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Eddie Bravo's UFC 46 Super Natural Preview
Reported By: Boxing Insider - 02/01/2005 06:10 PM
BoxingInsider.com contributor Eddie Bravo Preview's Saturdays Nights UFC 46: Super Natural Fight Card:
BoxingInsider.com: What are your thoughts on the Randy Couture-Vitor Belfort fight?
Eddie Bravo: If I had to put money on the fight, I would never, ever bet against Randy Couture. After what he did to Liddell and Ortiz, I just told myself: "Don't ever bet against that guy." And in this fight, I wouldn't bet against him. I'd put all my money on Randy. He beat Vitor before. But -- Vitor, he's an enigma. Sometimes he seems unstoppable, and then sometimes he seems flat. He looked ferocious against Marvin Eastman in that fight. So I wouldn't be surprised if Couture got beat down by Belfort. He could do it. Vitor has explosive fire-power in his hands and his knees -- and he's kicking now. Even so, if it was my money, I'd put my money on Randy Couture.
BoxingInsider.com: How do you think Vitor Belfort's current situation with his sister (I believe) being abducted will affect his performance in the fight?
Eddie Bravo: I don't know at all. I'm sure he's as worried as hell about her -- there's a chance that she could be dead. Who knows? And I'm sure that's going to affect him. But hopefully she'll be found before the fight so he could fight with a clear head. But maybe that'll make him fight harder. Who knows? Who knows how he feels? I really don't know too much about the situation -- just what everybody knows, the basics, just that she's missing and that there were rumors that he wasn't going to take the fight -- because of that, so… But I really don't know how it's going to affect him, to be honest with you. Let's just hope that she gets found -- soon.
BoxingInsider.com: What does Randy have to do in this fight to maintain the championship?
Eddie Bravo: I think Randy should take Vitor down and just ground and pound a decision out of him. I think that'd be the safest thing to do. I doubt that Couture could finish Belfort and -- although he did outstrike Belfort in the first meeting, it was a long time go and Vitor was about 230 [pounds]. Now Vitor is down to 205; he's much faster, I think that's the weight he should be at. So I don't think Couture would want to stand up with Vitor now. I think the safest thing to do is to take Vitor down and just pound on him.
BoxingInsider.com: Couture has defeated the two top light heavyweight contenders. What strategies and tactics will Vitor have to use to stop Randy?
Eddie Bravo: Well, the opposite of Couture's strategy, really. He needs to stay up -- and try to knock Randy out. He has the speed to do it. Although I think if Vitor took Couture down -- Couture's not very good on his back -- I think Vitor could possibly ground 'n' pound Randy. If he could take him down -- and that's a big "if". Randy's a phenomenal wrestler. But I would think Vitor should try to stay up and knock him out.
BoxingInsider.com: Matt Hughes faces B.J. Penn in the welterweight division. What kind of threats does B.J. pose for Matt? What strategies can B.J. draw on to counter Hughes' incredible strength and win the fight?
Eddie Bravo: Well, B.J. is moving up from the lightweight division to the welterweight division, so that's definitely an advantage for Matt Hughes. Matt Hughes is coming down from 190 to 170 while B.J. is going up to 170. So when it comes to just pure power, Matt Hughes has a tremendous advantage over B.J. Penn.
But, even though Matt is clearly going to have an edge on B.J. Penn when it comes to strength, B.J. is just one of the best jiu-jitsu guys on the planet. He mastered the gi game in three and a half years and got his black belt faster than any other American. He went down to the world championships in Brazil and beat all the top guys. He was at the top of the food chain when it came to gi jiu-jitsu. He did that in under four years. And based on his first few performances in the UFC, it shows that he wasn't as good without the gi as he is with the gi. But I knew he would figure it out the no-gi game and it seems as if he's figuring it out now. He just choked out Gomi in his last fight. Gomi is a bad-ass Japanese fighter and B.J. strangled him. I just hear nothing but great things from B.J. Penn lately. He's bigger and stronger nowand his flexibility is cirque de soule-ish.
