UFC 168 Weidman VS Silva and Rousey VS Tate Fight Predictions

Hey UFC fans, if you have made it here it is because you were searching either the  Chris Weidman VS Anderson Silva fight or just hoping to see Rhonda Rousey get a taste of her own medicine by getting her face beat in. It won’t look too different than that ugly face she makes when she is mad.

As you all may know, I love to watch MMA and this New Years Eve card will be one to remember! Not only will the fights be good, but Angel and I are having a UFC party at our house Saturday night as well. Beer pong, corn-hole (known as bags by most), beer, good people making a great time. Pretty stoked to have people over and watch Miesha Tate treat Rousey to some of her own medicine by reversing her arm bar and pounding Rousey out in round 2.

Arm bar is the only way Rousey has finishes her opponents, I’m sure by now Tate knows a few ways to defend and counter it. C’mon Rousey, let’s be a little bit more versatile. Expand the victories with something else, we’re all bored! Miesha Tate has brought new life (and better looks) into this match up and could possibly help make UFC 168 one of the top PPV purchases of the year.

So let’s jump into my picks for this weekends fight:

Chris Weidman (C) VS Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva has been one of the longest title defending Champs in the UFC. You probably remember Silva dancing around Weidman last May and then Weidman capitalizing with a vicious knock out. 

After the fight, Silva said that Weidman earned it and Silva didn’t act like he wanted the rematch. Only days later the UFC announced the rematch for this weekends fight. Silva is coming back to avenge a loss but after Weidman has already fought him, he should know what to expect. That being said, Weidman is going to get the W.

Projection: Chris Weidman, Round 4, Knock Out

Rhonda Rousey (C) VS Miesha Tate

As mentioned in the opening paragraphs of this post, Rousey has finished all of her opponents in the UFC by arm bar in the first round. Also earlier mentioned, she has the ugliest ‘mean face’ I have ever seen on a female fighter. Just looking at her face pisses me off. 

That being said, I hope Tate can land some good punches and take that shit eating face into a fist eating face. Tate lost to Rousey once before, guess how – arm bar. Who would have thunk! Tate is going to come out knowing how Rousey fights and I am 100% positive Tate has been training and practicing reversals for Rousey’s signature move. That being said, Tate is going to bring Rousey into the second round, Rousey will shoot, get the takedown, move in line for her arm bar and Tate is going to reverse it into a leg lock, knee bar, or maybe even pretty up Rousey’s face with some ground and pound, which is the outcome many UFC fans would love to see.

Projection: Miesha Tate, Round 2, Ground and Pound!

Chris Leben VS Uriah Hall

One of the only other fights on the card that brings any real interest to me, the Leben VS Hall bout. If Hall doesn’t know that Leben has a good chin and a big left hand by now, he may find out tomorrow night. However, Hall is extremely explosive and has the potential to get that split second Knock Out. 

Leben has fought only three times in the last three years, losing all three. This is a bang or bust fight for Leben. If he wins, he may get a contract extension, but if Leben loses, it may be the last time we see ‘The Crippler’ in the UFC octagon. Hall has also lost his last two fights and Dana White says ‘Hall is not a fighter.” On top of that, Uriah has some serious mental demons that he needs to deal with if he is going to continue to be a contender in the UFC Middleweight division. I think if Hall is ready for this fight mentally, he will take home the purse.

Prediction: Uriah Hall, Round 2, Knock Out

Here are the rest of the UFC 168 fights as well as my predictions.

Josh Barnett  VS Travis Browne – Winner: Barnett

Jim Miller  VS Fabrício Camões – Winner: Miller

Dustin Poirier VS Diego Brandao – Winner: Poirier

Preliminary card (Fox Sports 1)

Gleison Tibau VS Michael Johnson  –  Winner: Johnson

Dennis Siver VS Manvel Gamburyan – Winner: Siver

John Howard VS Siyar Bahadurzada – Winner: Howard

Preliminary card (Online)

William Macario VS Bobby Voelker – Winner: Voelker

Robbie Peralta VS Estevan Payan – Winner: Payan

Think you have better picks? 

Leave your comments on who you think will win.

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!

