OFFICIAL TTN UFC 101 PAY PER VIEW PREVIEW

There are times when I get anxious to see a great upcoming UFC PPV, and usually it’s because of the fights on the card or the main event is one that has been a long awaited match up that fans have been dying to see. Recently, a milestone UFC event had my expectations at an all time high, but nothing is more exciting than knowing that instead of gathering around a television Saturday the 8th I’ll be looking for my seat at the Wachovia Center in Philly for UFC 101. I’ve been to a live event before but it wasn’t the greatest card, and the best fight that night ended prematurely due to a cut. This time around, there is a title on the line in the main event, and the co-main event features one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world moving up a division to take on one of his toughest challenges yet. Needless to say, I’m fucking hyped……lets break down some beat downs.

Josh Neer Vs. Kurt Pellegrino

Josh Neer has the stuff that iron jawed dreams are made of. He’s only been KO’d once during a stint in the IFL and has never been TKO’d in his professional career. More importantly, he’s never been knocked out in the UFC. Neer gained some notoriety after becoming a staple on the Fight Night cards where he earned victories against notable lightweights in Melvin Guillard, Joe Stevenson, Din Thomas, and most recently Mac Danzig. It was in his loss to Nick Diaz however that he became a fan favorite. Nobody expected Neer to stand with the technically sound Diaz, but stand he did. Neer would last nearly fifteen minutes in an epic back and forth battle before being submitted in the third round via kimura. Unfortunately, despite his newfound popularity amongst UFC fans, contract negotiations fell apart and Neer made his exit to fight in other leagues such as MCC, Full contact Fighting, and the aforementioned IFL for the entire 2007 year. His return in 2008 saw the fighter earning a respectable 2-1 record, which includes his last fight against Danzig, a win that occurred in February of this year.
As said before, Neer possesses an ironclad jaw that is nearly inhuman. I’ve seen him take tremendous punishment while trading blows in a number of fights and still managed to pull out a win. He’s also comfortable on his back, which is unexpected from a fighter who prefers the stand up battle. Neers arsenal also includes lightening quick elbows from the top position, which allows him to be equally comfortable in an open, or closed guard.
Pellegrino is a Dirty Jerze native hailing from Point Pleasant, which makes him my homeboy. He’s an exciting lightweight fighter who, win or loose, puts on a show for the fans every time. Pellegrino is the owner of a 6-3 UFC record, but the fact that almost all 6 of those wins have come against fighters on their way down the ranking ladder has kept him from really moving up in the division. It also seems that there is a bit of a curse brewing above the head of Jersey’s finest fighter. As Pellegrino describes in an article for ufc.com, “Every time I have been put on TV, I lost,” he says. “I won two fights in a row, they put me on the main card, the first fight of the night—I lose. Here we are again. I won two fights in a row, they are putting me on the main card again, the first fight of the night. This time I’m winning. I’ll be damned if I am going to lose again—it makes me want to vomit”
Pellegrino will certainly need to use all of the weapons in his repertoire if he hopes to beat Neer. Leaving Florida to train once again in Jersey could be a step in the right direction for him. Also, grinding through a 14 week training program instead of an 8-week program will allow Pellegrino to be certain that he did everything he could to prepare for this fight. That aside, getting Kenny Florian in his own corner and splitting time at Florians gym in Boston as well as his own is one hundred and ten percent a step in the right direction. Already a BJJ black belt, Pellegrino can only get better training with one of the top ground technicians in the division and he should be at an advantage should the fight hit the mat.

