Sports Dispatch

EliteXC on CBS II: Lawler vs. Smith Preview & Predictions
EliteXC will be looking to continue to massive amount of mixed martial arts action we've seen this month with their second event on CBS. Although Kimbo Slice won't on the card, Robbie Lawler will be taking on Scott Smith in a rematch of their previous CBS bout that saw Smith being stopped by the doctor due to an accidental eye gouge. The ensuing uproar by fans and the awesome battle that had happened during the bout should ensure this fight to be another war.

Also on the card, Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva will take on former UFC fighter Justin Eilers while Jake Shields will be tested by veteran Nick "The Goat" Thompson. Nick Diaz will take on Thomas Denny, notably known for crushing Malapeit in ShoXC and then being spectacularly KO'd by illegal elbows to the head. In a marquee women's matchup, Shayna Baszler will hope to continue her dominance against a very tough Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos.

Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith

Once again, we'll see two hard-hitting strikers in both Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith square off in a war of attrition. While both men have the knockout power to end this fight instantly, look for this matchup to go into the late rounds once again.

The most significant difference between my previous analysis of their first fight and this fight is Smith's chin. During their first battle, Smith displayed a rock solid iron chin that Lawler was tagging consistently. If not for that chin, Smith would have easily been out by the second round. Can Smith's determination win him this fight?

I'm still leaning toward Robbie Lawler in this fight. He has the reach, size, and a new found patience to wait opponents out before moving in for the kill. Smith still found it tough to move close to Lawler to land the big blows during their previous matchup. I don't believe Lawler will end it early, but I think he'll be able to stand with Smith for most of the fight and wear him down.

Leland's Prediction: Robbie Lawler via TKO, Round 4

Antonio Silva vs. Justin Eilers

This isn't much of a challenge for "Bigfoot" Silva. Silva will not only be bigger and stronger, but he'll likely have a huge advantage on the ground. Eilers isn't a slouch by any means, but his striking will likely be ineffective against Silva's size and reach. I don't see Eilers knocking out Silva or challenging him on the ground in any facet of jiu-jitsu or wrestling. Look for Silva to end this quickly in either the first or second round.

Leland's Prediction: Antonio Silva via TKO, Round 1

Jake Shields vs. Nick Thompson

This could very well be a fight of the night candidate. While Thompson is likely being underdog'd in this fight, he does stand a decent shot at defeating Shields potentially on his feet. Thompson's all-around game is venerable, but his ground game will be the area where Shields will try to win.

Shields, training out of Cesar Gracie Academy, has high jiu-jitsu credentials and trains with MMA veterans Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez on a consistent day to day basis. His grappling will likely be superior to Thompson's jiu-jitsu, but the question is how far of a gap will there be?

Shields is weak in the standup, but he's still scrappy enough to avoid the big shots. If this hits the floor, look for Shields to pull away for the win in the later rounds.

Leland's Prediction: Jake Shields via submission, Round 3

Nick Diaz vs. Thomas Denny

Nick Diaz needs to stop trying to pepper opponents with shots from his boxing training and begin to try to end fights as quickly as possible. Not only will it help him extend his career and protect his face from being cut up significantly, but it'll actually help the fans understand that he does have some potential to be one of the best in the sport. Unfortunately, Diaz seems to be content with showing how tough he is rather than finishing a fight in the first round.

Denny is a finisher on the ground, but Diaz is a much better jiu-jitsu practitioner. Look for this fight to hit the floor after Denny gets peppered with shots early. Hopefully, Diaz will submit Denny inside two rounds so we won't need to sit through another boring decision.

Leland's Prediction: Nick Diaz via submission, Round 2

Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos vs. Shayna Baszler

I would normally go with Shayna Baszler's killer instinct to finish her opponents quickly and her superior grappling abilities against most women in the division, but the buzz surrounding Santos is significant to give her a look here.

Santos is a power striking beast in the cage, and it wouldn't surprise me if we see a similar win by Santos over Baszler as we did when Larosa TKO'd Baszler in their past fights. While I think Baszler could potentially submit the Brazilian, it's likely that Santos has very good defense on the ground due to her Brazilian training. From what I've seen from her, she'll be a tough competitor for Baszler to steamroll.

Leland's Prediction: Cristiane Santos via TKO, Round 1

Quick picks
Anthony "El Toro" Ruiz vs. Jeremy Freitag: Ruiz has beaten Freitag twice in the past, and I don't see why this fight should go any different. Freitag's chin will be exposed, and Ruiz should take advantage. Ruiz via TKO, Round 2.

Wilson Reis vs. Brian Caraway: Reis is a nightmare, and his name will be known throughout the world before we know it. While Caraway has an impressive streak going for himself, he's primarily a submission fighter. Reis won't be susceptible to the submission, especially with his superior training on the ground. Reis is also a ball of steel in the cage. Look for his power, speed, and abilities to overwhelm Caraway quickly. Reis via submission, Round 1

Travis Galbraith vs. Rafael Feijao: Feijao should put the leather on Galbraith early in this one. Galbraith will be looking to hit the floor, but Feijao will have some decent takedown defense and likely defend against the submission well on the ground if it gets there. Look for Feijao to find the stunning knockout in this prelim. Feijao via TKO, Round 2

EliteXC on CBS II: Lawler vs. Smith Preview & Predictions
EliteXC will be looking to continue to massive amount of mixed martial arts action we've seen this month with their second event on CBS. Although Kimbo Slice won't on the card, Robbie Lawler will be taking on Scott Smith in a rematch of their previous CBS bout that saw Smith being stopped by the doctor due to an accidental eye gouge. The ensuing uproar by fans and the awesome battle that had happened during the bout should ensure this fight to be another war.

Also on the card, Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva will take on former UFC fighter Justin Eilers while Jake Shields will be tested by veteran Nick "The Goat" Thompson. Nick Diaz will take on Thomas Denny, notably known for crushing Malapeit in ShoXC and then being spectacularly KO'd by illegal elbows to the head. In a marquee women's matchup, Shayna Baszler will hope to continue her dominance against a very tough Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos.

Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith

Once again, we'll see two hard-hitting strikers in both Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith square off in a war of attrition. While both men have the knockout power to end this fight instantly, look for this matchup to go into the late rounds once again.

The most significant difference between my previous analysis of their first fight and this fight is Smith's chin. During their first battle, Smith displayed a rock solid iron chin that Lawler was tagging consistently. If not for that chin, Smith would have easily been out by the second round. Can Smith's determination win him this fight?

I'm still leaning toward Robbie Lawler in this fight. He has the reach, size, and a new found patience to wait opponents out before moving in for the kill. Smith still found it tough to move close to Lawler to land the big blows during their previous matchup. I don't believe Lawler will end it early, but I think he'll be able to stand with Smith for most of the fight and wear him down.