UFC 161 Rashad Evans VS Dan Henderson – Fight Predictions

 

A little pressed on time and want to get this post out before I finish my lunch so in a nutshell, here are my picks for the main fights tomorrow night for UFC 161:

Jake Shields VS Tyron Woodley

I personally like Jake Shields, he is former military and a great fighter. He is a seasoned wrestler but can also stand and bang with his opponent. Losing two of his last four and taking a No Contest with Ed Herman because he failed to pass a post-fight drug test; I’m not sure if he is ready for this fight.

However, Tyron Woodley is coming into this fight with an 11-1 record with his only loss to a notable Nate Marquardt in Strikeforce last July. Woodley has notable wins over Paul Daley and Jay Hieron and should be able to perform nicely in this fight too.

Prediction: Tyron Woodley, Round 3, TKO

Pat Barry VS Shawn Jordan

Coming into this fight with a kickboxing background, Pat Barry is heading into the UFC octagon for his 13th time. We can easily say he is used to being in the UFC spotlight. Shawn Jordan has a much better record than Barry but has not appeared in the UFC no more than three times, this marks his fourth appearance.

Both contenders have lost bouts to Cheick Congo so we know they have no problem going against a big dude. This should be a good fight for both opponents but I think Jordan will have his hand raised at the end of the fight.

Prediction: Shawn Jordan, Round 2, TKO

Alexis Davis VS Rosi Sexton

Oh yeah! Chick fight! Rosi Sexton isn’t much of a chick, more of a soccer mom trying to make some extra bucks by stepping in the cage but does have a decent record. She can fight, she deserves to be there but her last three fights have been overseas.

Same as the guys from the UK, 90% of UK fighters are just a little more soft than United States fighters. Davis has a winning record of 13-5 and is looking to make this her third consecutive win. The UFC is ramping up their women to give Rousey some competition. I’m not too big into chick fights unless they start doing them topless so I’m going to go with the better looking fighter on this one.

Prediction: Alexis Davis, Round 3, Rear naked choke

Roy Nelson VS Stipe Miocic

I don’t know too much about Stipe Miocic but I do know I cant pronounce his name. He lost last September to Stephan Struve and Roy Nelson knocked out Struve a year before that.

I can only imagine Roy Nelson is going to run through this Miocic dude and then break the cage when he tries to hop on top to rub his belly. This should be a no contest.

Prediction: Roy Nelson, Round 1, TKO

Rashad Evans VS Dan Henderson

The main event. This part is my favorite, also because I enjoy watching both fighters and since they are going head to head, it will be a very good fight. I do not see this going to the ground however I do see someone getting knocked out in devastating fashion.

Rashad Evans is coming off a two fight losing streak to Jon Jones (current Champ) and Antonio Nogueira in February so he needs to be on his A game to get a W tomorrow night. On the other hand, Hendo has won 7 of his last 9 fights including wins over Fedor Emelianenko, Maurício “Shogun” Rua and Rich Franklin, his most recent fight and loss was to Lyoto Machida which went to a split decision in Machida’s favor. Even though I like Rashad Evans better, I think Hendo is going to take this one. He is going to catch Evans on the chin (just like Machida did) and jump on top of him to finish with ground and pound making Henderson the winner by TKO.

Prediction: Dan Henderson, Round 3, TKO

UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen - FIGHT PREDICTIONS

Oh yeah, it’s that time again where a UFC title belt is on the line. UFC 159 should prove to have a few exciting bouts between some big names and a possibility of Jon Jones surrendering the belt to Chael Sonnen. 

We will get into that here in a minute, but first let’s take a look into the main card of the night and breakdown the fighters by weight class, bout and you will see my predictions will become factual once again. 

Jim Miller VS Pat Healy - Lightweight         

Starting off the main card is Miller VS Healy, to say the least, this fight should be awesome. Both fighters should stand with each other and bang it out. Healy, who hasn’t lost a single bout since 2010, has pulled out six wins in the last three years, all of which pushed a third round. Miller on the other hand, has lost two of his last five in the last three years. Miller’s most recent win was over Joe Lauzon in UFC 155 where the judges declared Miller the winner by unanimous decision. As mentioned above, these two fighters will probably stand toe to toe and bang it out, should prove to be a good fight.

