TALK IS CHEAP, BUT NOT THIS TIME
Brooklyn, NY– Often when leading up to a big fight, the promotion calls for the fighters to help amp up the anticipation and many times it sounds obviously fake or just plain weak. Not this week though. With just a couple of days left before UFC 114, the anticipation is literally at a boiling point as the main event between both former light heavyweight (205 lbs) champions Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson and ‘Sugar’ Rashad Evans is ready to explode. Rarely do you get two fighters that genuinely hate each other so much and can actually both trash talk with the best of them, but this time we’ve got both.
EVANS LOOKING TO DROP MORE THAN “F” BOMBS!
Breaking down the fight, arguments can seriously be made for both fighters winning, which makes it that much more intriguing. Rashad has the wrestling and speed, while Rampage has the size and power. Rashad wants to keep it on the ground, while Rampage wants to stand and bang. Both have recently held the world title and one more interesting side note is that while Rampage has openly referred to this fight as “Black on Black Crime,” ironically this marks the first time in UFC history that two African-American fighters are headlining A main event. For a fight that was supposed to take place six months ago in Memphis, things could not work out any better for the UFC and they’ve pulled out all the stops. The fight is in Las Vegas and they’ve scheduled their second UFC Fan Expo to go along with it.
UK’S BISPING TALKS A LOT OF SMACK TOO!
If that weren’t enough, the co-main event features another trash talk champion and fan favorite villain in former Ultimate Fighter TV series winner Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping against ‘Dangerous’ Dan Miller in a middleweight (185) bout. Both are coming off losses, Miller two in a row and Bisping two out of his last three, so you know both guys are ready to lay it on the line in this one. To their credit, those four losses were too formidable opponents as Miller lost to the last two #1 contenders in Demian Maia and Chael Sonnen, while Bisping lost to two legends in Dan Henderson and Wanderlei Silva. This one should be a barnburner.
CAN “BIG” HEAVYWEIGHT IMPOSE SIZE/WILL?
Other fights on the main card include a massive heavyweight tilt between (12-1) Mike Russow and (6-0) Todd Duffee. Duffee, 6’3, 260 lbs. and built like he was chiseled out of rock is coming off the quickest knockout in UFC history, that being a mere seven seconds over Tim Hague. Meanwhile, Russow only has two KO’s on his resume, but he has eight submission victories. Don’t sleep on this one because somebody will in this fight, one way or another.
FAN FAVORITE DIEGO SANCHEZ ON BILL TOO!
Also featured is the return of Diego ‘The Nightmare’ Sanchez in his first fight back after the beating he took at the hands of BJ Penn in December. He also returns to his original weight class welterweight as he takes on undefeated John Hathaway. In the other main card bout it’s Rogeiro Noguiera, Rodrigo’s little brother, fighting at 205 against Jason Brilz. The undercard features some interesting fights as well as Ultimate Fighter winner Amir Sadollah takes on undefeated Korean sensation Dong Hyun Kim and in a lightweight tilt another Ultimate Fighter winner Efrain Escudero battles the always tough Dan Lauzon.
“SLAMMIN’ SAMMY’S” UFC 114 PREDICTIONS
My picks for the top three fights are as follows. The book is still out on Todd Duffee as all we’ve seen of him in the Octagon is seven seconds long. If Russow can sustain Duffee’s initial onslaught and get him to the ground I think he’ll eventually wear him down and catch him in a submission. In the co-main event, I like Dan Miller’s all around game and his advantage in the wrestling department to take a decision on Bisping. Finally in the main event, I’m going against the majority here and picking Rashad Evans. I see Evans the better of the two at controlling his emotions and using the same game plan he used against Thiago Silva. Avoid getting hit and use his superior wrestling to control Rampage and either win via Ground and Pound or by grinding out a decision. I’m actually in Vegas this week for all the festivities, so just like everyone else I can’t wait because talk is cheap, but not this time.
Sammy Perez