The Karate Blitz

When two of the best welterweights face off inside the Octagon for a second time, we venture into "fight of the year" territory.  These high-level strikers can position themselves as the next title contender with a dominant performance.  Carlos Condit already fought Georges St. Pierre for the title and lost a unanimous decision.  Martin Kampmann has not and most recently wilted in the opening minute to the powerful fists of current challenger Johnny Hendricks.  Both fighters boast well-rounded games, toughness and the ability to finish their opponents both on their feet and on the ground.  In Condit's first UFC fight, he faced Kampmann who took a split decision.  Since then, Kampmann's slow starts have cost him in the win column whereas Condit's more dynamic approach has created highlight-reel finishes.  This fight could go either way but the higher caliber of Condit's recent opponents should give him an edge when this chess match of aggression goes ...

WHO isn't excited to watch THE DEMOLITION MAN get in the ring with rising heavyweight Travis Browne?  Plenty of BANG and BOOM for your buck as Browne will likely choose to keep it standing against the the former K-1 kickboxing champion.  It's hard to imagine this fight ending in anything less than a KO or TKO by knees or a guillotine with Allstair Overeem coming out on top. Lights, camera, ACTION it's time to watch perennial title contender THE CALIFORNIA KID take on future bantamweight stud Yuri Alcantara.  Experience should win out but the young Brazilian is so FIERCE the ref might yell "Cut!" before Faber's scene is even over. Where in the HELL did Matt Brown come from?  Possibly a long way if he has indeed been dealing with factors outside of the Octagon.  So why not match one entertaining fighter with another entertaining fighter who somehow, someway keeps winning while rocking the UFC's sweetest M...

Since losing his title to current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua has alternated wins and losses, struggling to regain the intimidation of old.  Knee problems and age have muted the latter stages of what should have been a dominant run as UFC champion.  Former middleweight title contender Chael Sonnen comes in looking to reinvent himself at 205 and put the beatdown at the hands, elbows and knees of Jones behind him.  In former Pride champion Rua, Sonnen faces yet another top level striker who's finished many opponents on their feet including former UFC champions Chuck Liddell, Rampage Jackson, Forrest Griffin and Lyoto Machida.  But all the Freddie Roach boxing instruction in the world won't help Rua if he can't keep the indefatigable Sonnen from taking him down and keeping him there.  Although a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Rua chooses to stay upright when blitzing his opponents in the ring.  Back in his Pride days,...

Former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida continues his journey back to the top by fighting yet another All-American wrestler in Phil Davis.  Machida has used his stellar takedown defense and unusual movement to stifle nearly every wrestler he has faced.  Even against the current champion, Machida's feints and attacks confused Jon Jones until he took down The Dragon and elbowed him into a hazy consciousness.  Davis has used his wrestling and reach to build an 11-1 record, with the lone setback coming against another stellar wrestler, Rashad Evans, who negated his take downs and embarrassed him on his feet.  Can Phil Davis take Machida down?  If he cannot, Davis will lose the bout on points to the most accurate and elusive striker in the light heavyweight division.  But even a ground war is no guarantee for the submission-minded wrestler since Machida brings a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  A limited striker like Davis is tailor-made for on...

With the loss of former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, Jose Aldo now finds his name being thrown around as the best pound-for-pound fighter inside the Octagon.  When he puts his featherweight championship on the line against Chan Sung Jung, Aldo will have the opportunity to bolster the arguments in his favor.  Although Jung is not as heralded an opponent as Aldo's original opponent, Anthony Pettis, "The Korean Zombie" poses the kind of high-volume threat that can wear down a muscular opponent like Jose Aldo over time.  Similar to the Diaz brothers, Jung's high volume of work in the cage saps an opponents strength over time while he seemingly walks through any flurry of strikes.  Aldo, who typically finishes his opponents early, faces the possibility of gassing against the most active opponent he's ever faced, especially if the fight goes deep in the rounds.  Although he can be evasive and tough against an onslaught of punches, the lone KO loss on Ju...

Demetrious Johnson defends his belt against the brick-fisted John Moraga Saturday and the question centers around whether or not they flyweight champion can handle his power.  Against John Dodson, Johnson outsmarted the best athlete at flyweight.  Against Moraga, he may have to outsmart the hardest puncher at 125 or Johnson may find himself surfacing to consciousness as a triumphant Moraga celebrates across the perimeter of the Octagon.  Look for Moraga to stalk Johnson in hopes of landing the shot that ends the evening festivities definitively.  But Johnson's superior technique, footwork and spacing may be such an advantage we could be in for a bit of a snoozefest.  Look for Johnson to safely eke out five consecutive 10-9 rounds to keep his belt.