being a happy accident because we were dying! We then added another little piece...and then another and then two hours later, we had a little short of our adventure and more that we uploaded on youtube. Of course a lot of people did not get the video, but everyone in it and involved loved it. Plus, if you know me well, you'd understand ;)
Saturday, I came back home and watched Valkerie with my family and Phil, my sisters bud. I enjoyed the film although I did doze off a few times in the middle. No disrespect to the movie, it's normal for me unfortunately. I think I'm constantly on the go, so when I sit down in a dark place in a comfortable chair, my body goes into sleep mode. Not always! But often enough. Everyone always jokes about it with me and says that I'll do it at my own premieres. I then picked up some groceries for the meal I was planning to cook for my family. They loved it and I ended up feeding 7 when Peter and Brooke came by. It felt nice to cook at home! Then it was off to see the UFC fight, which I could honestly dedicate a whole blog to. I won't and I'll just say that I'm happy for Frank Mir, worried for Wanderlei and indifferent towards Rashad and Forrest. I wanted Forrest to win, because I like his attitude and I wanted to see him defend, but wasn't disappointed with Rashad beating him. In fact for a while I was always defending Rashad because I thought he had great potential, but recently, I've grown to dislike his antics a bit.
Sunday was football and I sat down with my Dad to watch the Giant game and Peter came by too. It wasn't a game that mattered for us, but of course you always want to win. We were not looking so hot, and then came back and were winning the game. They obviously were not concerned and took out some of the starters to rest them and although the secondaries kept it up, a missed field goal ultimately ended up costing us the game. No matter, we did not need the win and there were other teams like the Patriots, who got screwed LOL I probably would have gotten yelled at by most NJ folks if they heard the way I was laughing and cheering for the Dolphins in the end, but oh well...I then went through boxes that my parents had stored away to make room for them. When I came home from college I never finished unpacking some boxes because of lack of space so my Dad had 5 big boxes sitting in his shed still. He also had 5 big boxes waiting to be shipped out to LA, but again I had no space originally. I decided to go through them because I obviously didn't need them for the past two years. I was able to get it down to 4 small boxes and one big box. They'll be joining me in LA soon :( LOL
Today I ran some errands and packed before it was time to head out to the airport. I had a great stay and loved seeing my parents. I found out that they are hoping to visit in March, which will be nice! I'm excited for them to visit LA and can't wait for them to meet my dog and see me in Aladdin. I am actually writing this while I am on the plane and will be touching down in nice weather in about 2 1/2 hours. I'm so excited to see Erin and be back, but I'm also missing the dog as is she from what I hear.
I'm glad I finished this thing. I was close to letting it go, since I didn't want to type it all over again, but here it is.
Now it is time to think out a resolution for what will no doubt be my best year yet!
Wow, what a night. I had quite a few people message me about my picks for this UFC event in my last blog. You can all go to hell because I was 6-3 with my picks LOL more on that towards the end for you fakers!
As far as the main event, I don't want to hear anything. Most of you who gave me crap about my pick for Randy couldn't even name 5 past opponents of Couture and I'm certain, you have no clue who Lesnar's first win was. As I explained to most of you in my replies, I knew Lesnar would be a champ would day, and have been pulling for him since his arrival, but I didn't think he would be able to adapt and respond to Randy's offense. I assure you that when he steps in to fight someone closer to his size, he will have a much more difficult time. It is easy to sit back and say what Randy should or shouldn't have done, but he got beat. He was fighting a good fight, but didn't go his way. However, for shits and giggles, consider this:
Randy weighed in at 220 lbs and considering that the weight limit is 265, he probably didn't cut down to make that weight. Lesnar on the other hand had to cut down to make the 265 limit so he probably was at least 280 lbs by the time he stepped into the cage. For arguments sake, lets say he wasn't 280 and walked in at 265. He outweighed Randy by 45 lbs at least. Let's see...If you want to consider a similar weight difference, let's make a fantasy fight- Let's take one of today's winners, Kenny Florian and put him against a current Middleweight Contender (and gym partner) Patrick Cote who fights at 185 lbs. That would be a difference of 30 lbs. Let's also pretend he wanted to step in and fight Quinton Jackson at Light Heavy. Kenny would weigh in at 155 lbs and Rampage would be 205 lbs which would make a 50 lbs difference, which is closer to the difference in weight between Randy and Brock. Just like I'm sure this sounds crazy, why should it seem any different in the heavyweight division? Granted Couture chose to fight at that weight, so he has to deal with it...but when Randy said, "He caught me with a big shot." maybe it makes more sense. Brock looked good though all in all. He got hit hard by a couple of the shots Couture landed and if you want to think about another heavyweight who couldn't take a jab from an off-balanced light heavy weight, he actually has a legit future. Please, no more talk of Kimbo/Brock- Do you honestly think that the bearded beast would have a chance? If so, continue to watch your youtube videos and pretend to have a clue.
