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Man, this card is GREAT! So much better than 69.
I got...
Cro
Arlovski (Ikeep picking him and he keeps letting me down, 1 last shot)
Heath
Bisping
Kongo
I know it's a little early, but what the ...we need more MMA threads
For those that don't know, UFC 70 will be shown on e TV instead of being a PPV...
UFC 70: APRIL 21, 2007 IN MANCHESTER, ENGLAND AT M.E.N. ARENA
Main Card Bouts:
-Mirko Cro Cop (#2 HW) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
-Andrei Arlovski (#7 HW) vs. Fabricio Werdum (#8 HW)
-Ryoto Machida vs. David Heath
-Michael Bisping vs. Elvis Sinosic
-Assuerio Silva vs. Cheick Kongo
(my picks in bold)
Preliminary Bouts:
-Dennis Siver vs. Jess Liaudin
-Alessio Sakara vs. Victor Valimaki
-Terry Etim vs. Matt Grice
-Junior Assuncao vs. David Lee
-Paul Taylor vs. Ediberto Crocota
Main card airs in the United States on e TV on Saturday, April 21st from 9:00 PM to 12:00 AM (ET/PT) on tape delay
UFC 70 site is up...
http://70.ufc.com/
Simply amazing that Arlovski - Werdum isn't listed as one of the main fights on the official site...It's not too often that the UFC has 2 top 10 HW's fighting each other...
I could see them pushing Forrest - Machida, but since Forrest is out with a staff infection, that fight shouldn't be one of the headliners. I understand why Bisping is of course...even though they're feeding him a complete turd...
My interest in the undercards couldn't be less, but the main card looks good...especially for FREE...
Crocop in the UFC AND on e TV? If somebody would've predicted that a year ago they'd have been ripped to pieces for being delusional...
Man, this card is GREAT! So much better than 69.
I got...
Cro
Arlovski (Ikeep picking him and he keeps letting me down, 1 last shot)
Heath
Bisping
Kongo
Cheick Kongo and Assuerio Silva will steal the show. It should be a great stand-up bout.
Silva via easy submission...
Na dude, I think they'll duke it out the whole match.
I am waiting to see how Bisping does when someone actually takes him to the ground. He is a very good standup fighter but his wrestling skills were not that good on the TUF show. That was a big reason why he did not want to fight Matt Hamill.
Yeah, I hope and I think he has been training on it. He dosent need more work on his strikes, but he needs to become more of a complete fighter.
Bisping is fine on the ground...if it's a weakness, it shouldn't come into play against Elvis...
And its free on e, its crazy. I cant wait. Man 69 was a night of upsets.
Agreed. I hope Silva watched the tape on Kongo, because if he did, he will see that Kongo has ZERO takedown defense or groundgame.
No one is giving Sinosic much of a chance. Hes no push over. Not a fabulous fight card, but its free.
He's 1-5 in the UFC and 8-9-2 overall. Forrest make him look terrible...Bisping should do the same...
I wish they would have thrown a le shot on there. Like sean sherk. but for a non le card. this is awesome to be televised for free.
Sherk would've been a likely le fight for this one or 69 but he had rotator cuff surgery after the fight with Florian...
If hes been in a le fight, hes not a push over.
Joe Riggs was given a le fight...
Bisping will roll him...
We will have to see. I got my money on Elvis.
hope you didn't bet to much
I guess it's not the worst prediction you could make. There was some guy on here who said that Fedor would lose to Lindland.
If Arlovski beats Werdum, he gets a le shot. Probably straight to Couture if Crocop was to lose to Gonzaga by some miracle. Chances are he'd be facing the winner of CC-Couture. I still see Werdum beating Arlovski though...
http://ufcmania.com/2007/04/18/dana-...th-ufc-70-win/
Crocop will go with his normal "Wild Boyz" (Duran Duran) theme for his entrance music this time...
http://ufcmania.com/2007/04/17/cro-c...edor-and-more/
http://youtube.com/watch?v=lxImSaMkJJA
More on Crocop's conf call here...
http://forum.kakutougi.info/showthread.php?t=7468
He says he's in perfect condition, his health is "OK" and he has no injuries.
He's in the final year of his parliamentary term and will NOT be running for office again. When his term ends in November he'll go back to his job with the special police unit in Croatia. He'll spend most of his time there as a martial arts instructor. "I just like that job. It makes me happy."
He wants rematches with Fedor and Noguiera. "I have a feeling I will face Noguiera very soon."
