I had a good 4th of July and hope everyone did as well although last year, I had a much better one. Last year I started drinking at noon compared to this year but I'm fine with that. Everything can't be crazy always so I've accepted that plus I felt like complete garbage the next day and I was flying to Croatia that day. I'm looking back at this last year and it was rough around this time. Summer 2011 was still my favorite summer of all time and it might stick like that although I have hope for future of course. At this time last year , I was going to Croatia for 16 days. I love Croatia and I'm proud to be Croatian but it wasn't the ideal situation. I'm not getting into the politics and issues amongst my family but it made the vacation feel like prison. It was like being stranded on an island just looking at the ocean drinking Fanta. When I got back to America, it felt like I was released from prison and came back with vengeance. I'll never forget that I had to wake up at 4 in the morning to get the flight which was at 7:!5 am in Zadar, Croatia then go to Munich, Germany for a two hour stop. Then eventually got to New York from a 8 hour flight. I'm not great at Math so I asked someone to help me out when I got back but 4 am in Croatia means 10 pm in America. I get back to America around 3 pm on no sleep because plane service is bad and I'm watching some pretty good flicks. At around 7 pm, I go out because I need to see people and I'm not sleeping. I go out drinking that night coming back on no sleep and I don't think I went to bed till 2 am. So I stayed up on an average of 28 hours you could say American time. That's scary but I was too energized especially with friends going on and some big things happening at the time when I came back.
Today I'll be discussing UFC 148 although it won't be the entire card. I'm not a UFC expert but I do know my fair share of fighters. I'm trying to learn more about the under card but if you've read my past reviews I know the mid to upper card fighters then of course the superstars. I've covered UFC 146 from recent memory and I knew most fighters thanks to it being all heavyweights. This is a bit more of a variety but nevertheless I'll get into three main fights. Also I'll put my top five dream fights to happen that are active right now. It will also be in one division each to make it fair. The other thing I'll get into is vacation spots because it's the summer and I promised more pop culture topics with no football, basketball, or soccer to really talk about. I know that free agency is going on in basketball but I want to see more things play out before I do a huge edition about it. It will be discussed eventually believe me but I need to wait at least a week or two weeks so things can calm down.
UFC 148: The End Of A Rivalry?
It can't get anymore personal
UFC 148 is coming from Las Vegas which is fitting since most major title fights happen in Vegas. We all know the main event can't get any better but in terms of the overall card, it's nothing special. It won't hurt buy rates or attendance because of how good the main event is but I'm not expecting a great depth of fights. Only three fights really interest me and I'll be making predictions for because I got a good grasp of each fighter. The first fight is Demian Maia vs Dong Kim Hyun which could end up being very boring. This is Maia's first fight dropping to welterweight which he has been considering ever since he lost to Anderson Silva over two and half years ago. This fight concerns me because both guys are known for grinding out fights and not much knockout capability. You'll see some submissions but both guys fight pretty defensive. Dong Kim Hyun has shown his dominance in the UFC but he hasn't finished one fight yet in victories. His only fight that was finished was his only loss when he got knocked out by Carlos Condit which was one of the best knockouts I've ever seen live. You should you tube it if you haven't seen it yet especially if you're a Carlos Condit hater and you think he's boring. Anyway in terms of this fight, I'm expecting lots of grabbling Maia being more of the aggressor. Maia hasn't made anyone tap since 2009 which was ironically Chael Sonnen. I just think this fight could bore people if you don't like the technical aspect of MMA. Maia looked pretty old against Chris Weidman back in January and I think his age is getting to him. I'm going to pick Kim Hyun by decision with his take downs and staying on full mount. I'd be shocked to see this fight before the three rounds up but Maia could pull out something in the new division that we haven't seen since his glory days in 2007 to 2009.
The next fight is the co main event with Forrest Griffin against Tito Ortiz which is huge despite both guys being past their prime. I'm not a fan of either guy but they are both incredible fighters that have beaten each other once. Ortiz beat Griffin in 2006 by decision which turned out to win the 2006 fight of the year. Then in 2009, Griffin won by decision to settle the score. You could tell each guy knows each other so well to still last each fight. I'm really interested in this fight only because I love the rivalry and want it to be settled. This is Ortiz's last fight because he realizes that he can't hang anymore and he's done all he can. I thought he should have retired when Rashad Evans knocked him out but that wasn't the case then he got embarrassed by Lil Nog who knocked him out pretty easily. Tito will always be a legend but other than a win against Ryan Bader, his last win was in 2006 against Ken Shamrock which is pretty remarkable. I like Forrest in his fight to win in a 2nd round knockout of consecutive strikes. Griffin has had its up and downs but he seems more capable to land a knock out blow. It will also open up the opportunity to have him face Shogun for the 3rd time to settle the stalemate. Tito will retire after this fight which seems only right since he's in a co main event which is pretty good for him considering how poor his last few fights have been. I hope the Vegas crowd gives him a lot of respect and a proper send off.
