The Rise and Fall of Rampage Jackson: Part 6

In part 5 of this series, I left off just as Rampage received the news that he would be fighting once more for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.  His opponent, this time, would be the young phenom, Jon "Bones" Jones, who had just destroyed Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (a man who once destroyed Rampage...).

By most accounts, Rampage took the training for this fight seriously.  After his loss to Forrest Griffin, Rampage admitted that he had barely even trained.  But for this title fight, he started training for Jones a mere two weeks after defeating Matt Hamill. This dedication paid dividends for his physique, and it showed at the weigh-ins.  Rampage, who often balloons to north of 235 pounds between fights, came in a pound under the Light Heavyweight limit of 205.  He looked the part of a man ready to regain his title. A man ready to risk everything in the cage.

But that wasn't what we got. Instead, we got a man who had no answers for the young champion.  Jon Jones had his way with him.  Jones kicked him in the head, the calves, the body and the thighs.  

He punched him, elbowed him, and poked him in the eyes.  

I may have gone all Dr. Seuss just then, but Dr. Seuss would have been an appropriate fight commentator that night, because Rampage seemed frozen.  It was as if he had forgotten he was fighting for the undisputed championship of the world.  It was bizarre to watch.

At the end of the second round, Jones pulled guard and slapped a triangle onto Rampage just as the bell sounded to end the round.  It wasn't as if Jones thought he could win the fight with that move and with such little time remaining--triangle chokes normally take several seconds to render their victim unconscious.  No, Jones was sending a message to Rampage and to the whole world.  The message was simple: I can finish this anytime I want.

So why didn't he just finish things?  I believe it was because Jones was having too much fun beating the crap out of Rampage.  At the last second of the third round, Jones shot for a double leg takedown.  As the bell rang, he lifted Rampage onto his back and then tossed him backwards, dropping him face first onto the canvas.  He walked away without a single backward glance.  Joe Rogan stated, "Whoa, that was a major diss..."

And Rampage was powerless to do anything about it.  In the fourth round, Jones battered Rampage with ease.  Ultimately, he took him down, took his back, sank a rear naked choke, and made him tap.  It was a humiliating and inglorious end to what he had hoped would be his return to glory.

He would fight twice more in the Octagon, losing both times.  Ultimate Fighter winner, Ryan Bader, would beat him by unanimous decision, as would recent title challenger, Glover Teixeira. Throughout it all, Rampage complained that the UFC didn't respect him enough and didn't pay him enough.  When his contract ran out, the UFC let him walk.

He walked to Bellator, the organization that has been like a chihuahua nipping at the UFC's heels.  They're not big enough to do any real damage, but they sure are annoying.  Most annoyingly, they refused to let one of their top lightweights, Eddie Alvarez, leave the organization for the proverbial greener pastures of the UFC after his Bellator contract had expired.  They kept him in litigation until he finally relented and gave up on his UFC dream. 

To their chagrin, Eddie came back and beat their lightweight champion, Michael Chandler. He then dropped out of his rubber match with Chandler this week, claiming a head injury. With Alvarez/Chandler 3 scrapped, guess who gets the main event?  You guessed it.

Rampage.

Since signing with Bellator, Rampage has won two fights.  Both have been impressive knockout victories.  In his first fight outside of the Octagon, he was matched with fellow UFC alumni, Joey Beltran.  In his second fight, he was matched with former Bellator champion, Christian M'Pumbu.  Rampage looked good in those fights.  He deserves credit for that.  But let's be clear: he should look good against that caliber of opponent.  Neither Beltran or M'Pumbu boast a world-class record.  Rampage was far and away the biggest name either man had ever faced.

This weekend he will face Muhammad Lawal, who is also known as "King Mo."  Lawal owns an impressive wrestling background and ever-improving boxing.  Unfortunately, he also owns a questionable chin.  He has been knocked absolutely stiff twice in his short mixed martial arts career--once by Rafael Calvacante and once by Emmanuel Newton.  Newton, in fact, beat him a second time when they rematched in November 2013.

