?Photo courtesy of TKOMMA.tv

Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout is scheduled to defend his TKO lightweight title at TKO30 “Apocalypse”, which is slated for September 28th, in the TKO home-base of Montreal.? According to the TKO website, Stout will be facing Martin Grandmont at the event… a fighter Stout is quoted as saying he has a decision victory over a few years back.?

A win would be the 4th title defense for Stout and a 10th straight victory in the TKO organization.? In that time, Stout has looked impressive in 2 of 3 UFC fights against Spencer Fisher, with a win and a loss.? A low note was the rather decisive loss to Kenny Florian which exposed a big hole in Stout’s ground game in the first 2 minutes of their match at the TUF3 finale.

Hopefully?another win is in the cards for Stout, who?should be welcomed back to?the UFC in the near future.

?Photo courtesy of http://www.nmmaringreport.com.

This may?be a naive post, but the truth is that I know very little of the Jeremy Horn story…..

As any fan of the UFC and MMA in general already knows, Jeremy Horn has a ton of fights under his belt.? Sherdog has his stats as 75-15-5, which is impressive based on quantity alone.?

What is more impressive though, is the quality of fighters that Horn has faced.? He has 4 losses since 2003 and these were to (in order) Renato Sobral, Anderson Silva, Chuck Liddell and Matt Lindland.? During this same time, he has secured victories over (less experienced versions of ) Forrest Griffin, David Loiseau, Dean Lister and Josh Burkman.?

The only questionable content was a submission loss to the King of Rock and Roll - Elvis Sinosic a few years back, but with 95 fights? on your resume you earn a few freebies.

Anyway… I know the UFC has the stable of pride fighters to work with now, but why not lock a guy like Horn down with an attractive multi fight contract for entertainment purposes alone?? This is a solid, upper tier fighter that could really serve a gatekeeper role in the LHW division.? Clearly, he seems to have issues with winning the biggest of fights, but his losses rarely come quickly, so the fights are potentially great filler as a co-main event with any up and comer.

I see he has had a few fights with the IFC,?and I don’t know if he is under contract, but his appearance on?TUF 5 as a guest coach implied some level of availability to the UFC.?? With all of the smart decisions that the UFC brass seem to make, some simple moves seem to never get made. ?

?Come on… 4 rounds with Liddell and a decision loss to Anderson Silva?… this kid is money in the bank.

And while you’re at it, bring David Loiseau back… but that is another story all together about the apparently?brutal reality as a UFC fighter and trying to stay in the “good books”.

A few thoughts on some UFC 74 matchups… these picks are locked in early. (unless I change my mind of course…)?

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Fight Card:
Randy Couture Vs. Gabriel Gonzaga: Gotta go with my gut on this one(o.k. maybe more heart than gut) and Pick Randy to get the win here.? Randy is simply impressive in his ability to focus and work to earn a win.? The Natural should be able to wear Gonzaga down, especially with 5 rounds at his disposal. I will be expecting either a late round (4th?) TKO or a unanimous judges decision.? I don’t know enough about Gonzaga… but with a win over Charlie Brown?, among other notables,? forgive my hesitance in jumping on the bandwagon just yet.

Kendall Grove Vs. Patrick Cote:? ? Quick pick here… I expect Kendall Grove to have a decisive victory in this match.? I have seen Cote scrap lately and he does not seem to be improving his game at a rapid pace.? He is a good fighter (and Canadian…) but I believe that Grove simply has more heart, and unless he eats a big punch from Cote, I expect Da Spyder to win by submission in the 1st or 2nd round.

Josh Koscheck Vs. Georges St-Pierre:?? Lets get serious… you expect me to believe that GSP “best pound for pound fighter” (Dana White)? is going to have issues with Koscheck?? He has got about as much chance as Matt Serra to win this… actually I guess he still has a punchers chance after all.? Thankfully for St. Pierre, KOZ? isn’t much of a striker (see Koscheck vs. Sanchez).?

All kidding aside, this should be a cakewalk for GSP.??Sure Koscheck is a world class wrestler, but St. Pierre has dealt with some of the best wrestlers in the welterweight division (Hughes, Sherk, Trigg?) .??GSP?has too many tools at his disposal and experience against the absolute best of the best in?the division to have much trouble with Koscheck . ? The biggest fight for Koscheck to date was obviously Sanchez, but that was fighting not to lose, and if he drops his hands like he did in that fight, he is going to see what all the talk is about with St. Pierre.? St. Pierre by TKO in the 1st.

