Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson

There is no real reason to believe that James Thompson can change the past or his chin. Unless he's chewing on pine bark like Jack Dempsey was once rumored to do in order to strengthen his jaw, Thompson's huge weakness will likely be exploited.

Thompson does however have some wrestling ability in his background, and he has spent some time training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas with its veteran stable of fighters. It's likely his gameplan will involve trying to put Kimbo to the floor, but I firmly believe that Thompson won't be the guy to test Kimbo's ground guy. Kimbo has the added bonus of being very powerful to blow through submission attempts. I doubt we'll see Thompson get to that position.

Leland's Prediction: Kimbo Slice via TKO/KO, Round 1

Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith

This could very well be the most talked about fight of the evening. Two veteran strikers will go toe-to-toe in the cage, but I'm going to favor Lawler for a few reasons. Smith has had some problems on the ground, but he's been rather dominant in the standup game. The only problem for him in this fight is that Lawler has monster power to counter Smith's hands as well. He's also shown some patience in the standup game that really favors him in the later rounds.

An added bonus is that Lawler has great takedown defense and some solid wrestling ability if he gets into trouble. Look for Lawler to keep his distance, find his range, and explode. It's going to be very hard for Smith to avoid those huge arms on Lawler.

Leland's Prediction: Robbie Lawler via TKO/KO, Round 2

Joey Villasenor vs. Phil Baroni

For some odd reason, I think Phil may be taking this fight much more seriously than he did Kala Hose. Will his cardio have improved significantly is the real question, and Villasenor is a survivor in the cage. He has a solid chin, great cardio, and the ability to land some big punches. Baroni will likely come out with an onslaught of attacks, but Villasenor has the skills to outlast Baroni.

I can't exactly pick Baroni after his performance against Hose, but he could prove me wrong in saying that he's lost a step.

Leland's Prediction: Joey Villasenor via unanimous decision

Gina Carano vs. Kaitlin Young

A lot of writers are giving Kaitlin the nod here, and it can be justified when looking at her training regiment and striking. She'll likely be a cardio machine, but can she equal Carano's tenacity in the striking game. Sarah Schneider proved that Kaitlin's ground game needs a lot of work, but Carano probably won't be a force there.

Kaitlin has some strong striking, but Carano is known for being a powerful, yet accurate puncher.  She will also have some strong kicks, and hopefully some good wrestling ability on the ground. Kaitlin will be a great bet for those of you looking cash in, but I have to pick Gina Carano. While I know she's mentioned the layoff of training leading up to this bout, I still think her striking will be hard to deal with, but I'll be laying some cash on Kaitlin in case I'm wrong.

Leland's Prediction: Gina Carano via unanimous decision

Brett Rogers vs. Jon Murphy

This should be a good matchup. Murphy is explosive while Rogers possesses heavy hands as well. Murphy does has 2 losses on his record, one being to Houston Alexander, so he is susceptible to the onslaught, but Rogers likes to be patient. I'm more inclined to pick Rogers due to how tough it is to move him around to the floor, and the fact that his power is going to be a huge problem if he catches Murphy.

Leland's Prediction: Brett Rogers via KO/TKO, Round 1

Quick Picks
Justin Robbins vs. Wilson Reis: There's some hype surrounding Reis, and he has a slick grappling pedigree that could present problems for Robbins. Robbins is a nice solid opponent for Reis, but I think Reis has this one. Reis via submission, Round 2

Nick Serra vs. Matt Makowski: Serra has the grappling advantage, so look for him to get this to the floor quickly. Makowski is fairly green in the MMA game so far, but he's proven to be a tough opponent at 2-0. Serra via submission, Round 2

Andres Soares vs. Zach Makovsky: Soares finishes fights, and Makovsky can't seem to finish. Soares via submission, Round 1

Joe Sampieri vs. Mike Groves: Battle of the winless, pick'em. Sampieri via TKO, Round 2

Jim Bova vs. Chris Liguori: Chris has had some absolute wars with Jim Miller before, and I don't see how he won't be bringing that kind of heart to this fight. Bova will be a load though, and he's definitely an upcoming prospect. I'll pick the upset. Bova via TKO/KO, Round 1

James “Binky” Jones vs. Calvin Katter: Gotta go with Jones here. He may have a .500 record, but it's mostly losses to talent that's headed to the UFC or higher promotions. Katter is just starting out. Jones via submission, Round 1

