Archive for December, 2007

Dec 29 2007

UFC 79: Nemesis Live Results

Published by GG under Uncategorized

We’ll have the results as they happen tonight.

On our website poll, Georges St. Pierre was pegged to win at a 59%-41% margin.

1. Melvin Guillard vs. Rich Clementi

Guillard flipped off Clementi after getting inside the cage.

Guillard tried to land the big punches, while Clementi was using the inside leg kick. Clementi caught Guillard and took him down, getting his back, but Guillard got up and landed some big right hands. Guillard took him down but Clementi rolled over and got Guillard’s back and got him in a body triangle and then a rear naked choke and Guillard tapped. Clementi then gave him a DX crotch chop and Guillard tried to go after him.

Winner: Rich Clementi by way of first round submission.

2. Lyoto Machida vs. Sokoudjou

Machida controlled him on the ground for more than half the round. Sokoudjou did score with a few punches and got two takedowns, but Machida wins the round simply for controlling most of the round.

Machida dropped Sokoudjou with a straight left hand. Machida spent the rest of the round going for an arm triangle and finally got it and Sokoudjou tapped.

Winner: Lyoto Machida by way of second round submission.

3. Eddie Sanchez vs. Soa Palelei

Sanchez is landing more punches, but Palelei was able to out muscle him in the clinch. Sanchez landed a nice uppercut to end the round.

In the second, Palelei lands one big punch, but the rest of the round was simply Sanchez landing punches on Palelei’s face. Both guys are tired, but Palelei more so.

Sanchez continued to land punches and Palelei couldn’t do anything. The referee ended the fight as Sanchez threw an uppercut that moved Palelei’s nose about an inch north.

Winner: Eddie Sanchez by way of third round TKO.

4. Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva

The first round wasn’t as advertised, but close to it. Liddell was the one stalking Silva and Silva was the counterpuncher. They had a great trade for about 15 seconds up against the cage. Silva is taking a punch, in order to throw a punch, and so far, Liddell’s reach advantage is huge.

The second half of the second round might be the greatest striking battle I’ve ever seen. Liddell opened up Silva, but Silva withstood everything. Liddell buckled him twice and Silva kept coming. Near the end of the round, Liddell looked to have him, but got tired and went for the takedown. Simply awesome.

Liddell hit Silva with everything he had and Silva took it all. Silva was wobbly for most of the round, but he kept fighting back. Liddell tired himself out and used the last part of the round to stay away from Silva and even took him down at the end of the round. This was a great fight and was all it was cracked up to be.

Winner: Chuck Liddell by way of unanimous decision.

5. Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre

St. Pierre pretty much pulled a Matt Hughes on Matt Hughes. He took Hughes down and ground and pounded him until the end of the round. Easily, St. Pierre’s round.

St. Pierre outwrestled Hughes again. He took him down twice including one judo trip that lead to him being arm barred for the submission.

Winner: Georges St. Pierre by second round submission.

They’re going to show Manny Gamburyan vs. Nate Mohr from earlier in the night.

6. Manny Gamburyan vs. Nate Mohr

Gamburyan gets a takedown and puts Mohr in an ankle lock for the submission. That was quick and Mohr was in pain.

Winner: Manny Gamburyan by way of first round submission.

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Dec 28 2007

Rear Naked Ramblings – 12/28/07

Published by GG under Uncategorized

We have a poll on the home page. Vote on who you think will win the 12/29 rubber match between Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes. Click here to vote (it’s underneath the calendar).

News and notes from around the MMA world …

- Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and his manager are being sued by a Florida-based management and promotion company.

- Chuck Liddell says that he never considered retirement after his loss to Keith Jardine.

- ESPN.com has another story on Chuck’s chance for redemption.

- CBS Sportsline has their head to head preview up.

- Sam Caplan picks his year end award winners.

- GSP is confident, but not overconfident.

- Dave Meltzer looks at the top 10 matches of this weekend.

- UFC 79 is going to run head to head with the second half of the final game in the New England Patriots goal of a perfect regular season.