The next fight is the co main event with Forrest Griffin against Tito Ortiz which is huge despite both guys being past their prime. I'm not a fan of either guy but they are both incredible fighters that have beaten each other once. Ortiz beat Griffin in 2006 by decision which turned out to win the 2006 fight of the year. Then in 2009, Griffin won by decision to settle the score. You could tell each guy knows each other so well to still last each fight. I'm really interested in this fight only because I love the rivalry and want it to be settled. This is Ortiz's last fight because he realizes that he can't hang anymore and he's done all he can. I thought he should have retired when Rashad Evans knocked him out but that wasn't the case then he got embarrassed by Lil Nog who knocked him out pretty easily. Tito will always be a legend but other than a win against Ryan Bader, his last win was in 2006 against Ken Shamrock which is pretty remarkable. I like Forrest in his fight to win in a 2nd round knockout of consecutive strikes. Griffin has had its up and downs but he seems more capable to land a knock out blow. It will also open up the opportunity to have him face Shogun for the 3rd time to settle the stalemate. Tito will retire after this fight which seems only right since he's in a co main event which is pretty good for him considering how poor his last few fights have been. I hope the Vegas crowd gives him a lot of respect and a proper send off.
The main event is for middleweight championship with Anderson Silva facing Chael Sonnen in a colossal main event. Despite the fight being the biggest main event in 2012, this is one of the easiest fights to predict. I'm positive that Anderson Silva will prevail especially with what everything has happened. I'm a fan of both guys but I'm pulling for Silva which may shock some people. I'm a Sonnen fan and I like how he trash talks to make things fun in the UFC, but he tends to talk out of his a** and make things too fiction. Since I'm a pro wrestling fan, I always take appreciation to fighters that like to talk and even cut promos to a degree. The issue is that this is mixed martial arts where if you are going to talk, you need to bring valid facts. This isn't pro wrestling when wins and losses don't really matter with the story lines and character. When Sonnen says things like Silva absolutely sucks and how he's a Brazilian immigrant, its laughable on how bad it is. You are telling me that Sonnen will talk all this smack against Silva yet he's all cool when he fights a true s***bag like Michael Bisping. Other than a few incidents with too much moving around, Silva is the best fighter in the world and deserves to be fully respected. You know Anderson is a top class guy when he doesn't use Chael's past with steroids and how he's proven to be a fraud when it comes to mortgage payments. I'm pulling for Silva without a doubt after a few weeks of questioning myself who to root for. Chael is a good fighter but his mouth gives him the publicity and he's one of the more overrated fighters. I'm expecting a third round knockout by Silva only because Sonnen is a great athlete and I don't think he'll get knocked out that early. His conditioning is great but with Anderson's take down defense and quick feet, Sonnen won't have enough to counter that. He looked sluggish against Bisping and didn't impress one bit. I'm not sure if they'll hug after the fight or anything but it would be a cool moment. It has been a great rivalry but it has really brought the worst out of Chael Sonnen. If Sonnen loses it wouldn't surprise me if he retired either. He's 35 and if he loses, what is the point to keep on fighting for him. Now if he wins, it will be really interesting to see Silva vs Sonnen III to settle the score. i like the possibilities but the most realistic possibility of Sonnen's loudmouth being shut on Saturday.
Dream Fights
Make it happen Dana!
I'm going to pick one fight from the main divisions in the UFC that I would like to see that has never happened before in the UFC. It might have happened in another promotion but it has to be fresh. I'm also going to do it with a title holder but I don't want to make it so obvious.
Nate Diaz vs Benson Henderson (Lightweight)- I'm expecting Henderson to retain his title against Frankie Edgar at UFC 150 which could open this fight up. Despite my criticism of Nick Diaz, I'm a big fan of his brother Nate. Nate Diaz comes to fight and rarely gets into trash talking. He might be mentally crazy but he's a humble kid and has delivered in some great fights recently. His performances against Jim Miller and Donald Cerrone have put him near the top for a chance for the title. He may have to fight Anthony Petits for the opportunity but I think we can definitely see this fight happen in a year or two.
Rory MacDonald vs George St.Pierre (Welterweight)- This fight seems realistic as long as George can avoid another ACL injury. Everyone knows that MacDonald looks up to St.Pierre as a hero and it would be a pretty emotional fight. A common theme in UFC is that some guys don't like fight eating other that come from the same camps but Rory would face George to go for the title. MacDonald has been outstanding in his UFC career and will get a title shot eventually with the way he's going. I'm expecting St.Pierre to beat Carlos Condit as well so as long as George stays healthy, this fight can very well happen.
Brian Stann vs Michael Bisping (Middleweight)- The middleweight division is so weak now that it was tough to choose this one. I'm not sure if you can count this as a dream fight but I would love this matchup. Stann is considered to be one of the most honorable men around UFC while Bisping is notorious for his unprofessional behavior. It would be a nice clash egos along with both guys loving to throw fists. We could see a straight out war between both men. This fight was rumored to be a possibility not too long ago but both guys managed to get hurt. I'm not a Bisping fan at all but I think he's under appreciated as a fighter even though he never seems to win the big one. He's the real deal and could have easily beaten Chael Sonnen which was so even. When both guys get healthy, I'm expecting Dana White to put these two guys on the top of his list on possible number one contenders fight. We could very well see this happen since the division is missing serious star power.
