UFC on Fuel TV 7 Predictions

Make sure to tune onto Facebook at 12 PM ET and to Fuel at 3 PM ET for this event.

Sam's Picks

Main Card

Renan Barao vs. Michael McDonald: A fight between the two brightest and most entertaining stars in the UFC? I’m down, but it’s not going to be as close as we are hoping it to be. Despite McDonald’s incredible power for a bantamweight, Barao is the superior fighter everywhere it goes. His technique and speed is unmatched by many fighters at 135 and his ground game is probably the best at bantamweight, or at least his BJJ. We have to really see what McDonald’s ground game is like as his standup has been putting many of his opponents unconscious early. Barao will be able to pick McDonald apart on the feet for a majority of the fight. If he is able to avoid the power punches, a late submission could be in the works for Barao = Barao via 5^th round submission (choke). My 2^nd pick for FOTN!

Cub Swanson vs. Dustin Poirier: Early fight of the year candidate? Absolutely. Hard fight to pick the winner of? Yes, and no. I have picked against Swanson in his last 3 fights, only for him to knockout his last three opponents. Dustin has been look progressively worse in his last three fights: losing the standup game to a promotional newcomer, being submitted by the underdog in Chan Sung Jung, and almost being finished by Jonathan Brookins. Though he has gone 2-1 in those fights, Poirier is still a growing fighter. He needs more time to grow before becoming a title contender. Swanson is hitting his prime right now in his career. Because Poirier was nearly knocked out in his last fight against Brookins, I think that’s what Swanson will do = Swanson via 2^nd round TKO. My 1^st pick for FOTN!

Jimi Manuwa vs. Cyrille Diabate: I’m a fan of Jimi Manuwa. I love to watch him fight and I look forward to his UFC career. But he desperately needs to work on his conditioning. The only reason he got the finish over Kingsbury in his last fight was because of a swollen eye. Diabate looked absolutely fantastic in his last bout over Griggs, but I feel as though it was more Griggs looking atrocious and Diabate taking advantage of that. Diabate has the technique advantage while Manuwa will have a huge power advantage. I see Manuwa winning two of the three rounds with Diabate showing holes in Manuwa’s game = Manuwa via unanimous decision.

Gunnar Nelson vs. Jorge Santiago: It’s a shame that someone like Jorge Santiago just simply can’t find his groove inside the UFC. His record of 1-4 is very under-average and doesn’t do his skills a justice. But Gunnar Nelson, now that is a name that casual fans need to remember. His BJJ is some of the best in the UFC. Santiago also has spectacular BJJ but Nelson is on another level. We saw what happened when Santiago fought someone who was the better grappler in Maia: he lost by decision. Though Nelson isn’t as good as Maia, I still predict a similar outcome = Nelson via unanimous decision.

James Te Huna vs. Ryan Jimmo: I love this fight. They are two of the more exciting prospects in the UFC looking to send themselves into contention. Though they are both big power punchers, but there is a difference in how they find that big punch. Te Huna is a blitzer; he goes right after his opponent with combinations aplenty looking for the knockout. Jimmo measures more and takes his time when looking for that finishing shot. Both guys have amazing chins and are pretty good grapplers. I think Te Huna’s blitzing style is what is going to win him this fight = Te Huna via unanimous decision. My 3^rd pick for FOTN!

Che Mills vs. Matt Riddle: I have got to say, Matt Riddle has really impressed me lately. He looked really good against Chris Clements (despite the fact that it was overturned due to marijuana) and showed a more measured fighting style against John Maguire. But Mills is on a different level to that of both Clements and Maguire. His standup is devastating. He hits so hard that it’s hard to watch. Mills will continually hurt Riddle until he gets the finish = Mills via 2^nd round KO. My pick for KOOTN!

Terry Etim vs. Renee Forte = Etim via 1^st round submission (armbar).

Paul Sass vs. Danny Castillo = Sass via 1^st round submission (triangle). My pick for SOTN!

Josh Grispi vs. Andy Ogle = Grispi via split decision.

Stanislav Nedkov vs. Tom Watson = Nedkov via 2nd round submission (arm triangle).

Vaughan Lee vs. Motonobu Tezuka = Lee via unanimous decision.

Ulysses Gomez vs. Phil Harris = Gomez via 3^rd round submission (choke).

Dave’s Picks

Main Card

Renan Barao vs. Michael McDonald: McDonald is a great young fighter with a huge future ahead of him, but outside of a “puncher’s chance”, he is not going to come close to winning this. Barao is an animal who is a better athlete and is far above McDonald’s skill level in every facet of the game. I see Barao controlling the fight and not getting too risky, but if he hurts McDonald at all, he will pounce and finish it. = Barao by unanimous decision.

