MMAPredictions

Fight #1 Chris “Savage” McCray (Gold Metal Grappling/Team Lloyd Irvin) vs. Manny “Postura” Okorle (Team Yamasaki)

Chris got the takedown early on Manny against the cage after trading light jabs. Christ pinned Manny’s arm down with his knee and began to tee off, giving him the obvious advantage in round number one. Manny is able to keep Chris from attaining the rear naked choke, but was really just allowing himself to be dragged around the ring. Manny almost used the cage to push himself over Chris’ back, but was unable to finish this move. This was a total domination for Chris. He was being very effective at keeping Manny on the ground. Chris got the full mount and Manny moved around and exposed his back. Manny did a decent job of avoiding another rear naked choke. Chris was looking a little gassed and his attempts at submission did not come to fruition. Manny stood himself back up and the two started swinging. He looked completely exhausted. Chris was finally able to get his rear naked choke after taking Manny down one last time. Winner at 4:51 by submission, Chris McCray.

Fight #2 Levon “The Main Man” Maynard (Global Martial Arts Academy) vs. Kyle “The Alleycat” Baker (MMA Institute)

Kyle started using obvious Muay Thai clinching. Maynard threw the first knee in the clinch. Kyle landed a huge right knee as the two remained in the clinch, bouncing off the cage walls. Mynard’s knees were looking a little weak as the round progressed, neither man wanting to exit the clinch. Maynard apparently had enough and separated himself from the Muay Thai specialist. Kyle showed nice form in his Muay Thai, slipping some quick elbows and good body shots. At the same time they both just seemed to put their hands down away from each other. It became a striking match where Maynard landed a strong right cross. Maynard’s form got a little sloppy once he started getting confident, and Kyle made sure he paid for it. Round ended after a few well placed shots from Maynard. Maynard was showing good timing at the beginning of round two before Kyle took him down. After a few ground and pound shots Maynard was able to stand it back up, but not without taking a hard jab. Kyle half landed an overhand right before clinching up and landing another big knee. Inside the clinch Kyle was able to land combo after combo, finally wearing Maynard out and nearly knocking him out where he stood. Mario Yamasaki called the fight at 2:57 of the second round, winner by TKO, Kyle Baker.

Fight #3 Iman “Mannie” Achhal (Capital BJJ) vs. Felice “Lil’ Bulldog” Herrig (H.I.T. Squad)

Iman got the bear hug in deep right from the start. It looked as if she’s going for a body slam of some kind, but to no avail. Iman began to work the leg with her knees. Felice could not seem to get out of that bear hug. Iman got the takedown, although sloppily, and was able to almost get a nasty looking guillotine choke on Felice. Iman was like a tick, not letting go once she got those hooks in. Felice began to start showing some striking prowess before getting locked up in the clinch again. A bit of a weak start to the match. Felice began round two with a flurry of fists and legs, able to catch Iman a bit off her guard. Once again they ended up back in the clinch, Felice trying to swing some kind of offense through Iman’s hooks, and Iman unwilling to engage in a striking game. Finally Iman was able to secure a huge takedown, but was unable to capitalize, allowing Felice to right herself on her feet. Felice reared back and landed a huge front kick into Iman’s stomach. The following combination was enough to swell Iman’s eye nearly shut. While back in the clinch, both fighters were looking spent and ended round two by trading knees. Within the first few seconds of round three, Felice landed a gorgeous left hook, giving her the clear advantage, and making Iman clinch her up for protection. Iman, after a lengthy clinch, was able to take Felice to the ground, and after a bit of work, was able to take full mount. A failed rear naked choke later, Felice stood herself back up as the audience went nuts. Iman scored another takedown, smothering her on the ground before the ref stood them back up. Felice wasted no time, and fired off a well placed combination that staggered Iman in her step just before the round ended. Winner by judges decision, Iman Achal. The crowd was a roaring mix of boos and cheers, to the point where I couldn’t hear her after fight interview with the announcer.

Fight #4 John Doyle (LionHeart MMA) vs. Cody “Donnybrook” Donovan (High Altitude Martial Arts).