Leland's Prediction: Robbie Lawler via TKO, Round 4

Antonio Silva vs. Justin Eilers

This isn't much of a challenge for "Bigfoot" Silva. Silva will not only be bigger and stronger, but he'll likely have a huge advantage on the ground. Eilers isn't a slouch by any means, but his striking will likely be ineffective against Silva's size and reach. I don't see Eilers knocking out Silva or challenging him on the ground in any facet of jiu-jitsu or wrestling. Look for Silva to end this quickly in either the first or second round.

Leland's Prediction: Antonio Silva via TKO, Round 1

Jake Shields vs. Nick Thompson

This could very well be a fight of the night candidate. While Thompson is likely being underdog'd in this fight, he does stand a decent shot at defeating Shields potentially on his feet. Thompson's all-around game is venerable, but his ground game will be the area where Shields will try to win.

Shields, training out of Cesar Gracie Academy, has high jiu-jitsu credentials and trains with MMA veterans Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez on a consistent day to day basis. His grappling will likely be superior to Thompson's jiu-jitsu, but the question is how far of a gap will there be?

Shields is weak in the standup, but he's still scrappy enough to avoid the big shots. If this hits the floor, look for Shields to pull away for the win in the later rounds.

Leland's Prediction: Jake Shields via submission, Round 3

Nick Diaz vs. Thomas Denny

Nick Diaz needs to stop trying to pepper opponents with shots from his boxing training and begin to try to end fights as quickly as possible. Not only will it help him extend his career and protect his face from being cut up significantly, but it'll actually help the fans understand that he does have some potential to be one of the best in the sport. Unfortunately, Diaz seems to be content with showing how tough he is rather than finishing a fight in the first round.

Denny is a finisher on the ground, but Diaz is a much better jiu-jitsu practitioner. Look for this fight to hit the floor after Denny gets peppered with shots early. Hopefully, Diaz will submit Denny inside two rounds so we won't need to sit through another boring decision.

Leland's Prediction: Nick Diaz via submission, Round 2

Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos vs. Shayna Baszler

I would normally go with Shayna Baszler's killer instinct to finish her opponents quickly and her superior grappling abilities against most women in the division, but the buzz surrounding Santos is significant to give her a look here.

Santos is a power striking beast in the cage, and it wouldn't surprise me if we see a similar win by Santos over Baszler as we did when Larosa TKO'd Baszler in their past fights. While I think Baszler could potentially submit the Brazilian, it's likely that Santos has very good defense on the ground due to her Brazilian training. From what I've seen from her, she'll be a tough competitor for Baszler to steamroll.

Leland's Prediction: Cristiane Santos via TKO, Round 1

Quick picks
Anthony "El Toro" Ruiz vs. Jeremy Freitag: Ruiz has beaten Freitag twice in the past, and I don't see why this fight should go any different. Freitag's chin will be exposed, and Ruiz should take advantage. Ruiz via TKO, Round 2.

Wilson Reis vs. Brian Caraway: Reis is a nightmare, and his name will be known throughout the world before we know it. While Caraway has an impressive streak going for himself, he's primarily a submission fighter. Reis won't be susceptible to the submission, especially with his superior training on the ground. Reis is also a ball of steel in the cage. Look for his power, speed, and abilities to overwhelm Caraway quickly. Reis via submission, Round 1

Travis Galbraith vs. Rafael Feijao: Feijao should put the leather on Galbraith early in this one. Galbraith will be looking to hit the floor, but Feijao will have some decent takedown defense and likely defend against the submission well on the ground if it gets there. Look for Feijao to find the stunning knockout in this prelim. Feijao via TKO, Round 2

EliteXC on CBS: Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith II thoughts

This round of EliteXC on CBS wasn't too bad of a show. They've definitely improved on it in a number of areas but at the same time still have quite a bit to improve on. This time I didn't think they delivered a major disappointment to all MMA like their first attempt with CBS in May. While it was about fights for me and I didn't mind too much that the whole production portion of the first show was a complete fumble.  Kimbo and Thompson shouldn't have been a main event, but it was an ok brawl. I think MMA media overall, especially Yahoo MMA, were blowing EliteXC's production issues completely out of proportion. Come on, MMA is speeding steam-rolling train that nothing can stop it at this point.  Mere 2 months after everyone proclaimed EliteXC did SO much damage to MMA's acceptance by general public NOT too many people even remember that.

• Their intro highlight compilation is still the worst of just about any MMA show out there with any sort of budget, especially with a real TV station backing. It's outrageous in my opinion. Did they have golf highlight clip specialist make that? Scrap it, take all that good EliteXC highlight material to date and hire some of the very talented MMA highlight video makers out there in the wild of the internets. They'll probably be happy to make it for free.
• Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos vs Shayna Baszler - Wow, Cyborg's wife Cyborg is one vicious and angry woman. Training at Chute Boxe with a bunch of crazy men sure made her one of the most dangerous female fighters out there. It's a little scary how powerful and snappy her striking was. It was a great fight. I blame Josh Barnett for Shayna Baszler's mistakes though. WTF was he thinking not yelling for Baszler to let go of the damn useless toehold! She had Cyborg's leg extended for a least a good kneebar attempt and she kept cranking and wasting whatever energy/strength she had on, I'll say it again, a useless toehold. When the leg is almost straight and near a kneebar position toeholds just don't work until the leg is bent and the toes are near the butt. Then again, Baszler was just thrown down by an angry and a much stronger amazon woman and really had no choice but try for a submission, except she should have tried to get guard and work armbar/triangle. Obviously the end of the fight was a little weird, reminds me of Matt Linland vs Murillo Bustamante, where the clear winner of the fight had to interrupt their celebration, come back and win the fight again. Mazagatti and company should have known better and stopped the fight after first knockdown when it was clear Baszler wasn't ok to continue. But for a great TV moment they made, a mad at that point, Cyborg come back and beat Baszler even worse.
• Jake Shields vs Nick Thompson - Shields was again very impressive and dominated the Goatboy Thompson. Shields was great in taking every single opening and taking full advantage of it. Takedown to side, mount, guillotine from the top - like clockwork. Thompson came in with a good win streak over lesser competition and was little to confident with that stupidest looking goat beard. Shields ate him up. Who's he fighting next?
• Nick Diaz vs Thomas Denny  - I wasn't overly excited to see this fight. I mean Denny is a journey man at best with a spotty record. Crazy stupid hair doesn't buy you skills, just look at that sloppy bum Heath Herring. Is it me or has Diaz been sloppier with his boxing? I know he's got a bit of an unorthodox style, but lately he's been taking a whole lot more punishment to his face than he used to. This cost him the KJ Noons fight. This also made it kind of embarrasing when a bum like Denny landed as much as he did with his awkward striking. So Diaz TKO's Denny and I guess not gets to rematch with KJ Noons. I'm predicting KJ Noons to beat Diaz again by crisp striking and complete face busting with cuts under and over both eyes, nose and forehead. Time for a new boxing coach for Diaz to work head movement and parrying or whatever, but to just avoid eating so many damn punches!
• Antonio Silva vs Justin Eilers - Eilers is a bum that should have retired after looking just plain weird during every single of his three consecutive KO during his UFC punching bag days. So Silva beating Eilers was no surprise at all, even considering his not so stellar heavyweight accomplishments either. UFC's heavy's are a joke? Nope. EliteXC's heavy's are a complete mockery of even a half legit division. Eilers, Weizorek, Ricco Rodriguez? Even Silva himself, whose big accomplishment is beating those three bums. After Brock Lesnar chews Heath Herring up and spits him out, Herring will have a nice home and fame in the EliteXC's bum heavy division. He'll be a great fit. They'll only be missing Gan McGee.
• Robbie Lawler vs Scott Smith - Nice fight. Started a little slow because it was hard for both to just jump in the slugfest they had previously. Both knew they could get hurt. Lawler pressed the action most of the first round, but Smith rebounded nicely with a good flurry at the end. Smith made a big mistake by just hanging out after he cut Lawler. I kept wondering what he was waiting for when Lawler punched him in the liver with those sharp grazing liver punches during clinch. Those didn't get through right away,but they certainly had a major compound effect which set up the final knees to break right through to knocking the wind out of Smith and putting him down for good. Awesome job by Lawler to pick up the pace and finish the fight.

