November’s Must-See Fights
There was only one big fight in the month of October. As great a fight as it was for hardcore MMA fans, sometimes it’s nice to look forward to more than one big clash. November looks to be a month far more action packed than October. The UFC offers two numbered cards, while Strikeforce and the WEC both offer one major event each. Here’s a look at the best non-main event fights of the month.
Dan Hardy vs Mike Swick (UFC 105)
With two quick and aggressive strikers, this fight should be full of fireworks. To add a little more interest, this fight is being billed as a #1 contender fight for Georges St. Pierre’s belt. While I have serious doubts about the chances of either of these fighters actually beating GSP, I’m seriously interested in seeing the Hardy vs. Swick fight.
Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang (UFC 105)
After being brutally knocked out by Dan Henderson, a lot of people were quick to dismiss Michael Bisping as a serious contender. People are pretty quick to forget how good of a fighter Henderson is. One simple mistake was all that it took. Rather than taking an easier fight, Bisping asked the UFC to give him a difficult match in order to really vault himself back up the middleweight ladder. Denis Kang may not be as technical of a striker as Bisping, but he is still a big threat to Bisping, who tends to eat some punches while delivering them. Kang should also have an advantage in terms of wrestling and submission grappling.
Kang comes in to this fight as the betting favorite, and is also looking to regain some momentum that still hasn’t returned since his loss to Alan Belcher.
Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson (UFC 106)
Koscheck once again steps up to fight a top contender on short notice. Koscheck always says that he’s willing to fight anybody at any time, and he’s proving it again by agreeing to fight Johnson, who is just coming off a big knockout, but also a big miss in his weight cut, missing the limit by five pounds.
Like Bisping, Koscheck is another fighter who tends to take some punches while he’s coming in. Taking punches against Anthony Johnson won’t result in anything positive for Koscheck, so it will be interesting to see if Koscheck finally is able to put his wrestling and jiu jitsu to good use. Koscheck is a former NCAA Division 1 wrestling champion, yet his wrestling hasn’t been spotted since he fought Chris Lytle over a year ago.
If Koscheck wants to reach the top of the division, he’s going to need to show his wrestling once again.
For Johnson the task is difficult, but very simple. Johnson will be trying to knock Koscheck out.
Karo Parisyan vs. Dustin Hazelett
This fight pits Judo up against Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I can’t see Hazelett being able to stop Karo’s Judo throws, but it’ll be really fun to see those throws, and once the fight is on the ground, Hazelett might just have the submission advantage.
This fight is a must-see for any Judo or BJJ fans.
Gegard Mousasi vs. Rameau Sokoudjou (Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers)
For all the lack of hype surrounding this fight, and the fact that this fight isn’t for Mousasi’s 205 lb title, the fight deserves our attention.
Gegard Mousasi has been touted as the next big prospect for the light heavyweight division. Despite the strong words of praise, he has never yet fought a fighter like Sokoudjou. Nobody knows better than Sokoudjou how fast the hype can fade. Sokoudjou came to the UFC with a lot of hype, but ran into a wall against Lyoto Machida and Luiz Cane.
Sokoudjou’s biggest problems have been with his endurance, not his skills. For the first five minutes, Sokoudjou is as dangerous as anybody. Mousasi is known for his aggression, and Sokoudjou definitely has the power to knock Mousasi out, so it will be interesting to see how Mousasi approaches this challenge.
Jake Shields vs. Jason Miller (Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers)
This fight is for Strikeforce’s middleweight title. Are these two fighters legitimate world middleweight contenders? Probably not. Nevertheless, the fight itself should be a good one.
Shields and Miller are both top-level grapplers. Shields probably has the wrestling advantage, while Miller probably has the striking advantage. The fight is actually a very difficult one to predict. It’s one fight where I don’t even know whether the fight will take place on the feet, or on the ground.
By Darren Wong for FightMania.com
Tags: Anthony Johnson, Chris Lytle, Dan Hardy, Dan Henderson, Denis Kang, Dustin Hazelett, Gegard Mousasi, Georges St. Pierre, Jake Shields, Jason Miller, Josh Koscheck, Karo Parisyan, Lyoto Machida, Michael Bisping, Mike Swick, Strikeforce, UFC, WEC
