Ufc 76

Play-by-play and talk...here!

 

My predictions are:

Liddell KO 1.
Shogun TKO 2.
Sanchez UD.
Machida UD.
Alvares sub 2.

 

I was leaning that way for a long time but decided to change my mind today on a gut feeling. For some reason, I think Sanchez is going to come in a new man.

 

Has anyone noticed in pumping up Shogun they've never said he clobbered Rampage? I think it's odd, since calling him "the man who once destroyed light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson" would surely clue casual fans in to what to expect. But it seems like they're protecting Rampage's aura in the U.S.

 

Fitch has won his past 13 fights and is undefeated in the UFC. He's not a slouch!

 

MMA and boxing records are two different animals. The learning curve is much, much shorter. In boxing, most guys gobble up scrubs for a long period of time. It's not like that in MMA. And any win in the UFC itself is a good win. There are very few fighters that fight in the UFC below a B level in MMA, and it's also the home of a lot of A and A+ quality fighters. 13 straight wins and a 6-0 in the UFC is a HELL of a record. Fitch has yet to face the A level fighters though, but tonight will be a good match. Sanchez is a B+/A- fighter.

 

Most of the best fighters in the world in MMA have 3-6 losses on their records, and there are really good fighters with records that would look awful in boxing. For example, Kenny Florian is a top 10 155 pound fighter, and he's 9-3. A record of 9-3 would suck in boxing because it means you lost 3 fights to D level fighters. However, one of Florian's losses is the the 155 pound champion (Sean Sherk), so the record doesn't tell you much in MMA. It's the names on that record that do. And you don't face D level fighters for years like in boxing.

In MMA, the top guys fight the top guys way more often, and the competition over the course of a fighter's career is much, much tougher. The career course of an MMA fighter and boxer are drastically different.