While Lawal has big wins over guys like Gegard Mousasi and Roger Gracie, those losses of his keep me from getting too excited about him.  With that being said, his wrestling may be good enough to beat Rampage.  Chances are, Lawal will not stand and trade punches with Rampage.  At least, that wouldn't be the smartest strategy.  Rampage's chin is proven. He can take one heck of a punch.  Additionally, Rampage hits like a Peterbilt.  If guys like Calvacante and Newton can knock out Lawal, you'd better believe that Rampage can do it if he hits him clean.

So I think Lawal will likely employ the same strategy he used against Gegard Mousasi.  He'll shoot for the takedown over and over, and try to grind out a decision. The scary thing for Rampage is that Lawal may be good enough to do it.

I see this ending one of two ways: Lawal by unanimous decision or Rampage by knockout. Since Rampage has accomplished more on a world-class level, I lean toward Rampage getting the win.  With that being said, I would not be surprised by a Lawal decision victory.

If Lawal wins, it could mean the last chapter of the Rampage saga. If Rampage wins, he's still just a big fish in a small pond since he's no longer swimming in the big blue oceans of the UFC.

Either way, it will be interesting to watch play out.

Until then.

On Matt "The Immortal" Brown

Matt Brown is all man.  More importantly, he is all fighter. 

Not long ago, I wrote a post titled "Natural Born Fighter."  It was about Yoel Romero.  Read it HERE.  In it, I wrote about how Yoel seemed to truly enjoy fighting.  He enjoyed hitting people, and he enjoyed getting hit.  The tougher a fight got, the more he seemed to enjoy it. Well that perfectly describes Matt Brown.

I first saw Matt "The Immortal" Brown on the 7th season of The Ultimate Fighter back in 2008.  Even back then, it was obvious that Matt wasn't in the house to play games.  He was there to fight.  The other contestants spoke of him in hushed tones.  They spoke of him with awe and reverence.  He won his first 2 fights on the show, stopping Josh Hall and then knocking out Jeremy May with a head kick, before he was stopped by eventual season winner, Amir Sadollah, by arm bar.  Even in the loss, Matt gave a good account of himself.

After entering the UFC, Brown went 5-5 in his first 10 fights in the UFC, though I still think he deserved the decision against Dong Hyun Kim.  His losses were all by submission or decision.  After that, he won his next 7 fights in a row.  The 7th was this past Saturday, against Eric Silva, in a fight that will likely be in the running for fight of the year.  Brown survived a vicious body kick and subsequent choke attempt by Silva for the first 3 minutes of the fight.  Many observers, including myself, thought Matt wouldn't make it out of that first round after seeing Silva fold him in half with the body kick.

But we forgot that Matt Brown is a real fighter.  Not a sportsman.  Not an athlete.  A fighter. Getting hurt simply warmed him up.  This is not to say that Brown is nonathletic or unsportsmanlike. He is both athletic and sportsmanlike.  But he is, at heart, a fighter. A fighter who fought his way out of the choke Silva had slapped around his throat. A fighter who then put a world class beating on the handsome Brazilian.  It was violent.  And it was technical. Every shot was calculated to hurt his opponent.  Every shot.  He didn't throw feints.  He didn't dance in and out of harm's way.  Instead, he gritted his teeth, waded forward and went to war.

Eric Silva tried to keep Brown at a distance, but "The Immortal" cut off the cage time and time again, forcing Silva to engage.  When he did, Brown smashed him with punches and crushing elbow strikes.  Though Silva had his moments, landing several more body shots that made Matt wince, it was Brown who did the most damage.  It was Brown who controlled the fight.  He broke Silva's body and he broke his will.  

In the third round, he straddled Silva's turtled-up body, and dropped sledgehammer fists and elbows on him until the referee had seen enough blood and put a stop to the carnage.

With the win, Matt Brown put himself one fight away from a title shot.  Indeed, he may get the title shot if the champion's next challenger gets injured.  Regardless, Matt Brown is sitting in a great position.

Let me go back to that whole Matt-Brown-is-a-real-fighter comment I've made a few times in this piece.  More and more, the mixed martial arts top ten rankings are being filled by guys who are phenomenal athletes and expert tacticians.  Guys with natural aptitudes, who found that punching came easy, or who found they had a knack for jiu-jitsu.  Perhaps they were blessed with natural strength and were persuaded to try out for their highschool wrestling team. Perhaps their strength was coupled with a strategical mind, one that could easily spot flaws in their opponents. And maybe they were also hard workers, willing to put in countless hours in training to hone their natural abilities.  These are the building blocks for champions.