- The Yarennoka! card is set.

Talking Points

One of the two big UFC 79 matches is much easier to predict than the other. I simply think that Georges St. Pierre is too skilled and well rounded for Matt Hughes, and nothing that Hughes has done of late has shown me otherwise. Unless St. Pierre is lying to us, and he’s in fact not ready after a short training camp, he has the edge in nearly every facet of the game. He may even be a better wrestler, inside the cage, than Hughes is today. That one is hard to grasp, but it might be true. I see the fight lasting into the third round as Hughes tries to test St. Pierre and make him work a little harder than he did in their second fight, but I still see a similar result. I think St. Pierre will knock him out again, but this time in the third round.


The UFC 79 Preview

Whenever I have to predict a Chuck Liddell fight, I have a hard time because I’ve been such a fan of his. But even looking at this in an unbiased way, the signs point towards him winning. Wanderlei Silva has lost his last two fights as well, but in both cases, he lost them in devastating fashion. He didn’t just lose, he lost badly. He took major beatings in both of his last losses to Mirko Cro Cop and Dan Henderson. In both of Chuck’s losses, he didn’t really take much punishment. Even in his knockout loss to Rampage, it was a punch that hit him right on the button and he was out. It was quick, and only really one solid punch that landed. I simply think that Silva has a better chance to get knocked loopy than Liddell does. What I hope is that both guys come out throwing, rather trying to be safe and not get caught. This fight has been a dream fight in the past for a reason and that reason is because both guys can throw bombs. I think that Silva will score early, but that Liddell will survive it all and finish him off in the second round.

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Garrett M. Gonzales
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Dec 26 2007

Rear Naked Ramblings – 12/26/07

Published by GG under Uncategorized

We have a poll on the home page. Vote on who you think will win the 12/29 rubber match between Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes. Click here to vote (it’s underneath the calendar).

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his possible career change to MMA is one of the most talked about stories right now that doesn’t have to do with the major shows this weekend. We posted about it last weekend and Adam Swift goes pretty into it in depth as well.

Speaking of boxing (I know, it’s an MMA site), HBO is running a Boxing’s Best Of 2007 series featuring their top five fights of the year. It started last night and runs through Saturday. Here’s your tie in. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is featured in two bouts.

News and notes from around the MMA world …

- Todd Martin writes about the history of the making of the Wanderlei Silva vs. Chuck Liddell dream match.

- Dave Meltzer has a story on the legacy of Japanese MMA at the year’s end, as well as piece on the highest rated Japanese matches on New Year’s Eve. Lastly, he writes about part three of the Matt Hughes/Georges St. Pierre feud.

- One of the most highly anticipated fights from the Yarennoka show between JZ Calvan and Shin’ya Aoki is off.

- Sean Sherk and BJ Penn continue to trade barbs. Penn needs to build up his match with Joe “Daddy” Stevenson.

- Hughes’ autobiography is scheduled to come out next week.

Talking Points

It’s a pretty slow news day so we’ll end with this.

Matt Arroyo and Allen Berube are trying to get on The Amazing Race. Here’s their wacky video.

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Team UFC would definitely be something, as long as no one hits Arroyo in the ribs.

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Garrett M. Gonzales
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Dec 21 2007

Rear Naked Ramblings – 12/21/07 (Weekend Edition)

Published by GG under Uncategorized

According to ESPN.com, Floyd Mayweather is talking to Mark Cuban about fighting for Cuban’s HDNet Fights.

This doesn’t really make sense for a couple reasons. For one, Floyd Mayweather is the most talented boxer in the world. It would make zero sense for him to want to get put in an arm bar or a knee bar. I don’t think he has an amateur wrestling background because he started boxing young, so he’d be at least 2-3 years behind even being good at what makes up MMA today. Also, Mayweather is all about the money. While Cuban has money, there’s no way that a fight under his company would be able to come close to generating the amount of money that a fight under HBO Boxing would. Mayweather would probably fight in the lightweight division and who is the biggest name at that weight? Sean Sherk? B.J. Penn? Now let’s counter those names to Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. They are nowhere in the stratosphere as far as name value. And in order to make money in MMA, you have to be able to create a fight that the public wants to see. A Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Sean Sherk MMA fight wouldn’t do half the buys that his fight with Oscar De La Hoya did.