Prediction: Pellegrino 3rd Round UD

Kendall Grove Vs. Ricardo Almeida

If you’re looking for proof that loosing in the Octagon can dramatically improve a fighter’s ability, look no further than Kendall Grove. After winning season 3 of TUF, Grove went on to win his next two fights by submission against Chris Price and Alan Belcher. Grove was on his way up to the top of the division but then he ran head first into Patrick Cote and his devastating right hand. Immediately following that, Grove faced the aging Jorge Rivera and for the second time in a row was knocked out in brutal fashion in the very first round.
Grove was officially put on notice after his loss to Rivera, and was given a shot to stay his execution against former champion Evan Tanner. Grove would earn a split decision in that fight, but it was easy to see he had turned a corner in his professional career. That assumption would be proven correct when Grove returned to the Octagon again 9months later and decimated Jason Day in the first round by KO.
His place in the UFC secured, Grove will look to improve his winning streak to three by using his long reach and take down defense against Almeida in what could be the biggest win of his career so far. Grove enjoys a pretty consistent height advantage in his weight class and while he can be taken down on occasion, his long limbs allow him to climb back to standing position or slip in a triangle choke with ease should he choose to stay on the ground. Against Almeida though, Grove should look to keep things standing using his reach to land jabs and leg kicks to set up heavy counters and head kicks. Over the past year, Grove has worked to improve every facet of his game dramatically by training with BJ Penn and it should be no surprise if we were witness to the best Kendall Grove fans have seen to date this Saturday.
Almeida is in a similar position to where Grove was before his victory over Day. Almeida has been unable to string together two wins during his six fights in the UFC, and doesn’t have any victories against any top contenders. Loosing against Grove will bring into question his future in the UFC, but a win will push him towards the next level of opponents in the Middleweight division. Almeida should look to take this fight to the mat immediately. The more trouble he has taking Grove down, the more likely he’ll be on the receiving end of a brutal TKO or KO. If he can get Grove down, moving into side control or mount position will be Almeidas next move, as he will need to neutralize Gove’s long legs. After some ground and pound to soften his opponent, a transition to a d’arce choke, kimura, or catching Grove in a guillotine after baiting him into a reversal would be ideal in pulling off the victory and finally getting that second UFC win in a row.

Prediction: Grove by TKO 2nd Round.


Amir Sadollah Vs. Johny Hendricks

As well known as Amir Sadollah has become since his win over CB Dollaway, it hasn’t been because he has been winning fight after fight inside the Octagon. He’s been featured in UFC news related spots on Spike TV and has been interviewed while attending PPV events, but not only has he not won a fight since becoming the Ultimate Fighter, he hasn’t even had the opportunity. Scheduled to fight Nick Catone at UFC 91, Sadollah was forced to withdraw from the fight after contracting an aggressive form of a staff infection in his leg. The fight was rescheduled for Feb 7th at Fight Night 17, but again Sadollah was forced to withdraw after he broke his collarbone during training. One day away from his first fight since winning TUF season 7, it appears he is injury and infection free and ready to go.
The former surgical technologist (yes that’s correct) will need to utilize all of his skills against the more experienced Hendricks. Sadollah has incredible kicks and although he is only a white belt in BJJ, he is a big fan of using submissions to earn the victory. Although he does not appear to be a formidable striker, Sadollah does hold two KO’s as an amateur and scored a TKO during the taping of the show. While many fans will wonder about the Octagon rust that he has acquired after not fighting since June 21st of 2008, he has technically been training for one fight or another for over a year, which could actually work in his favor.
Johny Hendricks will be entering the Octagon for the first time in his career on Saturday night after winning his first five fights as a professional. The last two fights Hendricks had took place in WEC where he won by TKO and then a UD, which garnered Fight of the Night honors. Hendricks brings an impressive skill set to the UFC as a former amateur wrestler for Oklahoma State University, where he won the 2005 and 2006 NCAA Division I title at 165 pounds. The following year he would finish second in his weight class, loosing his only match of his senior year in the finals. He entered that match with a record of 56-0. Hendricks is a very compact 170 lbs and has heavy hand and an aggressive style that can confuse his opponents. With his wrestling background, Hendricks may look to take this fight right to the mat and work his ground and pound skills en route to earning his first victory in his first showing in the UFC.

Prediction: Hendricks by KO 1st Round.

