Sam’s Picks
Main Card
Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le:
BARNBURNER ALERT: Man, oh man is this fight going to be awesome. Both these
guys always put on fight of the night performances. Cung Le comes with a “Kung
Fu” style while Franklin takes a simpler approach with very technical
kickboxing. Le has not impressed me in the slightest since coming over to the
UFC though. His loss to Wanderlei Silva was brutal and detrimental to his career and
standings in the middleweight division rankings and his win over Cote was
hardly impressive. It was a really close decision against someone who was making his
return into the UFC after previously being released. Franklin, on the other
hand, looked great in his last win over Wanderlei, despite nearly being knocked
out in the second round. Franklin also has way better cardio, he almost never
gasses while Le can gas after the second round. This is a five round fight.
Franklin will find an opening and finish him = Franklin via 4th round TKO. My
1st pick for FOTN!
Thiago Silva vs. Stanislav Nedkov:
I am very excited to see what Nedkov can do against a former title contender in
Thiago Silva. Nedkov has dynamic striking that is very powerful and can be technical,
but so is Silva’s. Nedkov also hasn’t fought since August of 2011, which is
over a year. Silva fought back in April, which will make him the much fresher
fighter. Silva is on another level than Nedkov, it is just too much too soon =
Silva via unanimous decision. My 2nd pick for FOTN!
Dong Hyun Kim vs. Paulo Thiago:
Both these guys were at one point considered to be title contenders, but now
they are both battling to keep their jobs with the UFC, especially Paulo
Thiago. He’s 1-3 in his last 4 and he’s coming off of an absolutely brutal
knockout from the hands of Siyar Bahadurzada. Kim is coming off of a bizarre
and quick TKO loss to Demian Maia that left many scratching their heads, but it
turned out to be a body spasm. Thiago has a definite striking advantage while
Kim has a slight grappling advantage. I think Thiago will take a close decision
win = Thiago via split decision.
Mac Danzig vs. Takanori Gomi: I
really like Danzig in this fight. Gomi has looked like absolute garbage since
joining the UFC, which I hate to say. Danzig looked great in his last fight
with Efrain Escudero, beating him everywhere that their fight went. Gomi’s only
chance of winning this fight is with one punch and Danzig has a great chin,
which is something that people don’t always talk about. Danzig will take down
Gomi and will eventually work for a submission = Danzig via 3rd round
submission (arm). My pick for SOTN!
Tiequan Zhang vs. Jon Tuck: Jon
Tuck is a promising fighter with a solid all-around game and solid standup.
Zhang isn’t good in any part of MMA except his guillotine. Tuck will easily win
this as long as he doesn't get caught in a guillotine = Tuck via 3rd round KO. My pick for KOOTN!
Takeya Mizugaki vs. Jeff Hougland:
Personally, this fight doesn't make any sense to me. Hougland is a one
dimensional submission wrestler with horrible standup while Mizugaki is a really
well rounded title contender. Even though they are both coming off of losses,
Mizugaki's "loss" was a highly controversial decision to Chris
Cariaso. Hougland on the other hand, is coming off of the wrong side of a
beatdown from Yves Jabouin. Hougland is a tough guy, but Mizugaki will man
handle him = Mizugaki via unanimous decision.
Prelims
Alex Caceres vs. Motonobu Tezuka =
Caceres via 1st round submission. (Interview with Caceres here)
John Lineker vs. Yasuhiro
Urushitani = Urushitani via 1st round submission. My 3rd pick for FOTN!
Tom DeBlass vs. Riki Fukuda =
Fukuda via unanimous decision.
David Mitchell vs. Hyun Gyu Lim =
Mitchell via split decision.
Dave’s Picks
Main Card
Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le: This is such a
fun fight. This should definitely be a slugfest and I believe Franklin should win this. He is the
better overall mixed martial artist. Le has looked old in his two fights in the
UFC. I think Franklin’s chin is something to worry about but I see this fight
going like Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva 2. Franklin might get rocked but he
will keep it together and take the decision. I do believe that Franklin could
finish the fight but he has been fighting very safe lately and I believe that
will continue here. I got Franklin outpointing Le until the bell rings. =
Franklin by unanimous decision.
Thiago Silva vs. Stanislav Nedkov: This
fight will be a bloody war. Nedkov literally comes out wind-milling until he
finds a chin. Silva is a much more precise and calculated striker, however,
Silva can become sloppy when engaged in a crazy war. The way Nedkov wins is by
landing a big overhand sloppy punch. Silva has more ways to win and should win
the striking as long as he does not get sucked into a sloppy war. I see Silva
outpointing Nedkov on the feet and maybe taking it to the ground and finishing
him there; Silva’s ground and pound is awesome and BJJ top control is great as
well. Nedkov better land that lucky punch early or he is in for a rough night.
= Silva by TKO in round 2. My Pick for KO of the Night! My Pick for Fight of the Night!
Dong Hyun Kim vs. Paulo Thiago: Thiago
has not had much success lately. He has looked flat and not technical. This fight
could be a standup war because both are primarily grapplers or it could be an
awesome ground battle. Kim is the stronger, faster and just a much better fighter than Thiago. I think Thiago might
receive the pink slip after this one. = Kim by unanimous decision.
Mac Danzig vs. Takanori Gomi: Oh
Gomi, I will miss you. Mac is not exactly an elite fighter but he is definitely
better than Gomi at this point. Gomi has
become a shell of his former self. He puts his head out there and gets hit way
too much and just throws inaccurate bombs. Mac has the better boxing and better
ground game. No matter where this fight goes Mac should be winning it. I think
Mac will start landing punches, Gomi will go for a takedown and eventually Mac
will sub Gomi. = Danzig by submission in round 2.
Tiequan Zhang vs. Jon Tuck: If
Tiequan Zhang was not born in China he would not be in the UFC at this moment.
To put it plainly Zhang is not a good fighter. He seems like a nice guy but he
is not UFC caliber. On the other side, I do not know much about Tuck except
that he hasn’t fought in a year and before that, another 2 years. That makes me
very nervous. However, Tuck does have an impressive KO win over the hyped
Eduard Folayang, but that was back in 2009. This fight should not be on the main
card. Lineker vs. Urushitani should be on here instead. But anyway, I can’t
tell you much about this fight except as long as Tuck stays out of Zhang’s
chokes, he should be fine. = Tuck by unanimous decision.
Jeff Hougland vs. Takeya Mizugaki:
Mizugaki is a much better fighter in every area of MMA. I see Hougland trying
to take this to the ground ASAP and getting KOd soon after. = Mizugaki by KO
in round 2.
Prelims
Alex Caceres vs. Motonobu Tezuka:
Caceres by 2nd round submission. My Pick for Submission of the Night! (Interview with Caceres here)
John Lineker vs. Yasuhiro
Urushitani = Lineker by split decision.
Tom DeBlass vs. Riki Fukuda =
Fukuda via unanimous decision.
David Mitchell vs. Hyun Gyu Lim =
Mitchell via split decision.
No comments:
Post a Comment