Here's my UFC 78 picks, compared with the results.

So I didn't write up a preview or anything, but here is a screenshot of my predictions and the results that I made on MMAplayground.com

UFC 76 tonight at 10pm on PPV. Here's my picks.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Forrest Griffin

This is the UFC debut of Shogun. He is the number 1 ranked fighter in the Light-Heavyweight division. A division which houses fighters like Rampage, Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, etc. So this says something about how people view Shogun. He's taking on the TUF poster boy in Forrest Griffin. Say what you will about Forrest, he's got balls. He asked for this fight. I'd love to see Forrest pull of the upset, I'm a sucker for the upset, but I've got Shogun winning by a first round TKO.

Keith Jardine vs. Chuck Liddell

This is a fight where Chuck COULD conceivably lose if he gets caught, but I don't expect it to happen. Chuck is gonna knock him out in the first round.

Jon Fitch vs. Diego Sanchez

I've changed my pick on this fight in the last couple days. I REALLY like Jon Fitch. He's probably one of my top 3 favorite fighters. He's someone that most people don't know who he really is and how tough he is but the guy is legit. The problem is I have a LOT of trouble picking Diego Sanchez to lose twice in a row. In basically all of Fitch's fights he's had to escape a rear naked choke. I think this time he'll get caught in one. I hate picking against Fitch tho....

Lyoto Machida vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura

Machida is a really good fighter, in probably his toughest fight yet against PRIDE vet Nakamura. I don't see him finishing this fight, and will end up getting the decision win.

Tyson Griffin vs. Thiago Tavares

This fight could steal the show tonight. Tyson Griffin always puts on an excellent fight and Thiago Tavares looks absolutely dynamic against Jason Black. This is a HARD fight to pick, but I'm taking Tavares to get a triangle choke victory in round 2.

Rich Clementi vs. Anthony Johnson

I'll be honest, I can't see very many situations where I'm gonna pick Rich Clementi in a fight. He just doesn't impress me. I think Johnson is going to knock him out sometime in round 2.

Michihiro Omigawa vs. Matt Wiman

I don't have much to say about this one. I've got Wiman getting an early takedown and ground and pounding his way to a TKO win.

Scott Junk vs. Christian Wellisch

I see this fight being sorta boring. I've got the wrestler in Wellisch taking down the puncher Junk and taking a decision.

Diego Saraiva vs. Jeremy Stephens

Saraiva takes a decision win on this one. He's gotta break this UFC winless streak in this fight or else he's going to probably get cut.

FREE MMA TONIGHT!!! I love these nights where there is a free Spike TV card. All the festivities start at 8pm, with UFC Unleashed (They always show a few great fights on there.) At 9pm is the live show. At 11pm is The Ultimate Fighter season 6 debut!!! I'm pumped for all of it! UFC 76 is Saturday night also.

Kenny Florian vs. Din Thomas

This is a really tough fight to call. Kenflo has looked really good as of late, as has Thomas. I'm thinking this one ends as a split decision, with the winner being Kenny Florian.

Junior Assuncao vs. Nate Diaz

Nate Diaz is coming off his win of TUF 5, and typically when that happens, you book the winner against a guy you expect them to beat. I can't see Assuncao being able to do anything better than Diaz, and I've got him getting a late first round submission by RNC.

Chris Leben vs. Terry Martin

This is going to be a WAR (or at least on paper it should be.) These two guys hit hard, and will hold nothing back in and attempt to take each other's heads off. I'm picking Martin to get a KO, but I'll throw this in here... If Chris Leben goes for a takedown and tries to submit Martin, I would see this as being a very smart gameplan to help him end his losing skid. However, in the end I'm not too confident he's going to go with that gameplan and on the feet I'll take Martin.

Nate Quarry vs. Pete Sell

This is a rematch of a fight that was ended prematurely. Nate Quarry is coming off of major back surgery, while Pete Sell is coming off getting the flood mopped with him by Thales Leites. I'm taking Quarry to win yet again, with a second round TKO victory.

Jonathan Goulet vs. Dustin Hazelett

Hazelett comes in as a late replacement for Mike Swick. Good thing for the "chinny" Goulet, as I'd have picked him to get KOed early in the first against Hazelett. That doesn't mean I'm picking him though. Dustin is slick on the ground, and I think he'll get a second round submission by armbar.

Leonard Garcia vs. Cole Miller

I REALLY want to see this fight. However, it isn't televised unless we get really lucky. This fight should keep a fast pace and be really exciting. I really like both guys. I'm picking Cole Miller to catch an armbar in the second round. I wouldn't be shocked in the least bit to see Garcia win by TKO. This was a really tough call for me.

