Joe Lauzon

Joe Lauzon, the guy who TKO'd Jens Pulver, almost won the Ultimate Fighter TV series and has a very promising MMA career is schooled by his 18 year old cousin...who just happens to be a girl Of course, we suspect that Joe isn't using his full game, but it is entertaining video.

Brian Geraghty vs Matt Wiman
Another decent fight, but in the end Matt Wiman is too strong for Geraghty.
Prediction : Matt Wiman

Allen Berube vs Leonard Garcia
I like seeing Leonard Garcia getting another chance in the UFC. His fight with Roger Huerta was an instant classic. I'm guessing that the fight will end with Berube gassing out and Garcia submitting him.
Prediction : Leonard Garcia

Rob Emerson vs Gray Maynard
Rob Emerson had two tough fights and I can see why the UFC has brought him back for the finale. Gray Maynard was just an animal though. If Emerson lets his hands go, I think he can KO Maynard, but overall I think that Maynard is the better fighter.
Prediction : Gray Maynard

Andy Wang vs Cole Miller
If I were just looking at talent, I might just pick Andy Wang in this fight. However during season 5, Andy just refused to take his fight to the ground (where he is best). If he keeps it standing, he will lose. If it goes to the ground, it's anyones fight.
Prediction : Cole Miller

Brandon Melendez vs Joe Lauzon
Once Brandon Melendez makes weight, he's a pretty good fighter. The problem is that he almost needs to kill himself making weight. Remember he needed Andy Wang's help to make weight during season 5. On the other hand, Joe Lauzon is naturally a bit smaller, but every bit as tough. I'm going with Joe Lauzon, one of my new favourite fighters.
Prediction : Joe Lauzon

Floyd Sword vs Thales Leites
Prediction : Thales Leites, just based on his name.

Roger Huerta vs Doug Evans
Huerta looked so good in his fight with Garcia that I just need to pick him to win this fight
Prediction : Roger Huerta

BJ Penn vs Jens Pulver
BJ Penn was the UFC champion at welterweight and holds wins over current UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra, current Pride lightweight champion Takanori Gomi, Renzo Gracie and former UFC welterweight champioin Matt Hughes. He's a brilliant BJJ specialist, but also has heavy hands (just ask Caol Uno, the victim of one of the quickest KO's in UFC history).

On the other hand, Jens Pulver holds the trump card. Jens holds a victory over BJ Penn. Still, I think BJ will be too much for Jens Pulver on June 23rd.
Predicition : BJ Penn

The semi finals are over and it looks like Manny and Nate will be moving on to the finals.

Manny dominated the ground against Joe Lauzon, with the exception of one rear naked choke attempt by Joe. Manny wins by decision.

Although Gray Maynard looked very good in the first round against Nate Diaz, he eventually got caught in a Nate Diaz submission in round 2.

The finals are just over a week away (June 23rd) and we know of 3 fights so far.

BJ Penn vs Jens Pulver
Manny G vs Nate Diaz
Monstah Lobstah vs Leonard Garcia

The Ultimate Fighter Season 5 semi finals are just a couple of hours away and it's time for me to put up my predictions:

But first, the fights

Joe Lauzon vs Manny Gambaryan and Nate Diaz vs Gray Maynard

These should both be good fights, but just to recap. Joe Lauzon is a good well rounded fighter who starts fast, but Joe has had some injury problems, or maybe the producers of the show just want to keep us guessing. Manny Gambaryan is a fireball, tons of energy, good cardio, excellent ground work. Manny's only real short-fall (no pun intended) is his height and reach, but that hasn't stopped him so far. Nate Diaz is another good all around fighter. Nate looked great in his first fight and despite being beaten in the standup against Corey Hill found a way to win. Gray Maynard is probably the fighter who has not lived up to his potential on the show, he'll need to up his game a bit this week if he wants to win.

Joe Lauzon vs Manny Gambaryan
If Manny can get inside Joe's punches and take him to the ground, then stay on top of him, he'll have a good shot at this fight. Note that I said "if", I think that Joe Lauzon will find a way to finish this fight.

Prediction : Joe Lauzon

Nate Diaz vs Gray Maynard
This is a really tough pick, but during the first couple of weeks I was picking Joe Lauzon and Nate Diaz to be in the finals and I'm going to stick with that.

Prediction : Nate Diaz

I'll keep this short and sweet. On last nights Ultimate Fighter, Gray Maynard defeated Brandon Melendez to move on to the quarter finals. His team Penn team mate, Joe Lauzon is already in the quarter finals.

There will be two fights next week, featuring Corey Hill vs Nate Diaz and Manny Gambaryan against Matt Wiman. I think Nate will take Corey easily, but the Wiman vs Gambaryan fight should be excellent.

Last night's Ultimate Fighter was one of the season's best episodes. There are/were 8 fighters left.

The fight results leading up to last night were

Nate Diaz defeated Rob Emerson
Joe Lauzon defeated Brian Geraghty
Corey Hill defeated Rob Emerson (Rob was put back in after Gabe Ruediger failed to make weight)
Cole Miller defeated Allen Berube
Matt Wiman defeated Marlon Simms
Manny Gambaryan defeated Noah Thomas
Gray Maynard defeated Wayne Weems
Brandon Melendez defeated Andy Wang

So, Diaz, Lauzon, Hill, Miller, Wiman, Gamaryan, Maynard and Melendez moved on to the next round.

To read on about last nights show click continue.

Last nights Ultimate Fighter 5 featured two fights:

The first fight was Joe Lauzon vs Brian Geraghty. Let me tell you something, Joe Lauzon impressed me in this fight, even more than in his lightning quick TKO of Jens Pulver. Joe started quickly, landing punches, then taking the fight to the ground with a huge slam. He landed a great elbow when on the ground, then missed one, almost putting his elbow through the canvas. Geraghty managed to get up, but Joe Lauzon jumped on his back, applied a choke and finished the fight. Watch out for Joe Lauzon, he might just take this series.

Winner : Joe Lauzon by choke submission.

The second fight on last nights Ultimate Fighter 5 was Corey Hill vs Rob Emerson. Hill came out quickly, landing a flurry of punches and attempting a knee. It looked like this was going to be a war; but it wasn't. In the end, Corey did enough to win the fight, but he won in Tim Sylvia fashion, using his reach and occasional striking. To be honest, I was dissapointed with Corey Hill. With his aggressive style during training and attitude back at the house I was expecting a KO or be KO'd type of mentality...that's not what I saw. Give him some credit though, this was his first professional fight. Perhaps as he becomes more confident on his abilities he'll open up a bit in the ring. Rob Emerson on the other hand had no excuses for loosing this fight. Sure Cory Hill had a huge reach advantage, but Emerson was able to land leg kicks almost at will. Emerson walked through fire with Nate Diaz and I believe if he had gotten inside he could have either taken Corey Hill down, or dominated the stand up (inside).

Winner : Corey Hill by decision (after a 3rd round was required).

The two standout fighters so far in Ultimate Fighter 5 have been Joe Lauzon and Nate Diaz. I wouldn't be surprised if we see these two in the finals.