This was really decent as far as fights go. I wish EliteXC would break the bank and hire some better competition or at least some bright new blood. Other than that, they're on the right track to eventually be #3 behind WEC on Versus and UFC on Spike.

Standing 8: Why is the UFC starting to overtake professional boxing and HOW can WE fix this?
By P.H. Burbridge (A voice in the crowd) - The sport of boxing is a high stakes shell game with moves that can be interpreted not only as slight of hand trickery but as symbols of our own moral deficiency as a society. From John L. Sullivan refusing to fight Peter “Black Prince” Jackson […]

An Update on the Kentucky Boxing/MMA Scandal
I helped break the original story about the Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Authority’s revocation of Janine Browning’s fight license on Friday afternoon. Apparently, there’s even more to the story according to an MMA fighter who preferred to remain anonymous. Current license holder Janine Browning reportedly made claims that her then husband Warren Browning had assisted with […]

EliteXC on CBS: Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith II thoughts

This round of EliteXC on CBS wasn't too bad of a show. They've definitely improved on it in a number of areas but at the same time still have quite a bit to improve on. This time I didn't think they delivered a major disappointment to all MMA like their first attempt with CBS in May. While it was about fights for me and I didn't mind too much that the whole production portion of the first show was a complete fumble.  Kimbo and Thompson shouldn't have been a main event, but it was an ok brawl. I think MMA media overall, especially Yahoo MMA, were blowing EliteXC's production issues completely out of proportion. Come on, MMA is speeding steam-rolling train that nothing can stop it at this point.  Mere 2 months after everyone proclaimed EliteXC did SO much damage to MMA's acceptance by general public NOT too many people even remember that.

• Their intro highlight compilation is still the worst of just about any MMA show out there with any sort of budget, especially with a real TV station backing. It's outrageous in my opinion. Did they have golf highlight clip specialist make that? Scrap it, take all that good EliteXC highlight material to date and hire some of the very talented MMA highlight video makers out there in the wild of the internets. They'll probably be happy to make it for free.
• Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos vs Shayna Baszler - Wow, Cyborg's wife Cyborg is one vicious and angry woman. Training at Chute Boxe with a bunch of crazy men sure made her one of the most dangerous female fighters out there. It's a little scary how powerful and snappy her striking was. It was a great fight. I blame Josh Barnett for Shayna Baszler's mistakes though. WTF was he thinking not yelling for Baszler to let go of the damn useless toehold! She had Cyborg's leg extended for a least a good kneebar attempt and she kept cranking and wasting whatever energy/strength she had on, I'll say it again, a useless toehold. When the leg is almost straight and near a kneebar position toeholds just don't work until the leg is bent and the toes are near the butt. Then again, Baszler was just thrown down by an angry and a much stronger amazon woman and really had no choice but try for a submission, except she should have tried to get guard and work armbar/triangle. Obviously the end of the fight was a little weird, reminds me of Matt Linland vs Murillo Bustamante, where the clear winner of the fight had to interrupt their celebration, come back and win the fight again. Mazagatti and company should have known better and stopped the fight after first knockdown when it was clear Baszler wasn't ok to continue. But for a great TV moment they made, a mad at that point, Cyborg come back and beat Baszler even worse.
• Jake Shields vs Nick Thompson - Shields was again very impressive and dominated the Goatboy Thompson. Shields was great in taking every single opening and taking full advantage of it. Takedown to side, mount, guillotine from the top - like clockwork. Thompson came in with a good win streak over lesser competition and was little to confident with that stupidest looking goat beard. Shields ate him up. Who's he fighting next?
• Nick Diaz vs Thomas Denny  - I wasn't overly excited to see this fight. I mean Denny is a journey man at best with a spotty record. Crazy stupid hair doesn't buy you skills, just look at that sloppy bum Heath Herring. Is it me or has Diaz been sloppier with his boxing? I know he's got a bit of an unorthodox style, but lately he's been taking a whole lot more punishment to his face than he used to. This cost him the KJ Noons fight. This also made it kind of embarrasing when a bum like Denny landed as much as he did with his awkward striking. So Diaz TKO's Denny and I guess not gets to rematch with KJ Noons. I'm predicting KJ Noons to beat Diaz again by crisp striking and complete face busting with cuts under and over both eyes, nose and forehead. Time for a new boxing coach for Diaz to work head movement and parrying or whatever, but to just avoid eating so many damn punches!
• Antonio Silva vs Justin Eilers - Eilers is a bum that should have retired after looking just plain weird during every single of his three consecutive KO during his UFC punching bag days. So Silva beating Eilers was no surprise at all, even considering his not so stellar heavyweight accomplishments either. UFC's heavy's are a joke? Nope. EliteXC's heavy's are a complete mockery of even a half legit division. Eilers, Weizorek, Ricco Rodriguez? Even Silva himself, whose big accomplishment is beating those three bums. After Brock Lesnar chews Heath Herring up and spits him out, Herring will have a nice home and fame in the EliteXC's bum heavy division. He'll be a great fit. They'll only be missing Gan McGee.
• Robbie Lawler vs Scott Smith - Nice fight. Started a little slow because it was hard for both to just jump in the slugfest they had previously. Both knew they could get hurt. Lawler pressed the action most of the first round, but Smith rebounded nicely with a good flurry at the end. Smith made a big mistake by just hanging out after he cut Lawler. I kept wondering what he was waiting for when Lawler punched him in the liver with those sharp grazing liver punches during clinch. Those didn't get through right away,but they certainly had a major compound effect which set up the final knees to break right through to knocking the wind out of Smith and putting him down for good. Awesome job by Lawler to pick up the pace and finish the fight.

