UFC Fight Night 34 Results: Saffeidine Dominates Lim, Kawajiri chokes out Soriano

The UFC's first foray into Singapore and the first event on it's brand new UFC Fight Pass network provided for a great night(morning i you're in the US), as the final  Strikeforce welterweight Tarec Saffeidine snagged a unanimous decision victory over Korean fan favorite and rising prospect Hyun Gyu Lim in the main event of UFC Fight Night 34 at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore.

The two spent the first little bit feeling each other out, with Saffeidine frequently changing stances and angles, focusing his infamous leg kicks on Lim's left leg. Saffeidine lost his balance and quickly got up, but not without a few knees from Lim. Lim then focused on going to the body, throwing some hard driving knees and then landed a hard right hand to end the round.

Lim came out in the second round hard and applied a ton of pressure, forcing Saffeidine to work from the outside. Saffeidine quickly turned the tables, however, and hit Lim with three nasty right hands that nearly dropped the Korean. Saffeidine also continued to apply pressure with the leg kicks to Lim's lead left leg, and Lim had no answer to it.

Saffeidine dropped Lim with a mean two-punch combo to start the third. Lim got up quickly, but Saffeidine almost immediately got him to the ground after landing another hard right hand and shooting a double-leg. The two scrambled and Saffeidine hit the mat, but managed to get back to his feet. Saffeidine continued to pursue the lead leg kick, and dropped Lim twice with them. Saffeidine celebrated prematurely after the second leg kick that dropped Lim, but referee Leon Roberts did not stop the fight.

Round four was all Saffeidine, as Lim looked visibly tired and was on wobbly legs due to the continued abuse his legs were taking.  Saffeidine continued to apply pressure to the lead left leg, with Lim almost crumbling after every punishing blow. Saffeidine landed a hard knee to the body that dropped Lim. Following that, Saffeidine tried a few submissions with no success.

The fifth round began much the same as the previous, with Saffedine continuing to apply pressure to the lead left leg and almost dropping Lim with them. He dropped the Korean twice in the round with leg kicks, but didn't want anything to do with fighting Lim on the ground, allowing Lim to stand up each time he dropped him. Lim landed a flurry of shots toward the end of the round, giving everything he had into the last few seconds, but couldn't get it done that late in the fight.

The judges scored the contest 49-46, 48-47, and 48-47, all for Saffeidine.

"I was pretty hurt." Saffeidine said, speaking of Lim's efforts late in the fifth. "He caught me with a good punch. I got a bit dizzy, but was able to recover. He was really tough. He got prepared for me. He's a great fighter."

Saffeidine, in the post-fight presser, also spoke a bit on who he'd like to fight next. "I want to fight the top fighters, top 10 in the UFC." Saffeidine said. "I want to fight those guys. I can't wait to get back in the gym and train for those guys."

Also on the card was a bout between fan favorite Tatsuya Kawajiri and American fighter Sean Soriano.

Soriano effectively withstood the takedown in the first until Kawajiri managed to get a trip against the cage, where the decorated Japanese submission artist went to work. Kawajiri took his back and tried a few chokes, but was unsuccessful. Following this, Kawajiri used a body triangle to set up indefensible strikes from his back.

The second was much different than the first, as Kawajiri immediately got the takedown and locked in a choke. Soriano tapped, but the ref didn't see it, and Soriano passed out. The choke came at :50 of the 2nd round.

Take a look at the rest of the UFC Fight Night 32 results here:

Main card:
Tarec Saffiedine def. Hyun Gyu Lim via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47)
Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Sean Soriano via submission (rear naked choke) at :50 of round 2 
Kiichi Kunimoto def. Luiz Dutra via DQ (illegal elbows) at 2:57 of round 1
Kyung-Ho Kang def. Shunichi Shimizu via submission (head and arm triangle) at 3:53 of round 3

Undercard:
Max Holloway def. Will Chope via TKO (strikes) at 2:27 of round 2
Katsunori Kikuno def. Quinn Mulhern via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Royston Wee def. Dave Galera via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Mairbek Taisumov def. Tae Hyun Bang via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Dustin Kimura def. Jon Delos Reyes via submission (armbar) at 2:13 of round 1
Russell Doane def. Leandro Issa via submission (triangle choke) at 4:59 of round 2

UFC 168 Ends in Horrific Injury + Winners/Losers

The questions were supposed to be answered. After a strange fight marred by controversy, this was supposed to be the end-all be-all. "Leave no Doubt", the headline said. But this one also ended in odd, gruesome fashion.