Gray Maynard vs. Joe Veres

Maynard by first round TKO. Nuff said.

Thiago Alves vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka

Another fight I REALLY want to see. I think Alves will come out too strong and take a TKO in round 2. If Hironaka takes it I'd say it would be by a decision, but that's not what I'm picking.

Edilberto Crocota vs. Luke Cummo

Luke is one of those guys that is too easy to overlook. He's really weird, and doesn't have any particular part of his game that is overwhelming. Crocota was a guy I expected to come into the UFC blazing, and then he got whooped by Paul Taylor. With that being said, I'm picking Crocota to get a second round KO, however, I'm sort of feeling like whatever I pick in this fight, the opposite is gonna happen.

A thought came to me the other day that I've been mulling over, and I thought I'd throw it out there for people to toss in their two cents on the subject.

Recently I was reading some movie reviews, and a christian friend left one about the new Adam Sandler-Kevin James movie, in which the two guys fake a "domestic partnership" for the benefits. Anyway, the friend had commented that if the movie was about what they thought it was about (gay marriage) then they weren't interested.

So my question is this. What seperates a movie about homosexuality (regardless of whether that's ACTUALLY what this movie is about) from movies where murders take place? The same goes for movies like the Ocean's series where you basically root for these people to successfully rob from whatever their current target is?

Now don't get me wrong when asking this question. I am not taking a stance against any of these movies. I've watched the first two Ocean's movies. I've watched plenty of movies with murder taking place, and the Sandler movie is one I'd like to see. I'm just curious as to what other people's takes are. Are we annointing homosexuality worse than these other things? Where do you stand on this question? If you're not one against these types of films, then where is the line for you as far as what is acceptable viewing?

I look forward to some responses, hopefully.

EliteXC/Strikeforce Predictions:

Frank Shamrock (184 lbs.) vs. Phil Baroni (183 lbs.) - Baroni by KO
Josh Thomon (154 lbs.) vs. Nick Gonzalez (155 lbs.) - Thomson by armbar
Paul Buentello (250 1/2 lbs.) vs. Carter Williams (265 1/2 lbs.) - Williams by KO
Murilo "Ninja" Rua (184 lbs.) vs. Joey Villasenor (184 lbs.) - Ninja by decision
Cung Le (179 lbs.) vs. Tony Fryklund (177 1/2 lbs.) - Cung Le by TKO
Duane "Bang" Ludwig (170 lbs.) vs. Paul Daley (170 lbs.) - Bang by KO
Edson Berto (155 lbs.) vs. Victor Valenzuela (155 lbs.) - Valenzuela by TKO
Rex Richards (305 1/2 lbs.) vs. Ray Seraille (265 1/2 lbs.) - Richards by decision
Jason Von Flue (173 lbs.) vs. Luke Stewart (173 lbs.) - Von Flue by arm triangle
Mike Pyle (168 1/2 lbs.) vs. Aaron Witherspoon (168 1/2 lbs.) - Witherspoon by Rear naked choke

I'm not overly in the mood to type up explanations on my picks, so here are some quick ones. I'm not ordering the event. A combonation of a lackluster card and the timing of the card. I'm ordering Strikeforce on Friday instead.

Rich Franklin vs. Yushin Okami - Franklin by 2nd round TKO

Forrest Griffin vs. Hector Ramirez - Ramirez by 2nd round KO

Jason MacDonald vs. Rory Singer - MacDonald by armbar

Tyson Griffin vs. Clay Guida - Griffin by decision

Marcus Davis vs. Jason Tan - Davis by submission via rear naked choke in the second round

Colin Robinson vs. Eddie Sanchez - Sanchez by first round TKO

Ed Herman vs. Scott Smith - Smith by decision

Dustin Hazelett vs. Steve Lynch - Hazlett by submission via guillotine choke in round one

This one is live on Tuesday night at 9pm on Spike TV. I'm always excited for free MMA, so I'll be watching this one. Saturday brings UFC 72, which I won't be ordering. (it's on at 3pm because it is in Ireland. Well, that and it's not a card I plan on paying 40 bucks for.) Then the week after has the TUF 5 finale on Saturday, as well as a Strikeforce PPV headlined by Phil Baroni vs. Frank Shamrock, which I will be ordering, as a replacement for UFC 72 (and because it is an awesome card.) Enjoy the preview.

Sam Stout Vs. Spencer Fisher

This is a rematch of a very exciting fight from UFC 58 in which Stout won a close decision. Spencer Fisher had to cut like 22 pounds in 2 days in order to take this fight on short notice. The rematch has the potential to be equally as exciting. I've been going back and forth on who I was going to pick for this one for a while now. I've sort of realized no matter which guy I pick, I'm not going to be all that confident with it. I think I'm taking Stout again though. I think he'll get a second round TKO win. Up until today I thought Fisher would redeem himself, but something tells me he won't, so I'm going with that.

