Unfortunately, I will not have live play by play of UFC 74 this weekend. I’ll be out of town and not watching it until Sunday evening. I’m going to avoid anyone who looks like a UFC fan on Saturday night and just hope that I’m successful so I don’t find out the outcome between Randy Couture and Gilbert Gonzaga.

News and notes from around the MMA world …

- Jens Pulver is out of next week’s WEC show.

- Tim Sylvia vs. Brandon Vera is now official for UFC 77, underneath the rematch between Rich Franklin and Anderson Silva.

- Sam Caplan asks, “What’s next for Wanderlei Silva?”

- Randy Couture is confident.

- Todd Martin looks at Randy the underdog.

- Mark Kerr is suspended indefinitely.

- Dana White answers questions for Yahoo! Sports.

- Josh Koscheck doesn’t mind being the bad guy.

Talking Points

Randy Couture thinks that his conditioning and big fight experience will bring him victory in his heavyweight title defense against challenger Gabriel Gonzaga. And at this point, how can you question the man? He made his name as an underdog in this sport. When Vitor Belfort was the new, big thing in the UFC early on in the sport, Randy upset him. When Dana White needed someone to put in the ring with Chuck Liddell to determine the light heavyweight championship, Randy Couture was put in the spot. And he won again. And just earlier this year, going back up in weight, he came out of retirement at 43 years old to beat Tim Sylvia in the single most inspirational fight I’ve ever watched. Can you bet against Randy Couture?

Gabriel Gonzaga knocked Mirko Cro Cop out with his own signature head kick. Gabriel Gonzaga is a Brazilian jiu jitsu specialist. So not only does he have a good stand-up game, but his ground game is excellent as well. Randy won’t simply be able to put him on his back and ground and pound him. He’s a more well rounded fighter then Tim Sylvia. My heart says that Randy takes him the distance and wins another decision. My head says that Gonzaga probably beats him within the first three rounds. We’ll see come this Saturday.

As for the other big fight, Josh Koscheck is trying to continue to make a name. After beating Diego Sanchez in an unconvincing fashion, he is going to have to beat maybe the most well rounded fighter in the welterweight division in Georges St. Pierre. St. Pierre is coming off a shocking loss to Matt Serra which he has attributed to personal problems. I think Koscheck’s talent and athletic ability takes him far in this fight, but St. Pierre is simply too skilled. Let’s remember that Koscheck is still a young fighter as far as experience is concerned. And with his ability, at his peak, he can probably become one of the best in the game. But I don’t think his time is now. I see St. Pierre controlling the stand-up game and doing a good job neglecting Koscheck’s wrestling and winning a unanimous decision.

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Thanks for reading,

Garrett M. Gonzales
MMAHelpWeb.com

Labels: Brandon Vera, Dana White, Gabriel Gonzaga, Jens Pulver, Josh Koscheck, Mark Kerr, Mirko Cro Cop, Randy Couture, Tim Sylvia, UFC 74, Wanderlei Silva

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