UFC 126 takes place tonight from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and this card is stacked from top to bottom with intriguing and exciting bouts. Here are my picks for tonight’s main card.

UFC Middleweight Championship: Anderson Silva (27-4) vs. Vitor Belfort (19-8) – This is the first time Silva will be facing a striker that may have equal or greater hand speed than him, so this could be his toughest test to date. However, Silva is much more of a complete fighter, as he mixes in kicks, knees, elbows, and has a black belt in jiu-jitsu. While Belfort has one-punch KO power, I think Silva finds a way to get past him and puts on another impressive performance.

Light Heavyweight Bout: Forrest Griffin (17-6) vs. Rich Franklin (28-5) – Both of these guys are former champions in the UFC and both are trying to stay relevant within the organization. This should be a good scrap as both fighters always bring the fight. Franklin should have the edge in striking with his awkward style and angles, but Griffin has a big size advantage and I expect him to use that to smother Franklin and score takedowns, which will earn him a decision victory.UFC Light Heavyweight Bout: Jon Jones (11-1) vs. Ryan Bader (12-0) – This is a fight of the top two young up-and-comers in the division and the winner will be thrust into the top 5 of the division. Jones is such a unique fighter in terms of style and length while Bader is a great wrestler with good power in his hands. I think Jones has more ways to win this fight and will be able to stay off his back against Bader. I see Jones landing a big knee when Bader comes in for a shot, which sets up a TKO finish in round two.

UFC Bantamweight Bout: Miguel Torres (37-3) vs. Antonio Banuelos (19-6): Torres is one of the top bantamweights in the world and he has changed up his training in hopes to becoming a more complete and patient fighter. I see him picking apart Banuelos, who will look to grapple. I see Torres landing a nice combination in the second round before dropping Banuelos and jumping on him to secure a choke for a submission victory.

UFC Welterweight Bout: Jake Ellenberger (23-5) vs. Carlos Rocha (9-0) – Rocha is a very dangerous and slick submission fighter, but I see him struggling with Ellenberger’s wrestling. I look for Ellenberger to land takedowns and ground strikes while avoiding submission attempts to earn a decision victory over Rocha and continue to move up the welterweight ranks.

According to Jeremy Botter at HeavyMMA.com, Miguel Torres will take on Antonio Banuelos at UFC 126.

Heavy.com has learned that former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres will take on Antonio Banuelos at UFC 126.

The Super Bowl weekend event takes place on Feb. 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Anderson Silva defends his UFC middleweight title against Vitor Belfort in the main event, while perennial welterweight contender Jon Fitch takes on Jake Ellenberger in the co-main event of the evening.

The bout will serve as the UFC debut for both Torres and Banuelos and will take place on the pay per view portion of the event. Torres recently scored a victory over Charlie Valencia at WEC 51 after dropping two fights to Brian Bowles and Joseph Benavidez, while Banuelos defeated Chad George.
Torres will appear on tonight’s edition of MMA Live.

Head to HeavyMMA.com for more UFC news.

A crowd of over 14,000 fans rocked Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif. Saturday night to cheer on their hometown hero, Urijah Faber, as he headed to the cage to take on the World Extreme Cagefighting Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo.

All week the buzz has surrounded the city of Sacramento for this fight between Aldo and Faber, the headline bout of WEC 48, which was presented by AMP Energy. The event was the WEC’s first run at putting on a pay-per-view show and Aldo vs. Faber was the biggest fight the promotion could put on.

But just as much as the fans rocked Arco Arena as Faber headed to the cage with “California Love” blasting in the background, was as quiet as the arena got as Aldo picked apart their king in a decisive five-round unanimous decision victory.

“There is no doubt that (Aldo) is one of the best in the world, period,” WEC and UFC President, Dana White, said of the champion after the fight. “That is of all fighters, not just in his weight division. He’s definitely on the pound-for-pound (best fighters) list.”

Aldo came in as the favorite, but the local crowd truly believed in Faber. After all, he has been the city’s rallying cry seeing as their NBA franchise has struggled in recent years. The town even made April 22 “Urijah Faber Day,” earlier in the week. But, early in the first round of Saturday’s fight, it became clear that Faber was out-matched by the younger and faster Aldo.

From the start, Faber struggled to develop his timing in his strikes while Aldo unleashed leg kicks to Faber’s lead left leg. Late in the opening round Faber started to show signs of ware in the leg, and it only got worse as time passed.

Read the rest of this entry »

World Extreme Cagefighting breaks into the Pay-Per View market on Saturday for WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber, presented by AMP Energy, from the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California.

The main card features five fights, including two title bouts. Here is a look at each fight and my expected outcomes.

WEC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo (16-1) vs. Urijah Faber (23-3): This fight is a big one. Not just for the WEC, but for MMA as a whole. Aldo is the young phenom at 24, who has dominated his opponents in a quick and explosive fashion. Faber is the former champion who was considered an unstoppable phenom years ago. Now, at 30, a loss for Faber could change the entire outlook on his career. He will have the bonus of fighting in his hometown, but that won’t matter in the cage. Look for this fight to be explosive but for Faber to utilize his strength and wrestling to get the fight to his advantage. If Faber can survive the opening explosion from Aldo, the fight is his. I suspect Faber will survive and earn a submission win in the fourth round.

Read the rest of this entry »