Prediction: Miller wins in Round 3 by TKO

Phil Davis VS Vinny Magalhaes - Light Heavyweight

I don’t know too much about Vinny Magalhaes other than he is a Brazil native and this is his second fight in the UFC. He debuted back in September of last year and was victorious over Igor Pokrajac by arm-bar. On the other hand, Phil Davis has fought in the UFC eight times, this will be his ninth. We have seen wins from Davis of top condendars such as Alexander Gustasson, Brian Stann and Antonio Nogueira. This should be a good stand up brawl as well but could go to the ground if Magalhaes can get Davis down.

Prediction: Davis wins in Round 2 by TKO

Roy Nelson VS Cheick Kongo - Heavyweight         

Four years ago, you would have never thought you would see Big Country Roy Nelson still alive and making moves in the UFC. Surprisingly not indorsed by KFC, Nelson is returning to the octagon against Cheick Kongo who has a significant reach and height advantage. Although Nelson is on the shorter and fatter side, he can still pack a punch against guys who are taller than him. Lets look back to 2010 when Nelson fought skyscraper Stefan Struve, he jumped right in front of him with some dirty boxing, closed Struve’s range and BAM, knocked Struve out. Coming off of a win in UFC 149 back in July of 2012, Kongo has had time to recover from any damage, illness or injury he may have suffered. If Kongo can keep Roy on the edge of his gloves and not in his personal space, he may just defeat the colonel sanders kid, Big Country Nelson.

Prediction: Roy Nelson wins in Round 2 by KO

Michael Bisping VS Alan Belcher - Middleweight   

Okay, I have never really been a big fan of Bisping, nor do I understand why he is fighting again so soon after his recent loss to Vitor Belfort only three months ago. Alan Belcher on the other hand has a decent record coming into this fight despite his most recent loss over Yushin Okami in UFC 155 in 2012. Belcher has wins over top contenders such as Jason MacDonald, Patrick Cote, Wilson Gouveia and Dennis Kang; I’m going to make this one short and sweet, just like Belcher is going to do tomorrow.

Prediction: Belcher wins in Round 3 by Rear Naked Choke

Jon Jones (Champion) VS Chael Sonnen - Light Heavyweight Championship

Now that the undercard is through, it is time for the main event of the evening. Current reining and defending champion Jon Jones is finally going to step into the ring with top contender Chael Sonnen. If many of you remember, UFC 151 was cancelled because champion Jon Jones turned down the fight with Chael after Dan Henderson suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee only days before the scheduled title bout. Now that Jones and Sonnen have gone head to head in the TUF series and coaches challenges, we wait no longer and they will be going toe to toe in the octagon tomorrow night.

As we all know, Jones is very explosive. Jones has nasty elbows and a sick reach advantage over most opponents. Jones has defended his light heavyweight title four times now and is looking down at Chael to be number five. However, Sonnen has different plans. Having lost to Anderson Silva twice in his last seven fights, Jones is the next best man to beat. Once Sonnen beats him, he gets the belt too, it’s a WIN WIN for Sonnen, if he wins.

Side note, Angel Hesseltine and I have been watching the Ultimate Fighter series religiously over the last eight weeks and before she saw the first episode, I told her straight up, “after watching these, you are going to love Chael Sonnen.” My prediction came true later that night. Chael is a good guy. He is a good coach and truly cared about his team. I’m not saying that Jones didn’t care but it was blatantly obvious in season 10 with Rampage, he was just going for the W’s. I’m pretty sure he didn’t even show up to one of the TUF fights due to previous engagements – go act in another movie guy..

Now that I am done ranting a bit; to say the least, tomorrow’s fights will be good. I am looking forward to Chael taking the belt.

Prediction: Sonnen in Round 2 by TKO (he is going to catch Jones with some dirty boxing and capitalize with ground n pound)

UFC 158 Tomorrow - Current Champ GSP VS Nick Diaz

Alright boys and girls, fight fans of all ages - it’s that time again where we have a big fight on the horizon with big names and a 170lb belt up for grabs. As always, I have a good post for you putting out some bold predictions to compliment my past winning record predictions.

