Welcome to my weekly article for the Camel-Clutch Blog. This is The Full Mount; your one-stop-shop for big mixed-martial arts news, rumors, upcoming cards, results and predictions. MMA is a passion of mine and is something that I follow 24/7. Enjoy third edition “The Full Mount.”
Anyone stay awake during UFZzZzZz 105?

UFC 105 will make just as many headlines as the second consecutive card with a questionable decision in its main event as it will for being one of the worst cards that the UFC has ever put on. UFC is very lucky it was free for the simple reason that, had I paid for it, I would have felt relegated to watch it. Since it was free, I didn’t feel bad making multiple switches to Notre Dame get smacked around again or the Manny Pacquaio/Miguel Cotto undercard.

Not only did this card lack names, but it lacked substance. Every fight on the card went into the second round or further. I don’t have an issue with that. I enjoy a competitive match. I don’t, however, enjoy two grown men hugging against the cage for 15 minutes. In fact, this card was so bad that I don’t even feel like wasting the energy typing about how boring it was when I could be talking about other big MMA news from this week. Keep an eye out later in the week for my article here on the Camel Clutch Blog on why “The Natural” deserves all of the accolades that he has received during his bland MMA career. So, next topic…

Lesnar Shelved Indefinitely

First it was swine flu. Than it was mononucleosis. Now, whatever it is that is bugging Brock Lesnar is either unknown or just simply hasn’t come to the surface yet. Dana White made it known during the UFC 105 press conference that Lesnar has something serious and it will prevent him from fighting in the foreseeable future. White did not elaborate other than to say that Lesnar was currently hospitalized in North Dakota.

Here’s what we do know. After finding out that the newly rescheduled UFC 108 bout with Shane Carwin was cancelled due to Lesnar’s on-going illness, Lesnar took a trip to his home in Canada to rehab. While there, Brock collapsed. “He [expletive] dropped,” White explained about the situation. “He went down, and he had to go to the hospital. They ran every test on the planet on him, and they ended up finding out something else was wrong with him.”

“He doesn’t want to talk about it publically, but he’s in bad shape. He’s not well and he’s not going to be getting well anytime soon,” White stated of Lesnar at the press conference. “He has other problems too. He is not good. He is very, very sick and he’s going to be out for a while. I am worried about it. You know, I can’t really talk about it right now, but he’s in rough shape. He’s in really bad shape … and we’re going to have to do some stuff to take care of this guy. He is not well and he’s not getting any better.”

You can tell just by that quote that White is genuinely worried about Brock’s health. Dana knows what is wrong with Brock and clearly knows that it’s serious. Brock’s camp released a statement this morning downplaying the incident by saying that Brock’s issues are simply complications of his current illness and that they are not life or career threatening. Whatever the case, we wish Brock the best and hope for a speedy recovery.

UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship Bout in the Cards

Dana White has stated that the UFC is now looking at potential interim heavyweight title candidates now that Lesnar is out indefinitely. There seem to be four prime candidates to consider: Shane Carwin, Antonio Nogueira, Cain Velasquez, and Frank Mir. Let’s break down these four.

Shane Carwin: You would think that since Carwin is the number one contender for the belt that his inclusion would be a given. Well, unless the UFC wants to wait 4-6 months before having this interim title match, Carwin cannot be included. One he found out originally that the January 2, 2010 event was cancelled, he opted to have a minor knee surgery. Carwin is on the shelf until March at the earliest.

Antonio Nogueira: Big Nog and Cain were just named as the new main event for UFC 108 last week. On Friday, however, news came out that this matchup would now be cancelled as well due to Nog having a major staph infection. It is said to be severe and will require a stay in the hospital to treat. This means that Nog is also out until March or April at the earliest.

Cain Velasquez: After his absolute dismantling of “Big” Ben Rothwell in which he barely broke a sweat, Cain accepted the UFC 108 main event against Big Nog with the winner of that match facing the winner of Lesnar/Carwin. With both matches now cancelled, Cain is awaiting word on whether he will have a new opponent or have his match cancelled altogether. Whatever the case, UFC 108 has now been through 4 main events and all have been cancelled. It may be a smart career move to just not have anything to do with the UFC 108 main event at all. However, my guess is that he will be fighting at UFC 108 and it will be against…..