This was really decent as far as fights go. I wish EliteXC would break the bank and hire some better competition or at least some bright new blood. Other than that, they're on the right track to eventually be #3 behind WEC on Versus and UFC on Spike.

FaceBreaker Review (Xbox 360)
Dont let the friendly faade fool youthis is no buttonmashing boxing game.

EliteXC on CBS: Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith II thoughts

This round of EliteXC on CBS wasn't too bad of a show. They've definitely improved on it in a number of areas but at the same time still have quite a bit to improve on. This time I didn't think they delivered a major disappointment to all MMA like their first attempt with CBS in May. While it was about fights for me and I didn't mind too much that the whole production portion of the first show was a complete fumble.  Kimbo and Thompson shouldn't have been a main event, but it was an ok brawl. I think MMA media overall, especially Yahoo MMA, were blowing EliteXC's production issues completely out of proportion. Come on, MMA is speeding steam-rolling train that nothing can stop it at this point.  Mere 2 months after everyone proclaimed EliteXC did SO much damage to MMA's acceptance by general public NOT too many people even remember that.

• Their intro highlight compilation is still the worst of just about any MMA show out there with any sort of budget, especially with a real TV station backing. It's outrageous in my opinion. Did they have golf highlight clip specialist make that? Scrap it, take all that good EliteXC highlight material to date and hire some of the very talented MMA highlight video makers out there in the wild of the internets. They'll probably be happy to make it for free.
• Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos vs Shayna Baszler - Wow, Cyborg's wife Cyborg is one vicious and angry woman. Training at Chute Boxe with a bunch of crazy men sure made her one of the most dangerous female fighters out there. It's a little scary how powerful and snappy her striking was. It was a great fight. I blame Josh Barnett for Shayna Baszler's mistakes though. WTF was he thinking not yelling for Baszler to let go of the damn useless toehold! She had Cyborg's leg extended for a least a good kneebar attempt and she kept cranking and wasting whatever energy/strength she had on, I'll say it again, a useless toehold. When the leg is almost straight and near a kneebar position toeholds just don't work until the leg is bent and the toes are near the butt. Then again, Baszler was just thrown down by an angry and a much stronger amazon woman and really had no choice but try for a submission, except she should have tried to get guard and work armbar/triangle. Obviously the end of the fight was a little weird, reminds me of Matt Linland vs Murillo Bustamante, where the clear winner of the fight had to interrupt their celebration, come back and win the fight again. Mazagatti and company should have known better and stopped the fight after first knockdown when it was clear Baszler wasn't ok to continue. But for a great TV moment they made, a mad at that point, Cyborg come back and beat Baszler even worse.
• Jake Shields vs Nick Thompson - Shields was again very impressive and dominated the Goatboy Thompson. Shields was great in taking every single opening and taking full advantage of it. Takedown to side, mount, guillotine from the top - like clockwork. Thompson came in with a good win streak over lesser competition and was little to confident with that stupidest looking goat beard. Shields ate him up. Who's he fighting next?
• Nick Diaz vs Thomas Denny  - I wasn't overly excited to see this fight. I mean Denny is a journey man at best with a spotty record. Crazy stupid hair doesn't buy you skills, just look at that sloppy bum Heath Herring. Is it me or has Diaz been sloppier with his boxing? I know he's got a bit of an unorthodox style, but lately he's been taking a whole lot more punishment to his face than he used to. This cost him the KJ Noons fight. This also made it kind of embarrasing when a bum like Denny landed as much as he did with his awkward striking. So Diaz TKO's Denny and I guess not gets to rematch with KJ Noons. I'm predicting KJ Noons to beat Diaz again by crisp striking and complete face busting with cuts under and over both eyes, nose and forehead. Time for a new boxing coach for Diaz to work head movement and parrying or whatever, but to just avoid eating so many damn punches!
• Antonio Silva vs Justin Eilers - Eilers is a bum that should have retired after looking just plain weird during every single of his three consecutive KO during his UFC punching bag days. So Silva beating Eilers was no surprise at all, even considering his not so stellar heavyweight accomplishments either. UFC's heavy's are a joke? Nope. EliteXC's heavy's are a complete mockery of even a half legit division. Eilers, Weizorek, Ricco Rodriguez? Even Silva himself, whose big accomplishment is beating those three bums. After Brock Lesnar chews Heath Herring up and spits him out, Herring will have a nice home and fame in the EliteXC's bum heavy division. He'll be a great fit. They'll only be missing Gan McGee.
• Robbie Lawler vs Scott Smith - Nice fight. Started a little slow because it was hard for both to just jump in the slugfest they had previously. Both knew they could get hurt. Lawler pressed the action most of the first round, but Smith rebounded nicely with a good flurry at the end. Smith made a big mistake by just hanging out after he cut Lawler. I kept wondering what he was waiting for when Lawler punched him in the liver with those sharp grazing liver punches during clinch. Those didn't get through right away,but they certainly had a major compound effect which set up the final knees to break right through to knocking the wind out of Smith and putting him down for good. Awesome job by Lawler to pick up the pace and finish the fight.

This was really decent as far as fights go. I wish EliteXC would break the bank and hire some better competition or at least some bright new blood. Other than that, they're on the right track to eventually be #3 behind WEC on Versus and UFC on Spike.

FaceBreaker Soundtrack (FaceBreaker)

Facebreaker, an arcade-style boxing game from EA SPORTS Freestyle, will be hitting stores shelves this week and will feature an eclectic mix of music from top artists.

With its cast of over-the-top characters, Facebreaker looks and plays like no other game on the market today and the soundtrack was developed to match. With hot bands like From First To Last, Santogold, Fujiya & Miyagi, and The Go! Team, gamers will have the perfect music to pump them up as they step into the ring and knock out their opponents.

