UFC 123: Machida vs Rampage

Tomorrow night, the fight I've been waiting for since May 8th finally goes down. Machida takes on Rampage to see who stays at the top of the 205 divivsion and who goes on a two-fight skid, legends BJ Penn and Matt Hughes go at it for a third time to see who walks away the winner of the Saga, and several prospects look to take the next step in their respective divisions.

For the Main Event, Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida takes on Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Machida is coming off a nasty, horrible, disgusting, hard-to-look-at KO at the hands of Shogun. Rampage was outwrestled by Rashad in a unanimous decisions. Both are excellent strikers, and this is a guaranteed stand-up affair but I'm gonna say it already. Machida has this one in the bag. Rampage has become a one-dimensional fighter who's only threats are his heavy hands. He can KO pretty much anyone who stands and bangs with him but his style is practically taylor-made for Machida to showcase his skills. Machida's coming off a knock out loss, but it was given to him by a fighter much more diverse in his striking than Rampage. It was Shogun's speed and accuracy, coupled with his ability to cut off Machida with kicks when he was circling, that led to the KO, and aside from maybe accuracy, those are skills that Rampage does not possess. Rampage's only chance of winning is catching Machida with a haymaker, but without the fear of being taken down or even kicked, Machida is just going to be evasive, frustrate Rampage and outpoint him to a decision, with maybe a couple of sweeps when Rampage isn't expecting it. All this is of course coming from a huge Machida fan. We'll see.

For the Co-Main Event, BJ Penn takes on Matt Hughes for the rubber match. BJ Penn is coming off 2 losses to a smaller, faster guy than him. Hughes is on a 3-fight win streak over decorated Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners. The fight is going to come down to whether Hughes can take Penn down and if he can defend Penn's submission attempts once there. Penn has completely dominated both fights with his great take down defense and the advantage in the boxing department, though he gassed at the end of the 2nd round in the 2nd fight, which led to Hughes coming out victorious. Hughes seems to be getting better, but I see it going the same way the first 2 did, with Penn outboxing Hughes while defending the takedown and hopefully this time time he doesn't fade halfway through the fight or finishes it before then.

The rest of the card is stacked. George Sotiropolous takes on Joe Lauzon. Both have a killer ground game, but Sotiropolous' advantage in the stand up wins him this fight. Phil Davis takes on Tim Boetsch. Boetsch is a tough fighter, but Davis is a fast-rising star and Boetsch is just another stepping stone. Davis takes it by complete wrestling domination and possible submission. Miquel Falcao faces Gerald Harris. Harris is supposed to be the next big thing because of his slam KO, but I'm not impressed. He's lost to a welterweight in Amir Sodollah, and with Falcao's 23 of 25 victories coming by way of KO/TKO, I hope he takes it. The card is filled with crazy awesome match ups. Hopefully Machida wins me some money.

Mario Ramos

Tonight, El Paso's Mario Ramos will be fighting in G-Force promotion's Bad Blood 4, which takes place in Miami, FL and will air on MTVtres. G-Force has been the launchpad for fighters such as this Ultimate Fighter's seaon's Michael 'Bruce Leroy' Caceres and favorite to win it, Jonathan Brookins. Ramos is currently undefeated and looking to stay that way. His hands and the confidence he has in them is what has gotten him to where he's at, so expect a KO if things go his way. We wish him the best of luck!

UFC 122: Marquadt/Okami

Tomorrow night, we get treated to a free UFC event on Spike. Though aside from the main event, where Nate Marquadt and Yushin Okami fight for a shot at the Middleweight belt, all the other fights are irrelevant in their division, they are all match ups designed to be exciting with the casual fan in mind. There really aren't any big names on the card and the fighters seem to have been chosen to appeal to the home crowd (Germany), but with it being free and us being a week away from Machida/Rampage, there's really nothing to complain about.

For the Main Event, it's Nate "The Great" Marquadt vs Yushin Okami. Both fighters are very well-rounded and very evenly matched, with their only recent loss coming to Sonnen's wrestling. Marquadt is very well versed in all aspects of the game. It's his flashy, explosive striking that has gotten him to where he's at and the key to winning tomorrow's fight, but he's got decent wrestling and a solid ground game to go along it, though the Sonnen fight showed he doesn't pose much of a threat on his back. Okami has pretty good striking, nothing flashy or powerful but effective, but it's his size advantage and grappling skills that give him his best chance at winning. Though each has the skillset to win and neither has the clear cut advantage, I see Marquadt being able to outstrike Okami and getting up when he gets taken down.