People think I'm flexible but I never think of myself as being all that flexible when there's a guy like B.J. Penn out there who could put his legs behind his head without the help of his hands! That's insanity. I could put my legs behind my head, but I need to stretch out a little bit and I definitely need to use my hands. This guy has freakish flexibility and he's getting his no-gi game together and I really think if he sticks with this sport, and if he has a strong mind, he could be possibly the best fighter ever. I really do believe that.
Has he gotten to that point now? And is he good enough to beat Matt Hughes? I would put my money on Matt Hughes, based on what weight they walk around at. As I said earlier, Matt Hughes is walking around at 190-195 [pounds]. B.J. is just now walking around at 170-175. Matt Hughes is just going to be so much stronger, and he's bringing so much experience into the Octagon that B.J. doesn't have. B.J. has under ten fights. So, again, if it was my money, I'd put my money on Matt Hughes but I wouldn't be surprised at all if B.J. choked Matt Hughes.
BoxingInsider.com: Frank Mir and Wes Sims square-off in a rematch. The first time Wes Sims was disqualified for stomping Mir. How do you expect this fight to proceed?
Eddie Bravo: If you're going to go by their first fight, you've got to think that Frank Mir is still going to dominate on the ground -- as he did in the first fight. He put a jiu-jitsu [clinic] on Wes Sims -- but he couldn't put him away. He couldn't finish him. He had several opportunities. He mounted him, had him in an arm bar -- he was all over Wes Sims. But when he lost the arm bar, he was on his back, and then Wes Sims started stomping on his face, which is illegal, and he got disqualified… So it's really hard to tell. It's really hard to say how it's going to turn out. But Wes Sims can only get so good at jiu-jitsu in this period of time since their last fight. You've got to go with Frank Mir. You've got to think that he's going to dominate him on the ground again and he's probably going to be able to finish Wes Sims.
But- Wes Sims is a giant. He has freakish strength. In this sport you just don't know what's going to happen. So, again, if Wes Sims ends up smashing Frank Mir, it wouldn't be a shocker to me. But I'm going with Frank Mir in that fight.
BoxingInsider.com: Sims lost control of himself in the last fight to earn the disqualification. How will that incident affect him in this fight?
Eddie Bravo: I don't think that's going to affect him in this fight at all. All he's got to do is tell himself not to do anything stupid again and follow the rules. I don't think that's really going to change the outcome of the fight. I think it'll be a clean fight. I doubt we'll have two disqualifications in a row. But then again, didn't Terry Norris get disqualified two fights in a row? Against that Santana guy? So, I guess it could happen in MMA as well, but it's highly unlikely.
BoxingInsider.com: Carlos Newton makes his return to the UFC. What are your thoughts on Carlos Newton's abilities? Besides winning, what does he need to do to convince everyone, he deserves another shot at the Welterweight title?
Eddie Bravo: Carlos Newton will always deserve a shot at the welterweight title. That guy is one of the few MMA fighters who is dangerous -- in all three phases of the sport: striking, wrestling and his jiu-jitsu. For anybody to think that he doesn't deserve a shot… you'd have to be a complete dummy to think Carlos isn't a top contender. You could lose four fights in a row in this sport and still be a top contender… look at Pele. Pele lost three fights in a row and he's still respected. You would never fight Pele and think "Oh, well he lost three fights in a row, I'm going to kick his ass". He's dangerous no matter what happend in his last fight. He's not going to lose any skills, not at this point of his career. Carlos Newton is, pound for pound, one of the best MMA fighters of all time.
BoxingInsider.com: Just to round off, on the card, how do you feel the following matches are going to unfold: Jorge Rivera versus Lee Murray?
Eddie Bravo: I don't know too much about Lee Murray. All that anybody really knows about him in America -- I'm sure he's got a pretty good reputation as an MMA fighter in England -- but all we really know about Lee Murray is the Tito Ortiz incident when he got into a fight with Tito Ortiz on the street in London. That's all I really know.
BoxingInsider.com: Tell us what happened there.