It would make more sense for Mayweather Jr. to put his name in the hat with Cuban when it comes to the business side of things. But it doesn’t make sense for him to even think about fighting.

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Dec 20 2007

Rear Naked Ramblings – 12/20/07

Published by GG under Uncategorized

We have a poll on the home page. Vote on who you think will win the 12/29 rubber match between Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes. Click here to vote (it’s underneath the calendar).

News and notes from around the MMA world …

- Michael Bisping is dropping down to middleweight and is fighting Charles McCarthy, who is best known for being on the 4th season of The Ultimate Fighter.

- Wanderlei Silva predicts victory in his upcoming battle against Chuck Liddell.

- Chuck Liddell can’t wait.

- A die-hard boxing fan takes a look at the MMA scene.

- The UFC says no to M-1.

- UFC 80 is set, but the card isn’t all that spectacular.

- EXC is to be involved in the proposed Ken Shamrock/Frank Shamrock brother vs. brother fight.

Talking Points

I finally watched the CNBC documentary Ultimate Fighting: From Blood Sport to Big Time and thought it was for the most part, well put together. I thought Scott Wapner did his homework and asked the proper questions. The most telling part of the documentary was when he tried to ask Randy Couture questions about his departure from the UFC. Whenever you see Couture, he seems to be very genuine and likable. Here, he seemed like he simply didn’t want to talk to the host and was hurt from what had happened. It very much seems that he felt like he had to leave the UFC, versus wanting to leave the UFC.

I loved the old footage and the information about how the early UFC was really a platform for Gracie jiu-jitsu. The only segment I really didn’t like was the one about Tapout. I felt that it was a throwaway segment about what is essentially a clothing company. I understand that they were trying to show how die hard MMA fans really are, but it really slowed down the piece and I couldn’t wait for the segment to be over.

After it was over, I was also left with the idea that the UFC needs to market some of their fighters better. It seems like at every opportunity, Rich Franklin is used to show that smart, common men can fight in the UFC. But because of the global ethnicities, some of the best fighters like Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre aren’t used in pieces like this. I would’ve loved to see Quinton “Rampage” Jackson used on this kind of show as I think he’s very entertaining and enjoyable to watch. You can only use Rich Franklin for so long.

Dana White came off well as this guy who loves his job so much that he’d rather work 24 hours a day than sleep. I’m not sure how he came across to the non-fight fan, but I love to see people who passionately enjoy their jobs. They come across as hard workers and those you want working with the product you enjoy.

It is still showing on the network and you can check out their schedule to find future viewing times.

If you want to contact me (I’d love to hear feedback), click here.

Thanks for reading,

Garrett M. Gonzales
MMA.Consumerhelpweb.com

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Dec 17 2007

Rear Naked Ramblings – 12/17/07

Published by GG under Uncategorized

We have the recap on the site of WEC 31, which featured Jens Pulver’s first WEC fight and Urijah Faber’s title defense.

We have a poll on the home page. Vote on who you think will win the 12/29 rubber match between Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes. Click here to vote (it’s underneath the calendar).

News and notes from around the MMA world …

- Supposedly, Mayweather vs. Hatton didn’t do as well as predicted.

- Todd Martin talks about the possible Faber vs. Pulver fight, as well as the rest of WEC 31.

- Georges St. Pierre says he expected either Matt Hughes or Matt Serra to get hurt and stayed in shape.

- What were the payouts for the TUF Season 6 Finale?

- With the Mitchell Report in the news, Dave Meltzer looks at the drug issue in MMA.

- BJ Penn wants to win the lightweight title and then fight Matt Hughes for a third time.

- Frank Trigg and Mayhem Miller were victorious at HDNet Fights in Dallas.

- Ryan Gracie was found dead on Saturday, December 15th.

