UFC 130 Predictions

I haven't done a fight prediction post in a while and, after looking over this weekend's UFC 130 card, I felt like getting one going. There are some very, very good fights coming up this weekend and I'm starting to get pumped for them! And I'll note, I don't think Rampage vs Hamill should be the main event. I'd have gone with Mir vs Nelson or, as one of my Twitter pals suggested, Alves vs Story.

Anyway, enough with the jibber jabber, let's get to the calls!

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Matt Hamill
Prediction: Hamill by TKO in Rd. 3
Reason: Depending on which Rampage shows up this could be a fairly easy fight for Hamill or a three round war. I've heard that Rampage is focused and training hard in camp but they always say that. The proof will be in how he goes about his business on Saturday night. I think Hamill wins this because he's younger, stronger, hungrier and still completely dedicated to mma. Rampage has half his mind on movie scripts and Hollywood booty and on how he's not making enough money in the UFC.
Result: Rampage by Yawn.

Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson
Prediction: Mir by TKO in Rd. 3
Reason: I'm not a Roy Nelson fan, yes, he's a good fighter but he's a pig to look at and seems to have some idea that he's Adonis. I think this fight is Mir's to lose, he's faster, stronger and should be able to pick Nelson apart with his striking.
Result: Mir outworks Nelson and his big fat gut.

Stefan Struve vs. Travis Browne
Prediction: Struve by Unanimous Decision
Result: Browne by Timmmmmbeeeeeeerrrrrrr. Struve loses by getting KTFO.

Jorge Santiago vs. Brian Stann
Prediction: Stann by TKO in Rd 1
Reason: Brian Stann is a man on a mission, he's an incredibly dedicated and talented fighter who is passionate about his military service and veterans. He's fighting on Memorial Day weekend and is going to come into this fight so amped up and ready I just don't see him losing. That said, my exposure to Santiago is minimal so perhaps Santiago has the skills and talent to neutralize Stann's blitzkrieg. Maybe but I doubt it.
Result: Stann by Nighty-night KO.

Thiago Alves vs. Rick Story
Prediction: Alves by Unanimous Decision
Result: Story writes his own ending.

Miguel Torres vs. Demetrious Johnson
Prediction: Torres by Unanimous Decision
Result: Johnson squeaks out the win. Get it? His nickname is Mighty Mouse, now do you get it?

Tim Boetsch vs. Kendall Grove
Prediction: Boetsch by TKO Rd. 2
Result: Boetsch by decision, should have been by KO.

Update: I missed most of the fights as I was at a birthday party but I did tune in for Mir/Nelson and Rampage/Hamill. Which was the worst part of the card and I was left with a kind of Meh feeling about the fights. I did get to see Brian Stann's KO over Santiago on the replays and that helped make up for things some.
I did not do well on my calls though, going a rather limp 3-4 which is kind of apropos since the Mir/Nelson fight was not very exciting (and seeing that nasty gut for three rounds was almost like torture). And then the Rampage vs Hamill fight was, to be honest, boring. Rampage is not a very dynamic and interesting fighter anymore, he's a charismatic personality but he's not much of a fight draw (not in my mind at least).

Big Sports Weekend Coming Up!

This Saturday is going to be one of epic sporting awesomeness! We are going to the San Francisco Giants FanFest during the day and then there is the rather superb card of fights on tap for UFC 126. Seriously, this card is rocking! And, oh yeah, there's a little football game on Sunday to determine the greatest team in the entire universe (or America). I'm a Steelers fan and expect a great game with the Steelers emerging victorious!

UFC FNftT 2 Predictions

With tonight's UFC Fight Night for the Troops II nearly upon us, I thought I'd post my calls. I am bummed that the Riddle/Brown fight was scrapped when Matt Riddle hurt his hand in training. There was a Twitter campaign to have Dana White call Ben "Killa B" Saunders back to the big show to take on Brown but the Keyboard Corps were unable to sway Dana White's mind so there's one less fight on the card.

