MMASucka

It’s another edition of Half-Cut picks where I make stupid choices. I never claimed to be able to read the future, but I will tell you that the fights tonight are going to be awesome. At UFC 139 I went a miserable (2-3). Maybe it was good that I had a few weeks to stew on it before UFC 140 in Toronto, Ontario. It was probably expected since I went (4-1) at UFC on FOX.  Nonetheless we will rebound with a solid Half-Cut Picks for this upcoming card.

I thought it was fitting to go with an Ontario Brew for UFC 140. Not just any Ontario beer, but how about the best of what the province has to offer? My beer of choice is Mill St. Brewery’s “Tank house Ale.” To be honest, I have never tried this beer; I’m hoping to find it at a beer specialty store in Vancouver before the fights to see why it’s been voted Canadian Brewery Of The Year. In the mean time this is what the Mill St. Brewery says about their Ale.

Like traditional pale ales, Tankhouse Ale has a deep copper-red colour. We use five different malts to produce a complex malty texture. The most dominant character of our Pale Ale is the hop. The spicy Cascades are used to give an assertive hop flavour, aroma and bitterness to our ale. The result is a satisfying and complex-tasting beer. Our brewmaster developed this recipe 20 years ago and it has remained his favorite drink of choice.

Give it a try and let me know what you think. If you have any beer suggestions for UFC 141, you can reach me on Twitter or just post a comment below.

UFC 140 will go down at the Air Canada Center in Toronto, Ontario. It’s the UFC’s second foray to “The Big Smoke” this year, and the fans will not be disappointed with this card. Here are my picks. Remember if you are going to use me as a reference for your gambling endeavours, I’m sorry.

MAIN EVENT Light heavyweight Title - Jon Jones (14-1) vs. Lyoto Machida (17-2)

Machida is one of my favourite fighters to watch. Some use to deem him as boring; I saw the art behind his style. The Karate master will go head-to-head with the unstoppable force in Jon Jones. It is being billed as a true martial arts fight, whatever that means. Not much of a stretch considering it’s mixed martial arts.

Jon Jones is going to have to be patient in this fight. Machida is going to try and change angles and move in and out of range. The question is what is out of range? Jones has an advantage with his huge wing span. He is becoming an expert at using that reach to keep his opponents on the outside. Machida is going to have to pick his shots to avoid  getting picked apart. I expect Jones to use his kicks like he did against “Rampage” Jackson to keep Machida at bay. It’s a strategy that worked for Shogun Rua when he took the title away from Machida and it seems to be something that could make life difficult for “The Dragon.”  Look for Jones to use his unorthodox striking to set up the takedown. Once this fight goes to the ground, I see Jones taking the victory home. As much as I love “The Dragon” I don’t see how his style is going to threaten a well prepared Jones. But anything can happen in MMA and if Jones gets suckered into Lyoto’s game of elusiveness, he could get caught. I just don’t see that happening. I see Jones defending his title via TKO.

Winner: Jon Jones

Heavyweight - Frank Mir (15-5) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (33-6-1)

The last time these two heavyweights faced each other was at UFC 92. Mir became the first man to stop Nogueira with a vicious TKO. Some have put an * on that fight since Nogueira entered that match up with a few injuries that included a serious case of staph infection.  Whatever you think of the Mir victory, a win is a win. Nogueira gets his opportunity to avenge the loss. I don’t expect to see this fight go the same way as it did last time. Part of me wants to see these two Jiu-jitsu warriors put on a ground display. In fact that is where I think Nog has the best chance to win. To be “Frank”- Mir hasn’t looked good in his last two wins against CroCop and Roy Nelson. In fact, he has looked very flat. Some believe Mir needed a challenge and a rematch against Nogueira  has seemed to be what the doctor ordered.

