Preview: “Cro Cop” Eyes Gonzaga
More UFC 70
Apr 21, 2007
The main card also includes a potentially brutal slugfest between
Assuerio Silva
(Pictures) and Cheick Kongo (Pictures). I'm really looking forward to
this one and if it goes more than four minutes I'll be
disappointed. Silva can be unnecessarily flashy at times, throwing
wheel kicks and fashioning his hands as if some kind of energy was
coming out of them. That's dangerous stuff when the guy of the
other side of the cage is just concerned with hitting you.
Kongo, known as "The French Sensation," has studied kendo, karate, kickboxing and Muay Thai in addition to Greco-Roman Wrestling. He won the 2005 King of the Rings world championship, has a free-fight record of 29-2 (28 KO) and a Muay Thai record of 18-1 (18 KO).
It is safe to say Cheick wants to keep this on the feet, and if the
horrific display of combat witnessed last October against an
undersized heavyweight Carmelo Marrero (Pictures) was any indication of his level
of skill on the ground, Kongo is not long for the UFC.
Silva is a Muay Thai fighter and prefers to stand, but he holds a rank of brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The former Chute Boxe fighter joined Wanderlei and the boys early in his career and has jumped from camp to camp in recent years.
In this his third bout in the Octagon he'll face an opponent with a glaring weakness (an inferior ground game) yet is still considered a force in the division. Staying on the feet seems like the natural route to victory for the Muay Thai devotee, but a trip to the canvas may provide a showcase for his own jiu-jitsu skills and leave those in attendance and around the world more impressed.
One-dimensional fighters usually get exposed. Kongo's camp has to feel that's what happened last October and likely has taken steps to address it. Even so, it has only been six months and Silva submitted jiu-jitsu strongman Fabiano Scherner (Pictures) a few years back. I like Silva's chances on the feet but he'll likely wind up forcing the Frenchman to the mat to see where his head is at and finish him there.
The next "international incident" on the main draw features The Ultimate Fighter 3 light heavyweight contract winner Michael Bisping (Pictures) against Australia's Elvis Sinosic (Pictures).
"The Count" Bisping was Cage Warriors and Cage Rage British champion as well as a British super heavyweight kickboxing champion. He remains undefeated in the sport and carries a 12-0 record (2-0 in the UFC) to the cage in his homeland Saturday night.
Bisping has looked impressive (stopping both UFC opponents with strikes in less than two rounds) and continues his climb towards divisional gold.
On the other hand, Elvis runs into roadblock after roadblock on his path to glory. He should be given some credit for even continuing to fight when some athletes would've hung up the gloves. "The King" doesn't want anyone's sympathy mind you. He knows his role in the sport.
Sinosic is usually inserted as fodder for someone needing a credible name to add to his record. Sometimes he is the proverbial steppingstone. Sometimes he plays spoiler.
He had Forrest Griffin (Pictures) in a heap of trouble early in their 2005 scrap. Griffin righted the ship and put the man from the land down under on the canvas in the opening round, but his efforts did not go unnoticed.
Sinosic shocked the world submitting MMA iron man Jeremy Horn (Pictures) in Elvis's UFC debut. He made it look easy. He went the distance with Frank Shamrock (Pictures) prior to his debut and moved on to face Evan Tanner (Pictures) and Tito Ortiz (Pictures), losing bloody first round stoppages to both.
"The King" has had no shortage of tough, top-level opposition. Since his last trip inside the Octagon, a bloody three-round affair with Sakara, he is 2-0 with both wins coming via first round armbars.
The Australian grappler is a Machado jiu-jitsu black belt, a Tae Kwon Do black belt, a KaiShin black belt and a Bulldog Muay Thai kickboxing practitioner. He was a Pan Pacific jiu-jitsu champion, a three-time Australian jiu-jitsu champion and the Australian heavyweight Vale Tudo champion. Elvis even submitted a common opponent, Mark Epstein (Pictures), faster than Bisping could knock him out.
All the pressure is on Bisping.