EliteXC on CBS II: Lawler vs. Smith Preview & Predictions
EliteXC will be looking to continue to massive amount of mixed martial arts action we've seen this month with their second event on CBS. Although Kimbo Slice won't on the card, Robbie Lawler will be taking on Scott Smith in a rematch of their previous CBS bout that saw Smith being stopped by the doctor due to an accidental eye gouge. The ensuing uproar by fans and the awesome battle that had happened during the bout should ensure this fight to be another war.

Also on the card, Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva will take on former UFC fighter Justin Eilers while Jake Shields will be tested by veteran Nick "The Goat" Thompson. Nick Diaz will take on Thomas Denny, notably known for crushing Malapeit in ShoXC and then being spectacularly KO'd by illegal elbows to the head. In a marquee women's matchup, Shayna Baszler will hope to continue her dominance against a very tough Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos.

Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith

Once again, we'll see two hard-hitting strikers in both Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith square off in a war of attrition. While both men have the knockout power to end this fight instantly, look for this matchup to go into the late rounds once again.

The most significant difference between my previous analysis of their first fight and this fight is Smith's chin. During their first battle, Smith displayed a rock solid iron chin that Lawler was tagging consistently. If not for that chin, Smith would have easily been out by the second round. Can Smith's determination win him this fight?

I'm still leaning toward Robbie Lawler in this fight. He has the reach, size, and a new found patience to wait opponents out before moving in for the kill. Smith still found it tough to move close to Lawler to land the big blows during their previous matchup. I don't believe Lawler will end it early, but I think he'll be able to stand with Smith for most of the fight and wear him down.

Leland's Prediction: Robbie Lawler via TKO, Round 4

Antonio Silva vs. Justin Eilers

This isn't much of a challenge for "Bigfoot" Silva. Silva will not only be bigger and stronger, but he'll likely have a huge advantage on the ground. Eilers isn't a slouch by any means, but his striking will likely be ineffective against Silva's size and reach. I don't see Eilers knocking out Silva or challenging him on the ground in any facet of jiu-jitsu or wrestling. Look for Silva to end this quickly in either the first or second round.

Leland's Prediction: Antonio Silva via TKO, Round 1

Jake Shields vs. Nick Thompson

This could very well be a fight of the night candidate. While Thompson is likely being underdog'd in this fight, he does stand a decent shot at defeating Shields potentially on his feet. Thompson's all-around game is venerable, but his ground game will be the area where Shields will try to win.

Shields, training out of Cesar Gracie Academy, has high jiu-jitsu credentials and trains with MMA veterans Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez on a consistent day to day basis. His grappling will likely be superior to Thompson's jiu-jitsu, but the question is how far of a gap will there be?

Shields is weak in the standup, but he's still scrappy enough to avoid the big shots. If this hits the floor, look for Shields to pull away for the win in the later rounds.

Leland's Prediction: Jake Shields via submission, Round 3

Nick Diaz vs. Thomas Denny

Nick Diaz needs to stop trying to pepper opponents with shots from his boxing training and begin to try to end fights as quickly as possible. Not only will it help him extend his career and protect his face from being cut up significantly, but it'll actually help the fans understand that he does have some potential to be one of the best in the sport. Unfortunately, Diaz seems to be content with showing how tough he is rather than finishing a fight in the first round.

Denny is a finisher on the ground, but Diaz is a much better jiu-jitsu practitioner. Look for this fight to hit the floor after Denny gets peppered with shots early. Hopefully, Diaz will submit Denny inside two rounds so we won't need to sit through another boring decision.

Leland's Prediction: Nick Diaz via submission, Round 2

Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos vs. Shayna Baszler

I would normally go with Shayna Baszler's killer instinct to finish her opponents quickly and her superior grappling abilities against most women in the division, but the buzz surrounding Santos is significant to give her a look here.

Santos is a power striking beast in the cage, and it wouldn't surprise me if we see a similar win by Santos over Baszler as we did when Larosa TKO'd Baszler in their past fights. While I think Baszler could potentially submit the Brazilian, it's likely that Santos has very good defense on the ground due to her Brazilian training. From what I've seen from her, she'll be a tough competitor for Baszler to steamroll.

Leland's Prediction: Cristiane Santos via TKO, Round 1

Quick picks
Anthony "El Toro" Ruiz vs. Jeremy Freitag: Ruiz has beaten Freitag twice in the past, and I don't see why this fight should go any different. Freitag's chin will be exposed, and Ruiz should take advantage. Ruiz via TKO, Round 2.

Wilson Reis vs. Brian Caraway: Reis is a nightmare, and his name will be known throughout the world before we know it. While Caraway has an impressive streak going for himself, he's primarily a submission fighter. Reis won't be susceptible to the submission, especially with his superior training on the ground. Reis is also a ball of steel in the cage. Look for his power, speed, and abilities to overwhelm Caraway quickly. Reis via submission, Round 1

Travis Galbraith vs. Rafael Feijao: Feijao should put the leather on Galbraith early in this one. Galbraith will be looking to hit the floor, but Feijao will have some decent takedown defense and likely defend against the submission well on the ground if it gets there. Look for Feijao to find the stunning knockout in this prelim. Feijao via TKO, Round 2

EliteXC on CBS: Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith II thoughts

This round of EliteXC on CBS wasn't too bad of a show. They've definitely improved on it in a number of areas but at the same time still have quite a bit to improve on. This time I didn't think they delivered a major disappointment to all MMA like their first attempt with CBS in May. While it was about fights for me and I didn't mind too much that the whole production portion of the first show was a complete fumble.  Kimbo and Thompson shouldn't have been a main event, but it was an ok brawl. I think MMA media overall, especially Yahoo MMA, were blowing EliteXC's production issues completely out of proportion. Come on, MMA is speeding steam-rolling train that nothing can stop it at this point.  Mere 2 months after everyone proclaimed EliteXC did SO much damage to MMA's acceptance by general public NOT too many people even remember that.