Look for Mir to rise to the occasion in this fight. He is going to try and keep the fight standing and test Nog’s chin again. If the fight goes to the mat I expect Mir to use his ground skills to get back up so he can continue to put the pressure on. That’s the key in this fight. Mir is going to keep after “Big Nog” and not allow him to recover from punishment. We all know Nogueira’s MO of never being out of a fight. Mir is going to try and end this quickly and Nog is going to try and test Mir’s cardio. I personally believe that Mir seems re-energized with this match up. No disrespect to Mirko Cro Cop and Roy Nelson, but this is a statement fight for Mir and I don’t see him disappointing. Of note, my MMASucka.com colleague Carlin Bardsley thinks Nog looks motivated and in great condition based on what he saw at the open workouts. But my head is taking Mir via decision

Winner: Frank Mir

Light Heavyweight - Tito Ortiz (16-9-1) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-5)

It’s another Nogueira brother. “Lil Nog” will test his skills against the self proclaimed “People’s Champ” in Tito Ortiz. Enjoy watching Ortiz as it looks like his career will be coming to an end sometime in 2012. He has two fights remaining on his contract and has said that he would like to retire when that contract is up. A lot of people, including myself, would love to see Ortiz take the victory in this fight. Nogueira has pretty solid takedown defence and Ortiz’s take down attempts are not what they use to be. Nogueira will look to keep the fight standing and avoid getting into the clinch game. Look for Lil Nog to throw a jab and some leg kicks. We know that Ortiz’s gas tank isn’t what it used to be. If Nogueira can throw some good combinations he can win this fight on points. Ortiz will try and get Nogueira up against the cage or to the ground and see if he can wear “Lil Nog” out. “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” is near the end of his career and I don’t see him out striking or Nogueira. It will be a tough fight for Ortiz and he will make it interesting, but I see Nogueira taking it via decision.

Winner: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Welterweight - Claude Patrick (14-1) vs. Brian Ebersole (48-14-1)

This is a tough fight for me to pick. The Canadian in me wants to go with Patrick, but I know how dangerous Ebersole is. This is going to be a close fight. Ebersole is tough to submit and even harder to knock out.  I’m very hesitant to bet against Ebersole as I have been proven wrong twice. However, I think Patrick will do a better job controlling the fight and putting Ebersole in some uncomfortable positions. Patrick loves to look for a submission, but he is also very capable on his feet. This is a tough one to call so I’m going to back my fellow countryman and take Patrick via decision.

Winner: Claude Patrick

Featherweight - Mark Hominick (20-9) vs. Chan Sung Jung (11-3)

“The Korean Zombie” is an exciting fighter who can take punishment on the feet but is also very capable on the ground. The problem for Jung is that he is up against a very technical and motivated Mark “The Machine” Hominick. With the spirit of the late Shawn Tompkins and the entire Air Canada Center cheering him on, the Ontario native will be entering the Octagon looking to make a statement. As talented as Sung Jung is, he has been known to throw the game plan away when things get tough and out comes the Zombie that has made him famous. Hominick will look to frustrate Jung with crisper striking and excellent takedown defence.  Jung is going to have a tough time getting close to Hominick and in return will eat a ton of punches and kicks.  The statement will be made when Hominick ends the fight via TKO.

Winner: Mark Hominick

So if we were to drop down a $5 parlay bet on Bodog with the above picks, we would win a whopping $20.42. Not huge money but I’m riding the favorites tonight.

Please drink responsibly tonight and enjoy the Holiday season. Merry Christmas everyone! Next round will be at UFC 141.

Make sure to join me on Twitter @tdueckmania

-Corner Man-

Current Half-Cut Record (9-6)

Now enjoy this video!

Diego Sanchez (23-4) got the medical clearance for his hand and is now set to face Jake Ellenberger (26-5) at UFC on Fuel TV 1. If you are starting to get confused with “UFC Live On…” FX, Fuel or FOX, join the club.

According to MMAWeekly the fight has been verbally agreed upon but has not been made official yet. Expect that to come soon. Nonetheless, the bout could take place on February 15^th and MMAJunkie is reporting that it could be in Omaha, Nebraska.  Who cares where it’s taking place, it could be in your backyard and we’d attend.  For the record, Ellenberger is from Omaha so having him on that card is a great move.

This has the potential to be a classic showdown. With Ellenberger and Sanchez both in the top ten of the welterweight division, it could easily mean a future shot at the title. It could also set up a fight between the winner of Martin Kampmann and Thiago Alves which was also just announced and set to take place in early March.

Ellenberger just finished off Jake Shields with a vicious TKO victory at UFC Fight Night 25 and Sanchez won a controversial decision over Martin Kampmann at UFC Live 3. So far 2012 is going to be a good year for exciting fights, especially in the welterweight division.

Keep it locked on MMASucka.com for more details.

It looks like Martin Kampmann (18-5) will be squaring off against Thiago Alves (19-8) on for UFC on FX 2 card which is tentatively slated for March 3. The UFC has confirmed this bout but the location and venue are still in the works.