He only saw a few minutes of the Randy Couture v Tim Sylvia fight on youtube [for some reason I found that hysterical]
Says he's adapted himself to fighting in a cage now. The Sanchez fight was difficult because his opponent was running away.
On Gonzaga - "I will do my best. Gabriel Gonzaga won't have answers for everything I offer him."
Says he always enjoyed kicking. when he was 11 years old he made a kickbag from a sandbag. He talked about how effective his kicks were and credited practice for many years. "Plus, my legs are huge."
Says there's no chance at all of him dropping to 205 to fight Chuck Liddell but will fight Chuck "anytime" at heavyweight.
Again on Gonzaga - "I will force the fight in a stand-up position but I am not scared on the ground." Says Gonzaga "is a tough guy, a first class grappler. I will have to be careful."
Mirko left the conference call early to go and do some sparring. Also, he called in from Croatia so hasn't yet flown into the UK. But he's listed as appearing at the press conference on Thursday.
Yeah, Crocop may look Herb Dean's way and laugh. Then Herb would disqualify Crocop and he would lose his le shot.
This would of course, be ok by you. After all, he did laugh!
04/17/2007
Breaking Down Arlovski vs. WerdumBy Michael DiSanto
went from a heavyweight with an uncertain home to quite possibly the happiest guy in the entire division.
The Pitbull was in the midst of preparing for Saturday’s bout against the highly regarded Fabricio Werdum, but the fight was almost meaningless as far as the “Pitbull’s” le hopes were concerned. Back-to-back losses to Tim Sylvia all but ended hopes of another le bout against the giant champion.
But Randy Couture’s dramatic upset win changed all that.
By taking the le from Sylvia, Couture effectively rescued Arlovski, one of the very best heavyweights in the world, from a state of championship limbo and placed him squarely back into le contention.
If he can beat Werdum on Saturday night, that is. And that is no easy task.
Like Arlovski, Werdum is on the short list of the best young heavyweights in the game. The difference, however, is that most American fans haven’t had much, if any, exposure to him because the Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenom has spent his entire career fighting overseas – most recently in Japan’s Pride Fighting Championships.
Can Arlovski turn back the slick ground wizard and step into line behind Mirko “Cro Cop” and Octagon newcomer Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, or will Werdum stake his own claim among the UFC’s best, thereby send Arlovski back into the heavyweight abyss?
Let’s take a look at the matchup:
Striking
Say what you will about his five-round snoozer against Sylvia at UFC 59, Arlovski is one of the better finishers in the game, particularly on the feet. He peppers opponents with a very active jab and solid leg kicks to expertly set up his powerful right cross and big left hook. Once he lands one of those power shots, the fight is almost certainly over.
At least, that is how things unfolded in six of his last seven wins. And the lone exception to that trend, a 2005 submission win over Sylvia at UFC 51, was a dazzling submission victory. Then again, the Achilles lock was little more than seizing an opportunity after one of his right hand bombs sent the then-champion to the ground with a resounding thud. It was a submission win, but Arlovski’s standup is what really made the difference that night.
Werdum, by comparison, is an unnatural, stiff fighter on the feet. He trains regularly with Cro Cop, one of the most feared standup fighters in any MMA promotion. But his style still features a gifted athlete who pushes his punches and telegraphs his power shots with a slight hitch in his delivery. At 6’2, 240 pounds, he has enough juice to hurt any heavyweight with a single homerun right hand, but those shots typically come in isolated fashion, rather than the lightning-quick combinations that Arlovksi prefers when he begins to find his standup groove in a fight.
Yet, the biggest difference on the feet is the fact that Arlovski, who has an extensive kickboxing background, understands and embraces idea of slipping punches, whereas Werdum avoids shots by pulling straight back. The net effect is that Arlovksi can make a fighter miss and deliver vicious retribution. Werdum never really moves outside of the danger zone, leaving himself off balance and more susceptible to knockdowns when he leans back to avoid a punch.
Aside from the proverbial lottery punch, Werdum knows he is in for very real trouble if he stands and trades shots with the former UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Advantage: Arlovksi.
Submissions
Werdum’s standup skills might be somewhat rudimentary, but he morphs into Picasso once the fight hits the ground. Like all jiu-jitsu experts, he is deadly from the top position. But he is also a nightmare from his back, using very active hips to keep his opponent guessing and defensive while he makes his progressions looking for an armbar, triangle choke, sweep, or some other fight-altering move.
Arlovski, who has an extensive Sambo background, is a well-versed ground fighter in his own right, particularly when it comes to leg locks. But his transition jiu-jitsu is not on par with Werdum’s. In fact, he would be best served to avoid the ground at all costs, including his effective ground-and-pound game, at least until Werdum is dazed, hurt or running low on gas.