Carlos Moreno vs. Carlton Haselrig: Moreno is weak on the ground, but Haselrig likely won't present any danger in that capacity. Moreno should get the knockout in this one. Moreno via KO/TKO, Round 1

This weekend's mixed martial arts action is shaping up to be much more exciting than last week's lackluster number of events. On our plates will be Strikeforce's co-promotional event with EliteXC that will take place in San Jose, California at the HP Pavillion. The main event will feature two well-known San Jose residents in Cung Le vs. Frank Shamrock. The highly anticipated bout between the two combatants has been in the works since Cung Le's last battle against Sam Morgan in which he won by a highlight reel body kick late in the fight. Gilbert Melendez will take on Gabe Lemley while Drew Fickett will replace Nick Diaz and take on Jae Suk Lim. It should be a night of some interesting matchups and hopefully some great outcomes.

Main Event: Frank Shamrock vs. Cung Le

This has become an interesting matchup over the last few weeks. The main point that many fans have tried to make for Le is that his striking skills will be much more well-rounded against Shamrock. In the past, both Le and Shamrock have had sparring sessions that have been described as “dominating” in Le's favor. The sessions have become a spotlight for picking Le in this fight in the striking game, but what makes people think that Shamrock may not simply use his submission wrestling to his advantage?

If you've followed Frank's career, you've probably seen him try to fight battles against superior fighters in which he used his own skills to outbattle his opponent's best skillset. We saw that in the Baroni matchup in which he outstruck Baroni's heavy hands for most of the bout. Some fans believe Shamrock may get stuck in a striking war with Cung Le to prove a point. I think it may be all head games.

Shamrock has an impressive amount of wins over his last 14 fights. He's currently 13-1 in those 14 fights, but has been inactive in the last five to seven years. He's recently made the jump back into MMA and has been carrying the Strikeforce promotion. His abilities to come into a fight with a smart gameplan coupled with the fact that he has average striking with some good submission wrestling makes him a dangerous fighter to take on for Cung Le. Cung hasn't shown a great ground game at all, and I think Frank can really take this one to the ground to beat Cung Le.

Leland's Prediction: Frank Shamrock via submission, Round 3

Drew Fickett vs. Jae Suk “The Korean Icepick” Lim

Fickett's superior submission skills will cause some big problems for Jae Suk Lim. He's also one of the toughest fighters in the sport to submit or knockout. With only 3 losses ending by TKO or submission, he's definitely going to be one of the toughest challenges to date for “the Korean Icepick”.

Lim is obviously a Korean prospect, but he's made his fame in Spirit MC and EliteXC recently with some wins. He doesn't have an overly impressive submission game, but he does maintain some good power in his hands. Unfortunately, I can't pick Lim here. He has too many downsides to him, and Fickett is just plain tough to beat regardless of who he's taking on. It's only a matter of time in this battle before Fickett gets the submission victory.

Leland's Prediction: Drew Fickett via submission, Round 2

Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez vs. Gabe Lemley

I won't comment too much on this matchup because Lemley's chances are slim in this one. He's been taking on subpar competition in Extreme Challenge as of late, and his only notable win in his career is against Clay Guida back in 2004 at XFO 4. He has some good power and submission ability, but Melendez is much better in all areas of mixed martial arts over Lemley. He'll have much better wrestling and striking, and he's relentless when it comes to pushing takedowns and pounding his opponents. Look for this one to end quickly.

Leland's Prediction: Gilbert Melendez via TKO, Round 2

Quick Picks

Luke Stewart vs. Tiki Ghosn: I thought Luke Stewart's last three performances had some rays of hope for his future in the sport, and Tiki Ghosn just hasn't been a good fighter at all in his last three or four performances. I have to believe Stewart will continue his move up in the division. He's due to use his jiu-jitsu skills against a susceptible Ghosn. Stewart via submission, Round 1

Joey Villasenor vs. Ryan Jensen:  Villasenor has been very tough to submit in the latter part of his career, and Jensen's win total is stacked with submission wins. Jensen has the potential to be a spoiler in this fight, but I think Joey's overall awareness in the cage and strikes can hold off Jensen. Villasenor via decision

Mike Kyle vs. Wayne Cole: Mike Kyle hasn't fought since his ridiculous disqualification against Brian Olsen at WEC 20. Kyle has some good wins earlier in his career against notable talent, and his power is formidable for anyone. Cole has some power as well, but he also has shown a weak chin in the past. I don't think he can handle Kyle's power that we've seen in the past. Kyle via KO, Round 1

