MMA Fighters Predict Winner of UFC 114's Rampage vs Rashad Evans Fight

UFC 114's main event this Saturday is a grudge match between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and "Suga" Rashad Evans. I asked some of the top MMA fighters as well as MMA experts and personalities for their predictions on the fight and below are their thoughts and picks.

Paul "Semtex" Daley:

Rampage because he is bigger, stronger, more powerful, and has more experience. I think he has a better chin, and good enough wrestling to keep it standing for the KO in round 1.

Stephen Quadros, "The Fight Professor":

I feel that even though I think he'd be better suited at 185 pounds, Rashad Evans has the edge going into the finale of the "World Smack Talking Championships: Pushing The Envelope" this Saturday, May 29th against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Obviously Rashad shouldn't plant himself right in front of Jackson for too long and he won't. I've had this long standing theory that when fighters do movies and then jump right back in against top level competition, they lose. Will Quinton prove my adage wrong? I'm doubtful. Rashad by decision.

Kim Couture:

Wow this fight is going to be amazing! Both guys are sooo well rounded and powerful fighters. I think it's going to come down to who will control and set the tempo early in the first round! They both have power and are both mentally tough so it's gonna be about gameplan and who can impose their will! I see Rashad moving and circling a lot and Rampage controlling the center and hunting down Evans. We'll see if Evans takes this to the ground, but I imagine they're both going to be going for the knockout!

Josh "The Punk" Thomson:

I want Rampage to win but I think Rashad is gonna strike and run. Rashad with the win.

Miesha "Takedown" Tate:

I'm gonna say Rashad Evans because I think he's more level headed and he'll put together a good gameplan to beat Rampage.

Mike "Quick" Swick:

I can only say that I predict a good fight! I am excited about this one and feel it's going to end by KO in the 2nd.

Daniel Cormier:

I believe it's gonna be a very interesting fight. You have two of the best light heavyweights in the world. I believe Rashad is gonna win with his quickness and wrestling. He has the ability to take Rampage down and Rampage can't do the same. I believe Rashad will win a hard fought decision.

Javier Mendez, owner and head trainer at American Kickboxing Academy:

I think Rampage, due to being the stronger striker and being able to keep it standing, I think Rashad is going to have a tough time taking Rampage down and keeping him down. 3rd round KO

Michael DiSabato, VP of MMA clothing line CageFighter:

Rashad is former Michigan State wrestler and I usually do not go against wrestlers. I like Rashad, good dude... but Quinton is my boy! Rampage wins.

Jamie Yager:

Rampage

Court McGee:

My pick is Rampage.

Nicole Craner, MMA ring girl:

This is a hard one but I am going to go with Rashad Evans in the third round.

MLB Notes: What To Watch Tonight

The marquee match-up tonight is between the Yankees and the Rays in New York. The Yankees are three games back of the Rays in the AL East. The starting pitchers tonight will be A.J. Burnett and Wade Davis. The game will be televised on ESPN. The Yankees lead the majors in RBIS with 214.

The Toronto Blue Jays travel to Seattle to take on the Mariners. The Blue Jays lead the majors in home runs with 65 but Seattle's starting pitcher Doug Fister has only allowed one homer this season. The Blue Jays will be playing in a pitcher's park so it will be more difficult for them to power one out of the ballpark this evening.

The best pitching match-up tonight is in Oakland where Justin Verlander of the Tigers and Dallas Braden of the A's will be facing off. The A's are not a great offensive team but they did have 16 hits last night against the Mariners. Verlander is coming off a big win against the Yankees last week. Verlander has thrown a lot of pitches in his starts. In his last five starts, he has thrown 119, 118, 120,121, and 125 pitches. Braden was sent home last night due to an illness but he will be ready to pitch tonight.

The first-place Reds head to Atlanta to take on the Braves. Aaron Harang gets the start against Kenshin Kawakami. Kawakami is 0-6 with a 5.79 ERA. Harang lost his last start against the Cardinals. He gave up four runs on two-run homers by Albert Pujols and Ryan Ludwick.

The Milwaukee Brewers have lost eight games in a row. They have a good chance of winning tonight against the Pirates. The Brew Crew will start lefty Randy Wolf and he is 8-1 in his career against the Pirates. Brian Burres starts for the Pirates. Manager Ken Macha might be fired soon if the Brewers continue to lose. They are only 4-14 at home.

The Giants got their biggest win of the season last night by beating the Padres 7-6 in extra innings in Petco Park. They were down 4-2 in the eighth inning when Andres Torres hit a two-run homer off reliever Mike Adams to tie the game. This was the Giants' first win against the Padres this year. They were previously 0-7 against San Diego. The Giants face the Diamondbacks tonight in hitter-friendly Chase Field.

The Dodgers have won nine games in a row and are only one game back of the Padres. The Padres and Dodgers face each other tonight in Los Angeles.

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MLB Notes and News: Tampa Rays Are Best Team In Baseball

The Tampa Bay Rays have the best record in baseball right now with a 24-10 record. The Rays just completed a very successful West Coast road trip as they won six of the nine games on the trip. They are only a half game ahead of the New York Yankees in the standings though.

