This card is killer. I’m very excited for it. Surprised there hasn’t been a whole lot of discussion on it yet, but here comes my usually incorrect (as of late) thoughts on how this whole deal will play out.
Matt Hughes vs GSP
The fact that people are so overwhelmingly backing GSP here makes me leery. I, too, am picking GSP, but the general disrespect and disregard for what Matt Hughes brings to the ring is straight up shocking. Yes, he got played like a fiddle in their last fight.
But if we learned anything this past year, it’s that anyone on any particular night can be made to look the fool (see: Matt Serra sparking GSP like a Bic). He is a phenomenal MMA wrestler, phenomenally strong, and can make anyone underneath of him his bitch. That said, GSP is a beast. His striking is light years ahead, his wrestling is top notch, his take down defense doesn’t seem to be possible outside of The Matrix, and he has that cockiness and dedication to training that was missing when Serra lit him up.
GSP truly believes he can’t lose, and I think he takes this by a third round stoppage. Expect Hughes to take at least 1 one of those rounds though, more if it goes longer.
Chuck vs Wanderlei
Three years ago, I would have reenacted the Pain Olympics to see this fight. Despite the tarnish the stature of this fight has accumulated with the sharp drop in the rankings of these fighters, it still has me amped. There are no secrets here. Neither fighter is going to construct an elaborate game plan. Both are going to stand in the middle of the ring and say, “You know what I am came here to do, try and stop me”.
And in this style match up, Chuck has the distinct advantage. The first thing that pops into my head in this fight is Wanderlei shattering his orbital socket on a circling and backing Mirko Cro Cop’s left fist. In their peaks, I would say Chuck’s right hand by similar fashion. HOWEVER, the Chuck that fought Jardine was an easy win for a Wandy that displayed a modicum of patience. Wandy seems to have made a lot of positive changes as of late.
Training with Couture and leaving Chute Box was a huge plus. Shawn Tompkins taking over his stand up training was another. Chuck hasn’t changed a damn thing. So I’m going to pick against the logical conclusion here, and say Wanderlei takes this by a second round KO. Mostly because the possibility of Wandy/Rampage III is too much to wish against. 50/50 fight, you can’t pick wrong.
Machida vs Soko
Another absolute dream fight. “Who is Lyoto Machida?” threads were a long running source of hilarity on MMA forums in years prior. This was fitting, as Machida’s in ring style was just as ghostly. This guy is flat impossible to hit. People de-ride him as being boring, but the fact is that Machida is a counter striker of such high caliber that he flat out clowns opponents to the degree that they give up any hope of accomplishing anything against him.
Machida spends the rest of the fight dancing around in a karate stance, content to win the fight without doing a thing. He is a proven commodity. Soko, well what has he proven? He has proven that if fall into his game, he will shit can you in a hurry. But do you remember the last time he got hit in the face? Well, he was knocked out by Glover Texeira.
Also, he hasn’t been in the ring for awhile. I predict Machida frustrating Soko early, getting him over excited, and wind up with him running right into a perfectly timed counter knee. Not only am I prediciting a Machida victory, but I am also predicting his first finish in the UFC.
Of course, Soko running out, throwing Lyoto on his head and mashing his face into bloody pulp in the first 17 seconds wouldn’t surprise me either. That’s why this fight is freaking awesome.