– Anthony Fusco, staff
UFC 137 took place on October 29 and was a Saturday night filled with fights, retirements and a little trash talk.
After Nick Diaz won his fight against BJ Penn, he was given his title shot at the welterweight title against current champ, Canadian, Georges St. Pierre. St. Pierre was originally supposed to fight at UFC 137 but was forced to pull out due to a knee injury.
UFC president, Dana White, was thoroughly convinced that between Diaz’s performance against Penn and GSP’s desire to fight the toughest fighter in his division, that having Carlos Condit step aside so Diaz and GSP could settle a score was the right thing to do. Diaz drummed up the fight by calling out St. Pierre after his win.
“I don’t think Georges is hurt, he’s scared.” GSP was upset at the comment and was said to have told Dana White “(Diaz is) the most disrespectful human being I’ve ever met. I’m going to put the worst beating you’ve ever seen on him in the UFC.” This is a fight that personally, I can’t wait for, as it is guaranteed to have fireworks.
In other fights that night, Cheick Kongo won a unanimous decision victory over Matt Mitrione. Heavyweight, Roy Nelson, forced Mirko Cro Cop into retirement with a knockout victory. Lightweight contender, Donald Cerrone, continued to impress since the WEC – UFC merger, as he scored a submission victory over Dennis Siver and won his fourth straight in the UFC.
Only one Canadian fighter was on the card that night. Francis Carmont made a successful UFC debut by winning a unanimous decision over Chris Camozzi in middleweight action.
UFC 138 followed a week later, live from Birmingham, England. This card had a marquee main event with Chris Leben taking on Mark Munoz.
This was also historic for the UFC as it was the first time a non-title fight was going to go five rounds. In the end, the fight lasted only two rounds as Munoz scored a TKO victory. Leben’s corner stopped the action after the second round so the doctor could look at his cut. The cut was deemed too severe and Mark Munoz had his win. With that win, Munoz could receive a title shot against middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva.
In the other main event, Renan Barao submitted English fighter Brad Pickett much to the displeasure of the pro Pickett crowd. In other action, Papy Abedi lost by rear naked choke to Thiago Alves. Terry Etim took all of seventeen seconds to submit Edward Faaloloto and Anthony Perosh submitted Cyrille Diabate in the second round. It was an exciting card that proved that no matter where the UFC goes, they always put on great fights.
Looking ahead to next Saturday, Nov. 12, will feature another milestone for the UFC. It will be their first card on FOX since the landmark deal was signed, and what better fight to headline the card then a heavyweight title fight between champion Cain Velasquez and hard-hitting challenger Junior Dos Santos. Velasquez is an extremely well-rounded fighter with excellent wrestling and stand-up fighting to match. Dos Santos has arguably the best boxing in the UFC and a very underrated ground game. I predict a close and explosive fight with Velasquez remaining the champ via a decision.
The co-main event has lightweight title implications written all over it as Ben Henderson takes on Clay Guida. Guida has excellent wrestling, but I believe that Ben Henderson is too well rounded and will win the fight either by submission or decision. When you watch the event remember one thing.; don’t blink!
Anthony’s picks:
Velasquez def. Dos Santos
Henderson def. Guida
Garza def. Poirier
Record: 0-0