The Rays have very good hitters and a great pitching staff. They have a big time star in 3B Evan Longoria. Longoria is batting .326 with eight homers and 29 RBIs so far. He has committed a few errors of late on defense, but his offense has made up for the errors in the field.

Their starting five is one of the best in baseball. James Shields, Matt Garza, Jeff Niemann, David Price, and fifth starter Wade Davis can all dominate a game with their stuff. Price has been really good of late and won two games on the West Coast road trip.

The bullpen has been very solid as well and closer Rafael Soriano has nine saves and a 1.93 ERA.

The Rays have Hank Blalock in the minors and it might be time to call him up soon since DH Pat Burrell has played very poorly. Burrell has been horrible at the plate and it might be time to get rid of him.

The three biggest surprises so far are the Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals, and the San Diego Padres.

The Blue Jays are leading the majors in homers with 52. They are 20-16 but only 7-10 at home.
The Blue Jays have three young starters with potential in Ricky Romero, Brett Cecil, and Shaun Marcum.

The Nationals are 19-15 and in second place in the NL East. Once phenom Stephen Strausburg gets called up to the majors, their pitching staff will be more dangerous. Middle reliever Tyler Clippard has seven wins already. Lefty starter Scott Olsen has pitched very well of late.

The Padres are 21-12 and in first place in the NL West. They don't have a great offense but they have the best bullpen in the NL. Their starting rotation just has to keep the games close. The offense is weak but they do steal a lot of bases and have had a lot of timely hitting.

The Reds are 19-15 this year and they could contend for the NL Central title. Dusty Baker was a candidate to be fired if the Reds got off to a poor start, but things are going very well right now for Baker's team. They have a good offense and play in a very hitter-friendly home park. Rookie pitcher Mike Leake is a candidate for Rookie of the Year. He has four pitches and great command of all of them.

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UFC 113 Notes and Recap

Shogun Rua's knockout of Lyoto Machida was very impressive and Rua is now the new UFC light heavyweight champion. Many fans felt that Rua won the title last October against Machida but the judges awarded the decision to Machida instead.

Rua's first title defense will be against the winner of the Rashad Evans vs. Rampage Jackson fight which takes place in three weeks.

The co-main event between Josh Koscheck and Paul Daley was very boring. As expected, Koscheck took down Daley multiple times and used his background in wrestling to defeat Daley.

Daley was frustrated and after the fight, he punched Koscheck. Koscheck was not seriously hurt by the punch which did not fully land on Koscheck's face. The smile on Koscheck's face after the sucker punch proved that the punch did not hurt that much.

UFC President Dana White decided to cut Daley from the UFC after the sucker punch.

White also said he is releasing Kimbo Slice from his contract after his loss to Matt Mitrione. Mitrione won by TKO over Slice in the second round.

Mitrione was very calm the whole night. He had a huge smile walking to the cage and kept that smile even while fighting in the cage against Kimbo. UFC commentator Joe Rogan called him a "crazy white boy."

Middleweight contender Alan Belcher won his fight against Patrick Cote. and he called out Anderson Silva after his victory.

It was a very bad night for all the Canadian fighters on the card. Of the six Canadian fighters on the card, only one (Joe Doreksen) was able to defeat his opponent.

The UFC awarded the Fight of the Night award to Jeremy Stephens and Sam Stout. It was a stand-up battle between Stephens and Stout but the fight was not really interesting or entertaining at all.

Stephens' had more power than Stout while Stout was more technical.

UFC 113 will mostly be remembered for Rua's knockout of the previously unbeaten Machida and for the sucker punch by Daley on Koscheck.

UFC 114 will be in Las Vegas on May 29th.

Bruce Drennan's Funny Rant After Another Loss by the Cleveland Indians

Here is a funny video of a rant by SportsTime Ohio's Bruce Drennan after a bad loss by the Indians to the Blue Jays a few days ago. The Indians were up by two runs until the Blue Jays scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to win the game 5-4.

Bay Area Update: Sharks Fever, Giants and A's Playing Well

The Bay Area teams have been playing very well of late. The Sharks are the talk of sports fans locally right now and hockey might be more popular right now than ever before in the Bay Area.

The Sharks go for a sweep tonight against the Detroit Red Wings in Detroit.

The Giants are also going for a sweep tonight when they take on the Florida Marlins in Miami. Matt Cain will be going up against Ricky Nolasco in the pitching matchup.

The Marlins are a good fastball hitting team so Cain must have good command of his fastball tonight or he will be in trouble against the likes of Jorge Cantu, Dan Uggla, and Hanley Ramirez.

Nolasco doesn't give up a lot of walks and the Giants are not a patient hitting team.

Cain is 2-0 against the Marlins with a 2.88 ERA while Nolasco is 1-1 with a 1.13 ERA against the Giants.

Catcher Bengie Molina is now batting cleanup for the Giants just like last year. 1B Aubrey Huff batted cleanup for the Giants in the beginning of the year but he is now batting behind Molina in the lineup.

The A's are back in first place with a 15-14 record in the AL West. They won their series against the Rangers yesterday.

Trevor Cahill pitched very well and his sinker was really working all afternoon long.

The A's will be facing tougher competition this weekend when the Tampa Bay Rays come to town. The Rays are 11-1 on the road and are led by 3B Evan Longoria.

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