Their nerves seemed to explode when they finally clinched. Cody was able to take John down quickly, causing blood to pour out of his mouth and nose. After attaining full mount, Cody was in complete control of John, whose strategy seemed to be to clinch Cody’s body as close as possible to him. Cody rained down blows on him, until finally the official had to call the match. Winner by TKO, Cody Donovan.

Fight #5 Herbert “Whisper/Gorilla” Goodman (H.I.T. Squad) vs. Ron “The Choir Boy” Stallings (Team Lloyd Irvin)

Whisper’s very first punch was a hard right that landed right on Ron’s face. He then picked Ron up and slammed him into the cage, not much for damage, but a nice aesthetic move for sure. Not a whole lot happened while Whisper was on top. In Whisper’s corner, Matt Hughes remained relatively quiet. Finally, Mario Yamasaki stood them up to continue their fight. Whisper did a well timed counter, taking Ron onto the canvas once again. And once again, not a whole lot happened from this position. Whisper was unable to land any really devastating punches, and Ron was unable to do anything to really help his situation. With 20 seconds left, Mario stood them up for the last time that round. Ron landed once of the hardest knees I’ve ever personally seen, right into the face of Whisper, knocking him out cold. Winner by KO, Ron Stallings.

Fight #6 Richie “The Dirty Samurai” Hightower (Genesis MMA) vs. Marcus Foran (Team Greg Jackson)

Both fighters were wary of each others’ prowess. Their nerves were causing big swings and over-movement when it came to clinching and knees. You could just tell these guys’ adrenal glands were working overtime. After an extended clinch Hightower made a beautiful sweep that slammed Foran hard into the mat. Foran, however, did a very impressive move where he twisted and spun into Hightower’s guard. From on top he continued to work the body of Hightower. Hightower was able to stand it back up again. Blood smeared on both men in the clinch. The two kept trading for position on clinch right before the round ended. Foran started by using his legs to soften Hightower up a bit. But instead of acting on it Foran appeared to be waiting for a counter attempt. After another extended very extended clinch, without either fighter really making any productive moves, the two were separated after an accidental groin shot by Hightower. The two ended up back in the clinch, and with Foran’s head lowered Hightower brought his elbow down into what looked to be the back of Foran’s head. Clearly something was up, as the judges went inside the cage to talk to the official about the placement of Hightower’s blows. Decision is made to “No Contest” for reasons of illegal strikes by Ritchie Hightower. “Dirty Samurai” indeed.

Fight # 7 Jose “This Pistol” Villarisco (team Lloyd Irvin) vs. John “The Magician” Dodson (Hybrid Academy/MMA Institute

I have to say, Team Irvin really brought the numbers to show support for their figthers. The speed on these guys made it that much more fun. Dodson started the round by landed a big right you could see phased Jose a little. After a good fist/knee combination from Jose, John dragged that same leg and slammed him into the canvas. These fighters were trading blows fairly evenly. Jose was showing a little more control in the cage, but Dodson is known as a very elusive fighter. Dodson really enjoyed using those jumping Superman punches, but Jose answered back and let him know that he was still paying attention. Dodson picked Jose up again for a slam, not as hard as the first, but still demoralizing I’m sure. At the start of round two, Dodson landed an impressive jumping roundhouse into Jose’s guarding elbow. After a good combo by Dodson he snarls after Jose, taking a knee for his over-excited furor. He is able to take Jose down, however, but these quick fighters never seem to stay down for long. A good knee from Jose seemed to begin the turn towards Jose’s favor. Dodson was a hard opponent to catch, only engaging when he deemed fit. Blood started to trickle down Dodson’s head as his takedown attempt was stuffed. The second time worked, as the entire ring shook with Jose’s impact just as the round came to an end. Jose was beginning to each punches, still having to chase Dodson around the ring. Dodson landed a huge combo, the right and left landing square on Jose’s jaw. Gun shy, was the best word to describe Jose’s changed fighting style. Another slam from Dodson started to take the hope away from Jose, that is until “The Pistol” almost snagged a well placed arm bar. With the entire crowd cheering his name, Jose made one last attempt to knock out Dodson. John was able to take Jose to the ground, putting a stop to any last ditch effort Jose had to try and claim the round. Winner by split decision, John Dodson.