The calls below are not complete as the first three fights feature fighters who I've had very, very little exposure to and any prediction would be shooting in the dark. I've also not entered any of these picks into the UFC's Fantasy Game since the system has been badly broken for a while now, I'm just not going to waste the time until they get it fixed up.

Anyway, on with the picks!

Melvin Guillard vs. Evan Dunham
Prediction: Dunham by TKO in Rd. 3
   
Mark Hominick vs. George Roop
Prediction: Roop by TKO in Rd. 2

Tim Hague vs. Matt Mitrione
Prediction: Mitrione by Unanimous Decision
   
Pat Barry vs. Joey Beltran
Prediction: Barry by TKO in Rd. 1
   
Cole Miller vs. Matt Wiman
Prediction: Miller by Unanimous Decision
   
Mike Guymon vs. DaMarques Johnson
Prediction: Guymon by Submission in Rd. 3
   
Yves Edwards vs. Cody McKenzie
Prediction: Edwards by Unanimous Decision

Fight of the Night: Dunham/Guillard
Knockout of the Night: Barry
Submission of the Night: Guymon

So there ya go. We'll see how I do later on, seems like its been a little while since there have been any fights on, I'm just looking forward to seeing some action!

What are your calls?

Quick UFC 125 Predictions

Not too much time so I'm just gonna blast them out.
Edgar vs Maynard - Maynard by Unanimous Decision
Leben vs Stann - Leben by TKO in Rd. 3
Vera vs Silva - Silva by TKO in Rd. 2
Daiz vs Kim - Diaz by Submission in Rd. 2
Guida vs Gomi - Gomi by Unanimous Decision
Davis vs Stephens - Davis by TKO in Rd. 2
Grispi vs Poirier - Grispi by TKO in Rd. 2
Baroni vs Tavares - Tavares by TKO in Rd. 1
Brown vs Nunes - Brown by Unanimous Decision
Roberts vs Soto - Roberts by TKO in Rd 2
Volkmann vs McKee - McKee by TKO in Rd. 2

Fight of the Night: Leben vs Stann
Knockout of the Night: Tavares
Submission of the Night: Diaz

Some great fights on tap tonight. Very much looking forward to Nate Diaz taking on Stun Gun. And seeing how Marcus Davis looks and performs at 155. Then there's Chris Leben taking on Brian Stann, another good fight there. And, of course, seeing if Frankie Edgar's hyper butterfly style can defeat Gray Maynard's take 'em down and beat 'em up style.

Who do you have tonight?

UFC 124 Predictions

Time for another prediction post for this weekend's rather exciting UFC 124 showdown between Georges St. Pierre (the best fighter on the planet) and trash talking fraggle heel, Josh Koscheck. Without too much further lead-in, here are my calls for tomorrow night's fights. These are the same calls I entered into the UFC Fantasy pick'em and I've been finishing in the top 100 the last bunch of fights so there's that.

Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck
Prediction: St. Pierre by Unanimous Decision
Reason: GSP has been unbeatable since that freakish and annoying loss to Matt Serra. I think Kos is a tremendously dangerous opponent for him though as Kos has superb wrestling, is strong like a bull and comes at you with a fury. But GSP is the number one ranked fighter on the planet for a reason. I think GSP will handle Kos, frustrate him and decision him though GSP could be pissed off enough to let his hands go and knock Kos out (remember that wicked KO by Thiago Silva Paulo Thiago (ed note: Ooops!)? GSP is stronger!).

UFC 120 Predictions

That's right campers, it is time for some predictionating!

185 lbs.: Michael Bisping (185) vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
Prediction: Bisping by TKO in Round 2
Reason: I may not like Michael Bisping but that's got nothing to do with his ability to fight, I just think he's a douchebag Brit. That said, I think he's going to come out fired up and throwing leather since he's on his home turf and doesn't want to look like a punk.

