UFC 164 Henderson VS Pettis – Pre-Fight Predictions

Holy shit, I haven’t put out a blog post for more than a month, almost two now. I know, its because Angel Hesseltine and I have been waking up in the middle of the night for three months with our new baby Colton! (who besides the lack of sleep, he is simply amazing)

So what better way to get back into the blogosphere by giving you some of my pre-fight predictions for UFC 164 going down tomorrow night, Sept. 1, 2013 on PPV. Arizona native Benson Henderson currently holds the lightweight belt and if you do not know the history behind this fight, I urge you to watch this video of the kick heard round the world. Anthony Pettis jumped off the cage in WEC 53 in 2010 and took the championship bout from Henderson. The fight won ‘Fight of the Night’ AND ‘Fight of the Year.’

Enough about that, lets get into the predictions shall we?

Benson Henderson (c) VS Anthony Pettis (Lightweight)

Both Henderson (@BensonHenderson) and Pettis (@showtimepettis) are very skilled fighters and have a lot of wins under their belts, Pettis may have the advantage by having already beat Henderson in WEC 53 but on the flip side, I’m sure Henderson wants his revenge to avenge the loss. Pettis carries a 3^rd degree black belt in Taekwondo and a Purple belt in BJJ as well as a professional MMA record of 16-2 while Henderson has a black belt in both as well as an All American Wrestler in NAIA and a 19-2 record. This is going to be a close fight. In a recentarticle posted on Yahoo! Sports, Pettis’ coach compares to Pettis a MichaelJordon of MMA. Not sure if he has the accreditation to cite those claims but it does give you an alternate view of Pettis and his history.  

Looking at the opponents that each have fought, Henderson has notable wins over Nate Diaz, Clay Guida, Jim Miller, as well as Frank Edgar and Donald Cerrone twice each in the last three years. Pettis, however, lost to Clay Guida but also has some victories over big names including Donald Cerone as well, Joe Lauzon, my boy Jeremy Stephens but the kicker is, he has already beaten Benson Henderson.

Prediction: Pettis, Round 4, TKO

Frank Mir VS Josh Barnett (Heavyweight)

Okay I’m not too sure about this fight; Frank Mir (@thefrankmir) has been a top contender in the Heavyweight spotlight for a number of years even holding the belt at one period of time (UFC 48, June 19, 2004 defeated Tim Silvia to be exact) however Josh Barnett (@JoshLBarnett) hasn’t fought in the UFC since 2002 – THAT’S MORE THAN 10 YEARS AGO! 

Don’t discredit Barnett just yet though, he has fought 24 separate times since his last UFC appearance so it’s not like he has been sitting naked in a beanbag eating cheetos for ten years – however, he hasn’t been fighting top opponents like he will be facing tomorrow night in the UFC against Mir. Frank is coming off duel losses against Daniel Cormier and Junior dos Santos so he is looking to take another rung out of the UFC heavyweight ladder.

Prediction: Mir, Round 2, Submission (probably triangle choke)

Chad Mendes VS Clay Guida (Featherweight)

This fight will be a huge challenge for Chad Mendez (@chadmendez), he has a good winning record but not over any big names or top contenders. In the blue corner, Clay Guida (@clayguida) has fought more than 40 documented fights in the cage and been against the toughest in the featherweight weight class. 

Having won multiple submission and fight of the nights, I think this fight should be a walk in the park for Guida. Facing a guy who has a good record but hasn’t seen any top contenders other than Jose Aldo which he lost the featherweight championship to in 2012, this punch-fest should end with Guida’s hand in the air.

Prediction: Guida, Decision

Ben Rothwell VS Brandon Vera (Heavyweight)

From 2002-2006, Brandon Vera (@Verafied) was one of the UFC’s top emerging contenders with an 8-0 record during those four years; then he met Tim Sylvia and that all changed. Since his first loss in 2007, Vera has won only four of his last 11 fights, not the best record around the UFC heavyweight division. 

However, Big Ben Rothwell (@RothwellFighter) demolished fighters in the IFL but hasn’t had the same streak in the UFC. Rothwell has had only five fights it the UFC, his first in 2009 against Cain Velasquez which he lost in the second round. Since then, Big Ben is 2-2 losing to Gabriel Gonzaga, Mark Hunt and defeating Brendan Schaub and Gilbert Yvel at UFC 115 in Canada. Rothwell has had more than 40 fights and has shown some tremendous heart but I’m not sure if he is going to pull this one off.

Prediction: Vera, Round 2, TKO

THINK YOU HAVE BETTER PICKS? COMMENT THEM BELOW AND THEN RETURN AFTER THE FIGHTS TO SEE HOW YOU LOST ALL FOUR MENTIONED IN THIS POST!