UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun, Don’t Call it a Preview
__________________________________________________________________________With one of the biggest main event fights of the year on tap for this Saturday in Los Angeles, UFC 104 will feature a showdown between a red hot Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and arguable pound-for-pound king Loyoto Machida for Machida’s Light Heavyweight Championship. This will be a great card for fight fans, however the limited English speaking skills of the main event participants, who are both from Brazil, should curb the buyrate potential for an otherwise solid card.
Loyota Machida and Shogun Rua will headline UFC 104.
A big time fight between two guys who have no problem speaking English with one another will feature an intriguing heavyweight matchup between surging undefeated heavyweight Cain Velasquez and IFL standout Ben Rothwell, who will be making his debut in ‘the big leagues’ of The Ultimate Fighting Championship.
YOUR UFC 104 MAIN CARD PREDICTIONS
Gleison Tibau over Josh Neer (Catchweight 157 lb). This should be a very competitive fight between two fighters looking to establish some momentum as each have struggled somewhat in their last five fights. I’m giving the edge to Tibau, whose Brazilian Jui-Jitzu background should create problems for Josh Neer whose strengths are in wrestling and striking ability. I also love the fact that Tibau’s middle name is Herculano, giving him the check mark in the intimidation category.
Yoshiyuki Yoshida over Anthony Johnson. Here’s a kill stat if I ever heard one: Anthony Johnson has ONLY fought American fighters since his UFC debut back in 2006. Yoshida is a 4th degree black belt in Judo, and his experience and style should present challenges not seen by Johnson in previous fights. Anthony Johnson has impressed in recent fights, winning 3 of his last 4, but Yoshida should have more than enough tools to capture the victory.
Spencer Fisher over Joe Stevenson. Joe has been sputtering out of control ever since his bloody demise at the hands of B.J. Penn. He just hasn’t looked like the same fighter who lost just once in 14 bouts en route to his infamous battle with Penn at UFC 80 that served as a smoking gun for the naysayers as to why MMA probably shouldn’t be on network television (I swear I could still see those blood stains at least 3 fights after). Spencer Fisher is a very well-versed fighter who I expect to challenge for The Lightweight title once he finds a happy medium for his multi-faceted attack. Joe Daddy is just a stepping stone.
Cain Velasquez over Ben Rothwell. I expect this fight to win fight of the night honors as a rare heavyweight fight that will likely go to a decision. I am very interested to see how Ben Rothwell adapts to the octagon after spending much of his MMA career in a ring during his stint in The IFL, a switch that proved to be a challenging adaptation for many PRIDE Fighters who came to The UFC.
Rothwell will be walking into this fight with a big chip on his shoulder and something to prove, but Cain Velasquez is a man on a mission to be next in line for a shot at the heavyweight championship. Velasquez will quickly find Ben Rothwell’s takedown defense far superior than that of, say a Cheick Congo, however I look for Velasquez to pull out a close win.
Loyota Machida over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Dana White attended the (forced) interview session ESPN always seems to wait til the 11th hour to conduct when it comes to a fight of this caliber, where the matchup will not be as intriguing to the mainstream media as it will be to fight fans. The reason White attended this diplomatic interview session, outside of acting as a makeshift translator, was to indirectly assert his intentions of seeing a knock down drag out brawl between Shogun and Machida. Despite both fighters being masters in Jui-Jitzu, White was adamant (what isn’t he adamant about) about the fact that there was going to be no Jui-Jitzu but rather an entertaining slugfest. God bless him.
I agree with Dana as I do not expect this fight to go past the third round. While Shogun looked impressive coming off of his TKO victory over Chuck Liddell, I am skeptical of his chances against a much better fighter in his prime. Shogun will be Machida’s biggest challenge since getting out of a triangle in the waning moments of his fight against Tito. But I like Machida to roll in his quest to Anderson Silva the shit out of the Lightheavyweight division.
REST OF THE CARD
Eric Schafer over Ryan Bader
Antoni Hardonk over Patrick Barry
Yushin Okami over Chael Sonnen
Ron Kimmons over Jorge Rivera
Kyle Kingsbury over Razak Al-Hassan
Stefan Struve over Chase Gormley
YOUR AWARD PREDICTIONS
Fight of the Night: Cain Velasquez vs. Ben Rothwell
Submission of the Night: Gleison Tibau vs. Josh Neer
Knockout of the Night: Mauricio Rua vs. Loyoto Machida
BUYRATE PREDICTION
A very good card in a big time venue with a handful of fights sure to be entertaining, however with no mainstream stars on the card and limitations in the English language preventing the main event fighters to maximize the build-up potential, I see the buyrate for this fight to be around 455K.
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Tags: Ben Rothwell Cage Potato, Cain Velasquez vs. Ben Rothwell, UFC 104 preview, UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun, UFC in the Staples Center
