PREVIEW: UFC 110 – Nogueira vs. Velasquez
February 20th, 2010
No comments
UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez
On February 20th, for the first time ever, the UFC will be in Sydney, Australia.
The broadcast will still be Live at 7pm PT/ 10pm ET on Pay-Per-View
and UFCLive.com for North America and the usual unsociable early hours of Sunday morning for us in the UK, live on ESPN.
Who are your picks? Before you decide let’s see how the cage combatants measure up.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez
A heavyweight main event, pitting 2 top contenders. Big Nog a legendary Pride champion and former UFC title holder, loaded with experience and ring savvy. The tougher than leather Brazilian is known for being able to take punishment and still win (check out his epic battle with Bob ‘The Beast’ Sapp for evidence). Nog will need to draw on his wealth of experience against the younger, hungry lion Cain.
Cain is a fighter boasting immense strength, coupled with the most amazing cardio, it’s absolutely awesome, the pace he can move at and keep going, especially for a heavyweight cage competitor. Cain’s background is wrestling, whereas Nog’s strength lies in his Jiu-Jitsu. The Brazilian is known for the most dangerous guard in all of mixed martial arts. Besides his BJJ, Nogueira’s boxing is top-rate. The way I see it Cain needs an early win or the Hispanic fighter is going to eventually make a mistake to the veteran Brazilian on the canvas, losing by tap-out.
Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping vs. Wanderlei ‘The Axe Murderer’ Silva
Just below the main event is another clash of a legend versus the new guard, when Bisping encounters Wanderlei.
Wanderlei is a rough, tough Muay Thai specialist, who at one time was considered the best light-heavyweight fighter in the world. Recently the Brazilian made the move to middleweight, tonight in Sydney will be his first official forray in that bracket. Bisping is a man already settled in the division and feels confident in his abilities.
Silva is the old school fan favourite here but since Bisping’s performance against Dennis and his post fight interview in Manchester I would like to think he now has the backing of many more UFC fans.
Don’t forget Team Bisping boasts Wolfslair training partner Rampage Jackson,
a fighter who KO’d Wanderlei last time they fought. The Rampage factor could well play a part here, as did Anderson Silva’s advice aid Rich Franklin in besting Wanderlei in Germany last year.
The last and so far only time I’ve placed a bet on a UFC fight I backed Wanderlei to beat Rich Franklin. On that occasion Silva didn’t bag the victory in Germany. This time I’m going to be patriotic, by picking our very own Mike Bisping, a fighter who made an amazing comeback following the brutal KO loss at the hands of Henderson. He went on to beat Pride veteran Dennis Kang at UFC 105, held in Manchester. It’s now time to get behind the Brit.
The card in full:
MAIN CARD
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez
Michael Bisping vs. Wanderlei Silva
George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Stevenson
Ryan Bader vs. Keith Jardine
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Ben Rothwell
PRELIMINARY CARD
Chris Haseman vs. Elvis Sinosic
Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
Brian Foster vs. Chris Lytle
C.B. Dollaway vs. Goran Reljic
Igor Pokrajac vs. James Te Huna
If you are placing a bet on any of the UFC 110 fights tonight Paddy Power is your best bet www.paddypower.com
Make sure you don’t miss UFC 110 live on ESPN.
UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr
duane@bluraymma.com
Categories: blog Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez, Australia, Big Nog, ESPN, February 20th, George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Stevenson, keith jardine, Michael 'The Count' Bisping vs. Wanderlei 'The Axe Murderer' Silva, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Ben Rothwell, Nogueira vs. Velasquez, paddy power, ppv, Sydney, ufc & mma blog, ufc 110, UFClive.com, www.paddypower.com