UFC 98 results, Techsoup Canada update, and more!

Been a little while since my last post, so here’s what’s new in the news:

• UFC 98 has come and gone, and we have a third straight title change as Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida knocks out the flamboyant Rashad Evans in the second round. In the other featured main event, Matt Hughes defeated Matt Serra in a fight where every round could have gone either way for Hughes or Serra. The rest of the results can be found at the UFC.com website.

• In other news, I completed the video client profile for TechSoup Canada. You can view the Literature For Life client profile here.

• And for those interested in the field of software design/engineering, here is a little screencast I did for a previous assignment that demonstrates a reverse engineering tool.

• And finally, I am now a fully certified driver in Ontario! I recently got my license on Friday and now I am set to work for 15 months carefree. Tomorrow will be my first day on the job, so it will be interesting to see how it works out.

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UFC 98 - Predictions

Ever since my exams ended, I decided to take a nice little vacation and do nothing at all. And now I am sitting here...still doing nothing at all, and am bringing you my predictions for the main events of UFC 98!

UFC Light-Heavyweight Championship: Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida

Allow me to go on record and say that this title shot for Machida is LONG overdue, and it's about time he received his shot. This is being billed as yet another "battle of the undefeateds," with Machida and Evans boasting 14-0 and 18-0-1 records, respectively.

Machida, a Karate specialist, is coming fresh off of his knockout victory of (formerly undefeated) Thiago Silva. Before his fight with Silva, many had Silva touted as a top contender, and Machida defeated him convincingly.

Evans, after his draw with Tito Ortiz, rang off three straight wins over Michael Bisping, Chuck Liddell, and Forrest Griffin, and is now the current top dog in the Light-Heavyweight division.

So we have a situation of collegiate wrestler vs. Karate specialist. Machida is one of the few Karate specialists (if not, the only one) in the UFC. If you watch Machida's fights, he is RARELY taken down. HE can brush off any take down attempts that come his way. No doubt Evans will be the aggressor in this fight, but I don't think that his wrestling skills will be able to match Machida's defense. This fight will simply come down to who will get the knockout blow first. People are already touting an Evans/Rampage title match after their recent altercation.

Will we see Evans/Jackson? Obviously. Will it be for the title? No. I believe Machida will defeat Evans and become the next champ. WAR MACHIDA!

Winner: Lyoto Machida - Knockout 2nd round


Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra

Oh my, what a grudge match. Former coaches of "The Ultimate Fighter" were supposed to face off at the season six finale (UFC 79), but Serra succumbed to injury. Instead, Hughes faced Georges St. Pierre for the interim Light Heavyweight title and lost. After that fight, Serra faced St. Pierre for the undisputed strap and lost as well.

After his fight with St. Pierre, Hughes faced off against "The Pitbull" Thiago Alves at UFC 85, losing by knockout. Serra has had no other fights between his title loss and this upcoming PPV.

Here we have a situation of two fighters with a ground game as their primary fighting style. Serra has his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, while Hughes has his wrestling game. Both men have been known to go the distance in past fights, and I have a feeling that a decision victory for either of these two men is likely. However, this fight will launch one of these fighters back into possible contention for the Welterweight title down the road. And especially for Hughes, this seems to be his make-or-break fight.

I do think Hughes could pull off the decision win through repeated takedowns and staying on top of Serra (which could also happen because Serra is more comfortable on his back). We have already had one "retirement" take place in Chuck Liddell. Hughes looks like he could be the next. I expect a flash knockout or submission to put Serra back into contention.

Winner: Matt Serra - TKO/Submission

So that's all for now. Expect me to start posting here more often.

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UFC 101 - Huge bout signed

Normally I wouldn't post news like this. But I just finished yet another exam today, and I thought this might tide some people over for a while.

Original Source: Yahoo Sports

Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White made good on his promise to land a significant fight for suddenly under siege middleweight champion Anderson Silva, telling Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday that he had signed a deal for Silva to face ex-light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin in the co-main event of UFC 101 in Philadelphia on Aug. 8.

Regarded by many as the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, Silva has come under a barrage of criticism for his performances in his last two fights, including from White. White said he was embarrassed by Silva’s performance in a decision victory over Thales Leites at UFC 97 in Montreal.

The rest can be read here. I smell fight of the year.

After exams end, expect me to post more regularly.

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UFC 97 - Results

So here are the results, fresh off of the PPV:

Undercard

Eliot Marshall def. Vinicius Magalhaes via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27).
T.J. Grant def. Ryo Chonan via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28).
Mark Bocek def. David Bielkheden via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 4:57.
Ed Herman def. David Loiseau via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27).
Nate Quarry def. Jason MacDonald via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 2:27.
Denis Kang def. Xavier Foupa-Pokam via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Main card
Luiz Cane def. Steve Cantwell via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27).
Cheick Kongo def. Antoni Hardonk via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 2:29
Krzysztof Soszynski def. Brian Stann via submission (kimura) - Round 1, 3:53.
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua def. Chuck Liddell via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 4:28.
Sam Stout def. Matt Wiman via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Anderson Silva def. Thales Leites via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 50-46) in what was one of the worst fights of the year.

