UFC 107 Preview

UFC 107 Preview

By: Ray Flores

 

UFC 107 Penn vs. Sanchez is one of the most compelling cards of the year. From top to bottom, this is a tremendous event, and each of the last three fights is worth the PPV price tag. The main event features BJ “The Prodigy” Penn (14-5-1) defending his UFC Lightweight title against TUF 1 winner Diego ”Nightmare” Sanchez (23-2). The co-main event is a heavyweight showdown between former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir (12-4) going head to head with dangerous striker Cheick Kongo (24-5-1) .  Also, Kenny Florian (13-4) squares off with Clay “The Carpenter” Guida (25-7) in a lightweight showdown.

The main event has all the makings of a classic matchup. BJ Penn is one of the most gifted and well rounded mixed martial artists in the world. The BJ Penn of old was dangerous. The BJ Penn of 2009 is just downright scary. After suffering a stumbling block earlier in the year, when he decided to move up to welterweight to challenge Georges St. Pierre, BJ seems more focused than ever. For the second camp in a row, BJ has a strength and conditioning coach in Marv Marinovich assisting him, helping to improve on his physical performance. His training camp was equally as strong if not stronger than his previous fight with Kenny Florian. As Dana White has mentioned time and time again, this is a new BJ with a focus we have never seen before. Everyone knew he had all the natural tools to become one of the all time greats. Now he is putting in the work and living up to the lofty expectations everyone set for him. The world saw the “new” BJ unleashed against Kenny Florian at UFC 101 making him tap to a rear naked choke in the fourth round. BJ literally decimated him in every aspect. He picked him apart on the feet and as has been motto for close to a decade put on a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu clinic on the ground. 

 Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez the winner of Season 1 of TUF is coming off a big unanimous decision win over Clay Guida this past June. Diego looked solid in the win showing pinpoint accuracy on his strikes and demonstrating a good guard game. For Sanchez, this is everything he has worked for. After fighting a good amount of his career at welterweight, Diego decided to drop down to the lightweight division. With what we have seen so far, Diego may have found his ultimate home. The weight cut has not been a problem for Sanchez. He has stated numerous times this is the strongest he has ever felt in his career. His focus as has been customary throughout his career is always there. You can almost guarantee Diego Sanchez will be in amazing shape, have a game plan ready, and be prepared to go the full five rounds.

There are a couple questions surrounding the main event of UFC 107. Is the stage too big for Diego Sanchez? It is one thing to be on countless UFC blockbuster card after another, but there is another thing to headline it. I can only imagine the amount of pressure that a fighter feels being in the main event of a huge UFC event. They don’t call the UFC the Super Bowl of mma for nothing. What makes it worse for Diego is not only do you have to main event a UFC in Memphis before a sellout crowd of close to 20,000, but you have to do it against BJ Penn.  If Diego were to get in trouble during the fight, how is he going to respond to the adversity?

 The Prodigy from Hilo is at his absolute best. For BJ, how is he going to be able to handle the well rounded nonstop pace of Diego. Its true BJ has seen numerous styles throughout the course of his career. How will he handle the nonstop pace of Diego? Sanchez has vowed throughout the week and during the countdown show that he wants to meet BJ in the center of the octagon. You can bet, Sanchez is prepared to bring an all out assault come this Saturday.  Diego is not as well rounded as BJ, but his aggressiveness may be able to compensate for that.

The co-main event features a heavyweight battle between Frank Mir and Cheick Kongo. Before this fight, Frank Mir said his goal is to get back in the octagon with current UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar and end his career. There has been a one sided war of words as Mir has said some things to agitate the Frenchman. Mir has stated that Kongo has a terrible ground game and has done nothing to fix his flaws. Frank believes this is what separates a contender from a champion.                                            

Although Kongo is in front of him, there is no denying Frank Mir’s goal is to take on Brock Lesnar for a third time.  During the press conference on Thursday, Frank admitted he was obsessed with Brock Lesnar. While keeping his attention on Lesnar, Mir knows he must get past Cheick Kongo in order to have any aspiration of getting another shot at the UFC Heavyweight champion. 

Following the loss to Lesnar and even prior to the loss, Frank has made a concentrated effort to get into the weight room and work hard to gain muscle mass. This is a new era for heavyweights. It’s possible, but gone are the days when a guy who was 215 or 220 pounds could legitimately contend and be a force in the UFC heavyweight division. Now you have guys like Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin, Cain Velazquez, all weighing at least 245 and above. Frank realized that which is why he has worked tirelessly in the weight room gaining muscle to be able to handle this new era of heavyweight.

Frank Mir’s UFC career has been well documented. His rise to prominence, dealing with his motorcycle accident, coming back and not being 120%, and now coming back a second time to be where he is today. The story is remarkable. Frank Mir has faced a lot of adversity during his career inside and outside of the octagon. This guy is an example of how you can overcome a lot even when the odds are stacked against you in a big way.  Losing to Brock Lesnar is another stumbling block albeit a big stumbling block in his career. There is still a question of how Mir will respond after losing at UFC 100. Frank appears to be relaxed and with a focus of going out and handling his business come Saturday. This is a dangerous opponent for him.