Billy Evangelista vs. Marlon Sims: This is a bit of a toss up for the first round of the matchup. Sims either blasts his opponents early with an onslaught, or falls to the submission. Evangelista really has no knockout power and his submission game hasn't shown up yet in his short 5 fight career. I'll take Billy based on his last few fights, he's definitely a tough fighter, and Marlon's lies on The Ultimate Fighter flat out make me want to see him get crushed. Biased, I know. Evangelista via TKO, Round 2

Anthony Figueroa vs. Darren Uyenoyama: Pick'em fight. Uyenoyama has some submission wrestling skills, but he doesn't seem to have much power in his hands. Fortunately, neither does Figueroa. Figueroa has only had one successful win by TKO, the rest of his 4 wins by decision, two being against the same fighter in David Barrios. I'll take Uyenoyama. Uyenoyama via decision

Jesse Jones vs. Jesse Gillespie: 1-0 prospects, but Jones at least showed some big power in his first battle. Jones via KO, Round 1

For those of you who were unable to catch EliteXC's Uprising MMA event on Showtime on Saturday, you missed a well produced MMA event that delivered in many ways that the UFC has failed to do in the past. It had some great action, great matchups, very good production, and the judges were correct this time. You'll know what I mean as you read on. With the recent acquisition of ICON Sport, EliteXC was able to have a Champion vs. Champion showdown much like the UFC, but with some fairly explosive middleweights in the mix. "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler showed exactly why he is called "Ruthless" by knocking out Murilo "Ninja" Rua to obtain the unified EliteXC Middleweight title. Nick Diaz made a return to the cage with a controversial split decision over BJ Penn product, Mike Aina. Jake Shields made quick work of Renato "Charuto" Verissimo, and Gina Carano overcame doubts from her critics to beat Tonya Evinger by submission, her first rear naked choke. It was an exciting card, but what lies ahead for EliteXC? They have the star power to produce some very good up and comer cards along with a mixture of veteran competitors. What more do you need? There are many aspects to the MMA game that come to mind, but there are also many critics to EliteXC's Uprising in the MMA Community. I hope to answer some questions, throw out some facts, and let the people know why EliteXC is an organization we should all be watching.

Uprising delivered!

It came, it saw, it conquered. Uprising was anticipated to be a fairly good fight card on paper, but it was a guaranteed great card. Many people took Nick Diaz as a first or second round winner, and many took Robbie Lawler as a first round knockout winner. Instead, we got some lower card fights that delivered great rounds to the fans. Joey Villasenor vs. Riki Fukuda was generally a tough battle to judge from a MMA fan's standpoint. On one hand, you have a great boxer in Joey Villasenor and on another hand; you have a great wrestler in Riki Fukuda. For the casual MMA fan, I believe this card was great for a dip into the MMA world and for the hardcore MMA fan; it was crafted with great matchups that ultimately kept us wanting more.

There are still many issues that plague some of these promotions, no matter what organization is involved. We had some close bouts in which many MMA fans were very adamant could have went either way. Villasenor and Fukuda had a close matchup that ended in a decision victory for Villasenor. Nick Diaz had a split decision victory over Mike Aina, a fairly green MMA striker training out of BJ Penn's camp in Hilo. Either fight could arguably have went either way, but in my eyes, both of these fights were judged correctly and to the full effect of how the MMA judging criteria is quoted. Octagon control, aggression, effective defense, striking, and grappling. All five aspects of the MMA fight were judged and I felt correctly used in each decision.  Unlike many other promotions, the judges that EliteXC was able to have for this event made this evening honest.

With that said, let's take a small look at what EliteXC has going for it, what it could do better, and where it really stands in the MMA world today. Obviously from my previous analysis, the matchups were incredible, the judging in Hawaii was honest which really could go sour at any time, but what else was great about this promotion that others have been failing to really do?

The Report Card

1. Matchups: B 

I'll give them a "B" for their fight matchups. EliteXC has been rather smart in that department. At this last card, we saw some significantly great matchups down the board. Villasenor, mainly a good boxer, was put up against Riki Fukuda, generally known as a nasty ground and pound wrestler. Fukuda has been known to stand and slug it out though, and it proved to make for a great fight. We now know that Riki Fukuda should be nicknamed Riki "Iron Chin" Fukuda for the amount of shots he took from Villasenor. Robbie Lawler vs. "Ninja" Rua had an aggressive pace written all over it from the beginning. It made me excited just thinking about the type of fighters both were and how it would be very interesting to see how each fighter would come out. Definitely a step up from the previous cards.

