This
weekend was supposed to be the third match between Dominick Cruz and
Urijah Faber. After splitting the first two matches then
coaching opposite each other on the latest season of The
Ultimate Fighter the end of this rivalry seemed imminent.
Of
course, the UFC did not take into account one of the worst injury
bugs ever to effect a card. Originally, Erik Koch and Jose Aldo
had their championship fight scheduled for UFC 149 and was going to
be one of the rare times the lighter weights would main event a pay
per view card.
Not
counting the main event, the UFC also botched the announcement of
signing Bibaiano Fernandes, one of the top bantamweights in the
world. Instead he ended up signing with One FC and we are left
with Francisco Rivera against Roland Delorme.
There is
also a lot less sexiness on the card after Akiyama dropped out due to
injury in training. Also, a fight between former light
heavyweight champion Shogun Rua and Thiago Silva was scrapped and
eventually to UFC on Fox 4.
This
past week my genius showed once again. If you count my bonus
Strikeforce picks I finished 8-2. Now too shabby if I say so
myself.
Now on
to the picks…
Last
Card: 5-1Year:
51-29
This
is a surprising bout to kick off the main card in my opinion. It made
more sense to me to put Court McGee and Nick Ring to kick off the
show. However, this is a fight that should entertain the Calgary
fans.
Clements
debuted (11-4, 1-0 UFC) debuted wit ha split decision win over Keith
Wisniewski at UFC 145. The Menace, who owns the fastest MMA KO in
history at 3 seconds, looked wild in my opinion. His striking is far
from technical but when he was able to avoid the clinch he was able
to throw bombs.
Riddle
(6-3. 6-3) is a life time UFC fighter. He debuted on TUF season
7 and has been in the Octagon ever since. His submission game has
improved over this time and consistently puts up entertaining fights.
Deep Waters has only finished one opponent in his career and has lost
2 of his last 3.
This is
a case where I think fighting in front of his native fans will hinder
Clements’ performance. I think he comes out looking to finish the
fight early and Riddle survives long enough to get him down and stay
on top.
Riddle
Unanimous Decision (30-27)
I
am very surprised to see Ebersole (50-14-1, 4-0) on this card. He
defeated TJ Waldburger a month ago at the Guida-Maynard FX card.
After the fight, he announced a desire drop to lightweight but
instead he has an opportunity to move to 5-0 at welterweight before
he moves to 155.Ebersole
has not lost since 2007 (11 fights) with the only loss to Hector
Lombard, the guy in the co-main event. The man fans call “The White
Anderson Silva” has the experience and skills to win this fight
wherever it goes. My one concern is that there is little for
him to gain here besides a paycheck and maybe a bonus.
James
Head (8-2, 1-1) looks to play spoiler in this welterweight match up.
After a submission loss to Nick Ring in his debut, a drop to
welterweight proved successful as Head submitted Papy Abedi in the
first round. Head should prove to be less of a test than Waldburger
on the ground for the veteran Ebersole.
Ebersole
Submission (Arm Triangle) Round 2
Kongo
(17-7-2, 10-5-1) should change his name to the Ultimate
Heavyweight gate keeper. He beats Pat Barry, Matt Mitrione and Paul
Buentello but loses to Frank Mir, Cain Velasquez and most recently,
Mark Hunt. A four fight unbeaten streak was snapped with when he was
KOd in the first by the already mentioned Hunt. Kong is
well-rounded and despite all the crap I give him when I discuss his
fights is capable of putting away any fighter.
Jordan (13-3,
1-0) steps in for Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and is presented with a
huge opportunity. HE announced his arrival in March with a
second round TKO over Oli Thompson. An unknown to many, Jordan
will look to take advantage of Kongo’s questionable chin and get
another knockout.
This
fight is a toss up for me. Both guys are strikers who have been
Kod in the past. In this fight I expect Kongo to use his
wrestling to wear down the young Jordan, if he doesn’t Kongo
could find himself on a Fuel card soon.
Jordan TKO Round
1
This
is a fight that every single middleweight in the world should be
watching. Lombard (31-2-1,
0-0) is making his UFC debut and is #6 in my rankings. A impressive
win likely pits him against Anderson Silva. There is a logjam in the
division. Between Lombard, Weidman, Stann, Bisping and Belcher Joe
Silva's job gets much easier with a KO win by Lightning. Lombard has
done all he can outside the UFC to make a name for himself and now is
his chance to step up and make the most of his opportunity.
The
one man who can throw a wrench into everything is Tim Boetsch (15-4,
6-3). Thats no problem for him because he has been doing that since
dropping down to middleweight. Three straight wins over Kendall
Grove, Nick Ring and his massive comeback against Yushin Okami.