Advantage: Werdum.
Wrestling
Neither man is an elite wrestler. Arlovski has average single- and double-leg takedowns. But he isn’t outstanding at trips or throws. Then again, he doesn’t often desire to take a fight to the ground, preferring instead to fight there mostly after he scores a bone-jarring knockdown.
Werdum, on the other hand, will do any and everything to take down Arlovski on Saturday. Nevertheless, he tends to struggle when forced to shoot in from the outside. He has a decent enough arsenal of leg trips and throws, but Arlovski defends well against below-average wrestlers, particularly in the clinch. It wouldn’t be surprising, therefore, to see Arlovski stuff the first few takedown attempts and Werdum change up his plan by jumping guard at every opportunity.
Advantage: Neither.
Explosiveness and Strength
This one is simple. Arlovski is a physical specimen of the level that makes other professional fighters, if not athletes from other sports, think wow! The guy appears to be one big fast-twitch muscle fiber, and as such, he remains one of the biggest, strongest, and most explosive guys in the sport. When Arlovski fires a punch with bad intentions, it arrives at its target with blinding speed and awesome power. Think otherwise? Watch him unload the lone right hand that decimated the iron-chinned Paul Buentello, the counter punch that made Justin Eilers do the jello-leg waltz, or the shot that toppled Sylvia. And think back to the last guy to physically manhandle him, aside from a big, strong, technically sound Ricco Rodriguez.
Werdum is nobody’s pushover, but he knows better than to try and match strength or speed with his opponent at UFC 70.
Advantage: Arlovski.
Conditioning
The conditioning factor may surprise most folks. Arlovski is, without a doubt, a finely trained fighting machine. But gym cardiovascular conditioning and actual fight cardiovascular conditioning are very different beasts because of the elevated levels of adrenalin and stress present in actual fights. If one cannot control those things in a fight, any reserve of cardio is used up like Hummer guzzling a gallon of gas.
Experience can play a big factor in controlling adrenalin and stress, and Arlovski is the somewhat more experienced fighter. But the problem is that 12 of his 15 fights have ended in less than seven minutes, including six of his last seven. In the other three bouts, he showed very real signs of fatigue fairly early in the fight. Part of that could be heightened stress and adrenalin when he does not dominate an opponent early. Part of that could be the fact that he is so heavily concentrated with fast-twitch muscle that he simply tires more quickly than some others.
In either case, Werdum is accustomed to fighting Pride rules, where four of his last five fights had a 10-minute first round, which is twice as long as a UFC round. All fighters begin to show signs of fatigue after a 10-minute round, but Werdum handled the lengthy opening period better than most, rarely showing signs of gassing early.
With that in mind, the UFC’s three five-minute round system should be no problem for Werdum. He will be able to come out and be very active, if he so chooses, without worrying about his cardio going south on him.
Advantage: Werdum.
Experience
When a fighter has spent multiple years fighting in the UFC or Pride, experience becomes a non-factor. The only edge in this one might be the fact that Arlovski is more accustomed to fighting inside a cage, whereas Werdum has more experience fighting in an actual ring. Nevertheless, Arlovski doesn’t use the cage as part of his game plan – he doesn’t use it for the clinch, to cut off his opponent, or to work back to his feet following a rare takedown. Instead, he prefers to fight in the center of the Octagon. As a result, there no discernable edge in experience that gives one man an advantage over the other.
Advantage: None.
Final Thoughts
Arlovski and Werdum are very equally matched, but as described above, their styles and strengths are vastly different. This fight, like many others in the Octagon, is going to come down to which man can dictate where the fight unfolds – on the feet or on the ground. Arlovski is at a massive advantage standing. Werdum holds an equal advantage on the ground. And since Werdum isn’t the greatest takedown artist in the world, one would think that Arlovski’s stand up edge gives him a decided edge in the fight.
Nevertheless, we’ve seen it time and time again where a single punch from someone not known as a vicious puncher forever changes the course of a fight. That is especially true when the combatants are big, strong heavyweights like these two. To me, this fight is a true toss up – one that could end in a split second with Arlovski scoring a dramatic knockout victory early, the pair engaging in a long tactical affair, or Werdum securing a slick submission in the middle or late rounds. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Good breakdown...I can't wait for this fight...more than any other on the card by far...
Give me Werdum via submission. Werdum has a good chin...he took a punch from Big Nog in the OWGP last year that would've dropped most (lost via decision).
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