There is no doubt that this is a pivotal fight that could bring one of these fighters one step closer to a title shot in the welterweight division.  It would definitely put them in the conversation.

Kampmann defeated Rick Story by decision at UFC 139 in San Jose, Calif. and has been very vocal in wanting to eventually fight Nick Diaz. A big win over Thiago Alves could set up a future date.  Alves is coming off an impressive submission win over Papy Abedi at UFC 138 in Birmingham, England.

This match up makes sense and it will be interesting to see what happens in the UFC‘s welterweight division in 2012. Keep it locked on MMASucka.com for more details.

In Part One of this story from Paul “The Mauler” Lazenby, an illegal Fight show went down in Surrey, British Columbia. What was troubling was the City and the RCMP did nothing about it. What makes this story even more interesting is that the so called promoter tried to spin it as a charity show. Except the poor bloke couldn’t tell anyone what the charity was. Hmmm… Here is part two from paullazenby.com

PART TWO

Shortly after posting a link to the previous story on Facebook, I was contacted by Inderjit Bisla, the promoter of the illegal fight show that took place last weekend in Surrey, BC. The following is our online conversation in its entirety, I’ll leave it up to you to draw your own conclusions (Mr. Bisla’s first comment and mine were posted on my Facebook page, everything else was communicated by DM):

BISLA: Hi Paul, the show was a amateur fund raising event, it was not a illegal fight show, thank you

LAZENBY: Indy: According to City Hall’s own statements, it was operating in violation of existing zoning bylaws.

LAZENBY: Hi, Indy–in case you don’t go back to the page you left a message on, I have a question for you. Although the “fundraising” status of your event has nothing to do with its legality/illegality or the double-standard in effect here, since you have brought it up, I’m curious as to which organization you were raising funds for. I don’t see any mention of a charitable beneficiary on your event poster. Would you have a problem with letting me know what charity it was to which you donated, as well as the amount and a contact number for the exact individual who collected the donation?

BISLA: Hi Paul, All the authorities,officials and people who attended were aware of the organization that we raised funds for. i don’t feel the need to give you any further information.

LAZENBY: A “secret” charity? Wow, that doesn’t sound suspicious at all.

BISLA: did you send any funds or any body you know did? so mind your buisness champ!

LAZENBY: Send funds for what? You won’t even tell me what you were raising funds for. I don’t know about you, but I don’t blindly send money to random people without knowing where it’s going.

BISLA: organization the funds went to was posted on the front door and was also announced during the show maybe you should have been there. lol

LAZENBY: Why? I make every effort not to attend improperly-supervised fight shows. Nor do I attend “charity” events that refuse to divulge where the raised money is going. I guess I’ll have to put you down as refusing to reveal the beneficiary of the money that you purport to have raised for charity.

BISLA: ok you do what you think is right. i will carry on with my work bye for now.

At UFC 138 we almost ran the table. 4-1 was the record with Kid Yamamoto screwing things up. Last week, I might have had too many of that Granville Island Winter Ale when I made that pick. However, 4-1 was not too shabby.

Before we move to my Half-Cut: UFC 139 picks, my beer choice for this event is Pilsner Urquell. The name literally means “pilsner from the original source,” making it the only true Pilsner in the world. Experts and judges have given Pilsner Urquell a score of 93 points, which is the highest rating ever given to a pilsner style lager due to its golden amber color, aromas of fresh baguette, caramelized nuts, citrus marmalade and earthy hops, honeyed nut toast and tart citrus flavors and rich body. I like the fact it doesn’t have too much of an after taste. Remember if you drink don’t drive!

Let’s hope UFC 139 leaves us with a pleasant after taste, because when you look at this card from top to bottom it’s hard not to get too excited. Tonight’s event is going to be, as the kids say, “bangin!”

MAIN EVENT Light Heavyweight – Mauricio Rua (20-5) vs. Dan Henderson (28-8)

On paper I look at this fight and feel that Hendo’s age could be the deciding factor. Yet I have felt that way every time Henderson has got into the cage the last two years and have been proven wrong. He obviously drinks from the same fountain that Randy Couture drank from.

The other thing I ponder is which Shogun are we going to see? A healthy, in shape Mauricio Shogun Rua could give Henderson fits. Shogun is known for his devastating stand up game, which includes some body kicks that can make an opponent’s gas tank go from full to empty within minutes. We also all know about Henderson’s H-bomb which is a devastating right hand that has put many to sleep.