But how many of them got into mixed martial arts because they simply loved to fight?  When the UFC first hit the scene in the early 90's, the participants were often guys who would have likely been fighting that weekend anyway, except they would be fighting illegally in a bar or in a parking lot.  Guys like Pat Smith, Harold Howard, Don Frye, and, of course, Tank Abbot seemed positively delighted to throw down at a moment's notice. No pay check required.

Matt Brown would have fit in quite well with that crowd. He shares their addiction for the rush that is unique to combat sports.  They can't find it in team sports like basketball or football.  In those sports, there's too many time-outs and too many other players that can alter the game's outcome.  They can't find it in individual sports like tennis, either, since there's little chance of getting hurt or of hurting someone else.  There's something about using one's own bare hands--indeed, one's whole body--to dominate another that can be intoxicating.  Euphoric. Matt Brown, undoubtedly, has been drunk on that feeling. He has shot it into his veins just as surely as he once shot heroin into them.  

The fact that Brown once nearly died from a heroin overdose reinforces how strong his discipline and determination have become. He is a man who clawed his way out of a hole--a hole that has claimed many less determined souls.  And he has to continue clawing his way out every day, because a single lapse in willpower could find him sliding hopelessly back into the abyss.

Keep clawing, Matt Brown.  Keep clawing.  

Until next time. 

UFC 172: After The Smoke Clears

Ladies and gentlemen,

I just watched Jon "Bones" Jones beat the mess out of Glover Teixeira.  I'm a big fan of Glover's, but Jones performed as I expected he would.  He pulled out all the old tricks like spinning elbows and oblique kicks, but he also pulled a few new tricks from his hat like axe kicks and spinning heel kicks.  Also as predicted, Jones kept Glover from ever establishing a rhythm, and though he was successful using his reach, he broke Glover's rhythm mostly by smothering him against the cage and slicing him to ribbons with short elbows.  It was amazing stuff that you only see from Jon Jones.

After the Gustaffson fight, I think a lot of folks lost some of their awe and some of their respect for Jones. After this fight, they should have regained it.  Those who were predicting that Daniel Cormier would make short work of Jones had best take a moment and consider just how good Jones is.  He is, without a doubt, a unique talent.  We may never see a fighter like this again in our lifetimes.  Enjoy him while he is here and while he is fighting in his prime.  When or if he ever does fight Daniel Cormier, my money will be on Jones.

Jones wasn't the only one who looked great tonight.  Anthony "Rumble" Johnson, Luke Rockhold, Danny Castillo, Jim Miller, Max Holloway and Chris Beal all put in sensational performances.

Rumble Johnson proved that his 30-pound move from welterweight to light heavyweight was a wise decision when he dominated Phil Davis in a manner that not even his teammate and mentor, Rashad Evans, could match.  

Luke Rockhold was clinically efficient, wrapping up Tim Boetsch in a triangle choke from top position only to finish him with a kimura.

Danny Castillo rebounded from losing the first round to landing a nuclear bomb of a right hand on Chris Brenneman's chin.  That knockout was as violent as any you're likely to see this year.

Jim Miller choked his opponent unconscious.  In fact, the fight was over and Miller had to celebrate on his back because it took his comatose opponent so long to wake up.

Max Holloway continues to get better.  I've liked this kid every time I've seen him.  Even when he loses, he puts on a heck of a fight.  At only 22 years of age and with 8 fights in the UFC, it's scary to think how good Max might end up being once he reaches his prime.

Ultimate Fighter alumni, Chris Beal, landed one of the most beautiful flying knees I've ever seen.  And now, thank to the magic of the internet, you can see it, too.

Savor that clip, ladies and gentlemen.

Until next time.

