MLB 2012 1st Half Grades/Awards

AL East:

Yankees – B+ Had some key injuries early in the season (Gardner, Robertson, Mariano Rivera), but still managed to amass a big lead in arguably the strongest division in baseball. The starting rotation put forth an incredible June and the hitting was better than ever with Cano leading the way. Still need to get the hitting with RISP in order and stop relying on homeruns.

Orioles – A  Who would’ve expected the Orioles to be leading the division early in the season? Noone. It’s July, and while they’re not leading the AL East anymore, they’ve still managed to be 6 games over .500 and 2^nd in the division. Their hitting is pretty good, but their starting pitching is still a question with Arrieta possessing a 6.13 era and Matusz a 5.42 era. 

Rays – B- Early on like the Orioles they were at the top of the division, but that was expected from a playoff team like the Rays. Progression. Suffered some important injuries to Longoria and Joyce, and in an offense like the Rays, which is pretty anemic at times, it’s only gotten worse. Their pitching will always help them secure close wins, but better hitting is needed if they’re truly going to challenge for the division. 

Red Sox – C-  Boy they can still hit! They’re not a very good team though. A lot of injuries have hurt the team, and their bullpen has been one of the worst in the league surrendering big leads. Their starting pitching has been no better with 2 of their regular starts with era’s over 5 and the other 3 with eras over 4. Boy, they can hit doe!

Blue Jays – C+ I’ll cut them some slack because they started well but tailed off due to injuries to a couple of their starting pitchers(who still aren’t very good). But hey..Romero(5.35 era)…last season you were an ace, fam..what happened??? They can hit tho. Like…4 of the 5 teams in the AL East. Their saving grace.

AL Central:

Chicago White Sox – A++ - 1^st in a division most expected the Tigers to be leading. Hitting has been phenomenal (Dunn has bounced back nicely from his all time WOAT season with 25 homeruns). Pitching has been really good, except for Humber who has been terrible since his perfect game.. And the recent trade for Youkilis has given them even more strength. 

Cleveland Indians – B  Weird team. I don’t know exactly what they’re doing, but they are 4 games over 500. Scoring some runs, but I wouldn’t think of them as anything special. Decent pitching. They’re not exactly good but the Central has been pretty subpar outside of the White Sox. 

Tigers – C  More was expected from this team with the Prince Fielder signing but unfortunately for them things have not gone as planned. Doug Fister, one of their most important pitchers, got injured early in the season and that hasn’t exactly helped a rotation that isn’t the greatest outside of Justin Verlander. The good news? Fister is finally healthy and their offense is still good. Austin Jackson has turned into the great player people expected him to become. 

Kansas City Royals – D  Terrible start but they’ve bounced back pretty well. They can use the young team excuse for the next couple of months, or years, like they’ve been doing for a while. They’ll eventually have to become a good team. 

Minnesota Twins – F Terrible team. They’re behind the Royals!

AL West:

Texas Rangers B+ - Great team yet so up and down this season. It feels like they sometimes don’t even care about these games, yet they still have a solid lead in the division. Talent. Yu Darvish has had a good 1^st half with them thus far and Josh Hamilton and Beltre have had great seasons as well. 

Los Angeles Angels A – Mike Trout!  His arrival to the Angels sparked their offense after a listless start where Pujols was severely underachieving with his gargantuan contract. The entire offense has picked it up, led by Trout, who is leading the AL in steals, Batting Average, and is in the top 10 in runs. Let’s not forget about Mark Trumbo whose ops is over 1.000. CJ Wilson has had a good first half as well (9-5 2.43 era) with his new team. 

Oakland A’s – B They’ve done a surprisingly good job even with their hitting deficiency. It seems like the A’s throw out a young pitcher every other day and manage to shut down some potent offense. The signing of the Cuban, Cespedes, has helped their offense a good amount at times as well as Josh Reddick’s 19 homeruns. 

Seattle Mariners – F Still can’t hit. They haven’t been a good team in a long time. The Universe’s Order and Disorder.   

NL East:

  

Washington Nationals – A+  What a phenomenal season for the Nationals. For a while you could see the incremental improvements from the team and they’ve finally managed to put it all together. They have the best pitching staff, statistically, in the league right now and they’ve managed to win even with injuries to some important hitters. The Bryce Harper call up kind of rivals the Trout one in terms of hype as the kid has really done a good job in the Majors. 