Frank Mir: Mir is currently scheduled for a UFC 107 match against Cheick Kongo. The logical move would be to take Mir out of this fight and move him into a match with Cain as the main event of UFC 108 for the interim heavyweight title. Both Mir and Cain are currently training and could be making that idea a reality. I would put my money on that fight happening at UFC 108.

There doesn’t seem to be any other heavyweights to consider. Junior Dos Santos isn’t ready yet and guys like Kongo and Gonzaga just don’t deserve the shot. The injury bug has decimated the UFC in every division from top to bottom.

Ochocinco at UFC Cien y Ocho?

No. Not a chance. And, as long as Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco is in the NFL, I can’t imagine any NFL team allowing him in the octagon. Even for charity. Earlier this week, Ochocinco contacted Dana White via Twitter to beg for a match to help a charity. His entire twitter message read:

“Dana this Ocho Cinco, I want to fight your #1 and #2 best fighters ASAP, exhibition to raise money for a charity of choice!!!!!! … matter of fact I want Anderson Spider Silva-please don’t ignore me or you’ll have to fight me yourself!!! Sincerely Esteban … Mr. White this a serious matter, we can help alot organizations with this fight, I have a good chance at winning against Silva.”

White responded, “If you are really serious @OGOchoCinco, contact me. We’ll put a fight together for charity…. I need a Jan 2nd fight. Ocho Cinco vs Anderson Spider Silva. PS – I’m too old to fight anyone.”

Ochocinco responded back with: “Awesome! I’m fighting Anderson Silva-I can’t wait to throw my child please combo with a kiss da baby leg kick,Silva can shut the front door! … oh I’m dead serious, this will be one that goes down in history, Ocho defeats Silva in surprising upset, it’s on!!!”

There are many reasons why Chad Ochocinco is my favorite professional athlete. The guy is talented and entertaining. I can only hope that he does some work in broadcasting when he’s done. If you don’t follow Chad on Twitter, you must do it now. The guy is extremely awesome to his fans. He communicates with them very often. He is one of the few guys on Twitter that is like that with his followers.

UFC 106 Predictions

I finished at 2-3 at last week’s UFC 105 event. We’ll chalk it up as just reading the card had me so bored that I began to daze out into space. I’ll rebound this week with UFC 106. The picks….

Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz
Prediction: Forrest Griffin via Decision

Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson
Prediction: Anthony Johnson via KO

Amir Sadollah vs. Phil Baroni
Prediction: Phil Baroni via TKO

Luiz Cane vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Prediction: Luiz Cane via Decision

Karo Parisyan vs. Dustin Hazelett
Prediction: Karo Parisyan via Decision

I hope you enjoyed the third edition of ‘The Full Mount”. If you have any questions that you would like answered in the next edition, please e-mail me at Brettley916@aol.com. Thanks.

Brett is 26 years old and from Millville, NJ. He has is a life-log fan of the Philadelphia sports teams as well as the Boston red Sox and Cincinnati Bengals. Brett is also a big fan of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. If you would like to comment on one of his stories, please e-mail him at Brettley916@aol.com

Place your UFC and MMA bets on BetUs.com by clicking here or Boddog.com by clicking here.

New Items Marked Down! Shop the UFC Sale at the UFC Store.

Buy UFC tickets at clicking here.

Pre-order the EA Sports: MMA Video Game featuring Randy Couture and Fedor Emelianenko by clicking here..

Read Randy Couture’s autobiography – Becoming the Natural: My Life In and Out of the Cage by clicking here.

UFC 105 takes place this Saturday in England. The big event will be televised for free on Spike TV on Saturday night. UFC Hall of Fame fighter, Randy Couture headlines the free event against Brandon Vera in a UFC light heavyweight bout. This is a must-win fight for both fighters, with the winner moving an inch closer to challenging Lyoto Machida.

The backstory to this fight is probably more interesting than the fight itself. In 2006, Vera was seen as the hot commodity in UFC’s struggling heavyweight division. Vera defeated Frank Mir at UFC 65 and the plan was in motion to pit Vera against Tim Sylvia for the UFC heavyweight title. Many insiders and fans thought that Vera would win and give the division new life. However, Vera was at the end of a contract and UFC would not give him a title shot without a new deal. The two sides couldn’t come to an agreement and the fight never happened. Enter Randy Couture.

