Great Sherdog Debate: Mir vs. Lesnar
Rest of the card
Jeremy
Horn (Pictures) vs. Nathan Marquardt (Pictures)
Sloan: Man, talk about a sleeper in the making! And I'm not talking a surprise fight-of-the-night sleeper either. I'm talking the kind of fight that puts viewers to sleep. Both are stellar fighters but not exactly clones of Nick Diaz (Pictures). Marquardt by decision.
Curtis: I'm actually going to skip this one in favor of a repeat of the Time Life "Flower Power" infomercial starring the cadaverous Peter Fonda. Both of these guys have had great careers, and you have to respect the fact that they (almost) always show up to fight, even if their styles are boring. But in light of Horn's recent performances -- which, to put it mildly, have been below par -- I give the edge to Nate by decision.
Ricardo Almeida (Pictures) vs. Rob Yundt (Pictures)
Sloan: Alan Belcher (Pictures) had to withdraw right before the event; no wonder he didn't return my calls for an interview. Nevertheless, Rob Yundt (Pictures) has filled in. His Alaskan Fighting experience won't suffice, though. The former "Big Dog" will armbar him in the first.
Curtis: They ought to call this one the "Battle of the Ring Rust." Almeida has been away for four years, and Yundt has fought about four minutes in the past year and a half. I don't think that is going to faze Ricardo, however. He's going to win but not as quickly as my friend Sloan thinks. Armbar in round two.
Tyson
Griffin vs. Gleison
Tibau (Pictures)
Sloan: Griffin is slowly creeping toward a title shot, but considering how many great fighters are in the lightweight class, it'll take some time. Too bad for Tibau that he's just a bump in the road for "I'm Not Mike" Tyson. Griffin will stop him late in the second.
Curtis: Not so fast, Mike. Gleison has been on a nice run lately courtesy of his work with American Top Team. It's been a while since he's been knocked out, and his defense has improved since then. He's never been submitted before, and it won't happen Saturday. This one is going to the cards, and Gleison's record is an impressive 6-1 when that happens. Look for a "lucky 7" decision win for Tibau.
Chris Lytle (Pictures) vs. Kyle Bradley (Pictures)
Sloan: People always say that Lytle is a great boxer, but he beat Reggie Strickland and Verdell Smith (a combined 337 losses), so he is discredited. Bradley did beat a guy named Bone, though. What does that equate to? I haven't a clue. Lytle by guillotine sometime in the second.
Curtis: The popular Lytle needs to get a win, and Kyle Bradley (Pictures) is just what the doctor ordered. Sure, Bradley is on a win streak, but on second-tier cards. He's going to get a nice "welcome to the UFC" rear-naked choke from Lytle in the second.
Marvin Eastman (Pictures) vs. Terry Martin (Pictures)
Sloan: Martin is a bit too strong for Eastman, and Marvin tends to not show up at 100 percent in his big fights. Martin by KO in the second.
Curtis: I think the "Beastman" bounced back very nicely from his loss to "Rampage" and realizes that he might not get another shot in the UFC if he loses Saturday. I give him the edge in conditioning, too. I'm expecting him to respect Martin's punching power and be cautious in the early going. I don't think he'll chase the knockout but instead will win by decision.
David Heath (Pictures) vs. Tim Boetsch (Pictures)
Sloan: Everybody felt sorry for Heath after "Babalu" held the choke for far too long, and now everybody is rooting for him. Too bad Boetsch, who resembles the main character in the game "Bully," will spoil the Cinderella story. Boetsch by second-round stoppage.
Curtis: Yeah, "Babalu" showed no class that night, but Heath basically distinguished himself by taking a huge beating. That will allow him to survive at least one round of Boetsch's standup attack, but no more. Boetsch by ref stoppage in round two.
Robert Emerson (Pictures) vs. Keita Nakamura (Pictures)
Sloan: Emerson had lost four in a row, then won two straight, dropped another two and then went on a four-fight winning streak. If you include his stint on TUF 5, he has dropped two more. Since those don't officially count and it seeming as though he's been on a winning streak (no contests don't really count either), he's ready to be beaten. Nakamura will rear-naked choke Emerson late in the first.
Curtis: Each time he's stepped in the ring with quality competition -- Drew Fickett (Pictures), for example -- Nakamura (14-2) folds like a lawn chair. Normally I'd bet against him in a heartbeat. Enter Rob Emerson. Nakamura by rear-naked in the second.