New York Mets – A++ Name a hitter in the Mets lineup outside of David Wright…I’ll give you 5 seconds….No? You know some? You googled. Let’s face it, when Jose Reyes left during the offseason, most people expected the Mets to really flounder this season but that hasn’t happened at all. Instead, they’re top 3 in runs in the National League. Wait…wtf?? A team with Daniel Murphy..Ike Davis…Ruben Tejada…who? Well..Ruben Tejada, Jose Reyes’s replacement, is actually filling in quite nicely batting almost 330. David Wright is having a career year batting over 340. R.A. Dickey, who was already pretty good, is having a legendary year for a knuckleballer  with a 12-1 record, 2.43 era, and 123 strikeouts in 120 innings. Wait…this season is the first time you heard of RA Dickey? Biggest issue with them is their terrible bullpen which has cost them a couple games.

Atlanta Braves – B The Braves…remember last year when they choked to allow the Cardinals in the playoffs…and the Cardinals ended up winning the whole thing?? Well..that’s what I think about this era of the Braves.  Good but not good enough. To their credit (I did give them a B), their hitting is really coming into its own and their young players are playing well. 

Miami Marlins – C The additions of The Great Ozzie and Jose Reyes, Heath Bell and the new stadium in Miami were supposed to energize this team. Things haven’t gone exactly as planned. Understatement of the year. And don’t we all love Castro? Giancarlo Stanton, though, has been a bright spot in the Marlins lineup showcasing his slugging ability(though his injury may compound issues).

Philadelphia Phillies – D It’s been a bad season for them with injuries to Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Roy Halladay. Their pitching remains really good with Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels but their offense simply doesn’t cut it. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

NL Central:

Pittsburgh Pirates – A+ Last year the Pirates were in a similar situation through the 1^st half of the season. This year, though, there seems to be a different aura about them. MCCUTCHEN. Batting just under .360 for the season. Arguably the best player in baseball. He’s carried their offense for most of the season which has actually been picking up as of late. Meanwhile, Aj Burnett’s resurgence continues(9-2 , 3.74 era) after a dismal last 2 seasons with the New York Yankees(over 5 era in both). 

Cincinatti Reds – B For some reason everyone tries to convince themselves that the Reds are this prolific offense because of all the names in their lineup. They aren’t, but that doesn’t stop them from being a pretty good team. Joey Votto is incredible. Their rotation led by Johnny Cueto(SNUB) has been pretty good if you look past the regular era stats. 

St. Louis Cardinals – B They might have the most dynamic offense in the whole MLB. Even without Pujols, the Cardinals maintain their great hitting. Their young pitchers have stepped as well but there’s just something about them..that’s disconcerting. Ah yes..terrible bullpen.

Milwaukee Brewers – D After last season, winning the NL Central and getting to the NLCS, you would’ve expected a better start from the Brewers. Nope. The loss of prince fielder was big, but they’ve scored 379 runs. Unfortunately, they’ve also given up 390 for a run differential of -11.

Houston Astros – F  Awful. I won’t waste your time.

Chicago Cubs – F Even worse yet have managed to beat the Mets 4 of 6 times in their 2 series.

NL West:

Los Angeles Dodgers – A They possess one of the most anemic offenses in the entire MLB yet still manage to hold the lead in this division. Injuries to Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier have made their already suspect lineup look even worse. Having Kershaw always helps things. And a rejuvenated Capuano. Sometimes the Dodgers just have that…”clutch gene”..no Bayless. 

San Francisco Giants – B- Tim Lincecum..what happened fam? Awful season for the 2x Cy Young Winner with an era over 6. The rest of their rotation has remained great as usual, and that is helping their mediocre hitting. Melky Cabrera, though, possesses a batting average over 350. Incredible 1^st half. 

 

Arizona Diamondbacks – C  Similar story to the Milwaukee Brewers. Coming off a season in which they won the NL West, more was expected. Their rotation has underachieved a bit (except for young Wade Miley) headlined by their Ace, Ian Kennedy. Kennedy after winning 21 games(2.88 era, only 4 losses) last season is now 6-7 with a 4.26 era. Their lineup hasn’t missed a beat even with their leading hitter Justin Upton slumping. Last season Upton had an ops just under .900 and a .298 average, while this season his ops is well under that at .735 and his average is only at .267.  Still. Only 4 games out of 1^st place.