For the Co-Main Event, it's a battle of the B-level sluggers as Jorge Rivera takes on Alessio Sakara. Both are on a winning streak and though they're more than likely never going to make it to the top of the heap, they're exciting way of fighting got them their spot on the card. It might mean nothing for the rest of the division, but the fight is guaranteed fireworks. It's another evenly matched fight, but I'm going Rivera, mostly cause it was Sakara that had the world thinking that "Houston Alexander is for real!"

The rest of the card is filled with irrelevant fighters who put on exciting fights and Germans. Andre Winner vs Dennis Siver is battle of the fast hands vs spinning back kicks. With rumors of Siver possibly taking the fight to the mat, I say Winner takes it by Siver's lack of confidence in his stand up. Amir Sadollah takes on Peter Sobotta. Sobotta's on a losing streak and it's do or die, and it's more than likely die. Sodollah takes this by way of Muy Thai clinic. Reljic/Soszynski is another fight between sluggers but in the end, I think Soszynski goes back to his chimora winning ways. This card has nothing that'll shake up the rankings, but all are potential fight of the night. Check it out.

The RIver City MMA Battle Aftermath

This past Saturday, we were able to go down to San Antonio to check out a pretty big event and aside from a good night of fights, we also got to see some prospects in their respective divisions. Jose Cabral was one of them. Cabral came out, made his way to the center of the cage, and with his very first punch, made his opponent go stiff. He scored the fastest recorded KO in MMA history with his total fight time being 4 seconds, showing he's got the power to end his opponent's night with a single punch.

Another young up-and-comer fighter who impressed was Luis Anselmo Luna. Luna has fought in El Paso before where he scored a win over Adrian Gamboa in a TUFF Fighting event as an amateur. As a professional, he's had several fights in one of the bigger Texas-based promotions, Shark Fights. With a record of only 4-2, he took on a much more experienced fighter in James King who owned a record of 14-10. Though King has had more than 20 professional fights, Luna came out and showcased his skills in every aspect of the game. King did an excellent job at surviving, but the fight was more of a showcase of Luna's skills. In the fight, he used strong leg kicks and was very accurate and effective with his punches. He also controlled his opponent and the clinch, got several takedowns, and once on the ground, was all over King, going from side control to mount to taking his back. Overall, it was a very impressive performance by Luna. Hopefully we get to see him fight in El Paso in the near future.

In the main event, Darrill Schoonover had a hard fought fight against Richard Odoms. Schoonover controlled the fight early on. He took Odoms down with his Judo trips and where he eventually took his back. Once there, he worked on getting the choke but Odoms was able to get up and slam Schoonover awkwardly on his shoulder. From there, Odoms took control of the fight. He pressed Schoonover up against the fence, was able to take down a couple of times and at one point, worked the Muy Thai clinch. Darrill never gave up but ended up losing a decision. Odoms continues to be undefeated and has 3 huge wins to his name.

The rest of the night was filled with very competitive and exciting fights. Here are the results.

Richard Odoms defeats Darrill Schoonover via Unanimous Decision

Luis Anselmo Luna defeats James King via Unanimous decision

Jose Cabral defeats Dimitre Ivy via KO at :04 of the 1st round

Alfredo Ortegon defeats Chris Kuntschik via TKO at :43 of the 1st round

Jay Peche defeats Robert Cain via Submission at 2:50 of the 1st round

Grand Slam defeats Austin O' Riley via Unanimous decision

Gabriel Guerrero defeats Pedro Ruiz via TKO at 2:35 of the 2nd round

Joe Martinez III defeats Luke Marshal via Submission at 2:01 of the 1st round

Leonard Jones defeats Kyle Simpson via TKO at :44 of the 1st round

Gilbert Gimenez defeats Warren Stewart via Unanimous Decision

Joseph Hinojosa defeats Durwyn Lamb via TKO at 2:48 of the 2nd round

John Hester defeats Johnny Dominguez via Submission at 2:44 of the 2nd round

In the Clinch w/ Mike "The Storm" Chupa

Darrill Schoonover & Richard Odoms post-fight interviews

Our very own El Paso Fighter Darrill Schoonover fell a little short this past Saturday with a Unanimous Decision loss to Richard Odoms. Darrill did get some sort of shoulder injury during the fight. We will have more details soon about Darrill's injury and hopefully is nothing to serious. We wish Darrill the best. Also congratulations to Richard Odoms.



Richard Odoms Wins by Decision (Unanimous Decision) After 3 Round(s)

Ruben Najera Scored the fight 29-28
Rafael Ramos Scored the fight 30-27
Glen Crocker Scored the fight 30-27

In the Clinch w/ Schoonover & Odoms

River City MMA Battle Teaser

Kickass Productions presents The River City MMA battle

The River City MMA Battle Fight Card (All dates and information subject to change and TDLR approval.)

