[ThaFranchise]

This is ThaFranchise's breakdown of the First Round Selections. I'm going to offer my views on the picks that I felt were interesting of the first round. Theres no point discussing consensus picks such as Anderson or GSP so I'll leave those be and will try to justify certain picks and question others.

Round 1

1. Rhodes: Anderson Silva
2. Shatterproof: Georges St. Pierre
3. Simtom: Brock Lesnar
4. jbritt: Miguel Torres
5. Audman: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria
6. ThaFranchise: BJ Penn
7. StDrgn: Urijah Faber
8. eruss2090: Forrest Griffin
9. Shadow2003: Wanderlei Silva
10. Drogo: Lyoto Machida
11. Tennant35: Rich Franklin
12. LeeM: Dan Henderson
13. DMF62469: Paul Taylor
14. Vandenbrink: Matt Hamill
15. BrFighter07: Jon Fitch
16. Hellboy: Kenny Florian
17: DJ Syko: Thiago Alves


3. Simtom: Brock Lesnar:

Pros- Freak of a human being that uses his natural ability to overwhelm opponents. He is involved in the Heavyweight "tournament" and will be involved in one title match, if not two.

Cons- Although he is an amazing specimen he is still surrounded by a multitude of question marks such as "Can he take a punch?", "Can his size overcome experience?" and "Why does he get so angry regarding his steroid usage?"

Verdict- Somewhat risky pick, but this was Simtoms only chance to pick him up.


4. jbritt: Miguel Torres:

Pros- Dominant Bantamweight, will most likely continue to sweep division at WEC 37.

Cons- Soon he'll be running out of competition to walk through.

Verict- 4th overall might seem high for him, as jbritt passed over 3 UFC champions, but in a 17 person draft this was most definately his only chance to take him.


7. StDrgn: Urijah Faber:

Pros- An athletic and exciting fighter who seeemed unbeatable until.....

Cons- His slopiness finally caught up to him, losing his WEC Featherweight title to Mike Brown. If Urijah can keep his cool in the inevitable rematch with Brown, I fully expect him to regain his status as the WEC poster boy.

Verdict- Should be a safe pick as the WEC will want him to get back into the W column sooner rather than later.


9. Shadow2003: Wanderlei Silva

Pros- His next fight is with someone who he holds a 2-0 record against, with both fights ending in devastating knockouts. Also, with a win at UFC 92 he could very well earn himself a title shot.

Cons- He's a mediocre 5-5 since his incredible 16 fight win streak in Pride.

Verdict- Nice pick, even with a loss he will be a staple on UFC main cards.


10. Drogo: Lyoto Machida

Pros- He has an unblemished record of 13-0 and has hardly taken a punch over his entire career.

Cons- With his elusive (some might say boring) style, the UFC seems tentative about giving him a shot for the belt or even against a top 5 contender.

Verdict- Great pick! Although his next opponent is no slouch, I expect Machida to continue using his elusive style to embarass opponents in the octagon.


11. Tennant35: Rich Franklin

Pros- If you forget about the losses to Silva (even tho Rich never will) "Ace" would be 11-0 in the octagon, that's pretty damn impressive.

Cons- Even if he gets past Hendo he may fall victim to the dreaded "TUF Coach Layoff" effectively removing him from action for 6 months.

Verdict- Risky pick due to the TUF Coach scenario, but with any luck the UFC will keep him fighting in the Light Heavyweight division.


12. LeeM: Dan Henderson

Pros- Great all around fighter who never seems to have an off night.

Cons- There's also been rumblings about Hendo being the next TUF Coach if he beats Franklin.

Verdict- See Rich Franklin.


13. DMF62469: Paul Taylor

Pros- Exciting kickboxer whose 3 of his last 4 fights have been "Fight of the Night" and who will probably be on every England card til the end of time.

Cons- Really needs to turn around his 2-3 in the octagon

Verdict- Questionable pick so early since he most likely would have lasted til the 3rd round atleast, but DMF clearly didnt want to risk losing Taylor, time will tell if he should have passed.


14. Vandenbrink: Matt Hamill

Pros- Has showed potential in his last 3 fights and should really be 2-1 over that period.

Cons- He's only 4-2 in his career.

Verdict- Similar situation to Taylor as Vandenbrink could have waited to see if Hamill lasted in the later rounds, but would've also risked losing a fighter who he feels is a must have sleeper. My theory is Vandenbrink is deaf and relates to Hamill or he in fact is Matt Hamill!