• Their intro highlight compilation is still the worst of just about any MMA show out there with any sort of budget, especially with a real TV station backing. It's outrageous in my opinion. Did they have golf highlight clip specialist make that? Scrap it, take all that good EliteXC highlight material to date and hire some of the very talented MMA highlight video makers out there in the wild of the internets. They'll probably be happy to make it for free.
• Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos vs Shayna Baszler - Wow, Cyborg's wife Cyborg is one vicious and angry woman. Training at Chute Boxe with a bunch of crazy men sure made her one of the most dangerous female fighters out there. It's a little scary how powerful and snappy her striking was. It was a great fight. I blame Josh Barnett for Shayna Baszler's mistakes though. WTF was he thinking not yelling for Baszler to let go of the damn useless toehold! She had Cyborg's leg extended for a least a good kneebar attempt and she kept cranking and wasting whatever energy/strength she had on, I'll say it again, a useless toehold. When the leg is almost straight and near a kneebar position toeholds just don't work until the leg is bent and the toes are near the butt. Then again, Baszler was just thrown down by an angry and a much stronger amazon woman and really had no choice but try for a submission, except she should have tried to get guard and work armbar/triangle. Obviously the end of the fight was a little weird, reminds me of Matt Linland vs Murillo Bustamante, where the clear winner of the fight had to interrupt their celebration, come back and win the fight again. Mazagatti and company should have known better and stopped the fight after first knockdown when it was clear Baszler wasn't ok to continue. But for a great TV moment they made, a mad at that point, Cyborg come back and beat Baszler even worse.
• Jake Shields vs Nick Thompson - Shields was again very impressive and dominated the Goatboy Thompson. Shields was great in taking every single opening and taking full advantage of it. Takedown to side, mount, guillotine from the top - like clockwork. Thompson came in with a good win streak over lesser competition and was little to confident with that stupidest looking goat beard. Shields ate him up. Who's he fighting next?
• Nick Diaz vs Thomas Denny  - I wasn't overly excited to see this fight. I mean Denny is a journey man at best with a spotty record. Crazy stupid hair doesn't buy you skills, just look at that sloppy bum Heath Herring. Is it me or has Diaz been sloppier with his boxing? I know he's got a bit of an unorthodox style, but lately he's been taking a whole lot more punishment to his face than he used to. This cost him the KJ Noons fight. This also made it kind of embarrasing when a bum like Denny landed as much as he did with his awkward striking. So Diaz TKO's Denny and I guess not gets to rematch with KJ Noons. I'm predicting KJ Noons to beat Diaz again by crisp striking and complete face busting with cuts under and over both eyes, nose and forehead. Time for a new boxing coach for Diaz to work head movement and parrying or whatever, but to just avoid eating so many damn punches!
• Antonio Silva vs Justin Eilers - Eilers is a bum that should have retired after looking just plain weird during every single of his three consecutive KO during his UFC punching bag days. So Silva beating Eilers was no surprise at all, even considering his not so stellar heavyweight accomplishments either. UFC's heavy's are a joke? Nope. EliteXC's heavy's are a complete mockery of even a half legit division. Eilers, Weizorek, Ricco Rodriguez? Even Silva himself, whose big accomplishment is beating those three bums. After Brock Lesnar chews Heath Herring up and spits him out, Herring will have a nice home and fame in the EliteXC's bum heavy division. He'll be a great fit. They'll only be missing Gan McGee.
• Robbie Lawler vs Scott Smith - Nice fight. Started a little slow because it was hard for both to just jump in the slugfest they had previously. Both knew they could get hurt. Lawler pressed the action most of the first round, but Smith rebounded nicely with a good flurry at the end. Smith made a big mistake by just hanging out after he cut Lawler. I kept wondering what he was waiting for when Lawler punched him in the liver with those sharp grazing liver punches during clinch. Those didn't get through right away,but they certainly had a major compound effect which set up the final knees to break right through to knocking the wind out of Smith and putting him down for good. Awesome job by Lawler to pick up the pace and finish the fight.

This was really decent as far as fights go. I wish EliteXC would break the bank and hire some better competition or at least some bright new blood. Other than that, they're on the right track to eventually be #3 behind WEC on Versus and UFC on Spike.

EliteXC on CBS: Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith II thoughts

This round of EliteXC on CBS wasn't too bad of a show. They've definitely improved on it in a number of areas but at the same time still have quite a bit to improve on. This time I didn't think they delivered a major disappointment to all MMA like their first attempt with CBS in May. While it was about fights for me and I didn't mind too much that the whole production portion of the first show was a complete fumble.  Kimbo and Thompson shouldn't have been a main event, but it was an ok brawl. I think MMA media overall, especially Yahoo MMA, were blowing EliteXC's production issues completely out of proportion. Come on, MMA is speeding steam-rolling train that nothing can stop it at this point.  Mere 2 months after everyone proclaimed EliteXC did SO much damage to MMA's acceptance by general public NOT too many people even remember that.

• Their intro highlight compilation is still the worst of just about any MMA show out there with any sort of budget, especially with a real TV station backing. It's outrageous in my opinion. Did they have golf highlight clip specialist make that? Scrap it, take all that good EliteXC highlight material to date and hire some of the very talented MMA highlight video makers out there in the wild of the internets. They'll probably be happy to make it for free.
• Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos vs Shayna Baszler - Wow, Cyborg's wife Cyborg is one vicious and angry woman. Training at Chute Boxe with a bunch of crazy men sure made her one of the most dangerous female fighters out there. It's a little scary how powerful and snappy her striking was. It was a great fight. I blame Josh Barnett for Shayna Baszler's mistakes though. WTF was he thinking not yelling for Baszler to let go of the damn useless toehold! She had Cyborg's leg extended for a least a good kneebar attempt and she kept cranking and wasting whatever energy/strength she had on, I'll say it again, a useless toehold. When the leg is almost straight and near a kneebar position toeholds just don't work until the leg is bent and the toes are near the butt. Then again, Baszler was just thrown down by an angry and a much stronger amazon woman and really had no choice but try for a submission, except she should have tried to get guard and work armbar/triangle. Obviously the end of the fight was a little weird, reminds me of Matt Linland vs Murillo Bustamante, where the clear winner of the fight had to interrupt their celebration, come back and win the fight again. Mazagatti and company should have known better and stopped the fight after first knockdown when it was clear Baszler wasn't ok to continue. But for a great TV moment they made, a mad at that point, Cyborg come back and beat Baszler even worse.
• Jake Shields vs Nick Thompson - Shields was again very impressive and dominated the Goatboy Thompson. Shields was great in taking every single opening and taking full advantage of it. Takedown to side, mount, guillotine from the top - like clockwork. Thompson came in with a good win streak over lesser competition and was little to confident with that stupidest looking goat beard. Shields ate him up. Who's he fighting next?
• Nick Diaz vs Thomas Denny  - I wasn't overly excited to see this fight. I mean Denny is a journey man at best with a spotty record. Crazy stupid hair doesn't buy you skills, just look at that sloppy bum Heath Herring. Is it me or has Diaz been sloppier with his boxing? I know he's got a bit of an unorthodox style, but lately he's been taking a whole lot more punishment to his face than he used to. This cost him the KJ Noons fight. This also made it kind of embarrasing when a bum like Denny landed as much as he did with his awkward striking. So Diaz TKO's Denny and I guess not gets to rematch with KJ Noons. I'm predicting KJ Noons to beat Diaz again by crisp striking and complete face busting with cuts under and over both eyes, nose and forehead. Time for a new boxing coach for Diaz to work head movement and parrying or whatever, but to just avoid eating so many damn punches!
• Antonio Silva vs Justin Eilers - Eilers is a bum that should have retired after looking just plain weird during every single of his three consecutive KO during his UFC punching bag days. So Silva beating Eilers was no surprise at all, even considering his not so stellar heavyweight accomplishments either. UFC's heavy's are a joke? Nope. EliteXC's heavy's are a complete mockery of even a half legit division. Eilers, Weizorek, Ricco Rodriguez? Even Silva himself, whose big accomplishment is beating those three bums. After Brock Lesnar chews Heath Herring up and spits him out, Herring will have a nice home and fame in the EliteXC's bum heavy division. He'll be a great fit. They'll only be missing Gan McGee.
• Robbie Lawler vs Scott Smith - Nice fight. Started a little slow because it was hard for both to just jump in the slugfest they had previously. Both knew they could get hurt. Lawler pressed the action most of the first round, but Smith rebounded nicely with a good flurry at the end. Smith made a big mistake by just hanging out after he cut Lawler. I kept wondering what he was waiting for when Lawler punched him in the liver with those sharp grazing liver punches during clinch. Those didn't get through right away,but they certainly had a major compound effect which set up the final knees to break right through to knocking the wind out of Smith and putting him down for good. Awesome job by Lawler to pick up the pace and finish the fight.