This Saturday’s fights UFC 158 on PPV are between some of the top MMA fighters in the world, don’t be a pussy, comment and put yourself out there and tell me what your predictions are for these big Welterweight bouts! 

Major Preliminary Card fight – Broadcast on FX

Patrick Côté VS Bobby Voelker

Okay, I may be a bit biased on this fight because I tend to lean towards fighters I have some type of connection with. I was able to see Bobby Voelker fight a couple of times a few years ago before moving down to Arizona and he is a pretty well rounded fighter. However, only having 4 fights in the last 3 years (three of the four against Roger Bowling), I’m not sure if he is completely ready for Côté. Patrick Côté only has one loss in his last six fights. Coming off a first round victory over Alessio Sakara due to Sakara’s disqualification and a loss to Chung Le, I’m pretty sure Côté will be coming back ready to swing with a ‘Win’ in near sight.

Prediction: Côté wins in Round 2 by TKO

Major Preliminary Card fight – Broadcast only on PPV

Jake Ellenberger VS Nate Marquardt

This is another fight where I had the opportunity to see one of these fighters throw down in person. I believe it was in February 2006 at VFC 12: Warpath in Council Bluffs, Iowa I saw Ellenberger defeat Mark Bear by way of TKO and a cut. Ellenberger is coming off a win over Jay Hieron last October, who I also enjoy watching fight ever since I saw him take a knock out punch and wake up to grab a takedown on the way to falling on the mat. Daniel Nisley is also a big fan of Jay, who fights out of Las Vegas, NV. Despite snatching the Strikeforce welterweight belt from Tyron Woodly by 4^th round KO last July, Marquardt gave it up to Tarec Saffiedine on his next and most recent fight in January, 2013. Marquardt is now returning to the UFC for the first time since his win over Dan Miller in UFC 128, he should be motivated for this big show welterweight fight trying to make his way back up the ladder since re-signing with UFC.

Prediction: Marquardt wins in Round 3 by TKO.

Carlos Condit VS Johny Hendricks

When Condit sees GSP for the first time since he lost to unanimous decision last November, I can only assume he is building up his motivation to fight GSP once again sometime soon hopefully using Johny Hendricks as a live punching bag. I’m sure it is a little bitter-sweet for Condit knowing that he beat Nick Diaz in February 2012 and then lost to GSP in November – now Diaz and GSP fight right after this bout. Winning 13 of his last 15 fights, Condit has made a name for himself in the UFC and hopes to get another title shot – there is only one problem. His name is Johny Hendricks. With a long standing OSU wrestling background, Hendricks has skills on the ground and power in his hands – he went 56-0 his senior year at Ohio State in 2007. Now sitting at a pretty 14-1 MMA record, Hendricks is in a direct line for the title shot against GSP (assuming he doesn’t lose immediately after his fight with Condit to Nick Diaz). With notable wins over Martin Kampmann, Josh Koscheck and 12 second KO over Jon Fitch, Hendricks is on a B-line for the welterweight belt.

Prediction: Hendricks wins in Round 2 by TKO (ground & pound after big head shot)

UFC 158 Welterweight Title Fight

Georges St-Pierre (Champ) VS Nick Diaz

The fight the world has been waiting for, GSP’s dark side to beat Nick Diaz down (assuming the soccer mom in Lodi, CA hasn’t already done it, see pre-fight conference call). If you have a chance to listen to the call, Diaz try’s to defend his ‘good guy, hard working past’ but eventually digs himself deeper by opening his mouth and getting loud with GSP (it could have been Geoff from Craig Ferguson late show) on the phone. Long story short, GSP came back to the UFC after a long injury and looked bigger and better than ever against Condit last November. Having not lost since 2007, GSP needs to not let his dark side over-commit to Diaz as he could land some hard counter punches and upset the 7 time defending champion.  

I’m not a big fan of Nick Diaz, nor his brother Nate; however I do know that Nick has been in the fighting game for a long time and his most recent fights other than losing to Condit have been more than impressive. I’m thinking that GSP will want to bring this fight to the ground and not want to bang it out with Nick, which hopefully they will give the fans a show and keep it on their feet.