Dustin Poirier vs. Cub Swanson: Possible fight of the year candidate in this one. Swanson has been improving by leaps and bounds lately and seems to be taking out good competition rather easily. Poirier is always a gamer but the main difference in this fight for me is Cub’s fight IQ as of late. He is a Jackson’s fighter and it has been showing. Poirier is a great fighter but his recklessness will hurt him in this one. I see Poirier getting sloppy and Cub sneaking in an opening and dropping Poirier. = Cub by TKO in round 2. My Pick for Fight of the Night!

Cyrille Diabate vs. Jimi Manuwa: If it wasn’t for the Swanson vs. Poirier fight, this would be my pick for Fight of the Night! This fight will be an all out technical striking match. The main differences in this fight are the facts that Diabate’s chin will not be able to handle Manuwa’s power and speed. Manuwa will be much faster, stronger but Diabate will have a major reach disadvantage. If Diabate wants to win, he must keep Manuwa as far away as possible. But I see Manuwa using leg kicks and speed to be able to cut down on Diabate’s footwork and mobility. This will be a close one but don’t be surprised if Manuwa pulls off a huge KO. = Manuwa by unanimous decision.

Gunnar Nelson vs. Jorge Santiago: Always good to see Jorge back in the UFC. He is an exciting fighter who can be brilliant at times. Nelson is going to be a very tough test for Jorge. Nelson is extremely well rounded and is a finisher in every sense of the word. Jorge has a chance to come back and win this by playing it smart and not getting into any ugly scrambles, but Gunnar is a young brute and he will find a way to win. = Nelson by unanimous decision.

Ryan Jimmo vs. James Te Huna: Oh boy, this is a treat. Minus his last fight, Jimmo is a slow starter that plots around looking for an opening to land bombs. That will not be the case this time as Te Huna will blitz him like he always does. Jimmo will be forced out of his comfort zone and I don’t think he will like this fight one bit. I see Te Huna being too much for Jimmo and later on catching him. = Te Huna by TKO in round 3.

Che Mills vs. Matthew Riddle: Riddle’s boxing is very strange and not all that effective. That is what will lose him this fight against Mills. Mills has great striking abilities. Mill will land early and often until Riddle is out cold. = Mills by KO in round 2. My Pick for KO of the Night!

Prelims

Terry Etim vs. Renee Forte = Etim by submission in round 1.

Danny Castillo vs. Paul Sass = Sass by submission in round 2. My Pick for Submission of the Night!

Josh Grispi vs. Andy Ogle = Grispi by unanimous decision.

Stanislav Nedkov vs. Tom Watson = Nedkov by split decision.

Vaughan Lee vs. Motonobu Tezuka = Lee by submission in round 2.

Ulysses Gomez vs. Phil Harris = Gomez by split decision.

Let us know your predictions either on Twitter @Champion_Rounds or in the comments.

UFC on Fuel TV 5 Prelim Recap

Gunnar Nelson finishing DaMarques Johnson

The UFC continues to deliver on their smallest scale of fight nights on the obscure Fuel TV. This event had brutal knockouts, slick submissions, big upsets, and the emergence of some extremely promising fighters. Fuel TV continues to deliver exciting UFC events, which is sad because no one is really watching these fights. Anyway, let’s head into this event and take a look at some possible matchups for the winners and losers of this event.

Robbie Peralta vs. Jason Young: There isn’t much to say about this fight. It only lasted 23 brutal seconds. Peralta went out there and put his hands on him instantly. He landed a huge right hand and dropped “Shotgun”. A few punches followed and Young was as unconscious as unconscious gets. Peralta has emerged as a highly underrated contender at 145 pounds. And with this, Young is now 1-3 in the UFC, leading to the inevitable pink slip.

Possible matchups for Peralta: Peralta showed on Saturday that he has some of the best power for 145-pounds. He has a solid ground game that is overlooked as well. Another fighter who has similar skills, with technical boxing and a solid ground game, Nam Phan is coming off of a huge win over Cole Miller, a fight in which he easily outpointed the much larger Cole. This fight would show who is ready for that big step up in competition.