If we look at some of the past cards as well, EliteXC has made some serious efforts to solidify a PPV audience. They are currently one of the only MMA organizations in the world to lend a platform for women's MMA to exist. Gina Carano has been their poster girl for the sport. They have yet to bring in the big dogs from SmackGirl, but it could be in the works sometime in the future since EliteXC did partner with K-1 Heroes for an event. They obviously have the power to bring partnerships from overseas to the U.S. for events. EliteXC Destiny came in with a Frank Shamrock vs. Renzo Gracie bout, and included many upcoming fighters now who are mainstays on the EliteXC roster. Fighters like Fukuda, Villasenor, Carano, and Shields.

The EliteXC roster also has a lot of buzz for potential matchups. With cooperation with K-1, they were able to bring some of the best fighters from K-1 over to compete in the U.S.. Fighters like "JZ" Calvancanti, Kazushi Sakuraba, and Melvin Manhoef. Brock Lesnar was also an attraction on the Dynamite!!! USA show. The potential is there for other cooperative promotions through EliteXC, and I for one will be a fan that wants to see those battles.

2. Organization and Cooperation: A

A MMA organization that isn't afraid to work with a Japanese MMA organization in order to bring some super fights to the states and showcase some of the best talent in MMA, what's not to love? Hopefully we will see something similar in the works soon. But what else has EliteXC done besides that?

EliteXC acquired ICON Sport, Cage Rage, King of the Cage, and has really opened up their options for co-promotion efforts to really take off. Cage Rage has some great talent within its ranks, and we could see some great new talent and great veteran battles come from it. Vitor Belfort is scheduled to fight on their September 22nd card, which could potentially be the beginning of some huge co-promotion bouts involving him. King of the Cage brought up some great fighters such as Urijah Faber. There are potentially huge talent pools that EliteXC has just tapped into and it could make MMA very good for them in the long run.

3. Production: B

I have to admit, I love the old PRIDE Organization, so it brings a heartfelt sigh of relief to hear Stephen Quadros and Mauro Ranallo commentating the fights again. Although I was bitter at Quadros for judging the Diaz fight by saying the judges were only watching the end of the second round when I fully agreed with the judges in that Diaz landed many more shots and scored the submission attempts to win the round, I will refrain from calling him out and say that I respect the guy as a MMA analyst. Quadros got a C grade from me at Uprising, but overall, I love the Quadros/Ranallo combination. I have a softspot for Frankie "Twinkletoes" Trigg's crass honesty at times as well, and sometimes wish they'd give him a chance for EliteXC, but I can live without it if he continues to work the Art of War cards. EliteXC could do without Goldberg's horrible comments. He wasn't bad at Uprising, but he's had some horrendous outings at events. I understand he is star power, but I think they could do better.

The overall production of Uprising was great, much better than previous events. Blending in the Hawaiian culture with the background was interesting, but once again the old PRIDE days came back with the long runway to the cage. All we needed was an elevator to lift each competitor to the platform with smoke coming from it, and we'd have had a PRIDE 35: Third Coming. Ahh, those were the days. Overall, the production, camera work, interviews weren't bad either, and crowd was great at Uprising.

4. Potential: A

With all their recent acquisitions, many MMA fans have been weary as to what they will be doing with all these organizations. In an interview by Sherdog.com on Friday, Shaw mentioned that all the organizations would still be run by their respective presidents under the EliteXC Banner. Co-promotions would be done, bringing in fighters for matchups, etc. This sounds great from a MMA fan's standpoint. We will not only see a large talent pool for a matchmaker to choose from, but we will also see more new talent, more veteran matchups, and from what Shaw stated, a larger influx of events in 2008.

With no Pay-Per-View fees and shelling out $40 for a great card, what's not to love about Showtime's deal with EliteXC. The potential for this organization is through the roof. They have a long way to go before they can think about competing with the UFC, but in the end, all the fans win with this type of organization in the mix.

Overall Grade: B+

What's next?

