After a nice weekend away in B.C. with the family, (where we basically just enjoyed the wilderness and each other’s company with no cell service, no WiFi and no TV), I got back to the grind on Tuesday. Since my last fight, I managed to get myself up to 215 pounds. But I’m back in the gym, training and continuing my strength and conditioning.
I can now say it’s summertime here in Red Deer, so I’m doing a little a more running outside and this weekend I’ll be taking part in the annual Woody’s Triathlon in town.
I try to do it every year and the whole family takes part. They have a mini one on Saturday for the kids and the main one is on Sunday, which I’ll be doing with my wife Kelly. Obviously, last year I was still on crutches so I didn’t do it, so it will be nice to get back at it.
I’m back doing mixed martial arts almost every day now and getting into the groove, though I’m still two-and-a-half months away from my fight. Next month, I’ll focus on learning new skills and getting used to getting punched in the face, kicked in the leg and thrown on the mat. The six-week mark is when I really ramp up my training and do more sparring at a higher intensity.
Last weekend, my buddy Jason Day suffered a pretty one-sided loss to Francis Carmont in Hamilton, which was a bit of a surprise to me. I haven’t talked to him much lately, I just saw him at the Aggression MMA fights a couple months ago. He was excited about starting fresh in Vancouver with a new gym and everything, so I was a little shocked to see that result.
And then Kalib Starnes was dominated by John Salter (the last guy to beat me in the UFC) in Victoria. Now Kalib’s talking about retiring. I think that’s a smart decision for him. I don’t know him that well but from the outside looking in, it just seems that he hasn’t really been focused for a while now — even before the infamous Nate Quarry fight. Obviously if you’re not really into it in this sport, it’s not something you should be doing.
I also saw that T.J. Grant was forced to pull out of Sunday’s UFC event in Pittsburgh due to illness. That’s pretty crappy for him. I talked to him at the UFC Fighter Summit and he was looking forward to the Charlie Brenneman fight. Grant thought that was a better fight for him than Matt Riddle since T.J. is a small welterweight and was a little concerned with the size of Riddle.
It’s definitely pretty disappointing to have to pull out of a fight just at the end of a long training camp. Hopefully he gets better and they can find him someone really quick.
I’m surprised the UFC couldn’t find a replacement though, even if it was last minute. What about Jordan Mein? He just fought two weeks ago, but I know he would jump at the chance to fight in the UFC and this would have been a perfect opportunity for the young Albertan. You’d think the UFC could pull together all the papers Mein would need pretty quickly to fill in for that fight.
Nevertheless, onto my picks for Sunday’s event…
Watch UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story on Sportsnet on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.
Nate Marquardt vs. Rick Story
I kind of wrote off Story against Thiago Alves, but he proved me wrong. He had a great game plan, walked right through those punches of Alves. He executed his plan well and stayed right in Alves face, but I think that might be bad strategy against Marquardt. Nate is so well-rounded, that if the standup is working, he’ll just take it to the ground. He may not outwrestle Story, but he’s got the better ground game. Nate’s going to be a force to be reckoned with at 170 pounds, so I’m picking Nate to derail Story’s run.
Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry
I agree with Barry that Kongo might be a little overrated standing, but he’s so big, strong and overbearing. However, I think Barry can chip away at Kongo with leg kicks and take a page from Cro Cop and submit Kongo.
Matt Brown vs. John Howard
I think Howard is just too good standing for Matt Brown. Brown likes to stand up and bang but that’s a bad matchup for Brown so I’ll go with Howard.
Matt Mitrione vs. Christian Morecraft
Mitrione is just a better all-around fighter so I’m going with him.
Tyson Griffin vs. Manny Gamburyan
I gotta go with Griffin on this one. He’s dropping down to 145 pounds, which is a good size for him. I’ll pick Griffin to grind out a decision or get a TKO.
Joe Stevenson vs. Javier Vazquez
Joe’s also dropping down to 145 as well, which may suit him better. He’ll be massive at that weight, so I’m picking Stevenson by ground and pound. He’s very hard to submit; only the best ground guys have been able to do it.
Just in closing, it’s interesting to see things going a bit south with the UFC and Spike TV, and now Spike TV is running counter-programming to the UFC card, which airs on Versus in the U.S. That doesn’t seem like a very good way to want to continue relationships together.
Yes, the UFC is shopping around to other networks, but that’s just business. That doesn’t mean they’re not going to go with Spike in the end. It’s not smart for Spike to burn that bridge before a decision has even been made. I think the UFC has been very helpful to the Spike TV network and what they’re doing now is a bit foolish.