UFC on FX 7 Main Card Recap

Belfort finishing off Bisping.
Photo via Sherdog.com

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Thiago Tavares: When you’re talking about future champions, Nurmagomedov is probably one of the first names that come up, especially after this win. I expected this is fight to be similar to his Tibau fight: very close and debatable. That wasn’t exactly the case, in fact, it was the complete opposite. Khabib knocked him down and brutally finished him, and it was an extremely late stoppage. Nurmagomegov knocked him down with an uppercut and landed a solid 15 unanswered  elbows to the temple before Dan Miragliotta stopped it. It was awful for MMA but amazing for Nurmagomedov.

Possible matchups for Nurmagomedov: Following this performance, I literally cannot wait to see what type of fighter that Nurmagomedov will end up becoming. When you talk about him making a step up in competition, he is already just one step away from contention. He’s almost there already. He needs to fight another guy right at his level. With the lightweight division being the most stacked division in MMA, there are so many different choices for Nurmagomedov. TJ Grant and Matt Wiman are fighting next week at UFC on Fox 6 and the winner of that Fight of the Year contender should fight Khabib.

Possible matchups for Tavares: This wasn’t just a devastating loss for Tavares, it was disastrous. Being almost murdered the way he was is horrible for your stock. He’s going to desperately need a rebound fight in order to stay relevant in the UFC’s most stacked division. I’d say a fight with the loser between Paul Sass and Danny Castillo makes some sense as the loser of that fight would be on a cold streak.

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Ben Rothwell: What did I say? I said that Gonzaga was going to demolish Rothwell, and that’s exactly what he did. He not only outclassed Rothwell on the ground, but dominated him on the feet. It was flat out embarrassing. Rothwell never had a moment where he looked good in this entire fight. Gonzaga easily landed a right hand and ended up locking in a standup arm-in guillotine then dropped down for the tap.

Possible matchups for Gonzaga: With Gonzaga really starting to fight smart again, he is one of the most solid guys at heavyweight. I’m not sure that he’s ready for title contention yet but I would like to see him fight the winner of Shawn Jordan and Mike Russow, who are fighting next Saturday on the UFC on Fox 6 card.

Possible matchups for Rothwell: With this horribly embarrassing performance, it puts “Big” Ben right down to the bottom of the barrel. When you’re looking for another fighter at heavyweight who’s at the bottom of the barrel, you’re thinking of Dave Herman. This would be a good loser goes home fight.

Daniel Sarafian vs. CB Dollaway: I was surprised that this fight was so awesome. Sarafian looked to be well on his way to a decision win in the first round, nearly finishing Dollaway on a few occasions. The second round was much closer though. Sarafian was slightly controlling the standup but with only about 20 seconds left, Dollaway dropped him and nearly finished the Brazilian. It was so close to being stopped that no one would have been up in arms if it had been. The third round was more Dollaway than any other round. He took down Sarafian on multiple occasions and even though Sarafian gave a valiant effort with a sweep from half guard, if just wasn't his fight. It was an overall close fight but Dollaway ultimately took the split decision win.

Possible matchups for Dollaway: Though not particularly pretty or decisive, Dollaway has now made it two in a row. I would like to see him fight Ed Herman who is coming off of a lopsided first round submission loss for Jacare Souza. Though it will be a guy coming off of a win fighting a guy coming off of a bad loss, Herman is still on a higher level than Dollaway at the moment.

Possible matchups for Sarafian: He may have lost, but Sarafian showed that he has a very bright future. He has a solid ground game and devastating standup. I would like to see him fight the winner of Rafael Natal and Sean Spencer.

Vitor Belfort vs. Michael Bisping: I cannot tell you how happy this fight made me. Though I did predict Bisping to win, I was cheering for Belfort to win, much like in his fight with Jones. But this time was different. Belfort fought smart and didn’t come out too fast; he picked his shots and went in for the kill when the time was right. The first round was very close in the beginning with neither fighter really doing too much. But with ten seconds left, Belfort rocked Bisping with a headkick that nearly put him out. Belfort then came into the second looking to finish what he started in the end of the first round. And boy did he. Vitor landed another headkick and this time put Bisping nearly unconscious. He followed it up with ground and pound and got himself a TKO victory over the top contender. It was a huge win for Belfort that puts him just one win away from a rematch with Anderson.

Possible matchups for Belfort: A lot of people are saying they want him to fight Weidman in a number one contender’s bout, but that’s not what I want. I want Weidman to fight Silva in the summer and have Belfort be the welcoming party to the last middleweight champion of Strikeforce, Luke Rockhold. In my opinion, a win for either man would give them a title shot.