Fight # 8 Jamal “The Suit” Patterson (Gracie Academy Virginia) vs. Antwain “The Juggernaut” Britt (Hybrid Academy/MMA Institute)

Jamal took a hit right at the start that if Britt pushed probably could have ended. Through the sprawling Jamal was able to get a quick guillotine placement on Britt, and seconds later Antwain tapped out. Winner by submission, Jamal Patterson.

Fight # 9 Justin Robbins (H.I.T. Squad) vs. Mike “The Hulk” Easton (Team Lloyd Irvin)

Both men respected the other’s abilities. This was noticeable by how much distance they gave each other in between scuffles. They danced around each other a lot, shooting a strike here and there in a match considered to have a significant impact on the lightweight MMA world. After round one, I wasn’t so sure. Justin’s form looked sloppy, as round two was a near carbon copy of round one halfway through. His leg kicks lacked any hip rotation, and he was bouncing off the walls anytime Easton pressed. Perhaps this was due to the extremely short notice they put this fight together; Easton’s original opponent (Chase Beebe) having not shown up for weigh-ins the previous day. Round two ended in boos. Easton looked much more aggressive in round three, a sweeping right hook enabling him to take Justin to the ground. Robbins ate some big knees while in Easton’s side mount. He was able to pull Easton into his guard, but this didn’t do anything great for either fighter. I kept wondering when this amazing fighter was going to pop out of Easton with two minutes left in the round. Justin seemed to have had enough, easily letting his neck slip into a guillotine choke. Winner by submission, Mike Easton.

- Eric

KEN HERSHMAN:
We’ve had MMA on the network since 2007. That (EliteXC) programming was actually very successful despite ProElite’s financial struggles. One thing that we’re very proud of is that we always put on compelling contests that are very well received by our subscribers.

We’ve been in boxing the last 20-plus years. We expected MMA to start off slowly until people caught up, and I’d have to say that that’s not the case. It’s right up there with some of our highest rated sports programming.

We’re thrilled to be getting back into this space and equally excited to get back into it with Strikeforce and Scott Coker. There’s no one better and classier in this business. We’re really looking forward to launching this platform together. We now have a great compliment on the network again to our NFL programming and our boxing programming. And I can’t wait until April 11.

FRANK SHAMROCK:
I want to thank SHOWTIME for once again not only taking the risk with MMA but also embracing it wholeheartedly. My experience with Scott Coker is a very long one and a very successful one.

Scott was that guy that got me out, got me back in the cage and got me going again. I put my trust in him and put my faith in him to promote me well and to present us with honor and respect that I think the athletes deserve. In that way I think Scott is a tremendous friend and promoter.

SHOWTIME, man, you guys are good guys. You’re commitment to MMA is honorable. I, as an artist, really, truly appreciate that. It’s been 15 years since I’ve been a professional mixed martial artist and I can’t imagine having another job or wanting one.

(For) April 11, they called me and I took my suit off and put my training clothes on. One thing Strikeforce is really good at and SHOWTIME is really good at is making and booking exciting fights. My opponent for April 11 is an exciting fighter. He’s a guy who throws, talks trash and on April 11, I’m going to knock him out. And his name is Nick Diaz.

Many of you guys know him. He’s sort of the other bad boy that I haven’t beat down yet. But come April 11 we’ll take care of that.

QUESTIONS:
Do you plan to continue to cross promote?

SCOTT COKER:
We haven’t had the sit down with Ken and the guys at SHOWTIME, but my thought is that the co-promotion fights that we did together with EliteXC and Gary Shaw were probably two of the best fights we’ve ever done. When organizations get together and have compelling matchups that make sense and are relevant that work out in the end for both fighters and all parties, I feel why wouldn’t we? I think if it’s good for business that I will support it. But it’s something we still have to iron out.

On fighting Ken Shamrock.
FRANK SHAMROCK:
I do plan to fight more often. I had a program which was kind of fighting twice a year, but think I need to tie them a little closer so I don’t get out of shape.

