I’ve been catching shit from friends, fellow Inside Pulse staffers, and even some bi-polar lunatic gay stalker for not doing much around here lately. Luckily for them, and you, the launch of IP V3 and InsideFights has lit a fire under my ass.
The last few UFC events haven’t been spectacular. Sure, there were some great highlights, but overall there have been a lot of lackluster fights. While Saturday night’s UFC 63: Hughes vs. Penn card isn’t exactly stacked with star power, there are some very exciting fighters involved that could help make it a night to remember. UFC 63: Hughes vs. Penn airs live on pay-per-view tomorrow night from the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, CA. Let’s take a look at the main card.
Matt Hughes is, without a doubt, the greatest Welterweight Champion that UFC has ever seen. There is no denying his ability, his determination, and his willingness to defend his title. Hughes’ loss to Penn at UFC 46 in 2004 was a big upset. Hughes is a totally different animal than he was just two years ago. He will be just as comfortable standing as he will be on the ground. Matt has wanted this rematch for over two years just so he can show BJ Penn how much he has evolved.
BJ Penn is coming off of a loss to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 58. GSP was scheduled to be in this main event originally, but had to back out due to injury. Penn is confident that he can finish Hughes just as easily and as quickly as he did the first time. BJ is a great fighter, and his win over Hughes was very impressive, but his overconfidence in his abilities for this fight could be his downfall. While he will be equally as comfortable standing or on the ground, Penn’s conditioning always comes into question. He had a rough go at three rounds with GSP. It’ll be interesting to see how he fares with five rounds with The Champ.
The Bottom Line: I am in no way underestimating BJ Penn. Penn is a dangerous little f*cker and could shock the shit out of the Vegas odd makers tomorrow night. However, Matt Hughes wants to avenge his 2004 loss more than anything. I’m fairly confident we’ll see Hughes leave the Octagon with the title, but I won’t be completely shocked if Penn gets the upset again.
Mike “Quick” Swick is undefeated in UFC, and as of yet has not had a fight go beyond the first round. His longest bout in UFC was 2:19, against Joe Riggs at UFC 60. Swick has the ability to take it to the ground and lock in a submission just as fast as he can knock someone out. He’ll have to be faster than ever to avoid Loiseau’s assault.
David “The Crow” Loiseau is coming off of a big loss to Rich Franklin at UFC 58. He’s 4 for 6 overall in UFC, with an MMA record of 14-5-0. Loiseau is no slouch; he’s a great fighter and his elbows are deadly. He has the power to take Swick out, but I’m not sure if he can match his speed. He needs to set the pace in order to lock in a victory.
The Bottom Line: Loiseau must win this fight, or his time could be limited in UFC. Swick could be looking at a title shot if he wins this fight, but his stamina (or lack thereof) could be a major factor in this bout. Either way, I’m looking forward to this fight as much as the main event.
Jens “Little Evil” Pulver (21-6-1) is finally back in UFC. The former Lightweight Champion is looking to make an impact at 155 and reclaim his title. Jens is a badass stiker. He’s had two wins via submission, but it’s not really his game. Look for “Little Evil” to get medieval on Lauzon’s face.
Joe Lauzon (13-3-0) is making his UFC debut against Pulver. Not many people know him, but he has an impressive 11 wins via submission.
The Bottom Line: While Jens has a clear experience advantage over Lauzon, he should be wary of Joe’s submission skills. Then again, Jens hasn’t had a fight go beyond the first round since 2004.
Melvin Guillard has really come into his own as a Lightweight. His first round KO win over Rick Davis at UFC 60 was beautiful. With a 20-5-3 record, he could easily be a top contender for the Lightweight title in the near future. Melvin loves to “bang” and will look to keep this fight standing.
Gabe Ruediger, who is making his UFC debut, is a WEC Lightweight Champion with a 10-2-0 record. He’s a BJJ fighter with six wins via submission. Gabe should look to get Melvin on the ground immediately, since 4 out of his 5 losses were by submission.
The Bottom Line: I’ve only seen one of Ruediger’s fights, and it was a first round loss to Hermes Franca. Granted, it was his first loss since 2002, but he didn’t look very impressive. Guillard looked fantastic at UFC 60, but that was a 1 minute, 37 second fight. This could be one of the best fights of the night.
Holy shit. Tell me this isn’t on the main card…oh, that’s right, the undercard is even worse. Lambert’s actually a decent fighter; 22-5-0 record with three wins in a row in UFC. He loves to strike, but he’s not bad with submissions either.
Evans, on the other hand, is a wrestler. Period. He doesn’t know how to do anything but grapple and throw shitty punches. Lambert is a big, strong guy, so I think he might be able to keep Evans off of him and keep this one standing. If he can, it could be lights out for Rashad Evans.
The Bottom Line: I want to see Rashad’s head get caved in so we don’t have to suffer through another one of his hump-fests.