But I don’t think it’s going to be the stand up game that will win this fight. Last time I checked, Henderson is still one of the best wrestlers in the division. Look for Henderson to be patient. He may take some shots and face an early barrage from Rua in the opening rounds, but this is a five-round main event and Henderson still has that legendary chin of granite.

If Henderson can grind his way to the third, fourth and fifth rounds I think he has a really good shot of winning this fight by decision. I believe Henderson will try and take this fight to the mat and attempt to throw some nasty ground n’ pound. For Shogun he needs to find his game that he had when he went to war with Machida twice. His most recent win over Forest Griffin was a step in the right direction.

This is a tough fight for me to call. However, like the Dos Santos vs. Velasquez fight, I said if Dos Santos can keep the fighting standing he had a shot. I say the same with this fight. If Shogun can keep the fight standing and work some leg and body kicks mixed in with some great combinations with out gassing, I like his chances. Unfortunately I don’t see that happening over five rounds. I’m going with Henderson by decision.

Winner: Dan Henderson

Middleweight Wanderlei Silva (33-11-1) vs. Cung Le (7-1)

I like to read what other MMA News sites predict before I make my own predictions. I already have in my head who I think is going to win, but sometimes reading other people’s thoughts on how a fight is going to go, makes my decisions easier. So far a lot of people like Wanderlei Silva in this fight.

This is going to be a stand up war. Cung Le has more moves than a U-Haul truck. Sorry that was bad. But you get what I mean. Le throws kicks from everywhere including a spinning back kick that has made opponents look silly. The problem is that the San Shou Master has only fought three times since 2008 and his last fight was more than a year ago. Will Cung Le have cage rust?

Wanderlei lost to Chris Leben at UFC 132 by devastating KO. Some speculated and even called for his retirement. However he was a replacement opponent for Le after Vitor Belfort went down with an injury. Wanderlei likes to push the pace, but he is not the Axe Murderer from the Pride Days. He is only 35 going on 50. I know Silva will try and keep the fight in close quarters. He may even try to slow Le down with some leg kicks. But Wandy wants to avoid being on the outside looking in.

I love Wandy, but I don’t see how he wins this fight. I think Cung Le has a jab and vicious kicks that will keep Wandy to the outside. The only thing I worry about is Le’s gas tank. I’m taking Cung Le by TKO. Le will probably work some great combinations through kicks and vicious jabs. I think Le clips Silva with a punch and finishes him off in the second round for the TKO victory. Wanderlei Silva’s chin is the biggest question mark right now in this fight. I don’t like how some of questioned Le’s desire to be a fighter just because he has tried to make it in Hollywood. It has been a dream for Cung Le to fight in the UFC, I don’t see him taking this fight lightly or coming into it out of shape. We will probably see the most determined Cung Le we have ever seen which is bad news for the future hall of famer, Wanderlei Silva.

Winner: Cung Le

Bantamweight – Urijah Faber (25-5) vs. Brian Bowles (10-1)

Faber is looking to get another shot at the Bantamweight title currently held by his arch nemesis Dominick Cruz. Bowles is looking to crash the party and get back to being one of the best Bantamweights in the world. People forget how good Bowles is and was. Unfortunately Bowles has had some injury problems that has kept him on the shelf and has taken away any momentum he has had in climbing the ladder. Yet I think a lot of people look at this fight and automatically take Faber because of his size and strength. Faber is great at always moving and keeping his opponents on their toes. He will try and push the pace to see if Bowles can keep up. I see Faber trying to set up the takedown and keep Bowles guessing.

The last thing Bowles wants is for Faber to take him down and control him from top position. Bowles is really going to have to figure out a way to keep the Sacramento native at bay. Easier said than done. At first glance, I’m like many, who are taking Faber in this fight.  However, if there is going to be an upset on this card I think this is the fight. In the past, Faber has been prone to throwing caution to the wind and in turn has taken some vicious shots. Bowles possesses some power in his hands, however, his hands end up taking the worst of the exchange, ie: the hand injuries. For some reason I think Faber takes a stiff right from Bowles and the fight ends. This is my upset fight pick. Call me crazy but I think this is set up for a Faber loss. I’m sure most will disagree, so if you decide to go the other way I don’t blame you. But I’m sticking to my hunch on this one. Read the title, “Half-Cut Picks.” Poor me another one.

