UFN 23/Fight for the Troops

BJ is obviously top level.

On Dunhams striking. Yeah he is good, I'll give him that. Sherk did gas in that fight as you said, which is why Dunham was able to out strike him easily. Dunham didn't start outstriking Sherk until the end of the first round, which was when he started to slow. Dunham was dropped by a punch from Efrain Escudero if I remember correctly as well. I'm not saying he stinks, but he isn't a top level striker. On the other hand, Kenny has very good striking but he isn't Anderson Silva obviously. So far he is the only one of the two that has handled good opponents on the feet. (Gomi, Guida off the top of my head, he probably did the same to Stevensen though I can't remember). There is clearly a difference. In a fight between KFLO and Dunham I would be all over KFLO.

Also, I am pretty sure Dunham was only a high school wrestler. Not that he couldn't become good after but he is def no Gray Maynard. I think the reason people look at Kenny like he has bad wrestling Defense is because of Maynard. But MAynard is top level, he was a THREE time all american. You can't call Kenny bad for not defending those takedowns. You can set the bar for "Bad" that high, especially when nobody else in the division is as good a wrestler as Maynard. Kenny is plenty good enough to stop Dunham from taking him down and the much better striker.

All that = Kenny Florian win

Correction, Dunham didn't start outstriking Sherk until the end of R2

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Originally Posted by Havis Jr

Dunham beat sherk. I know what the judges said, but your in the minority if you think that was a deserved W.

Ill be the first to admit I can't stand BJ so maybe that affecting my judgement, but him beating stevenson and diego for title defenses is not very impressive. Its like silva beting cote and leites, in retrospect its not that big of an accomplishment.

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When BJ Beat Stevenson, Joe was top 5 in the world. He was top 5 for a long time until this new crop of Lightweights made major pushes into the divisoin(Dunham, Sotiropoulus, Edgar, and Maynard) so circa 2008 when BJ not only busted Joe wide the fuck open, but proceeded to grapple-fuck the shit out of him was absolutely a feat to behold seeing as he was the first person in eight years to submit Joe.

Beating Diego in and of itself may not be "especially" great in hindsight. But the guy was outstruck 158 to 7 or some shit like that. Not to mention he is the first man to EVER stop Diego Sanchez in 26 fights. He dominated in every aspect of the fight. Not to mention Leites was a one trick pony and neither Diego nor Joe Daddy are.

More fights

Rani Yahya vs. Chan Sung Jung
Waylon Lowe vs. Willamy Freire

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Originally Posted by Havis Jr

Rani Yahya vs. Chan Sung Jung

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Holy shit! It's so weird to see WEC fighters listed on a UFC card!

I hope the Korean Zombie fucks him up!

^^ is there any footage of KZ prior to Garcia? Does he have any takedown defense. That looks like an east win for Yahya, unless KZ has some TD defense.

I just watched KZ career pack. Posted a few in the vid section. His TDD isn't very good, he is always on the bottom. Part of it is his style, plodding forward throwing wild hooks and flying knees. He says he plans on making serious changes to his style, http://www.watchkalibrun.com/2010/11/6/ ... ean-zombie.

I doubt that makes up for his lack of TDD. KZ does have power so if he keeps it standing he should win, also yahya does have 2 tko loses. Not sure about Yahya's takedowns Im going to watch some more of his fights.

I doubt we'll see a different fighter when he fights next. His style is all instinct, not the kind of thing you can just teach against the grain in a couple months(or in this case less than that).

Definitely going to be on Yahya here. KZ is going to get subbed early and often. If you don't know Yahya is, he is a really shitty striker, with sort of crappy takedowns... but his ground game is off the charts, easily the best bjj grappler in that weight class.

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Originally Posted by MMA_scientist

Definitely going to be on Yahya here. KZ is going to get subbed early and often. If you don't know Yahya is, he is a really shitty striker, with sort of crappy takedowns... but his ground game is off the charts, easily the best bjj grappler in that weight class.

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Benavidez just TKOd Yahya and Mizugaki won a clear decision. I would NOT bet on him. And on top of that, I hope you're wrong.

^ true, but Benevidez and Mizugaki are leaps and bounds above KZ IMO. KZ just lost to George Roop, I don't really see how he can beat Yahya unless Rani just stand in front of him like an idiot.

Yahya never got the fight to the floor with Benevidez:
http://prommanow.com/index.php/2009/12/ ... ommentary/

The Mizugaki fight was close, Yahya could have been given the decision, and he had Mizugaki in several bad spots on the mat. Also Mizugaki has never been subbed.
http://mmajunkie.com/news/18864/wec-48- ... esults.mma

Did you actually watch the fight with Yahya or just read the PBP? Maybe I need to watch it again, but I remember Miz being the clear winner. And to be fair, KZ has never been subbed either, though undoubtedly the level of comp that he's faced is nothing compared to what Miz has faced.

As for the Roop fight, Roop brings some very unusual advantages into his fights at 145. At his height and reach, he posed a kind of threat to KZ that Yahya most definitely will not. (I actually see Roop competing at 145 much like Tibau at 155 or Frausto at 115 . . . borderlined cheating.) Jung is not completely without any sort of ground skills and I think his sub-defense is a question mark. It may actually be bulletproof. We just don't know.

^^ all true. It depends on the odds of course... But if Yahya can get it down, and it looks like he can, I am going to guess he can at least control the fight to win a decision. If I can get a question mark against a world champion grappler, I am going with the known quantity. Yahya tends to go for the sub no matter what, giving up his top position a lot, which has cost him a few times. Still, unless KZ can keep it standing, I don't see why he would win.

But, this is all predicated on Yahya not being a big favorite. I was hoping he would come in at around -170.

^^^ I would not take Yahya at -170. That seems way too high for a guy who just lost his last two fights.

Also, it's worth mentioning that 6 of KZ's 10 wins have come via sub. So we know he'll have a clear advantage on the feet and may be more competitive on the ground than we'd expect.

^^ we just see it differently. KZ is coming off of 2 losses too, and to lesser opponents. I see a guy with an advantage on the ground and the means to get the fight into his area of advantage. KZ wins this fight by stopping the takedown or getting up a lot... I happen to think he can't do those things. KZ came over to America and promptly lost his first 2 fights against middling competition. If it weren't for his catchy nickname and Dana's love for sloppy brawling, no one would remember him and he would have already been sent home.

That said, that IS a badass nickname

First off, stop pretending he lost the Garcia fight. We, and the rest of the world, know that that was a clear should've-been-UD for the Zombie.

And the Roop fight, I think that Roop was just too long and rangy for KZ get in on him and do what he needed to do.

With that said, I have no idea who will win this one. I wouldn't be surprised to see Yahya take it. But I that lack of assuredness--on either side--would for damn sure keep me from betting either guy at -170.

KZ by sub.

Speaking of Roop, apparently Roop v Hominick is likely for this card.

I actually think that Yahya will win this one easy. I am hoping for a good line because of the zombies popularity. IMO, the guy is just plain overrated...or at least was before the Roop fight.

If Yahya can get the fight to the ground, and I think he should, he wins easy. But yahya's chin is pretty suspect, benevidez rocked him and that was about 10 seconds after torres was commentating on yahya's biggest weakness, his chin. Also a lot of KZ's subs finishes really could have been tko/ko as they came after he damaged his opponent with strikes. No bet for me.