Weidman and Silva came out to start the first round, and Weidman took the fight right to Anderson. They stood and traded for a bit, and then the champ tripped Anderson. Anderson got to the cage and stood up before landing a nasty knee to the body. Weidman then dropped Anderson with an overhand right, and almost had him knocked out, but Anderson weathered the storm. Weidman got into Anderson's guard and landed brutal elbows before the round ended.

Round 2 was where things got hairy.

Weidman and Silva stood and traded for a bit, and then Anderson threw a hard leg kick which was checked by Weidman. This was the end. Silva's shin broke in impact, dropping him to the floor in agony. The bout was immediately stopped by Herb Dean. Weidman knew it was over and began celebrating before going over and checking on Anderson.

Following the gruesome injury, the cameras did not show a replay and did not show Anderson on the ground for the remainder of the PPV broadcast. Reports from inside the MGM Grand state that doctors immediately put a cast on Anderson in the octagon, strapped him to a stretcher, and carted him out of the arena. Anderson screamed in agony as he was being carted off.

Following the end of the broadcast, UFC President Dana White gave some more info: Anderson was immediately undergoing surgery.

This wasn't the way we wanted it to happen, but it did, and Chris Weidman is still the champion. He gets a bout with Vitor Belfort(24-10) next. Let's take a look at some winners and losers.

WINNERS
Chris Weidman- It's a bad way to get it done, but Chris Weidman is still the champion, and maybe his performance in the first round will silence some haters. Chris landed nasty elbows from top position and dropped Anderson before the injury. He gets a bout with Vitor Belfort next, which is a great test for him.

Ronda Rousey- Rousey utterly dominated Miesha Tate throughout their war and was never really in danger. Tate gave her the toughest fight of her career, but that's not saying much. Ronda showed much-improved striking and especially a very powerful right hand, in addition to her already amazing judo game and groundwork. It was announced following the fight that Rousey would have a quick turnaround, facing Sara McMann as the main event of UFC 170 on February 22nd, 2014.

Uriah Hall- Hall proved that he belongs in the UFC after two lackluster performances and questions of his drive, determination, and "killer instinct" in the words of Dana White. Hall had a tough test in front of him with gritty veteran Chris Leben. Hall knocked Leben down in the first and just battered him with shots after that. Hal showed some hesitation in the middle of the round, but dropped Leben at the end of the 1st and came extremely close to knocking him out. Leben quit on the stool following the first round. Great performance by Hall.

LOSERS
Everyone- Everyone loses here, even Chris Weidman, even though I listed him as a winner. Weidman loses because people will still have questions about both his wins over Anderson. Silva loses because of obvious reasons. The UFC loses their biggest star. And the fans lose because we don't get the fight we wanted to see.

Miesha Tate- Tate put up a valiant effort, but it wasn't enough to beat the champ. She was the first to take Ronda out of the first round, but still lost to the armbar. Tate is now in the Junior dos Santos/Joseph Benavidez territory where she's lost to the champ twice and probably won't be getting a title shot any time soon.

Josh Barnett- After an impressive TKO victory over former champion Frank Mir, big things were expected by Barnett. But in his way was a monster named Travis Browne. After a hard right hook, Barnett went for the double leg but was pushed toward the cage and hit hard with four nasty elbows to the temple by Browne. I don't think we'll see Barnett, at his age, in the title picture any time soon.

