Unofficial UFC 73 Thread
 

I'm far from an expert but here's some predictions for this card, feel free to disagree, agree or call me clueless (after all, I'm usually way off in my picks):

Silva over Marquardt - 2nd Round TKO
Silva likes to end fights fairly quick and he's deceptively fast and strong. They'll go toe-to-toe until Nate sees he's outmatched and go for the ground. I don't think he'll get there .. if he does, he'll probably get the win too.

Evans over Ortiz - Decision
Evans seems to be getting better and better with each fight. He's incredibly strong and I think a fairly even matchup on the ground, his strength will be the difference in a modest upset.

Sherk over Franca - Decision
Sherk is ferocious on the mat and I think stronger than Franca in a match that will probably be mostly a ground game.

Nogueira over Herring - 2nd Round Submission
Minotauro is a beast and although Herring won his last fight vs. a very big Imes, he's not going to be able to stop a far more talented and experienced Nogueria. Should be a good fight regardless but the same result as last time.

Others:
Bonner over Nickels
Florian over Robinson (Every time I've thought Florian would lose, he's won ... so it's guaranteed he'll lose this one now that I'm picking him)

:pimp

I think Kenny will win too.. He's improved greatly all around especially with his stand up.

Agreed, I don't think too many expected Rashad and him to do so well post-TUF.

Nogueira/Herring - Obvious result. Herring isn't better on the ground or standing. I'd really almost say there's not even a puncher's chance here. Watch Nogueira vs Fedor 1,2,3, Nogueira vs. Bob Sapp and Nogueira vs Bob Sapp if you wonder why.

Robinson/Florian - Probably going to a decision. Florian is the one they're trying to keep in the spotlight and Robinson is trying to make a name. Robinson is a brown belt who lost by an advantage point to Shaolin in the Arnold's two years ago. Florian probably has a little better standup.

Silva/Marquardt - Silva's punch accuracy is probably the best in MMA and his takedown defense sucks. Nate's a good wrestler and keeping it down - can't say that he does much damage while there. It's Nate's biggest fight to date but I can't imagine UFC refs letting this fight go idle on the ground for long.

Evans/Ortiz - Evans wrestled in a tougher conference than Tito but had a terrible record. Also wrestled in the big10 which is good. But that's just wrestling. I think Tito can outwrestle him in MMA like he did Vladimir - even though Vlad took that fight on a week's notice, so I dunno. If Evans takes him down, he won't do damage. I'll take Tito by decision because of more experience.

Sherk/Franca - If Sherk keeps to his game this shouldn't be a problem fight for him. The best thing Franca's done is armbar Nate Diaz and come out on top in a shitty situation with Uno.

Those are the only fights I know happening on this card.

I'm not sure what Evans' best strategy will be here? I think on their feet he has an advantage with harder hands, but I agree on the ground Tito is more well-rounded and can do more damage even if not as physically strong.

We'll see...

Yeah, I think Rashad has heavier hands too. He did come down from the HW division. Even when Randy Couture had Tito mounted he couldn't really do any damage to Tito. Tito's GnP defense is awesome. Tito has seemed scared of getting punched in the past but I think he does have better striking than most people give him credit.

i agree with the thread starter predictions - cant wait to see the Silva/Marquardt bout.

Yep, he showed that in 2nd fight vs. Liddell but tried to go toe-to-toe for too long in the fight. Anyhow, anything can happen but I don't see a decision here, with the sort-of-bad-blood thing they'll be aggressive as hell.

They need a ondemand UFC channel.. something thats like 100 bucks a month that has all UFC ppv's all matches broken down, etc..

id pay for it

i agree with most all of the predictions here...


a cool thing is many of the fighters are training at the same gym where me & my friends do, and yesterday i was there photographing, it was nice because the gym was closed to all but the UFC fighters cause of the holiday

i got some awesome shots & got to meet Nog, Hermes, Silva, KenFlo etc


:)

Dana's a sharp guy and the UFC is great at marketing their "product", so I have no doubt once the demand is high enough they'll come up with something. $100 I wouldn't do but something reasonable, absolutely.

Silva over Marquardt - I have to agree on this one. I was not too impressed with Silva on his last fight, but I think he will win this one.

Evans over Ortiz - I hope this is the outcome, but I have doubts. I am really looking forward to this match.

Sherk over Franca - Sherk will take this one too.

Nogueira over Herring - Herring will disappoint this time again. He last fight was a joke.

Bonner over Nickels - If Bonner does not finish this fight, he is over. If you can't close fights in the UFC these days, you are over.

Florian over Robinson - I agree. I was never a Florian fan until the fight with Sherk. He lost that fight but won my admiration.

This is a great card. Can't wait.

Looks like Tito was still trying to stir up shit at the weigh-ins - Dana must love this guy, he's a hype machine on auto control. :)

Nogueira coming in at over 240?! He's normally like 224-226. Even though he's always looked old and beaten up since his very first fight, he's looking like hell. He's not at Brazilian Top Team anymore. I hope he doesn't gas. I don't want to see him victimized by the UFC's boxing judges because they don't understand an offensive guard game when they see it. "On your back? You're losing!"

He's still giving up nearly 20 pounds to Heath - maybe that was a game plan? Bulk up a bit to get close to Herring's size or was it just empty pounds he put on? Guess we'll see tonight :)

He was looking a little chubby at the weigh ins. Even though he can take Heath lightly and still win, I'd hate to see what happened to CroCop happen to Nogueira. Fighting in a cage isn't something he's used to, first fight with different team, different organization, and a little out of shape. I still think he will win but he didn't make it any easier on himself.

I think this is probably the easiest UFC to predict for a long time

That's what would have me worried if I was betting ... there's *always* something that happens unexpected.

The top guys now are so well trained and often they come in with a completely different game plan that changes everything. Couture going all stand-up vs. Silvia, Koschek the same vs. Sanchez, Silvia out-grounding Monson, etc.

Thats whats so cool about watching MMA fights... There is so much that can go on to change the way a fight ends... One good surprize hit or one unexpected submission grab and the fight can end WAY different then anyone could predict.

No outcome shocked me more than GSP's loss to Serra. Losing was one thing but it was fast and ugly for Georges.

If your a fight fan and your not watching the Hermes Franca / Sean Sherk fight your missing out!!!

watching it great fight right now

for all of those who can not watch the show

visit http://ufcmania.com/2007/07/03/ufc-7...ow-commentary/

for live coverage

Absolutely, it was fantastic. Once again the fans booed but undeserved: The ground game between these two was amazing to watch, just very one-sided.

Sherk is a BEAST.

:thumbsup

Sure was one sided but Sherk is gonna have one helluva a headache after this. He's gonna be unstoppable. I can't believe Minotauro got up after that knee either!
All that and then we get the Ortiz/Evans draw...:disgust

What was that, three knees that Sherk caught?

At least,but he recovered well, and fast. The man is a machine!

Evans showed his lack of experience, far too tentative until the end. When he finally got serious (and Tito was suprisingly gassed), he was about to dominate.

And Silva ... damn, he looked sharp.

Now I'm really looking forward to Koscheck v. GSP at U74 and even more so Jackson v. Henderson at U75.

I read that Nog's next match will be CroCop. That'd be sweet. But again I'd like to see either one try on Tim Sylvia first just to prove a point.

Agreed, seeing the ex-Pride against UFC's top guys is to me more appealing than recreating Pride rivalries. Minotauro vs. Sylvia or another top heavyweight would have been more interesting than Herring or Crocop.