Winner: Brian Bowles

Welterweight - Martin Kampmann (17-5) vs. Rick Story (13-4)

I most recently did an interview with Kampmann and I found out rather quickly that this is a guy who is clearly motivated and frustrated at the same time. He has had two very close and controversial back-to-back losses to Jake Shields and Diego Sanchez.  He and others believe he won the fight against Sanchez and he is looking to take that frustration and apply it to Rick Story’s face. Kampmann believes the key to winning this fight is technical striking and keeping the fight on the outside. Kampmann does not want to get sucked into a standing brawl. Story likes to stand in the pocket and bang. For either opponent, hanging in the pocket for too long could be harmful to their health.

Story will probably try and use his striking to set up the take down. If Story can control Kampmann on the ground he has a shot at winning some rounds. I’m sure the tape of Kampmann vs. Shields is floating around Story’s training camp somewhere. The problem I see is, the Denmark native has got really good at sprawling. We saw this in the Sanchez fight at UFC Live 3, where Kampmann stuffed 14 take down attempts.

This fight is going to be a back and forth war. It is my early candidate for fight of the night. It’s going to be a close one but I think Kampmann has the experience and will most likely come in with a solid game plan. I’m taking Kampmann by decision. I think he will rack up enough points to finally get a decision to fall his way.

Winner: Martin Kampmann

Light Heayweight – Stephan Bonnar (13-7) vs. Kyle Kingsbury (11-2)

Above, I mentioned that the Kampmann vs. Story fight is my candidate for fight of the night. I know there are a lot of people who are hoping this one is also a strong candidate. On paper this looks like a fight that will wow the audience. To me, the key in this fight is Kingsbury’s wrestling. Although I have no doubt that these two will exchange a lot of stand up fodder, if I was game planning for Kingsbury I would want him to utilize his strong wrestling but pick those shots carefully. Bonnar is no joke and this is going to be a stiff test for Kingsbury, but I do think that the wrestling ability will win out. I like Kingsbury by decision. But man, I know a lot of people would love to see a KO or TKO here. Really looking forward to this match up.

Winner: Kingsbury

Well, let’s see how we do. If we were to take all my above picks and put them into a parlay bet, a $5 wager would get you $171. Could be fun. Remember to know your limit and play within it.

Please have a good night watching the fights with your friends. Drink responsibily and if you have a beer you would like for us to try and promote, drop me a line on Twitter or in the comment section below. You can also send me hate mail on how stupid I was to take Bowles.

Make sure to join me on Twitter @tdueckmania

-Corner Man-

Current Half-Cut Record (7-3)

Now enjoy this video.

It’s never easy for a fighter to deal with a loss especially when one fights in the very competitive UFC. It’s a “what have you done for me lately” type of business and nobody understands that more than Martin “Hitman” Kampmann.

After being one of the UFC’s top welterweights, Kampmann (17-5) has had to deal with untimely injuries and two very tough back-to-back losses. He spends long days at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas honing his craft and working hard at becoming “Hitman 2.0.” Sure it sounds like a bad action movie title, but constant improvement is what this Dane is about.

However, for your own heath refrain from bringing up the two back-to-back losses because it’s something that still pisses him off. So of course I started the interview with the question, “what do you do to change things up after dealing with two tough losses?”

“I always change things up in my training a little bit every time, but I haven’t changed things up too much even with those two back-to-back losses on my record. To be honest, I think I was robbed in my last fight. Of course there are always things I can change up in my training to improve but I will still make mistakes in every fight I’m in. I strongly believe that I should have had the win in my last fight.”

One thing you get when you talk to the “Hitman” is honesty. He doesn’t sugar coat his answers. After all, this is the fight game and in some ways it’s nice not to get the standard, “I’ve put that loss behind me, I’m moving forward and giving it 110%.” Kampmann will give you the straight goods about his last two bouts and he doesn’t apologize for being candid.

“The Shields fight was the fight I was the most disappointed in my performance. I think I did a lot of things wrong in that fight by doing stupid shit. He did win that fight by humping my leg for as long as he could. I gave that victory away by fighting a bad fight.”

If you think he was pissed about his performance against Shields, you should hear him talk about his last fight against Diego Sanchez back in March at UFC Live on Versus: Kampmann vs. Sanchez. It was one of the best fights of the 2011. It doesn’t matter that he and Sanchez got very large fight of the night bonuses. To Kampmann that loss was highway robbery and you can still hear the frustration in his voice.