DaMarques Johnson vs. Gunnar Nelson: Gunnar Nelson’s UFC debut was one of the most anticipated UFC debuts in years. Many consider him to be the future of MMA as he sports a highly refined all around mixed martial arts arsenal. His first round submission win over DaMarques Johnson showed exactly why he is such a hyped fighter. He started out with an unorthodox karate stance, much to that of Lyoto Machida, and landed a nice headkick in the opening seconds. He then took him down and slowly worked his way to the back of Johnson and into a rear naked choke. It was a flawless performance and the sky is truly the limit of the 24-year-old Iceland native. And sadly, with this being the third loss in a row in which he was finished, DaMarques Johnson has to be done.

Possible matchups for Nelson: As I just mentioned above, Gunnar Nelson is one of the most promising fighters in the UFC today. Sporting a perfect 10-0-1 record, with the one draw being his MMA debut, Nelson is ready for a huge step up. Another winner on this card whom has a very bright future in the UFC is John Hathaway. Hathaway won a highly lackluster bout against John Maguire in a fight that I have no interest in recapping. Both these guys should fight and depending on how the fight goes, it will be quite telling on the future of the welterweight division.

Brad Tavares vs. Tom Watson: This fight was screwed out of the “Fight of the Night” in my opinion. This was a back and forth brawl between two highly touted middleweight prospects, including the long awaited debut of Tom “Kong” Watson. I really felt that going into this fight that Tom Watson was going to win the standup in this fight and stop any takedowns that Tavares went for. I, including many others, was wrong and underestimated the skills of the 24-year-old Tavares. Tavares out struck Watson, using pinpoint accurate jabs and solid combinations with leg kicks and takedowns mixed in. He used a much more versatile attack that ultimately won him the split decision, although it should have been a easy unanimous decision, as I scored every round for Tavares.

Possible matchups for Tavares: I truly believe that we have found a new contender at 185. Tavares has looked better in every one of his performances. Now that he is sporting a 4-1 record with the UFC, he could even be 5-0, he is now ready for the next level of competition. Chris Leben and Karlos Vemola are fighting at UFC 155 and the winner of that should fight the ever-improving Brad Tavares.

Possible matchups for Watson: Although he gave a spirited effort, Watson thoroughly disappointed many hardcore MMA fans around the world. He had one of the most anticipated MMA debuts, and he fell flat. If he wants to stay with the UFC, he has to impress in his next fight. One fighter that has yet to have his next fight set up is Clifford Starks, who is extremely athletic. Watson would have to win that fight to stay with the UFC.

Andy Ogle vs. Akira Corassani: Before this fight, I really disliked Akira. After this fight, I vehemently dislike him. He is an extremely dirty fighter, like a seriously grimy person. Not only that, but Goddard didn't even warn him on anything. It was enraging. Corassani lands a groin shot, head butt, highly illegal soccer kick that no one is talking about, and a huge haymaker that dropped Ogle that was thrown way after the bell. The guy is gross. And on top of all this, I scored the fight an easy 29-28 for Ogle. Akira ended up winning by split decision. Enraging is the perfect word to sum up this fight. Akira didn't deserve this win; Andy Ogle did. 

Possible matchups for Corassani: I have no interest in to where Akira goes. Cool, he has powerful standup, but his ground game and cardio sucks. Milton Vieira is coming off of a draw to Felipe Arantes. I want Vieira to go and submit him instantly.

Possible matchups for Ogle: I really hope that the UFC doesn't release Andy. He really got screwed with this loss. I thought he easily won. I think a fight with Cole Miller would be really fun.

Kyle Kingsbury vs. Jimi Manuwa: Jimi Manuwa was one of the many fighters making their UFC debut under a ton of hype. He both highly impressed and didn't. Although the first round was most likely a 10-8 for "The Posterboy", he was easily out grappled in the beginning of the opening frame. But once Manuwa made it to his feet, he lit up Kyle Kingsbury so bad that Kyle looked like Sloth from "The Goonies". It was both disgusting and hilarious. Manuwa seemed to have gassed out midway through the second round, so it was probably a lucky break that the fight was stopped after the second round. Kingsbury's eye was completely closed shut. This is now the third decisive loss in a row for Kingsbury, it's a shame but he will most likely receive his walking papers from the UFC.

Possible matchups for Manuwa: It's always a good thing to start off with an impressive debut over a solid veteran in the UFC. Although Jimi Manuwa gave us the formula for which you defeat him, take him down and smother, he still showed some of the best power in the light heavyweight division. He seems to be he perfect fighter to set up exciting matchups. Igor Pokrajac is coming off of a submission loss to Vinny Magalhaes and a fight with Manuwa would be an absolute slugfest.

Main card recap here.