UFC 124 is coming at you this Saturday, December 11th, from The Belle Centre in Montreal, Quebec Canada and televised live on Pay Per View. This card promises to bring a ton of action and a variety of fighting styles as you have the land of the giants, 6'7" Sean McCorkle versus 6'11'' Stefan Struve, two of MMA's most feared and skilled Muay Thai knockout artists, Thiago Alves and John Howard, and some world-class lightweights on the road to redemption. Oh yeah, there's also a UFC Welterweight Title on the line in a rematch between two guys who really, really don't like each other. Let's take a closer look.
Georges "Rush" St-Pierre (20-2) vs. Josh Koscheck (17-4)
So we all know that Rush is the heavy favorite here. Vegas is putting him at 4-1. There is every reason to believe that St-Pierre will come out on top again in this bout. Koscheck will have to fight the best fight he's ever fought to win this. He'll need to stuff Georges' takedowns, and that's really a challenge since St. Pierre is 82% successful at that and Koscheck is only 57% successful at defending takedowns. Keep in mind that most of that percentage was calculated against other MMA fighters, not against the best takedown practitioner in MMA. The reality is Koscheck can't avoid being taken down, so he's at least got to limit them, and more importantly, when he does get taken down, he's got to minimize any damage that's administered from those seemingly razor sharp and vicious elbows that Rush possesses. If Koscheck can do this, then he can throw St.-Pierre's game plan off. That's when Josh has to make his impact felt with his striking, and that's the only way that I can visualize him winning this fight. Oh hell, there I go lying to myself again. I'm just making shit up now. Truth is Koscheck is one of the best Welterweights in the world and he'll most likely be at his prime and most improved level for this clash, but it just doesn't matter! St-Pierre has become, at least for the moment, unbeatable! His thirst for more knowledge and more skills keeps him ever evolving. Most champions have a goal to stay a champion and not let up on what got them there. Rush has a goal to get better for every fight than he ever was. Koscheck keeps saying how much better of a fighter he is now than when he lost a decision to Georges at UFC 74 some 3+ years ago. Koscheck is correct. What's scary is that St-Pierre has improved even more. Let's borrow a phrase from the NFL..."On any given Sunday"...meaning that any team at that highest of levels can beat any other team on any given day. It's possible, right? Yes, it's possible. In this case, it just ain't plausible. St-Pierre wins this one and it does not go to a decision.
Thiago "Pitbull" Alves (22-8) vs. John "Doomsday" Howard (14-5)
Well just the nicknames alone make these guys sound badass; and they are! Pitbull's lost two in a row and that's a problem for a guy ranked #5 in the world. He ain't gonna stay in the top five, much less get back into title contention, unless he starts winning now. Thiago has seemed listless and, for him, non-explosive in both of those fights. Witness his inability to make weight in his last fight against Fitch. Look, you're a professional fighter. This is what you do and this is all you do! If you don't make weight, then there's something wrong in your preparation and discipline. Make no mistake, I'm a huge Thiago fan; love the guy. You can be sure that he'll get back to being that lightning bolt, Muay Thai, aficionado that devastated the likes of Matt Hughes, Josh Koscheck and Karo Parisyan. Doomsday loves to stand and strike, and he embraces the art of Muay Thai just as much as Thiago. Howard has been saying what you would expect; that he's going to stand and bang with Alves and that you can anticipate a stand-up war. Ahhh, but wait one moment grasshopperÂ…a closer look shows Doomsday has a 79% success ratio in takedowns. HmmmÂ…do you think after watching the Pitbull's last two fights, where both St. Pierre and Fitch won the fight by taking him down and rendering his kickboxing skills important, that Howard is thinking the same thing? Doomsday may be good enough to stand and exchange with Pitbull until he lulls him off guard, takes him to the matt, and finishes him off. That's the only way I see Howard winning this one, but my gut tells me to go with Alves. After two loses, I think he gets his proverbial shit back together and comes out guns, fists and legs blazin! That and the fact that I picked him to win in his last two losses says that he's got to come out on top here, right? Pitbull wins in a war.
Stefan "Skyscraper" Struve (23-4) vs. Sean "Big Sexy" McCorkle (10-0)
Can't quite figure out if I'm watching an NBA game here or a Ringling Bros. circus act, however, I will say both of these guys are legit MMA fighters; not just big, tall dudes who like to brawl. The problem for Big Sexy is he's about to take on one fighter whose toughness matches his height. Don't let that choir boy face fool you. Struve is fast improving and McCorkle has never been tested against this good of an opponent. Yes, I know I know picked Mark Hunt over McCorkle in his last fight, but that wasn't fair because McCorkle took Hunt to the ground and Hunt has no ground game. There I said it. But Struve's got enough stand-up to bang with McCorkle, and more than enough Jiu Jitsu to finish him and keep him from talking trashÂ…for at least one night.
And in two other premier fights:
Joe "Daddy" Stevens (36-11) beats Mac Danzig (20-8-1)
Jim Miller (18-2) ends Charles Oliveira's unbeaten streak at 14.
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