Cheick Kongo is a very dangerous opponent for Mir. He has defeated the likes of Assuerio Silva, Antoni Hardonk and even picked apart Mirko CroCop at UFC 75 in a unanimous decision victory.  Most recently, he lost a unanimous decision to Cain Velazquez at UFC 99. Although Kongo lost to Cain, he did hit clean on numerous occasions and dropped him during the fight. The punching power of Kongo cannot be overlooked. He is a dangerous opponent for any heavyweight due to his ability to change the tide of a fight with one punch or kick. His long 6ft 4 frame and 82 inch reach is something Kongo’s opponents have to overcome.  Coming into the fight, Kongo is not too pleased with some of Mir’s words directed towards him. This seems to be a focused and agitated Cheick Kongo would love nothing more than to make Mir eat his words.

Overall this is a compelling fight. Keep your eyes open because it can end at any time. Mir can end the fight any time even if he is in trouble, and Kongo has all the power necessary to pull off a big upset. Will Mir be able to avoid the power of Kongo? If he is hit, how will Mir respond? Conversely, will Kongo be able to avoid the takedowns of Mir? How will Kongo respond if he ends up on his back? Will Mir try to show us some of the striking we saw against Minotauro?  A lot of good storylines in this heavyweight encounter.

Let us not forget about the lightweight showdown between Kenny “KenFlo” Florian and Clay “The Carpenter” Guida. This one has fireworks written all over it. Both men are aggressive, in your face, and always looking to break the will of their opponent. Guida and Florian are coming off losses at the hands of BJ Penn and Diego Sanchez respectively. There is a lot on the line for these two lightweights. A loss for either would be extremely detrimental and may take them off the main card. This fight is an example at how stacked the lightweight division is. When your bounce back fight is against either Kenny Florian or Clay Guida, it just speaks volumes at the talent pool at 155.

Kenny Florian fought hard losing to BJ Penn via tapout in the 4^th round at UFC 101 in August. He looked in great shape in the fight but as has been the case with many fell short against BJ Penn. Going into the fight, there was talk of some dissention going on between his former trainer Mark Dellagrotte and Keith Florian. This talk was quickly dispelled but one would wonder how much of an effect that had on Florian going into the fight. Since the loss to Penn, he has changed trainers and is now under Firas Zahabi. Zahabi is Georges St. Pierre’s trainer. Although Dellagrote and Florian split amicably, it’s going to be compelling to see how Florian does under his new trainer.  There seems to be a substantial amount of chemistry there, but we won’t know until Saturday night. What a way to break in a new trainer than against Clay Guida. Florian likes to finish his fights. There is no denying that as he has finished 8 of 12 in his UFC career. He likes to leave no doubt in the eyes of the judges.

Clay “The Carpenter” Guida” meanwhile is coming off a loss in his own right losing at the hands of Diego Sanchez this past June. Despite the loss, Guida showed a tremendous amount of heart by surviving an initial assault from Sanchez which included a brutal head kick which would have put most fighters down. The 28- year out of Round Lake, Illinois then took Sanchez to a decision. Clay Guida is one of those guys who isn’t the flashiest fighter in the world. He is simply going to bring his hard hat and be in your face for 15 minutes. This has been customary for Guida throughout the course of his career. He is one of those fighters who many try to avoid simply due to the fact that he is going to be in front of you at all times. You can hit him with a couple of bricks and he’ll still keep coming. Aside from his exciting style, Guida has been successful in the octagon since debuting with the UFC in 2006. He has scored wins over Mac Danzig, Nate Diaz, and Samy Schiavo. He also took Tyson Griffin, Roger Huerta, and Diego Sanchez to the limit. His resume speaks volumes. 

Guida is taking this fight with Florian very seriously as he spent some of his training camp down in Albuquerque, New Mexico under Greg Jackson. The move to spend some of his training camp down with Greg Jackson was a good move for Guida as it helped to better prepare him for the biggest fight of his life.

 This fight will no doubt be very entertaining. Kenny Florian is the more well rounded fighter. He has outstanding Muay Thai skills and he is also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Prof Roberto Maia.  If there is one thing you can’t teach its toughness. Clay Guida has a lot of that and some. Clay’s conditioning is something special. The guy can just flat out go.

 Questions going into the fight are, can Clay Guida figure out a way to minimize the brilliant striking of Kenny Florian? When given openings, Florian is able to take advantage and make opponents pay. How good can Kenny Florian fight going backwards? Guida‘s intentions no doubt will be to be on Florian like a straightjacket. If on his back, can Florian submit Guida?

 All of these questions and more will be answered later on tonight at UFC 107 only on PPV. I am sure Memphis is going to be rocking and the card will no doubt live up to expectations. This is one you cannot miss.

By Ray Flores