He's the one who is undefeated. No one will bat an eye if Elvis loses but if "The King" can dethrone "The Count" we'll really have a story on our hands. The trouble is that Bisping likes to pound people and that is usually where Elvis gets opened up causing an end to the contest. With Bisping's solid (but not superior) jiu-jitsu skills, he should be able to hold off Sinosic's submission attempts long enough to cut him.
The final main card bout pits Ryoto Machida (Pictures) against late replacement David Heath (Pictures). "Lyoto" is a BJJ student under Alexi Cruz (a student of De la Riva) and has trained with Rico Chiaparelli and with Ricardo Liborio (Pictures).
Machida is undefeated at 9-0 and has a bit of a cult following given his string of wins over impressive competition. The list includes stoppages of Stephan Bonnar (Pictures) and Rich Franklin (Pictures) and a decision win over a beefed-up B.J. Penn (Pictures).
Machida has displayed good ground skills in all of his fights. He has good takedowns and can keep his opponent on the mat in a submissive position until a mistake is made.
His stand-up striking, as it translates to MMA, is proficient for a traditional stylist and he will occasionally pepper more risky techniques into his fight game.
David Heath (Pictures) trains with Clayton Marrs and Tom Jones as part of the Absolute Combat Alliance (ACA), which operates out of Lion's Den fighter Mikey Burnett's gym in Tulsa, Okla.
Though he's broken his hand four times, Heath is a striker and prefers to stand and trade with his opponents. He is the current Freestyle Cage Fighting light heavyweight champion and this could be a huge opportunity for him as he is also undefeated but doesn't sport the same pedigree as the highly touted "Lyoto."
This is not a stat-padding fight for either fighter and both have shown the ability to finish a fight anywhere.
Though he has not shown the explosiveness of his style against top competition in some time, this is Machida's second trip inside the UFC and on the main card, so he should look at this as a statement fight.
The same holds true for Heath. In fact he has even more to gain by knocking off the mysterious karate fighter who no one seems to be able to finish.
A quick and decisive victory puts Heath on the short list of opponents for Rashad Evans (Pictures) or Keith Jardine (Pictures). I have not seen Heath fight so I don't know what prompted the split decision victory, but I've seen enough of Machida to know he can turn it on and can cause fits to opponents with his odd stance and fighting style. I give the edge to "Lyoto" and this one should not go the distance.
Kongo, known as "The French Sensation," has studied kendo, karate, kickboxing and Muay Thai in addition to Greco-Roman Wrestling. He won the 2005 King of the Rings world championship, has a free-fight record of 29-2 (28 KO) and a Muay Thai record of 18-1 (18 KO).
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Silva is a Muay Thai fighter and prefers to stand, but he holds a rank of brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The former Chute Boxe fighter joined Wanderlei and the boys early in his career and has jumped from camp to camp in recent years.
For an athlete that came into the Octagon with a head of steam
professing he would be champion, his UFC career thus far has been
forgettable. He could hardly get near big Tim Sylvia (Pictures) in his debut and was quickly
discarded by "The Truth" in Brandon Vera (Pictures)'s undefeated campaign.
In this his third bout in the Octagon he'll face an opponent with a glaring weakness (an inferior ground game) yet is still considered a force in the division. Staying on the feet seems like the natural route to victory for the Muay Thai devotee, but a trip to the canvas may provide a showcase for his own jiu-jitsu skills and leave those in attendance and around the world more impressed.
One-dimensional fighters usually get exposed. Kongo's camp has to feel that's what happened last October and likely has taken steps to address it. Even so, it has only been six months and Silva submitted jiu-jitsu strongman Fabiano Scherner (Pictures) a few years back. I like Silva's chances on the feet but he'll likely wind up forcing the Frenchman to the mat to see where his head is at and finish him there.
The next "international incident" on the main draw features The Ultimate Fighter 3 light heavyweight contract winner Michael Bisping (Pictures) against Australia's Elvis Sinosic (Pictures).
"The Count" Bisping was Cage Warriors and Cage Rage British champion as well as a British super heavyweight kickboxing champion. He remains undefeated in the sport and carries a 12-0 record (2-0 in the UFC) to the cage in his homeland Saturday night.
