UFC 101: Drama, Drama, Drama…and Action!

Posted on | August 7, 2009 | No Comments

By Holli Yargo

While UFC 100 met everyone’s high expectations for great fights, it’s time to move onwards and upwards. With a card nearly as satisfying as that of the promotion’s centennial, UFC 101 promises a $50 PPV price well worth the money.

The main card for this event features the stuff soap operas are made of: a whiney Baby, a battle between the classes, the return of a prodigal son, and favorite soldiers fighting the good fight.

Without further adieu, I offer my predictions and insights for this amazing event.

Lightweight Championship bout: B.J. Penn (c) vs. Kenny Florian

Having finally lain to rest the dead horse he’d been beating with his belief that Georges St-Pierre greases, B.J. Penn is now hurling inflammatory charges that the Canadian is on steroids. His basis for this opinion? Penn told Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports, “Look at him. He’s the worst. He looks like that every day…The rest of us get fat then we train and get skinny…He looks the same way all the time. Come on.”

Clearly, it’s impossible for the Hawaiian to conceive of an athlete who eats healthy and stays in shape even when he’s not training for an upcoming fight. More importantly, Penn seems to be wasting energy worrying about the wrong fighter. He’s not taking on GSP in 101; he’s facing the razor-sharp elbows of Kenny Florian.

Florian, having kept a low profile regarding his latest endeavor to take possession of the lightweight title, has expressly announced it’s “time to kill that master.” If the current champ doesn’t get his head in the right game, we could see Florian doing just that.

KenFlo is no joke and it’s time Penn started taking this fight seriously. If The Prodigy hopes to effectively defend his belt, he’ll need to leave his frustration over St-Pierre for another day.

Light Heavyweight bout: Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin

Silva vs. Griffin is a very interesting match-up. Griffin walks around at around 230 pounds while Silva probably stays under 200. Pound for pound, the Brazilian is considered one of the best fighters on earth. Forrest Griffin, still considered an underdog even after serving as light heavyweight champ, was half of the equation that put the UFC—and MMA, for that matter—on the map.
Anderson Silva has given a lot of thought to retiring in 2009, only to push back the date until at least his 35th birthday in 2010, due to contractual obligations. So, the question must be asked: how much heart does he have left? If his fights against Patrick Côté and Thales Leites are any indication, then the answer could be not much. Then again, a battle against the jovial former policeman and comparative giant could be exactly what the Middleweight champion needs.

Griffin, in his epic battle against Stephan Bonnar to win the title of The Ultimate Fighter for the eponymously named reality show’s maiden season, brought the sport to the mainstream, overnight. And, despite the TUF title and only 5 losses in his professional career, Griffin still comes into nearly every fight heavily favored to lose then shocks the world when he pulls off victories against the likes of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. The win against Jackson made especially sweet by taking the then-champion’s title belt.

Because Griffin is the bigger, heavier-handed brawler with a well-rounded mix of skill, I see him winning this bout in what could be the world’s biggest upset since Mir defeated Lesnar in their first match-up. He’ll need to be patient and not play into Silva’s uncanny ability to draw an opponent in to counter-strike for a knock-out. Griffin, while tough as they come, has proven to be subject to KO losses.

Silva is limber and stealthy in movement. He’s a smart fighter but he’s gotten a little sloppy and lazy in the octagon. He’ll need to find his heart to defeat Griffin who is known for, if nothing else, having tons of the stuff.

Welterweight bout: Amir Sadollah vs. Johny Hendricks

While undefeated, Johny Hendricks is entering a whole other stratosphere of competition as the opponent for TUF 7’s winner, Amir Sadollah. Sadollah, an underdog like his TUF coach, Forrest Griffin, surprised viewers when he defeated much more experienced and tested opponents on the show, including favorites Matt Brown and C.B. Dollaway.

Sadollah’s original post-TUF premier was sidelined by a leg infection followed by a broken clavicle. Now, more than a year after his UFC debut, which was also his first professional bout, he returns, long awaited and still much loved. The only thing changed for the quirky New York-born Virginian is that Sadollah is now the favorite to win and no longer the underdog. If Sadollah still has whatever it was that made him so successful on the reality show, we could be looking at a very near future contender for GSP’s title.

Middleweight bout: Kendall Grove vs. Ricardo Almeida[1]

After a brief rough patch, Kendall Grove is back on a winning streak with two in a row. His opponent, Ricardo Almeida, wants to continue his own winning streak and doesn’t need the 6’6” B.J. Penn protégé standing in his way.
Both contenders are powerfully skilled in Brazilian jiu jitsu. Almeida is the clear winner in experience but Grove has an enormous height and reach advantage.

Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove might just pull this off. Despite having a suspect chin, he’s facing an opponent with no history of knock-out power. Grove has two KO wins on his record. If he can keep the fight standing, his reach could prove disastrous to Almeida. If Almeida gets Grove to the ground, Grove may be able to stuff the submission attempts with his lanky arms and legs, maybe even sinking in his own submission.

Lightweight bout: Josh Neer vs. Kurt Pellegrino

Neer vs. Pellegrino offers another interesting match-up. Josh Neer, known as “the Dentist” for his penchant to knock people’s teeth out reportedly hates the rear naked choke. Kurt “Batman” Pellegrino has nine submission wins on his professional record, three of those by rear naked choke.

Both of these guys are rising stars who have always seemed to fall just short of title contention. Neer has more experience but Pellegrino still has the heart of a young gun with something to prove. My vote goes to Pellegrino.