Jon Jones Versus Glover Teixeira

Ladies and gentlemen, give some props to Jon Jones for being the champion in one of the deepest divisions in the sport.  One reason why Jones is considered among the sport's best fighters pound-for-pound, is he has been able to prove himself against some fantastic competition.  Just look at some of the men he's defeated:

Rashad Evans

Rampage Jackson

Lyoto Machida

Vitor Belfort

Shogun Rua

Chael Sonnen

Ryan Bader

Vladimir Matyushenko

Brandon Vera

Matt Hamill

Don't give me grief about Hamill.  Yes, I know that he stands as the only living man with a recognized win over Jones, but Jones was manhandling him prior to the disqualification.  The 12-6 rule is dumb.  For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, I am referring to the rule that prohibits elbow strikes that are thrown straight down with the point of the elbow.  The 12 refers to the number 12 on a standard clock.  The 6, then, stands for the number 6 on a clock.  Jones was disqualified for landing a number of these blows on Hamill.

But back to my point.  Just look at those guys.  They're beasts!  Even the lower-tiered guys like Bader, Vera and Matyushenko run through most guys outside of the top 25.  Yet Jones handled them with ease.

Some of you may have noticed that I didn't put Alexander Gustaffson's mug up there. I did that for a reason.  Opinion is divided concerning whether or not Jones deserved his victory over Alexander.  Personally, I thought Jones did enough to win, but it definitely wasn't easy.

Saturday night isn't going to be easy, either.  Glover Teixeira is a monster.  Chuck Liddell's long-time trainer, John Hackleman, said he's never held pads for someone who hit harder than Glover.  Follow that to its logical conclusion.  Glover punches harder than Chuck!  And Chuck is one of the most murderous strikers the sport has ever seen!  How crazy is that?

Now I first heard about Glover Teixeira when Ramieu Sokoudjou burst onto the scene in 2007 with back-to-back knockout wins over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Little Nog) and Ricardo Arona (Man, whatever happened to him?).  I knew about Glover because he was, at the time, the only man to have beaten Sokoudjou.  Sokoudjou looked so good demolishing those top-ten guys, I just couldn't help but wonder who the heck could have beaten him. And not only had Glover beaten him, he had knocked him out.  

But Glover was a man of mystery.  For several years, he barely fought. In fact, he knocked out Sokoudjou in 2006.  He didn't fight again until 2008.  He fought twice that year and won both fights by knockout.  But then he only fought once in 2009.  It boggled the mind!  How could a man with such potential spend so little time fighting?

Finally, in 2010, he started fighting regularly.  He fought and won 4 times that year, and he finished 3 of his 4 opponents.  In 2011 he fought 5 times, and won every fight by knockout or submission.  And he beat some good names while he was at it.  Marcio Cruz is a world champion jiu-jitsu fighter who once beat former Frank Mir nearly to death.  Glover knocked him out.  Marvin Eastman holds a win over Rampage Jackson.  Glover knocked him out. Ricco Rodriguez is the former UFC heavyweight champion.  Glover knocked him out, too.

That's when he was finally invited to the big leagues.  The UFC. He's gone 5-0 since and only former champion Rampage Jackson was able to go the distance.

He's clearly ready to face Jon Jones.

Or is he?

Coming off his toughest fight ever, Jones is going to have a chip on his shoulder.  He will be looking to silence the critics.  Putting the stamp on Glover would do just that.  There's a part of me that believes Jones took Alexander lightly.  After all, he had beaten bigger names with far less effort.  He won't be taking Glover lightly.

A motivated Jon Jones is one of the scariest fighters on the planet. If you doubt me, scroll up and take a second look at the leviathans he has already trounced.  And while Glover has looked great, he has never faced a man like Jones.  No one fights like Jones.  No one.  No one has Jones's combination of athleticism, height, reach, skill, unorthodox style and true grit (John Wayne would have been proud of the way he gutted through his match with Alexander).

But Jones has faced hard hitters.  Rashad, Rampage, Machida, Belfort, Bader, Rua, Vera, Hamill--all those guys can knock you dead with one shot.  Jones had no problems.

Jones has also faced good wrestlers.  Rashad Evans, Chael Sonnen, Ryan Bader and Matt Hamill are fantastic wrestlers.  Jones had no problems (other than the DQ against Hamill...).

