By Danny Acosta
Every fighter is human, therefore can lose. But Roger Huerta and Clay Guida seem to be made of flexible steel. Endless cardio and unbreakable wills elevate the two lightweights to a stature that raises the question: “how can he lose?” The answer is unclear, making the question more compelling.
For “The Carpenter,” losses have come in the form of submissions and decisions. Guida’s vulnerability to submissions has been corrected as he avoided the submission game of Din Thomas, Tyson Griffin, and Marcus Aurelio. He went five rounds with Josh Thomson, winning a decision, and lost a split decision to Gilbert Melendez in the same amount of time. A former junior college wrestling phenom, Guida’s ground fighting still comprises the majority of his game.
The Hellhouse fighter simply needs to bring the fight to Huerta before it comes to him. While that is usually in the Chicagoan’s game plan, he demonstrated vulnerability when Melendez brought the fight first. Takedown after takedown, controlling in the top position, is Guida’s key to decisive victory.
But Roger Huerta is looking forward to more than a fight—he is looking for a scrap. The scramble is where “El Matador” has an opportunity to outmatch his opponent. While Guida will persist with takedowns, the Los Angeles-born fighter has the wrestling ability and athleticism to force the fight into a realm that favors him. Guida’s resilient style does not provide many favorable matchups, but his jerky stand-up is not impervious to an aggressive and target-busting assault like Huerta’s.
The fight is as close as reality allows. Whoever comes out on top is not shocking anyone, but a decisive victory can. Guida must attempt to pound out Huerta in top position and Huerta must work for the knockout—difficult prospects when the man standing across is incapable of quit.
In the final bout of The Ultimate Fighter season, MMA veteran Mac Danzig battles immense but raw talent Tommy Speer. Speer, the prototype farm boy, adds heavy-hands to a nightmare equation, but inexperience and Danzig’s no-quit attitude leads to an eventual opening that sees the Minnesotan fall.
Australian George Sotiropoulous was one of two favorites on the series to walk away with a contract, but in the end, he was lucky he walked away at all. A brutalizing ground and pound assault by finalist Speer left the well-rounded fighter out of running. He hopes to redeem himself against Billy Miles, who despite having the right style to defeat the Shooto one-timer, cannot show him anything he has not seen. Sotiropoulous’ mindset wins or loses him this fight.
Athletic experiments Jared Rollins and Jon Koppenhaver clash in the opening bout of the night. “War Machine” has audible mental question marks surrounding his fights, but don’t expect that to stop him against the silently troubled Rollins. Koppenhaver’s maturity should shine by putting Rollins on his back and outworking him in the standing position. That is, unless, he allows Rollins to place him on his back and break his will for three rounds to a decision.
TUF finales have been hotspots for non-stop MMA action, pitting hungry fighter against hungry fighter. But the welterweight contestants of this season have a hard act to open for as Huerta and Guida have earned their reputations for a frantic pace inside the cage. Hunger remains a factor, but composure and surprise are the essentials for every fighter on Saturday night’s card.
Friday, December 7, 2007
170 Pounders Fight In Battle of the Year Candidate
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
UFC 74 Updates: Aurelio-Guida, Mir-Hardonk
Big updates for UFC 74, which is set to take place on August 25, 2007. PRIDE veteran Marcus "Maximus" Aurelio (14-4-0) is going to make his UFC debut against UFC veteran Clay Guida (21-8-0)in a lightweight clash. Also, on the card, heavyweight Frank Mir (9-3) is looking to make his return to the Octagon against Antoni Hardonk (5-3).
UFC.com's Thomas Gerbasi made the official announcement Tuesday evening for the debut of PRIDE's Marcus Aurelio.
Marcus Aurelio is a Brazilian fighter, int the lightweight division and trains with American Top Team. Aurelio's main arsenal is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Aurelio most notable win was against PRIDE lightweight champion Takanori Gomi, whom he defeated via arm triangle in a non title fight. Aurelio lost in a remtach six months later by split decision.
Aurelio signed a four-fight deal with the UFC last month.
Guida on the other hand, made his UFC debut at UFC 64 against Justin James, winning be submission. Guida most recently fell to Din Thomas and Tyson Griffin.
The Mir-Hardonk addition to UFC 74 was confirmed earlier today by UFC.com.
Frank Mir is a former UFC heavyweight champion, who's coming off a recent shoulder injury. Mir's shoulder injury was caused by a brutal motorcycle accident three months after he won his UFC heavyweight title in 2004.
Mir has looked less than impressive in his most recent UFC fights and even admitted that he didn't even both to diet for the fights, coming in visibly heavier than usual.
Mir's most recent fight in the UFC was at UFC 65: Bad Intentions where he lost to Brandon Vera by TKO (strikes).
Antoni Hardonk, Mir's opponent for UFC 74, is a dutch fighter who fights out of Vos Gym. Hardonk is 1-1 in the UFc Octagon, winning his first against Sherman Pendergarst by KO and losing his second to Team Punishment's Justin McCully by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 9.
UFc 74: Respect is shaping up pretty nicely. The event is schedule to take place August 25, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The updated card is the following:
Champion Randy Couture vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck
Patrick Cote vs. Kendall Grove
Joe Stevenson vs. Kurt Pellegrino
David Heath vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral
Alberto Crane vs. Roger Huerta
Antoni Hardonk vs. Frank Mir
Marcus Aurelio vs. Clay Guida
Ryan Jensen vs. Travis Lutter
Not too bad if you ask me. This card has the potential to be LEGENDARY.
The Lianger