San Diego Padres – F – NL West version of the Mariners. 

Colorado Rockies – F – Behind the Padres. They deserve even lower than an F. 

Now on to the 1st half Awards written by  @hoodcertified 

As always, the first half of the season has been as unpredictable as ever. The Pirates are 10 games over .500. The Nationals are possibly the best team in the National League, the Phillies are 14 games back and the Orioles are a bad team that is somehow still within striking distance of the Yankees. Just like you predicted, right? Not so much. The Angels and Albert Pujols have come on strong since a terrible start, the Dodgers have sputtered since having the best record in April and May, and Cliff Lee waited until July to tally up his first win. 

I'm sure everyone saw Mike Trout and Bryce Harper being all stars in their rookie season as well. As someone who has followed Harper since first hearing of the prodigy when he dropped out of high school after his sophomore year, I'm surprised how soon he made it to the majors, and the immediate impact he has had. Mike Trout is no bum himself. Definitely in the mix, possibly in the lead for ROY, since being called up in late April. Mark Trumbo is having quite the year himself, but is left out of rookie talk because of time spent in the majors late last year. 

In what's certainly shaping up to be another 'Year of the Pitcher', we've already seen 5 no hitters, two of which were perfect games (Humber, Cain), and a team effort no hitter that the Mariners put on the Dodgers that included 6 different pitchers.  

Yu Darvish has been phenomenal since making the transfer to American baseball, seeming to have no trouble with the larger baseball used here. Posting a 10-5 record with a 3.59 ERA. The Rangers chose to give him a little extra rest before the All-Star Break.   

Enough of the first half story lines, let's get into the first half awards. 

AL Cy Young- Jered Weaver. Pretty simple category aside from Justin Verlander having another great season. Weaver is 10-1 with a 1.94 ERA. He pitched a no hitter while giving up only 5 HR's, 2 stolen bases, and allowing opposing hitters a .194 batting average. 

NL Cy Young- R.A. Dickey. This one was a MUCH harder call than the American League. In the mix are Matt Cain (9-3, 2.62 ERA and a perfect game), Stephen Strasburg (9-4, 2.82 ERA, 128 strikeouts in 99 innings, coming off Tommy John Surgery). Dickey is 12-1 with a 2.40 ERA and has been flat out astonishing. His knuckleball has left hitters looking clueless. He posted a 44 2/3 innings scoreless streak while racking up back to back one hit shutouts. Not bad for a guy who was fighting for a spot on the Mets rotation in February. 

AL ROY- Mike Trout. Although he has only been in the league for just over two months this season, he's been on complete fire the entire time. Hitting .347, 11 HR's, 39 RBI and a .401 OBP. Trout has won a lot of fans over for his all out play. 

NL ROY- Bryce Harper. Another midseason call-up, Harper has held his own with the giant target he has on his back according to Cole Hamels. Called up at about the same time as Trout, Harper has put up a .283 BA, 8 HR's and 25 RBI's with a .355 OBP. His stats certainly aren't as good as Trouts, but like I said, I think he's got a large target between his numbers.

AL MVP- Josh Hamilton. Another crowded category. If Trout keeps up his numbers, I think he'll win this. But Hamilton has had quite the year. Hitting .315 with 27 HR's, 75 RBI and an OBP of .384. He has stayed rather healthy aside from a stomach virus and recent back spasms. His health is what's kept him from having gargantuan years in 2010 and 2011. 

NL MVP- Andrew McClutchen. Someone who has always had star potential, but until this year couldn't put it all together. That seems to have changed with a .359 BA. 16 HR's and 56 RBI's with a .411 OBP. No player has been more crucial to their team as McClutchen. The Pirates have done a complete turn around and sit atop the NL central, thanks a lot to him. 

UFC 148 Co Main Event and Main Event Analysis & Predictions

Written by @mulattobawse

Finally we get to the two fights that we as MMA fans been anxiously awaiting. We finally get to see an ending to what is the most anticipated rematch in MMA history, and the final fight of an MMA legend (Ortiz) and a long time rivalry. Forrest Griffin will try to ruin Tito Ortiz's retirement party as he will attempt to close the final chapter in the rubber match of their rivalry dating back to March 2006. And, to finish off the card, is the fight we've been looking forward to for about 2 summers… Anderson Silva will attempt to shut up the biggest rival of his career and make sure he never has to deal with Chael Sonnen's big mouth again. So with all that let’s get started.

Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz III

This fight has big time significance in that it will mark the end of the "Punishment Era". Whether you liked or hated Tito Ortiz, no one can deny the impact he’s had on the sport. Tito is one of the main reasons that MMA is a mainstream sport in the world right now. For a long time he was the most marketable star in not just the UFC, but MMA as whole. He is responsible for turning me into a fan of the sport. What initially got me into MMA was the Tito Ortiz/Ken Shamrock rivalry which resulted in me buying their UFC 40 match. On top of his star power, no UFC Light Heavyweight Champion has defended the title more than Tito, accomplishments that are very celebrated among the MMA community. It's remarkable how Tito Ortiz went from the most hated fighter in MMA to a beloved figure over the past few years. The fans have really rallied behind Ortiz over the last few years knowing that these will be the last few times they see him in the cage.

Forrest Griffin is another fighter who has been influential in the rise of UFC into the mainstream. It was his fight with Stephan Bonnar on the Ultimate Fighter Finale that gave the UFC much credibility in the eyes of many curious fans. They were able to witness the brutality of the sport mixed in with the heart and determination of two fighters trying to get a UFC contract. This bloodfest was able to catch the attention of the causal fans turning the UFC into one of the most watched combat sports in the world.

Tito and Forrest have fought twice before splitting wins between each other. In the first fight, Tito was able to use his vintage ground and pound game to control Griffin. As the fight went on, Forrest put up a fight, but what ultimately won Tito the bout was a takedown in the final minute. In the second fight, Tito was able to takedown Forrest in the first round and ground and pound him but after that, Forrest stuffed Tito's takedown attempts and picked him apart in the stand up to secure the win.

For Tito to win, he needs to counter Forrest in the stand up, because we know Forrest will push the pace. Use that to set up his takedowns and use his vintage Tito Ortiz elbows to bloody Forrest. For Forrest to win, he needs to use his range and keep Tito at bay. In the last few fights Tito has lost because of knees to his gut from Rashad and Lil Nog. I'm sure that Forrest's Muay Thai coach, Shawn Yarborough, is working on the clinch and knees with him so don't be surprised if he utilizes that.

My prediction is that Forrest will win another decision. He has been the much more improved fighter while Tito has declined over the years. I don't expect Forrest to stop Tito but I see him busting Tito up in the stand up and winning a wide decision. Regardless of a loss, Tito will be remembered as one of the greatest and most memorable fighters of all time.

My Prediction - Forrest Griffin by Decision

Anderson Silva Vs. Chael Sonnen

Now on to the fight we’ve all been waiting for since the summer of 2010. This is the most anticipated rematch of all time and quite possibly the biggest fight in UFC history. Since their memorable first fight a lot of controversial things have occurred. Originally they were slated to fight in Feburary of 2011 on Superbowl weekend, but Sonnen tested positive for TRT. Anderson went on to destroy Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami while Sonnen waited over a year to make his return to the Octagon.

In the first fight, Chael Sonnen surprised the world and was able to beat on Anderson Silva like a drum for nearly 4.5 rounds. But Anderson Silva like a true champion came back from adversity and exposed Chael Sonnen's weak submission defense and locked in a triangle choke for the win. Although Chael lost, he gained respect among the MMA fans and community for almost dethroning the most dominant UFC champion in history. Even if you don't agree with Chael's trash talking and antics you have to respect his toughness and ability as a fighter. He did what was thought unthinkable and beat Anderson to a pulp although he lost the fight in the end.

Anderson's poor performance in that fight was explained later as the result of a rib injury he suffered before the fight. You could tell the difference when he faced Yushin Okami, who is a similar fighter to Chael Sonnen and also his training partner. Anderson was able to avoid all of Okami's takedowns and batter him in the stand up, as opposed to in the Sonnen fight where he looked sluggish and even allowed Sonnen to beat him in the stand up, which shocked everyone. Now Anderson looks to be 100% and so there will be no excuses after this fight.