Predication: Diaz wins by TKO in 4^th Round (GSP’s dark side is going to over-commit and get him KTFO)

Watch Joe Rogan and Dana White Podcast about GSP and Diaz fight

Fight Predictions for UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping

Are you ready for a busy weekend? I’m not. Our plans are to sleep in Saturday morning, wake up and lay in bed half the day and probably watch a movie together while the kids play oh-so-nice together for a few hours. I think we will be going over to Matt and Kacey’s house to celebrate Matts birthday that was Wednesday the 16^th and then probably end up watching UFC on FX at their place.

Regardless of our low key Saturday, it should prove to have a good ending. Vitor Belfort is fighting Michael Bisping on FX for FREE – Yepp, that’s the best part, free money. 

Thought about hitting up Big Ryan (RyKno) and seeing if he wanted to hit Hooters on Mill Ave for the fights but the truth is, I’m just getting over a cold, Matt is just getting over a cold, Lucas just came down with a cough and Ashlyn has been coughing for a month or so now..

So, to the point of the post – Fight Prediction:

Vitor Belfort VS Michael Bisping

To start off, Vitor is old – but still has some fast hands. Bisping is coming off a win over Brian Stann which was pretty controversial. Vitor has way more experience than Bisping but to his credit, Bisping has had over 15 fights in the UFC spotlight since his first appearance in The Ultimate Fighter in 2006. Also, Vitor is a bit more hungry than Bisping since he is coming fresh off a loss last September to current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Vitor has won 7 of his last 10 fights only losing to Dan Henderson, Anderson Silva and as mentioned current champ Jones.

Projected Winner: Vitor Belfort, Round 3, TKO

Daniel Sarafian VS C.B. Dollaway

I didn’t watch too much of this seasons TUF so I don’t know too much about Daniel Sarafian other than he is coming into this fight with C.B. with four consecutive wins and looking to make his way up the middleweight ladder with Anderson Silva in sight. He will have to win a few more fights before he gets there but if he continues to get his hand raised, he will make it soon enough. I like C.B. Dollaway, met him on Mill Avenue once a few years ago at the old library. Though he hasn’t had the best performances in his last few fights, he did pull out a win of Jason Mayhem Miller last May, regardless, that was 9 months ago and I’m assuming he is going to come out in top shape.

Projected Winner: C.B. Dollaway, Round 2, Rear Naked Choke

Gabriel Gonzaga VS Ben Rothwell

Gabriel Gonzaga used to be a big name, many remember him for his infamous head kick KO to Mirco CroCop back in 2007, but it has been 5 years, he has lost a lot of resepect and fights including losses to Shane Carwin, Junior dos Santos and recent TUF winner Brendan Schaub. Despite Gonzaga being old, Big Ben doesn’t deserve to be in the UFC, they should have cut him after his losses to Andre Arlovski and Cain Velasquez in 2009. Maybe they paired these guys up because Rothwell beat Schaub just last year in only 1:10 seconds of the first round.

Projected Winner: Gabriel Gonzaga, Round 1, TKO

Thiago Tavares VS Khabib Nurmagomedov

To start off, Angel hates Thiago Tavares, which makes me like him even more. He is coming off a two fight win streak over notable names Sam Stout and Spencer Fisher (who I almost bought a pitbull puppy from when I lived back in Iowa). I’m pretty sure Angel doesn’t like him because when he wins, he slashes his throat with his thumb..she says he is too cocky. Nurmagomedov is from Russia and his record is 18-0. He recently beat Gleison Tibau and Kamal Shalorus…and another 16 Russian bums dating back to 2008 in events much smaller and less known than UFC, WEC, Strikeforce and Pride – basically means he was fighting people who didn’t know what the fuck they were doing and got 16 W’s from it. Tavares will be a challenge for you Nurmagomedov, get ready.

Projected Winner: Thiago Tavares, Round 3, TKO

Go ahead and comment on FB or on my blog on your thoughts, let’s see if you can go 4-0 tomorrow night, I know I will be.