Anderson Silva Vs. Forrest Griffin

And now we’re getting to the business with the most interesting match up on this card. Griffin is coming off of a difficult loss to Rashad Evans during his first defense of the Light Heavy title he won after beating Rampage Jackson and although Silva is moving back up to test the waters at 205lbs with his Middleweight title still intact, fans are seething to see him actually fight. I’ll explain.
After Silva won his first fight at 205 against James Irvin, he would move back down to defend his title at 185lbs against Patrick Cote. The tow squared off in an uneventful battle until :39 seconds into the third round where Cote simply shredded his knee while attempting a superman punch, therefore ending the fight. Silva would defend his title six months later against Thales Leites in what was probably the worst fight I’ve ever see. The beginnings of some quality exchanges simply sputtered out, as Leites would fall to his back in numerous attempts to lure Silva into his guard. The tactic didn’t work and Silva would remain standing until the referee ordered Leites back to his feet time and time again. They were the longest twenty-five minutes of any fight fans life. So although Silva remains undefeated in the UFC through two weight classes, there is a strong demand to see the Anderson Silva that destroyed the entire Middleweight division.
That is the Anderson Silva that needs to show up if he hopes to defeat his toughest challenge since Dan Henderson. We all know what Silva can do. His angels are perfect, he’s insanely technical with all of his strikes, and he avoids damage better than almost anyone in the sport (ahem Loyto Machida cough cough). Silva has a left jab from hell that has destroyed numerous opponents and knee strikes from the Muay Thai clinch that he’s used against nearly every opponent he’s beaten. Sitting back and waiting to figure out Griffins fight plan for the first round, as Silva is known to do, will not be advantageous this time. With Griffins style, by the time Silva figures him out, it could be too late.
Here is the key to Griffins victory tomorrow night; leg kicks, leg kicks, leg kicks. Griffins devastating leg kicks earned him the victory in his title fight against Rampage and will open Silva up for the kill in their fight. Silva has a very open stance, keeping his forward foot far in front of him so he can throw head kicks and knees at his opponents. If Griffin can land kicks to that forward leg with the same power that he did against Rampage it will completely void Silva’s Muay Thai attacks. As I said before, Silva has used his knees to gain a victory in nearly every single fight he’s had in the UFC. He’s caught Leben, destroyed Franklin twice, and dropped both Lutter and Henderson with knees shortly before scoring the win. A completely swollen leg will take a lot of force out of not only the knee strikes, but also weaken the deadly Muay Thai clinch. Also key for Griffin is keeping his lead foot outside of Silva’s right lead foot during their exchanges. This will allow Griffin to keep himself out of striking distance of the left jab that dropped James Irvin like a bad habit. It wouldn’t be wise getting intoa slugfest with Silva, but bringing the fight to him from the opening bell might stifle Silva enough to either land the heavy shot to the head or at the very least, allow Griffin to gain the takedown where he can work his underrated BJJ.

Prediction: Griffin by TKO 2nd Round. It’s going to have to happen early to work out this way, but out of everyone Silva has face; Griffin is the one that can do it. He’s aggressive, and has nothing to loose getting beaten by Silva. Honestly, I think Griffin is going to hit Silva square in his gump (that means mouth kids) harder than he’s been hit in a long, long time and he will not be able to respond as Griffin swarms in for the victory.