16. Hellboy: Kenny Florian

Pros- Since losing the Lightweight title fight KenFlo has been on a tear and looks vastly improved. With a win at UFC 91 he could very well earn himself another shot at the title.

Cons- He may still be a step down from the top 2 dogs in the division and if BJ wins the Superfight at UFC 94 then we might not see a Lightweight title fight for quite sometime.

Verdict- Good pick, he is the favorite going into this saturdays fight and is in the top 3 or 4 contenders in the Lightweight division.


17: DJ Syko: Thiago Alves

Pros- The Pitbull is coming off 2 huge victories against top competition. The really scary thing is that both these guys were world class wrestlers and neither could take him down and keep him there.

Cons- Even though he could be next in line for a Welterweight title shot he still may have to wait for GSP who with a victory at UFC 94 will most likely be looking towards Anderson Silva at Middleweight and not at Thiago Alves.

Verdict- Good pick, even if he has to wait for GSP i doubt the UFC will keep him sidelined, hopefully we see him get a rematch against Jon Fitch.



Feel free to defend yourself if I didnt give you a fair shake, or if you would just like to congratulate my genius thats cool too.

[DJ Syko]

My first pick was actually going to be Bisping but with the TUF9 he probably wont even fight until the end of next year.

When i picked Thiago i was kind of hoping he doesn't wait for a title shot and try to fight another top contender like you said a rematch Fitch or i would like to see him fight Sanchez.

[69nites]

Originally Posted by DJ Syko

My first pick was actually going to be Bisping but with the TUF9 he probably wont even fight until the end of next year.

When i picked Thiago i was kind of hoping he doesn't wait for a title shot and try to fight another top contender like you said a rematch Fitch or i would like to see him fight Sanchez.

GSP doesn't wait long between fights anyway. they should be fighting around april even if he waits. If I were him I'd wait but keep busy training to prepare for the fight ahead.

[DJ Syko]

Originally Posted by 69nites

GSP doesn't wait long between fights anyway. they should be fighting around april even if he waits. If I were him I'd wait but keep busy training to prepare for the fight ahead.

But like ThaFranchise said GSP will probably want to fight Anderson if he manages to beat BJ and if not April is still a long time away.
I think Alves will probably fight on the UFC 94 card to build up the title shot.

[69nites]

Originally Posted by DJ Syko

But like ThaFranchise said GSP will probably want to fight Anderson if he manages to beat BJ and if not April is still a long time away.
I think Alves will probably fight on the UFC 94 card to build up the title shot.

it would seriously piss me off if the WW division gets screwed twice in a row due to these stupid superfights...

[jbritt]

Originally Posted by ThaFranchise

4. jbritt: Miguel Torres:

Pros- Dominant Bantamweight, will most likely continue to sweep division at WEC 37.

Cons- Soon he'll be running out of competition to walk through.

Verict- 4th overall might seem high for him, as jbritt passed over 3 UFC champions, but in a 17 person draft this was most definately his only chance to take him.

Miguel Torres is a champion as well. Torres has the ability to end fights, and that gets you more points in the FFL. A champion like Forrest might not finish their fights all the time. There is nothing wrong with that, it's just I wanted to pick the person who I figured would get me the most points. Since he is always in a title fight( + points) and is usually the main event(+ points), I get those points added onto the ones from the fight. It all came down to the fact that he was a champion that I don't see losing for a while and the fact that he can finsh his fights.

I also love Torres and his mullet For me it was a pretty easy choice since GSP and Silva were gone. My 2 cents anywase

Realy great post though. repped

[ThaFranchise]

Originally Posted by jbritt

Miguel Torres is a champion as well. Torres has the ability to end fights, and that gets you more points in the FFL. A champion like Forrest might not finish their fights all the time. There is nothing wrong with that, it's just I wanted to pick the person who I figured would get me the most points.

Yea man I was kinda defending you decision, I think it was a good pick.

[jbritt]

Originally Posted by ThaFranchise

Yea man I was kinda defending you decision, I think it was a good pick.

Thanks, I realy wanted him. I wasn't gonna take a chance and not pick him.

[Vandenbrink]

Actually Hamill was at the end of my list when I sent it in. I had Forrest Griffin, Wandy, Kenflo,and Rich Franklin. I think I may have put Kenflo behind Hamill purely out of the order that I thought of them. I got Rashad Evans in the 2nd anyway so oh well.

[BrFighter07]

thafranchise what do you think of my picks