- Andrei Arlovski wants to fight for UFC in early 2008.

- Vitor Belfort wants Tito Ortiz.

- Pro Elite now owns Hawaiian based ICON Sport.

Talking Points

It was sad to hear about the passing of Ryan Gracie this past weekend. Apologies and condolences towards the Gracie family for their loss.

With The Ultimate Fighter over, there isn’t much of note going on until the big UFC 79 card. However, there is a lack of buzz for Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva. It was the fight Dana White has been trying to make for years, and outside of a Chuck Liddell appearance on the Dennis Miller talk show on the Versus Network, I haven’t really heard much about the fight. I know that the UFC goes for the heavy build on Spike TV about a week before the fight, but with a fight of this magnitude, you’d think it’d be a little different. As of now, it’s not.

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Garrett M. Gonzales
MMA.Consumerhelpweb.com

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Dec 11 2007

Rear Naked Ramblings – 12/11/07

Published by GG under Uncategorized

If you haven’t yet watched The Ultimate Fighter Season 6 Finale, make sure to check it out Friday night. Spike TV is re-running the show on Friday night. It’s the best free MMA show I’ve seen.

We have the full play by play recap on the site if you want to read it.

Also, and I know this isn’t MMA, but it relates to the big picture of MMA as a sport, and it’s always what it will be compared to, but I also did live play by play for the excellent Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Ricky Hatton fight, on my personal blog.

Lastly, we have a poll on the home page. Vote on who you think will win the 12/29 rubber match between Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes. Click here to vote (it’s underneath the calendar).

News and notes from around the MMA world …

- The TUF finale drew a 1.8 rating, which is the second lowest rating a finale has ever done, but it’s in the same ballpark as the others.

- Dave Meltzer says that Paulo Fihlo might be the best middleweight going.

- Cub Swanson thinks that Jens Pulver might’ve faked his injury.

- Sean Sherk was stripped of his lightweight belt for failing a steroid test, but Dana White says that he’s the number one contender.

- Sherk also thinks that BJ Penn is a punk. Penn also avoided jail time for an altercation from two years ago.

- Strikeforce announced that Bob Sapp is headlining their February show in Seattle.

- Rachelle Leah is featured in Complex magazine.

Talking Points

This Wednesday is the next WEC show which is a good opportunity to see Urijah Faber fight on television. He’s the WEC’s champ at 145 pounds, and is the face of the WEC. He faces Jeff Curran in a title defense. Also, Paulo Fihlo faces Chael Sonnen, who said that he ran with a picture of Fihlo in his shoe so he could step on his face. And for those who want to see a familiar face, Jens Pulver has his first WEC fight, taking on Cub Swanson.

I have enjoyed the WEC shows that I’ve been able to watch. It’s feels like UFC Jr., which I don’t see as a negative. It features smaller fighters and a smaller cage, which usually means faster and more exciting fights. Also, most of the guys are hungry, trying to make names for themselves, on the lesser known brand. These guys usually bring it.

MMAjunkie.com has a preview of the show.

If you want to contact me (I’d love to hear feedback), click here.

Thanks for reading,

Garrett M. Gonzales
MMA.Consumerhelpweb.com

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Dec 08 2007

The Ultimate Fighter Season 6 Finale

Published by GG under Uncategorized

After just watching Ricky Hatton vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (Mayweather won by knockout in the 10th), I’m ready to see more great fighting tonight.

Two questions should be answered tonight.

1. Is Roger Huerta the real deal?
2. Can Tommy Speer go with Mac Danzig?

The first fight tonight is a rematch of the best fight of the season between Dan Barrera and Ben Saunders.

Barrera tried hard to get a takedown, but Saunders was able to get high on his back and try for an arm bar. He tried to roll through, but Barrera ended up on top and the round ended there.

Barrera finally gets the takedown and ends up on top again. He’s not doing much. They get stood up and Saunders misses a huge knee. Barrera’s on top again until they get stood up and Saunders threw a high kick that landed. Best shot of the night.