Fight Predictions for UFC on Fox 5: Henderson vs. Diaz

I'm publishing this now because this Saturday will prove to be a very busy day for me and I simply wont have time to get in and publish it. Saturday morning Lucas has a baseball game at 11:15a, then his baseball end of season party. After that we I’m sure will have to get some lunch, then go back to the house and finish unpacking the front room so we can put up our Christmas tree Sunday. Then Saturday night, UFC free on FOX but Angel has her Christmas party so we are still debating whether I am going to go or not, we can always record the fights but then again it would be good for her to interact with her staff outside of work.

Jeremy Stephens is fighting on the Preliminary card on FX, glad he got back into the mix after the Minneapolis mis-happening, hopefully that is behind him now. Speaking of Lil Heathen, I wrote a post on the Crazy Amigo about the “5 of the Most Memorable Uppercuts in History” and included him in the post. Check it out.

 Now for the UFC on fox 5 pre-fight predictions

Dennis Siver VS Nam Phan         

Many of you remember Nam Phan from the Ultimate Fighter series, probably most likely when he got walked in on in the shower…helping himself out..anywho, he is fighting Germany’s Dennis Siver and though Pham is a tough dude, I think Siver is going to take it.

Projected Winner: Dennis Siver, 2^nd Round, TKO

Yves Edwards VS Jeremy Stephens

Though Yves has been in the game for a long time, I think Jeremy is going to take this one. He has heavier hands and I simply have to stay on the same side as my roots. Lil’ Heathen is from Des Moines, Iowa and I could share some experiences with him but that would be an individual post in itself – good times Jeremy & good luck tomorrow!

Projected Winner: Jeremy Stephens, 2^nd Round, KO

Mike Swick VS Matt Brown

Matt Brown is a strong up and comer while Mike Swick is a good fighter; he hasn’t shown much lately that he is moving forward and progressing his fighting skills. Swick just isn’t as crisp as he used to be and has many rungs on the ladder to climb before he sees a chance at a title shot. I think Brown is going to take this one.

Projected Winner: Matt Brown, 3^rd Round, Guillotine Choke (probably rear naked)

B.J. Penn VS Rory MacDonald

Oh B.J., why did you have to jump on the bandwagon and retire in the cage like a chump after you lost? You lost a lot of respect from a lot of high authority figures. Rory has only had a few fights in the UFC and isn’t past his prime. Penn, you are a good fighter and flexible as hell, your just too old – join Matt Hughes and Chuck Liddell on the couch, Rory is coming with a TKO.

Projected Winner: Rory MacDonald, 3^rd Round, TKO

Maurício “Shogun” Rua VS Alexander Gustafsson          

Oh man this is going to be a tough one, Shogun is coming off a win in August over Brandon Vera while Gustafsson is on a 5 fight win streak taming two big names including Thiago Silva and Matt Hamill. Both Gustafsson  and Rua are great strikers and I think this fight is going to come down to stamina and heart. That being said, both fighters have great workout strategy and tremendous amount of heart so I am going to lean more on the experience on this one, Shogun.

Projected Winner: Maurício “Shogun” Rua, 2^nd Round, TKO

AND FOR THE MAIN EVENT:

Benson Henderson VS Nate Diaz

Henderson is from Phoenix, since I currently reside here I am leaning his direction and I guess, I have never been a huge fan of either of the Diaz brothers. Though Nate has both good hands and a sick ass ground game, I think that he is going to either get rocked or want to take it to the judges and shoot for takedowns to gain points. 

Projected Winner: Nate Diaz, 3 Rounds, Decision

Feel free to leave a comment on who you think is going to win, here is the entire fight card, copy / paste if you like:

Benson Henderson VS Nate Diaz

Maurício Rua VS Alexander Gustafsson

B.J. Penn VS Rory MacDonald

Mike Swick VS Matt Brown

Yves Edwards VS Jeremy Stephens

Raphael Assunção VS Mike Easton

Ramsey Nijem VS Joe Proctor

Daron Cruickshank VS Henry Martinez  

Tim Means VS Abel Trujillo

Dennis Siver VS Nam Phan

Scott Jorgensen VS John Albert