This was really decent as far as fights go. I wish EliteXC would break the bank and hire some better competition or at least some bright new blood. Other than that, they're on the right track to eventually be #3 behind WEC on Versus and UFC on Spike.

MMA Fighter and Two Trainers Suspended in Kentucky
Janine Browning of Hitman Promotions reportedly had her fight license revoked following the Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Authority’s finding that 14 fighters who had participated in past boxing and MMA events were supplied with false blood work. The false blood was given to the authority in order to pass tests that were administered over an […]

De La Hoya Could End Career Against Pacquiao
Boxer Oscar De La Hoya is wrapping up a deal to finish his boxing career Dec. 6 against Manny Pacquiao.

EliteXC on CBS II: Lawler vs. Smith Preview & Predictions
EliteXC will be looking to continue to massive amount of mixed martial arts action we've seen this month with their second event on CBS. Although Kimbo Slice won't on the card, Robbie Lawler will be taking on Scott Smith in a rematch of their previous CBS bout that saw Smith being stopped by the doctor due to an accidental eye gouge. The ensuing uproar by fans and the awesome battle that had happened during the bout should ensure this fight to be another war.

Also on the card, Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva will take on former UFC fighter Justin Eilers while Jake Shields will be tested by veteran Nick "The Goat" Thompson. Nick Diaz will take on Thomas Denny, notably known for crushing Malapeit in ShoXC and then being spectacularly KO'd by illegal elbows to the head. In a marquee women's matchup, Shayna Baszler will hope to continue her dominance against a very tough Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos.

Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith

Once again, we'll see two hard-hitting strikers in both Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith square off in a war of attrition. While both men have the knockout power to end this fight instantly, look for this matchup to go into the late rounds once again.

The most significant difference between my previous analysis of their first fight and this fight is Smith's chin. During their first battle, Smith displayed a rock solid iron chin that Lawler was tagging consistently. If not for that chin, Smith would have easily been out by the second round. Can Smith's determination win him this fight?

I'm still leaning toward Robbie Lawler in this fight. He has the reach, size, and a new found patience to wait opponents out before moving in for the kill. Smith still found it tough to move close to Lawler to land the big blows during their previous matchup. I don't believe Lawler will end it early, but I think he'll be able to stand with Smith for most of the fight and wear him down.

Leland's Prediction: Robbie Lawler via TKO, Round 4

Antonio Silva vs. Justin Eilers

This isn't much of a challenge for "Bigfoot" Silva. Silva will not only be bigger and stronger, but he'll likely have a huge advantage on the ground. Eilers isn't a slouch by any means, but his striking will likely be ineffective against Silva's size and reach. I don't see Eilers knocking out Silva or challenging him on the ground in any facet of jiu-jitsu or wrestling. Look for Silva to end this quickly in either the first or second round.

Leland's Prediction: Antonio Silva via TKO, Round 1

Jake Shields vs. Nick Thompson

This could very well be a fight of the night candidate. While Thompson is likely being underdog'd in this fight, he does stand a decent shot at defeating Shields potentially on his feet. Thompson's all-around game is venerable, but his ground game will be the area where Shields will try to win.

Shields, training out of Cesar Gracie Academy, has high jiu-jitsu credentials and trains with MMA veterans Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez on a consistent day to day basis. His grappling will likely be superior to Thompson's jiu-jitsu, but the question is how far of a gap will there be?

Shields is weak in the standup, but he's still scrappy enough to avoid the big shots. If this hits the floor, look for Shields to pull away for the win in the later rounds.

Leland's Prediction: Jake Shields via submission, Round 3

Nick Diaz vs. Thomas Denny

Nick Diaz needs to stop trying to pepper opponents with shots from his boxing training and begin to try to end fights as quickly as possible. Not only will it help him extend his career and protect his face from being cut up significantly, but it'll actually help the fans understand that he does have some potential to be one of the best in the sport. Unfortunately, Diaz seems to be content with showing how tough he is rather than finishing a fight in the first round.

Denny is a finisher on the ground, but Diaz is a much better jiu-jitsu practitioner. Look for this fight to hit the floor after Denny gets peppered with shots early. Hopefully, Diaz will submit Denny inside two rounds so we won't need to sit through another boring decision.

Leland's Prediction: Nick Diaz via submission, Round 2

Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos vs. Shayna Baszler

I would normally go with Shayna Baszler's killer instinct to finish her opponents quickly and her superior grappling abilities against most women in the division, but the buzz surrounding Santos is significant to give her a look here.

Santos is a power striking beast in the cage, and it wouldn't surprise me if we see a similar win by Santos over Baszler as we did when Larosa TKO'd Baszler in their past fights. While I think Baszler could potentially submit the Brazilian, it's likely that Santos has very good defense on the ground due to her Brazilian training. From what I've seen from her, she'll be a tough competitor for Baszler to steamroll.

Leland's Prediction: Cristiane Santos via TKO, Round 1

Quick picks
Anthony "El Toro" Ruiz vs. Jeremy Freitag: Ruiz has beaten Freitag twice in the past, and I don't see why this fight should go any different. Freitag's chin will be exposed, and Ruiz should take advantage. Ruiz via TKO, Round 2.

