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UFC 68 – Quick Analysis

By Stephan | March 1, 2007

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By Stephan Marceau

Well UFC 68 is upon us and along comes my “fan” review, I have a busy work scedule this week so that I can leave Friday morning, as I will actually be attending UFC 68 (it is not too far from me). So this is a quick analysis, pretty much from the top of my head. So, I am looking forward to the event, but I am not actually too thrilled about the actual fight card. I have been calling this card the “Redneck showdown” for awhile now. Ok, there are two darker guys on the undercard but thats it and not much international representation: Babalu (Brazil), Jason MacDonald (Canada). This is especially evident after the varied iternational card we had last week with Pride where we had fighters from Russia, Holland, Japan, Brazil, Norway…etc (no I dont want to start a UFC vs Pride debate).

In the interest of time, here is my take on the bouts that interest me the most:

Rex “Big Dog” Holman vs Matt “The Hammer” Hamill

I dont know much about Rex Holman, except that he is also an NCAA wrestling sensation (as Matt Hamill also is). This is also the battle of the local boys. Holman went to Ohio State and hails from Columbus, while Matt is from Cincinnati. This could be an interesting matchup. We know Matt does not seem to have the strongest chin and tends to swing wildly, so if Rex is any good standing up, he may want to exploit that against Matt. This is one is a pick-em fight I think, with maybe a slight edge to Hamill for being familiar with him.

Renato “Babalu” Sobral vs Jason “The Punisher” Lambert

Although Babalu screwed up last summer by chasing Chuck, I really like this fighter. Well rounded and especially dangerous on the ground. Jason Lambert may have a lot of experience, but frankly he has not faced the same level of opponents that Babalu has. This is probably a must win for both fighters. Lambert lost recently to Rashad. In the end, this should be a good fight, with Babalu getting a fairly easy win.

Rich “Ace” Franklin vs Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald

As much as I like Jason for saying “I’m not anybody’s stepping stone” and actually upsetting two favorites (Ed Herman and Chris Leben). His string of upsets should come to an abrupt end here, probably not as bad to what happened to Nate Quarry, but I dont give him much of a chance. What I see most likely to happen is that Jason will get tripped to the ground where he will try to submit Rich with some BJJ, but Rich will show why he is such a great GNPer. Rich by GNP.

Matt Hughes vs Chris “Lights Out” Lytle

Make no mistake, Matt Hughes will be totally prepared this time, Matt has conceded that he really didnt have a game plan against GSP, he also admitted that his gloves are not his forte. Look for a return to a strong performance, and probably a return to his slams and a win by solid GNP once on top. Lytle also conceded that he has been having a hard time getting up for this fight after losing in the TUF finale against Lutter (correction Serra!). He actually has a chance if he can keep it standing up, after all he is not called “Lights out” for nothing. If you want to pick an upset, this could be it (anything can happen as we’ve seen last weekend). In the end tho, Matt should take this one by GNP.

Main event

Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia vs Randy “the Natural” Couture

This is the main event, and I will be cheering for Randy big time, but I frankly dont think hes got much of a chance here. Randy had left the Heavyweight division because he was getting manhandled badly by Josh Barnett and Ricco Rodrigez, yes different times and different fighters. Tim, although not really showing it lately, has really good standup (hands and legs). He again will not be using the legs much as he doesnt want to give Randy something to grab on. The question will be whether Randy can take Tim down. Tim also has very good takedown defense. The other way that Randy may be able to take Tim down is from the clinch, but that means getting through Tims hands.

In the end I see Tim knocking Randy down, I dont like it as Randy will now be remembered for being chased out of the Heavyweight division twice, and out of the Light-Heavyweight division as well.

Topics: All Topics, MMA, Stephan Marceau | 12 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

12 Responses to “UFC 68 – Quick Analysis”

  1. Jordan Breen says:

    “Randy had left the Heavyweight division because he was getting manhandled badly by Josh Barnett and Ricco Rodrigez.”

    He won the first few rounds of the Ricco fight, and won the first round of the Barnett fight. But, okay.

  2. CapnHulk says:

    Didn’t Lytle lose to Serra at the TUF 4 finale?

  3. Jordan Breen says:

    “Ok, there are two darker guys on the undercard but thats it and not much international representation: Babalu (Brazil), Jason MacDonald (Canada).”

    Gleison Tibau is from Brazil as well, and Martin Kampmann is from Denmark.

    Also, why something like Holman/Hamill tickles your fancy blows me away.

  4. […] FightOpinion has a quick analysis of UFC 68 […]

  5. The Gaijin says:

    Jordan Breen Says:

    “He won the first few rounds of the Ricco fight, and won the first round of the Barnett fight. But, okay. ”

    You’re correct – but I think the thing with fighting at HW was that he was getting worn out by these guys that were so much bigger than him and as soon as they started pouring it on in the later rounds he was getting thrashed.

    IIRC he suffered at least one serious injury (shattered orbital against Ricco) in those two bouts.

  6. YngTurnage says:

    I don’t see a problem with the card. Calling it “The Redneck Showdown” is ridiculous. The UFC has always (even when under SEG long ago) travelled to different areas of the country and tried to use local fighters in shows. It strengthens the regional fan base for other shows not in that particular area. If you don’t like a particular card, then don’t watch it. The endless complaining about matchups and cards is pointless. A real fan could watch any 2 fighters fight and find something of value in it.

  7. Rollo the Cat says:

    Yeah, those fighters from Norway, Russia and Holand are really “dark”. Maybe we need some quality international fighters like Zuluzhino. Then you can pat yourself on the back and feel good about your rainbow UFC. I guess we need JohnMccain to get involved a second time and put a quota system in for MMA cards. Worry about the quality of the fighters more and less about what they look like.

  8. Stu says:

    A real fan could watch any 2 fighters fight and find something of value in it.

    I’m so sick and tired of this argument, you don’t have to like a bunch of shitty match ups (not specifically directed at this card) to be a fan.

  9. Royal B. says:

    Rollo:

    I’d rather watch internationals who built their reputation on high profile tournaments and bring that hunger inside the ring then the guy who thinks he earned that spot because he was almost high school regionals champ and he earned his wins with a couple medioche bombs with his sad sack boxing style. There’s more to fighting then watching a dude push down his opponent and smack him around on the head a couple times. If nobody can’t get beyond that, they deserve the ass kicking they get.

  10. FightDude says:

    Royal B, Here Here!!!

    FD

  11. Fan Futbol says:

    I usually buy UFC cards, but I probably won’t buy this one. I’m very curious to see Randy’s plan for beating Sylvia, but the other fights (three of which are mismatches) hold very little allure for me.

    Babalu will submit Lambert with little difficulty. Franklin’s weakness is his chin, and that won’t get tested by MacDonald. Franklin will win after hitting McDonald a lot. Hughes will either GNP Lytle into oblivion, or he’ll get upset, which will prove to me that his heart isn’t in the game anymore. None of those outcomes are terribly exciting.

    FF

  12. greg says:

    this card is bad and the next one flat out horrible! the ufc brags about being the best and gettin all the best fighters then how come there cards keep getting worse?

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