Sherdog.com Preview – UFC 53: Heavy Hitters
CONCLUSION:
May 31, 2005
Trip to Japan or no trip to Japan, we have a great card for UFC 53.
The Griffin-Mahood and Buentello-Jordan match-ups look to be
absolute slugfests. The title fights should both be exciting … and
hopefully competitive. The other main card bout, Parisyan-Serra,
looks to be a “judo vs. BJJ” chess match. The prelims bring us Diaz
and Loiseau en route to title shots against quality competition and
the flashy Carter returns taking on the TUF veteran. Enjoy the
fights!
To recap, my picks are:
Diaz def. Oishi TKO R1
Loiseau def. McCarthy KO R2
Carter def. Quarry decision R3
Parisyan def. Serra TKO R2
Griffin def. Mahood submission R2
Buentello def. Jordan KO R2
Franklin def. Tanner submission R3
Arlovski def. Eilers KO R2
UFC … DOWN THE ROAD:
Vernon White-Renato Sobral: Although he’s on the heels of three consecutive losses, White showed true heart in the KO loss at the hands of the “Iceman.” “Babalu” is the future of the light heavyweight division. This would be a good test before he faces Chuck again for the title.
Rich Crunkilton-Dokonjonosuke Mishima: “Cleat” is 2-0 since his bout against Franca at UFC 42. Prior to the Edwards loss, Mishima had only lost to Ralph Gracie, Din Thomas and Takanori Gomi in the last five years. His name has been linked to the UFC before but he doesn’t leave Japan often.
Jason Black-Shonie Carter: Carter has a history with Miletich fighters (including Pat himself) and has finally been brought back to the UFC. Black is just being avoided. How can a guy who is 21-0-1 with wins over four UFC veterans slip under even Zuffa’s radar?
David Loiseau-Nilson de Castro: After losing three decisions and another bout by DQ the Brazilian is making some noise in Pancrase. How long will the UFC go without a member of Chute Boxe under contract? Loiseau is 2-1 in the UFC and has a chance to pull ahead of the pack on June 4.
Jutaro Nakao-Nick Diaz: Diaz has been impressive and only has two losses by decision in three years. A win over Oishi could put him a bout away from a title shot. Nakao is 6-1 since the loss to Sean Sherk at UFC 36. This is the same guy who KO’d DeSouza, submitted Miletich and went the distance with Menne, Cooper and Sakurai.
Brandon Lee Hinkle-Stephan Bonnar: Hinkle is 11-6 and won six in a row including a stoppage of Tom Sauer. Bonner showed what he was made of against Griffin in the TUF Finale.
Georges St. Pierre-Frank Trigg: St. Pierre keeps winning and stays alive in the division. Trigg lost his second shot at Hughes’ title so he’ll need to shut someone like Georges down or go elsewhere. Rumors of them meeting in August continue.
Matt Lindland-Alan Goes: Lindland is 3-0 since the KO loss to Terrell. Goes quickly kneebarred his first opponent in two years but he seems excited about the sport again. He should be brought in as a challenge to Tanner or Franklin’s title.
Joe Riggs-Andrei Semenov: The Red Devil is 6-2-2 since leaving the UFC including a win over Luta Livre demon Flavio Moura and hasn’t fought in 2005. Riggs is 1-1 in the Octagon but he is sure to light it up with the Russian.
To recap, my picks are:
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Loiseau def. McCarthy KO R2
Carter def. Quarry decision R3
Parisyan def. Serra TKO R2
Griffin def. Mahood submission R2
Buentello def. Jordan KO R2
Franklin def. Tanner submission R3
Arlovski def. Eilers KO R2
UFC … DOWN THE ROAD:
Rich Franklin-Gustavo Machado: At 10-2-1,
Machado has been on a roll but he hasn’t been scooped up by either
of the big shows. His only losses came to Arona and Radach. If
Franklin beats Tanner, this would make a nice first title
defense.
Vernon White-Renato Sobral: Although he’s on the heels of three consecutive losses, White showed true heart in the KO loss at the hands of the “Iceman.” “Babalu” is the future of the light heavyweight division. This would be a good test before he faces Chuck again for the title.
Rich Crunkilton-Dokonjonosuke Mishima: “Cleat” is 2-0 since his bout against Franca at UFC 42. Prior to the Edwards loss, Mishima had only lost to Ralph Gracie, Din Thomas and Takanori Gomi in the last five years. His name has been linked to the UFC before but he doesn’t leave Japan often.
Jason Black-Shonie Carter: Carter has a history with Miletich fighters (including Pat himself) and has finally been brought back to the UFC. Black is just being avoided. How can a guy who is 21-0-1 with wins over four UFC veterans slip under even Zuffa’s radar?
David Loiseau-Nilson de Castro: After losing three decisions and another bout by DQ the Brazilian is making some noise in Pancrase. How long will the UFC go without a member of Chute Boxe under contract? Loiseau is 2-1 in the UFC and has a chance to pull ahead of the pack on June 4.
Jutaro Nakao-Nick Diaz: Diaz has been impressive and only has two losses by decision in three years. A win over Oishi could put him a bout away from a title shot. Nakao is 6-1 since the loss to Sean Sherk at UFC 36. This is the same guy who KO’d DeSouza, submitted Miletich and went the distance with Menne, Cooper and Sakurai.
Brandon Lee Hinkle-Stephan Bonnar: Hinkle is 11-6 and won six in a row including a stoppage of Tom Sauer. Bonner showed what he was made of against Griffin in the TUF Finale.
Georges St. Pierre-Frank Trigg: St. Pierre keeps winning and stays alive in the division. Trigg lost his second shot at Hughes’ title so he’ll need to shut someone like Georges down or go elsewhere. Rumors of them meeting in August continue.
Matt Lindland-Alan Goes: Lindland is 3-0 since the KO loss to Terrell. Goes quickly kneebarred his first opponent in two years but he seems excited about the sport again. He should be brought in as a challenge to Tanner or Franklin’s title.
Joe Riggs-Andrei Semenov: The Red Devil is 6-2-2 since leaving the UFC including a win over Luta Livre demon Flavio Moura and hasn’t fought in 2005. Riggs is 1-1 in the Octagon but he is sure to light it up with the Russian.