The only thing he hasn't faced is a world champion jiu-jitsu specialist.  But Glover isn't a world champion jiu-jitsu specialist (though he did beat up a couple of them...).

I predict a great fight.  These guys have the potential to bring out the best in one another. But I think Jones will use his reach (both with his hands and with his feet) and his unorthodox style to keep Glover off balance and out of rhythm. 

Jon Jones by 5 Round Unanimous Decision.

Until next time.

By the way, do you enjoy short stories?  The Kindle edition of Big Blue, my collection of short stories, is on sale for 99 cents.  That's less than a buck!  It's also available in paperback.  Just click this LINK to get your copy.

Congrats to Bernard Hopkins and UFC on Fox 11 Post-Thoughts

Ladies and gentlemen, I've got a handful of things I'd like to write about today. But the first thing I want to do is congratulate 49 year old Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins, who won yet another world title on Saturday night. Just last week I wrote about how age catches up to us all, and especially to fighters. Well, I guess he is the exception that proves the rule. Bernard fought for his first title more than 20 years ago. That's right. More than 20 years ago. Saturday he looked almost as good as he did for that first title fight back in 1993. Of course, some might argue that he looked even better. After all, he lost that first title fight to Roy Jones Jr. (he would avenge that loss years later), but he won on Saturday.

Put simply, the man is an inspiration. And an anomaly. Some credit his incredible self-discipline for his even more incredible longevity. He doesn't drink, he doesn't do drugs, he doesn't eat junk, and he doesn't cheat on his woman. That's quite the discipline cocktail right there. Props to him for maintaining an iron will, and props to him for whipping butt long past the age when most boxers have hung up their gloves.

Now let's talk briefly about the UFC fights from Saturday. First of all, Fabricio Werdum looked good in dominating Travis Browne. Ironically, Browne put a beating on Werdum in the first round. In fact, he was razor blade close to finishing the fight. It was reminiscent of the beating Alistair Overeem put on Browne months earlier. Browne survived that horrible beating, and came back to win. Likewise, Werdum survived Browne's early onslaught. Then he thrived. 

Next up for Werdum is an Ultimate Fighter coaching gig and a title shot against the juggernaut, Cain Velasquez. In Mexico, of all places. I'm excited about that fight. Before anyone writes off Werdum, they should be reminded of just how good Werdum is off his back (which is where he will likely find himself against Cain). He caught the greatest heavyweight in the history of our sport, Fedor Emelianenko, with a triangle choke while on his back. Fedor was legendary for his ability to fend off submissions. Just check out his fights with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to see this for yourself. But Werdum caught him and made him tap.

As good as Cain is--and he is exceptional--he is not perfect. He has been caught with big punches by Junior Dos Santos and by Chieck Kongo. Who is to say that he can't be caught by a big submission? If he can be, Werdum is the man to catch him. He has truly world class jiu-jitsu skills; better than anyone Cain has faced.

Plus, Werdum may be the only other heavyweight in the world who can keep up with Cain's pace. Let me be clear, I still think Cain holds a cardio advantage over Werdum. But perhaps his advantage won't be as overwhelming as it is against other heavyweights.

Meisha Tate came from behind to defeat Liz Carmouche in a close decision. I'm not sure where either woman goes from here. Both have been defeated by champion, Ronda Rousey, and neither looked spectacular on Saturday.

Edson Barbosa and Donald Cerrone, however, stole the show. As was expected, these guys came right out and started throwing down.  Though Cerrone looked more than willing to trade bombs, it was Barbosa who was landing the better shots.  In fact, Barbosa looked spectacular.  At least until Cerrone hit him with a stiff left jab.  The jab dropped Barbosa, which of course makes me call his chin into question. We all know Cerrone hits hard.  But a jab?  Sure, I've seen people get dropped by jabs before, but it doesn't happen often.

Regardless, Cerrone took advantage of the moment by jumping on Barbosa's back and sinking in a rear naked choke.  For their efforts, Cerrone and Barbosa both earned fat performance bonuses.  And they earned them.  Good job, gentlemen.

