MMA: A Card That Might Not Be Boring

By: Ben Tickner, Contributor

After an 8 month hiatus, finally another GSP fight.  I'll come right out and say it; I am a believer in Georges St. Pierre.  I will gladly admit to it any day of the week.  However, more on the main event in a little bit.  For now, we actually have a decent card coming from Zuffa this weekend, a bit of everything so far as weight classes and styles are concerned.  Considering I have been ever so jaded about the past few UFC cards, the fact that I'm psyched about this one says something special to yours truly.

              

Pellegrino vs. Camoes, on paper, has the makings of an awesome fight.  Both men are exceptional jiu jitsu practitioners and, though a huge amount of meatheads watching UFCs have no clue what's going on if two big guys aren't “banging,” for those of us who actually enjoy a good points jiu jitsu or a solid wrestling match (with the added bonus of punches and elbows), this might be really entertaining.  However, with that said, what makes this fight interesting could also be its downfall.  As so many of us who have watched enough MMA fights know, two solid ground fighters could easily nullify each other and end up putting on a 15 minute snoozefest with all the excitement of a Lifetime original movie.  I can't decide which way this one is going to go, to be honest.  I will go so far as to say that, considering the latest showings put on when two solid ground fighters meet in the octagon, it will most likely be the latter of the two options.  Either way Pellegrino's experience is going to be the difference in the fight.  Best case scenario is a submission midway second round, though all signs point to an ugly mix of C level kickboxing combined with the the oh-so-typical ground hugging floor-n-bore we have come to know and hate from the UFC in recent events.

As long as we're even mentioning snoozefests, let's not leave out a fight on this card that guarantees to be one.  Mark Bocek vs. Jim Miller will have all the fireworks one might expect on the afternoon of July 5th.  What we have here are two wrestlers who will almost certainly nullify each others ground game leaving us with a horror story of a kickboxing match.  Yes, it is possible someone might get knocked out, but that isn't enough for me and it shouldn't be for you.  Two guys possessing as much technique in the stand-up game as I do in figure skating going toe-to-toe for any amount of time is a bad thing regardless of the outcome.  Not much more needs to be said about this fight, in my opinion, barring some miracle I see Bocek delivering an ugly decision.  One thing's for certain everyone, if you're running out of beer anytime around this fight or look like you might after, do yourself a favor and use the time to visit your local liquor store.

Originally scheduled to fight Thiago Alves in a long awaited rematch, Jon Fitch will be fighting the ever improving Ben Saunders.  Considering Saunders willingness to duke it out, matched with Fitch's uncanny ability to take punches and wear guys out on the ground, this has sleeper fight of the night written all over it.  Though both men are coming off of wins, Fitch's win was lackluster at best and has seemed to be in a funk since GSP ran through him like a Macho Combo Burrito.  Saunders, on the other hand, had a very impressive victory a couple months back when he kneed Marcus Davis into whatever millennium Captain Kirk was born in.  Also, considering both men were training for fights  for Saturday and neither are fighting the man they were preparing for, neither man has a legitimate advantage as far as that goes.  Though Saunders is a freakishly tall welterweight with solid power, we have yet to see him up against a legitimate ground and pound phenom, the likes of which Fitch can be.  Assuming Fitch shows up to fight on Saturday, I'm calling Fitch by stoppage in the second.  If the same Fitch that showed up against Pierce shows up on Saturday, however, it could get ugly once he gets in close as Saunders will eat Jon Fitch alive in the clinch if he isn't game.

Frank Mir vs. Carwin for the interim world title, whatever that means is our lead-up to the main event.  If Mir wins, this will be his second interim title.  The real sad story will be if he wins and then gets demolished a second time by Brock thus losing both interim world titles to the same person in embarrassing fashion.  However, all sarcasm aside, this has the makings of a solid bout.  Carwin has power to spare regardless of what round it is, making him dangerous at any time.  However, Carwin has yet to see the second round and, though that may be impressive, against a seasoned veteran like Frank Mir he may be in for some trouble.  Frank Mir's added size and strength was impressive whilst crushing Cheick Kongo and though Carwin has power, I'm not completely sure I trust his actual boxing ability.  Though Carwin could always catch him, if this match ends in anything other then a submission from Frank Mir I'll be surprised.

              

Lastly, the fight we've all been waiting for and, though I'm a big GSP fan and definitely looking forward to seeing him fight again, this wasn't the fight I was hoping for.  Yes, the UFC has done a great job hyping up the fight, awesome job really, but Dan Hardy is not a legitimate contender.  I'm sorry folks, but four straight wins, the best being a decision victory over Mike Swick, has not, in the past, earned you a shot at a man many consider to be the best pound for pound fighter in the world today.  Thiago Alves racked up seven straight wins, including knockouts over Karo Parisyan and Matt Hughes, before getting his title shot.  Jon Fitch, 8 UFC wins, including wins over Alves by TKO, and Diego Sanchez.  Dan Hardy has decision victories over Swick and Marcus Davis (the Davis decision was a split), four UFC wins, and has earned himself a title shot.  In a time of mediocre sports champions... men like the Klitchkos, Kelly Pavlik, and teams the New Orleans Saints, and the Anaheim Ducks... the risk of throwing in a mediocre, albeit marketable, talent like Dan Hardy against someone as awe inspiring as GSP has disaster written all over it.  

What if Dan Hardy pulls off the upset?  What happens then?  Well, I'll tell you what happens then... he will never have one successful title defense.  Whichever legitimate contender he fights next will then get the title, GSP will run through a division again (which will include putting the hurt on Hardy in a rematch) and then we'll be back at square one.  Don't get me wrong though, a puncher's chance is the only chance Dan Hardy has.  Dan Hardy is an interesting fighter, and can put on a good show, but his skill level is nowhere near that of GSP.  People talk about Hardy's power and his stand-up but let's not forget that Rush is coming off of a fight against the scariest stand-up artist in the welterweight division.  A fight in which said striker was knocked down by the champ as well as beat down on the ground, an area that Alves far surpasses Hardy, for five rounds.  Though the fight may be interesting as Hardy will not be backing up and will be throwing everything he has behind every punch, I see GSP exposing him for what he truly is... a fighter who can get asses in seats but doesn't really have a place amidst the welterweight elite.  GSP wins this one by mounting Hardy and getting a stoppage no later then the third round, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happened earlier.  And once again, let me reiterate, regardless of the challenger, I can't wait to watch Rush do what he does best... hurt people.