UFC 113: Shogun vs. Machida 2 Review/Thoughts

Not a great night of fight picking. I went a whopping 6-5 this time around. Still above .500 though, so still making money. That brings my overall record to 37-23. I will have that 11-0 card though, just you wait. As for the PPV, it was a pretty good card. Shogun is back and Paul Daley doesn’t have a job, which I’m all for. Rua winning is probably the best thing for the UFC. Now, when Rampage crushes Rashad, they can hype up Shogun vs Rampage 2. And since Lyoto no longer holds the belt, Anderson Silva can now enter the division and beat the winner out of Shogun and Rampage. It’s a win-win in terms of PPV buys. Who doesn’t want to see what I just put forth? I rest my case. Let’s see why I went 6-5…

PRELIMINARY CARD

Middleweight bout: Jason MacDonald vs. John Salter

My Pick: MacDonald, Round 2, Submission
What Happened: Salter, Round 1, TKO (injury)

I’m sure you all know by now, but if you don’t, the reason I missed this pick was because MacDonald broke all kinds of bones in his ankle when he was being taken down by Salter. Now, I’m not saying MacDonald was a surefire pick, but I’m pretty sure he would’ve won. Just saying. Can someone get me an asterisk?

Welterweight bout: Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs. Mike Guymon

My Pick: Guymon, Round 1, TKO
What Happened: Guymon, Round 3, Unanimous Decision

Pretty much what I thought, except for the ending. But Guymon dominated Yoshida from the start and never looked back. I’d be surprised if Yoshida still has a job with Zuffa after this.

Heavyweight bout: Tim Hague vs. Joey Beltran

My Pick: Beltran, Round 2, KO
What Happened: Beltran, Round 3, Unanimous Decision

As Dana White said, Beltran was impressive. His boxing seems top-notch. I say “seems” because we have to get this guy some better competition. Hague is decent, but now that Beltran showed he’s above this level of competition it’s time for a jump.

Welterweight bout: TJ Grant vs. Johny Hendricks

My Pick: Hendricks, Round 3, Decision
What Happened: Hendricks, Round 3, Majority Decision

This fight was pretty close. One judge called it a draw. I would like to see them fight again, but it probably won’t happen anytime soon. But I did call this perfect.

Welterweight bout: Marcus Davis vs. Jonathan Goulet

My Pick: Davis, Round 2, TKO
What Happened: Davis, Round 2, TKO

Back to back perfect picks? Yes sir I did. No way Goulet was going to be able to stand with Davis. When he tried, lights out. Davis isn’t top tier but he’s right under that. Sadly, he’ll probably always be at this level. Age is not on his side and the young guys keep getting better.

Middleweight bout: Joe Doerksen vs. Tom Lawlor

My Pick: Lawlor, Round 3, Decision
What Happened: Doerksen, Round 2, Submission

Lawlor had a chance to finish this fight. He just let up for whatever reason. Fight in the bag and he whiffed. Still, he had probably the best weigh-in ever. Joe Rogan also agrees. For those who don’t know, he came out looking like MMA legend, Dan Severn. It was great. I’m sure Lawlor will lose some sleep over this loss.

MAIN CARD

Middleweight bout: Patrick Côté vs. Alan Belcher

My Pick: Belcher, Round 3, Decision
What Happened: Belcher, Round 2, Submission

I thought Belcher would outpoint Cote because his striking is better. Not more powerful, but more accurate and faster. He showed some of that while getting tagged a few times by Cote. It was an alright fight. Nothing crazy really happened. Cote broke his hand and then got choked out. Then Belcher went and called out Anderson Silva during his interview. Really? Calm down. You’re not on that level yet. Maybe ever.

Heavyweight bout: Kimbo Slice vs. Matt Mitrione

My Pick: Slice, Round 1, KO
What Happened: Mitrione, Round 2, TKO

What happened here? I thought we were all in agreement for a knockout? Not that lame TKO Matt put on Kimbo, but a real knockout. Guess not. I don’t know what Kimbo was thinking after he took Mitrione down. He beasted him down twice but should’ve stood up because while he had energy I thought he was winning the fight. Those triangle attempts gassed him out, as well as Mitrione. And refs need to stop calling fights when one fighter does no damage to the other. I can repeatedly flick someone’s ear. That doesn’t mean I beat them up. Just saying.

Lightweight bout: Sam Stout vs. Jeremy Stephens

My Pick: Stout, Round 3, Decision
What Happened: Stephens, Round 3, Unanimous Decision

I got the Fight of the Night call right with this one. So basically I gave each fighter $65,000. No need to thank me. This fight was mostly dominated by Stephens, but in the third round Stout had a chance to finish the fight but he hesitated for a bit and then thought not to try to finish for some reason. He could’ve done it. Don’t know what happened. Still, it was a good fight.

Welterweight bout: Josh Koscheck vs. Paul Daley

My Pick: Koscheck, Round 2, Submission
What Happened: Koscheck, Round 3, Decision

I can’t stand either of these guys. The only thing the love more than fighting is running their mouths. I thought Koscheck would use his wrestling and eventually work a submission in. He almost did so in the second round but Daley has obviously been working on his ground game. Too bad he couldn’t work on his attitude. After the bell Daley went up to Koscheck and threw a cheap shot. Lucky Koscheck kind of saw it coming or he could’ve seriously been hurt. Dana cut Daley instantly, and I couldn’t be happier.

Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio Rua

My Pick: Machida, Round 3, TKO
What Happened: Rua, Round 1, KO

Wow. That’s all I can say. I guess Rua is 100% back. I seriously think Machida was trying to prove a point and that’s why he got caught. He should’ve let Shogun come to him, because he would have, and then do what he does best and counter. For whatever reason he opted not to do this and then got caught. Yes, it was a shot to the back of the head, but since he was standing it’s legal. Congrats Rua. Now, can we get Anderson up to 205 to own two divisions?