Possible matchups for Bisping: Even though Bisping is a grade-A jerk, you still got to feel for the guy. He gets right to a title shot and loses. Right back near a title shot and loses. That’s heartbreaking stuff. You have to give the guy respect for still getting back in there to fight the best in the world. Now before this fight, Lombard wanted to fight Bisping after his win over Rousimar Palhares, but he was matched up with Yushin Okami. Now that Bisping lost and won’t be getting that title shot, win or lose for Lombard, that fight makes sense. 

UFC on FX 7: Belfort vs. Bisping Predictions

Sam’s Picks

Main Card

Michael Bisping vs. Vitor Belfort: This is easily the hardest fight to predict on the whole event. Vitor, who is coming off of a valiant effort in trying to claim the light heavyweight belt from Jon Jones back in September, is looking to put himself back into title contention with a win over Michael Bisping. A win for the Englishmen on the other hand will most likely earn him a title shot at Anderson Silva, a goal in which he has been on the brink of for quite some time. He’s 5-1 in his last 6 with the loss coming via a very controversial decision loss to Chael Sonnen. The reason this fight is so hard to predict is Belfort’s power and Bisping’s chin. Michael is a very tough guy, don’t get me wrong, but his loss to Dan Henderson and his near loss to Brian Stann makes his chin unpredictable. Vitor will most likely win the first round, due to his explosive beginnings to fights but Bisping will ride out a unanimous decision win after that. But Belfort’s power will keep me on edge = Bisping via unanimous decision (48-47x3). My 1st pick for FOTN!

Daniel Sarafian vs. CB Dollaway: Why is this fight the co-main event? Because Sarafian is a future star and the UFC wants to show everyone. Dollaway has name value and Sarafian is a terrible matchup for him. If you watched the first season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, then you know that Daniel is extremely explosive. Dollaway’s chin is pretty terrible, honestly and Sarafian will exploit it = Sarafian via 3rd round KO. My pick for KOOTN!

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Ben Rothwell: To be quite honest, the fact that a lot of people are actually looking at Ben Rothwell as a favorite in this fight is a shock. Going into this fight, I truly feel that Gonzaga is going to demolish Rothwell. He’s simply better then Ben essentially everywhere the fight goes. Gonzaga’s homecoming fight back in the UFC showed he’s starting to fight smart again, which is taking it to the ground and working for the submission from the get go. Rothwell isn’t a very good fighter in the fact that he’s the heavyweight Tim Boetsch; just some guy who happens to be overall mediocre in all facets. Gonzaga will destroy him = Gonzaga via 2nd round submission (kimura). My pick for SOTN!

Thiago Tavares vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov: Heading into this main card, this is the most intriguing fight for me. How will Nurmagomedov fair against a guy like Tavares, who has been a fighter right on the brink of contender-ship but has never made it there. With both fighters coming off of close decision wins (especially Nurmagomedov), a win should give either fighter a top-10 or top-15 opponent. Tavares’ greatest adversary is constant aggression and a stronger opponent and that’s the way that Nurmagomedov fights = Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision.

Prelims

Godofredo Castro vs. Milton Vieira = Vieira via split decision.

Andrew Craig vs. Ronny Markes = Markes via 3rd round TKO.

Nik Lentz vs. Diego Nunes = Lentz via unanimous decision. My 2nd pick for FOTN!

Edson Barboza vs. Lucas Martins = Barboza via unanimous decision.

Yuri Alcantara vs. Pedro Nobre = Alcantara via 1st round KO.

Ildemar Alcantara vs. Wagner Prado = Prado via unanimous decision. My 3rd pick for FOTN!

Francisco Trinaldo vs. CJ Keith = Trinaldo via 1st round TKO.

Dave’s Picks

Main Card

Michael Bisping vs. Vitor Belfort: I’m pumped for this fight. Bisping should take this but his chin cannot handle Belfort’s power. I see Bisping peppering Belfort for 2 rounds and then Belfort landing a power shot that forces Bisping to play the wrestling game and winning the fight there because his wrestling is superior to Belfort’s. The only chance Belfort has is to land a big bomb and hope for the KO. I never vote for the guy that only has one way to win even though I would love to see Belfort win. = Bisping by unanimous decision. My Pick for Fight of the Night!

Daniel Sarafian vs. CB Dollaway: This fight is pretty much a joke in my opinion. Sarafian looked good on TUF but how much does that really count for? He hasn’t fought a pro fight since July 2011. He has never fought anyone even close to Dollaway’s level. Dollaway has a ton of UFC experience and this is Sarafian’s UFC debut. Dollaway is coming off of a great victory of Jason Miller. I just think it’s safer to go with the proven wrestler. = Dollaway by unanimous decision.