In reference to fighting Ken, it’s a fight I’d always want to do. I think it’s a very compelling story. Ken’s going through some personal and emotional problems right now and we’re letting him do that. But this fight is something that is very personal for me. I think it’s very important that we tell the story of the sport and the Shamrock family and what type of influence the family has had on the sport. I think it’s important that I kick his butt, but right now we’re putting it on the back burner.

What went into Shamrock-Diaz?
KEN HERSHMAN:
Everything I’ve seen from Frank is there is never a dull moment. With Nick, you know what you’re getting from him. He’s just going to come at you and not stop.

When I program boxing I’m much more involved in the matchmaking. I look for styles that will make compelling contests and will make compelling fights. When we talked to Scott about this matchup this was one of those that was like three seconds. Do it. These guys are going to go at it. It’s going to be fun. Who knows who wins? Frank has to lose some weight and that’s a challenge for him and Nick has to fight a guy that is a legend. So come April 11 all I can say is I won’t miss it.

Has there been Kimbo Slice contact?
HERSHMAN:
Well there is a lot of reasons why (there hasn’t been contact with Kimbo Slice yet). We had to work through the whole EliteXC thing and unwind that transaction. It was a big bit complicated and a bit cumbersome. My hat goes off to Scott and his team for hanging in there. It was a long road, but we got there. And now we just closed this deal a few days back. We’ve already put together an event. Scott’s already matched up the main event and a couple of other cards. Now we’re going to go to the next step, which is to secure those fighters that we want and Kimbo is one that we think we have a future with. We’re going to make every effort to get him done. But there are only so many hours in a day. He’s an important part of where we’re going and we’re going to see if we can line that up with him in the coming weeks.

SCOTT COKER:
We have been in touch with I think half of the fighter roster. Yesterday, I did talk to Kimbo Slice’s lawyer, just to say hello and let him know we will be in touch shortly and that we are very excited to have Kimbo fighting with Strikeforce and getting him back into the cage as soon as possible. My goal is to get these guys back working and back fighting as soon as possible.

We will have reached out to everybody by the end of day tomorrow. And then we’ll start putting the matches together and move forward.

KEN HERSHMAN:
I think that we are going to have at least five major events this year and hopefully at least five of our up-and-comer series which was so successful before. As Scott said, we are going to sit down and go through the calendar and try and space these things out. But you know SHOWTIME hasn’t had MMA on the air with live, new events since September of last year, so we’re chomping at the bit. We can’t wait to get going and we’re looking forward to this April show to kick it off. You’re going to see a number of events in pretty rapid succession thereafter.

CHRIS DEBLASIO:
Just to clarify, there will be the championship level events and the up-and-comer series which is similar to our boxing series ShoBox, which showcases young fighters who are up and coming and trying to make their way to the big time championship fights.

Plans for women’s MMA:
SCOTT COKER:
Being from a martial arts background, we’ve always looked forward to women’s fights. At the end of the day, this is a martial arts contest. I’ve always supported women’s martial arts competitions. MMA is just taking it to the next level. We’ve had some compelling matchups. When you look back at the history of the women’s fights in Strikeforce there are a couple fights that are right up there with the big boys as far as exciting matchups. They can bring it. There’s no difference. A kick is a kick. A punch is a punch. An arm-bar is an arm-bar. If a girl is 125 pounds doing it, it’s still effective.

We’re going to continue supporting women’s MMA and we’re going to be inviting Gina Carano to come fight on April 11. And we’ve already got confirmation from Cris Cyborg that she is available if we can put that match together. And if not maybe we’ll put Cris Santos-Cyborg on the April 11 card. But those matchups are still to be determined and nothing is confirmed on that end. But we will be supporting women’s MMA in Strikeforce.

What’s the status of Cung Le?
SCOTT COKER:
Cung has been doing his movie star career. He’s had some success with it, he’s doing very well and we’re all happy for him. I talked to him about a week ago and he is itching to get back in the cage. He does have an injury on his elbow right now which is stopping him from fighting in this show. Otherwise, he would be fighting on this show because his schedule is open. He’s just injured. You will see Cung Le back in the cage on Strikeforce at least two times before the end of the year. I haven’t say down and talked to Frank about it, but the fight between Cung and Frank number two is a fight that actually should happen before the end of 2009. We are planning on having Gilbert Melendez fight (on April 11).