For Chael Sonnen to win he needs to do the same as the first fight and that’s to put the pressure on Anderson. He shouldn’t allow Anderson to set up any of his strikes and if he does he needs to counter him with overhand rights like he did in the first fight. For Anderson to win, he needs to combat Sonnen coming in for a takedown with knees or kicks. He needs to cut off the octagon on Sonnen like Bisping did and put the heat on Sonnen. Although Anderson can knock out any fighter at any point, Sonnen has shown he has a very strong chin. He took a lot of hard shots from Bisping yet still kept pressing forward. Anderson can't look for a highlight reel KO and needs to play it smart and just tactically out strike Sonnen.

I believe Anderson will defeat Chael in a tough fight. I see Chael pushing hard for the takedown but Anderson stuffing him a few times and beating up Chael with knees and his superior boxing. With Anderson being 100% in this fight he will be able to deal with Chael's pressure a lot better. Anderson TKO's Chael in the middle rounds

My Prediction - Anderson Silva by TKO

UFC 148 Main Card Analysis & Predictions

 Written by @MulattoBawse

Last report we went over the preliminary fights but it’s time to get into the MONEY PPV fights. Now this fight card has undergone a lot of changes over the past few months. Ultimate Fighter: Live coaches Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber were originally supposed to be the co-main event for Dominick's Bantamweight Championship, but a knee injury to Cruz kept him out of his title defense forcing the UFC to put in Brazilian Renan Barao into an interim title bout against Faber. Renan Barao was originally supposed to face Ivan Menjivar on this same card in what was slated as a #1 contender bout with the winner facing Cruz/Faber. The UFC decided to put in Cruz's training partner, Mike Easton (who is making a name for himself as well), against Ivan Menjivar, which would now be a contender elimination bout.

With an injury to UFC Featherweight Champion, Jose Aldo, the UFC was scrambling to find a main event for its July 21st card in the city of Calgary in the province of Alberta, Canada (in which I'll be attending live). UFC decided to put the Barao Vs. Faber interim championship bout as the main event of UFC 149, thus moving Tito Ortiz's retirement match against Forrest Griffin to an anticipated rubber match which will mark the last time we see the legend of the octagon in the cage.

Not only did all of that happen, but originally on the main card, former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le was supposed to square off with former UFC Middleweight Rich Franklin. But with an injury to Ultimate Fighter: Brazil coach Vitor Belfort, UFC called upon Franklin to main event UFC 147's card in Brazil in a rematch against MMA legend Wanderlei Silva (in which he defeated the Brazilian fighter in his homeland). Replacing Franklin is former UFC Middleweight Contender, Patrick Cote, who is making his return to the company after nearly 2 years. So with all that mixing and matching let’s get to the card we have now…

Mike Easton vs. Ivan Menjivar 

In a fight that moves either rising fighter up the ladder in the deep Bantamweight division, long time MMA veterans Mike Easton and Ivan Menjivar lock horns in the opening bout which should be one of the most entertaining matches of the night. With all the turmoil going on within the Bantamweight division due to the injury to the champion Dominick Cruz, and Urijah Faber and Renan Barao squaring off for the title 2 weeks after this card, this is a fight neither fighter can afford to lose.

Mike Easton is a long time training partner of Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz and holds a BJJ black belt under both of their Jiu Jitsu coach, Lloyd Irvin. Easton has been a fighter that has been known on the independent circuit for quite a long time and even holds a victory over Ultimate Fighter 14 Bantamweight winner John Dodson. The Washington D.C. native made his UFC debut in stunning fashion by TKO’ing Byron Bloodworth in the 2nd round and followed that up with decision victory over Jared Papazian.

Ivan Menjivar has been a veteran of the sport for a long time and during the majority of his fighting career he has been fighting out of his natural weight class. Ivan at one point even fought UFC Welterweight Champion, Georges St. Pierre, whom he now trains with at the Tristar Gym in Montreal. The Salvadorian fighter who now calls Montreal his home, over the years has fought a lot of the “who's who” in the MMA game and has served a journeyman role in the sport. Among the list of fighters he's fought include: Matt Serra, Urijah Faber, Joe Lauzon, Vitor Ribeiero, Caol Uno, etc. Recently though, Menjivar has been on the hottest streak of his career since moving to his natural weight class(Bantamweight) and winning 3 straight since the UFC's merger with the WEC, most recently beating John Albert in a wild first round affair by rear naked choke back in Feburary.