EliteXC will be holding their next event on November 10th, 2007. No matchups have yet to be announced, but look forward to some very good matchups on their cards. If you are a true MMA fan and want to see some of the best matchups the U.S. MMA organizations have to offer, please include these shows in your MMA shows to watch list. The UFC and EliteXC combined make for a great MMA package in the U.S. Now all we need is Hero's and Shooto to get some PPV deals moving in the U.S. and we'd be set.

Fresh off all the news of the barrage of acquisitions including King of the Cage and ICON Sport¹, EliteXC flies into Honolulu, Hawaii this Saturday night for the EliteXC Uprising show. It will air on Showtime at 10 PM EST and will feature an unification title bout between Robbie "Ruthless" Lawler and Murilo "Ninja" Rua. The card itself is very interesting and one of the better non-UFC fight cards we've seen late this year. It will include the return of Nick Diaz, fresh off his suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for having elevated levels of THC in his blood system for the fight over Takanori Gomi at PRIDE 33: Second Coming.² Also, he has been a big name in the media lately with outlandish interviews involving his marijuana use.³ Jake Shields will face "Charuto" and Gina Carano will try to extend her unbeaten streak against Tonya Evinger. Let's take a closer in-depth look at these matchups.

The Breakdown: Robbie "Ruthless" Lawler vs. Murilo "Ninja" Rua
Up for grabs: ICON/EliteXC Unification Middleweight Championship

Robbie is the current ICON Sport Middleweight Champion, attaining the title by defeating Frank Trigg in the 4th round by KO at ICON Sport - Epic in March. He currently has an impressive 14-4 record, and is on a three fight win streak. His last loss was against Jason "Mayhem" Miller, and his most notable losses were against Nick Diaz and Evan Tanner. Two of those losses via submissions and one being at the hands of Nick Diaz in a spectacular late 2nd round knockout at UFC 47. Lawler's main strength is his standup fighting. Ten of his 14 wins have ended via knockout or technical knockout. As evident in many of his fights, he likes to punch and has a load of power to back it up. He is very aggressive, almost to the point of recklessness.

One of Robbie's great strengths is his ability to use his awesome power to take down opponents and pound them. He can also use his power much like "Rampage" Jackson likes to use his strength to nullify takedown attempts and turn the pace onto his opponent. Lawler's power can be used not only in his powerful striking game, but also as a defensive tool. He can easily dodge an incoming attack and powerfully tackle an opponent to the ground, much like his training partner, Matt Hughes. He has on more than one occassion body slammed opponents in the Octagon with little difficulty. In many of his fights, he has brutally ground and pounded past opponent's guards like they were paper. Because of his aggressive style, he loves to push the pace and generally throws huge bombs as he charges forward. This is one weakness that Nick Diaz exploited during their bout. He was able to catch Lawler late in the 2nd as he charges in, and then was able to hit him with a short stiff jab that knocked Lawler out.

Murilo "Ninja" Rua is the current EliteXC Middleweight Champion. He is coming off a win over Joey Villasenor, and is also on a three fight win streak. Rua's name is most notably associated with current UFC Light Heavyweight, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. "Ninja" Rua is his older brother, and does possess some of the same skills coming out of the Chute Box Academy in Brazil. Unfortunately, Murilo hasn't had the same devastating success his brother has had. Murilo has been the victim of some brutal knockouts in his career. He was knocked out in :15 seconds at PRIDE Bushido Survival 2006 by Denis Kang and in 4:14 seconds at PRIDE Total Elimination 2004 by Sergei Kharitonov. He currently holds a 14-7 records, 5 wins by knockout, 7 by submission, and 1 draw.

Rua is a Muay Thai, Brazilian ju-jitsu fighter who mainly likes to take the fight wherever his opponents want to take it. Much like his younger brother, Murilo will stand with his opponent as he sees fit. He has some great knockout power, but has a very good ju-jitsu ground game to supplement his standup if the fight goes to the ground. Most fighters try to keep the fight on its feet, but Murilo's standup game is impressive. Much like Lawler, Murilo is aggressive, likes to push the pace of the fight, and has some devastating power in his hands and knees. He's been known to come out with flying knees much like Lawler has done in the past. He also has a poweful clinch to set up his knees with. Against Joey Villasenor, Murilo literally landed haymakers at will on Villasenor's face. He threw huge right hands and rushed in with knees to push the pace and the fight into the fence.

