Full Contact Talk: MMA discussion

UFC 88 – Breakthrough

There’s criticism flying around in some circles that Atlanta’s first UFC event is a bit lackluster. I have witnessed some say that the card is merely a collection of former champions tossed out into the economy as nothing more than an event to keep fans occupied until the return of Randy Couture at UFC 91. Couture’s return to the cage may have threatened to steal the wind from the sails of UFC 88, but nothing could be further from the truth. Especially from a local perspective.

UFC 88 is a stacked card built of one of mixed-martial-arts most famous stars in that of Chuck Liddell.  Not to mention that massive popularity of fighters such as Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin. But in Atlanta, there’s the long history of civil rights movement and African-American fame. Especially in the sports arena. And it is this idea that paints in my mind a fact that not many seem to be acknowledging currently.

Rashad Evans will be the first African-American MMA fighter to headline a UFC event in the city of Atlanta. As unimportant as it may seem to some, this event is still a continuing part of sports history in the city of Atlanta. Rashad Evans can now be chalked onto the list below Hank Aaron and many others. And the UFC’s debut in the city of Atlanta can be chalked down as a massive success for Philips Arena.

According to Kevin Priest of Philips Arena, the UFC 88 event is the largest single day sporting event in the history of the venue. Such tremendous and positive impact on  the downtown Atlanta venue should forecast a promising future for UFC events in the city. Earlier today found Philips Arena buzzing with fan enthusiasm over the opportunity to meet fighters such as Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira, Forrest Griffin and Shane Carwin among others.

Tomorrow will climax with fan excitement when the downtown streets crowd with people building up to the fights that start at 8:00 p.m. But there’s still additional moments of fan hype prior to the actual event. Local fight promoter, David Oblas is hosting a party at STATS sports bar on Marietta Street on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. This party will feature guests such as UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture and former PRIDE FC superstar, Wanerlei Silva. Not  to mention the pre-fight parties tonight at the Leopard Lounge and Door 44 as well as Rashad Evans’ after party on Saturday night at Pure nightclub.

Now to the fights. Full Contact Talk previously made fight picks during the premier Podcast, but will toss out the following summary just for good measure.

Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans (Main Event)

This fight will be a test for Rashad Evans. And that’s putting it nicely. Coming in as a 3-to-1 underdog, it is no surprise that Evans is in for the fight of his life tomorrow night at UFC 88. The winner is all but promised a title shot at current champion, Forrest Griffin, but nothing is ever guaranteed in the world of big league MMA.

Liddell is historically one of the UFC’s most famous and widely marketed champions. The Iceman will almost certainly get a shot to clinch his belt again if his is triumphant on Saturday night. But Evans doesn’t carry the same marketing potential and fame. And if Rashad beats the odds and wins at UFC 88, he’ll then potentially find himself in a new fight for the title contention list.

Evans, previously a college wrestler, has receieved criticism over slow-paced and sometimes boring past performances. Evans is a strong workhorse of a fighter devoid of the reckless entertainment that brawlers such as Wanderlei Silva bring to the light heavyweight division. And Liddell has heavy, heavy hands and high-level wrestling sprawl. This might not only prove to be kryptonite for Evans in the fight tomorrow night — it may equally define why Liddell will probably win both the MMA fight and the popularity contest.

Full Contact Talk’s Official Pick – Chuck Liddell winner by third round TKO

Rich Franklin vs. Matt Hamill

Rich Franklin makes the move up to light heavyweight from the middleweight division at UFC 88 to fight not only a fellow Ohio resident but a personal friend in that of Matt “The Hammer” Hamill. Franklin helped Hamill become a member of SPIKE TV’s The Ultimate Fighter reality show.

Franklin commented during the UFC 88 pre-fight press conference that this particular fight is a tough fight for him personally. In fact, both Hamill and Franklin smiled and laughed during Wednesday’s staredown making the potential clash on Saturday night seem like an exhibition. But this will be no exhibition. Especially for Franklin.

Franklin answered a question from Full Contact Talk during the press conference regarding the idea that his fight against Hamill on Saturday night is a must-win scenario in order to keep his career afloat. Franklin responded adamantly about media criticism over his title loss and inability to defeat middleweight champion Anderson Silva and finished by stating that his career is fully alive because he creates exciting fights and the fans respond to such excitement.

It is probably safe to say that Franklin has the motivation and the obvious experience to overwhelm Matt Hamill. No matter the sales pitch on the matter. Franklin is a strong fighter that is clearly several steps ahead of Hamill in the world of MMA. Hamill is a great fighter with a bright future, but he is currently swimming against the current of deep, deep water on Saturday night at UFC 88.

Full Contact Talk’s Official Pick – Rich Franklin winner by second round TKO

Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares

Dan Henderson is a fighter’s fighter. A veteran of PRIDE FC who has fought some tough battles since his entrance into the UFC in 2007. But Henderson’s failure to defeat Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and loss to Anderson Silva at middleweight has placed him in a bit of career limbo. Henderson has massive punching power (as shown with his knockout of Wanderlei SIlva at PRIDE 33) and some of the best Greco-Roman wrestling skills in modern MMA. But Henderson is facing a Brazilian jiu-jitsu darkhorse at UFC 88 in that of Rousimar Palhares .

Pahlares is not currently on the radar of most casual MMA fans and thus he might be categorized as another victim for Henderson. But Henderson will face an immense challenge on the ground if the fights falls there. Palhares only has one decision loss on his professional record and devastated Ivan Salaverry with top-level jiu-jitsu at UFC 84 back in May.

Anyone who thinks this is sure-win for Henderson, much less an easy fight, will potentially be in for a surprise on Saturday night. This could be the fight of the night where wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu clash at a high level. Both fighter’s have hearts of lions and natural strength normally set aside for Olympic power-lifters.

Full Contact Talk’s Official Pick – “Upset Special!” Rhousimar Palhares winner by second round submission.

Martin Kampmann vs. Nate Marquardt

This fight could prove to be a back-and-forth battle. It should have fireworks and drama. Both guys need a win to advance through the ranks with sites on title contention. And this should prove to be proper motivation for a war. Kampman trains with current light heavyweight champion and former Georgia resident Forrest Griffin. He’s got a good camp and good motivation. But Marquardt has the edge in experience. This is possibly the closest fight on the UFC 88 card and a difficult one to call.

Full Contact Talk’s Official Pick – Nate Marquardt winner by split decision.

Karo Parisyan vs.Yoshiyuki Yoshida

As mentioned earlier in our news section, this fight has been cancelled due to an injury of Karo Parisyan.

And Full Contact Talk has one undercard pick:

Tim Boetsch vs. Michael Patt

Tim Boetsch is a heavy-handed wrestler who claims Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do philosophy as his fighting style. Please refer to FCT Episode 2 for a full interview with Boetsch. Previously with the International Fight League, Boetsch entered the UFC at UFC 81 where he destroyed David Heath via TKO in exciting fashion. Coming off of a recent loss to Matt Hamill, Boetsch is both prepared and motivated to precede up through the UFC ranks and Michael Patt is in his way. Patt, previously fought for BodogFIGHT and specializes in submissions. In this chess match, the heavy hands and sprawl of Boetsch should prove too much for Patt resulting in an aggressive and quick fight.

Full Contact Talk’s Official Pick – TIm Boetsch winner by first round KO

 
Segment Four:

Full Contact Talk MMA Discussion Segment Four features Rory Singer, Brian Bowles, Douglas Lima, Chris Stolzman, David Oblas and Frank Bishop. This is another 30-minute segment where the MMA panelists exclusively discuss UFC 88 coming to Atlanta on September 6. The panelists make fight picks for the main card. A special feature known as “The Great Pound-for-Pound Debate” launches this segment with a discussion of who’s the best pound-for-pound fighter from a list compiled of Fedor Emelianenko, Georges St. Pierre, BJ Penn and Andeson Silva. Local music included from The Go-Devils.

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Segment Two:

The Full Contact Talk panel continue discussion on a number of subjects ranging from Forrest Griffin’s recent success in the UFC as well as the positives and negatives of Brock Lesnar’s entrance into professional mixed-martial-arts. Another special feature known as “MMA Hollywood Minute” is included and briefly discusses Randy Couture’s latest movie. There’s more local music from Tenth to the Moon.

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Mixed-Martial-Arts is a sport. Yeah, you read it right. It’s a sport. Heck, it’s even a vastly popular sport. And it’s coming to Atlanta via Phillips Arena on September 6th by way of UFC 88 — which will be one of the organizations major pay per view events this year. For a large number of people, mixed-martial-arts is the primal definition of sportsmanship.

An evolved yet ancient form of hand-to-hand combat where two men of equal attributes battle one another until one falls and the other basks in the glory of cheer and admiration. And it’s every bit as much a chess match as it is a clash of fists. Often constructed from more physical intricacies than a typical team of men tossing rubber balls around, mixed-martial-arts still struggles somewhat to break through to a higher level of mainstream success where the sport is recognized by media and humanity alike as much more than just some gladiatorial blood spectacle or some sort of violent pornography.

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