Here are how the fights turned out in case you were not able to catch it tonight-
Matt Brown Ryan Thomas Submission (Armbar) 2 Mark Bocek Alvin Robinson Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) 3 Jeremy Stephens Rafael dos Anjos KO (Punches) 3 Aaron Riley Jorge Gurgel Decision (Unanimous) 3 Demian Maia Nate Quarry Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) 1 Gabriel Gonzaga Josh Hendricks KO (Punches) 1 Dustin Hazelett Tamdan McCrory Submission (Reverse Armbar) 1 Kenny Florian Joe Stevenson Submission (Rear-naked choke) 1 Brock Lesnar Randy Couture TKO (Punches) 2
By the way, You can all kiss my bum because I was specific about my picks, I didn't just take the easy way out like most people. It is easy to show up to watch the fight and call out a few of your winners by picking one of the two fighters. Your odds of winning are a 50/50 - A monkey could easily do the same LOL get educated and make specific picks next time ;)
We have officially completed the staging of the show today with the exception of some of the stunt work that we can only work once we are in the actual theatre which is next week. We were drilling the big opener today like mad and Carl and I were switching in and out of that crazy diddy, while jumping in and out of the other rehearsal room where we were rehearsing our three big scenes with the Genie. All I know is that I happened to be in the room doing a scene with our Genies and on a break I went next door and everyone was crouched around the other new Aladdin, Carl on the floor. I noticed one of our trainers running in and new something was up. I turned out that Carl had a weird back spasm during one of the bits and was having a hard time moving. They took him to the trainer's office and iced his back and after rehearsal was done, I went over to check to see if he was ok while I grabbed some ice for my own soreness and they said they were taking him to the E.R. I spoke to him on the way home while he was sitting in the E.R. waiting room with Terri. Hope you have a speedy recovery Mr. Man!
Tomorrow we have our first stumble through of the show which will be exciting as it will give us that first real sense of it's rhythm. It's also Mellow Yellow day and we will be wearing yellow t-shirts to rehearsal. This all started after Carl, Emily (our new Jasmine) and I showed up wearing a red shirt and black bottoms without PLANNING! Everyone however thought we DID plan it, so we decided to pick a color (PINK) and wear it on Tuesday. This obviously seemed odd and after telling everyone we planned it, we had some people that wanted to join in on the fun and today about 10 of us wore Blue.
THREE days till the big day where we will decide on our apartment and begin living a fun, spacious life with the pets. Out with the old and in with the new! That day will also have a tense evening around fight time at 7pm...who are you pulling for?
The main event is no doubt one that I am excited about, and will no doubt spark the interest of people that casually follow the sport but claim to be big fans. However, there are a lot of fights on the card that are actually really solid and will more than please the real fans.
I'm making my picks here:
-Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar : Randy takes this one via SUBMISSION in the later rounds. I think Brock is a pure athletic specimen and I feel he will be a champion one day for sure. I actually have a hard time with this fight, because I like Lesnar a lot and want to see him grow in this sport, but call it nostalgia, but I can't go against Captain America and I want to see Randy's legacy continue to grow. I feel once Randy applies his game plan to avoid Lesnar's early aggresiveness, his experience will continue to win him points as the fight wears on. I don't think that he will outright go for anything crazy right away. He will be patient and trust his ability to create opportunities and will eventually catch an inexperienced Lesnar in a submission, before he realizes and can defend it.
-Gabriel Gonzaga (7 Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Josh Hendricks : I think Gonzaga goes streetfighter Blanka on Hendricks and finishes via ref stoppage midway through the 1st round. Most of Hendricks wins have come via submissions and I don't see him catching Gonzaga.
-Joe Stevenson (10 Lightweight in the World)* vs. Kenny Florian: another tough one to call, because I have been fans of both these guys since their arrival under the UFC Banner. I think Stevenson is similar to a Sherk, but way more dangerous at this point in his career. However, unlike when Kenny faced Sherk, he is ready and can handle someone with Stevenson's power. All you have to do is look at three of Kenny's recent wins to see that he has progressed well enough to hold his own against powerful wrestlers. Alvin Robinson, Joe Lauzon and Roger Huerta couldn't utilize their wrestling against Florian and I think Stevenson will fair the same. I think Florian picks him apart on the feet and cuts him in true Ken(Blood)flo fashion with one of his razor sharp elbows. I think it will go the distance, but after a war, Florian will emerge one step closer to that second crack at the title.
-Demian Maia vs. Nathan Quarry: Call me sentimental, but I like Quarry and his crazy story so I'm pulling for him. However, he hasn't looked the same since he returned from his injury that Doctor's said was so bad he would never fight again. Where I think he win's by just being able to step in the cage, I don't think he will be crisp enough to take Maia. I see Maia bringing him down and tapping late in the second.
-Dustin Hazelett vs. Tamdan McCrory: Two scrappy dudes who are going to go to war with passion even more now since it was announced today that their fight would air live due to Amir pulling out due to injury. I think Hazelett takes this via tko in the second.
Preliminary Bouts: -Jeremy Stephens vs. Rafael dos Anjos : Lil Heathen Stephens takes this fight on the feet and drops Rafael in the 1st, but after getting overly aggressive, he will get caught in this Gracie trained fighters triangle.
-Alvin Robinson vs. Mark Bocek: This is one of these fights that will fly under the radar, but has fight of the night written all over it. I think this will be a high stakes fight for both fighters considering their position within the company and division. I look for Alvin to come out aggresive and after a few minutes on the ground, Bocek will turn up the heat and will outlast Robinson but won't be able to finish him. They will go back and forth with Bocek taking an exciting decision.
-Jorge Gurgel vs. Aaron Riley: Jorge Gurgel WILL NOT BE A CONTENDER IN THE UFC. He will lose or win another boring decision and will once again apologize for both and leave us all wondering why they keep bringing him back. Please Aaron, destroy...fast!
-Ryan Thomas vs. Matt Brown: Matt Riddle injured - Matt Brown steps in on two weeks notice. I like Matt Brown and thinks he has heart and should have received the nod in the controversial Dong Hyun Kim fight. I think he poses a lot of medium level threats to anyone, but with two weeks to prepare, I'm not sure he can pull it out. I think Thomas takes this one via sub in the 3rd.
The Jersey Kid returns with some predictions for today's UFC 132. How fitting that I'm IN The Jersey State as I write this!?
