Tag: Ultimate Fighting Championship (Page 3 of 7)

      UFC 125 Picks & Predictions

      January 1, 2011 /

      UFC 125 takes place on Saturday from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The event features five very intriguing and exciting fights, headlined by a battle for the UFC Lightweight Championship. Here are my thoughts on who will win on the main card bouts.

      UFC Lightweight Championship – Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard: I look for the champion to retain his belt and avenge a prior loss to Maynard in 2008. Since that time I feel like Edgar has improved greatly as a fighter while Maynard is simply a slightly better version of himself. Maynard will get some takedowns on the champ, but I expect Edgar to bounce back up and use his boxing to tire the challenger before scoring some takedowns in the later rounds to earn a decision victory.

      UFC Middleweight Bout – Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann: While this fight doesn’t deserve co-main event status, it still should be exciting. Leben is riding a wave of momentum that will not be stopped on Saturday as his punching power should carry him to a third round TKO of Stann, who will put up a game effort.

      UFC Light Heavyweight Bout – Brandon Vera vs. Thiago Silva: This may be Vera’s final UFC fight as I expect Silva to pressure him and not let him set up his kicks. Silva will do a good job of closing the distance and overwhelming Vera with his power and grappling ability. I like Silva to win by unanimous decision.

      UFC Welterweight Bout – Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim: Kim is a very under-rated fighter as he is kind of like the Yushin Okami of this weight class as is very strong and bigger than anyone else in the weight class. I like Kim to use that size to get Diaz to the ground and keep him from using his boxing. It probably won’t be the most exciting fight, but it will be another decision win for Kim.

      UFC Lightweight Bout – Takanori Gomi vs. Clay Guida: I like Guida and the energy he brings to a fight, but his short arms tend to put him in bad spots against strikers. I think Guida will get careless early in the fight and get caught with a big punch by Guida while will lead to a TKO finish in the opening round.

      Mixed Martial Arts, UFC

      UFC 124 Picks & Predictions

      December 11, 2010 /
      NEWARK, NJ - MARCH 27: UFC fighter Georges St-Pierre (R) battles Dan Hardy (L) during their Welterweight title bout at UFC 111 at the Prudential Center on March 27, 2010 in Newark, New Jersey. St-Pierre won by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 of the 5th round. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

      UFC 124 takes place tonight from Montreal and the main event features a contest for the UFC Welterweight contest. Here are my picks for this UFC PPV.

      UFC Welterweight Championship Bout – Georges St. Pierre (20-2) vs. Josh Koscheck (17-4): This is a rematch from a bout in 2007 that St. Pierre won by unanimous decision. Koscheck has the skills to beat St. Pierre but lacks the big-fight experience and overall composure that St. Pierre brings to the octagon. Look for GSP to come out wanting to strike and Koscheck looking for takedowns, as each wants to come out showing strength in what is their perceived weakness. Ultimately I think St. Pierre has more skills and will out-class Koscheck an score a fourth round submission by choke.

      UFC Heavyweight Bout – Stefan Struve (23-4) vs. Sean McCorkle (10-0): McCorkle has been making waves for his trash talk, but he still is young to the UFC while Struve has experience in the octagon and has good skills to compare to a grappler like McCorkle. I think Struve will handle a fast start from McCorkle and then find a way to finish him via choke in the third round.

      UFC Lightweight Bout – Jim Miller (18-2) vs. Charles Oliveira (14-0): Oliveira has had a great start to his UFC career, but I think he runs into a bad matchup with Miller, who is a superior wrestler that will be able to get him to the ground and control him while avoiding Oliveira’s slick submissions. I like Miller to dominate the fight on the ground and score a decision win.

      UFC Lightweight Bout – Joe Stevenson (36-11) vs. Mac Danzig (20-8-1): Stevenson has been showing improvement over his last few fights but he needs a win, as he has lost three of his last five bouts. Danzig has lost four of his last five bouts and needs a win to stay in the UFC. His desperation should bring out his best efforts while Stevenson should also be on top of his game. Ultimately, Stevenson is the better wrestler while the two are comparable in striking, so that should be enough to earn him the decision win.

      UFC Welterweight Bout – Thiago Alves (22-6) vs. John Howard (14-5): This fight should be a slugfest as both men are at their strongest working their muay thai striking. Alves has better form while Howard has better power but the key to this fight is that Howard is coming off a fight where he dominated by a lesser opponent than Alves while Alves hasn’t struggled with strikers in his career. Alves should be able to work leg kicks and tire Howard before finishing him with a barrage in the third round.

      External Sports, UFC

      UFC 121 Picks and Predictions

      October 23, 2010 /
      Nov 15, 2008 - Las Vegas, Nevada, USA - UFC's BROCK LESNAR celebrates his victory over Champion RANDY COUTURE in their title fight Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV. Lesnar won the title and the fight in 3:07 of the second round after the referee stopped the fight Photo via Newscom

      UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez takes place Saturday night from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. featuring a monumental main event for the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Here is my take on the card and who will win the main card bouts.

      UFC Heavyweight Championship – Brock Lesnar (5-1) vs. Cain Velasquez (8-0): This is the biggest heavyweight bout the UFC could put together right now and Velasquez has a great chance to win the belt. The key will be for him to be able to stop the takedown attempts and keep the fight standing, where he has better striking and faster hands. Lesnar showed that he can be hurt in his last fight against Shane Carwin, but I think Velasquez has the endurance to see the victory through.

