anyone watch UFC tonight? **spoilers**

Cro Cop is a monster. this guy will dominate UFC heavys, and will shine now that he is away from Fedor.

Rampage looked good...and is the funniest guy i have seen interviewed.

Silva is going to be champ for a long time. he submitted the Jiu Jitsu guy tonight, although not making weight obviously affected Lutter.

next UFC, Hughes and Franklin start their road back to title contention, and Sylvia defends the belt against Couture. Whoever holds the heavyweight title is just keeping it warm for Cro Cop. that guy is a monster.

Chuck v Rampage later this year...that is the fight to watch for.

just hunting Sanchez down ruthlessly. It took a lot of balls for Sanchez to put his undefeated record on the line against one of the top 3 fighters in the world. Crocop should win the belt, but both Sylvia and Arlovski would give him some problems. Also, did you notice that the music that Crocop came out to was Pride's theme music? It's got the internet speculating wildly about the UFC buying Pride, or some type of inter-organizational agreement. Personally, I'm just glad he didn't come out to Duran Duran's "Wild Boys" again.

I was very impressed by Silva's ground game, but I think Marquadt would give Silva real problems. Silva's takedown defense wasn't very good. If Marquadt gets him in a spot like that, then Silva's in real trouble. He might have been in trouble last night, but I think Lutter was drained and dehydrated from trying to cut all that weight (he tried to cut 20 lbs the day before the weigh-in). The real question is will the UFC ever give Marquadt a shot. He deserves a shot soon, but a lot of people think his style is boring (not me), so the UFC might do to him what they did to Lindland. Back to Silva, though, at least he proved that his black belt in BJJ was no fluke. He looked very comfortable and skilled on his back.

Edgar impressed the hell out of me. He was a huge underdog and was supposed to be just a wrestler - he looked like he's been boxing for years. That fight was incredible, and I can't believe he didn't tap to that kneebar at the end. The 155 division is packed full of exciting guys.

Rampage wasn't spectacular (like he usually is), but he was very solid. Eastman's skillset matches up well with Rampage's, so it wasn't an easy fight for him. After this fight, I'm sure he'll get at least one more before Liddell. I'm expecting him to look great in that fight. He's got the personality and talent to be a huge star here in the US.

Cote/Smith I thought would be all fireworks, but it turned out to be a snoozefest. I guess Cote played it a little too safe, but it got him the win.

Martin needs to stay at 185. He'll be great at that weight.

The UFC needs to do something about the advertising on the mat. Fighters kept slipping. This is at least the 3rd time that's happened. It didn't make a difference this time, but one time it will.

no ground game there.

I noticed the slippage, especially from Eastman.

That kneebar was insane. It looked like he was not injured afterwards, which is amazing.

Cro Cop would hate to see Pride get sucked up by UFC...he would have to worry about Fedor again.

Crocop has faced guys as tall as Tim Sylvia before. Not too long ago he knocked out Fedor's brother (Aleksander Emelianenko) with a head kick. Aleksander is only 2" shorter than Sylvia, so from that fight we know he can kick to Tim's head level (but can he do it without telegraphing it?). Also, Aleksander is an excellent striker. However, Aleksander tends to take a lot more chances in his striking than Tim Sylvia will. Aleksander is willing to take a hit to give a hit, and that's what got him KO'd by Crocop. http://youtube.com/watch?v=VCx5YT5RxXs. Sylvia won't do that.

Tim Sylvia will play it safe....very safe. Also, he's got one of the best cornermen in the MMA business, Pat Militech. Militech will keep Sylvia backing up and jabbing...waiting for Crocop to come in range and try to counter, throwing in a leg kick every now and then throwing the power hand every now and then (but not committing to it unless Crocop's in trouble). As long as Sylvia keeps his range and keeps Crocop off balance with the jab, it will be hard for Crocop to land any kicks at all. Even with just a leg kick, Sylvia has enough reach to tag him. Also, Crocop's chin is somewhat suspect. He got KO'd by Kevin Randelman, who's basically a wrestler, but was able to hang with one of the most powerful strikers in MMA, Mark Hunt. Sylvia definitely has the power to KO Crocop, but often he's hesitant to use it...he won't always let his power go for fear of missing and being off-balance.

Crocop will have to close the distance somehow, and that's where the chess game comes in. Will he try to wear down Sylvia with his powerful leg kicks or body kicks? He'll risk eating a jab with the leg kicks, a possibly a power punch with a kick to the body. Will he try to come forward no matter what, trying to time a shot over Sylvia's jab, which is often lazy? Crocop is a southpaw and Sylvia is a righty, which I think will be more awkward for Sylvia than it is for Crocop (because Mirko's used to it). Crocop is faster, a technically better striker, and has more weapons (both legs and both hands have crippling power) - if he can get Tim to mix it up, he can really hurt him.

Another possible strategy for Crocop is to circle and leg kick, circle and leg kick. Sylvia's left leg is gonna be sticking out there, because of the righty-lefty situation, and if you've seen the recent Crocop fight with Yoshida (http://youtube.com/watch?v=4zo3i1AgoX0), he can win a fight just with leg kicks. Of course Sylvia's reach is so much longer than Yoshida's, so it's possible he can land a stiff punch after a Crocop leg kick. I think this is what Mirko will start out with. If he can get Sylvia to come forward to him or hurt his leg enough that he's changing his stance, then Crocop has basically won. If Sylvia can get Crocop to come into his "trap" or get Crocop to be impatient, that's how he'll win. Also, Crocop has to be careful if he hurts Sylvia. Mirko tends to jump quickly on an opponent when he thinks he's got him hurt - as we know from Sylvia/Arlovski II, that's a dangerous situation. Sylvia's got a great chin, and if he get Crocop to let down his guard a little bit, he can KO him.

Crocop is an all around better striker, more experienced, and just all-around a better fighter. Sylvia has the reach, a big right hand, and knows how to use both of those weapons almost perfectly. He's also going to come in with a great gameplan and cornerman, because of Militech. Militech will have him extremely well prepared. This could really go either way, but if I had to bet money, I'd bet on Crocop. I think it will all depend on who sticks to their gameplan the best. Sylvia has to make Crocop come to him, pepper him with jabs, and make him pay for missing (or even landing) a kick. Crocop has to wear down Sylvia with kicks, get Sylvia to brawl, or get Sylvia to come to him. It should be exciting.

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Also, on edit, you metioned Crocop/Fedor - one of the main reasons that Crocop went to the UFC is that Crocop thought Pride was jerking him around on getting a rematch with Fedor. I don't agree with him completely (it was due to injuries to both guys and them trying to have Fedor fight on American soil against an American, Coleman). The report from his camp is that Crocop would have remained with Pride (and taken less money) if he would have gotten another shot a Fedor in the next few months. Pride couldn't guarantee it and the UFC stepped in with a boatload of money (he got 350,000 for fighting Sanchez, and that doesn't count whether or not he got a % of the PPV sales). Crocop wants a rematch with Fedor badly, because he's now got a decent ground game and thinks he can beat him. Apparently Crocop thinks that he can go into the UFC, whip ass for his 6 fight contract, make himself a huge commodity as the UFC champ, and make his own terms with a fight with Fedor (UFC, Pride, Bodog, or otherwise).

"Searching for Cro Crop's debut now" . . I've heard a lot about this guy (Heard he game out to the Pride Theme song heh) .. . and I can't wait to see how dominate he was. . .