What is solidified for April 11?
SCOTT COKER:
Frank and Nick are going to be the main event. The other fight that we have matched is Benji Radich, who is an amazing fighter and great striker. He will be fighting Scott Smith, who in the last Strikeforce event knocked out Terry Martin in the first round. Those two guys will probably go right to the center of the cage and start throwing as hard as they can because that’s how they work.

The fighter that we are looking to match is Gilbert Melendez.

What’s the status of Josh Thompson?
SCOTT COKER:
I haven’t sat down with Josh yet, but we would like Josh to fight and the opponent we are going to invite to fight Josh, who is not confirmed, is KJ Noons.

Question on EliteXC Titles:
We should give them the ability to come fight and unify the titles at some point in ’09. We’re offering it to KJ because KJ was the EliteXC champion and Josh Thompson is our champion. That would be an amazing fight and that’s why we’re trying to put that together so we can unify the belt. But to get through all the weight classes that we have and they have, I think it is going to take the remainder of the year.

Announcers and start times:
KEN HERSHMAN:
I think we are going to stick with it the same way we did with EliteXC, which is mostly a 10 p.m. start time, east coast. The announce team we are putting in place as we speak. We haven’t figured out a way to have Frank Shamrock fight and announce at the same time, but I’m sure he’ll figure that out. I think we would like very much to bring Gus Johnson back, who did the CBS shows and is now our main commentator for boxing, and then we’ll round out the crew from there.

Title ramification for catchweight fight between Shamrock and Diaz:
SCOTT COKER:
This fight works because Nick Diaz fights traditionally between as low as 150 and up to 180. He goes back and forth depending on the matchup. He was fighting at a lower rate and I talked to Cesar Gracie (Nick’s trainer) and he said ‘we can’t make that weight anymore so we want to fight at 170.’ That’s were he would like to go back and fight and make his match. As you know, Frank is in the 185-pound weight class.

Putting those two fights together, it just made a lot of sense to me because of the history behind Cesar, the Gracie’s and the Shamrocks. I thought it was a compelling story. And it would be a fantastic matchup because of the styles. That’s why we put that fight together.

We’ve had a few fights at a catchweight, not that many. But once in a while to put one on that’s very special together like we are able to do for the launch with SHOWTIME and do it here, at our home, with Frank and Nick it just made a lot of sense and we’re very excited to do it.

In terms of exclusive fights:
SCOTT COKER:
If we had a fighter under contract but we couldn’t keep them busy then we would let him fight here or there. But based on the schedule, I think we are going to be very busy and we’re going to need the athletes to come participate because we are going to have so many fights. For right now we’re going to need athletes to fill these slots.

Alistair Overeem (Strikeforce heavyweight champion) will be fighting for Strikeforce. The question is when? I’m hoping to get him back before the end of the year. He’s just had a very busy schedule in Japan and fighting in Europe. One of my top priorities is trying to work out his next fight with us.

Kimbo against Bob Sapp?
SCOTT COKER:
That fight was just a conceptual fight. How great would it be if Kimbo and Bob could ever work out the weight and have that fight? I think it would be an entertaining fight to say the least. But by no means was that something that was contracted or talked about with both sides. It was just a “what if.”

Does Shamrock have the need or desire to avenge the loss to Cung Le?
FRANK SHAMROCK:
A need or desire, no. They’d probably pay well very well and it would probably be the fight of the year again. Other than that, fighting is fighting to me. It’s a transaction between two artists and somebody wins.