Predictions

Two big name fighters coming from legendary fight camps in Miletich Fighting Systems and Chute Box. Two unbelievably aggressive competitors who has knockout power. Obviously, this fight is more than likely going to end in a knockout. I doubt that fighters of this caliber will last to a decision. Lawler is a very aggressive, powerful striker, but loves to plow people into the mat and rain huge punches onto his opponent. Murilo loves to push the pace, land the big jab and knees, and when down on the mat, use his ju-jitsu to try to isolate an arm or leg and sink in the submission.

I'm going to have to go with Robbie Lawler on this one. In Murilo's last fight, he threw huge haymaker punches that were landing at will on Villasenor. Lawler is a very good boxer, and I've seen much better defensive boxing skills from him than from Villasenor. Villasenor had the power to knock out Murilo, but he wasn't able to dodge any of his huge slow haymakers that should have been avoided. That will be much different against Lawler. Another factor is the clinch. In a good number of Murilo's fights, he's been able to clinch his opponent and throw knees into the midsection to weaken his opponent. Lawler's power is just too much to handle in that situation. I believe if Murilo tries to move in for the clinch, he will get brutally thrown down and become vulnerable to a big right hand from Lawler. I'm going to take Robbie Lawler via knockout in the 1st round of this battle. These two just have too much power for this to go the distance or even possibly the 2nd round. Murilo's only chance is to catch him with a shot or submit Lawler on the ground.

The Breakdown: Jake Shields vs. Renato "Charuto" Verissimo

Jake Shields is one of the most well known 170 lbs. fighters that is not on the main stage in the UFC. He's mainly a wrestler and a world renowned ju-jitsu fighter who is a former Shooto World Champion. He holds an 18-4 record with notable wins over Carlos Condit, Yushin Okami, Dave Menne, and Hayato Sakurai. He's currently on a seven fight win streak, submitting Ido Pariente in his last fight at K-1 Dynamite. Shields is a product of the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and has trained fighters such as Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez in the past.

Jake Shields is becoming a real freak of nature. He has unbelievable wrestling skills and has added extensive ju-jitsu mastery to his game since he first started out. He is considered one of the better ju-jitsu fighters in the world. He placed 3rd in his weight class at the ADCC Championships in 2005, if that gives you any indication. He also has been training at Chuck Liddell's kickboxing academy and cross training with the professional Muay Thai kickboxing team at the Fairtex combat Academy, training with legendary Muay Thai Champions, Jongsanan Fairtex and Alex Gong.³ He's added to his standup game, but still likes to take the game to the ground whenever possibly. Shields isn't well known for his knockout power and has a majority of his wins via decision, 10 out of his 18.

Renato "Charuto" Verissimo is probably best known for being BJ Penn's ju-jitsu instructor. He was also the showcase on an episode of TapouT this season.⁴ To those of us who follow MMA closely, "Charuto" is a name that became known during UFC 48 when he took on Matt Hughes. At the time, Renato came into the bout with a 4-0-1 record. He was beaten by Hughes by a controversial unanimous decision and then moved on to fight Frank Trigg, also dropping that bout due to TKO strikes in the second round. He had ran up against some of the top competition of the UFC and been beaten down pretty badly. He rattled of a small win at Rumble of the Rock, and then hit two more roadblocks, Carlos Condit and Kuniyoshi Hironaka. He took a year off after his last two losses and has now rectified himself with a two fight win streak. He is now hitting that wall again in a very tough competitor in Jake Shields.

Renato's style is ju-jitsu, plain and simple. He grew up in Brazil learning Brazilian ju-jitsu and was able to earn a black belt in ju-jitsu. He later moved to Hawaii and became the main influence in BJ Penn's ju-jitsu game. What can we really expect from "Charuto"? Expect some type of ground attack to supplement his ju-jitsu. Both of these competitors have a similar style. Neither fighter has brutal knockout power, but both have outstanding grappling skills. The X factor is Jake's acquired Muay Thai and kickboxing. In the past, he has shown some decent kicks that have dazed opponents or set up some great takedowns. Verissimo suffered a brutal knee to the head from Carlos Condit that destroyed any chance of him recovering and winning that fight.

