Lesnar-Carwin is so big that the UFC built special reinforced Octagon.

Shane Carwin is entirely too focused on a knockout.  To recognize the negative effect of that, then look no further than Dan Henderson’s loss to Jake Shield in April.  When facing a wrestling machine like Lesnar, takedown defense can be your best friend.  Carwin has indicated he has worked on his wrestling but you can see it in his eyes that his striking has dominated his training camp.

Everyone knows he can punch so he’s not surprising anyone.  The same goes without saying Brock Lesnar will use his wrestling to neutralize Carwin’s striking.  It’s all the more reason for Carwin to emphasize on his defense so it can set up more knockout opportunities.

Pick:  Shane Carwin

Call me crazy but I still think all the training in the world can’t fix a chin.  I don’t believe Lesnar has one.  Even if Lesnar does get Carwin down and smothers him, I believe Shane will ultimately survive.  Carwin should have many opportunities to find Lesnar’s chin and test it.  It’s one test Lesnar won’t pass.  Carwin will tag Lesnar and Lesnar will crumble.  Just like all of Carwin’s victims.  Carwin will lose one day but he’s waiting too long for this one.  He’s hungry.  Carwin by KO.

The most appreciated aspect of the card was….

No ex-football players or former athletes on the card.  Every participant on Saturday’s card is a full-fledged mixed martial artist.  No freak shows or guest spots which is something fight fans really appreciate.

Cung Le won and….

was there any doubt?  He was dominating his first match with Scott Smith until he ran out of gas then found himself waking up to the ceiling lights.  It’ll be interesting to see whether he grants Smith a rubber match, or now that he has avenged his loss will it give him enough satisfaction to move on?  In any case he needs to quickly make up his mind.  No more pondering.

Enough already…

and make the Erin Toughill – Cyborg Santos match.  I don’t know what was worse.  Strikeforce’s sadistic matchmaking in this case or the referee’s decision to allow Cyborg to keep butchering poor over-matched Jan Finney. There was never going to be any Buster Douglas moment for Finney in this one.  She was just the latest sacrificial lamb for Cyborg.  Strikeforce has a legitimate and potentially competitive women’s championship match on their hands with Cyborg and Toughill.  There is no reason to keep prolonging it.

The WTF Award goes to…

Fabricio Werdum for submitting the world’s best heavyweight.  Talks of retirement and never watching any film of his opponent’s fights sent off alarming signals that Fedor Emelianenko may not h ave been totally focused for this fight. He’s neither the first grand champion to make this mistake nor will he be the last.  In any case Werdum shocked the world and deserves all the credit in the world for doing what many that was impossible.  The only person probably happier than Werdum himself is Dana White.

All the talk surrounding Chuck Liddell’s knockout loss to Rich Franklin at UFC 115 is that the show’s over for the future Hall of Famer.  Not too far behind is the mention that Dana White should refuse any request by “The Iceman” for another fight.

While this is true, there needs to be more emphasis on the one person in Chuck’s world that needs to step up the most if that situation presents itself:  John Hackleman.

It happens all too often when a fighter is finished but continues to fight on while the trainer goes along with him on his path of self-destruction.  The trainer loves the fighter and willing to go down with him.

That’s why Hackleman remains the x-factor in the Liddell retirement saga.

Chuck Liddell is arguably the most endeared fighter ever to grace the Octagon.  His contributions to the sport, not just the UFC, are in-measurable. No one wishes to see him laid out cold again.

Hackleman is not the polarizing figure as White is, but he is the most influential when it comes to the former champ.  The next time he and Liddell make a trip to “The Pit” it should to train the fighters of tomorrow.  He and the king of yesteryear’s MMA are ready the next phase of their journey together.

And just like before, it’s up to Hackleman to get Chuck ready for his next challenge.

A wise man once said “talk is cheap”.  In the case of David Haye, it’s not cheap; it’s worthless.

He promised to restore the glory of the heavyweight division.  He swore to clean up the murky championship picture by unifying titles.  His impressive run at cruiserweight, and being the  polar opposite of both Klitschko brothers, made him their most appealing challenger.

To his credit, he made heavyweight boxing remotely interesting.  Even if it was just for a brief moment.  Although for the third time within a calendar year, he sat on the brink of the most significant championship fight since 2003 only to remove himself from all negotiations to pursue an easier fight.

How is that going to bring back the lure of the heavyweights?  He would serve boxing much better if he would just disappear altogether.

It’s the new boxing tradition of talking your way to greatness but never actually backing it up.  Boxing is littered with fighters who do this but Haye has become it’s premiere practitioner.

David Haye is an absolute disgrace to boxing.  It’s time to move past Haye as he is not deserving of anyone’s time.  Manny Pacquiao is the most beloved boxer because his fists actually do his talking.  Haye is pumped up of false bravado and who has time to waste on his garbage?  There are better things to do.  Like basket weaving.

It kills me to place him atop and as I predicted he would cruise through the overrated Mosley bout, BUT its extremely fair to say that he will win against Manny Pacquiao when or if they meet.  He has benefited tremendously from matches against under-sized, bloated and declining opponents alike.

2) Manny Pacquiao

He’s a fight fan’s fighter and never disappoints. Though he’s too small and gets hit too often to think he can defeat Mayweather.

3) Sergio Martinez

Schooled Kelly Pavlik to win the middleweight title and was denied a decision I believed he deserved against Paul Williams.  On paper it was a loss, but in boxing, fighter’s loses aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on half the time.  Martinez was the better fighter in both cases and is on the verge of becoming a star.

