UFC 144 Edgar-Henderson 2/25/12

A relatively decent card for the UFC's first trip back to Japan in over 11 years.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm actually looking forward to Hunt-Kongo. Two guys with big power that like to bang, so it should be fun while it last.

Also, it will be interesting to see how Shields looks in his first fight since being stopped for the first time in his career. Ellenberger drilled him and Jake's always had a reliable chin. Akiyama better use more Oil of Olay than he did against Sakuraba if he wants to stop Jake from taking this to the mat.


Preliminary card (FX)

• Lightweight Championship bout: Frankie Edgar (c) vs. Ben Henderson
• Light Heavyweight bout: Quinton Jackson vs. Ryan Bader
• Heavyweight bout: Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo
• Welterweight bout: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields
• Middleweight bout: Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch
• Featherweight bout: Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski
• Lightweight bout: Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon

Preliminary card (FX)

• Lightweight bout: Takanori Gomi vs. Eiji Mitsuoka
• Bantamweight bout: Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Vaughan Lee
• Middleweight bout: Riki Fukuda vs. Steve Cantwell
• Bantamweight bout: Takeya Mizugaki vs. Chris Cariaso

Preliminary card (Facebook)

• Featherweight bout: Zhang Tiequan vs. Issei Tamura

 

I like this card. Some good scraps here. Louzon vs Pettis should be a good fight. Kongo vs Hunt will be exciting for as long as it lasts. Edgar vs Bendo is a great fight, I think Bendo can pull it off. I just think his style is going to give Edgar some real trouble.

 

Nah, Edgar is just too good. Benson is legit, and I expect him to give Frankie a fight, but I can't see him winning tbh.

Then again I suck at picking MMA fights so ::

 

Im only looking forward to the main event and Pettis/Lauzon.

Rampage has looked terrible lately and Bader just sucks.
Kongo has tell in love with his wrestling lately so I bet he takes Hunt down.

The rest just seem like boring matchups to me.
Definately wont buy it.

 

7 main card fights. That's a lot. Not a bad card. You got a main event title fight and at least three if I counted right guys fighting on the undercard who main evented in 2011. Okami, Shields and Rampage.

 

Watching Okami and Shields is worse that watching paint dry.

 

Okami I agree. I can't stand his style. It's beyond boring. Shields is not that bad because he at least goes for submissions most of the time plus Akiyama is an exciting fighter so it could be a fun fight but Okami is a fuckking bore

 

Yeah, at least with Shields there is the chance of witnessing a human being grow yet another row of teeth before our eyes. :goodnews:

 

Hioki-Palaszewski should be fun. Bart is one of the more underrated guys in the sport. He can legitimately hang with any fighter in the world at 145.

There's nothing wrong with this card. You've got a stellar LW Title Fight and a bunch of top fighters in suppporting bouts.

 

the real main event is akiyama vs. shields!

akiyama's a superior striker and is really hard to take down, but then again, shields is a takedown machine, so i think it's a very interesting fight. plus, shields can't crack an egg when it comes to punching nor kicking, so i expect this to be a full three round fight.

sexy might get gassed and succumb to a sub though like he did vs leben.

i hope henderson wins. i think he's actually the more verssatile of the two, but edgar's takedowns are relentless and he does a good job of sustaining his top game.

 

What time will this fight be shown?

 

Probablly regular time. Time difference is Japan's problem. U.S didn't kick their asses in WW2 to bend over backwards for them now.

 

:l1:

 

Action-packed card.

 

I love this fight. Ben and Frankie will leave everything out there. I will put my bet down on Frankie.

Don't really get the Rampage/Bader fight. Suprising Rampage isn't lined up with someone a bit more relavent.

The Yamamoto fight interests me as well. I can't see the UFC keeping him on the roster if he doesn't win.

I have always liked Lauzon, I think he pulls off a submission of the night vs Pettis.

 

Before I read through the card and make my own opinion, I have to say that I am expecting to see the most worthless piece of shit card in the history of mma. When trplsec says something about the UFC is only 'relatively decent', it is time to duck from God's lightning bolts.

Upon further review, the card is bad on paper, but not the disaster I was expecting. The only two bouts I care about are the main event and Lauzon vs Pettis. But I really like both of those bouts a lot. There could be some decent fights with the other fights, probably will be, but mainly because it is mma and not because the matchups are good.

 

I offer my opinion of how a card looks. If it's bad, I say it's bad. If it's good, I say it's good. Simple as that.

The truth is, I think it's documented on here that I am one of the biggest fans of the shows put on by Bellator. I've described many of their events as being stacked because I know the fighters and know the match-ups. So it has nothing to do with the UFC. It has to do with watching a lot of MMA and appreciating match-ups.




Nice try though. I always respect a dude that never tires of getting verbally ass-whipped.

 

Can you name a couple of examples of UFC cards you said were 'bad'?

 

the last Brazil card was garbage.

 

So I am going to officially pick Bendo to beat Frankie Edgar. I think he's just got the right blend of skills to pull it off. He's one of the most well rounded fighters in the UFC.

WAR BENDO!!

 

It's fitting though, the guy is as flexable as BJ Penn and damn near impossible to submit.

 

I dont know. I dont see Bendo taking Frankie down and I think Frankie is far too quick and will just pick him apart standing.

 

Thats how I see it too. I think Frankie will fight this very similar to Penn and beings Ben isn't as good as Penn, it is a fairly easy fight to win in the stand up for Frankie IMO.

 

Same. I think Frankie is just the better overall fighter, and I don't think Bendo presents anything Frankie hasn't dealt with before.

 

, no.

 

the thing i like about henderson is that he was not only a collegiate wrestler (NAIA is only a notch or two below division 1 imo), but he has a background in taekwondo, and STILL competes in bjj tournaments (i think he's a brown belt). the dude's continuously trying to enhance his game and i think his versatility makes him a treat to watch.

edgar's a beast though. he's really strong for his size and is very quick w/ his hands and footwork. all he needs to do his move in and out standing up and his takedowns are explosive to a point where it's nearly impossible to defend against.

one thing you gotta worry about edgar is that his chin is obviously not very good. and it's not like maynard is some devastating knockout artist. i think henderson will be able to do a lot more if he had edgar in trouble.

 

IMO, Edgars not as good as his recent record suggests. I thought he lost the first BJ Penn fight, and he was gifted a draw in the second Maynard fight. So in my eyes he's 1-1 against Penn and 1-2 against Maynard.

 

He definitely lost the first Penn fight, clearly too.

He's still an amazing fighter, and you'd have to say he won the trilogy against Maynard.

I guess chin is his one weak point, but his recovery makes up for it. Other than that he's as solid as they come.

 

How is going 1-1-1 with Maynard winning? Looks tied up to me.