In this fight, I see Mike Easton being prepared for Ivan Menjivar's unorthodox fighting style and using his superior wrestling to control Menjivar. Although Menjivar is known for his submission based game, with 9 of his 24 wins coming by submission, I don't see him giving the BJJ black belt too many problems. Easton has been working with former Olympic alternate Shannon Slack who has made a big impact on Easton's wrestling game, which will in turn help Easton get the victory

My Prediction - Mike Easton, Decision

Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie

In a Featherweight bout which marks the return of Chad Mendes since his UFC title loss against the divisions champion, Jose Aldo, in which Aldo was brutally KO'd with a knee that added another highlight reel KO to Aldo's resume. In this fight, "Money" Mendes will look to get back to his winning ways as he faces dangerous submission artist Cody McKenzie, who is known by fans for being on Team Georges St. Pierre on the 12th season of the Ultimate Fighter.

Chad Mendes is quite possibly the best wrestler at 145lbs in the UFC Featherweight division. Mendes who was in the same wrestling program as long time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell, at Cal Poly, amassed an impressive collegiate career. In his final year of college, Chad Mendes was NCAA tournament runner-up at the 141 lb division before making the switch to MMA. Mendes made the smart move by going to Urijah Faber's gym, Team Alpha Male, which is a camp composed of smaller, athletic wrestlers training out of Sacramento, California. Mendes has been stellar in his switch to MMA going undefeated in his first 11 bouts and eventually earned a title shot earlier in the year.

Cody McKenzie, who is known to MMA fans for his vicious guillotine choke, holds the 3rd most victories in all of MMA using the choke (13). Before his first loss against Yves Edwards last year, he won 11 straight in the first round using his modified version of the guillotine choke. After dropping two in a row, McKenzie picked up the biggest win of his career over wrestling phenom Marcus LeVesseur in typical guillotine choke fashion. This fight will mark McKenzie's first fight at Featherweight.

I see Mendes securing the win after McKenzie gasses out and working his way back up the Featherweight division. While Mendes obviously should fear for McKenzie's guillotine choke, Mendes has shown very good submission defense and offense throughout his career and has never been submitted. McKenzie's gas tank is very questionable too when he can't get that guillotine. When the fight lasts past the first round it seems like he isn't the same fighter. I expect Mendes to avoid the guillotine and grind out McKenzie, eventually stopping him early in the 2nd round.

My Prediction - Chad Mendes by TKO or Submission

Demian Maia vs. Dong Hyun Kim

After years of making his mark on the middleweight division, Demian Maia will move down to Welterweight for the first time in his career facing top Welterweight, Dong Hyun Kim. Maia, who has been in the upper tier of middleweight fighters for years, will look to make his mark on the 170lbs division. But Maia won't have an easy task, as he faces often overlooked Dong Hyun Kim who like Maia, is an accomplished grappler.

Damien Maia in the last 5 years has impressed MMA fans with his highly skilled Jiu Jitsu game, winning "Submission of the Night" 4 times. He eventually earned the right to face Anderson Silva for the middleweight title and although he was dominated in the early going he displayed a lot of heart and kept fighting. He lasted the 5 rounds (losing by decision) and was praised by Dana White for his gutsy performance… Also, on top of facing Anderson, Maia has also fought and holds a victory over the man who will face Anderson in the main event, Chael Sonnen. He welcomed Sonnen into the UFC with a triangle choke in the first round back in 2009, impressing everyone. Maia's BJJ credentials are very impressive: he has made the championships in the ADCC, World Cup, and Pan American Championships. What makes Maia's BJJ so successful in MMA is the fact he is a very good wrestler, as displayed in his close match with Mark Munoz (who is an NCAA Div 1. Champion) His ability to wrestle with middleweights means he should have a much bigger strength advantage at welterweight

Dong Hyun Kim has been one of the most under the radar welterweights in the division since his entrance into the UFC. A part of it can be attributed to his style, which isn't the most crowd pleasing one, but the fact remains that he is a very talented fighter. His only loss in the UFC was to the Interim Welterweight Champion, Carlos Condit, but before that fight he was on 5 fight win streak with 1 no contest which would've been a loss in a controversial decision against Karo Parisyan(who tested positive for painkillers). Throughout his UFC career, Kim has used his Judo background to smother his opponents and grind them out. Kim doesn't really try to finish his fights but instead opts to use his superior cardio and top control to get the win. 5 of 6 of his victories have been by decision but despite winning, he has yet to WOW the fans and UFC bosses. Throwing a wrench in Maia's coming out party can do that.