UFC 168 Preview and Predictions

We're just six days away from the most anticipated rematch in UFC history: Weidman vs Silva II. Hofstra University wrestling standout Chris Weidman stunned the world with his second-round knockout of the pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva back in July. Despite saying he wouldn't be fighting for the belt after losing it, Silva signed on for the rematch and claims "I back. Trust me, I back:. Let's take a look at the card and my predictions.

INJURY BREAKDOWN

A heavyweight bout between Shane del Rosario and Guto Inocente was supposed to take place on this card, however both men pulled out with injuries and we all know by now that del Rosario later suffered two sudden cardiac attacks and passed away on December 9th. In the co-main event of the evening, heated rivals Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate square off for a second time. However, Cat Zingano was originally supposed to get this title shot. Back at the TUF 17 finale in April, Zingano defeated Tate by TKO in the third round to win the coaching spot on TUF 18 and the future title shot. Unfortunately, Zingano blew out her knee in July and Tate was given the shot(and the coaching gig).

PREDICTIONS

CHRIS WEIDMAN VS ANDERSON SILVA

This fight comes as a rematch of the vicious knockout that Silva suffered back in July at the hands of Weidman. The two men took the first round finding each other's range, and then, in typical Silva fashion, Anderson began taunting Chris and pretending like he was hurt. Weidman made him pay for it with a nasty left hook that instantly dropped Anderson, and Chris pounced on him, landed a few good hammer fists, and the fight was over.

Following the fight, Anderson announced that he would not be seeking a rematch, that he was tired of the responsibilities that holding the belt brings and would instead be seeking other bouts. Something changed, however, and on July 13th Anderson put out a video announcing his bout with Weidman, claiming "I back. Trust me, I back."

This fight is nearly impossible to predict because there's so many x-factors. Will Anderson clown around again? Can Weidman go a full five rounds? Will Anderson have the drive that he had before? How has Anderson's ground game improved? In the end, I think Weidman will do in this fight what a lot of us thought he would do in the first. He'll shoot for takedowns, hit Anderson with ground and pound, and I think it'll end in submission.

PREDICTION: Weidman via round 4 submission

RONDA ROUSEY VS MIESHA TATE

This fight is fairly easy to predict for me, unlike the main event. Ronda has massive advantages on the mat, and can hold her own on the feet. I don't see any way that Miesha can win this fight, especially after getting brutally knocked out by Cat Zingano in their fight back in April.

PREDICTION: Ronda Rousey via round 1 submission

TRAVIS BROWNE VS JOSH BARNETT

This is a great fight that is flying way under the radar. Browne is coming off a huge knockout win over Alistair Overeem, and Barnett just knocked out former champion Frank Mir back in August. Browne is a great striker and I think this will be the fight where Barnett finally shows his age. Browne has needed only a little over five minutes to get two knockout wins and $100,000 in bonus money. I think Browne gets it done here on December 28th and gets a #1 contenders fight against Fabricio Werdum.

PREDICTION: Browne via round 2 KO

JIM MILLER VS FABRICIO CAMOES

Does it seem to anyone else like they're giving Miller an easy fight? Cause it does to me. Camoes is a great athlete and a powerful striker, but Jim Miller is on a whole other level. He's a great grappler who needs to get back on the winning track.

PREDICTION: Miller via decision

DUSTIN POIRIER VS DIEGO BRANDAO

This is a great opportunity for Diego Brandao. Coming off three wins over Joey Gambino, Pablo Garza, and Daniel Pineda, the former Ultimate Fighter winner could crack the top ten with a win here. Only problem? Dustin Poirier is standing in front of him. Poirier, an elite wrestler, has showed off an entirely different side to him with great striking in his fights against Eric Koch and Cub Swanson. Poirier is quick, elusive, and has a ton of weapons in his arsenal. I think he gets it done in fairly convincing fashion.

