The Savage Truth: Pickin' UFC 50
Greg Savage Oct 21, 2004
Talk about your big letdowns. UFC 50 has gone from "The War of '04"
to barely more than a quiet riot of sorts, a melee in the Dairy
Queen parking lot if you will. Now don't get me wrong, I am as
disappointed as the next guy, but I also know that these kinds of
shows -- ones with absolutely no expectations (kind of like W in a
debate) -- often deliver the goods come fight night.
I am not sure why that is. Perhaps the "no lose" situation of a number of fighters lessens the pressure factor that hamstrings so many fighters. UFC 37 may be the best example of this theory. Well let's get on to the fights.
Marvin Eastman hopes to
redeem himself after nearly having his brain fall out of his head
through the gaping hole Vitor
Belfort kneed into his brow. He will have to get by the
talented Travis Lutter.
Lutter's only big MMA fight -- a loss -- came at the hands of
Jorge Rivera. Eastman
should have too much for the Lion's Den product and will take this
one via decision.
The next match is between a pair of fighters who have waited quite a while to get back into the Octagon. Ivan Salaverry hasn't been around since his loss to Matt Lindland at UFC 39 and Tony Fryklund last graced the cage at UFC 37.5, where he carved up Rodrigo Ruas.
Up next we have Rich Franklin and Jorge Rivera. You all know how high I was on Franklin and let me reassure you I am still of the belief that he will be toting a big shiny belt around in the near future. This guy possesses all the skills and should have no problem with Rivera. Hopefully the Red Sox can come back and win the Game 7 tonight or Jorge's whole weekend might be shot. This one will go to Rich Franklin by TKO in the second round.
Renato "Charuto" Verissimo looks to get back to his winning ways against Frank Trigg in a match that will probably determine who gets a shot at the winner of Hughes-St.Pierre. All along I have been leaning towards "Charuto," thinking that his superior submission skills may be too much for Trigg. I have seen nothing to dissuade me from that view and I am going to stick with Verissimo by submission in the second round.
Evan Tanner will take one step closer to an eventual UFC middleweight title fight if he can dispatch former Golden Child Robbie Lawler. While not an easy task, Tanner should be looking to get this to the mat as soon as possible and from there it will only be a matter of time before Lawler is chowing down on a slew of elbows from one of the best finishers in the game. Truthfully, I think Lawler's only hope is to land the big right hand and as long as Tanner can close the distance and gain the clinch the fight is his to win. I say Tanner by TKO in the first round.
Man oh man, I really like Georges St. Pierre and I think he is a future champion in this sport, but this fight is happening a little too soon. Matt Hughes is coming off a big loss and a controversial decision win and looks to be heavily motivated. That spells trouble for St. Pierre.
My only concern with Hughes is the fact that he may have over-trained for this match. His manager Monte Cox said he was in Iowa for nearly five weeks and Hughes seems to be at his best when training only two to three weeks for a bout. Only time will tell. The only way I see St. Pierre winning this fight is off his back, a place I am sure he will be spending a lot of time come Friday night. This one is Hughes to win all the way and he should be taking the belt he wore for so long back to Illinois after the unanimous decision.
In what is a main event in name only, Tito Ortiz, hoping to get back on the winning side of a fight, butts heads with Canadian Patrick Cote. The TKO light heavyweight champ may have heavy hands but unless he can stop Tito's shot it will not matter a bit. This is like every Ortiz fight over the past couple years, if Tito gets you down against the cage, say goodnight. From that position he is like a Thanksgiving carving knife and your face is the turkey.
I don't see this one going past the first round. As soon as Ortiz gets the takedown start the stopwatch. I bet it will be over within two minutes. Tito Ortiz should get back into the win column with a trademark TKO in the first round, avoiding the three fight slide that may have signaled the end of his career.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. There is one more fight going down this weekend. It is an internet grudge match between Sherdog.com's own Johnny "Tanner" Hartnett and the artist know as Atnan. With all the shit these guys have talked over the past week it will be a painful loss for one of them.
For those of you who don't know my boy Hartnett, he is a shameless American Top Team and Matt Lindland apologist who I have just nicknamed "Tanner" after watching the Bad News Bears last night. I forgot how good that movie is. It is an American classic that could never be made today. With lines like 10-year-old Tanner's immortal, "Jews, Spics and Niggers and now a girl?" uttered when Buttermaker brought ace pitcher Amanda Whirlitzer out to meet the Bears for the first time would have the protesters out en masse in no time.
Anyways, this pissed-off little guy was the smallest player on the team but easily had the most fight in him, and at one point shows up to practice all beat up after taking on the whole seventh grade. That is the closest image of John I can paint for you folks. He has been called a racist by his opponent and from a person that knows the kid let me tell you that while he can be an immature cocky punk at times, he is a good kid who trains with some of the best in the business. That said, I will be laughing my ass off if he gets KO'd by this Atnan kid.
I will have to pick with my heart on this one and take Hartnett by submission early in the first. Be sure to check Sherdog.com for the video of this fight, hopefully by the weekend. OK, it's off to Atlantic City, the whirlwind tour continues, our second cross country trip in as many weekends. And before I head out I would just like to thank all the JetBlue employees who emailed me after last week's columns. I got E-mails from five people thanking me for mentioning how much I enjoy flying with them. They really are a cut above the competition. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Savage, you suck up, stop pandering for free miles.]
