I love a bit of evangelism! Not in a Christian sense, (Jesus is a bit overrated to be honest- although he is due for a comeback. God is steady away.) I mean in life in general. It’s not everyone’s favourite character trait, but I like telling other people about stuff that I like and that they probably don’t care about. Seriously, sometimes I feel like I have to stop myself from grabbing a billboard, donning a flannel shirt complete with sweat patches and yelling at old people on Leeds high street about the prowess of Michael Essien or Di Caprio’s sensational accent in Blood Diamond. The old romantics amongst us might call it being passionate, whereas the pragmatics would label it as some form of narcissism. I prefer the romantics- the soppy bastards.
I’m not going to make any attempt in censoring myself when it comes to UFC 124; if you’ve ever had even the faintest curiosity towards watching MMA, this is the time to act! Numerous fight cards this year have not lived up to their expectations and countless fights that were nailed on to be ‘Knockout of the night’ or ‘Fight of the Night’ have fallen short of the hype. Not to jinx it, but I think UFC 124 will have it all and with any luck, the fights will do exactly what they say on the tin. With that in mind, I’m going to preview my picks for the best fights of the night, along with the main events. I implore you to watch…besides, what else are you going to do at 4am on a Sunday morning?
Preview and Predictions
GEORGES ST PIERRE V JOSH KOSCHECK
Some people enjoy a nice bottle of wine to relax; others might partake in a long-walk now and again. Personally, I enjoy watching the look on the face of [insert elite wrestlers name here] when they’re just about to be dumped on their head by GSP. As highly skilled a wrestler as St-Pierre is, I do not buy the way Koscheck and the UFC have tried to sell this fight as ‘wrestler v knockout-artist’. Let’s be clear, GSP is the one with the striking background and Kos the wrestling background. Knocking out Dustin Hazelett, Frank Trigg and Yoshida does not make you an elite striker, but unfortunately for Koscheck, taking down Hughes, Fitch, Sherk and…well… Koscheck at will does mean GSP has earned his moniker as MMA’s most effective wrestler.
In the standing portion of this fight, expect Kos the look for that looping right hand repeatedly. I think St Pierre will capitalise on Koscheck’s winging style and certainly any over-aggressiveness with his trademark straight punches and mechanical accuracy. The role of Freddie Roach in GSP’s preparations has probably been beefed up a little and I don’t expect any drastic changes to his hand-speed or movement, but I wouldn’t be surprised if St-Pierre drops Kos with a straight right like the one that he slipped through to Fitch in the first round of their fight.
The key to this fight is how Kos’ wrestling pedigree both offensively and defensively will fare against St Pierre’s, because to have a say in the fight, he needs to have a say in where the fight takes place. If he can manage to stuff GSP’s devastating double-leg, he can go after that power right hand, however I think his best chance will be if he can put Georges on his back, which as we saw in the first fight, isn’t an impossibility.
If Kos’ wrestling cannot match up then he is in for a bad night. GSP in my eyes is the far superior jiu-jitsu player, especially from top position where he will look to show the fans he can finish where he couldn’t in the Hardy fight. Something interesting to consider is GSP’s training in London with BJJ icon Roger Gracie. No doubt he will have been in awe of Gracie’s trademark rear-naked choke, while eagerly taking notes.
For me, GSP edges the stand-up with his technicality and seamlessly transitions to take Josh Koscheck down at will as we have seen time and again against top wrestlers. GSP via rear-naked choke-3rd round
STRUVE V McCORKLE
The less said about this fight’s status as a co-main event, the better. How someone can jump from the local circuit, beat Mark Hunt and then land a spot in the penultimate fight of the night while Gerald Harris and Todd Duffee scratch their heads is beyond me. Politics aside, I’ll round this up quick; Struve is wild and exciting but takes far too much punishment. McCorkle (from the little I have seen of him) dishes out punishment and is a monster. With this simple equation in mind I’ll go McCORKLE via TKO-2nd round
BOCEK V HAZELETT
Hopefully this fight will be televised as I think it’s got an outside chance of being fight of the night. I’m eagerly anticipating a fast, technical ground war with lots of submission attempts, although when two top grapplers meet in the UFC it usually means we get a sloppy kickboxing match.
If this fight does go to the ground we might not see too many sweeps or reversals as Hazelett likes to fight off his back. The effectiveness of using this approach against top grapplers has been questioned by some and I’m sure Bocek will be all too happy assuming top position and looking to land some ground and pound and trying to take the back.
Whether the fight stays standing or goes to the ground it will be a war, with Bocek attempting to show his relevancy in the division after a loss to Miller, while Hazelett will be desperate to avoid losing three on the bounce. Bocek via Decision
ALVES V HOWARD
Surely everyone’s pick for KO of the night? Since the disappointment of Guillard v Stephens fight I’ve been shy to over-hype a stand-up war but this one will not go the distance. Alves is the better striker here and despite Howard’s respectable wrestling ability, I doubt he’ll be able to put Alves on his back if he’s taking a beating. I think ‘Pitbull’ will devastate Howard with leg-kicks and shots to the body. Alves via KO-3rd round
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