Kurt Pellegrino Vs. Joe Stevenson Look for “Joe Daddy” to continue his hot streak.? Stevenson has had to grow on me as a fighter, but he is definitely a force at 155, with a powerful frame and?a great ground game.??I think that chin is suspect though…?thankfully Pelligrino is not much of a striker.?? With 80 % of Pelligrino’s wins by submission, this has potential for some good ground fighting.? My pick, Stevenson by submission in round 2.

Other Picks:?

Sobral over Heath,? Hardonk over Mir, Guida over Aurelio, Lutter over Jenson, Huerta over Crane

All in all a great looking fight card… I am really psyched up for this event.

photo courtesy of spidersilva.com

? Like it or not, Anderson Silva is clearly at the top of the heap in the middle weight division of the UFC.? The current champion has proven he has unmatched striking skills in the UFC period.? When you get hit by Anderson Silva, you get hurt.? There is simply no taking away from the?disciplined accuracy that the Spider has displayed in his UFC bouts.

?Too bad for the UFC that he doesn’t speak English.? I would have to assume that the UFC brass prefer a more marketable champ like the one they had in Rich Franklin, while ultimately the fans will get behind the better fighter.

?For all this discussion and working on the assumption that Silva is not what the UFC would like to see as a long term champion, it begs the question:? “Who can take him out?”.

?In my opinion, the fighter to do the job is not out there right now.?? Rich Franklin is set for a rematch, ?(October 20th, at the UFC 77 event Cincinnati, Ohio)? although I am expecting to see a similar beating.? Rich is a great well rounded fighter, but Silva is a top of the foodchain striker with a solid chin and a brutal KO over the former champ. (talk about getting in a guys head)

?If I were picking some interesting matches for Anderson Silva…

A rematch with Lutter. I believe that Lutter had Silva beat at the end of the first round, but was ‘punished ‘ for not making weight.? This is the type of ground game it will take to snag that belt.

A big step up for … Kendall Grove.? Not sure how solid Kendall’s chin is, but at 6′6″ tall, he is the lankiest of middleweights someone I see as having great potential, and certainly an ability to strike from outside.? On paper?Kendall gets murdered, but something tells me that Spyder vs. Spider would be a great fight.

Notable mentions:? Okami for his strength and well roundedness.

And there is?always Sean Salmon heading for 185….whatever.

The UFC folks have launched another very impressive web page.??Check it out at http://74.ufc.com/

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?With the acquisition of Pride, the number and quality of fighters has increased by leaps and bounds in most weight classes, and will only improve as additional fighters are drawn into the mix.? That being said, it has never been above the UFC to use some punching bags to help fill a card.

Here are the top few fighters that I hope not to see in any future UFC events?ever, or at the very least, until they round out their game a bit more.?

?The recipients of the punching bag award are:

?Shonie Carter:? The Pimp suits and the speedos are way over the top.? If Mr. International?spent as much time on martial arts as he does on language arts… he could be a contender.?

Elvis Sinosic:? The UFCs favorite TUF star punching bag for sure.? The guy looks to have some talent and I give him credit for showing heart, but I can do without an encore performance from the “King of Rock and Rumble”

?Josh Haynes:? This guy was not really good on the TUF show and with an 0-3 record in the octagon, lets hope we have seen the end of this fighter until e gets some game.? To give some credit, he faced a few of my?favorite underdogs in Luke Cummo and Rory Singer, but a loss to Shonie Carter 2 years back pretty much sums it up for me.

?Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure these guys are among the toughest in their hometown, but when I am buying PPV or attending live events, I am looking for fights with entertainment potential.? On a high note, I guess cycling this level of fighter through the UFC for a 3 or 4 fight contract is a?necessary evil to get all of that great highlight footage.

??? It would appear that Chris Leben has finally?completed the substantial piece of artwork on his back.? (click thumnail for a closer peek)

I must admit that I was distracted several times during his more recent bouts, trying to figure out what the piece was.? Lots of ink and a rather graphic subject matter, but what do you expect from a guy with a myspace motto of ” Putting the Stamp on Kids Since 1980!” (Shares my birthday as well, which may explain a few things in my life)

Well at least I can sleep at night now… except for the nightmares. Thanks Crippler!