Dave’s Picks
First off I would like to inform you all that my beautiful
wife predicted every single fight correctly except one this entire season of
TUF. No, she does not help me with my predictions…but maybe she should..
Main Card
Jake Ellenberger vs. Martin Kampmann: What a great fight. I
love watching these guys but in my opinion Ellenberger is on another level at
this point. Kampmann is a dangerous guy who can beat anyone if they get
careless but Jakes is just a monster. Kampmann is almost impossible to finish
but I think Jake needs to do that early on or he may be in trouble. Jake has
shown that his gas tank can run dry due to his insane pace he keeps up and this
one is a 5 rounder. If I was Jake I would intelligently try and finish this
quick and I believe he can. I see Jake putting on pressure, getting a knockdown
and then finishing Kampmann with crazy ground and pound. = Ellenberger by TKO
in round 2. My Pick for KO of the Night!
Mike Chiesa vs. Al Iaquinta: Anything could happen in this fight but knowing that Al trains with Matt Serra makes me put some faith in him. The other thing that gives me great confidence in picking Al is that when I interviewed Urijah (Click here for that interview) he said he thought Al would win. Urijah coached both of these guys the entire time and he is choosing Al. I think Al has much better standup and better wrestling but Chiesa has a knack for pulling off crazy stuff. But I feel pretty safe picking Al. = Al by unanimous decision.
Mike Chiesa vs. Al Iaquinta: Anything could happen in this fight but knowing that Al trains with Matt Serra makes me put some faith in him. The other thing that gives me great confidence in picking Al is that when I interviewed Urijah (Click here for that interview) he said he thought Al would win. Urijah coached both of these guys the entire time and he is choosing Al. I think Al has much better standup and better wrestling but Chiesa has a knack for pulling off crazy stuff. But I feel pretty safe picking Al. = Al by unanimous decision.
Max Holloway vs. Pat Schilling: Max Holloway is a little monster. The kid is only 20 and has crazy standup skills. Go watch his youtube highlight video. I really like this kid a lot. We interviewed him recently (Click here for that interview) and you can tell he is just a great kid loving his time in the big leagues. But Schilling is no joke as well. This fight could be closer than I am expecting but I see Holloway dominating. = Holloway by TKO in round 1.
Jonathan Brookins vs. Charles Oliveira: I can’t wait for this one. This will be a very fun fight. Brookins is coming off the greatest win of his career by absolutely destroying Vagner Rocha and Oliveira is coming off a successful featherweight debut. If you were to ask me about this fight a year ago I would have likely picked Oliveira by a close decision but after their last couple fights I have to go with Brookins. However, this fight will be very close and expect some fireworks on the feet and on the ground. = Brookins by split decision. My Pick for Fight of the Night!
Prelims
Justin Lawrence vs. John Cofer = Lawrence by unanimous
decision.
Myles Jury vs. Chris Saunders = Jury by split decision.
Myles Jury vs. Chris Saunders = Jury by split decision.
Daron Cruickshank vs. Chris Tickle = Cruickshank by
unanimous decision.
Cristiano Marcello vs. Sam Sicilia = Marcello by 3rd round submission. My Pick for Submission of the Night!
John Albert vs. Erik Perez = Albert by unanimous decision.
Jeremy Larsen vs. Joe Proctor = Proctor by unanimous decision.
Cristiano Marcello vs. Sam Sicilia = Marcello by 3rd round submission. My Pick for Submission of the Night!
John Albert vs. Erik Perez = Albert by unanimous decision.
Jeremy Larsen vs. Joe Proctor = Proctor by unanimous decision.
Sam's Picks
Main Card
Jake Ellenberger vs. Martin Kampmann: In a welterweight clash that will
undoubtedly be an amazing fight, the winner is next in line for a title shot.
At least, that’s how I feel about it. Apparently, Johny Hendricks is the next
one to receive a title shot after Condit but I disagree. Hendricks is 4-1 in
his last 5: decision loss to Story (not impressive), TKO victory over TJ
Waldburger (pretty impressive), squeaked by Mike Pierce (not impressive), KO’d
Jon Fitch in 12 seconds (extremely impressive), and squeaked by Josh Koscheck
(not impressive). I don’t see how that deserves a title shot. Now what
Ellenberger and Kampmann have done is much more impressive and worthy of a
title shot. Kampmann is 3-2 (with the two being very controversial decision
losses) and Ellenberger 6-1 in the UFC with the loss also being a controversial
decision loss. But hey, lets get back to the fight. Between these two, the most
impressive as of late is by far Ellenberger. A 50 second KO of Jake Shields, a
dominating decision win of Diego Sanchez (besides the 3rd round), and another
KO of a game Sean Pierson. Kampmann on the other hand, was being dominated by
Thiago Alves until Alves made a horrible mistake and Kampmann capitalized on
it. Personally, I think that the deciding factor will be Ellenberger’s power
and momentum in the UFC. But if he doesn’t finish, Kampmann will win by
unanimous decision = Ellenberger by 2nd round TKO. My pick for KOOTN and 1st
for FOTN!
Mike Chiesa vs. Al Iaquinta: Iaquinta has rolled along the competition in TUF despite his two close fights between Jury and Pichel, he never really took damage in those fights. Chiesa on the other hand, has taken lots of damage in his last fights. Almost being finished by Lawrence with a body shot and submitted by Vick. He has a lot of heart, but simply not the technique that Iaquinta holds. Look for Chiesa to pull off the upset and comeback if he isn’t finished in the first. I will be cheering for him = Iaquinta by 1st round TKO.
Max Holloway vs. Pat Schilling: I see this fight being a one sided beatdown handed by Max Holloway, and no I’m not just saying that because we got an interview with him, its because I thought that the second I saw this fight announced (which was before the interview). Schilling was destroyed by future contender in Daniel Pineda, and he looking terrible and not UFC caliber. Holloway, on the other hand, despite losing in the first round really impressed me in his debut. He was winning the standup against one of the top contenders in Dustin Poirier before being finished with a bizarre mounted triangle/armbar = Holloway by 2nd round TKO.
Jonathan Brookins vs. Charles Oliveira: This fight is probably the hardest one to pick on the whole card. These guys are both young phenoms who are undoubtedly going to fight for the title in the future. I’m going with Brookins on this on this one because he has been more impressive, knocking out the always dangerous Vagner Rocha brutally in one minute and barely losing to (now) title contender Erik Koch = Brookins by split decision
Mike Chiesa vs. Al Iaquinta: Iaquinta has rolled along the competition in TUF despite his two close fights between Jury and Pichel, he never really took damage in those fights. Chiesa on the other hand, has taken lots of damage in his last fights. Almost being finished by Lawrence with a body shot and submitted by Vick. He has a lot of heart, but simply not the technique that Iaquinta holds. Look for Chiesa to pull off the upset and comeback if he isn’t finished in the first. I will be cheering for him = Iaquinta by 1st round TKO.
Max Holloway vs. Pat Schilling: I see this fight being a one sided beatdown handed by Max Holloway, and no I’m not just saying that because we got an interview with him, its because I thought that the second I saw this fight announced (which was before the interview). Schilling was destroyed by future contender in Daniel Pineda, and he looking terrible and not UFC caliber. Holloway, on the other hand, despite losing in the first round really impressed me in his debut. He was winning the standup against one of the top contenders in Dustin Poirier before being finished with a bizarre mounted triangle/armbar = Holloway by 2nd round TKO.
Jonathan Brookins vs. Charles Oliveira: This fight is probably the hardest one to pick on the whole card. These guys are both young phenoms who are undoubtedly going to fight for the title in the future. I’m going with Brookins on this on this one because he has been more impressive, knocking out the always dangerous Vagner Rocha brutally in one minute and barely losing to (now) title contender Erik Koch = Brookins by split decision
Prelims
Justin Lawrence vs. John Cofer = Lawrence by unanimous decision. My 2nd pick for FOTN!
Myles Jury vs. Chris Saunders = Jury by split decision. My 3rd pick for FOTN!
Daron Cruickshank vs. Chris Tickle = Cruickshank by 1st round TKO
Cristiano Marcello vs. Sam Sicilia = Marcello by 2nd round submission (choke). My pick for SOTN!
John Albert vs. Erik Perez = Albert by unanimous decision
Jeremy Larsen vs. Joe Proctor = Proctor by split decision
Justin Lawrence vs. John Cofer = Lawrence by unanimous decision. My 2nd pick for FOTN!
Myles Jury vs. Chris Saunders = Jury by split decision. My 3rd pick for FOTN!
Daron Cruickshank vs. Chris Tickle = Cruickshank by 1st round TKO
Cristiano Marcello vs. Sam Sicilia = Marcello by 2nd round submission (choke). My pick for SOTN!
John Albert vs. Erik Perez = Albert by unanimous decision
Jeremy Larsen vs. Joe Proctor = Proctor by split decision
RIP Mr. Chiesa.
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