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs Alexander Gustafsson (Light Heavyweight)- My favorite division in UFC has so many options that made it really difficult to pick. Rashad Evans may be my favorite fighter but he has considered moving down to middleweight so I'm keeping him out of his entirely. I'm picking a fighter that I really respect in Shogun against my favorite up and comer Gustafsson. Shogun is coming off two straight losses although his performance against Dan Henderson was incredible in the fight of the year. Gustafsson continues to move up the card so I could see these two being put together. People are saying Rampage seems more likely but I can't stand Rampage and would never be a part of my dream fight. I'd like to see Gustafsson try to counter the take down ability of Sho Gun while Gustafsson tries to use his impressive reach to pick apart Shogun. It would be a joy to watch and something to keep an eye on.
Fabrico Werdum vs Alistar Overeem (Heavyweight)- The fight has happened twice but it has been in different promotions. Still when you think of heavyweights and think of these two massive men, this fight really catches my attention. People aren't that high on Werdum like me but I think he can be a champion in the UFC but he'll have to go through a number one contenders bout. With Overeem coming back in early 2013, wouldn't it be great to see them settle the stalemate. Both guys are so massive and athletic, it makes me wonder if I could even handle watching this because it's going to be gruesome. I would give the advantage to Overeem but Werdum really impresses me with how much he improved on his striking. His knees were always dangerous but people always tell me that Werdum was never that great with his punches until these last two fights against Nelson and Russow. This fight would be a blockbuster and fans would go legit crazy even if Werdum did shy away when it happened last time. With a chance to fight the heavyweight champion either Dos Santos or Velasquez, I don't see Werdum shying away whatsoever.
Top Five Vacation Spots
With the summer just about hitting in the middle, I want to talk about some major places that I would love to go. I'm not really going anywhere this summer other than Jersey for a few days but that doesn't really count. I want to give out my top five places that I'd love to go to and what I'd do there. Hopefully I'll be able to make all of these come true before I die.
Paradise
1. Miami- I went to Florida when I was three but it was Orlando so it doesn't count. Miami is easily my number one spot mainly on South Beach. I could go see my beloved Miami Heat at the American Airlines Arena then hit the town for some craziness. The setting looks perfect and I could see myself totally wanting to stay for the rest of my life. I would have no problem with that since New York isn't exactly the nicest place.
2. Las Vegas- Vegas goes high up the list because it has more to do than just seeing an event. The nightlife is obviously ridiculous and so many things go on over there. I'd love to go to Vegas in a year for a UFC event which seems likely. I had the chance to go to Sonnen vs Silva but financially it would have killed me so I had to sadly pass. I'm regretting that already but I have hope in a year that I'll go. Everyone goes to Vegas at some point in their life, hopefully I'll do that within a year.
3. England- I'm not sure if you caught it while I was talking about the team, but I have a soft spot for England. It always seems like a place where they are either very friendly or they'll look to kill you. Hopefully with my IQ of their sport, I'll fit in right perfectly. I'd probably to go to London because if I'm going to, I'm not going to a place up north which has nothing. It would be mostly London where everything is and I could go see my Tottenham Spurs play.
4. Atlanta- This would have been higher on my list but the city has gotten some poor reviews. I have some friends that went there for Wrestlemania 27 and they weren't a fan of the town in itself. The place looks too rugged and racism is still high there which is pretty sad. The main reason I'd go is obviously see my favorite team in all of sports the Falcons. The Georgia Dome always seemed like a place that I needed to go because of the capacity and to feel the experience. If you noticed when football teams are playing at home in a big game, the crowd noise is extra loud because they play indoors. It would be like a Drowning Pool concert in the dome if i I went for a prime time game or playoff game.
5. Los Angeles- This was tough to pick but Los Angeles seems more of a good spot for me especially since my friends at Croatiansports.com live over there. Los Angeles also seems like a spot that I'll go to within a year or two. It would probably be Las Vegas or Los Angeles depending on how prices go. I don't have any events to watch because I'm not a fan of any team but I'd go check out what's going over there and see all the wild places that people tell me about it.
A few other cities or countries that I missed would be Chicago, Toronto, and Germany. Those three players just miss out but all would be hot spots to check out in the future. These are many common places for most people so I don't expect anyone to be surprised. I might be crazy but I know where the best spots are and I'm not that weird to the point where I'd put Idaho as a place to visit. Brazil would have made the list as well but their crime rate scares me away.
Final Word/Plugs
This was a bit short filled with dreams but I got some plans today and things are quiet. I'm waiting to see what happens with Dwight Howard before I want to cover free agency. If you are a UFC fan, well Saturday be ready to yell our hearts out. If you are just a casual person, then enjoy your weekend and the nice weather. I'll do both and I'll be back Monday to recap the war with a few other surprises.
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