Boetsch took a lot of shots in that fight and showed resiliency.
The
problem is that the Barbarian has never faced anyone with the power
of Lombard. If he gets hit anywhere near the number of times he did
against Okami it is going to be lights out for him.Lombard
KO Round 1
The
interim bantamweight title is on the line for these two tough
competitors. Barão
(28-1, 3-0) is
on an absolute warpath. He is unbeaten in his last 29 fights and has
not been in trouble in any of them. Also, Barão
is the favorite by oddsmakers despite being Faber's (26-5, 2-1)
popularity.
Faber
was the king of the WEC before it was taken over by the UFC. He was
the face of the company and has had titles in every organization he
has fought in. Faber does not surprise you much with his game either.
He is an aggressive fighter with incredible cardio and one of the
best guillotines in the sport.
Barão
will need to adapt his training partner, Jose Aldo's, fighting style,
to win this fight. Aldo picked Faber apart with leg kicks (proof) en
route to a decision win. If Barão can utilize his length to avoid
power shots he should be able to work his stand up game.
Faber's
number one goal should be to survive the first two rounds. If he can
win either of them its even better. Barão is unbeatable when the
bell wing but last time we saw him against Scott Jorgensen he slowed
down. The championship rounds will definitely be the California
Kid's if it lasts that long.Faber
Decision (48-47)
 |
| There can only be one champion... unless you count that Cruz guy Credit:MMAJunkie |
If you liked this article please leave a comment below and vote on the poll to the right. Also, I started a weekly podcast called Split Decision on http://www.sportsgeeksusa.com/ with my friend Ryan Penney (his picks below). Be easy on the kid he is still upset about Chael’s loss.
Feel free to leave your predictions on our facebook page. The show airs daily Monday-Friday.
Chris
“The Menace” Clements vs. Matt Riddle
First
fight in the main card features the only syrup lover on the main card
with Clements hailing from Ontario . The Menace (no Dennis) is 1-0 in
the UFC with a decision victory his last time out. Clements has had
his opponent changed a few times due to injuries, and now gets a new
puzzle.. Or Riddle?(bad attempt at humor). Matt Riddle gets the call.
Riddle is coming off a big win in his last fight against Henry
Martinez in February. I see this fight being a bit boring….. I hope
I am wrong, but I will give the Canadian (Clements) the edge in his
native land via Decision.
Brian
Ebersole vs. James Head
I
love hilarious facial hair… hilarious body hair makes me
uncomfortable… mainly because I cant grow it in order to design it…
Ebersole is a late replacement after injuries forced Claude Patrick
out. Ebersole had decision victory less than a month ago, so his
training camp wasn’t hurt too bad being shortened. Head got a big
victory in Sweden over Papy Abedi to go 1-1 so far in the octagon. I
think Ebersole looked great in his last fight, but didn’t put TJ
away, and wont put Head away… which will hurt him and come round 3
Head will lock in a guillotine choke for the submission victory.
Cheick
Kongo vs. Shawn Jordan
Who
knows which Cheick will show up? This guy looks tough as hell and
sometimes even fights that way.. other times he looks like he could
careless. I am a big Shawn Jordan guy from what I have seen and I
think he has a chance to at least have a say in title match ups, but
wont get there himself (definition of a gatekeeper). I think Kongo
gets rocked and Jordan beats the hell out of him to get a stoppage in
round 2.
Hector
Lombard vs. Tim Boetsch
Lombard
doesn’t want Silva next… He wants Munoz(apparently the trash talk
angered the newest UFC’er)He might not get his wish with a
dominating performance though… I think if he impresses, he gets
Silva next (Chris Weidman disagrees). Boetsch had a great
comeback victory last time out… was down on the scorecard, and came
out and won it… Sadly, I don’t think this gets close to the
3rd round. Round 1 TKO for Lombard and a date with
Weidman… winner gets the Spider!
Urijah
Faber had a tough test in Cruz…. I think he has an even tougher
test with Renan Barao. Barao has a winning streak that most UFC
fighters will never get near… Barao was going to get a title shot
sooner rather than later, an injury sped things up…. I think Barao
wins this thing if Urijah tries to get cute and finish him… Barao
will struggle when this thing gets to the championship rounds.
Barao’s cardio has been questioned, and I think that might be the
one chance Faber has to win it. Sadly, I don’t think this thing
sees the championship rounds. Barao catches that famous chin in round
2 and ends it with an armbar to get the interim belt.
That’s
it for me. Enjoy the fights and tune in on Monday to Split Decision!
No comments:
Post a Comment