UFC 113 - Machida vs. Shogun 2

I took a break from the blog for a while because I was off getting married in Jamaica but now I’m back and, of course, I still hold a perfect record for picking main events since September of 2009 which ain’t too shabby. This main event could be the one that messes up my record.

Lyoto Machida vs. Muricio “Shogun” RuaSweet Jesus, it’s about time these guys had a fight. Neither of these guys have fought since they last met in October. That’s a LONG time for Lyoto to sit on the Light Heavyweight Title.
With my bitter rant out of the way, I’m going with Lyoto for this one.
I think Shogun won their last fight and only lost because of idiot judging. For example, Cecil Peoples giving it all to Machida because he doesn’t think that leg kicks can end a fight. Cecil should go back to boxing because leg kicks have ended TONS of fights in MMA and, of course, in Kickboxing.
I’m picking Machida because, in his last fight, he tasted his first ‘defeat’ but had the luck of it not being on his record and that definitely lit a fire under him.
For some reason I think that Rua may try to take Machida down this time. That would be a bad idea because Machda is great at countering his opponent’s movements and takedown attempts would just play to Machda's strengths more. Rua would have a better chance standing up but I still think that Machida is too slick to lose this fight.

Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson vs. Matt MitrioneKimbo is going to slice this guys head off. It's annoying that everyone, including Kimbo, talks about how new he is to the sport. He’s been training MMA for long enough; for at least 7 years, since I was in college. My trainer’s trainer Bas Rutten took Kimbo under his wing a LONG time ago as Kimbo’s internet stuff was getting really big. They had a falling out but Kimbo has been at it for a long time and should quit playing the ‘new guy in town’.
I’m picking Kimbo on this one because I think he’s explosive and has a lot of training under his belt. Matt Mitrione is certainly greener to the sport than Kimbo and I’m picking Kimbo via brain swelling.

Josh Koscheck vs. Paul “SEMTEX” DaleyIn an old Cage Rage event (I can't remember who "Semtex" was fighting) Daley's opponent was doing his pre-fight interview and, trying to be tough, said “Yeah, Semtex, more like Tampax” and I always think of that when I hear “semtex” because it sounded like an insult a 6-year-old would have said before a fight. It also made me laugh really hard when I heard it.
Daley is a rockstar with his hands and a very explosive and strong fighter but I think Koscheck will get him to the ground and smash his face in long enough to take away Daley’s strengths. I hope this fight will be more exciting than that, which a quick KO via Daley would be, but Koscheck will play this smart and work for takedowns and control throughout this fight to grind out a win.
Don't mind all of my funny pics, I couldn't pick just one.
My favourite is the painter.

Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout vs. Jeremy Stephens
I’ve known Sam since he had braces and he’s always been an impressive athlete so I’ve gotta go with him on this one and, like many of Stout's UFC appearences, this one has the makings for fight of the night. The UFC loves matching Stout up with punchers to showcase great kickboxing matches in the UFC ring and this one should be about the same.
With UFC being illegal in Ontario Stout grew up fighting in Montreal so he’s got a big home turf advantage to go along with his skill advantage and Stephens doesn’t stand a chance.