Sherdog's Thomas Rios Gets EVERY Main Card Pick for UFC 102 Wrong. Spectacularly Wrong.
Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
The Bottom Line: Nogueira fans should start practicing their cringing, as Couture is going to turn this into a one-sided dirty boxing display that the Brazilian won’t be able to do much of anything about. No miracle submissions this time around, as Nogueira ends up getting saved by the referee’s sense of compassion but not before taking two rounds worth of Couture’s old-school bullying.
Thiago Silva vs. Keith Jardine
The Bottom Line: My personal betting favorite for "Fight of the Night," expect a wild one, with Jardine loading up on the leg kicks and Silva answering with his underrated clinch game. Eventually, Silva’s struggle for the takedown will tax his cardio and leave him gasping for air as Jardine starts finding a home for his unorthodox arsenal. Do not expect Silva’s chin to be up to the punishment, as Jardine scores an impressive third-round technical knockout and immediately goes into Techno Viking mode.
Demian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt
The Bottom Line: This will be Maia’s toughest fight yet, but not even Marquardt busting out the pile driver again will be enough to save him from getting ensnared in the Brazilian’s web of tangled limbs and blocked airways. The difference maker this time around will be Maia’s wrestling, as Marquardt struggles to keep him at bay before learning the same lesson Chael Sonnen learned against Maia -- some of these jiu-jitsu guys have that wrestling stuff pretty well figured out.
The Bottom Line: Leben will keep it close early by frustrating Rosholt on the mat before leveling him with his trademark overhand right late in the second round. If you listen closely, you can hear the Rosholt bandwagon clearing out.
Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
The Bottom Line: After years spent as a highly touted blue-chipper, Vera will complete his slow slide into bust status, as "The Polish Experiment" dissects him with a memorable ground-and-pound assault.
Now this post is just a light hearted piss-take,for picking winners in any sport is a difficult proposition. It was just amusing that they got every single one wrong, and quite hilariously so in a few cases. Moreover, their picks were also quite deliberately inflammatory, and they certainly went out on a limb on a few occasions, leaving themselves open to some pointing and laughing.
The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.
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30 comments
Comments
which is why MMA is so bad ass. you just never know
by rocket8188 on Aug 30, 2009 8:28 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
rios never knows
according to rios herman was going to ground and pound simpson(the much better wrestler) to a decision victory
by yngjzy on Aug 30, 2009 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Pretty sure those are Tomas Rios’ picks, not Sherdog’s. The Sherdog himself actually went 8-3.
by Jordan Breen on Aug 30, 2009 8:42 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Most people picked Couture, Leben, and Jardine. The MMAPlayground contest was probably a clusterf*ck all around.
by MMAEruption on Aug 30, 2009 9:09 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I don’t understand how or why most people picked Jardine, wasn’t it blatantly obvious that Silva’s style matches up horribly with Jardine’s main weakness?
Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
by ufc4 on Aug 30, 2009 9:53 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs
It went just like we discussed in the Countdown show comments…it’s sad really, Jardine has a great skillset, but his chin fails him, alot. At this point it’s either a complete style overhaul or…I don’t know.
"You guys are jerking eachother off with some pseudo deep bullshit." - Kid Nate
by kyfm621 on Aug 30, 2009 10:12 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I picked Jake Rosholt and Nog on Playground :) also on my UFC 102 Countdown show, I went 10-1 with Randy being my only loss.
by "Mr. NC-17" on Aug 30, 2009 10:18 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I really thought Leben could take Rosholt, but I didn’t expect Jake’s striking and defence to improve that much. Well played.
"You guys are jerking eachother off with some pseudo deep bullshit." - Kid Nate
by kyfm621 on Aug 30, 2009 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Or....
Gatekeeper status.
Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
by ufc4 on Aug 30, 2009 10:41 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs
If that. Gatekeepers have to be durable, at least, good ones. Whats the point in being a gatekeeper if when someone beats you, the fans can claim it was Jardine’s chin that made the opponent look so good, rather than the guys skills.
I don’t want to count Jardine out yet, but if he loses his next fight, I don’t want to see him on the main card of a PPV for a while. He’d be great for a Fight Night show though.
