The Triangle Choke: UFC 92 Preview
The most anticipated event of the year is fast approaching; UFC 92 on Saturday, December 27th from Las Vegas, NV. The card includes five legends of the sport, fast rising superstars and three main event worthy bouts.
> Check out the UFC 92 recap for UFC results and review of the fights!
The Card:
UFC 92 Main Event:
For the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, it will be Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans. Both fighters started their assent to the top by winning their respective seasons of The Ultimate Fighter. Since his loss to The Dean of Mean, Keith Jardine, Griffin is on a three fight winning streak, including upsets of Shogun Rua and Rampage Jackson. Forrest’s aggressive style and ability to take an inordinate amount of punishment have made him one of, if not the, most popular fighters in the sport.
Evans is a unique challenge for Forrest. He brings division one wrestling skills to the octagon along with knock out power he gets little credit for. This past September, Rashad KO’d megastar Chuck Liddell with a vicious right hook. No doubt, that knockout in particular has Griffin’s camp preparing for more than just Evans’ wrestling skills. Rashad, up until the Liddell fight didn’t get the respect an undefeated fighter deserves (12-0-1). Will he now?
Prediction: This will be a great fight in which both fighters will be prepared to go the full five rounds. Evans will no doubt take Forrest to the ground and attempt to control the fight from there. The fact is, Forrest has evolved into much more than just a striker.
Griffin retains his title in a highly contested battle via submission late in the fight.
Interim Heavyweight Championship:
Legendary submission artist and former Pride Heavyweight Champion Antonio “Minotaura” Nogueira will battle a man with equally impressive submission skills in former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Frank Mir.
Unfortunately season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter didn’t raise the decibel level for this contest. Both Nogueira and Mir kept quiet and focused on coaching their teams. Make no mistake; both of these battle tested warriors are capable of winning this fight. Stylistically similar, it is highly unlikely this fight will spend much time in the stand up. This contest has the making of a great Jiu-Jitsu battle. For fans that are simply blood thirsty, this may be a boring match. For fans that understand the sport and appreciate the strategy and technical skills, it could be a classic.
Prediction: Nogueira will not submit no matter what happens. That will be the difference in the fight. Mir will control the early rounds; then in typical Minotaura fashion, he will catch Mir in a submission lock and end the fight. Antonio via a 4th round submission.
Rampage Jackson vs. Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva:
The third and probably the final installment of Jackson vs. Silva. The first two bouts resulted in some of the worst brutality in the history of the sport. Silva was victorious in both matchups via knee strikes. In the second bout, Silva proceeded to knock a bloodied Rampage through the ropes where he laid motionless over the ropes with blood draining from his head. If you haven’t watched these fights, do so before this December 27 th. You can find them on-line (Pride Final Conflict 2003 & Pride 28).
Will the third time be a charm for Jackson? This is a tough fight to call. The old saying is styles make the match, in this case bad blood and history will make the match. Rampage’s biggest strength is his knockout power. In the second matchup, he caught Silva with his best shots, but Silva survived and managed to regain his wits. Leading up to the fight Rampage will no doubt talk a lot, but when he steps in to the octagon, memories are sure to surface.
Prediction: History has proven the Axe Murderer often gets better as the fight progresses. This fight will only be a maximum of three five minute rounds which works to Rampage’s advantage. Expect this to be the most exciting fight of the evening with brutal exchanges occurring throughout the bout. Silva will use the Thai Clinch repeatedly and finally catch Jackson with fight ending knees as he did in the previous fights.
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CB Dollaway vs. Mike Massenzio:
Dollaway seems to have fallen to the ill will of UFC fans due to him contesting a tap out against Amir Sadollah. The fact is he should and will be a fan favorite shortly. I have watched Dollaway’s fights on HDNET prior to his arrival in the UFC. He is extremely skilled and will no doubt be a big star. Despite Massenzio’s experience, Dollaway catches Mike in the Peruvian Necktie for a win by submission.
Other Fights:
- Cheick Kongo over Mostaphia Al Turk in impressive fashion.
- Yushin Okami over Dean Lister
- Fan favorite Matt Hamill over fellow wrestler Reese Andy
Released recently is a DVD detailing the life and career of Renzo Gracie. Simply stated, outstanding. A fantastic film that sheds light on a life spent in competition by one of the all-time greats. Renzo holds nothing back and is his typical cutup self throughout the film. The DVD contains great footage of fights rarely seen and different angles/perspectives of some of Renzo’s Pride Fighting match-ups. If you are a fan of the 1 st family of MMA, then this video is a must purchase. You can find it at: http://renzogracielegacy.com/
Affliction has a star-studded event scheduled for January 24th in Anaheim, California. TTC #1 fighter in the world Fedor Emelianenko will battle Andrei “The Pit Bull” Arlovski. Matt “The Law” Lindland will battle “The Phenom” Vitor Belfort.
In the next edition of The Triangle Choke, Matt Lindland discusses his career and how he is preparing for this much anticipated bout.
MMA fans, stay out of life’s Triangle Chokes!
By Scott Dryden
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer