SB Nation User Blog: Jerret Anderson

Gotta Give Props

Jerret Anderson — Mon, 04 May 2009 07:20:18 -0000

I have to give props to the folks who contribute and help run this website. I would say this is the best blog for the Atlanta Braves, and maybe even one of the best blogs covering any baseball team.

I love the insightful writing and really appreciate the minor league updates that help me keep track of up and coming Braves players. I would not know about Hanson, Hernandez, Medlen or any of the other prospects if not for the hard work of the staff and contributors of talkingchop.

Keep up the great work.

UFC 94 Winners And Losers

Jerret Anderson — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 09:40:53 -0000

A little analysis on the winners and losers of UFC 94:

Winners:

Georges St Pierre: What more can be said about GSP? He out struck one of the best strikers in MMA. He tookdown with ease a guy who supposedly had one of the best takedown defense in the sport. And lastly, he easily passed the great guard of BJ Penn. St Pierre may just be destined for a showdown with Anderson Silva to prove who is the best pound for pound fighter in MMA. St. Pierre is such an athlete I don't know who can beat him. If he comes in to the Thiago Alves fight in this shape he will walk right through the guy. He can wrestle, strike, dominate in his oppenents guard, and has the cardio of a marathon runner. Amazing performance.

Lyoto Machida: Machida had a dominating performance against Thiago Silva. His awkward style give opponents the fits. You can't be aggressive against him because that is what he wants to do so he can counter strike. Some call his style boring but he proved tonight he is one of the top fighters in the world. It will be exciting to see what strategies opponents will develop to counter his awkward style. This guy will be champion before the end of the year.

Jon Jones: Whoa!!! Where did this kid come from? Suplexes, throws, spinning back fists, spin kicks, and takedowns. This kid threw everything at Bonner but the kitchen sink (ok, so I used a cliche). That and he is only 21. If the kid gets some cardio, which was not bad to begin with, he will become a rising star very quickly. Hopefully he is not the next Houston Alexander.

Clay Guida: In the post show conference Guida referred to himself as "The TUF Slayer." He is a stud. He smothers opponents with cardio that does not stop. He was all over Diaz in this fight. I think if he improves on his striking and becomes less of a wild brawler in that respect it would be great to watch him try to go five rounds with BJ Penn.

Losers:

BJ Penn: I felt bad for Penn. There was nothing he could do to stop the quicker, bigger, and stronger St. Pierre. This performance tonight does not take away from the fact that he is still the lightweight champion and one of the best fighters around. He just met his match tonight and St. Pierre really has his number, well actually everyones number. Next up for the champ is Kenny Florian. A motivated Penn could run right through Florian and maybe set up a fight down the road with Guida. It is safe to say tha Penn should stay in the lightweight division.

Thiago Silva: He looked like he had no gameplan for this fight. He is an explosive and aggressive fighter and that is exactly what Machida wanted him to do. You would think he would come in with a better plan with all the tape on Machida, but that is not what happened. Hopefully with a little more training Silva can rebound and climb the ladder in the stacked light heavyweight division.

Stephan Bonner: I have never been that impressed by this guy. He is and always will be a mid carder. A very workmen like style and after this loss I don't see much of a future for him in the UFC. Maybe he will prove me wrong.

Random Note: I saw Shogun Rua in the crowd. This was the first time I saw him at a UFC event not gassed. :)

UFC 93 Winners And Losers

Jerret Anderson — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 12:47:24 -0000

A look at who the winners and losers of UFC 93 are:

Winners:

Rousima Palhares: Sure, he beat veteran fighter Jeremy Horn soundly, and really who hasn't? I am excited about this win because it seemed like this kid is strong, and I think down the road this kid will be a formidable opponenet for Anderson Silva. He was throwing Horn around like a rag doll. I would love to see someone with the brute strength Palhares has fight Silva. His BJJ is top notch and with a few more fights under his belt he could contend for the title sometime in 2010.

Alan Belcher: Talk about an upset, I didn't give Belcher much of a chance. This was the biggest win of his career and I could also see Belcher being a threat down the road to Silva. At 6'2 he stands the same height as Anderson Silva and a match up between those two would be a strikefest. Sure he hasn't beat the best of the best, but I could see Belcher becoming a guy who cracks through the ceiling and climbs up a notch this year.

Dan Henderson: This was Henderson's first win over a name opponent in the UFC since the Pride merger. This sets him up for a match with Michael Bisping and The Ultimate Fighter reality show will give him the chance to become more well known with more casual UFC fans. With that exposure and a win over Bisping I think a re-match between him and Anderson Silva would draw better than it did the first time around. I think Henderson is the only guy I have seen in the UFC to win a round from Silva soundly,

Losers:

Dennis Kang: I was so excited when he signed with the UFC and really thought he would be ready to go against the top middleweights after a few fights. After getting choked out by Belcher we will have to see if he can make a comeback and get the momentum going again to work his way back up the middleweight ladder.

Mark Coleman: Man, this was sad. I was cringing watching an exhausted Coleman in there with Rua. If Rua was in top form he could have easily got a highlight real knockout of the former heavyweight champ it may not have been a pretty sight. Coleman did show a lot of heart, but I think it is time for him to hang it up. Did anyone else notice how slowly he talked and how jumbled up his words were in his post fight interview? He sounded like he had marbles in his mouth and couldn't string together a sentence. I am glad he never had that match with Brock Lesnar last August. There is no way he could have hung with Lesnar with that kind of cardio. I am worried that "The Hammer" has taken one too many blows to the head. A

Shogun Rua: Yes, Rua won, but it was a less than impressive win. If he goes into his fight with Chuck Liddall in the same shape he was in for this fight he may be in for a long night. This guy was the top light heavyweight in the world two years ago and this performance leads me to think he is going down the Paulo Filho road of exile. Many say that maybe he benefitted from Pride's non drug testing, but I have no proof that ever says Rua was on the juice, so I will withhold saything that is the reason for his sub standard performaces in the UFC. Maybe he is still rusty from his time off, but his cardio needs work and he should have been able to finish Coleman long before the end of the 3rd round. Lets hope Rua comes back in top form for the Liddell fight and we all might be in for a treat.

Rich Franklin: Hard to call Franklin a loser being that it was a close fight. But I think this is the beginning of Franklin becoming a gatekeeper type fighter like Tito Ortiz. He can't fight Silva again and I don't see him being able to fight and beat the top 3 or 4 fighters in the LHW division.

Overall, a somewhat boring PPV, as I always find the European ones to be a little less exciting. Maybe it was being up at noon on a Saturday that caused me to not enjoy this PPV as much as I usually do. Thanks for reading and comments are always appreciated.

The Winners And Losers Of UFC 92

Jerret Anderson — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 06:26:26 -0000

Thought I would do some analysis of the winners and losers of tonight's fights.

First off, the winners:

1. Frank Mir: What can you say? Is there a better story than Frank Mir right now? Down and out after getting hit by a car on his motorcycle and suffering a broken leg and then looking bad in his first few fights back to now holding one half of the heavyweight title. He submitted the the holder of the other half of the heavyweight title, Brock Lesnar, in his UFC debut and now is the first man to finish the legend, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. He looked great in this fight. Mir controlled the fight from the beginning until its end. Now he gets re-matched with an ever improving Brock Lesnar. But what will Lesnar do now? Take him to the ground where he will again be faced with black belt BJJ or can he stand with Mir's newly improved striking? I think a re-motivated and dedicated Mir will be dangerous for Lesnar as he will have a few more months to improve his cardio and get his striking a little more crisper. It has the makings of a great fight.

2. Rashad Evans: "Sugar" held Forrest Griffin in check the first few rounds, not suffering much damage and then used his explosivness to get Griffin down and work some great ground and pound, while also avoiding the submissions Griffin threw at him. Rashad improves to 18-0-1 and now the UFC can market him as their undefeated champion. Great match ups are on their way in the UFC light heavyweight division as Evans could meet up with Rampage Jackson, Shogun Rua (depending how he looks in his next couple of fights), Loyota Machida, and maybe even Anderson Silva. And hey, what if after Affliction goes out of business and if Evans is still champion (a big if in this stacked division), Tito Ortiz comes back, wins a few, and then Evans can maybe revenge his draw. Just throwing some interesting scenerios out there should Evans stay champion for a while.

3. And speaking of light heavyweight contenders, Quinton Jackson looked excellent in his fight with Wanderlei Silva. Jackson came out, did not do any wolfman imitations, and took this fight more seriously than he probably has taken any fight in his career. Many had questioned where Jackson was mentally after his troubles with the law over the summer and the recent break with his longtime trainer Juanito Ibarra, but he looked good in this fight with a dominating KO over Silva and may have a date with the champ, Rashad Evans.

4. The UFC: The UFC come out winners tonight in that they have a marketable heavyweight title unification bout between Mir-Lesnar on the horizon, a great matchup for the light heavyweight title in Jackson-Evans, a possible legends matchup between Nogueira and Randy Couture (with the winner getting a possible shot at the unfication bout winner) in a legends matchup, and also maybe being able to have Silva face Griffin in a bout to get one of them back in the title hunt. Lots of big money making matches on the way for Dana and company to promote.

And now to the losers:

1. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: It was hard for me, a huge Nogueira fan, to watch this fight. Nogueira didn't mount much offense against Mir in this short match. Some may say the toll of all those brutal battles in Pride have finally caught up with him or that he maybe looked a little out of shape. He was supposed to have a huge advatage in the striking game, but landed little more than a couple jabs and leg kicks. He was knocked down hard three times and had he not been saved by the bell this could have ended in the first round. I hope for the best for the man we call "Big Nog." As mentioned earlier, a possible match up with Randy Couture in a battle of heavyweight legends may give Nogueira a chance to jump back into title contention.

2. Wanderlei Silva: Silva's wild punching style might have caught up with him in his bout with Quinton Jackson. He swung wildly and Jackson used a powerful left hook to knock Silva out before he even hit the ground. Jackson came into this match with much improved striking and was very good at avoiding the Muay Thai clinch that Silva had used on him in their previous two matchups. In his last eight fights Silva is 3-5, although he has faced good competition in those eight matches, Silva is facing a critical point in his career. He needs a good win over a top fighter to stay viable and get back into the title hunt. As I suggested earlier maybe a match up with Griffin could get him back on track. Or even a re-match with another star in the same situation, Chuck Liddell. Perhaps avenging that loss will give Silva (2-3 in the Octagon) the confidence he may have lost coming over from Pride to the UFC.

3. Forrest Griffin: You can't really call Griffin a loser tonight. He controlled the first two rounds before Evans exploded on him in the third. Griffin has a long and bright future ahead of him and will easily be back in contention with a win over another contender like Silva, Machida, Liddell, or Jackson. The scary thing is that after Griffin suffers a loss he seems to come back better. He is truly a fighter that learns from his losses, which is a valuable trait.

4. Yushin Okami and Dean Lister: Easily the boringest fight of the night. Both these guys lived up to their reputation as "dull" fighters. Okami got another decision win and improved to 7-1 in the UFC. Dean Lister is involved in another decision (4 out of his 6 UFC fights have gone all three rounds) and drops to 4-2 in the UFC. Some people complained about this being a dark match, but I can see why this match was not shown live. Okami is supposedly the top contender to Anderson Silva's title in the middleweight division. But does anyone think Okami is going to be able to survive five rounds with Silva and get a decision win? I don't. But he is 7-1 and I think Dana will have to give him a title shot due to that record and it could possibly lead to another low buyrate for a Silva headlined pay per view.

Thanks for reading guys and I apprecite all your comments, opinions, and suggestion.

Talk About Everything Falling Into Place!!

Jerret Anderson — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 04:34:02 -0000

In one week we get the win we need and losses of both Dallas and Tampa Bay and we make the playoffs. And to top it all off the Giants beat Carolina so if the Birds win next week and Carolina loses we get a first fround bye.

I am glad we are in the playoffs but it would be pretty amazing if we were able to sneak in that division title and a first round bye on the last day of the season.

Brock Lesnar is UFC's New Cash Cow.

Jerret Anderson — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 21:49:20 -0000

Of the top ten PPVs of the year Brock Lesnar was on three of them.

This is great news for the UFC. He could very well be the new cash cow when in comes to PPVs, replacing long time PPV draw Tito Ortiz.There are a few big fights coming up for Lesnar that could do monster PPV buys.

First up is the winner of Nogueira-Mir. A re-match between Mir and Lesnar would almost surely intrigue casual fans. It could be hyped up as a big time rematch between a re-motivated and rejuvanated Mir and a better and more skilled Brock Lesnar. Lesnar has a great heel charisma (pro wrestling term for "bad guy.") and people love to see heels lose (see Tim Sylvia). The UFC could hype up this fight and make Mir out as the good guy coming back from tragedy (motorcycle accident) and being under-motivated to make another run at the world title. And who doesn't like these types of inspirational type "Rocky" stories?

And if Nogueira, the favorite in the Mir fight, does win, the promotion would still have a great fight on their hands. Nogueira's two plus months on the The Ultimate Fighter have established him as a very friendly and humble man who is very hard to dislike. He could be hyped as the guy who has never been tapped or finished and who can take a beating and still pull off wins. The UFC could also promote this as a fight between the guy who beat the guy who beat Lesnar. The casual fans would eat this up and buy the PPV just to see if Lesnar could beat the crafty veteran.

Not only are these fights big money match ups but there is no doubt a re-match between Couture and Lesnar would also do great business. The UFC also has young prospects like Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez that they could build up and have chase the title.

It's is an exciting time for the heavyweight division and with Lesnar as champion it could become a very profitable division for the UFC.

UFC 90: Silva Vs. Cote Analysis As It Happens

Jerret Anderson — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 02:14:23 -0000

I thought it would be cool to blog my analysis for the fanpost as the fight are going live.

Sean Sherk Def. Tyson Griffin 30-27, 29-28, 29-28.

We have what maybe our first ever Physician as a referee. Well, maybe he has a Phd. Anyhow, Sherk and Griffin decided to throw bombs at each other. Griffin handled all of his takedowns and was even able to get Sherk off his back. Sherk striking looked a alot better than it did when he fought Penn. But maybe it was just his opponent making him look a little better. Sherk took his far share of punches and kicks, but hit Griffin more with A classic Sherk match, except no lay and pray and more strike and pray. I think I like the latter as a better style for him.

Junior Del Santo Def. Fabricio Werdum Via KO at 1:22 of 1st Round

Santo's hits a huge uppercut on Werdum and knocks him out. Werdum takes 5 punches on the ground before the ref steps in and stops it. Huge upset which really scatters up the title picture after the Lesnar-Couture and Nogeuira/Mir winners face off. Werdum must be pissed because he know gets knocked down a notch in the title picture and probably will need another win to get back into it. Business,Business, Business.

Gray Maynard Def. Rich Clementi via 30-27 decision all around

Maynard was aggressive and kept getting takedown after takedown. Clementi did have some really nice scramble and tried to go for submissions. The ref must have taken classes with the ref from the Nelson-Arvlovski fight as he was threatening to stand up the fighters when Maynard was in half guard and trying to move to mount. A somewhat dull fight.

Thiago Alves Def. Josh Koscheck via 30-27, 29-28, 30-27

This was an exciting fight. Alves hit some brutal leg kicks and Koscheck's chin survived it. Koscheck came back and outstruck Alves near the end of the 1st round, but since Alves almost finished it he gets the round overall.

Anderson Silva Def. Patrick Cote Via TKO 36 seconds into the 3rd RD.

Anderson Silva's skill was on display here in the first two rounds before Cote knee blew out and he could not continue. The air was sucked out of my living room after this happened. The fight was pretty exciting with Silva moving and ducking and putting his striking skills on display. I feel Silva was almost playing with Cote (even offering to help him up) and getting ready to go in for the kill. Really tough break for Cote, the organization, and the city of Chicago, but that is why it's MMA and not pro wrestling. Silva was very gracious in defeat and Cote mentioned he was the only man to take Silva into the 3rd round. Not to knock Cote, but I felt Silva was toying with him most of the fight and more or less it was his choice to go to the 3rd.

Anderson Silva's striking skill is so good I wonder who could even come close to outstriking him.

Overall it was a so so show with the live fights going to decision three times. And of course the ending of the main event was a dissapointment.

How to Properly Handle Couture vs. Lesnar

Jerret Anderson — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 07:22:20 -0000

Fronted by Luke Thomas.

As rumors swirl regarding UFC heavyweight champion Randy Coutures return to the UFC to fight Brock Lesnar in November many situations present themselves as to who should be getting title shots and who is the real heavyweight champion. Many people see Brock Lesnar’s 2-1 record and think that there is no way he deserves a title shot. And that is a very valid point. There is also an argument on whether this is a title match or if Randy should fight Nogueira for the title to unify the belts. I have come up with a solution that I think is pretty fair for all fighters involved.