I predict Maia wins however he wants but I don't see him finishing Kim. Maia stand up is somewhat underrated because of how good his BJJ is, but he has displayed some decent striking, especially in his fight with Dan Miller. Dealing with the weight cut to 170 might be new, but Maia should adjust to it without too many problems. Kim did show some nice stand up against Sean Pierson but I feel Maia at this point in his career is the smarter striker. On the ground, Maia is the better wrestler and possesses a much more advanced BJJ game, and should be able to control Kim and work submissions. But I don’t believe Kim will be submitted in this fight due to his smarts as a fighter and will defend the submissions of Maia well.

My Prediction - Demian Maia by Decision

Patrick Cote vs. Cung Le

Although the Cung Le-Rich Franklin match is more intriguing, Patrick Cote is a great replacement and possesses the opportunity to prove he belongs back in the UFC by playing the spoiler to the crowd pleasing, movie star Cung Le, who in his own right needs a win. This is a must win for both fighters as they have a lot to prove. For Cote, he wants to keep his spot in the UFC after being released back in October by the UFC, and with a win over Cung Le it can push Cote towards possible a fight with an upper tier middleweight. For Cung Le, he wants to prove he can win under the UFC banner after coming from Strikeforce, where he held the middleweight title.

People feel Cung Le lacks the motivation to be an MMA fighter, only fight 1-2 times a year,get a quick cheque and go star in a few B-Level movies. I personally don't know Cung Le's personal motivation to keep fighting but I do know if he wants to make a serious run in the UFC, he has to do it starting with Cote. Cung Le just recently turned 40, and although he hasn't had a lot of MMA fights, or even a long career, he's had a long kickboxing/combat fighting career. Cung Le is one of the few fighters that use a Karate-based style in which Taekwondo comes into play as he throws an arsenal of kicks as his main offense. In his UFC debut, he looked to be winning the fight against Wanderlei Silva but ultimately got caught and KO'd by the MMA legend, sending him back to the drawing board. Should he lose this fight against Cote, there is a chance Cung Le and could possibly be let go from the UFC.

For Patrick Cote, this is redemption for an MMA career with many highs and lows. Since showing his heart by taking a fight, undersized, and on short notice against his MMA hero at the time Tito Ortiz(and lasting a decision), Cote lost 2 straight fights. After that, he was given a chance by Dana White to get onto a season of Ultimate Fighter. This season, which was labeled the Comeback season, had many UFC veterans, and the winner would earn a title shot in their weight class. Cote was able to make it to the finals and was on the brink of a title shot until he was submitted easily by Travis Lutter. People began to label Cote as an "underachiever" after that fight, but the Montreal, Quebec born fighter refused to give up. He was given another chance in the UFC and won 4 straight, earning a chance to face the Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva. Even though Cote was getting handled by Silva in the fight, he was still very much "IN" the fight until moving the wrong way and putting too much pressure on his of his right leg, causing him to fall and injuring his knee. The fight was immediately stopped and Cote had to get knee surgery. In his return, he lost two fights in a row and was let go by the company. Cote since then has kept fighting for another shot in the company and won 4 straight for the independent promotions. With the UFC scrambling for someone to replace Rich Franklin, they called in the veteran Cote, giving him a chance to fight on the main card in what will be one of the most watched PPV fights in UFC history.

In this fight, both are renowned for their stand up; Cote with his boxing and Cung Le with his kicks. For Cote to win he must keep the fight close and not allow Cung Le to keep him at bay with his kicks. He must get inside where his boxing will be effective. For Cung Le to win he must use his superior speed and not allow a chance for the brawler to work inside (like Wanderlei did in the 2nd round) and use his arsenal to confuse the Canadian fighter. I predict Cung Le will have problems but should be able to steal the fight on points. Cote might cause a few scares but Le will shake it off and keep him at a distance securing the decision

My Prediction - Cung Le by decision

I will preview the Co-Main Event and Main Event next fight where I will give my predictions and why I think they will win so stay tuned.