Final thoughts

So, I was 2-0 in my predictions. Silva's win may have not been impressive, but it counts, and he has now set a UFC record - 9 straight wins. And congratulations to Shogun, who is slowly starting to build up steam again.

Up next, UFC 98 - Evans vs. Machida. It should definitely be more interesting than what was displayed tonight.

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UFC 97 - Predictions

For those of you that don't know, I am a huge UFC buff. Last year, I was writing articles for The Mike newspaper with my UFC predictions for every event. Since the end of the last academic term I took a hiatus. Well, I find it appropriate to resurrect my predictions article. So here it is, my UFC 97 predictions for the two main events.

UFC Middleweight Title - Anderson Silva/Thales Leites

Leites, primarily a Jiu-Jitsu fighter, seems to be the man to take out Anderson Silva. He only has one loss in his professional career, and his Jiu-Jitsu is one of the strongest in the game.Anderson Silva is on a tear, as this will be his sixth title defense. His striking is second to none, and he has proven that he can take care of himself on the ground. Will this be his swan song?

Silva was obviously not in his top form in his last defense against Canadian Patrick Cote. If the Silva that was in that fight shows up again, it can easily be a one sided fight for Leites. However, Silva is looking to prove himself and show tht he can return to his top form. Also realize that one of Leites' victories came against another Silva victim - Nate Marquardt. However, it was a split decision victory (and it came due to the fact that Marquardt committed two fouls). Prior to that fight, Silva Silva can (and should) return to his championship form come Saturday. I do believe a Jiu-Jitsu ace will dethrone Silva, but it won't be Leites.

Winner: Anderson Silva

Chuck Liddell vs Mauricio "Shogun" Rua"

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Chuck Liddell has won only ONE of his last four fights. At 39, he is approaching the tail end of his UFC career. Shogun is 1-1 in his UFC career, and his looking to reestablish himself at the top of the food chain. This is simiar to the Silva/Leites fight, as you have the striker vs the gound fighter. Liddell, with his wrestling background will look to keep this fight on his feet. If this fight goes to the ground, expect Shogun to have an edge. IF this fight remains standing, I give either fighter a puncher's chance. Liddell and Shogun will both be out to prove something in this fight. Canada made history at the last UFC event held in Canada.

Shogun has the tools to beat Liddell, and he has some momentum after his last win over Mark Coleman. Expect history to be made again, as I believe Shogun will beat Liddell into retirement.

Winner: Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

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TechSoup Canada Part 4

The interviews are complete and all that is left is to complete the deliverables for TechSoup Canada. As I mentioned in a previous post, my group needs to submit a 1-2 minute edited video, a word-for-word transcript of all three interviews, and a summary of all three interviews. Originally, we were supposed to have our deliverables ready a few days ago, but due to scheduling problems, we were unable to complete the interviews until recently. Consequently, due to the workload, we were unable to have the deliverables ready in a few days. After speaking with the TechSoup representatives, they had no problem in extending the deadline of the deliverables. As it stands, the estimated deadline will be sometime late next week.

My role in this assignment was acting as the point of contact between TechSoup and the rest of my team. Initially, I was primarily involved in scheduling the interviews. After interviews were completed, I emailed the rest of my group and together we decided on what section of the deliverable each person will complete. I volunteered to compile the recorded footage and create the 1-2 minute edited video. The other members of my group will transcribe one interview each. We got along well, even though face-to-face contact was minimal. This was due to conflicting course schedules. The consistent emails sent between group members made for the lack of face-to-face time. We all had a common goal, and we all cooperated towards reaching that goal.

Because I will not complete my part of the deliverable by the assignment deadline, I will not know the impact of my contributions until I finish them. However, the TechSoup representatives have been satisfied with the work that we have done so far. They have said that the information that we get should be able to inform more clients of their existence. Additionally, the people that we interviewed have praised TechSoup Canada's services and would recommend them to other organizations. Through the interviews alone, we discovered an answer to TechSoup's impact on their current clients. One of the clients that I interviewed suggested that TechSoup create a public forum where representatives of non-profit organizations can meet. Only time will tell how our work will affect TechSoup Canada (and their clients) in the future.

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TechSoup Part 3

Even though I had my final interview last Friday, homework prevented me from posting something about this earlier. Literature for Life is an amazing organization which offers teen moms a safe environment to explore and learn to use language to her advantage and to benefit her children. They help at-risk families build a culture of literacy.

So Jay (my partner), Donnie(the Marketing manager), and I interviewed Literature for Life on Friday. Compared to the OCASI interview, I could better clearly see the impact TechSoup had on this company. This was because they had physical evidence of their creations to display to us in the form of their magazines (which reach out to single mothers).

After this interview, my understanding of the digital divide has changed. TechSoup's sole mission is to essentially bridge the digital divide by supplying technology to non-profit organizaions that cannot afford it. However, after these interviews, it seems that TechSoup has done more than simply provide technology to those that need it. These organizations are learning how to use software primarily on their own, with assistance from TechSoup. TechSoup has supplied the employees of these organizations with new technological skills that they can use outside the workplace.

I have heard the term 'digital divide' used repeatedly, but I have never known anyone (or any organization) that did not have limited access to technology. After these interviews I realize that the gap is there, and organizations like TechSoup Canada are committed to bridging the divide.

More information on Literature for Life can be found here.

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