Barnett vs. Cormier Predictions
Author: energy
May 17, 2012 – The long, undulating and semi-inglorious path the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix is almost over. This Saturday the two finalists, Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier, will compete in the finals of a tournament that started in February of 2011. What the future will hold for each is still unclear, but the fight itself promises to be an tightly-contested affair. We’ll also see Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez defend his title against Josh Thomson in a fight that marks their third meeting.
Is there any chance Josh Thomson can defeat Gilbert Melendez? Can Josh Barnett finally re-enter the top 5 rankings of the heavyweight division? Will this be the signature win to date in Cormier’s mixed martial arts career?
I’ll attempt to answer these questions with these predictions about Saturday’s fights.
What: Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier
Where: HP Pavilion, San Jose, California
When: Saturday, the preliminary starts at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Showtime Extreme and the four-fight Showtime card starts at 10p.m.
Predictions on the four Showtime fights below.
Josh Barnett vs. Daniel Cormier
I’ve agonized over making a final selection for this fight for weeks, if not months. Oddsmakers are seemingly just as unsure. Ultimately, though, I’m going to go with the upstart in Cormier. Barnett’s path to victory either results from out-striking Cormier or finding a way to land a submission. I find both outcomes to be improbable. Outside of submitting Kharitonov, Barnett hasn’t faced a top-tier heavyweight in quite some time (although I suppose you can make an argument for Brett Rogers). It’s true Barnett has handily defeated everyone since losing to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in 2006, but that includes fighters who shouldn’t be competing anymore (Jeff Monson, Pedro Rizzo, Mighty Mo), a light heavyweight (Hidehiko Yoshida) and opponents who have no business facing him (Geronimo dos Santos). I’m not sure that’s the best preparation for Cormier even if I grant Rogers and Kharitonov are fairly clear steps up.
Still, Barnett is going to have a hard time taking Cormier down and holding him there. That makes his clear submission edge hard to leverage. On the feet, Barnett has not been overly willing to stirke with clear threats. He took down Kharitonov, Mo and Yvel almost right away. Cormier’s hand speed is surprisingly good as is his accuracy and combination striking. Over time, I’m betting that will be the difference.
Pick: Cormier
Gilbert Melendez vs. Josh Thomson
There isn’t much to say about this one. Thomson is a very talented fighter, but injuries and time off have stunted his development. Not so for Melendez. After losing to Thomson in 2008, he’s rapidly improved every year and at this point in his career is far better than his opponent this Saturday. A healthy Thomson has enough skills to make it reasonably competitive, particularly with his ability to wrestle and scramble. Yet, there’s no guarantee Thomson is able to show up healthy and I’m not sure even a Thomson free of injuries is going to do much more than go the distance. This is Melendez’s fight to lose.
Pick: Melendez
Mike Kyle vs. Rafael Cavalcante
Kyle shocked a fair number of us when he beat the much more heralded Cavalcante in their first meeting at Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields. I think it will be different this time and here’s why. Kyle was taken down in the second round and mounted. Yes, Kyle was able to hip escape, but Feijao was gassed terribly in that fight. Either from nerves or some other factor, he was totally shot by the middle of the second round. That’s when Kyle landed the big bomb that put him out. I have a fairly hard time seeing that happen again. Feijao isn’t characteristically out of shape and provided he’s had an appropriate preparation, he can get revenge on Saturday.
Pick: Cavalcante
Nah-Shon Burrell vs. Chris Spang
This is more interesting than it looks to the casual eye. Burrell and Spang are two great athletes and two competent, if slightly different types of strikers. Burrell is a little more hand friendly while Spang employs a bit of a wider Thai boxing arsenal. The key difference for me, though, is aggression. Burrell marches forward and presses action; Spang tends to wait around more than I like and can be pushed around. Burrell also has some ability to wrestle, a key liability for Spang. Could go either way, but I’ve got a little more confidence in Burrell to get it done.
Pick: Burrell
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TUF: Brazil Debuts On FUEL TV June 10th At 7pm
Author: energy
By MATT MOLGAARD
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer
On Tuesday night Chan Sung Jung a.k.a. the Korean Zombie turned an emerging title contender into a nearly helpless victim. Dustin Poirier entered the headlining bout of UFC on Fuel TV 3 as a generally perceived favorite, riding a four fight promotional win streak, having stomped two highly t…
Junior dos Santos Still Believes Frank Mir Lacks Heart
Author: energy
May 17, 2012 – The buildup to the UFC 146 main event figured to be a one-sided hype affair. After all, former champion Frank Mir is one of the game’s most quotable fighters, and current kingpin Junior dos Santos is reserved and respectful in public.