4) Paul Williams

The crafty southpaw got away with a decision against Martinez then had his match against Kermit Cintron end in truly bizarre fashion.  He passed on a rematch with Cintron which is puzzling considering their match was just getting started when it abruptly ended.  The bottom line is he was absurdly awarded a win when no contest would be in order just about anywhere else on the planet.  He received another win he didn’t deserve and apparently that’s good enough for Paul Williams.  Then he wonders why nobody cares him.

5) Juan Manuel Marquez

Say what you will about Marquez fading but the fact he remains he has fought the best on his way up the scale.  Often against younger, fresher fighters.  That can’t be said about other fighters such as Mayweather and Chad Dawson.

The Kimbo Slice experiment did accomplish some good though. It proved that MMA is not glorified street fighting. Brawling in shipyards and warehouses does not equal Octagon success. Kimbo’s failure should serve precedent to any aspiring tough guy who think they can just walk in and do this MMA thing.

Kimbo didn’t deserve the all exposure he received. The only thing you can give him credit for is making the most out of his limited abilities.

Good riddance to Kimbo Slice. He got his 15 minutes.

The UFC’s mindset lately has been more quantity than quality.  Although every now and then in the UFC’s flooded PPV schedule you will find one that will not allow you to take any bathroom breaks.  UFC 113 is one of those cards and has been marked on my calendar for months.  No Kimbo talk here (because it’s not worth the space) but this card has fights really worth talking about:

Josh Koscheck vs. Paul Daley

Two loud mouth jerks.  One a bruising British striker.  The other an American wrestler who wants to be a striker (see Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans).  Each wishing to become the next in line to challenge, and I use that word lightly, for Georges St. Pierre’s welterweight championship.

Koscheck has been on the brink of a 2nd title shot for seems to be an eternity.  Paul Daley is one of the hottest rising stars in the promotion’s deepest division.  He’s left a path of broken and busted bodies since crashing onto the UFC scene.  Josh Koshceck has been up and down over the past few years. Although the current form of Koscheck arms the perfect foil for Daley’s championship hopes.  So who wins?

Pick:  Josh Koscheck

Simply put, Koscheck finally remembered his meal ticket has always been his wrestling.  By going back to the basics he thrashed Anthony Johnson.  Daley has plenty of trouble holding his own against strong wrestlers.  There is nothing that would have me believe Daley has corrected this problem.  Koscheck will use his superior wrestling and extinguish Daley from any talk about title contention.

Light Heavyweight Championship : Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio Rua

This is what mixed martials arts is all about.

Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida almost effortlessly tore through the division on his way to the top.  No one had been able to even brush Machida much less connect with a meaningful shot.  Then along came Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.  Shogun did what most people thought was impossible.  He made Machida look mortal.  He came into the 1st fight with a brilliant game plan pushed Machida to his breaking point.  It was a masterful performance by Shogun, but too bad it wasn’t enough.

The controversy that followed prompted an immediate rematch.  Fight fans are beaming for another fight between these two geniuses of the sport.

Pick:  Lyoto Machida

Lyoto Machida was thrown for a loop when Shogun approached the fight the way he did. It forced him to dig down deep and pull a razor thin decision.  That said more about Lyoto Machida than many of his other wins.  Shogun will undoubtedly have another surprising plan but Machida is maybe the most intelligent fighter in the UFC.  Machida will be more evolved, more aware and better prepared for anything Shogun has in store for the rematch.  He’ll be ready for anything and he will add to his growing legend by winning a clear decision.

Even though Dana White has yet to confirm what we already know, it’s safe to say it maybe the most pivotal match in MMA history.

Randy Couture will present MMA at UFC 118 against former boxing champion James Toney.  Captain America vs the Detroit Motormouth.  The weight of an entire sport is resting firmly on the aging shoulders of Randy Couture.

Talk about pressure.

The seemingly endless debate of boxing vs. MMA will reach a conclusion in an intriguing battle between these over-the-hill stars.

Although I wish it were someone other than Randy Couture to get the call, but I have to say the fight makes sense.  Both guys are well past their primes and who better to test a boxer in the cage than the man who set the standard for modern-day grapplers?

Some skeptics will say that Toney is Dana White’s sacrificial lamb, but they obviously know nothing about James Toney.  He’s no slouch; not by any stretch of the imagination.

Although if you believe a traditionalist mixed martial artist, then Toney will be finished the moment he’s taken down.  James Toney has the best hands in the UFC. Hands down.  No one else in the promotion comes close.  If he lets his hands go, then it can be a nightmare for aspiring grapplers shooting for a take down.

That doesn’t bode well for Couture has been TKO’d in most of his losses.

Speaking of loses, Toney’s whiskers have never failed him.  Once he signed he immediately became the man with the best chin in the UFC stable.  Finishing him via strikes will prove to be most difficult.

Making Couture’s plight worse is that the entire sport of MMA is counting on him for the proverbial “I told you so”.  A loss suffered here will set back the sport for a long time.

Forget Sidney Crosby, Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods.  Never before has a sport been so deeply hinged on a single performance by one of its athletes.  James Toney and boxing nothing to lose in this fight.  Both will be fine win or lose.  If Couture gets put to sleep then so does MMA.  It’ll go back to being regarded as a novelty act.

If that happens neither Couture nor MMA would want to awaken from that slumber.