Saunders controlled the entire round. He even had a figure four leg lock around Barrera’s midsection. Very easy win for Saunders, but also a very boring fight.

Winner: Ben Saunders by way of unanimous decision.

George Sotiropoulous vs. Billy Miles is next.

Miles comes out quickly with punches and shoots in, but Sotiropoulous gets a guillotine in and stuffs the takedown. He gets Miles’ back trying to set him up for the choke. He finally gets it and Miles taps.

Winner: George Sotiropoulous by way of first round submission.

Richie Hightower fights Troy “Rude Boy” Mandaloniz next.

They are both throwing big out of the gate. Both guys are swinging hard. Rude Boy throws a huge right that buckles Hightower. Hightower is throwing nice shots as well, but Rude Boy’s shots are cleaner and harder. Rude Boy throws a left that knocks Hightower down and he follows it up and the referee stops the fight.

Winner: Troy Mandaloniz by way of first round TKO.

It’s War Machine (Jon Koppenhaver) vs. J-Rock (Jared Rollins) next.

J-Rock takes him down right away. War Machine gets in the butterfly guard, kicks J-Rock off, and then takes J-Rock down. Both guys are working hard from their positions. J-Rock is throwing elbows from the bottom. These guys are having an elbowing contest. J-Rock is busted wide open.

It’s the exact opposite of the first round. This time J-Rock is on top and throwing bombs. Both guys are bloody. J-Rock goes for a rear naked, but doesn’t get so just keeps throwing from the top. War Machine gets saved by the bell.

J-Rock shoots, but War Machine ends up on top. They get stood up and J-Rock starts rattling him with punches. War Machine is almost out, but he switches position on starts hammering J-Rock from the top and J-Rock goes out. Crazy, crazy fight.

Winner: Jon Koppenhaver by way of third round TKO.

The finals of the show are next. Tommy Speer vs. Mac Danzig. Danzig is much smaller, but looks like he’s in great shape.

It’s all Danzig. Speer tries for the takedown, but Danzig fights it, and then gets a single leg takedown of his own. He gets in the mount and starts hammering Speer. Speer turns over, giving up his back, and Danzig chokes him out.

Winner: Mac Danzig by way of first round submission.

With a lot of time left, they’re showing Matt Arroyo vs. John Kolsci from earlier in the show.

The story of the round was that Arroyo was putting on submissions, and Kolosci was getting out of them, until Arroyo put him in an arm bar and he finally tapped.

Winner: Matt Arroyo by way of first round submission.

Main event time. Roger Huerta vs. Clay Guida.

Very close first round. Guida was very active, getting takedowns and staying busy on the ground. Huerta hit a big leg kick and also was very active on the ground. Probably Guida’s round, but it was an excellent one.

Guida’s wrestling controlled the action, until Huerta started to rock Guida. As Guida went for the takedown, Huerta dropped to his knees to stuff it and Guida rocked him with a right hand. Huerta looked out. But he hung on and he was trading with Guida from the bottom position. Great round, but clearly Guida’s.

They announced that Forrest Griffin would be one of the coaches for a revamped The Ultimate Fighter show, which airs in April. And they also said that the other coach will be announced at tomorrow night’s Video Game Awards. The money is on Rampage Jackson.

This was a really good show and if you didn’t see it, catch the replay. You had a wicked brawl between War Machine and J-Rock. You had a fun one round slugfest between Richie Hightower and Rude Boy. Mac Danzig looked great on the big stage. And Roger Huerta wins an amazing fight to cap the night off. That Clay Guida is insane.

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Dec 08 2007

PPV Boxing – Ricky Hatton vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. Play By Play

Published by GG under Boxing, PPV, Play by Play

Is Ricky Hatton, the British fighter, who has yet to really cross over in the US, good enough to beat Floyd “Money May” Mayweather Jr.? I don’t think so, but I haven’t seen enough of Hatton. I don’t think many have. I have to go with Mayweather, simply until he loses.

Here’s the rundown.

