UFC: Fight Night Live

MMA Match Ups Jake O'Brien vs Heath Herring
by Stan Leung

UFC Fight Night Live
Thursday January 25 2007
Jake O'Brien vs Heath Herring
Heath Herring -450
Bet it now at BetUS.com

Well, it looks like the UFC is finally starting to get some good talent in their shows now. With the signings of Quintan Rampage Jackson and Mirko Cro Cop, the UFC is starting to draw the best fighters in the world. With rumors of Takanori “The Fireball Kid” Gomi coming to the UFC, the UFC will finally be the best organization in the world for MMA. Another recent sign up for the UFC is Heath “Texas Crazy Horse” Herring, who is amongst the top heavyweights in the world. Herring has all the tools for a heavyweight with great stand up and submissions. If Cro Cop never signed up with the UFC, Herring would dominate a very, very weak UFC heavyweight division. Herring has fought a who’s who list of fighters in the MMA world like Gary Goodridge, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Gan McGee, Mirko Filipovic, Fedor Emelianenko, Igor Vovchanchyn, Mark Kerr, Vitor Belfort, Enson Inoue, Tom Erikson, Bobby Hoffman and Evan Tanner.

His opponent, Jake O'Brien, is undefeated at 9 and 0, but he has fought nobody. He has very heavy hands, but Herring has been hit by some of the hardest hitters in the business like Cro Cop, Emelianenko, and Vovchanchyn, so O'Brien’s heavy hands will be not be advantageous as most people think.

Bottom Line: Herring has too much experience, skill and equal stand up power and a dominant ground game.

Herring will mark his debut in the UFC will a very convincing win

MMA Match Ups: Dean Lister vs. Nate Marquardt
by Stan Leung

UFC Fight Night
Thursday January 25 2007
Dean Lister vs. Nate Marquardt
www.BetUS.com

For the life of me, I can not figure out why the online sportsbooks have Lister as the underdog versus Marquardt. This fight will be a ground battle between two very skilled ground technicians. So, if you don’t love jujitsu and the strategy that comes along with positioning for submissions, then this won’t be your fight. Dean Lister is one of the best ground submission artists in the world, and he should beat Marquardt on the ground by dominating the top mount and going for a submission. Lister is a world class submission artist that towers above Marquardt’s ground game.

Lister trains with Team Punishment and has worked on his stand up game with Tito Ortiz and Quintan Jackson. Marquardt is a very accomplished submission artist but his lack of experience on the big stage with quality opponents is missing in his game. Lister has fought the best and has won the world famous Abu Dubai submission wrestling tournament. And his skills in Jujitsu are far superior to Marquardt’s.

Bottom Line: Because Lister’s last performance in the UFC was not a convincing win, he has been labeled the underdog in this fight.

Take the money and run in this fight. Lister wins in a second round tap out due to a guillotine choke. Besides why you you bet against a person whose nick name is the Boogeyman

MMA Match Ups: Hermes Franca vs. Spencer Fisher
by Stan Leung

UFC Fight Night
Thursday January 25, 2007
Hermes Franca vs. Spencer Fisher Franca -200

Bet it now at Betus.com

Hermes Franca was once considered to be one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Though in recent years he has not lived up to the hype that followed that prestigious categorization, he is still a very dangerous fighter. Spencer Fisher is a vicious stand up striker with very heavy hands and he has a compiled a great record of 19-2. Training out of the Miletich Martial Arts camp, he uses the same fighting formula that most Miletich fighters use -- a ground and pound style with good stand up followed by excellent wrestling fundamentals.

A couple of years ago, Miletich fighters were feared but, in recent months, they have been falling like flies. Fisher has that North American Mid West fighting style and has not adapted well to opponents who have figured out how to beat a Miletich fighter. Fisher will try to keep the fight off the mat so he can increase his chances of getting the knockout against Franca.

Franca’s last loss came in 2005 and he has won 7 fights in a row, 6 of them by submission. Franca always starts off slow but, in the end, Fisher will get too over confident and put himself in a position where Franca can submit him.

Bottom Line: Franca has devastating arm bars and still has what it takes to be that elite MMA fighter. He will control and trap Fisher on the ground -- right where he wants him.

A slow first round, but Franca wins by triangle choke switched from arm bar in the second round.

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