AIN'T THAT A FITCH

UFC 100 takes place in Vegas this July and one of many interesting match-ups is the WW fight between Jon Fitch and Paulo Thiago. Thiago is the Brazilian fighter who shocked the MMA world by knocking out Josh Koscheck at UFC 95. Koscheck was furious about what he considered a quick stoppage and he may have a valid point but I've seen fights stopped for less, and fights that the ref let go too long, so all I can say is "thems the breaks kid". A loss is a loss and you got knocked the f out Koscheck, deal with it. As for Thiago, Fitch is by far his toughest opponent to date and this would be a huge stepping stone should he be able to defeat the highly ranked WW. Most rankings have Thiago Alves as the number 1 contender for GSP's belt but in my eyes it is still Jon Fitch. Just cuz Alves has fought his way into a deserved title shot does not mean he is automatically the number 1 contender, remember he has yet to avenge a previous loss to Fitch.
Either way, Paulo Thiago has bitten off more than he can chew by agreeing to fight Fitch and I think it is a poor decision on his part. He is currently undefeated and a loss to Fitch won't end his career but it will set him back on his march to a title shot.

UFC 102 TIME FOR MAIA TO EARN HIS TITLE SHOT

Ya, the guy is 10-0, he has submitted 8 of 10 opponents, and has fought some tough competition but I am tired of the talk of a title shot for Demian Maia. Chael Sonnen is the only Top 10 ranked opponent he has beaten and before that fight nobody was talking title shot for Sonnen. Maia has a deadly ground game, possibly the best submissions in MMA right now but has yet to earn a title shot in my eyes. That could all change in August at UFC 102 when he is set to square off against Nate Marquardt. To me, Marquardt is one of the few middleweights that has a realistic shot at beating Silva, though he has already lost to the Spider once. Marquardt has everything, power, good stand up, good take downs and an under-rated ground game. My money is on Nate for this fight but if Maia can beat him then he will finally be deserving of that title shot that everybody thinks he has already earned.

UFC 101

The main events for UFC 101 to be held in Philly in August have been announced and they will not disappoint. One belt will be on the line and a current champ will move up a weight class as the UFC holds an event in Philadelphia for the first time. B.J.Penn looks to rebound from his loss to GSP with a win against number 1 contender Kenny Florian, and Anderson Silva looks to silence his critics after 2 mediocre fights by taking on the hugely popular Forrest Griffin.

I think KenFlo has a real chance at beating Penn and this has the makings of a great fight. Both fighters are highly skilled in all areas of MMA and if the hunger and desire are gone from B.J. after his destruction at the hands of GSP than look for Florian to shock the world and become the new LW Champion. If KenFlo is able to pull off the upset this will set up a rematch from TUF 1 Finale Florian vs Diego Sanchez. Sanchez has a fight with Clay Guida in June at the TEAM US vs TEAM UK Finale and once he wins that, Nightmare should be in line for a LW title shot. When all is said and done look for Diego Sanchez to be the new Lightweight Champion by 2010. So, when it happens just remember you heard it here first.

As for the Silva-Griffin fight, I would love nothing more than to see Forrest defeat Silva, especially by KO. I just don't see it happening unfortunately, as I feel this match up is better for Silva. If Griffin can stay out of the Muay Thai clinch and stand and land with Spider than he has a shot, but that is a big if.

Should be one hell of a card, cant wait.
jorro