See you all in AC.
I am not sure why that is. Perhaps the "no lose" situation of a number of fighters lessens the pressure factor that hamstrings so many fighters. UFC 37 may be the best example of this theory. Well let's get on to the fights.
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The next match is between a pair of fighters who have waited quite a while to get back into the Octagon. Ivan Salaverry hasn't been around since his loss to Matt Lindland at UFC 39 and Tony Fryklund last graced the cage at UFC 37.5, where he carved up Rodrigo Ruas.
This one would be a toss up, but sources close to Fryklund told me
he initially turned down the fight due to the fact he hadn't been
training all that much. Eventually he decided to take the fight
because the contract included a guaranteed second fight. With that
said, I am going with Salaverry in a long drawn out match that will
culminate with a fight ending armbar in the third round.
Up next we have Rich Franklin and Jorge Rivera. You all know how high I was on Franklin and let me reassure you I am still of the belief that he will be toting a big shiny belt around in the near future. This guy possesses all the skills and should have no problem with Rivera. Hopefully the Red Sox can come back and win the Game 7 tonight or Jorge's whole weekend might be shot. This one will go to Rich Franklin by TKO in the second round.
Renato "Charuto" Verissimo looks to get back to his winning ways against Frank Trigg in a match that will probably determine who gets a shot at the winner of Hughes-St.Pierre. All along I have been leaning towards "Charuto," thinking that his superior submission skills may be too much for Trigg. I have seen nothing to dissuade me from that view and I am going to stick with Verissimo by submission in the second round.
Evan Tanner will take one step closer to an eventual UFC middleweight title fight if he can dispatch former Golden Child Robbie Lawler. While not an easy task, Tanner should be looking to get this to the mat as soon as possible and from there it will only be a matter of time before Lawler is chowing down on a slew of elbows from one of the best finishers in the game. Truthfully, I think Lawler's only hope is to land the big right hand and as long as Tanner can close the distance and gain the clinch the fight is his to win. I say Tanner by TKO in the first round.
Man oh man, I really like Georges St. Pierre and I think he is a future champion in this sport, but this fight is happening a little too soon. Matt Hughes is coming off a big loss and a controversial decision win and looks to be heavily motivated. That spells trouble for St. Pierre.
My only concern with Hughes is the fact that he may have over-trained for this match. His manager Monte Cox said he was in Iowa for nearly five weeks and Hughes seems to be at his best when training only two to three weeks for a bout. Only time will tell. The only way I see St. Pierre winning this fight is off his back, a place I am sure he will be spending a lot of time come Friday night. This one is Hughes to win all the way and he should be taking the belt he wore for so long back to Illinois after the unanimous decision.
In what is a main event in name only, Tito Ortiz, hoping to get back on the winning side of a fight, butts heads with Canadian Patrick Cote. The TKO light heavyweight champ may have heavy hands but unless he can stop Tito's shot it will not matter a bit. This is like every Ortiz fight over the past couple years, if Tito gets you down against the cage, say goodnight. From that position he is like a Thanksgiving carving knife and your face is the turkey.
I don't see this one going past the first round. As soon as Ortiz gets the takedown start the stopwatch. I bet it will be over within two minutes. Tito Ortiz should get back into the win column with a trademark TKO in the first round, avoiding the three fight slide that may have signaled the end of his career.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. There is one more fight going down this weekend. It is an internet grudge match between Sherdog.com's own Johnny "Tanner" Hartnett and the artist know as Atnan. With all the shit these guys have talked over the past week it will be a painful loss for one of them.
For those of you who don't know my boy Hartnett, he is a shameless American Top Team and Matt Lindland apologist who I have just nicknamed "Tanner" after watching the Bad News Bears last night. I forgot how good that movie is. It is an American classic that could never be made today. With lines like 10-year-old Tanner's immortal, "Jews, Spics and Niggers and now a girl?" uttered when Buttermaker brought ace pitcher Amanda Whirlitzer out to meet the Bears for the first time would have the protesters out en masse in no time.
Anyways, this pissed-off little guy was the smallest player on the team but easily had the most fight in him, and at one point shows up to practice all beat up after taking on the whole seventh grade. That is the closest image of John I can paint for you folks. He has been called a racist by his opponent and from a person that knows the kid let me tell you that while he can be an immature cocky punk at times, he is a good kid who trains with some of the best in the business. That said, I will be laughing my ass off if he gets KO'd by this Atnan kid.
I will have to pick with my heart on this one and take Hartnett by submission early in the first. Be sure to check Sherdog.com for the video of this fight, hopefully by the weekend. OK, it's off to Atlantic City, the whirlwind tour continues, our second cross country trip in as many weekends. And before I head out I would just like to thank all the JetBlue employees who emailed me after last week's columns. I got E-mails from five people thanking me for mentioning how much I enjoy flying with them. They really are a cut above the competition. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Savage, you suck up, stop pandering for free miles.]
See you all in AC.