Eddie Bravo: I really don't know all the details. All I know is that they were all at a bar -- some UFC fighters -- there were some London local fighters and it was after the UFC London show and something happened where Lee Murray and Tito Ortiz just started arguing… and Lee Murray punched Tito… supposedly Tito got knocked out… I'm not exactly sure how it worked out. I don't know why the trouble started initially, but that's basically how Lee Murray got known in the United States. Now he's fighting Jorge Rivera and we know that Jorge Rivera is a very good stand-up fighter. He beat David Loiseau in a stand-up fight. Lee Murray is supposedly a stand-up fighter, so I expect this to be a carbon copy of the Rivera-Loiseau fight. This one, I really can't pick this one. I'll be honest with you -- I really can't pick it.
Lee Murray did just knock somebody out -- a pretty good fighter -- I can't think of his name right now but he did knock someone out, uuuhhmmm oh that's right it was Pele.
BoxingInsider.com: Hermes Franca versus Josh Thompson?
Eddie Bravo: Interesting fight. Josh Thompson is an accomplished wrestler who is also a kick boxer. He has a pretty good amateur kickboxing record and he has dangerous hands, dangerous feet -- and very hard to take down and when a guy like that is fighting a jiu-jitsu star like Hermes Franca, the strategy's going to be pretty obvious. Hermes Franca's going to want to take Josh Thompson down and he's going to have a hard time doing it, because Josh Thompson is a really good wrestler. So Hermes Franca has a really hard job -- a job taking down a college wrestler who can strike. That's a tough job. That's the job that Gerald Strebendt had in his last fight. That's a tough job.
Josh Thompson has an easier job: don't get taken down and, if you find an opening, strike Hermes -- with the knee or elbow or punch -- that's an easier job. So I'm pulling for Hermes Franca -- he's a really super-nice guy. Every time I meet him, he's just the nicest guy. I'm pulling for him, but if I had to put my money down, I'd put it on Josh Thompson.
BoxingInsider.com: What are your final thoughts on UFC 46? How does this show stack up?
Eddie Bravo: It looks like an all-star event. Every fight on the card -- even the Karo Parisyan fight, he's fighting George St. Pierre. That fight's going to be a barn burner of a fight, I'm sure of that.Karo Parisyan has just burst onto the scene. He's a really exciting fighter. He's got tremendous judo and judo-work in MMA is rare-- even without the karate top he makes it work, he's proven that judo has its place in MMA and should be respected. He was supposed to fight Pete Spratt, but George St. Pierre choked out Pete Spratt or arm-barred him -- so instead of Pete Spratt, here comes George St. Pierre and I'm pretty positive that Karo Parisyan will prevail in that fight.
But, the whole card -- it's just amazing, it's an MMA fan's dream. I mean, Vitor-Randy II? Wow! I can't wait for that. And I'm looking forward to my new job as the unofficial scorecard… what would you call it? What would my new job be?
BoxingInsider.com: Unofficial Scorecard Keeper.
Eddie Bravo: Yeah. Yeah. I'm looking forward to my new job as the Unofficial Scorecard Keeper -- which I did back in the Miami show. I'm looking forward to that. I get to really express more of my opinions than I did as a post-fight interviewer, where you get to ask only one question. So I'm looking forward to expressing my opinions a little more at the UFC. I'm excited about that whole weekend. And then we get the Superbowl the next day. So It should be a fun and exciting time to be in Vegas come the end of January.
BoxingInsider.com:We hear you've got a new DVD coming out. Will you tell us about it?
Eddie Bravo: Yes, I have a new DVD coming out. I have a whole mess of my jiu-jitsu fights on tape, but I chose seventeen of my favorite ones, starting from when I was a blue-belt, fighting in high school gyms with five people in the audience. And it goes all through my purple-belt days, where there's a slightly bigger crowd. Then Grappler's Quest -- when I won Grappler's Quest in 2000 -- there are a couple of fights from that event. Then the trials, and then it ends with me fighting Royler Gracie, with Portuguese commentary. So it takes you through my whole jiu-jitsu career. If you're a fan of my grappling style, then I think you'll enjoy it.
Just contact me at twisterbravo@sbcglobal.net -- and I'll give you all the information. It's quite simple.
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