Jorge Gurgel was one of the most interesting and important parts of the very successful 2^nd season of The Ultimate Fighter. He was Ace’s boy on the show, but since then Jorge’s UFC career has been one compared to a roller coaster ride. Overall Jorge is 12-4 with an impressive 9 submission victories and it’s no question that he possesses one of the top Jits games in all of MMA. His career to date can be summed up in his last fight against Cole Miller. Miller is a product of one of the best gyms in the country at the American Top Team camp. Those at ATT are not shy to jits themselves and also have some of the best in the world. The fight between Cole and Jorge was a battle, a battle that Jorge seemed promised to win. With 14 seconds left in the all but sure majority victory Jorge got caught! The up and coming Cole Miller hit one of the best triangles MMA will see this year. A few seconds later the fight was over and Gurgel was left defeated, upset, and in a place he had never been before.He had lost 2 out of his last 3 fights with his lone victory coming over John Halverson. Could this be the end for Jorge Gurgel? Often times throughout his career, he has been mentioned as the guy who can’t win the big fight, or the guy who can’t perform under pressure, similar to an A-Rod of MMA. Since joining the UFC he has a combined record of 3 and 3. All of his wins coming by unanimous decision.

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UFC 71 was supposed to be just another fight for Keith Jardine. As he looked across the octagon at Houston Alexander he had no clue what the next few minutes would hold. Just 48 seconds into the fight, Jardine was finished, and a new superstar nicknamed The Assassin was upon us… or we thought. It appeared that a new name would surface in the 205 pound weight class. What a difference a year makes. Since getting TKO victories over Jardine and Alessio Sakara, Houston Alexander has dropped two straight and could be in serious trouble of being cut from the UFC.

In his last fight he was the result of an embarrassing 8 second loss, but even worse was the size of the holes in his game shown in the fight prior. Against Thiago Silva, Alexander showed that he may be a big strong guy with bricks in his hands, but he also showed us his lackluster ground game. He showed the world just how to beat him, and if you have a solid ground game you may have his number.

On September 17th, Houston will have the opportunity to fight for his spot in the world’s best MMA organization. He will step into the cage against Eric Schafer. Schafer has lost 2 straight against much bigger names in Stephan Bonnar and Michael Bisping. A loss for him could land him on the unemployed block as well.

Cole Miller once told me “you just see these guys fighting on TV so you assume because you’re not there yet that you are far away from that level but really some of these guys aren’t good at anything, they’re just tough.” Is Houston Alexander this type or is he a true MMA talent? Only time will tell but unfortunately for him, time is something that may be running out at the end of September.

Amir Sodollah is The Ultimate Fighter and now it is time for the coaches to battle. This Saturday in Las Vegas Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will step into the octagon to fight the real ultimate fighter in Forrest Griffin. These two were tapped to be the coaches for 7^th season of the UFC’s hit reality show because of their outgoing character, but many believe that the show was a let down and the two coaches weren’t as flamboyant as expected. Let down or not, the fight between the two promises to be the complete opposite. This is MMAOpinion’s UFC 86 preview.

Some say that this fight card is sub par to the ones that we will see in 2008. I am not sure that it is. In almost every fight there is some sort of story or style that can make it interesting.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin

It is no question that these two will stand and bang. This is going to be one exciting fight! Rampage is known as Chuck’s kryptonite. He is the man that dethroned the face of the UFC in Chuck Liddell. He is known for his slams as much as his flare outside of the cage. Rampage is all about the money and one sure way to rack up the bucks is to keep that belt around his waist. However one former Georgia Bulldog has another thing on his mind. Forrest Griffin will be looking to out work and utilize his game plan to perfection against the champ. Forrest has been on an amazing journey since being laughed at in the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter. Not only was he one of the most liked fighters from that season; he also helped put the sport on the map with his legendary fight with Stephan Bonnar. Forrest has showed that he has the huge heart and mental toughness to be champ. Now it is time for him to prove that he belongs atop this division with the big dawgs. This fight has fight of the night written all over it!

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