Predictions

Jake Shields, all day, period. Although I respect "Charuto"'s world renowned ju-jitsu ground game, Shields is also very versed in ju-jitsu as well as having a phenomenol wrestling background. I am also leaning toward Shields because "Charuto" hasn't shown a very good standup game, and I find it doubtful that he will be able to clinch and knee Shields like he was able to do against Lars Haven early in the bout at ICON-Epic. I don't think Shields will be able to finish "Charuto", but I do feel confident he will be able to stuff his takedowns, keep it up if he wants, but ultimately mount and pound "Charuto" into an unanimous decision win.

The Breakdown: Nick Diaz vs. Mike Aina

Nick Diaz is coming of his recent suspension by the NSAC after testing positive for high levels of THC in his system after the Takanori Gomi win at PRIDE 33: Second Coming. Nick was also not allowed to corner his brother Nate Diaz at the Ultimate Fighter finale and was barred from competing at a Shooto card in California in August. He is finally off suspension and the real question of the night is, will Nick pass the drug test? If he does, this fight could very well be the spectacular knockout of the night.

Nick Diaz comes in after an impressive win over Takanori Gomi in which Diaz executed one of the most difficult submissions in ju-jitsu, the gogoplata, to win a slugfest of a matchup. Easily already one of the best fights of the year. Diaz will be coming into this fight with a 14-6 record, with notable wins over Gomi, Fickett, Lawler, and Neer. He has went the distance with Sean Sherk, Joe Riggs, and Diego Sanchez, and also fought Joe Riggs in the hospital after the matchup.⁵ Diaz's personality is one of the most controversial issues when he fights. Very outspoken, Diaz literally fits the "shit" talking street thug image that some people view fighters as. He backs down to noone, talks so much "smack" talk that he literally runs on a sentence for over 20 minutes, ie. Sherdog radio interview with Nick Diaz this week, and at times, has glimpses of genius and honesty that many people find refreshing to hear from an MMA fighter.

Diaz has world class ju-jitsu, taught to him at Cesar Gracie Academy in California. He recently was promoted to a black belt in May 2007, and also sports an aggressive standup boxing game along with a stiff chin and a "no guts no glory" attitude. Diaz is becoming a complete package. He has been training with former WBA and WBC World Champion, Luisito Espinosa, to supplement his boxing skills. He has shown in previous fights that he can take brutal punishment yet still throw huge punches that land cleanly and accurately throughout a matchup.

Mike Aina is a BJ Penn MMA fighter with an 8-5-1 record fighting out of Hawaii. He doesn't have an impressive record against impressive fighters. His most recent win over Rick Screeton didn't prove much since Screeton is well below a 50% win percentage in a 6-11 record. Aina's most notable loss was against Roger Huerta when Aina was first starting out in MMA. Aina has a highlight reel out there, if anyone wants to check it out. To be perfectly honest, Aina has a looping haymaker style that was fairly slow. He was able to knockout some opponents by pushing them back into the fence and landing huge haymakers, but didn't show great knockout power in any of his highlights. Look for Aina to definitely try to bully Diaz around the cage and basically hope to catch him.

Predictions

Nick Diaz via 1st round KO. Diaz has ridiculous cardio, way better boxing, and an unbelievable ground game. He's a black belt in ju-jitsu, trained by a former world champion in boxing, and has ran triathlons and actually placed in the top 5. Even if he gets caught, his cardio is so great that he would most likely recover within seconds. Aina's knockout power wasn't evident in the video I saw of him. The fighters that Aina faced were very sloppy boxers with poor defense. Diaz is far from that. Look for Aina to either get immediately knocked out, or for him to get frustrated with Diaz's superior boxing. Diaz will be able to pick him apart.

The Breakdown: Gina Carano vs. Tonya Evinger

Is this fight relevant? Evinger said she would make out with Gina Carano. Carano should just come out to the center of the cage and say "I'm a lover, not a fighter." Come on! Anyways.. back to reality people. Gina Carano is probably the most recognized female fighter in MMA. She's not exactly the best fighter in MMA since many of the Japanese female competitors are very good, but she is gorgeous, marketable, and always improving her MMA game to new levels. She will be tested against the rising Tonya Evinger.

Gina Carano, like many American female fighters, has an extensive background in Muay Thai. She compiled a 12-1-1 record before switching to MMA. She trains with Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Nevada and is coming into her current bout with a 4-0 record in MMA. She's been featured in many mainstream media stories, and was also the star of a movie called "Ring Girls" in which she traveled to Thailand to face champion Thai fighters. This spun off into the show called "Fight Girls!" on the Oxygen network in which Gina helped Master Toddy mold the girls to fight and win in Thailand.