"You guys are jerking eachother off with some pseudo deep bullshit." - Kid Nate
by kyfm621 on Aug 30, 2009 2:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
i don’t know, Jardine’s fight against Chuck was technically very good, and he was beating on Rampage. I hear the frustration, but taking him off the main card and just to fight nights is a bit much for a guy who was headlining PPV’s earlier in the year. and i think that is one of the most frustrating things with Keith, and that is you can put him against some guys ranked much lower and he has a significant chance to lose, like with the Houston Alexander fight. I don’t know who Joe Silva wants to put him against next.
by mo dogg on Aug 30, 2009 10:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Just cuz Jardine headlined a PPV doesn’t mean he should have been. His next fight should be against someone he matches up better against, maybe a rematch with Stephan Bonnar? I can’t believe Jardine has a 3-0-1 pro boxing record, those guys he fought must be absolute cans.
Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
by ufc4 on Aug 30, 2009 10:48 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs
i certainly agree with you regarding the surprise of Jardine’s boxing record. Bonnar-Jardine re-match may not be a bad idea. I just think if Jardine wasn’t knocked down in the last 10 seconds of the Rampage fight he could have very well won that fight. and that is the hard part figuring out who will match up well against Jardine, maybe Ryan Baeder after Baeder’s fight with Eric Shaefer? when Jardine is in a big fight he puts on a good show, so he is worth being up there.
by mo dogg on Aug 31, 2009 12:03 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I picked Jardine based on the “Thiago Silva is Dumb” principle – I figured he was too sloppy to rush Jardine successfully.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by themachiavellian on Aug 30, 2009 11:04 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
It was to me.
Two months ago when the line opened up +180 for Thiago I about shat myself.
Jumped alllllll over that one.
by TennesseeTopTeam on Aug 30, 2009 1:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Opened at +200 if you were quick enough.
Twitter: @Mike_Fagan_13
http://www.sackmikegoldberg.com
by Mike Fagan on Aug 30, 2009 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
So how much did your Silva/Rosholt parlay pay?
Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
by ufc4 on Aug 30, 2009 1:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
BTW
Kevin Iole went 1-4.
Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
by ufc4 on Aug 30, 2009 10:40 AM EDT via mobile reply actions 0 recs
I just can’t seem to time the peaks and troughs of some of today’s big fighters and it’s killing me today. I did just as poorly as Iole. Clearly, I’m not evaluating enough of the evidence properly. Back to the drawing board.
by Luke Thomas on Aug 30, 2009 6:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I went 2-3 so I did pretty poor as well, it’s just funny to see what the so-called “experts” say, especially when they talk like they have already seen the damn fight.
Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
by ufc4 on Aug 30, 2009 7:35 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs
D’OH!!
Keep firing Assholes!
ZE GOGGLES! ZAY DO NOZING!!!!
by Ubernoober on Aug 30, 2009 1:23 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Bottome Line:
Sometimes cockiness in picking/writing can come back to bite you in the ass.
by Cannon Jacques on Aug 30, 2009 1:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I went 3-2 (Maia and Couture failed me)
But wow that’s got to do a lot to go 0-5.
Beverly Hills 90210.......Denver Broncos 7.
by SSreporters on Aug 30, 2009 2:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I went 3-2
The ones I got right was literally exactly how it went down after the fact [Maia/Marquardt, Silva/Jardine, Vera/KSos], and the ones I got wrong were so blatently off they were embarassing [Nog/Randy, Leben/Rosholt]
by Zack Gobie on Aug 30, 2009 4:22 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
also 3-2…I got Silva, Vera and Nog exact….
missed on Maia getting a first round submission, ha…and Leben getting a 1st rd KO…
by Reaser16 on Aug 30, 2009 5:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
0-7!
I got the first 7 matches wrong, it got so that my friend just asked who I picked in the next fight so we’d know the other person would win.
I did finish up better on the undercard at a respectable 3-8. :)
by Django Z on Aug 30, 2009 5:35 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I bet on 10 fights
I won 2 of those bets. Luckily, one of those was Rosholt over Leben, so my losses weren’t too severe.
I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.
by Llewdor on Aug 30, 2009 5:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I would rip the guy but since about UFC 96 i’ve gotten almost every big fight wrong, I love mma but honestly this sport is so crazy it’s hard to predict who’s going to win with any certainty.
by Raker on Aug 30, 2009 11:37 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

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