Bisping has looked impressive (stopping both UFC opponents with strikes in less than two rounds) and continues his climb towards divisional gold.
On the other hand, Elvis runs into roadblock after roadblock on his path to glory. He should be given some credit for even continuing to fight when some athletes would've hung up the gloves. "The King" doesn't want anyone's sympathy mind you. He knows his role in the sport.
Sinosic is usually inserted as fodder for someone needing a credible name to add to his record. Sometimes he is the proverbial steppingstone. Sometimes he plays spoiler.
He had Forrest Griffin (Pictures) in a heap of trouble early in their 2005 scrap. Griffin righted the ship and put the man from the land down under on the canvas in the opening round, but his efforts did not go unnoticed.
Sinosic shocked the world submitting MMA iron man Jeremy Horn (Pictures) in Elvis's UFC debut. He made it look easy. He went the distance with Frank Shamrock (Pictures) prior to his debut and moved on to face Evan Tanner (Pictures) and Tito Ortiz (Pictures), losing bloody first round stoppages to both.
"The King" has had no shortage of tough, top-level opposition. Since his last trip inside the Octagon, a bloody three-round affair with Sakara, he is 2-0 with both wins coming via first round armbars.
The Australian grappler is a Machado jiu-jitsu black belt, a Tae Kwon Do black belt, a KaiShin black belt and a Bulldog Muay Thai kickboxing practitioner. He was a Pan Pacific jiu-jitsu champion, a three-time Australian jiu-jitsu champion and the Australian heavyweight Vale Tudo champion. Elvis even submitted a common opponent, Mark Epstein (Pictures), faster than Bisping could knock him out.
All the pressure is on Bisping.
He's the one who is undefeated. No one will bat an eye if Elvis loses but if "The King" can dethrone "The Count" we'll really have a story on our hands. The trouble is that Bisping likes to pound people and that is usually where Elvis gets opened up causing an end to the contest. With Bisping's solid (but not superior) jiu-jitsu skills, he should be able to hold off Sinosic's submission attempts long enough to cut him.
The final main card bout pits Ryoto Machida (Pictures) against late replacement David Heath (Pictures). "Lyoto" is a BJJ student under Alexi Cruz (a student of De la Riva) and has trained with Rico Chiaparelli and with Ricardo Liborio (Pictures).
Machida is undefeated at 9-0 and has a bit of a cult following given his string of wins over impressive competition. The list includes stoppages of Stephan Bonnar (Pictures) and Rich Franklin (Pictures) and a decision win over a beefed-up B.J. Penn (Pictures).
Machida has displayed good ground skills in all of his fights. He has good takedowns and can keep his opponent on the mat in a submissive position until a mistake is made.
His stand-up striking, as it translates to MMA, is proficient for a traditional stylist and he will occasionally pepper more risky techniques into his fight game.
David Heath (Pictures) trains with Clayton Marrs and Tom Jones as part of the Absolute Combat Alliance (ACA), which operates out of Lion's Den fighter Mikey Burnett's gym in Tulsa, Okla.
Though he's broken his hand four times, Heath is a striker and prefers to stand and trade with his opponents. He is the current Freestyle Cage Fighting light heavyweight champion and this could be a huge opportunity for him as he is also undefeated but doesn't sport the same pedigree as the highly touted "Lyoto."
This is not a stat-padding fight for either fighter and both have shown the ability to finish a fight anywhere.
Though he has not shown the explosiveness of his style against top competition in some time, this is Machida's second trip inside the UFC and on the main card, so he should look at this as a statement fight.
The same holds true for Heath. In fact he has even more to gain by knocking off the mysterious karate fighter who no one seems to be able to finish.
A quick and decisive victory puts Heath on the short list of opponents for Rashad Evans (Pictures) or Keith Jardine (Pictures). I have not seen Heath fight so I don't know what prompted the split decision victory, but I've seen enough of Machida to know he can turn it on and can cause fits to opponents with his odd stance and fighting style. I give the edge to "Lyoto" and this one should not go the distance.