But with nine days left until their heavyweight showdown, it’s clear a comment made by the champion has struck a nerve with the challenger.
In an interview with MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani on Monday, Dos Santos questioned Mir’s heart when the going gets tough in the Octagon. “In his fights, when he’s in a bad situation, it’s easy for him to give up,” the champ said.
When Mir was asked about those comments at Thursday’s UFC 146 media teleconference, he attempted to dismiss them out of hand.
“Junior dos Santos has done better in the Octagon than he has at trying to sell his fights,” said Mir. “It’s something he’s new at.
“No one likes to hear anything negative said about them, but I just broke down why he said what he said when he backed it up on certain fights and I looked at it. I have no issues with my matches so I just took it as him trying to sell the fight, trying to stir the pot.”
To which the normally mild-mannered dos Santos may as well have said, “I meant every word I said, buddy.”
“I don’t promote fights by talking trash,” said dos Santos. “What I say, I say because I believe it. I confirm and I stand by what I said and what I meant by that remark is that I feel Frank Mir lacks heart and lacks the ability to get through tough spots in a fight.”
“I don’t say things just to sell the fight. If I said it, it’s because that’s what I believe.”
Mir continued stirring the pot later in the press conference. He noted that after he defeated dos Santos’ campmate, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, in December, he received his far share of less-than-polite email from Big Nog’s Brazilian fans.
“After the Nog fight I got my share of emails that I had to run through Google translator, and they weren’t that nice,” Mir said.
With more than a week left before the main event, Mir’s Brazilian emails aren’t likely to get a whole nicer.
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After dinner, leave a little something extra for earthquake victims
Author: energy
Posted by Phil Vettel
If you’re dining out this week, and I certainly hope you are, you might notice a little something extra in your check presenter (you know, that leather-ish thing holding the bill). An appeal for help.
Chef/owner of Takashi (1952 N. Damen Ave., 773-772-6170), Takashi Yagihashi, has family in Japan. “Fortunately, my mother and sister are fine,” he said. “But many people need help.”
So he put little notes in his check presenters, asking customers to consider leaving a donation for the victims of the Japan earthquake. Nothing much, just $5.
“If people don’t (give), I won’t be hurt,” Yagihashi said. “But I thought I’d ask.”
A lot of people left $5. Quite a few left considerably more, and Yagihashi figured more people, more help. So late last week he reached out to about 80 of his fellow chefs, asking if they’d put little notes in their check presenters. He’s not keeping track of which restaurants will participate.
All the money is going straight to the Red Cross in Japan.
So if you see a little note in your presenter this week consider putting that extra fiver to good use.
Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune
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Chicago chefs pair with farmers at Localicious festival tonight
Author: energy
Posted by Monica Eng
Chicago chefs from more than a dozen restaurants, including Old Town Social, Big Jones, Osteria Via Stato, City Provisions, will pair up with local farmers and local brewers and vintners to present Localicious one of the tastiest and sustainable food fests of the year. Tickets are $75.
The party is part of the Family Farmed Expo, a three-day event of workshops, discussions and lectures that finishes Saturday with the family and foodie-friendly Good Food Festival at the UIC Forum (725 W Roosevelt Road).
Dozens of farms will have booths for those who want to shop around for a CSA subscription this year, top Chicago chefs–including Stephanie Izard (pictured right), Bill Kim, Paul Kahan and Paul Virant–will present cooking demos and local food authorities will present workshops on everything from keeping backyard chicken and canning to gardening and whole animal butchery.
Author and Weston Price Foundation founder Sally Fallon Morell (interviewed by the Tribune here) will give a lecture on healthy traditional diets at 9 a.m.
Food festival tickets are free (for kids under 12) to $35 for all access including the Fallon lecture if you buy them before Saturday. Adult tickets to the festival alond are $10.
Photo: Alex Garcia/Chicago Tribune
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Nick Diaz No-Shows His iPPV BJJ Match With Braulio Estima
Author: energy
By Chris Howie
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer
According to a new report from MMA Junkie, number one UFC Middleweight title contender Chael Sonnen will be on the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s agenda next week at their May 21st meeting.
Sonnen will likely have to answers questions regarding a therapeutic use exemption he app…
Frank Mir Discusses Game Plan For Junior dos Santos
Author: energy
By Chris Howie
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer
UFC on FUEL TV 3 is set to go Tuesday evening after all fighters on the card tipped the scales at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA today.
