Fight Critic, Mixed Martial Arts Commentary and News

I’m on a trip so I won’t be able to catch UFC 83 live tonight. That said, I wanted to put down my thoughts on the event before it happens. This isn’t a full blown preview or prediction. If you want one of those check out BloodyElbow’s UFC 83 Staff Predictions or see what Dr. J has cooked up with his UFC 83 Preview.

First off, I think its great that the UFC is finally doing shows in Canada. I think that the expansion into Canada will be much easier than the expansion into the UK. It’s clear that the Canadians are big fans of not only their Canadian fighters but of the sport in general. Now, on to the fights.

Matt Serra Vs. Georges St. Pierre
I’m looking forward to seeing this match because well, in all honesty the last one got cut short by the heavy hands of Mr. Matt Serra. Serra is a tough guy and very hard to put away but, if anyone could do it it would be GSP. Although I wouldn’t be as shocked as the first time around to see Serra win this match, I think it would be difficult for anyone to predict that GSP will lose this fight. That said, if Serra does somehow win this fight, I don’t want to hear any more bullshit about him not being the real champ. Beating GSP twice is no joke and no mistake either.

Rich Franklin Vs Travis Lutter
This should be a good fight between two good fighters. Franklin hasn’t seemed the same after being humbled by Spider Silva but he’s still one of the most dangerous guys around at 185. Lutter is no joke but the only threat he presents to Franklin are on the ground. Could Franklin mess up on the ground and fall into a submission by Lutter? Definitely. Is it likely to happen? I don’t think so. I think Franklin wins this matchup. Note to Joe Silva: We have no interest in a Franklin vs Silva 3 card for at least another two years.

The rest of the card is nothing to get super-excited about, although it is a solid one. I think Starnes is under-rated because of his seemingly soft attitude on TUF. He has been pretty sharp in the last couple fights we’ve seen him in and he has a good chance of beating up perennial UFC favorite Nate ‘The Rock’ Quarry. By the way, when Dana White was asked who has the worst nickname on TSN’s Off The Record, he should have mentioned Nate. A rock quarry? Really?

I’m interested to see how Bisping performs after cutting to 185. If the cut doesn’t affect him I expect he’ll beat self-proclaimed BJJ grandmaster Charles McCarthy. I didn’t like Danzig’s attitude on TUF but he’s a good fighter and I enjoy watching him pick his opponents apart methodically. I’m not that crazy about the rest of the fights on paper but it’s definitely possible a couple good ones could come out of the bunch. I guess we’ll all have to watch to find out if that’s the case or not.