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Ben Rothwell: If Gonzaga keeps fighting smart he could beat almost anyone at heavyweight but the fact he hasn’t fought in a year scares me a bit. Rothwell is a big strong guy and so when he punches he has power. That is all Rothwell brings to the table. Gonzaga has better striking technique and more power but where Gonzaga easily takes it is the ground game. If Gonzaga takes this fight to the ground he could end it within minutes. I think Gonzaga will fight like he has in his last two fights and take it to the ground and find the submission. = Gonzaga by submission in round 1. My Pick for Submission of the Night!

Thiago Tavares vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov: Khabib is the real deal. He has been a human steamroller since his career started. His UFC career has been great so far as well. Tavares has been doing decent lately but against competition at a much lower level. I see Khabib coming in and putting pressure on Tavares and just being too much in every area. But Khabib should be careful on the ground. = Khabib by unanimous decision.

Prelims

Godofredo Castro vs. Milton Vieira = Vieira by split decision.

Andrew Craig vs. Ronny Markes = Markes by 2^nd round KO. My Pick for KO of the Night!

Nik Lentz vs. Diego Nunes = Nunes by split decision.

Edson Barboza vs. Lucas Martins = Barboza by unanimous decision.

Yuri Alcantara vs. Pedro Nobre = Alcantara by 2^nd round TKO.

Ildemar Alcantara vs. Wagner Prado = Prado by split decision.

Francisco Trinaldo vs. CJ Keith = Trinaldo by 2^nd round TKO.

UFC 148 Prelim Recap

Melvin Guillard pounds on Fabricio Camoes (Donald Miralle/Zuffa, LLC)

Interesting night of fights with a thrilling finale! The night started out with 6 straight close decision wins. Super weird. All of them were close and nothing “big” ever happened. It was like watching the same fight 6 times in a row. But anyway let’s get to it!

Rafaello Oliveira vs. Yoislandy Izquierdo: Both of these guys are not quite UFC level athletes. I think that Izquierdo will be cut after going 0-2 in the UFC. Oliveira has had two stints now in the UFC and both of them being unsuccessful. He originally went 1-2 in 2009-2010. And is now again 1-2 from 2011-2012. I don’t think there is much for him in the UFC. I think he should go to Bellator or Strikeforce.

Shane Roller vs. John Alessio: Interesting fight. Roller won by decision with his grappling being the difference maker. Alessio is a decent veteran fighter who just has bad luck. He just keeps getting out-grappled. But the fight was not super exciting and I expected more out of them.

Possible matchups: Shane Roller has been sort of a disappointment in the UFC. He looked great in the WEC and he is a talented wrestler but in the UFC he has been subpar. I think he needs to keep fighting guys on the lower level at 155; possibly against Tony Ferguson. I think Alessio needs to really figure out how to win at 155 against UFC level competition. He needs to hone his strengths and defenses. The lightweight division is by far the most stacked and to stay in it at all you need to be winning. So, if he is not cut I would like to see him fight another guy on the brink of leaving: Spencer Fisher.

Constantinos Philippou vs. Riki Fukuda: Another close fight that went to decision, this time in favor of Philippou. It ended with Fukuda giving Philippou one of the worst eye pokes I have ever seen and then kicking him in the groin. That all sent Philippou into a rage and the end of the fight was Philippou swinging for the fences out of anger.

Possible matchups: Fukuda is now 1-2 with 3 boring decision fights. Dana hates boring more than anything so this could be getting close for Fukuda when it comes to getting the chop. If he sticks around I could see him fighting Nick Catone next. Philippou is now 4-1 in the UFC but has won his last 4. Philipppou has fought roughly every 4 months since early 2011. He could use a break but I would like to see him go up against either Patrick Cote or maybe C.B. Dollaway. Let him get in some wins against guys who will push him but he still has a good chance to beat.

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Gleison Tibau: Another close one but Khabib showed that he has the skills to do some big things at lightweight in the UFC. Tibau is incredibly underrated and the biggest lightweight in the world but Khabib took the close decision.

  

Possible matchups: Tibau has been hovering around the top 15 for a very long time. He is a very good fighter and should keep fighting guys at the higher level. Maybe Tibau could face up and comer Paul Sass. Khabib is a fighter who is 23 years old and 18-0. His future is very bright. I would like to see him fight either Mac Danzig or Evan Dunham.

Melvin Guillard vs. Fabricio Camoes: Guillard took a close decision here by keeping it on the feet and out striking Camoes. Guillard needs this win bad because he had lost two devastating losses in a row.

Possible matchups: Camoes is a decent fighter and I would like to see him fight Jacob Volkmann. Guillard is an excellent fighter who needs to keep fighting other great fighters. I would like to see him face Rafael dos Anjos.

Read Main Card Recap here