UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia Picks and Predictions

via mmaweekly.com

This weekend's pay-per view event ushers in the UFC's return to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Freshly crowned Fighter, and Female Athlete of the Year, Ronda Rousey attempts to defend her UFC title for the 6th time against fellow undefeated challenger, Bethe Correia. Correia's journey has been marked by her conquest over two of Ronda's teammates, but as we learned on the Countdown show, the third isn't in the UFC so she does not count. Additional Brazilian legends Shogun Rua, Bigfoot Silva, and the Noguiera brothers populate the card as an exercise in seeing who might still have something left in the tank. Vacated WSOF champ Jessica Aguilar makes her UFC debut to open the main card. The UFC also managed to shoehorn in a couple TUF finale fights to bring the fans an unusually lengthy main card. To the picks!

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Ronda Rousey (c) vs Bethe Correia
The gulf between Ronda and the rest of the division is the widest we have ever seen in the sport. The closest second would be Anderson Silva vs specifically Forrest Griffin. The promos would have you believe that because Correia defeated two of the Horsewomen that this is somehow a compelling challenger. If you actually watched those fights, you will see Bethe taking longer than it should have to beat two fighters whose current UFC tenures can best be described as suffering from severe in-cage inactivity. At this point all we can really debate is how fast we think Ronda will take to win. If you go by Ronda's word that she wants to PUNISH Bethe, then you might be like Lavender Gooms and think that Ronda will toy with Bethe over multiple rounds. Or, you can be like everyone else and think that it will end in swift violence. Most people are picking submission, I'll take the punches. Ronda by TKO at 2:41 of the 1st round.

Rousey: unanimous
Correia:

It's MMAzing Radio - Episode 142

The gang tries to find interest in yet another UFC event. First, they discuss TJ Dillashaw's masteful performance against Renan Barao this past Saturday at UFC on Fox in Chicago. They also discuss Miesha Tate's victory over Jessica Eye and her status as the next victim for Ronda Rousey #1 contender. They also touch on Stitch's firing and the HBO piece on domestic violence in MMA. The gang also previews UFC 190: Rousey v. Correia. All that and another edition of "Stuff We Like."

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UFC on Fox: Dillashaw vs. Barão 2 Picks and Predictions

Live from Chicago, IL comes the long-awaited (for someone out there anyways) rematch between Renan Barao and TJ "My heart is torn between Bang and Team Alpha Male" Dillashaw. You would think that a fight between a man who had one of the most impressive win streaks in the history of the sport, and a man on winning side of one of the most surprising upsets in the history of the sport would carry a bit more heat, but unfortunately we are not really seeing that. The lower weight divisions have failed to captivate the imaginations of the public, with the featherweight division only very recently finding some traction. It's a shame though, because even though I am not entirely chomping at the bits for this rematch, it should definitely still be a good one. Meanwhile, in the co-main event slot we get to see whether Miesha "Takedown - stop trying to make Cupcakes happen" Tate inches one step closer for the right to lose to Ronda a third time, or if we potentially have some new blood in the contender mix.

TJ Dillashaw (c) vs Renan Barao 

via 411mania.com

Enter the rematch. If you look at our picks for the first fight, I am pretty sure it was a unanimous route for Barao, and I don't think most of us thought it would be all that close. Enter one of the greatest upsets in modern MMA. TJ's dismantling of Barao was so thorough that now we stand on the opposite side of the fence going the other direction. It will be impossible to ever really know if maybe Barao came in over confident, or if he had possibly overlooked TJ in their first go, but it should be said with certainty that he will be more focused in the rematch. I expect Renan to come hard and fast at TJ, but until he shows me that he knows how to deal with TJ's movement and footwork, my eyes will carry my opinion here and what they know is that TJ looks like the evolution of the sport. TJ by TKO third round.

Dillashaw: unanimous
Barao:

It's MMAzing Radio - Episode 141

The gang discusses the results of UFC Fight Night: Mir v. Duffee and UFC Fight Night: Bisping v. Leites. They also provide you a Bellator minute from an unlikely source. Additionally, the gang discusses the possibility of Fedor joining the UFC. They also preview this weekend's UFC on Fox: Dillashaw v. Barao II card. All that and another edition of "Stuff We Like."

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UFC Fight Night: Bisping v. Leites Predictions

The UFC makes their debut in Scotland this Saturday night (morning for us in the west coast). What does the UFC do when they have a debut card in a part of the United Kingdom? They call up Michael Bisping and ask him if he's willing to sh*t talk a large Brazilian and then have a nice scrap. We also have Ross Pearson and Evan Dunham going at it and Joanne Calderwood fighting in her home country. So wake up on Saturday, make a cup of coffee, cook an omelette and enjoy some violence.