“With the Diego fight I made mistakes, but I still beat him up. His face was a wreck afterwards and he still has the scars to prove it. I definitely believe I won that fight and I got the better of him. I would love to avenge any one of those two losses because I think I’m the better fighter and I can beat any of those guys.”

I’ve interviewed Kampmann before and he is usually pretty mild mannered. But you get the sense that the losses still irritate him. Maybe in some ways that is a good thing. Losses are what fuel competitors like Kampmann. When you are a competitive SOB with redemption on your mind it means that sparring partners and future opponents better beware. As the great poet Alice Cooper put it, “No More Mr. Nice Guy.” Next on the docket is a very tough Rick Story (13-4) at UFC 139 this Saturday night in San Jose, California.

Story is no push over. He knocked off six wins in a row in the UFC which included a big win over Thiago Alves. Most recently Story lost a decision to Charlie Brenneman at UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry back in June. All be it, Story took that fight on one day’s notice after Nate Marquardt got pulled from his fight during the weigh ins. This time around, Story has had time to properly prepare for his opponent. Kampmann believes that the key to beating a guy like Rick Story is not falling into his brawling style of striking.

“I’d love to make it a more technical striking match, but I don’t think that is what he is going to do. I think he is going to want to come in close. I think that is his strength; he’s a strong dude who wants to come in swinging. He might get clipped, but when he’s in the pocket like that he’s dangerous. From a distance though I will be able to pick him apart.”

However, don’t think for a second that he isn’t prepared for Story’s wrestling skill set either.

“He tries to take his opponents to the ground a lot. He is a wrestler by nature. I’m sure he is going to try and take the fight to the ground, but I’m prepared for that. I’m totally ready to counter or stuff the takedown. If it does go to the ground I’m very confident in my Jiu-jitsu skills too.”

He should be confident. Kampmann has a brown belt under the tutelage of BJJ Black Belt Robert Drysdale. The fight could get interesting if Story does get the Denmark native down. But don’t underestimate Kampmann’s wrestling ability either. He feels that is part of his game that has improved the most. But he strongly believes that some wrestlers are too one-dimensional. He harkens back to his fight with Shields once again.

“For the most part wrestlers take people down and lay on them. That is how I lost to Jake Shields. I was kneeing Jake in the face and in the body. I had a solid submission attempt with a choke. He landed one punch on me in that entire fight and he didn’t once try to submit me. He won the fight by getting on top of me and humping my leg. I think the current scoring system favors wrestlers too much. You can punch a guy ten times in the face, but if he takes you down and cuddles with you, they give the round to that guy. It is what it is.”

So he has strong views on the lay and pray style of fighting that seems to becoming more prevalent in today’s mixed martial arts but Kampmann understands that you have to be prepared for that.

“I have been improving on my wrestling so I can adapt to how the fights are being scored. Now days you have to know how to wrestle and so I have been working hard on that. I think I showed improvement in my last fight against Diego. He tried to take me down a lot and I was able to stuff 14 out of 15 takedown attempts. But I got too caught up with busting his face up.”

A win over Rick Story this Saturday night means being relevant again in the welterweight division, and when that happens, Kampmann has a shopping list of opponents he would love to face. Besides a rematch with Sanchez or Jake Shields, one of the guys at the top of his list is another Caesar Gracie stand out in Nick Diaz. You might have heard of him. He’s fighting GSP in February for the welterweight title. Kampmann believes that it should be Carlos Condit’s title shot and not the Stockton California native, Diaz.

“I personally think Carlos Condit got screwed. Nick Diaz has been pretty good at hyping himself up. To be honest, I don’t think Diaz is that good. Anytime he has fought any good wrestlers he has had problems. I think he’s going to lose badly to GSP. Diaz is good at running his mouth and doing his thing…you know…being a punk. I would love to fight Nick Diaz sooner than later. I would absolutely love to fight him somewhere down the line.”

For now he is focused on Rick Story. The losses are in the rear view mirror but as it says, objects are closer than they appear. Some guys need that chip on their shoulder to help take them to the next level. For Martin Kampmann, that edge is a good thing. He will be focused on Saturday night, but behind his power and fortitude will be a year’s worth of frustration that he plans on unleashing on Rick Story at UFC 139.

You can follow Martin Kampmann on Twitter @martinkampmann

-Corner Man-

Trevor Dueck – @tdueckmania

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