      UFC Welterweight Bout – Jake Shields (25-4-1) vs. Martin Kampmann (17-3): Shields is making his UFC debut and many are penciling him in as the next to challenge Georges St. Pierre for the welterweight title, but I actually like Kampmann in an upset here as he has an all-around and aggressive style that can give Shields problems. Kampmann has only lost to strikers in his career, and Shields is far from an elite striker. I like Kampmann to win by decision in this one.

      UFC Welterweight Bout – Diego Sanchez (23-4) vs. Paulo Thiago (13-2): Thiago has beaten some solid contenders in the welterweight division, but he has struggled with superior grapplers, losing to Jon Fitch and Kampmann. Sanchez got dominated in his last two fights and is desperate for a win, and I think he will come out motivated and looking to control the fight from the start with his pacing and wrestling. I like Sanchez to squeak out a decision against Thiago.

      UFC Light Heavyweight Bout – Tito Ortiz (16-7-1) vs. Matt Hamill (10-2): Ortiz hasn’t won a fight since 2006 and while Hamill is lacking in some key areas, I think he has a better all-around game than Ortiz, who is pretty one dimensional with wrestling as his strength. Look for Hamill to move around and work kicks before scoring some late takedowns to get a decision win over Ortiz.

      UFC Heavyweight Bout – Brendan Schaub (7-1) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (11-5): Schaub has a lot of promise and is an up-and-comer while Gonzaga is still holding on to a little bit of relevance, but has lost four of his last seven fights, with all of the losses coming by TKO. Schaub has won his last two fights by quick KO, so this fight should have plenty of fireworks. Look for Schaub to get the win as he has the quicker hands and is the better technical striker.

      External Sports, Mixed Martial Arts, UFC

      UFC 119 Picks & Predictions

      September 25, 2010 /

      UFC 119 takes place tonight from the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The card doesn’t have a major fight that will have an impact on the landscape of the organization but each of the five main card bouts should be competitive and entertaining contests. Here are my picks for the show.

      UFC Heavyweight Bout – Frank Mir (13-5) vs. Mirko Cro Cop (27-7-2) – Cro Cop took this fight on somewhat short notice as this was originally supposed to be a rematch of Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. On top of that, Cro Cop is not 100 percent coming into the fight as he is dealing with an eye injury. Cro Cop is a step slower than he was in his prime while Mir has improved his striking while still being one of the best submission fighters in all of MMA. I see Mir landing a big punch in the second round before jumping on Cro Cop and finishing with a choke.

      UFC Light Heavyweight Bout – Antonio Rogerio Nogueria (19-3) vs. Ryan Bader (12-0) – This fight is a big contest for both as each needs the win to really get into the title picture in this division. The key to the bout will be Bader’s wrestling, as his explosiveness should win out against Nogueira. If Bader can avoid the big hit and close the distance in the fight, he should be able to win a decision by grinding out the fight on top with ground and pound.

      UFC Welterweight Bout – Matt Serra (17-6) vs. Chris Lytle (29-17-4) – I see this fight going similarly to the first. Lytle is an entertaining and experienced fighter, but he never has been able to get that marquee win in his career. Serra really just has the win over Georges St. Pierre to go bye, but he has always been a tough guy to beat as well. In this fight I see Serra controlling the fight with his grappling. The only way I don’t see him winning by decision is if he gets too confident in his striking.

      UFC Lightweight Bout – Sean Sherk (37-4-1) vs. Evan Dunham (11-0) – Sherk used to dominate the division with his strength and wrestling, but recently his opponents have been able to avoid his takedowns with their strength and they have been faster with their striking, which has caused Sherk to lose two of his last three bouts. Dunham has that same style to beat Sherk. Sherk will struggle to get the fight to the ground and Dunham will be a little quicker to the punch. I like Dunham to win this fight by decision.

      UFC Lightweight Bout – Melvin Guillard (43-9-3) vs. Jeremy Stephens (18-5) – This fight should be explosive as both have big power and like to swing with everything they have in each punch. The key in this bout will be Guillard’s inability to fight off his back as Stephens trains with Hermes Franca and has some grappling skills that many haven’t seen yet. I see Stephens getting takedowns late to set up for some ground and pound and a TKO finish in the third.

      External Sports, Mixed Martial Arts, UFC

      UFC 118 Picks & Predictions

      August 28, 2010 /
      PHILADELPHIA - AUGUST 08: Lightweight champion BJ Penn (R) battles Kenny Florian during their lightweight championship title bout at UFC 101: Declaration at the Wachovia Center on August 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

      UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2 takes place tonight from the TD Garden in Boston and the card is stacked with intriguing fights from the main event UFC Lightweight title bout to the MMA vs. Boxing match featuring James “Lights Out” Toney and UFC Hall of Famer Randy “The Natural” Couture. Here are my picks for tonight’s event.

      UFC Lightweight Championship Bout: Frankie Edgar (12-1) vs. B.J. Penn (15-6-1) – Edgar won a close decision in the first match where Penn was heavily favored. This time around, we should expect to see the Penn we thought we would see the first time around. While Edgar has a good skill set to beat Penn, as he is quick with sharp strikes and good wrestling, he doesn’t have the natural talent that Penn has. Look for Penn to work his jab and put together combinations on Edgar, slowly breaking him apart before choking him out in round four.

      UFC Heavyweight Bout: Randy Couture (18-10) vs. James Toney (0-0) – This fight has gotten more hype than any other on the card as it marks the first time a legitimate boxing champion is stepping into the octagon. While Toney has one-punch knockout power, Couture is too smart to be beaten that easily. Couture will push Toney up against the cage early and work his dirty boxing before eventually scoring a takedown and finishing with a submission. Toney is too big and slow to be able to keep Couture from getting him to the ground.

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      External Sports, Mixed Martial Arts, UFC

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