Martinez Ultimate Fighting Championship Fight Blog

Most of you know me for doing work with the homeless in Martinez, but I am just as passionate about the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) . I have been watching since 1995 and I train for fun. I havn't missed a pay-per-veiw fight since 2000, and every morning I read MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Weekly and ufc.com; those are my newspapers. To me UFC athletes are the most conditioned athletes in the world . It's about competition and sportsmanship; it's about testing your skills against another man. To me, mixed Martial Arts is the greatest sport .

The UFC just left Brazil where we saw Maricio "Shogun" Rua knock out Forest Griffin in the first round. Griffin just didn't come to fight, which is rare for him. Usually this guy is full of heart. In the main event, Anderson Silva knocked out Yushin Okami in the 2nd round. What can you say? Anderson Silva is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, hands down.

Moving on to UFC Fight Night 25 on Spike TV, September 17th, 9pm. I am going to go through the main card and give my opinion on how I see the fight going and what the fighters have to do to win.

The first fight of the night is Alan Belcher vs Jason Mcdonald. This is a classic striker vs grappler. Belcher needs to keep the fight standing and have good takedown defense. Mcdonald is a high level grappler; if he can get the fight to the ground he could submit Belcher, but I don't see it happening. Prediction: Belcher 2nd round KO.

Second fight: Court Mcgee vs Dongi Yang. Mcgee needs to keep Yang at a distance with his jab. He needs to work in some leg kicks and dirty boxing on the cage. Yang needs to work on leg kicks and throwing first. I see this to be the worst fight of the night. This fight is too boring to call, but if I had to pick Mcgee, the fight goes the distance.

Third fight: Jonathan Brookins vs Erik Koch. This fight is going to be fight of the night. Both guys are well-rounded fighters; both guys have been on a roll as of late. Brookins will work to get the fight to the ground, while Koch will work kickboxing looking to end the fight fast. My pick for this fight: Koch via KO third round.

Main event: Jake Shields vs Jake Ellenberger. To me, this fight is wreslting vs Ju Jitsu. Both fighters are elite grapplers, with Shields coming off a loss to GSP, and with the recent death of his dad everyone is counting Sheilds out. Not me; this guy finds ways to win. Ellenberger has been on a roll and could move closer to the title shot with a win. I think this fight is going to come down to takedown defense and scrambles. Whoever has top position the most will win the fight. I think this will be a good fight but slow. This fight will go the distance. Odds makers have this fight at Shields +150  Ellenberger -180 so it's close and those odds could change right up til fight time. In my opinion you should take these odds I believe at fight time it will be even. I agree with odd makers; Shields comes out and proves everyone wrong with a win.