UFC 118 Preview: Edger Vs Penn
2010-08-23
After the shocking outcome of the last UFC 112 championship UFC betting world is in lurch and amazed whether to place their bet on Penn, eight time UFC world champion or on Edgar, who defeated Penn in last UFC 112 event in April. The line at www.sportsbook.com has Penn as the current favorite at -300.
Penn started his Brazilain Jiu Jitsu training under Ralph Garcie at the age of 17. Soon after entering into the World Jiu Jitsu championship he won black belt from Andrea Pederneiras and then bagged the gold medal from the World Jiu Jitsu championships in Rio de Janeiro with such an unbelievable speed that the Jiu Jitsu was given the nickname, The Prodigy.
Penn is a trained MMA fighter. His strength and striking skills are enough for giving tough time to his opponents. He is blessed with unbelievable submission skills and legendary flexibility that gives him the intensity to translate his defeat into win in a flash of seconds.
Penn possesses solid wrestling skills, takedown defense and excellent overall boxing qualities. His hands are electric fast and hits very hard.
On the otherhand, Penn’s UFC 118 opponent, Frankie Edgar, cannot be considered less than Penn in any comparison. Frankie Edgar had proved that he is a tough competition for Penn by defeating Penn in UFC 112 championship in April 2010.
Frankie Edgar is the reigning UFC lightweight champion and purple belt holder in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He had a record of eight undefeated streak of fights at a stretch.
Edgar too possesses excellent takedown defense and ground control skills. He is technically a very sound boxer with high speed and toughness.
The UFC 118 world championship will only decide whether winning of Edgar was fluke or he is the UFC’s new champion or the Prodigy would save his title and continue to rule the world of UFC.
Let’s proceed towards the second set of players Randy Couture Vs. James Toney who will participate in the main card UFC 118 round. Both these players are in their forties and are from different types of games i.e. Randy Couture is the boxing champion and James Toney is an MMA champion.
Though a UFC bout between two forty-year’s olds seems to be very uninteresting and very sluggish but these are not any ordinary forty-year’s old players these are the big names of their respective fields.
The opening match will be played between Marcus Davis and Nate Diaz.
Marcus Davis is known as the ‘Irish Hand Grenade’ who had exploded against Jonathan Goulet at UFC 113 on May8. Davis scored a technical knockout finish and snapped a rare two-fight losing skid.
On the other hand, Davis’s opponent Diaz played impressively in his 117lb debut against Rory Markham and would try to establish himself in this category by defeating Davis.
It would have been easy to answer this question considering that this Ukrainian heavyweight boxer is thirty-eight years old. But it’s not, believe me.
Vitali “Dr. Ironfist” Klitschko has a professional record forty wins (40) wins, thirty-eight (38) of which by KO, and two (2 )losses. He is the current World Boxing Council (WBC) champion, and has the highest Knock Out percentage at ninety-five 95 percent. At 42 career fights, this fighter has never tasted the canvass – never been knocked out and never been floored in all his professional stint. And Boxing betting has taken a keen notice to this giant’s success.
Vitali Klitschko is astonishingly fast for his height and weight. Vitali’s last five fights are astounding heavyweight highlight material. Nigerian Samuel Peter refused to return to the ring on the 8th round, floored Cuban Juan Carlos Gomez and on the 9th round the referee stopped the fight, Broke U.S.’ Chris Arreola’s nose on the 9th round and on the 10th round his trainer Henry Ramirez stopped the fight for extensive facial injuries, made previously unbeaten U.S.’ Kevin Johnson look like punching bag, and knocked out Polish Albert Sosnowski on the 10th round.
Though Vitali has two losses, both were disputable. His corner throwing in the towel during his technical defeat with Chris Byrd for severe shoulder pain was not a ruse. He was actually medically diagnosed to have suffered a torn rotator cuff, and he was leading the scorecards by the time they threw in the white towel. His coach simply didn’t want Vitali to be clobbered without the privilege of responding fairly. Setting the boxing betting world into a massive debate over the decision.
His other defeat was equally technical. Lennox Lewis managed to throw a sharp punch on his left eye that left a deep cut. Though, Vitali continued to remain in control of the fight, the cut worsened. By the seventh round, the ringside doctors declared that the fight should not go on or risk the eventuality of severe eye damage.
Judging from these two losses, the fighter who can defeat Dr. Ironfist should be strong enough to cause either a cut or direct his punches to his troubled shoulder. He must be quick enough to dodge Vitali’s fast jabs and punches, and a height disparity of not more than five inches (Vitali stands at 6 foot 7 or 2.01 metres).
Nikolai Valuev is any boxer’s nightmare. He gained the moniker “The Russian Giant” and “The Beast from the East”. He towers at seven feet (2.13 meters), and is way damn huge. Nikolai is 36 years old, and has a professional record of fifty (50) wins, Thirty-four (34) of which by KO, and only two losses. If there is any contender capable of inflicting damage to the fragile body of Klitschko, Nikolai is the man.
Uzbek Ruslan “White Tyson” Chagaev, is another great fighter to consider. Height is not a factor for him, for he was able to defeat the mammothing “Beast from the East”. Plus, he has the capability of matching Klitschko’s speed. Though previously defeated by Vitali younger brother, Wladimir Klitshcko, this southpaw’s explosiveness can stun a calculating fighter like Vitali. Chagaev knows he still has the intensity, and proved it last month against Kali Meehan, for the World Boxing Association (WBA) Heavyweight Title.
Lastly, current top British Heavyweight David “The Hayemaker” Haye is the best deal. At 29 years old, he already has a professional record of 24 wins, 22 by KO, and one defeat. He too has been able stop the “The Russian Giant” on his tracks. He has a loud dirty mouth, hurling personal insults at the gentleman Nikolai Valuev before the fight, publicly announcing that Eddie Chambers and Chris Arreola were a disgrace to boxing, and challenged the Klitschko brothers. Valuev have failed to teach him a lesson. Maybe, Vitali should. As a boxing bettor where do you place your boxing bets? Head over to www.sportsbook.com where everybody bets.