Shamrock’s comments on Nick Diaz:
FRANK SHAMROCK:
I do know Nick personally. It’s rare that I do know fighters on a social level. Nick Diaz is very similar to me. He grew up in a broken home and had abusive parents and really had a tough childhood. He and I have that in common and we’ve spoken about it a few times. He’s also gone on his MMA quest and traveled around to all the gyms. He ended up with my father for a minute training with him. So we have common ties that tie us together. I know for a fact hat he wasn’t too happy when I knocked out his coach Cesar and he said some words afterward that got him into this fight. But we’re going to fight and I don’t care about Nick. He’s a nice guy and I’m going to knock him out. Then I’ll move onto the next one.

Question about ProElite:
KEN HERSHMAN:
The reality of the situation is that ProElite ran into funding problems as many, many companies much bigger and far flung are in this world today. We had to figure out a way to unwind the relationship in a way that worked for everybody and that allowed MMA to have a life and to continue on SHOWTIME. That was very important to me and it was very important to SHOWTIME that we continue to showcase this programming for our subscribers.

Absolutely we had a say in that (the ProElite deal with Strikeforce). We were a stockholder number one and we had a programming agreement. We had to be very comfortable with the partner we were going to continue with. We absolutely had input there and we’re very happy with the way it worked out.

Why Strikeforce?
KEN HERSHAMN:
There were a lot of factors that went into it. First and foremost, we wanted stability that I think Strikeforce has demonstrated in their long tenure of operating successfully. We like their roster of fighters and we like the combination of rosters between the EliteXC fighters that we’re picking up and their current fighters. It presented a lot of compelling content in a very short time frame for us, so we didn’t have a building process.

What did you learn from failures of EliteXC?
KEN HERSHMAN:
They learned a lot as we did throughout this process about expansion too quick, too much, too fast. Things like that we’ll apply here. We just want to have a steady partner. We want to put on great shows. The benefit of our model and Strikeforce’s model is we’re not dependent on pay-per-view. So we don’t have to go out there month in and month out and charge our fans $40 or $50 to see our content. You get SHOWTIME, you can watch them every month, month in and month out. We think we have a really good model that will allow us to grow in the future and we’re looking forward to it.

Exclusive deal with Strikeforce?
KEN HERSHMAN:
We weren’t exclusive to EliteXC either and we’re not exclusive with Strikeforce. But I will tell you that when we’re in with a partner, we’re in with a partner. We feel like we’re going to be doing a lot with Scott. I’m not sure we have the capacity or the desire to do anything with anyone else. If somebody came along with something compelling we would examine it and also talk with Scott about how he felt about it because that’s the type of partnership we’re going to have.

What synergy is there between boxing and MMA?
KEN HERSHMAN:
I think that when we looked at our sports platform and the ways to expand it we looked at boxing and that is, in essence, one of the original extreme sports. Adding mixed martial arts, to me, is a very natural extension of that. Obviously that sport has evolved and developed in a very quick fashion and has caught the attention of a young demographic, which we will see. And we have the NFL, which, on a lot of levels, is as extreme and challenging of a sport as a combat sport. We love the triumvirate of those three together. We think that they all cross-pollinate each other and we expect that fans of one will become fans of each of the other.

A couple of details about UFC Ultimate Fight Night 17…

Most easily-predicted fight outcome: We have a tie! Ninety-six percent of our users knew that Nick Catone would defeat Derek Downey, and ninety-six percent also knew that Cain Velasquez would beat Denis Stojnic.

Most surprising fight outcome: Josh Neer’s triangle victory over Mac Danzig was a surprise to the 78% of people who predicted Danzig would win. Danzig’s grappling is considered to be very good, so this was not expected at all.

It’s worth pointing out that ninety-three percent of predictors knew that Joe Lauzon would beat Jeremy Stephens last night, so that armbar was no real surprise. Lauzon’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu looked really slick as he moved from one attack to another. Stephens needs to work on his mount defense. Just my 2 cents there.

- Caleb

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A couple of details about UFC 90…

Most easily-predicted fight outcome: Ninety-eight percent of our users knew that UFC veteran Jon Fitch would defeat the tough Japanese fighter Akihiro Gono. Fitch ended up winning by judges’ decision.

Most surprising fight outcome: Ninety-two percent of our predictors incorrectly guessed the outcome of the fight between Chris Wilson and John Howard. Only eight correctly percent believed Howard would take this one, which he did by split decision.

