UFC 124 is a great event to cap off the end of 2010. With another year of quality cards under its belt, the UFC is only expected to continue its expansion with plans for putting on events in Toronto, Abu Dhabi and Scotland in the new year. Now, relax as I try to make some sense of tonight's main card.
UFC 124 Preview: SB Nation Breaks Down The Main Card With Picks And Analysis
This fight has as good a chance as any to win the coveted ‘fight of the night’ bonus. If either of these guys make an error, we may also see ‘knockout of the night’ be handed out here. Both men are knockout artists, at their best when standing teeing off. Both men are claiming they plan on doing exactly that, so fans have a great one here to look forward to. Although something like that would be great to see, as John Howard’s attorney I can’t advise standing in front of Thiago Alves. Along with the power in Alves’ hands, his leg kicks are absolutely brutal. Howard has a puncher’s chance, but I like Alves if this thing stays on the feet.
This fight is do or die for Danzig. After winning the the sixth season of Spike's ‘The Ultimate Fighter,' Mac has gone a discouraging 2-4 inside the octagon. A poor showing on Saturday night could make him the latest TUF winner to be released after not living up to expectations. Fellow TUF season winner Stevenson is coming off a very one sided loss to grappling ace George Sotiropoulos, so I expect him to have a strong rebound on Saturday night. Stevenson claims to be reinvigorated since joining Team Jackson, but whether or not the move helped is yet to be seen. I just don't see where Danzig has an edge on the much bigger Joe 'Daddy.'
After breezing through his first two opponents since joining the promotion in August, Charles Oliveira faces his toughest test in Jim Miller. Miller - a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt - has only ever dropped fights to Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, the two men about to tangle for the lightweight title. Miller has also never been stopped, losing both times by decision. The 21-year-old Oliveira is going to have all he can handle on Saturday night. I'm a big fan of the kid, but I think Miller just might be too much for him right now. This is a huge step up in competition.
Although I see Oliveira having the edge striking wise, If Gray Maynard — who rearranged Miller’s face with some brutal power shots — wasn’t able to put him away, I don’t see Charles being able to. A combination of Oliveira’s upright fighting style and smaller, lanky frame puts him one caught leg kick away from being underneath Miller’s smothering ground attack. I see Miller doing exactly that.
It’s a shame that most of the discussion about this fight has been regarding the statements made by McCorkle. In a fight that some have dubbed to be the worst co-main event in UFC history, I’m not as quick to take a negative turn just yet. This is, after all, two giant heavyweights headhunting. Struve is the favorite, but I actually like McCorkle to take this one. Struve’s long limbs are going to make prime targets for submissions, a thought I can only imagine McCorkle to have had once or twice. Given Struve’s apparent lack of a wrestling pedigree, it may fall to McCorkle to dictate where this fight ends up.
For those questioning McCorkle’s resume of subpar opponents? How dare you. This gentleman looks the picture of health, an Adonis among mere mortals.
Unless McCorkle gasses out after the first round he stands a good chance of putting this fight away. Struve is one good right hand away from having some guy flashing a light in his eyes and asking which country he’s in.
The night’s main event is actually the fight I have the least doubt about. People have dissected this fight to the point of tedium, and it now more closely resembles the hand me down fetal pig I worked on in ninth grade biology. By the time eighth period rolled around that poor thing had been through a lot. I digress.
You know the story lines. St. Pierre beat Koscheck three years ago in a non-title fight before taking back his crown. Both fighters went on a pretty impressive tear of the welterweight division, took roles as coaches on Spike’s ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ and now meet again in a grudge match of sorts. GSP held out for as long as he could, but even he eventually succumbed to entering into a bit of the pre-fight trash talking.
So what can fans expect to be different this time around? I'm not entirely sure. Both fighters insist they're not the same man who fought back at UFC 74, but what has really changed? Koscheck tallied five stoppage wins prior to facing GSP in '07, and has since gone on to score five more. GSP has only fought six times since the fight with Kos, one of the drawbacks that comes with being the champion. Although all six of the fights have been dominating performances, his only stoppages came at an armbar submission over Matt Hughes and a doctor's stoppage over BJ Penn.
I’m just not sure either of these men have changed enough to expect a different outcome this time around. I’m sure they’ve both improved leaps and bounds, but if they’ve both experienced a similar, parallel progression shouldn’t the outcome be unchanged? I expect a better fight between two better fighters, but ultimately resulting in the same outcome. I think GSP grinds out another decision, possibly even pulling off a submission in the later rounds.
See More:
