Sam’s Picks
Main Card
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Thiago Silva: A lot of people would probably disagree with me, but this fight is much easier for Gustafsson than Nogueira would have been. Silva’s standup is really sloppy, but powerful, but Nogueira’s standup is crisp. Gustafsson has a significant ground and standup advantage, along with technique. The only real advantage that Silva has is power, and that’s it. Not only are these all positive factors toward Gustafsson, but he is also fighting in his home country, just adding fuel to the fire. All these factors just play perfectly with Gustafsson, and he will be fighting for the title very soon = Gustafsson by 1st round submission (RNC). My pick for SOTN!
Alessio Sakara vs. Brian Stann: This fight is probably the easiest fight to pick on the whole card. Sakara’s chin has proven to be suspect in the past with KO losses to the likes of Chris Leben, Houston Alexander, and Drew McFedries. Stann is one of those guys that can KO anybody in his division. A KO artist plus a suspect chin equals a likely KO = Brian Stann by 2nd round KO. My pick for KOOTN!
Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Paulo Thiago: This is a hard one to pick. Bahadurzada is one of those guys who is super well rounded and likes to make quick work of his opponents and Thiago is really hard to bet against. Thiago has been looking really bad lately and Siyar is in an upswing = Bahadurzada by split decision. My pick for FOTN!
Diego Nunes vs. Dennis Siver: These guys are both beasts. This has all the makes to be fight of the night. Nunes has looked very impressive in his recent outings but Siver hasn’t. This is also Siver’s first fight at 145, meaning he might have trouble dropping down. That usually leads to bad cardio. Nunes has cardio for days, along with more speed = Nunes by unanimous decision. My pick for FOTN!
DaMarques Johnson vs. John Maguire: No offense to Johnson but his ground game is not that great and Maguire is a ground fighter I believe Johnson will be submitted = Maguire by 1st round submission (RNC).
Damacio Page vs. Brad Pickett: Fight of the year candidate right here! Both these guys love to put on barnburners for the fans. Page has the power while Pickett has the speed and technique. Speed and technique wins a majority of the time = Pickett by unanimous decision. My pick for FOTN (yes, 3 FOTN)!
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Thiago Silva: A lot of people would probably disagree with me, but this fight is much easier for Gustafsson than Nogueira would have been. Silva’s standup is really sloppy, but powerful, but Nogueira’s standup is crisp. Gustafsson has a significant ground and standup advantage, along with technique. The only real advantage that Silva has is power, and that’s it. Not only are these all positive factors toward Gustafsson, but he is also fighting in his home country, just adding fuel to the fire. All these factors just play perfectly with Gustafsson, and he will be fighting for the title very soon = Gustafsson by 1st round submission (RNC). My pick for SOTN!
Alessio Sakara vs. Brian Stann: This fight is probably the easiest fight to pick on the whole card. Sakara’s chin has proven to be suspect in the past with KO losses to the likes of Chris Leben, Houston Alexander, and Drew McFedries. Stann is one of those guys that can KO anybody in his division. A KO artist plus a suspect chin equals a likely KO = Brian Stann by 2nd round KO. My pick for KOOTN!
Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Paulo Thiago: This is a hard one to pick. Bahadurzada is one of those guys who is super well rounded and likes to make quick work of his opponents and Thiago is really hard to bet against. Thiago has been looking really bad lately and Siyar is in an upswing = Bahadurzada by split decision. My pick for FOTN!
Diego Nunes vs. Dennis Siver: These guys are both beasts. This has all the makes to be fight of the night. Nunes has looked very impressive in his recent outings but Siver hasn’t. This is also Siver’s first fight at 145, meaning he might have trouble dropping down. That usually leads to bad cardio. Nunes has cardio for days, along with more speed = Nunes by unanimous decision. My pick for FOTN!
DaMarques Johnson vs. John Maguire: No offense to Johnson but his ground game is not that great and Maguire is a ground fighter I believe Johnson will be submitted = Maguire by 1st round submission (RNC).
Damacio Page vs. Brad Pickett: Fight of the year candidate right here! Both these guys love to put on barnburners for the fans. Page has the power while Pickett has the speed and technique. Speed and technique wins a majority of the time = Pickett by unanimous decision. My pick for FOTN (yes, 3 FOTN)!
Prelims
Papy Abedi vs. James Head = Abedi by unanimous decision.
Cyrille Diabate vs. Tom DeBlass = DeBlass by 2nd round submission.
Francis Carmont vs. Magnus Cedenblad = Carmont by unanimous decision.
Yoislandy Izquierdo vs. Reza Madadi = Madadi by split decision.
Simeon Thoresen vs. Besam Yousef = Thoresen by unanimous decision
Jason Young vs. Eric Wisely = Young by split decision
Papy Abedi vs. James Head = Abedi by unanimous decision.
Cyrille Diabate vs. Tom DeBlass = DeBlass by 2nd round submission.
Francis Carmont vs. Magnus Cedenblad = Carmont by unanimous decision.
Yoislandy Izquierdo vs. Reza Madadi = Madadi by split decision.
Simeon Thoresen vs. Besam Yousef = Thoresen by unanimous decision
Jason Young vs. Eric Wisely = Young by split decision
Dave’s Picks
Main Card
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Thiago Silva: I think this fight
would have been hard to pick is Silva had fought recently but due to testing
positive for PEDs Silva missed over a year of competition. Gustafsson continues
to improve every time he enters the cage and his technique, reach and all-round
skills make him a threat to everyone at 205, including the champ. Silva is a
very good fighter with well rounded skills but he will be picked apart and
eventually finished by Gustafsson. = Gustafsson by submission in round 2. My
Pick for Submission of the Night!
Alessio Sakara vs. Brian Stann: Brain Stann has really
transformed himself into an elite level fighter…at least with his standup. His
ground game will never be that good but Sakaras ground game isn’t that great
either. This will be a great standup battle with someone most likely getting
KOed. Sakara hasn’t fought in over a year and his chin lets him down at times.
= Stann by TKO in round 2. My Pick for KO of the Night!
Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Paulo Thiago: Paulo is a legit solid
fighter. He can compete at a very high level but sometimes he looks tired and
sloppy. Siyar has not fought a lot of great competition except against a few
but he lost those fights. Siyar has also not fought in the UFC yet and Paulo is
a veteran against some of the best in the world. Siyar hasn’t fought in almost
a year and Paulo should be able to handle this. = Paulo by unanimous decision.
Diego Nunes vs. Dennis Siver: This is a very tough fight to
pick. Siver was looking so good for awhile beating some very elite fighters but
then got wrecked by Donald Cerrone. Both these guys have pretty crisp striking
with great kicks. I just don’t feel confident in this pick because Siver is
dropping to 145 for the first time in his career. = Siver by split decision.
DaMarques Johnson vs. John Maguire: This fight will be
interesting. You never know how DaMarques will perform. He is very inconsistent
and Maguire has not fought a lot of tough competition. Maguire is a grappler
with most of his wins coming by way of submission and most of Johnson’s losses
are by submission…= Maguire by 3rd round submission.
Damacio Page vs. Brad Pickett: This Fight will be fantastic!
Page hasn’t fought in over a year and has lost two in a row by submission. He
fights so infrequently is must be hard for him to find a rhythm. Pickett is a
great scrappy fighter but he looked awful in his last fight. This fight could
go anywhere and anything can happen. Page’s cardio might not be great and
Pickett’s cardio is always great. I think Pickett can outlast Page’s initial
onslaught and end up pulling it out. = Pickett by unanimous decision. My Pick
for Fight of the Night!
Prelims
Papy Abedi vs. James Head = Abedi by unanimous decision.
Cyrille Diabate vs. Tom DeBlass = DeBlass by 1st round submission.
Francis Carmont vs. Magnus Cedenblad = Carmont by unanimous decision.
Yoislandy Izquierdo vs. Reza Madadi = Madadi by unanimous decision.
Simeon Thoresen vs. Besam Yousef = Thoresen by unanimous decision
Jason Young vs. Eric Wisely = Young by unanimous decision
Cyrille Diabate vs. Tom DeBlass = DeBlass by 1st round submission.
Francis Carmont vs. Magnus Cedenblad = Carmont by unanimous decision.
Yoislandy Izquierdo vs. Reza Madadi = Madadi by unanimous decision.
Simeon Thoresen vs. Besam Yousef = Thoresen by unanimous decision
Jason Young vs. Eric Wisely = Young by unanimous decision
Great free card! Make sure you catch it on Fuel at 3pm. Prelims are on Facebook at 12:30pm.
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