Main Event

Darrill Schoonover vs Richard Odoms (heavyweight bout)

Joe Martin III vs Luke Marshall
Leonard Jones vs Kyle Simpson
James Duece vs Luis Luna
Jay Peche vs Robert Cain
Jose Cabral vs Dimitre Ivy
Micah Franks vs Austin O' Reily
Durwyn Lamb vs Joseph Hinojosa
Chris Kuntschik vs Alfred Ortegon
John Hester vs Johnny Dominguez
Gabriel Guerrero vs Pete Ruiz
Gilbert Jimenez vs Warren Stewart

Weigh ins were today in San Antonio, TX. Footage of the weigh ins and pre-fight interviews with both Main Event fighters will be posted by tomorrow morning.

The River City MMA Battle takes place Nov. 6 at 7:30 pm in the Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio, TX. The card contains a total of 12 professional fights. Tickets start at $10 and are now available through Ticketmaster. The fight will also be available online through PayPerLive on extremeTVnetwork.com. For complete details and information, visit www.kickassfighting.com.

Richard "The Black Eagle" Odoms: Out to knock out EP's Darrill Schoonover

Don't be fooled by Richard Odoms record. Though only 2-0 in MMA, Odoms went undefeated in his professional boxing career with majority of his wins coming by KO. With MMA growing exponentially, and boxing becoming a combat sport of the past, Odoms decided to try his hand at cage fighting. In his MMA debut, Odoms got a knock out win over Lucas Gomez at :59 of the second round, proving his hands are just as effective in the cage as they were in the ring. Not scared of taking a big leap in competition, he signed his second fight in the very prominent Bellator Fighting Championships promotion. With a top 10 lightweight on their roster, it's FOX TV deal, and huge following, Bellator Fighting Championships is currently the 4th biggest MMA promotion right now, beat only by the UFC, Strikeforce, and DREAM. Though Odoms didn't get another flashy KO, he did get himself a decision win in a big promotion. With his MMA career gaining momentum, and Odoms not wanting to take a step back down in competition, he now takes on El Paso's own Darrill Schoonover, who at 10-2, owns more belts than Odoms does fights. With 2 heavyweights who like to throw hands, this fight is bound to be an exciting, though probably short, one.

The River City MMA Battle takes place Nov. 6 at 7:30 pm in the Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio, TX. The card contains a total of 12 professional fights. Tickets start at $10 and are available now through Ticketmaster. If you're unable to make the drive down to San Antonio, the fight will also be available online through PayPerLive on extremeTVnetwork.com. For complete details and information, go to kickassfighting.com.

Finally, UFC/WEC merger: Awesome match ups to be had, lots of questions to be answered

Last week, Dana White went on MMA junkie radio with a big announcement, that the UFC was going to add both feather and bantam weights and absorb all of the WEC fighters for their line up. Zuffa has owned both the UFC and the WEC for a while now, but with the rise of Jose Aldo and the WEC close to out of challenges for him, and the constant talk of how the WEC lightweights measure up against their UFC counterparts, the move was inevitable. Since then, a title unification bout has been announced between the winner of Ben Henderson vs Anthony Pettis for the WEC lightweight belt and the winner of Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard for the UFC lightweight belt. With no UFC counterpart, Jose Aldo goes from being the WEC featherweight champ to being the UFC featherweight champ and is set to defend his newly named title against Josh Grispi. The Bantamweight division will probably go unaffected by this, aside from maybe bigger paychecks, but an Ultimate Fighter for these smaller fighters is bound to happen, which'll end up adding more talented fighters to both divisions. The merger will allow smaller UFC lightweight fighters who normally wouldn't have gone down in weight to do it without the paycut, which'll make the 145-division a lot more interesting and give Jose Aldo some better competition with which to show off his skills. With Frankie Edgar being a small lightweight, an Aldo/Edgar match up is the fight to be had. If Edgar can get past Maynard and the winner of Henderson/Pettis, a fight and possible win over Aldo could make him the greatest UFC fighter ever, since nobody else has ever held belts in 2 divisions at the same time. If he doesn't get past Maynard, he can finally go down and fight guys his size. With his fast hands, awesome head movement and foot work, effective leg kicks and sweeps, and strong wrestling, Frankie Edgar is my pick to throw Aldo off his pedestal. He was 'The Answer' to BJ Penn's riddle, and I think he has what it takes to decipher Aldo's as well. All in all, the merger's looking to be pretty exciting.