Wilson Reis vs. Brian Caraway: Reis is a nightmare, and his name will be known throughout the world before we know it. While Caraway has an impressive streak going for himself, he's primarily a submission fighter. Reis won't be susceptible to the submission, especially with his superior training on the ground. Reis is also a ball of steel in the cage. Look for his power, speed, and abilities to overwhelm Caraway quickly. Reis via submission, Round 1

Travis Galbraith vs. Rafael Feijao: Feijao should put the leather on Galbraith early in this one. Galbraith will be looking to hit the floor, but Feijao will have some decent takedown defense and likely defend against the submission well on the ground if it gets there. Look for Feijao to find the stunning knockout in this prelim. Feijao via TKO, Round 2

An Update on the Kentucky Boxing/MMA Scandal
I helped break the original story about the Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Authority’s revocation of Janine Browning’s fight license on Friday afternoon. Apparently, there’s even more to the story according to an MMA fighter who preferred to remain anonymous. Current license holder Janine Browning reportedly made claims that her then husband Warren Browning had assisted with […]

An Update on the Kentucky Boxing/MMA Scandal
I helped break the original story about the Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Authority’s revocation of Janine Browning’s fight license on Friday afternoon. Apparently, there’s even more to the story according to an MMA fighter who preferred to remain anonymous. Current license holder Janine Browning reportedly made claims that her then husband Warren Browning had assisted with […]

Hard Knock Life
Another Olympics come and gone, watching the boxing and the TKD, you can’t help wonder when they’re going to implement electronic scoring. There were so many shady calls.   I saw a clip on tv, where this inventor has essentially fitted sensors in the gloves and body armor… any blows that have enough force behind them […]

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EliteXC on CBS II: Lawler vs. Smith Preview & Predictions
EliteXC will be looking to continue to massive amount of mixed martial arts action we've seen this month with their second event on CBS. Although Kimbo Slice won't on the card, Robbie Lawler will be taking on Scott Smith in a rematch of their previous CBS bout that saw Smith being stopped by the doctor due to an accidental eye gouge. The ensuing uproar by fans and the awesome battle that had happened during the bout should ensure this fight to be another war.

Also on the card, Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva will take on former UFC fighter Justin Eilers while Jake Shields will be tested by veteran Nick "The Goat" Thompson. Nick Diaz will take on Thomas Denny, notably known for crushing Malapeit in ShoXC and then being spectacularly KO'd by illegal elbows to the head. In a marquee women's matchup, Shayna Baszler will hope to continue her dominance against a very tough Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos.

Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith

Once again, we'll see two hard-hitting strikers in both Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith square off in a war of attrition. While both men have the knockout power to end this fight instantly, look for this matchup to go into the late rounds once again.

The most significant difference between my previous analysis of their first fight and this fight is Smith's chin. During their first battle, Smith displayed a rock solid iron chin that Lawler was tagging consistently. If not for that chin, Smith would have easily been out by the second round. Can Smith's determination win him this fight?

I'm still leaning toward Robbie Lawler in this fight. He has the reach, size, and a new found patience to wait opponents out before moving in for the kill. Smith still found it tough to move close to Lawler to land the big blows during their previous matchup. I don't believe Lawler will end it early, but I think he'll be able to stand with Smith for most of the fight and wear him down.

Leland's Prediction: Robbie Lawler via TKO, Round 4

Antonio Silva vs. Justin Eilers

This isn't much of a challenge for "Bigfoot" Silva. Silva will not only be bigger and stronger, but he'll likely have a huge advantage on the ground. Eilers isn't a slouch by any means, but his striking will likely be ineffective against Silva's size and reach. I don't see Eilers knocking out Silva or challenging him on the ground in any facet of jiu-jitsu or wrestling. Look for Silva to end this quickly in either the first or second round.

Leland's Prediction: Antonio Silva via TKO, Round 1

Jake Shields vs. Nick Thompson

This could very well be a fight of the night candidate. While Thompson is likely being underdog'd in this fight, he does stand a decent shot at defeating Shields potentially on his feet. Thompson's all-around game is venerable, but his ground game will be the area where Shields will try to win.

Shields, training out of Cesar Gracie Academy, has high jiu-jitsu credentials and trains with MMA veterans Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez on a consistent day to day basis. His grappling will likely be superior to Thompson's jiu-jitsu, but the question is how far of a gap will there be?

Shields is weak in the standup, but he's still scrappy enough to avoid the big shots. If this hits the floor, look for Shields to pull away for the win in the later rounds.

Leland's Prediction: Jake Shields via submission, Round 3

Nick Diaz vs. Thomas Denny

Nick Diaz needs to stop trying to pepper opponents with shots from his boxing training and begin to try to end fights as quickly as possible. Not only will it help him extend his career and protect his face from being cut up significantly, but it'll actually help the fans understand that he does have some potential to be one of the best in the sport. Unfortunately, Diaz seems to be content with showing how tough he is rather than finishing a fight in the first round.

Denny is a finisher on the ground, but Diaz is a much better jiu-jitsu practitioner. Look for this fight to hit the floor after Denny gets peppered with shots early. Hopefully, Diaz will submit Denny inside two rounds so we won't need to sit through another boring decision.

Leland's Prediction: Nick Diaz via submission, Round 2

Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos vs. Shayna Baszler

I would normally go with Shayna Baszler's killer instinct to finish her opponents quickly and her superior grappling abilities against most women in the division, but the buzz surrounding Santos is significant to give her a look here.

Santos is a power striking beast in the cage, and it wouldn't surprise me if we see a similar win by Santos over Baszler as we did when Larosa TKO'd Baszler in their past fights. While I think Baszler could potentially submit the Brazilian, it's likely that Santos has very good defense on the ground due to her Brazilian training. From what I've seen from her, she'll be a tough competitor for Baszler to steamroll.

Leland's Prediction: Cristiane Santos via TKO, Round 1

Quick picks
Anthony "El Toro" Ruiz vs. Jeremy Freitag: Ruiz has beaten Freitag twice in the past, and I don't see why this fight should go any different. Freitag's chin will be exposed, and Ruiz should take advantage. Ruiz via TKO, Round 2.

Wilson Reis vs. Brian Caraway: Reis is a nightmare, and his name will be known throughout the world before we know it. While Caraway has an impressive streak going for himself, he's primarily a submission fighter. Reis won't be susceptible to the submission, especially with his superior training on the ground. Reis is also a ball of steel in the cage. Look for his power, speed, and abilities to overwhelm Caraway quickly. Reis via submission, Round 1

Travis Galbraith vs. Rafael Feijao: Feijao should put the leather on Galbraith early in this one. Galbraith will be looking to hit the floor, but Feijao will have some decent takedown defense and likely defend against the submission well on the ground if it gets there. Look for Feijao to find the stunning knockout in this prelim. Feijao via TKO, Round 2