This week the UFC brings fight fan’s a
stacked card on a Tuesday instead of their usual weekend format. I like
this approach because as a fight fan/aspiring MMA journalist because it gives fans a fight outlet without
having to give up a Friday or Saturday night.
UFC on Fuel 3 also serves as an appetizer to
a MMA feast this weekend. On Friday, Bellator 69 features their
middleweight tournament finale as well as arguable the #1 pound for pound
female fighter in the world in Megumi Fujii. The next day Strikeforce will
complete their Heavyweight Grand Prix finale after it started approximately
thirty-five years ago.
On to the picks!
Previews and Predictions
Last Week: 2-2
Year: 22-17
The first fight on the main
card pits two fan favorites against each other that may be fighting for their
UFC careers. The Athlete is coming off a loss to Alan Belcher in September. In
two stints within the organization he has a solid run but the black belt in
jiu-jitsu always struggles against the elite competition.
Lawlor is known for his overthe top entrances and weigh in hijinks than his actual fights. He won his
first two UFC fights but has fallen on some hard luck, losing three of his last
four fights. He has a wrestling based attack and focuses on putting a lot of
pressure on his opponents.
Lawlor is going to try to
take down and as long as he avoids the submission he should be able to grind
out a win. Also, I think MacDonald might not be totally focused because
there are already rumblings about him wanting his retirement fight to happen at
the upcoming Calgary
Lawlor Unanimous Decision
Fans may not know much about
these two guys but they will after this card. I see this fight becoming a
slugfest between the two veterans. Each one of them usually find
themselves on the under card and will be using the television broadcast as a
chance to get noticed.
Pokrajac is 3-1 in the UFC
after dropping his first two fights and his coming off the best performance of
his career where he knocked out Krzystof Soszynski in 35 seconds.
Maldonado trains with the Nogueira brothers
so he definitely has skills on the ground if the fight ends up there. He is
looking to bounce back from a decision loss to Kyle Kingsbury that some feel he
should have won.
Pokrajac TKO 2nd round
The next bout on
the card pits two bantamweights trying to make names for themselves in the
division. Jabouuin has two split
decision victories in the division after dropping down following a loss to
Pablo Garza. Despite the decision wins lately he does pack power, with 11 of
his 17 wins coming by knockout.
Hougland had a
rough start to his career but has won nine in a row, including a decision win
in his UFC debut last July. Unlike his opponent, Hougland is much more of a
grappler with 7 of his 10 wins coming by submission.
This is the
prototypical striker versus grappler that usually ends in an entertaining
finish.
Yves Jabouin TKO Round 2
This fight of the night favorite pits two lightweights
or are coming off losses to top contenders. Cerrone was on a roll in 2011 winning
6 in a row until he ran into Nate Diaz. Cowboy can win this fight wherever it goes
and consistently delivers entertaining fights (bonuses in 3 of his last 4).
Stephens is coming off a loss to Anthony Pettis last
October. I am slightly biased against
him because he did defeat a very attractive blogger’s brother back in June but
the joke is on him because the doctor loved my brother and me.
I think Cerrone is too well rounded for Stephens in
this one but don’t discount Stephens power to end the fight in one punch.
Cerrone Submission Round Two
Sadollah is one of the few people who can say all
of his professional bouts have taken place in the Octagon. Since winning season
7 of the Ultimate Fighter, Sadollah has not been to put together a lengthy win
streak but he has never dropped two in a row.
His muay thai is top notch, has solid sambo and also has landed the most
leg kicks in UFC history in a three round fight,
Lopez, is a 11-2, who lost his UFC debut to Justin
Edwards back in September. Don’t expect him to take this fight for the ground,
he much more of a striker with 5 knock outs on his record.
I’m going to take the UFC veteran in this one.
Sadollah may not always look impressive but he finds a way to get the job done.
Sadollah Unanimous Decision
Chan Sung Jung, more affectionately known as the “Korean
Zombie” has seen his stock rise in the last year. In his WEC days he was only really known for his brawl with
Leonard Garcia. His fights in the Octagon have proved him to be a contender in
the featherweight division. He pulled off
the first ever twister in UFC history and then in his next bout he knocked out
former #1 contender Mark Hominick in 7 seconds in enemy territory.
Poirier is a guy who has been on my radar since
upsetting Josh Grispi at UFC 125. That
win is a part of his current five fight win streak. Poirier is part of the new MMA fighter the experts always talk about, well-rounded in all facets of the sport.
Both of these fighters are looking to earn the next
title shot after Erik Koch. This one
will battle Cerrone-Stephens for fight of the night and I have been looking
forward to this fight for a while.
Poirier TKO round 4
 |
| Who's tougher: The Diamond or the Zombie? |
If you liked this article please leave a comment
below and vote on the poll to the right a
Also,
I started a weekly podcast called Split Decision on http://www.sportsgeeksusa.com/ with my friend Ryan Penney. Feel free to leave your
predictions on our facebook page. The show airs 3 PM
No comments:
Post a Comment