UFC Fight Night: Mir vs Duffee Predictions

Right in the middle of a barrage of UFC events we get a some-what unusual mid week card. These cards can vary in quality from fairly good to down right garbage but what we get this Wednesday is actually a fairly decent card. You'll see a little bit of everything on this one, some old veterans, younger prospects and even an interesting women's bantamweight scrap as well.

It's MMAzing Radio - Episode 140

The gang (well, half the gang) regales you all with tales from Las Vegas and UFC 189. Quite frankly, they're lucky to be alive. The Irish go HARD. They review the McGregor v. Mendes matchup and discuss how truly special Conor McGregor is. The gang also tries to properly describe the carnage that was Robbie Lawler v. Rory MacDonald. They also lament the possibility of a Lawler v. Hendricks III happening next. They discuss the remainder of the incredible UFC 189 card including Stephens costing Dr. Law a LOT of money. The gang also reviews the TUF 21 Finale and Thompson's fantastic finish of Ellenberger. They then preview both UFC Fight Night: Mir v. Duffee and UFC Fight Night: Bisping v. Leites. All that and another edition of "Stuff We Like."

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The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale: Ellenberger vs. Thompson

Between Invicta on Thursday, UFC 189 on Saturday and then the TUF finale on Sunday, there are alot of fights packed into a weekend.  Ladies and gentlemen we need to be serious for second.  By the time McGregor has dispatched of Mendes, Stef and Marc have downed about six yard drinks each, Phil has had his share of birthday celebrations, and Bobby tries to find another girl who looks like Bellatrix Lestrange, it's going to be the middle night on Sunday with but a few hours before the morning sun peaks over the horizon, signaling the end of a long weekend.  Well at least in a normal weekend because for some reason the UFC has booked another card IN THE SAME CITY less than 16 hours later.  What type of hungover, half empty arena are they expecting these guys to be fighting in front of?  It's as if six months ago due to a clerical error they double booked MGM grand for the 11th and 12th and couldn't get out of the rental and thought "fuck it, we'll just have two cards back to back." The main event should be entertaining and we will be seeing the UFC debut of the former Invicta atomweight champion Michelle "The Karate Hottie" Waterson who already owns a victory over recent title contender Jessica Penne.  I'm making these picks quick and dirty. If you want to hear a break down of the main event, download and listen to our latest podcast.

Jake Ellenberger vs. Stephen Thompson - Ellenberger
Hayder Hassan vs. Kamaru Usman - Hassan
Michael Graves vs. Vicente Luque - Graves
Cezar Ferreira vs. Jorge Masvidal - Masvidal
Angela Magana vs. Michelle Waterson - Waterson
Maximo Blanco vs. Mike De La Torre - De La Torre

UFC 189: Mendes vs. McGregor Predictions

Life is full of disappointments.  The Knicks and Jets being absolutely horrid, the ending of The Sopranos, any of the Matrix sequels.  Last week we were able to add another disappointment when we learned that Aldo vs. McGregor, the dream fight we had all been waiting for, that 3/4 of crew (along with Phil) were making a trek Hangover-style to Vegas to watch had evaporated into the ether when the champ Aldo was forced to withdraw from his about with a broken rib.  But life is about how you deal with those disappointments.  While the guys won't get to watch Aldo fight the most electrifying and "Notorious" Irishman the world has ever seen, they still get to watch McGregor go against the second-best featherweight in Chad Mendes for a fake belt.

It's MMAzing Hall of Fame Class of 2015

For information on how exactly we came up with our Hall of Fame class, please listen to Episode 139 of It's MMAzing Radio. 

Categories
1) Modern Era: Fighters who debuted in the UFC or Pride FC on or after November 17, 2000
2) Pioneer Era: Fighters who debuted in the UFC or Pride FC before November 17, 2000
3) Fights of great historical significance (UFC & Pride only for now)
4) Outstanding contributions to MMA outside of active competition (ie non-participants)

It's MMAzing Hall of Fame Class of 2015

Modern Era
Rich Franklin
Fedor Emelianenko
Nick Diaz

Pioneers
Frank Shamrock
Kazushi Sakuraba

Fights
Dan Henderson v. Shogun UFC 139
Frank Mir v. Brock Lesnar II UFC 100
Ronda Rousey v. Liz Caramouche UFC 157

Contributors
Fertitta Brothers
Dana White
Ariel Helwani

It's MMAzing Radio - Episode 139

The gang talks about Chad Mendes replacing Jose Aldo at UFC 189 and talk about their collective disappointment. They then salute the UFC's Hall of Fame Class of 2014 (notably Mr. BJ Penn). They next preview UFC 189: McGregor v. Mendes in all of its glory. The gang next makes their picks for the TUF 21 Finale (with far less glory). All that and a very rushed edition of "Stuff We Like."

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