First, Randy Couture should not be recognized as the current heavyweight champion, Nogueira should be recognized as the sole champion. My reasoning for this is Couture has not defended the belt in over a year and chose to sit out. Therefore, in all fairness he should be stripped of the title and Nogueira declared the undisputed champion. That brings more value to the December PPV of Nogueira Vs Frank Mir as being for the undisputed championship more valuable than if they were fighting for the interim belt. It also helps the Lesnar-Couture fight as people no longer need to worry about Brocks undeserving record.

Also, if Lesnar wins the fight he has beaten a proven champion and more people will see him as deserving a shot against the Mir/Nogueira fights winner. If Couture wins, then he could be in line for a shot at the winner of Mir/Nogueira and the UFC could hype it up as a fight where the legend is coming back to take back the title he never lost.

Of course, one must remember that there just have been little rumblings of negotiations going on, and nothing has come up to 100% confirm that this fight will happen. And Couture could possibly play hardball and say the only way he comes back is if he is recognized as champion upon his return.

The above mentioned solution would be the best way to protect the value of the heavyweight championship as well as let the UFC set up a great fight in Lesnar-Couture with the winner facing the Mir/Nogueira winner.

Who Is Heavyweight Champion of The World?

Jerret Anderson — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 04:12:35 -0000

Currently in the MMA world we have three people who can make a claim on being the heavyweight champion of the world. Those are Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Randy Couture, and Fedor Emelianenko. For the sake of argument I am looking at Nogueira as interim world champ, Couture as UFC champ (since he never lost the belt and is still considered under contract with Zuffa) and Emelianenko is the newly crowned WAMMA Heavyweight Champion, which I consider an accomplishment since he will have to defend the title against top contenders in what may be the deepest heavyweight roster in MMA, over at Affliction.

Looking back at the last 5 fights these guys have had, they have all faced one similar opponent (Tim Sylvia), and all three have beat him:

Emelianenko (5-0) has wins over Tim Sylvia, Hong-Man Choi, Middleweight Matt Lindland, Mark Hunt, and Mark Coleman.

Nogueira (4-1) with wins over Tim Sylvia, Heath Herring, Josh Barnett, and Fabricio Werdum w/ one loss to Barnett

Couture (3-2) with wins over Gabrial Gonzaga, Tim Sylvia, and Mike Van Arsdale w/ two losses, both to Chuck Liddell.

So out of these 3 who is the real heavyweight champion of the world? All three men have beaten Tim Sylvia (1-3 in his last 4 fights w/ the only win against a guy who should be a light heavyweight (Brandon Vera). Emelianenko has beaten Nogueira, while Couture and Nogueira have never met. Couture is almost closing in on the one year mark since he last fought, while Emelianenko and Nogueira have fought twice in that same time frame. It would be unfair to not recognize Couture as a champion since he never officially lost the belt, but it’s hard to recognize a guy as a champion who has not fought in a year. Emelianenko holds two wins over Nogueira, but lately has not been fighting top competition. Nogueira looked sloppy in both his fights with Herring (where he looked finished in the 1st round) and took a pounding for two rounds before submitting Sylvia.

From my perspective, and I am a huge UFC fan, I think Emelianenko can lay claim to the claim of being the top heavyweight champion in mixed martial arts. Nogueira has looked a little sloppy his last two fights and also is 0-2 against Emelianenko. Randy Couture has not competed in over a year so we don’t know how well he could have done against a guy like Nogueira. Overall, Emelianenko holds wins over more notable heavyweights (Cro Cop in his prime (2x), Mark Hunt, Mark Coleman, Ricardo Arona, and Heath Herring) than Nogueira and Couture. He also finished Tim Sylvia quicker than either one of them (Couture dominated a 5 round unanimous decision, while Nogueira took a pounding for two plus rounds before submitting the big man).

I am sure this debate will continue until all the fighters are under the same promotion's banner. A return to the octagon by Couture, and a subsequent win over Nogueira, could eventually lead down the road to a super fight with Emelianenko. That seems unlikely to happen for now, so it seems we may be debating “Who is the undisputed heavyweight chamption” on message boards for a few more years to come.

Early Ratings For EliteXC Unfinished Business

Jerret Anderson — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 21:45:51 -0000

From Bryan Alvarez over at f4wonline.com

The show did 2.62 million viewers, down nearly 50% from the debut with Kimbo. Rating was a 1.9.

It will be interesting to see if the next show in October with Kimbo will pick up most of that 50% who decided not to tune it. if it does not, well than I think it is safe to say we would not see a 4th show. It will be interesting to see how this will all shape up.