Roan Carneiro Vs. Jon Fitch

Carneiro debuted in the UFC by controlling Rich Clementi in a 3 round decision victory. However, he's facing a different monster in Jon Fitch. While Fitch will have to be on his toes in avoiding Roan's BJJ, I think he'll roll through him, with an impressive TKO victory, setting him up for a big fight with (hopefully) Karo Parisyan.

Jordan Radev Vs. Drew McFedries

All reports say that this fight should be a sligfest. McFedries hits had, and apparently Radev likes to bang as well. Since most fights that were supposed to be wars haven't ended that way lately, I'm taking McFedries to win this one in a very quick KO victory.

Jason Black Vs. Thiago Tavares

This is a fight that I really want to see. Thiago Tavares comes into this fight with an undefeated record and a win in the UFC. However, Jason Black is no joke, coming into the fight with a 21-2 record with his only losses against veterens Shonie Carter and Shinya Aoki. I look for Black to impress in this fight, getting a win with a triangle choke.

Forrest Petz Vs. Luigi Fioravanti

This fight pits two UFC vets coming off of recent losses. However, I really think Luigi is a good fighter who has happened to lose to good fighter, while Forrest has struggled to come up big since beating Sammy Morgan in his UFC debut. I think Luigi wins this one with a KO victory.

Tamdan McCrory Vs. Pete Spratt

It seems like this should be one of those fights that are right up Pete Spratt's alley. They bring in an undefeated fighter for him who likes to stand up, which is different than a lot of the opponents they've given him. However, I don't think this fight is going to follow that plan. I think McCrory will knock Spratt out cold in round 2 and get a big win in his UFC debut.

Jeff Cox Vs. Gleison Tibau

I really don't have much to say about this one. Tibau should be able to win this one. I've got him with an armbar victory.

Anthony Johnson Vs. Chad Reiner

Reiner was origonally scheduled to fight another opponent in Steve Bruno before he had to pull out of this fight and they found the relatively unknown Johnson on short notice. Reiner impressed people hanging in there for 3 rounds with Burkman in his UFC debut, and I look for him to win this one by decision.

Luke Caudillo Vs. Nate Mohr

I don't really know what I think of this fight. I don't know much about either of them. I think I'm going with Mohr based off the fact that he's at least already had a UFC fight before. He'll get a decision in this one.

Here's my preview for UFC 71 on Saturday on ppv at 10pm. I can't WAIT for this show and I'm definitely ordering. if you're interested in seeing it, let me know, you're welcome to join us (though I expect no one takes me up on that lol.)

Chuck Liddell vs. Quinton Jackson

This is a fight MMA fans have been wanting to see for a long time. The last time Chuck lost, was in 2003 to Rampage (http://www.megaupload.com/?d=J9KKNPC5 if you've never gotten to see it.) Chuck has since went on to beat on anyone put in front of him, and avenge his other two losses to Randy Couture and Jeremy Horn. Rampage debuted in the UFC with a KO victory over Marvin Eastman, but nerves definitely played a part in his performance in that fight. I don't think nerves will be a problem for Rampage in this fight though. Chuck has amazing takedown defense. This will be key in this fight for him. However, Rampage is STRONG. Find a way to watch his fight against Ricardo Arona if you don't believe me. Still I think Chuck's striking is just too good, and he should be able to keep the fight in his world, and knock Rampage out in round 3 or 4. The key to the fight for Rampage is can he take Chuck down, and what does he do with it from there. I know that Rampage basically outstruck Chuck last time, but I think he'll use leg kicks to his advantage this time, making the striking game very different this time. I think Rampage will get one takedown, maybe in round 2, but will be be able to finish is the key to the fight for him. I'm guessing no.

Josh Burkman vs. Karo Parisyan

I'm pretty excited for this fight. Karo Parisyan fights are always exciting ones, so it is hard to not get excited to see him fight. Burkman won me over as a fan when I saw him take out Melvin Guillard on TUF, so this is one I can't wait for. I think this fight is going to end up going to decision to be honest. I think they will just battle it out. The deciding factor to me was actually made up when Burkman basically said he thought he'd be stronger than Karo on the countdown show. I think Karo will use his strength to control him throughout the fight and take a unanimous decision.