After being knocked out by Chuck Liddell at UFC 57, Couture announced his retirement. Due to the Vera impasse, Dana White was desperate for a challenger for Tim Sylvia and called Randy Couture. Couture accepted, came out of retirement, and defeated Sylvia as a huge underdog to win the UFC heavyweight title and revitalize his career. It is entirely possible that if not for Brandon Vera and his contract impasse with the UFC, Randy Couture may have stayed retired. The bottom line is whether Couture would have came back or not, he wouldn’t have come back in the heavyweight division and defeat the champion in one of the UFC’s all-time greatest moments.

Vera finally returned to the UFC, but has yet to taste the success he had before the layoff. Like Couture, Vera fights as both a heavyweight and lightweight. Since his return to the UFC, Vera has gone a disappointing 3-3. However, longtime UFC fans still have memories of the old Brandon Vera and thus UFC has been able to capitalize on his previous success. Vera has won his last two fights, ironically winning his last fight on the Couture-Nogueira undercard in August. I think it is fair to say that in Vera’s UFC career, this is by far the biggest fight he has ever had. Brandon Vera desperately needs a win here to take the next step in his career. A loss to Couture could put Vera so far back that he may wind up leaving the UFC.

Randy Couture is in a similar situation in that he desperately needs a win. Couture lost his last fight to Nogueira, yet received a ton of praise for not quitting. Personally, I think people watched that fight with rose colored glasses. I think Nogueira dominated the majority of the fight and owned Couture on the ground. Couture had some great moments on his feet, but Nogueira didn’t look like he was in any real danger in the fight. As a matter of a fact, Couture looked in tremendous shape yet seemed slow at times. At 46 years of age, anyone is going to slow down and Couture is definitely no exception to the rule.

Couture has lost his last two fights. Couture lost via TKO to Brock Lesnar and via decision to Nogueira. I will say this about Randy Couture. For one thing, he definitely gave Brock Lesnar a far tougher fight than anyone expected. Two, I think it shows a lot about Randy to take a fight three months after his last fight which was a grueling three-rounder. Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Georges St. Pierre, and most likely Anderson Silva have all taken much longer between fights. For Couture to immediately jump back into training without much of a break is very impressive to say the least.

As for the fight, I think this is a fight set up for Randy to win. Randy should easily win on the ground. Randy has to worry about clinches and kicks if the fighters stay on their feet. One of Vera’s biggest weaknesses is his inability to finish guys. Vera hesitates a lot and unless he pounces on Couture like Brock did in the second round, he is going to be in for a long night. Couture can be knocked out, but he is extremely resilient if given a chance to recuperate. Vera can match Randy’s boxing game and he has a 3-inch reach advantage, so it is really imperative that Couture takes him to the mat. Couture also doesn’t seem quick enough to get into a slugfest these days. Randy’s best bet is grounding and pounding a long, yet boring fight.

As of this writing, Randy Couture is a -120 favorite on BetUs.com and -130 on Bodog.com. Brandon Vera is getting even odds on both books. This really surprises me considering the age factor and Couture’s last two fights. I never expected Vera to be an underdog and maybe he won’t be by fight time. I think UFC made this match for Couture to win. A Couture win opens up Couture-Griffin, Couture-Ortiz II, Couture-Silva, Couture-Belfort, Couture-Franklin, and maybe even Couture-Liddell at some point. I am going with Randy Couture for the win via decision.

The entire scheduled UFC 105 fight card is…
Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera
Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang
Mike Swick vs. Dan Hardy
James Wilks vs. Matt Brown
Ross Pearson vs. Aaron Riley
Terry Etim vs. Shannon Gugerty
Paul Taylor vs. John Hathaway
Nick Osipczak vs. Matthew Riddle
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Jared Hamman
Andre Winner vs. Roli Delgado

Place your UFC and MMA bets on BetUs.com by clicking here or Boddog.com by clicking here.

New Items Marked Down! Shop the UFC Sale at the UFC Store.

Buy UFC tickets at clicking here.