  • Tom Jones and Tyrese Gibson sing the National Anthems. One of these two is not like the other. Black Ty? Really?
  • Hatton just got a huge ovation.
  • Did Michael Buffer just call him “Pretty Boy” Floyd aka “Money” Mayweather?
  • Who has two nicknames?

Round One

  • Hatton caught Mayweather off balanced with a jab and Mayweather stumbled backwards.
  • Mayweather tried to slip in a punch and then cover up, which is pretty much what he did the entire round.
  • Hatton stalked Mayweather the entire round and it looks like Hatton is going to try to rough him up.

Round Two

  • Hatton is just trying to be more active, hunting down Mayweather.
  • They had to be pulled into the middle twice for not listening to the referee.
  • Hatton is landing the bigger punches, but I’m not sure that he isn’t going to tire himself out.
  • Round Three

  • Mayweather’s hands have been low the entire fight.
  • Mayweather isn’t throwing any combinations.
  • Hatton keeps complaining to the referee for Mayweather fighting dirty, but the reality is, they both are doing it.
  • This is Mayweather’s best round, and he might actually steal this one.
  • I have it 2-1 Hatton.

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Dec 07 2007

Rear Naked Ramblings – 12/7/07

Published by GG under Uncategorized

News and notes from around the MMA world …

We have a poll on the home page. Vote on who you think will win the 12/29 rubber match between Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes. Click here to vote (it’s underneath the calendar).

- Todd Martin has part two on his reflection with Dana White.

- CBS Sportsline predicts the winners for tomorrow night’s TUF finale.

- Dave Meltzer profiles Clay Guida vs. Roger Huerta.

- ESPN’s Page 2 has a long piece on Huerta as well.

- Kevin Iole discusses Mac Danzig vs. Tommy Speer.

- Big John McCarthy is going to retire after refereeing his final match on Saturday.

- Matt Hughes’ book is scheduled to come out right after the New Year.

- Rich Franklin signs a new deal and has prospects for an upcoming match.

- Mac Danzig wants to drop down to lightweight after the TUF finale.

- Is Matt Hughes a tough coach? (Should that’ve been retorical?)

Talking Points

There are two big questions that will hopefully be answered tomorrow night at The Ultimate Fighter Season 6 Finale.

1. Is Roger Huerta the real deal?

I think that as long as Huerta doesn’t get dominated tomorrow night by Clay Guida, he’s going to come out looking strong. Guida is going to get a great fight out of him. As long as Huerta can keep pace, or at least come close to keeping pace with Guida, I think the fans are going to have more respect for him, win or lose, than ever. And he does have a strong chance to win. Guida has fallen short a couple times this year in close fights. He lost a close decision to Tyson Griffin in a match of the year candidate just recently. Because most of his fights go to decision, it leaves it in the hands of the judges, and if that’s the case, anyone can win. As long as Huerta doesn’t get knocked out, I think he’ll be able to prove that he’s the real deal.

2. Can Mac Danzig hold off Tommy Speer?

I’d like to think so. Speer definitely seems like he has a great upside. Now I sound like Mel Kuiper Jr. But really, he seems like he has all the tools, and just needs the training and knowledge to be a real deal in this sport. But in this type of fight, where the level of importance is higher, where you go from fighting in the gym to fighting in front of actual fans, where there is money on the line, I go with the experience and the guy who has actually fought with this heavy pressure before. Speer wasn’t expected to be where he’s at. But right out of the gate, Danzig was pegged as the winner. He pegged himself. He constantly said that he was the best guy in the house, and up until now, he’s proved it. He’s had the pressure all along.

I think Danzig will win the match, and probably for at least two rounds, it will be very competitive, but I think Danzig has more tricks and more ways to win. He also is comfortable with his boxing and will probably be able to avoid many of those heavy right hands and actually be able to counter them.

I think Guida and Huerta is almost too close to call, but I think it goes to a decision. I see Danzig outlasting Speer, probably stopping him in the third.

If you want to contact me (I’d love to hear feedback), click here.

Thanks for reading,

Garrett M. Gonzales
MMA.Consumerhelpweb.com

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