Tonya Evinger is a straight knockout fighter with some wrestling abilities. She definitely uses her size to move in on opponents and score big punches. A key matchup to look at with Evinger is her fight against Ginelle Marquez-Lee. Ginelle was technically more sound than Evinger, while Evinger mainly tried to push the smaller Ginelle around. She used her massive height and reach to eventually beat Ginelle, but Evinger's punches were slow, sloppy, and weak. The shorter Ginelle was even able to land some serious knee strikes to the much larger Evinger. Ginelle almost beat Evinger at the end of the 2nd round with a leg triangle and showed Evinger's weak ground defense. Evinger was also having cardio problems in the 3rd round. Overall, Evinger still has many flaws that Gina will be able to exploit.

Predictions

Gina Carano by 2nd round TKO/KO. Looking at Evinger's last bout, she looked fairly sloppy in her standup, enough to really allow Carano to exploit her open defenses and possibly throw a few good kicks and punches into Evinger to take this bout fairly handily.

The Breakdown: Joey Villasenor vs. Riki Fukuda

Joey Villasenor comes into this bout after a recent loss to "Ninja" Rua at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Baroni. He sports a 23-6 record that looks better than it sounds. He's hit huge roadblocks as of lately wins big losses to Lawler, Chonan, and Rua. He has yet to really break into the top ranks. Villasenor trains out at Greg Jackson's camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Riki Fukuda has an 8-2 record with vast wrestling background. His most notable bout was his loss to Joe Doerkson by decision. The bout surprised many MMA fans considering Doerkson's vast experience to Fukuda's next to none experience, but impressive wrestling ability.

Villasenor is a great striker fighter with some grappling skills on the ground, but much prefers to strike with his opponents. He has been susceptible to opponents who have pushed the pace on his much like what Rua and Lawler both did in their fights. Villasenor does have some great leg kicking skils, decent clinches, and fairly basic takedowns. He is very vulnerable to the takedown himself and has shown in the past some poor defensive skills on the ground, ie. Chonan bout.

Fukuda is a straight wrestler with good ground and pound skills, but also likes to strike on his feet and use his kicks as well. Look for him to try to take Villasenor to the ground and respect his standup game and possibly try to win this via decision.

Predictions

I can't really convince myself that Fukuda is going to stick to a gameplan and try to take Villasenor down. I think Fukuda may try to strike with him and Villasenor may KO him early in the match. I will say that this bout could potentially be the upset of the night. I'm going to take Villasenor by 2nd round TKO. Bet some money on Fukuda though for a chance at a decision win.

Undercard Predictions

Tyson Nam over Albert Manners via judge's decision
- Unimpressive wins by Manners, Nam seems to be much quicker, much more dodgy, and uses his leg kicks well. Manners also seems to be vulnerable to.. everything.

Chad "The White Collar Brawler" Klingensmith over Brandon Wolff via 2nd round TKO/KO
- Wolff has some unimpressive wins against some tomato can fighters, where as Klingensmith has an impressive win over Barrantes. Klingensmith seems to have some huge size and power, along with some brutal ground and pound, and unbelievable cardio.

Kolo Koka over Justin Bucholz via 1st round TKO/KO
- It's a stretch to think he can knock out Bucholz, but Bucholz has fought terrible competition. Even his loss was against a very unseasoned fighter. I'll rely on Koka's experience to get him the big win here.

Mark Oshiro over Nui Wheeler via 1st round TKO/KO
- Seeing as Mark has knocked out some of the guys already fighting on this card, and this is Nui Wheeler's first MMA bout, I'm picking Oshiro's strong standup to win.

Kala Hose over Jeff Cox via 1st round TKO/KO
- I once saw Jeff Cox get obliterated in :15 seconds flat by Thiago Alves. He has a weak chin, and Hose is going to exploit it early

That's it everyone, that's one of the longest cards I've seen in awhile. A lot of decent local talent on the undercard. There are also two other fights, one pitting Jose Diaz against newcomer Mark Kurano and Elias Delosruyes vs. Chico Cantiberos. Two fights I'm really not interested in at all. Everyone tune in to EliteXC on Showtime at 10 PM EST on Saturday night, and hopefully this will be an amazing card.

Pictures courtesy of the UFC, and Gina Carano's website, http://www.gina-carano.com/.