Pre-order the EA Sports: MMA Video Game featuring Randy Couture and Fedor Emelianenko by clicking here..

Read Randy Couture’s autobiography – Becoming the Natural: My Life In and Out of the Cage by clicking here.

Welcome to my new, weekly article for the Camel-Clutch Blog. Every week, I’ll fill this article full of all of the big mixed-martial arts news, rumors, upcoming cards, results and predictions. MMA is a passion of mine and has passed professional wrestling years ago as something that I follow 24/7. Enjoy “The Full Mount,” second edition; or as you will see, should maybe be known as the Strikeforce edition.

The Shot Heard Round the World

The big news of the week is undoubtedly the sickening knockout that Fedor Emelianenko delivered to Brett Rogers during Saturday night’s Strikeforce special on CBS. Fedor’s debut with an American organization ended up being exactly what expected. Casual MMA fans have always heard about the guy who had been called the best pound-for-pound mixed-martial artist in the world. That guy has earned the reputation as being able to take a beating and still win a fight in devastating fashion. That was last night’s tale; word-for-word.

Brett Rogers impressed a lot of people in this fight, myself included. We all knew that Rogers had heavy hands and a history of knocking out his opponents. In fact, he’s knocked his opponents out in nine of his ten matches. Brett Rogers had Fedor on the ropes in round 1. His very first jab of the fight broke Fedor’s nose. He also caught Fedor with a flush right hook midway through the round. Rogers even had a dominant ground-and-pound position on Fedor. Rogers won round 1. For whatever reason, Rogers came out looking much different in round 2. He looked hesitant. He backed away from his game plan. As Fedor mentioned in his post-fight interview, Rogers stopped pressing forward. Instead, he started taking baby-steps and lowered his hands. You can make that mistake against Andrei Arlovski, but not against the best fighter in the world. Fedor lunged forward with w highlight-reel straight right hand that caught Rogers on the button. This was a punch that produced a sickening thud. It was a shot that made you know that the fight would be over. If you weren’t a believer of Fedor before, you are now.

Taking a Slice out of the Ratings

Saturdays Strikeforce averaged 3.79 million viewers. This included a very impressive 1.7/6 rating share among the 18-49 demographic. The 1.7/6 share is triple the average number for CBS during that weekly time. Both numbers are below both of Kimbo Slice’s EliteXC on CBS battles. This cannot be viewed as a positive for Strikeforce when the best fighter on the planet can’t out-rate a YouTube street fighting legend. Why could this be?

Well, for one, a show on free, national television should naturally attract more casual MMA fans. That’s the whole reason for the CBS/MMA experiment. In order for Strikeforce to achieve the popularity and success of the UFC, they’re going to need to lure in casual and new MMA fans. These types of fans may just not know who Fedor Emelianenko or Brett Rogers are. Kimbo Slice gained fame on the internet. Many people who were not into MMA probably caught sight of a Kimbo Slice street fight or two at one point. It makes me wonder aloud if the addition of Gina Carano to this card would have pushed it above in the ratings race. My money says that, prior to Fedor’s knockout of Rogers, Carano would have been a bigger draw amongst the exact type of fans that they were targeting.

What’s Next for Strikeforce?

A Fedor Emelianenko/Fabricio Werdum fight is in the works. Also, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker stated that within the next 7-10 days, they will sign two top free-agent heavyweights. Andrei Arlovski and Bobby Lashley, anyone?
Strikeforce Fedor vs Rogers Review

In my predictions last week, I chose the winners of the four main bouts to be Fedor Emelianenko, Jake Shields, Gegard Mousasi, and Antonio Silva. I went an impressive 3-1 with these picks. My lone incorrect choice was Antonio Silva, who lost via decision to Fabricio Werdum. Of course, I believe that Silva won this match 29-28. The three judges that count, however, disagreed.