Keith Jardine vs. Houston Alexander

After a big win over Forrest Griffin, it seems as though Jardine is being given a fight with the intent of keeping him busy with we see how the light heavyweight division pans out with the Liddell fight, and the upcoming UFC 73 fight with Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans. I think Jardine should be able to win this fight any way he wants to. He's probably best on the ground, but seems to like the standup game best. I'm taking Jardine in this one by a late first round TKO by a flurry of punches.

Terry Martin vs. Ivan Salaverry

Terry Martin proved that he has good punching power at 185lbs by shocking the world (just not me, since I picked the win) and KOing Jorge Rivera. he comes into this fight and takes on Ivan Salaverry, who returns to the octagon for the first time since UFN 1. Salaverry is such a well rounded fighter, and I think that will prove to be to his advantage. I think he'll use his wrestling skills to put Martin on his back, where he'll pick up an arm bar victory.

Chris Leben vs. Kalib Starnes

This is a fight that I've been going back and forth on now. Now, if you read my previews, you know I'm a big fan of Chris Leben. Conversely, I don't like Kalib Starnes. However, that says nothing about him as a fighter. I think he's a very good fighter. Honestly, I think this is one of those matchups that could make for a very explosive fight. Picking a winner, however, is not easy. There are two big factors in this fight. One is, how serious Chris Leben takes his training for this fight. The second is, whether Starnes gameplan is to stand and trade, or to take it to the ground. If he wants a standup fight, I don't think he can win. however, if he wants to take it to the ground, the fight is very winnable for him. I really would like to just skip this one and not pick a winner, but for the sake of doing it, I'll take Leben by second round TKO due to strikes.

Jeremy Stephens vs. Din Thomas

In Din Thomas' last fight in the UFC, he had a very close decision go his way. Now he takes on a fighter I know very little about that sports an 8-1 record. Frankly I just feel like Din is going to be too much for him, and controls the fight until he takes Stephens' back and submits him with a RNC.

James Irvin vs. Thiago Silva

This fight should turn out to be a war. All James Irvin ever wants to do is stand up and bang. Fortunately for him, they brought in another fighter who also likes to bang. Thiago Silva is a Chute Boxe fighter with a 9-0 professional record. I'm picking him to get the win in this one by KO over Irvin. He's never really impressed me in the fights I've seen of him, and while he's good at dealing with adversity (he's been losing the two UFC appearences that he happened to win at the time of KOing them.) I just think he's going to get outstruck in this one and lose to a KO by head kick.

Sean Salmon vs. Alan Belcher

We all remember Sean Salmon's debut in the UFC. There was a viscious head kick, and he was unconscious. He drops down a weight class to take on Alan "The Talent" Belcher, who is coming off of a loss to Kendall Groves. He was origonally slated to take on Eric Schafer, whom I thought was an easier fight for him. I still think he'll win this one, but it's going to be tough. Belcher can strike pretty well, but I think Salmon will use his wrestling to neutralize that striking, and ground and pound a victory.

Wilson Gouveia vs. Carmelo Marrero

This is a pretty intruiging matchup to me. I really like Gouveia's skills. He's got crisp standup, with some killer leg kicks. However, he's taking on a man who is moving down from heavyweight, who holds a win against beastly striker Cheick Kongo in that weight class. After being dominated by Gonzaga (which we later found out isn't something to be embarrassed about.) I feel like Marrero's wrestling skills should probably prevent Gouveia from really utilizing his leg kicks, and Marrero should be able to really keep position, and score a decision victory. I'd really like to see Gouveia take this one, but I just see it as a difficult matchup for him, even if he does have a solid ground game.

So I leave work tonight at about 8:10pm. I stop at the 7-11 and get some Doritos, an icecream bar, and a drink. I start heading down Mechanic street (on bike or course) and I get to the intersection of Mechanic and hodges, which is a 4 way stop. I stop, and start heading through, when a car comes through, doesn't stop, and hits me. Hard. They slam into my back half of my bike, sending my bike in one direction, and me in another. I tumbled, flipped a little, and landed.

Now, a couple of notes. I do not wear a bike helmet. I was wearing an orange sweatshirt, and was eating my icecream bar.

Well, I landed PERFECTLY. Not a scratch on me. I'm a little bit sore now that the night is progressing, but yeah, I'm completely fine. Now my bike, ruined. The back rim is all bent out of shape. Let me also mention that I someone managed to not drop the icecream, nor did my glasses even come off of my head.

The guy (or girl) stopped, saw me get up, and then left. So yeah, I didn't get a license plate or anything like that. I saw too in the whole "did I really just get hit by a car" mode. All I know it was a black mids-ized SUV. So basically I'm left with a little soreness and a broken bike, but considering, I'm pretty lucky.

All I can say tho, is: Holy crap, I got hit by a car!!!