UFC 84: Animal Kingdom, Starring Sharks, Dragons and….Sporting Goods?
Undercard
May 24, 2008
The fruit of the UFC's ongoing international talent grab can be
seen all over this undercard as you have elbow crazed Japanese judo
prodigies on the same bill as Brazil's answer to the Soviet T-34
tank.
The tank in question is none other than Rousimar "Toquinho" Palhares who will make his UFC debut against MMA's resident dandy, Ivan Salaverry (Pictures). Don't let the fancy boy routine fool you, Salaverry (12-6) is a stiff test for anyone's UFC debut although the AMC Pankration pupil has always struggled with remaining consistent inside the Octagon. Not a good thing against Palhares (7-1), who will come out looking to bull rush Salaverry from the opening bell. Expect the bulk of the action to take place on the ground with Palhares taking a razor thin decision based on top control and submission attempts. Tragic since we'll miss out on Salaverry's tastefully choreographed post-fight celebration.
Two fighters in desperate need of a stroll through the winner's
circle will match wits and fists when the pride of Cameroon,
Rameau Thierry
Sokoudjou (Pictures), takes on Yoshida Dojo pupil,
Kazuhiro Nakamura
(Pictures). While not much was
expected of Nakamura (11-7) to begin with, an uninspired
performance against Lyoto
Machida (Pictures) makes you wonder if Nakamura even
belongs in the cage while Sokoudjou's (4-2) match with Machida
ended with "The African Assassin" tapping the canvas.
Stylistically, the match favors Sokoudjou who is the more explosive striker and more than capable of defending against Nakamura's judo style. Given how passive Sokoudjou appeared against Machida, expect a return to form as he overwhelms Nakamura early for a TKO stoppage. Really, how could you pick against a guy who comes to the cage rocking an authentic Predator mask?
No 80's-era Schwarzenegger themes will pop up when Rich "No Love" Clementi takes on England's Terry Etim (Pictures) but you can expect a quality lightweight tilt between two of the division's most underappreciated fighters. While neither man has lived up to the hype that followed them around upon joining the UFC, Clementi (31-12-1) has developed into a quality gatekeeper while Etim (10-1) has shown flashes of talent despite a troubling inability to stop takedowns. Given Clementi's strong ground game and bullish takedowns, expect the impossibly lanky Etim to struggle for opportunities to engage on the feet while Clementi racks up points on the ground. It's far from a winning scenario for Etim, who drops a unanimous decision but not before being confused for an albino preying mantis during the pre-fight weigh-ins.
Next up on the ledger is the return of Jon Koppenhaver (Pictures), who will take on UFC newcomer Yoshiyuki "Zenko" Yoshida. Let's keep this brief, Koppenhaver (5-1) is not very good and is mostly untested while Yoshida (9-2) is coming off a dominant showing in the Cage Force tournament that included a savage elbow-fueled drubbing of Akira Kikuchi (Pictures).. "Zenko" has this one in the bag and does it with an elbow blitz late in the first round.
The other Asian newcomer on this undercard is Korean KO artist Dong Hyun Kim who is slotted against Liverpool native Jason Tan. Unfortunately for Tan (5-2), he doesn't have quite the knack for MMA that his hometown heroes The Beatles had for music. While Kim (9-1-1) may not be the next phenom, he isn't the MMA equivalent of hair metal either. Someone will need to hold Tan's hand once this one ends as Kim scores a brutal knockout midway through the second round.
Closing out the undercard action is the prerequisite heavyweight bout featuring a UFC "veteran" and another prospect who we're expected to believe isn't the same as 99% of supposed heavyweight prospects. Yay. The characters in question this time around are Hungarian kick boxer Christian Wellisch (Pictures) and Shane Carwin (Pictures), who seems to think MMA judges take into account quality of physique when scoring bouts. While Wellisch (8-3) has a huge edge in the striking department, he is also ill-equipped to handle Carwin's (8-0) physical style once this match hits the ground.
The tank in question is none other than Rousimar "Toquinho" Palhares who will make his UFC debut against MMA's resident dandy, Ivan Salaverry (Pictures). Don't let the fancy boy routine fool you, Salaverry (12-6) is a stiff test for anyone's UFC debut although the AMC Pankration pupil has always struggled with remaining consistent inside the Octagon. Not a good thing against Palhares (7-1), who will come out looking to bull rush Salaverry from the opening bell. Expect the bulk of the action to take place on the ground with Palhares taking a razor thin decision based on top control and submission attempts. Tragic since we'll miss out on Salaverry's tastefully choreographed post-fight celebration.
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Stylistically, the match favors Sokoudjou who is the more explosive striker and more than capable of defending against Nakamura's judo style. Given how passive Sokoudjou appeared against Machida, expect a return to form as he overwhelms Nakamura early for a TKO stoppage. Really, how could you pick against a guy who comes to the cage rocking an authentic Predator mask?
No 80's-era Schwarzenegger themes will pop up when Rich "No Love" Clementi takes on England's Terry Etim (Pictures) but you can expect a quality lightweight tilt between two of the division's most underappreciated fighters. While neither man has lived up to the hype that followed them around upon joining the UFC, Clementi (31-12-1) has developed into a quality gatekeeper while Etim (10-1) has shown flashes of talent despite a troubling inability to stop takedowns. Given Clementi's strong ground game and bullish takedowns, expect the impossibly lanky Etim to struggle for opportunities to engage on the feet while Clementi racks up points on the ground. It's far from a winning scenario for Etim, who drops a unanimous decision but not before being confused for an albino preying mantis during the pre-fight weigh-ins.
Next up on the ledger is the return of Jon Koppenhaver (Pictures), who will take on UFC newcomer Yoshiyuki "Zenko" Yoshida. Let's keep this brief, Koppenhaver (5-1) is not very good and is mostly untested while Yoshida (9-2) is coming off a dominant showing in the Cage Force tournament that included a savage elbow-fueled drubbing of Akira Kikuchi (Pictures).. "Zenko" has this one in the bag and does it with an elbow blitz late in the first round.
The other Asian newcomer on this undercard is Korean KO artist Dong Hyun Kim who is slotted against Liverpool native Jason Tan. Unfortunately for Tan (5-2), he doesn't have quite the knack for MMA that his hometown heroes The Beatles had for music. While Kim (9-1-1) may not be the next phenom, he isn't the MMA equivalent of hair metal either. Someone will need to hold Tan's hand once this one ends as Kim scores a brutal knockout midway through the second round.
Closing out the undercard action is the prerequisite heavyweight bout featuring a UFC "veteran" and another prospect who we're expected to believe isn't the same as 99% of supposed heavyweight prospects. Yay. The characters in question this time around are Hungarian kick boxer Christian Wellisch (Pictures) and Shane Carwin (Pictures), who seems to think MMA judges take into account quality of physique when scoring bouts. While Wellisch (8-3) has a huge edge in the striking department, he is also ill-equipped to handle Carwin's (8-0) physical style once this match hits the ground.