PREDICTION: Poirier via decision

UNDERCARD PREDICTIONS

Uriah Hall def. Chris Leben via decision
Glieson Tibau def. Michael Johnson via round 3 TKO
Dennis Siver def. Manny Gamburyan via decision
John Howard def. Siyar Bahadurzada via round 2 TKO
Bobby Voelker def. William Macario via decision
Estevan Payan def. Robbie Peralta via round 2 submission

Exciting news for this blog

So, as many of you who are familiar with me know, it's my dream to enter the MMA media and cover the sport that I love for a living. Well, yesterday I took a step in the right direction, and was contacted by someone from a small sports website wanting me to write for their site, so naturally, I accepted! Posts from this blog will go directly to kcsportsninja.com where they'll be viewed by a lot of people and thus, this blog will get more attention! I'm very excited about this and want to thank everyone for their support in this. I'll post the link to those articles here and I hope you guys will continue to visit this site and support me in my dream! Thank you for your support!

kcsportsninja.com

14 Predictions for the UFC in 2014

2013 was undoubtedly the best year of the UFC's history. We kicked off the year with a great superfight between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar. Women's MMA took the center stage. Nick Diaz and GSP finally settled their issues in the cage. After a season of TUF, Chael Sonnen talked his way into a bout with the Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones and came oh-so-close to winning the title via an injury TKO. Junior dos Santos clawed his way back for a trilogy while Cain Velasquez settled his business with Bigfoot Silva. Rashad Evans got back on the winning track against Dan Henderson. Then, Chris Weidman did the unthinkable and dethroned the king, Anderson Silva. Jose Aldo then had a tough fight against the very game Korean Zombie. Anthony Pettis finally won the title. Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson had possibly the greatest fight in the company's history. Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos settled their grudge match. GSP won a razor-thin split decision against Johny Hendricks and subsequently retired, and we still have the rematch between Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva left to go.

2014 probably can't match the success the UFC has found in 2013, but it can sure come close. Let's take a look at my predictions for 2014.

1) Johny Hendricks wins the vacant welterweight title and makes two more title defenses against Carlos Condit and Rory MacDonald(who wins two fights against Demian Maia and Tarec Saffeidine to win the title shot)

2) Chris Weidman makes two title defenses against Vitor Belfort and Jacare Souza

3) Cathal Pendred wins TUF 19

4) Carla Esparza wins TUF 20

5) The UFC's digital network flops. This may be a shocking one. I think the UFC has a good idea in this digital network, but they are making a big mistake by having cards such as the Gustafsson vs Manuwa card only available on the digital network will polarize fans and a lot of fans will not watch because of this. We'll see how it works out but I think it will flop.

6) Conor McGregor will win two fights in 2014 and crack the top 10 of the 145 pound division.

7) Jimi Manuwa loses to Alexander Gustafsson but rattles off three wins to also crack the top 10 of his division.

8) Gustafsson gets a rematch against Jones(who defeats Glover via unanimous decision) following his win over Manuwa in Stockholm. After a five-round war, Gustafsson wins a split decision to get the title.

9) Ronda Rousey continues to polarize fans and media members alike, angers the UFC with her refusal to do media, and loses her title to Cat Zingano following her return.

10) The UFC holds a pay-per-view that cracks 1,000,000 buys. However, by year's end, they begin to move away from the dying PPV business.

11) Renan Barao defeats Dominick Cruz to win the true Bantamweight title. Urijah Faber gets a title shot but loses, then defeats Dominick Cruz in their grudge match.

12) Chad Mendes defeats Jose Aldo to win the title

13) Cain Velasquez and Anthony Pettis do NOT fight at all in 2014

14) The ten-point must system is done away with by the end of the year and replaced by a system much better suited for MMA(ok, maybe this one is a bit of wishful thinking...)