I've written in the past about Yoel Romero. In fact, I dedicated an entire blog post to him. You can read it HERE. Well, he looked as good as ever in his manhandling of game Brad Tavares.  His wrestling was ridiculous.  Tavares, a strong fighter on a five-fight win streak, was tossed around like a child by the former Olympian.  As before, Yoel looked to be enjoying himself in the cage.  Winning was, I'm sure, a welcome early birthday gift for him since he turns 37 in a week.  We will have to wait and see if he'll be one of those rare athletes like Bernard Hopkins or Randy Couture who continues to perform at a world-class level past the age of 40.  If so, Yoel has time to work his way to a title shot.  With his stellar wrestling background and his ever-evolving striking game, he may be a legitimate threat to the champion, Chris Weidman. 

But if he's like most fighters, he'll start to lose a step--and maybe sooner than later.  I hope that isn't the case, because I'm sure enjoying watching him work.  He has a rare combination of natural ability, insane work ethic, and a genuine fighter's heart.  I'm definitely looking forward to his next fight.

Speaking of looking forward to a fight, this weekend is UFC 172 (Jones vs Teixeira).  That should be awesome.  I hope to work in some pre-fight thoughts and predictions this week, so stay tuned.

Until then.








  

Bisping Versus Kennedy Post-Fight Thoughts

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am so happy to have gotten it wrong.  Tim Kennedy won 4 of the 5 rounds against Michael Bisping. He did what only 2 other guys have done against the Brit--he took him down and kept him down for much of the fight.  He also landed some good punches en route to the unanimous decision win.

With the win, Tim Kennedy positions himself as a top contender in the middleweight division.  Unfortunately for him, two of the men who have defeated him are perched in the top 5: Jacare Souza and Luke Rockhold. Then there's also Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort, and Anderson freaking Silva.  So to say that Kennedy has his work cut out for him is an understatement, to say the least.

All the same, I am excited for him.  He seems to have his head on straight and is no longer splitting his time between the Army and mixed martial arts.  Plus, he's training full time at the best gym in the world: Greg Jackson's. And although he lost to both Jacare and Rockhold, neither of those guys beat the heck out of him. He was competitive.

Plus, I can't help but root for the former Army Ranger and sniper. Having spent 9 years working with military families at Fort Bragg and having grown up as the son of a career Marine who served 2 tours in Viet Nam, I have a soft spot in my heart for our men and women in the military.  It's an incredibly tough gig they sign up for.

As for Bisping, he was game.  Kennedy's takedowns were simply better than he anticipated. I still think he beats a lot of 185 pounders.  In fact, I would love to see him against Francis Carmont or Gegard Mousasi. Either fight is intriguing and could spark some serious fire works.

Also, I would be remiss if I didn't give props to K.J. Noons for his 30 second destruction of iron-chinned Sam Stout.  Great stuff, K.J.!  The same goes for Dustin Porier, who weathered an early storm by Akira Corassani and stopped him early in the second round.  If that wasn't enough, congratulations to Chad Laprise and Elias Theodorou for their season-winning efforts.  They are the 2 newest Ultimate Fighters on the UFC's roster.  Can't wait to see them in the future.

Until then.

By the way, do you enjoy short stories?  The Kindle edition of Big Blue, my collection of short stories, is on sale for 99 cents.  That's less than a buck!  It's also available in paperback.  Just click this LINK to get your copy.

Michael Bisping Versus Tim Kennedy

Ladies and gentlemen,

In my last post, I talked about how age catches up to all of our heroes and transforms them into mere mortals.  Big Nog--also known as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira--played heavily in that post.  He was the man in 2002!  But it's 2014, and I prayed that he could roll back the clock long enough to put on a great show against Roy Nelson.

That didn't happen.

If you missed it, here is what happened:

Talk about mixed emotions.  I like Roy Nelson.  I like Big Nog.  And I love knockouts!  But I hate seeing my heroes getting knocked out.  They're supposed to be invincible.  Forever.

Oh, well.  So what's on the horizon?  Tonight, the Ultimate Fighter Nations (Canada VS Australia) finale is on.  The main event pits former Ultimate Fighter, Michael Bisping, against Tim Kennedy, a solid fighter and a man who can honestly be described as a killer.  You see, Kennedy served as a sniper for the U.S. Army.  In fact, when The Deadliest Warrior needed an American to demonstrate the lethality of U.S. weapons, they called in Tim Kennedy.  He performed as well as anyone I've ever seen on the show.  In case you can stream it on some service or another, he was on episode #25 (Army Rangers vs North Korean Special Forces). 