Brock Lesnar/Shane Carwin Postponed Again

The Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin matchup originally scheduled for UFC 106 but postponed for UFC 108 is now postponed once again. This time, however, no new date has been announced. Lesnar has been stricken with mononucleosis and is unable to train at all. It is unknown at this time how long he will be on the sidelines. My guess is that this fight ends up at UFC 109 in February, 2009. This leaves the UFC year-end card now without a main event. The original card called for Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort to battle it out for the Middleweight title, but that match has been postponed as well due to Silva’s behind-schedule rehab from elbow surgery. Historically, the end of the year show has always been UFC’s biggest. As of now, Cain Velasquez/Big Nog and Rashad Evans/Thiago Silva will head this card. With injuries and A-Team movies throwing wrench after wrench into the UFC’s fight plans, who knows what they can put together to headline this card. I believe one such change could simply be to make the winner of the Velasquez-Nogueira match the interim Heavyweight Champion; thus, the winner of this match fighting the winner of Lesnar-Carwin.

UFC 105 Predictions

Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera
Prediction: Brandon Vera via TKO (Yes, you read that right.)

Mike Swick vs. Dan Hardy
Prediction: Mike Swick via Decision

Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang
Prediction: Michael Bisping via TKO

James Wilks vs. Matt Brown
Prediction: James Wilks via Submission

Ross Pearson vs. Aaron Riley
Prediction: Ross Pearson via Decision

I hope you enjoyed the second edition of ‘The Full Mount”. If you have any questions that you would like answered in the next edition, please e-mail me at Brettley916@aol.com. Thanks.

Brett is 26 years old and from Millville, NJ. He has is a life-log fan of the Philadelphia sports teams as well as the Boston red Sox and Cincinnati Bengals. Brett is also a big fan of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. If you would like to comment on one of his stories, please e-mail him at Brettley916@aol.com

New Items Marked Down! Shop the UFC Sale at the UFC Store.

Buy UFC tickets at clicking here.

Pre-order the EA Sports: MMA Video Game featuring Randy Couture and Fedor Emelianenko by clicking here.

Randy Couture will begin his quest at the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 105. Couture has signed to fight Brandon Vera at UFC 105. The fight will air delayed on Spike TV a few hours after the event. A win over Vera could open up numerous possibilities for the Natural at light heavyweight.

Couture is a former UFC light heavyweight champion. Couture has fought at heavyweight since coming out of retirement several years ago. It has become evident to me that the guys are just too strong at heavyweight for Couture. Although he did hang in there with Brock Lesnar for a round, Antonio Nogueira seemed to be too powerful on the mat for Couture. The move back down to light heavyweight is a good move in my opinion for Couture.

The move also opens up a ton of UFC Super Fights at light heavyweight. The obvious fight would be against champion Lyoto Machida. Couture has told people that he is confident he knows how to beat Machida. It will likely take a win over Vera and one other win to get that fight. However, it only took Brock Lesnar one win to get a title shot. It isn’t out of the question to think that a win over Vera would grab Couture an immediate UFC title shot.

Should Dana White choose to wait, there are plenty of other juicy matches for Couture at 205. A match with Rashad Evans could be a very good possibility with Rampage Jackson now out of the mix. Anderson Silva needs to defend the middleweight title, but a match with Couture could do record business. Other possibilities include Jackson, Forrest Griffin, or even a rematch with Tito Ortiz. I would be shocked if we don’t get Couture-Ortiz II at some point.

Brandon Vera is a great choice from a UFC perspective for Couture. Vera has won his last two fights, but hasn’t really seemed to catch on with UFC fans. Vera moves up and down just like Couture. Vera is obviously being set up to lose in my opinion. On the flip side, a win could give Vera instant appeal with fans. The win would and should put Vera right in front of the line to get to Lyoto Machida.

The fight will also be aired on tape delay later that night on Spike TV. It isn’t everyday that you get someone like Randy Couture fighting for free on Spike TV. He would probably be the biggest star to fight on Spike unless you argue Anderson Silva. The fight is scheduled for Manchester which seems to be a curse for UFC fans. Fights scheduled for Manchester seem to have a way of falling apart for whatever reason. Until it happens, I wouldn’t completely count on it.

Place your UFC and MMA bets on BetUs.com by clicking here or Boddog.com by clicking here.

New Items Marked Down! Shop the UFC Sale at the UFC Store.

Buy UFC tickets at clicking here.

Pre-order the EA Sports: MMA Video Game featuring Randy Couture and Fedor Emelianenko by clicking here..

Read Randy Couture’s autobiography – Becoming the Natural: My Life In and Out of the Cage by clicking here.