UFC Heavyweight Division Rundown

Current Champion: Cain Velasquez(2 title defenses)

• def. Antonio Silva at UFC 160
• def. Junior dos Santos at UFC 166

The UFC's heavyweight division has always been filled with unpredictability, highlight reel knockouts, and interesting characters. Cain Velasquez is the current champion with title defenses against Anotnio "Bigfoot" Silva and Junior dos Santos. He first won the title against Brock Lesnar at UFC 121 but quickly lost his next title defense to hard-hitting Brazilian boxer Junior dos Santos via a quick 1st-round knockout. Following that, he demolished Silva in a bloody battle and earned a rematch against dos Santos at UFC 155, where he won a five-round fight in very convincing fashion. He then challenged Silva again at UFC 160 where he won via 2nd round TKO. dos Santos earned a rematch against Velasquez following his UFC 160 highlight-reel headkick knockout of Mark Hunt, setting up arguably the most anticipated grudge match in UFC history. Velasquez won the fight via 5th round TKO in dominating fashion.

In my eyes, Velasquez and dos Santos are head and shoulders above the rest of the division. However, there's some interesting fighters in the division. Let's take a look at the rankings:

Champion: Cain Velasquez
#1: Junior dos Santos
#2: Fabricio Werdum
#3: Daniel Cormier
#4: Antonio Silva
#5: Travis Browne#6 Josh Barnett
#7: Alistair Overeem
#8: Mark Hunt
#9: Frank Mir
#10: Stipe Miocic

The next in line for a title shot following Velasquez's victory over dos Santos is Fabricio Werdum, who is coming off a submission victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogeuira. He poses an interesting threat in the clinch and on the mat, but I believe Velasquez's wrestling will be too much for him to handle.

Daniel Cormier is coming off a victory over Roy Nelson, but is headed to Light Heavyweight to avoid fighting his AKA teammate Velasquez for the belt.

Travis Browne and Josh Barnett meet in a heavyweight clash at UFC 168. Browne is coming off a big win over Alistair Overeem and Barnett just finished former champion Frank Mir. This fight will likely determine the next contender for the belt. I like Browne in this fight solely because of his striking prowess and his age, though Barnett could easily win that fight.

Mark Hunt and Bigfoot Silva just had a war at UFC Fight Night 33 in Brisbane, considered by many to be the fight of the year. The fight was a majority draw, and Hunt broke his hand in two places and is out for at least six months. Silva escaped with no major injuries and should be back in action in April/May, perhaps against the loser of Barnett/Browne or a bout with dos Santos, who has nothing announced after his grudge match loss against Velasquez.

Alistair Overeem, a former K-1 world kickboxing champion, faces Frank Mir at UFC 169 in what's being dubbed a "loser leaves town" match. Mir has lost three in a row to dos Santos, Cormier, and Barnett. Overeem has lost two in a row to Antonio Silva and Travis Browne. The loser of this fight will almost certainly be cut from the UFC.

Rounding out the top 10 of the heavyweight division is exciting yet somewhat unknown wrestler Stipe Miocic, who is coming off a big win over Roy Nelson at UFC 160, a fight he entered as a huge underdog. He fights Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC on Fox 10.

The UFC's heavyweight division is thin and has little to no depth in terms of future challengers to Velasquez, which is why I believe Velasquez will hold the belt for a long time. Of course, the heavyweight division is very unpredictable and known for quick belt turnarounds, so anything can happen.

State of the blog, division rundowns begin tomorrow

So, I was wracking my brain yesterday thinking of some interesting things to do on the blog to keep active and updated. I think the preview/predictions post for each event will be a mainstay. Live blogs will happen during the events. Event reviews will happen 24 hours after the event, those will have my thoughts on the card as a whole, where each fighter should go from there, things like that. I decided that to start out I would begin doing division rundowns, beginning with heavyweight and ending with flyweight. After that I thought I could do some prospect roundups, examining their skills and weaknesses, how much potential they have, things like that. And then we'll go from there. Obviously I'll write posts on current MMA happenings and things. So I'll be writing the following:

• Event previews and predictions(in the week leading to the event)
• Live blogs for each event(during events)
• Event reviews(one day after event)
• Division rundowns(beginning tomorrow 12/11/13 running to 12/19/13)
• Prospect analysis
• Write-ups on current happenings

Any ideas on cool things to do on this blog would be welcome, and as always thanks for visiting!