In a Sports Illustrated article, Tim talked about his service overseas, and was candid about killing.  You can read that article HERE.  Whether you read this or not, understand that Kennedy has killed a lot of people.  He has seen his friends--his fellow soldiers--die.  While that doesn't necessarily make him a better mixed martial artist, it does provide him with perspective.  He rarely gets worked up emotionally for a fight.  Win or lose, he seems stoic about it all.  Detached.  After all, a sporting event doesn't carry quite the emotional impact of making an enemy's head explode.  Nor does a knockout match the terrible finality of a comrade's death.  

Except he was uncharacteristically emotional when he headlined the UFC's Fight For the Troops in a building filled with members of the U.S. military.  After winning with a devastating left hook, Kennedy was fighting back tears.  Speaking into Joe Rogan's microphone and addressing the crowd, he said, "You guys are my heroes.  You guys are my idols.  I'm a Christian, I give the glory to God, but I worship you guys.  I worship you guys.  I love every one of you."

This stands in stark contrast to his usual demeanor.  You see, Kennedy is usually joking.  He spends a lot of time on Twitter, calling out other fighters and talking smack.  In fact, he goaded Bisping into a match back in December when he posted a fake fight contract he wrote and signed, stating he would fight Bisping any place and any time.  HERE is a link to the contract.

Bisping, one of the best smack talkers in the sport, didn't take kindly to Kennedy's antics.  In typical Bisping fashion, he has been amped up and angry in the days leading up to their fight. "I'm excited to get in there and just f--k this idiot up, honestly," he told reporters on Monday.  "He thinks that he's played mind games and he thinks that he really got the upper hand.  I'm a pretty intense individual and all he's done is made me more and more intense. I'm more in the zone, if you will.  He's going to pay the price on Wednesday night."

So who wins this fight?  Bisping has an army of detractors--probably a result of his tendency to run his mouth, his gift decision over Matt Hamill, and his penchant for winning by decision. But he is a legitimate top five middleweight contender.  He has faced some of the best competition at 185 and 205 pounds, and he has won far more than he has lost.  Kennedy, too, has faced some top competition, and usually comes out on the winning side of things.

Their match comes down to styles.  Bisping likes to stick and move.  It's a style that doesn't endear him to fans who prefer blood-n-guts, but it has proven effective against some of the UFC's best. He relies on solid takedown defense to keep the fight standing.  Only Rashad Evans and Chael Sonnen have been able to impose their wrestling against him, and they didn't find it easy.  He has a solid chin, too.  Only knockout artists Dan Henderson and Vitor Belfort have knocked him out, while other renowned bangers like Wanderlei Silva, Brian Stann and Chris Leben failed to stop the loud-mouthed Brit.

Kennedy, on the other hand, has shown a cast-iron jaw.  Even murderous punchers like Robbie Lawler and Melvin Manhoef have been unable to stop the Army Ranger.  His jiu-jitsu has proven equally impervious.  In fact, he has faced arguably the two most dangerous submission fighters in the sport--Jacare Souza and Roger Gracie--and neither of them could force Kennedy to tap.  So chances are, Tim Kennedy finishes this fight without Bisping knocking him out or submitting him.

Though Kennedy doesn't have a ton of finishes on his record, he has improved since making it to the big leagues.  Since joining Strike Force (which was bought by the UFC), he has stopped 6 of his 10 opponents. 5 of those 6 finishes have been by submission, but his last win was the crushing left hook I mentioned earlier, so he has some pop in his punches, too.

Ultimately, I think Bisping's takedown defense will win him the fight.  Kennedy's best shot is to take Bisping down and work for a submission, but Bisping isn't likely to let that happen. He'll keep the fight standing and keep Kennedy at the end of his jabs and kicks.  The fight won't likely win any awards, but Bisping will likely show off strong technical skills en route to a unanimous decision win.

My Pick: Bisping by Unanimous Decision.