The event will be headlined with a featherweight fight between Chan-Sung Jung and Dustin Poirier.
Complete results below:
Main…
Spanish Grand Prix 2012 – Final Practice 3 Result
Author: energy
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World championship leader Sebastian Vettel set the fastest laptime of the final practice session ahead of qualifying in Barcelona this morning, but is sure to face a fierce battle for pole position later today. In what was a highly unpredictable session, Vettel’s laptime of 1m23.168s beat Williams’ Pastor Maldonado (1m23.336s) and Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi (1m23.350s) by less than two tenths, with many others likely to be in contention come qualifying also.
Conditions were sweltering once again at the Spanish track as teams and drivers made their final preparations ahead of this afternoon’s qualifying session and Sunday’s race. The session was an immediate disaster for Lotus’s Romain Grosjean however, as he coast to a halt in the opening minutes with a fuel pressure problem. Despite the best efforts of his team he was unable to return to the track and goes into qualifying on the backfoot.
| Free Practice 3 | ||||
| No. |
Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 1’23.168 | 13 |
| 2 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | 1’23.336 | 19 |
| 3 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber | 1’23.350 | 19 |
| 4 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 1’23.578 | 16 |
| 5 | Sergio Perez | Sauber | 1’23.742 | 22 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’23.807 | 15 |
| 7 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1’23.833 | 14 |
| 8 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1’23.909 | 13 |
| 9 | Kimi Raikkonen | Lotus | 1’23.936 | 16 |
| 10 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’24.070 | 24 |
| 11 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1’24.179 | 16 |
| 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1’24.323 | 17 |
| 13 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1’24.331 | 15 |
| 14 | Bruno Senna | Williams | 1’24.409 | 18 |
| 15 | Paul di Resta | Force India | 1’24.599 | 15 |
| 16 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren | 1’24.778 | 15 |
| 17 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1’24.825 | 17 |
| 18 | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham | 1’25.911 | 20 |
| 19 | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham | 1’26.587 | 20 |
| 20 | Charles Pic | Marussia | 1’27.469 | 18 |
| 21 | Timo Glock | Marussia | 1’27.689 | 16 |
| 22 | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT | 1’28.207 | 24 |
| 23 | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT | 1’28.373 | 13 |
| 24 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | - | 2 |
source : ManipeF1
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The MMA Hour Is Back
Author: energy
May 14, 2012 – The MMA Hour is back in your life on Monday. Here’s a rundown of our latest jam-packed show.
* UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos will preview UFC 146′s heavyweight title fight against Frank Mir.
* Urijah Faber will talk about Dominick Cruz’s injury and what’s next for him.
* Josh Barnett will discuss the Strikeforce heavyweight GP final against Daniel Cormier …
* … And then Cormier will come on to do the same.
* Gilbert Melendez will preview his Strikeforce lightweight title fight against Josh Thomson …
* … And then Thomson will come on to do the same.
* “King” Muhammed Lawal will talk about why he chose to sign with Bellator and TNA Wrestling.
* Vinny Magalhaes will discuss his training with Chael Sonnen for UFC 148 and his current contract situation with M-1 Global.
Plus, we’ll be taking your calls on anything and everything. Got a question or comment? Give us a call at 1-888-418-4074.
Watch the show live below beginning at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 5 p.m. GMT. Subscribe to The MMA Hour on iTunes: audio feed here; video feed here. Download previous episodes here. Listen to the show via Stitcher here or via TuneIn here.
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Mini John Cooper Works GP
Author: energy
The top model Mini from the last generation was the JCW GP – a special edition with just 2,000 units. Now it seems history is about to repeat itself as Mini has just unveiled the official details on the new John Cooper Works GP, described by the company as the fastest Mini ever built: it laps the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in 8 min. 23 seconds.
The new John Cooper Works GP will be offered with powertrain, chassis and aerodynamics technology inspired directly by motor sport, but Mini did not announced any specifications just yet. However, they did confirmed it lapped the Nurburgring ring in 8 minutes and 23 seconds – an improvement over the previous GP model by 19 seconds.
On the exterior the new model will be distinguished by large front and rear aprons, striking side skirts, a bespoke roof spoiler and newly developed rear diffuser. This impressive package continues on the interior where the car has the rear seats removed in order to get a more racing appearance.
The new model will go on sale later this year in a limited run of 2,000 units.
Updated 05/12/2012: This review has been updated with the official details, images and specs..
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