The Eyes of March

Greetings, friends.

March is shaping up to be quite the interesting month in the world of MMA. Brandon Vera just got his ass handed to him by a Bones Jones who showed us some next level s*** both on the ground and off, in addition to physical attributes which should be a major cause for concern for his fellow light heavies as he continues taking scalps with no sign of slowing. And, at 22, he's just getting started.

Alessio Sakara, clawing his way back from the bowels of MMA obscurity, put an end to his match with a manorexic looking James Irvin with a left hook that pushed the Sandman's eyeball halfway into his skull. Ouch.

Gabriel Gonzaga, while throwing a lead round kick, stepped sloppily into the left of Junior Dos Santos and out of immediate title contention, clearing another rung in Dos Santos' climb to the top of an increasingly compelling heavyweight division.

Bob Arum, God bless that man, gave me some serious belly laughs when he, in an interview with Fanhouse, referred to MMA fighters as skinheaded white guys rolling around like homosexuals. Brilliant. (I know, Bob, if I were a boxing promoter who came to the horrifying realization that all those oodles of money that used to go into my pocket are vaporizing into the MMA infused ether, I would be spewing some panicked gibberish myself).

And finally, we have this weekend's UFC, featuring, among other things, George St. Pierre's title defense against Dan Hardy and Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin.

Frank Mir is a highly competent, well rounded fighter who shows a consistent dedication to improving and posed a threat to anyone at any time. But I'm going to have to go with Carwin on this one. As technically sound as Mir is, I don't think he will be able to handle the 'X' factor Shane brings to the table. His sheer, brute strength, backed up with enough skill to get the job done, should, by my incredibly precise calculations, result in a knockout within three rounds.

As far as the main event is concerned, I'm not saying anything novel in predicting a St. Pierre victory; he is bringing too much to the table for me to think otherwise. I don't see Hardy out striking him. I don't picture Hardy winning a takedown or ground battle. St. Pierre's sheer physicality is such that I often think that either a) he's juicing, or b) he's one of those genetic freaks that come along once every couple of decades.

With that said, I have to come out and say that Dan Hardy tugs at my MMA heartstrings. He's an underdog who embodies that punk spirit that reminds me of some footage I saw of a Sex Pistols concert in which Sid Vicious flips the bird at the audience as he plays guitar, prompting someone to throw a bottle which hits him dead in the middle of his face. As he watches the ensuing gush of blood land on his chest, he looks up and f*****g SMILES! Now that is hard core.) How can you not love it when he threatens to beat the fake tan off of St. Pierre?

Dan Hardy could give a rat's ass whether people think he can win or not, and he is not about to let anyone else, particularly some UFC golden boy who can jump over your head, keep him from his goals. Sure, it's a long shot, and his strategy of exposing St. Pierre's alleged glass jaw is flimsy at best, but a part of me secretly hopes that, while guys like me are typing opinions on a laptop at Starbuck's and guys like him are fighting, Dan Hardy will show us where we can stick our opinions. Go get 'em.