BJ Penn Vs. Kenny Florian

Capping off this incredible card is a title fight that has been a long time coming. After loosing the vacant Lightweight title in an absolute five round beating at the hands of Sean Sherk, Florian has re-invented himself and come back strong winning his next six fights in a row. In five out of six of those fights, Florian was able to finish his opponent before the final bell with two TKO’s and three submissions. BJ Penn on the other hand is coming off a truly disappointing performance against GSP for the Welterweight title and is looking for redemption. That loss, much like the loss Florian suffered against Sherk, seems to have given Penn a brand new level of focus and determination for his first Lightweight title defense since May of 2008.
After watching the Countdown hype show for this card, it’s obvious that Penn is taking Florian very seriously. He moved his training camp out of Hawaii and enlisted the help of the Marv Marinovich, whose son Todd Marinovich was a solid USC starting quarterback and first round draft pick in the NFL draft, but soon after became a major bust due to personal issues. As a result, an ESPN columnist named the elder Marinovich one of history's "worst sports fathers” as his strict nature with his son was well documented. Seriously, if you haven’t seen the UFC 101 Countdown episode you should really watch it and see some of the shit good old Marv has BJ doing, its insane. It’s a smart move as anyone who has watched Penn over the years knows that his one and only weakness is his lack of cardio. He admitted to being completely spent after the second round against GSP and has gassed out in a number of fights in the past, most notably in his loss to Hughes in 2006. Dana White has said that an angry BJ Penn is a very, very dangerous BJ Penn and I’m a believer. Once Penn is focused he is competely overwhelming with expert hand and even better BJJ. He can bend his limbs like a rubber band to escape not only submission attempts, but even single and double leg takedowns. It’s truly an amazing site to see BJ Penn at the top of his game.
Florian has his work cut out for him. He’ll need to defeat Penn in every facet of this fight from the opening bell if he hopes to win, exposing the champs weakness in the cardio game. Florian is also an expert BJJ black belt and trains with one of the most revered camps in the UFC; Mark Dellagrotte’s Sityodtong camp out of Boston MA. Training with fighters like Jorge Rivera, Marcus Davis, Patrick Cote, and Stephan Bonnar has helped Florian become better and more impressive in each and every fight. Confidence is a key factor here for Florian as he must be willing to go anywhere the fight takes him. He has to be confident striking with Penn on the feet, as well as going to the ground and matching his BJJ skills against one of the best in the business. From watching his interview reels, it doesn’t seem that Florians confidence will be an issue come Saturday night.
Much like Penn, Florian is an incredibly skilled striker who can pick apart opponents with jabs and stepping punches which set up one of the quickest left leg kicks in the Lightweight Division. His ground technique is near perfect as he can slip in submissions from any position, transition over and over to keep the advantage, and has been known to control opponents as well as the entire pacing of the fight. On top of all that, Florian has incredible heart. He took every inch of the beating that Sherk handed him in 2006, internalized it and came out the other side a better fighter knowing what it means to compete for a title. This experience will prove useful as Penn has fought for the title a total of seven times and has fought against current or former title holders a total of eight times winning half of those contests. Simply speaking, nerves should not be an issue for either fighter once the Octagon door closes.
Both fighters have put in an incredible amount of preparation for this fight and niether will back down easily. Penn has taken the steps necessary to make sure he won’t be a victim to his own cardio like in his fight against GSP and Florian has been improving his skill set with each and every fight. These two warriors are poised to put on one of the greatest wars the UFC has ever seen for the Lightweight title and I’m expecting nothing less.

Prediction: BJ Penn UD 5th Round.

Well shit that was aggressive. I know by now there are a lot of you that weren’t expecting to see this post, and believe me with what happened to our old favorite stomping ground I really didn’t think I would have a venue to post it anywhere. Anyway, I’m 12 or 13 hours away from leaving for Philly and I can’t wait to just get in the car and get this trip rolling. With eleven fights on this card there is no question that my friends and I are going to get our money worth. My apologies for the late post, and my thanks to the creators of this site and to those that read and comment on the preview. Its greatly appreciated. Enjoy the fights tomorrow and as always….knuckle up.

Damn it I wanted to bust in for Sarah.

Awesome job man. very well written.

I'm gonna pick Florian for an upset.

cool article about the griffin fight

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=AuXFJk0U14z5FjLDwmqLsOc9Eo14?slug=dm-silvagriffin080709&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Stainless wrote:Awesome job man. very well written.

I'm gonna pick Florian for an upset.

i'll be rooting for florian, but i think penn is pissed. would be awesome to see a title change hands live though.

thanx for the compliments dude.....and yes, that is a cool article about griffin.

cherrytat wrote:Damn it I wanted to bust in for Sarah.

close but no pickle.....theres always next time kell. hehehe

dude, have fun! I may order it on Yahoo, I don't have a traditional cable setup so I can't get it on tv.

another really good article on yahoo!

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=dw-silvagriffin080509&prov=yhoo&type=lgns