GSD Career Totals:
Fridley: 5-0
Sloan: 18-13
Savage: 8-11
Sherwood: 0-1
Gross (ret): 0-1
Curtis: 0-2
De Santis: 0-3
Sloan: Man, talk about a sleeper in the making! And I'm not talking a surprise fight-of-the-night sleeper either. I'm talking the kind of fight that puts viewers to sleep. Both are stellar fighters but not exactly clones of Nick Diaz (Pictures). Marquardt by decision.
Curtis: I'm actually going to skip this one in favor of a repeat of the Time Life "Flower Power" infomercial starring the cadaverous Peter Fonda. Both of these guys have had great careers, and you have to respect the fact that they (almost) always show up to fight, even if their styles are boring. But in light of Horn's recent performances -- which, to put it mildly, have been below par -- I give the edge to Nate by decision.
Ricardo Almeida (Pictures) vs. Rob Yundt (Pictures)
Sloan: Alan Belcher (Pictures) had to withdraw right before the event; no wonder he didn't return my calls for an interview. Nevertheless, Rob Yundt (Pictures) has filled in. His Alaskan Fighting experience won't suffice, though. The former "Big Dog" will armbar him in the first.
Curtis: They ought to call this one the "Battle of the Ring Rust." Almeida has been away for four years, and Yundt has fought about four minutes in the past year and a half. I don't think that is going to faze Ricardo, however. He's going to win but not as quickly as my friend Sloan thinks. Armbar in round two.
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Sloan: Griffin is slowly creeping toward a title shot, but considering how many great fighters are in the lightweight class, it'll take some time. Too bad for Tibau that he's just a bump in the road for "I'm Not Mike" Tyson. Griffin will stop him late in the second.
Curtis: Not so fast, Mike. Gleison has been on a nice run lately courtesy of his work with American Top Team. It's been a while since he's been knocked out, and his defense has improved since then. He's never been submitted before, and it won't happen Saturday. This one is going to the cards, and Gleison's record is an impressive 6-1 when that happens. Look for a "lucky 7" decision win for Tibau.
Chris Lytle (Pictures) vs. Kyle Bradley (Pictures)
Sloan: People always say that Lytle is a great boxer, but he beat Reggie Strickland and Verdell Smith (a combined 337 losses), so he is discredited. Bradley did beat a guy named Bone, though. What does that equate to? I haven't a clue. Lytle by guillotine sometime in the second.
Curtis: The popular Lytle needs to get a win, and Kyle Bradley (Pictures) is just what the doctor ordered. Sure, Bradley is on a win streak, but on second-tier cards. He's going to get a nice "welcome to the UFC" rear-naked choke from Lytle in the second.
Marvin Eastman (Pictures) vs. Terry Martin (Pictures)
Sloan: Martin is a bit too strong for Eastman, and Marvin tends to not show up at 100 percent in his big fights. Martin by KO in the second.
Curtis: I think the "Beastman" bounced back very nicely from his loss to "Rampage" and realizes that he might not get another shot in the UFC if he loses Saturday. I give him the edge in conditioning, too. I'm expecting him to respect Martin's punching power and be cautious in the early going. I don't think he'll chase the knockout but instead will win by decision.
David Heath (Pictures) vs. Tim Boetsch (Pictures)
Sloan: Everybody felt sorry for Heath after "Babalu" held the choke for far too long, and now everybody is rooting for him. Too bad Boetsch, who resembles the main character in the game "Bully," will spoil the Cinderella story. Boetsch by second-round stoppage.
Curtis: Yeah, "Babalu" showed no class that night, but Heath basically distinguished himself by taking a huge beating. That will allow him to survive at least one round of Boetsch's standup attack, but no more. Boetsch by ref stoppage in round two.
Robert Emerson (Pictures) vs. Keita Nakamura (Pictures)
Sloan: Emerson had lost four in a row, then won two straight, dropped another two and then went on a four-fight winning streak. If you include his stint on TUF 5, he has dropped two more. Since those don't officially count and it seeming as though he's been on a winning streak (no contests don't really count either), he's ready to be beaten. Nakamura will rear-naked choke Emerson late in the first.
Curtis: Each time he's stepped in the ring with quality competition -- Drew Fickett (Pictures), for example -- Nakamura (14-2) folds like a lawn chair. Normally I'd bet against him in a heartbeat. Enter Rob Emerson. Nakamura by rear-naked in the second.
GSD Career Totals:
Fridley: 5-0
Sloan: 18-13
Savage: 8-11
Sherwood: 0-1
Gross (ret): 0-1
Curtis: 0-2
De Santis: 0-3
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