- Caleb

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For fans of mixed martial arts looking for that perfect gift, check out Octagon (Ultimate Fighting Championship). This book has been around for over a year but in a version that cost between $2,500 and $7,500. Luckily the UFC decided to release a book that the rest of us can afford: while the book will be $40 in retail outlets, on Amazon.com it is currently only $26.40.!

This hardcover UFC book is 360 pages and will be released on December 15th and can be delivered in time for Christmas.

Here’s a quick recap of how the predictions went here on our humble little site for WEC 36.

All I can say is, “Ohhhhhhhhh, man.”

It was the most predictable of fight cards, and it was the least predictable of fight cards. Here’s what I mean:

Half of the fights were big upsets in which the vast majority of our predictors were incorrect. But, the other half of the fights on the card were correctly predicted by 90% or more of our users!

Our normal categories of most-easily predicted and most surprising fights do not describe this card very well, but for the sake of tradition, I’ll post them here…

Most easily-predicted fight outcome: yaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwnnn. Two fights on this card were correctly predicted by every predictor on this site. That’s right, 100% of people got this right. That should not happen. Anyways, the two fights that everyone knew what would happen were David Avellan’s loss to Aaron Simpson and Carmelo Marrero’s victory over Steve Steinbeiss.

Most surprising fight outcome: Yep, Urijah Faber’s loss to Mike T. Brown was not foreseen by 96% of our users. This was Faber’s second loss in his career, and I can already feel in my bones the WEC executives plotting a rematch.

- Caleb

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A few details about UFC 90…

There were three fights on this card where our predictors had no problem at all guessing who was going to win. In those three fights, more than 90% of our users correctly guessed the victor. Does that mean the UFC is guilty of bad matchmaking? That’s a long discussion best suited for somewhere else. But here are the winners for the easiest to predict and the biggest shocker from UFC 90…

Most easily-predicted fight outcome: Ninety-eight percent of our users knew that UFC veteran Spencer Fisher would defeat San Diego’s Shannon Gugerty, who was making his UFC debut. You have to give Gugerty some credit for making it almost the fourth minute of the third round before being caught in Fisher’s triangle submission.

Most surprising fight outcome: Do I even need to tell you? Okay, for the record, ninety-six percent of our MMA predictors here on the site thought Fabricio Werdum would defeat fellow Brazilian MMA fighter Junior Dos Santos. Unfortunately for Werdum, who had “title-shot contender” associated with his name prior to last night, he would lean his chin directly into a rocketing uppercut from Dos Santos early in the first round, shocking all but four percent of our predictors.

- Caleb

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Today Sam Caplan is confirming the news that appeared yesterday on OnTheMat.com that EliteXC is no longer.

So I wonder…

• Since EliteXC bought all those other regional promotions (King of the Cage, ICON, SpiritMC, etc), are those areas now bereft of MMA? If so, would the sport of MMA have been better if there were never an EliteXC?
• What happens to women’s MMA, and fighters like Gina Carano and Shayna Baszler? While EliteXC did do a great job of getting women’s MMA in front of millions of faces, to be honest there is no large outlet anymore for women. The UFC won’t touch them at this point.
• Most importantly, where in the world will we be able to watch KrazyHorse!?!?!??

- Caleb

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A few details about UFC 89…

Most easily-predicted fight outcome: Ninety-seven percent of our predictors knew that Shane Carwin was going to remain undefeated after his encounter with Neil Wain.

Most surprising fight outcome: Eighty-two percent of predictors thought Sam Stout would defeat the Brit Terry Etim but were incorrect. An upset of similar magnitude took place between Team Quest’s Thierry Sokoudjou and Luiz Cane. Eighty-one percent of our predictors thought The African Assassin would defeat the Brazilian but were incorrect.

- Caleb

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UFC 89 will be free on Spike TV! Although it takes place in England, the broadcast will begin at 9pm Eastern and Pacific here in the United States.

After UFC 89 we will know much more about Thierry Sokoudjou and Brandon Vera. Although both drew immediate acclaim for their early MMA fights, neither has been particularly inspiring recently.