170 lbs.: Carlos Condit vs. Dan Hardy
Prediction: Hardy by KO in Round 2
Reason: I'm not sure what's up with Carlos Condit, he went from being virtually unbeatable to being rather beatable. Sometimes when that Loss cherry gets popped, a whole bunch of other losses just follow naturally and I'm not saying it'll happen here but Condit appeared, to me, a little cautious in his last couple of fights I've seen (admittedly I may have missed some). I also think Hardy's going to be similarly fired up and while he is a wanker, he's also a very, very dangerous striker with "Go sleep, nighty-night" power in both hands.

170 lbs.: John Hathaway vs. Mike Pyle
Prediction: Unanimous Decision
Reason: Pyle's no pushover and Hathaway's no joke, this is gonna be a good fight. This could be a Fight of the Night.

265 lbs.: Travis Browne vs. Cheick Kongo
Prediction: Kongo by TKO in Round 3
Reason: I'm not too familiar with Travis Browne. He's got a great record but is stepping up into a whole other level of combat with Kongo. Kongo is a kickboxing star with great striking and a world of experience which, I think will be the difference in the end.

170 lbs.: James Wilks vs. Claude Patrick
Prediction: Patrick by TKO in Round 3

155 lbs.: Spencer Fisher vs. Kurt Warburton
Prediction: Fisher by Unanimous Decision

205 lbs.: Fabio Maldonado vs. James McSweeney
Prediction: Maldonado by TKO in Round 3

205 lbs.: Cyrille Diabate vs. Alexander Gustafsson
Prediction: Gustafsson by Split Decision

155 lbs.: Mark Holst vs. Paul Sass
Prediction: Sass by Unanimous Decision

265 lbs.: Rob Broughton vs. Vinicius Kappke de Quieroz
Prediction: Submission (Choke) in Round 1

Fight of the Night: Fisher vs Warburton
Submission of the Night: Queiroz
Knockout of the Night: Hardy

There ya go, folks. Check back and see how I did, submit your own predictions or a link to yours and I'll come and check them out. At UFC 119, I ended up #62 out of some 11,000 players on the UFC Fantasy Picks.

Some of the other folks I follow and have checked their calls:
Zach at the Sports Jury
MMAHotstuff at ESPN's MMA Blog

Update 10.17.10: Well, I barely stayed above .500 on my picks but, because of how I picked the finishes, I still did really well on the UFC pick'em. Well enough to break the top 50 and even the top 40. I ended up #36 of just under 8900 players. Which is pretty freaking good. I missed all three of my of the Night calls though, oops.

The fights were pretty decent. I enjoyed watching Carlos Condit knock Dan Hardy out cold. Seeing Mike Pyle just pwn John Hathaway for three rounds was impressive, more so considering Hathaway's previously unblemished 14-0 record, now 14-1. And sorry, I'm just not very impressed with Michael Bisping, he does the look and the act and everything but that's what it feels like, a big act. I don't think he's got the heart to be a champion, he'd like to be one but I don't think he's got it in him.

The big thing is that with 120 out of the way, we've got the rather much more star studded and awesome 121 coming in fast on its heels! Here's the card:
265 lbs.: Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez <--- Awesomeness! Cain is a bad man, Brock's a bad man!
205 lbs.: Matt Hamill vs. Tito Ortiz <--- Hamill should pwn Tito. It should be fun to watch.
265 lbs.: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Brendan Schaub <--- Schaub's an up and comer, Gonzaga's a wild bear!
170 lbs.: Martin Kampmann vs. Jake Shields <--- Holy shit, this is the fourth fight on the card!?!
170 lbs.: Diego Sanchez vs. Paulo Thiago <--- Holy shit! This is the fifth fight on the card!?!
185 lbs.: Ryan Jensen vs. Court McGee
185 lbs.: Patrick Cote vs. Tom Lawlor <--- Big fan of Filthy here but he'll have his hands full with Cote.
265 lbs.: Gilbert Yvel vs. Jon Madsen <--- Big step up for Madsen, Yvel's gonna be a big task.
155 lbs.: Sam Stout vs. Paul Taylor <--- Holy shit, this fight didn't even make the telecast?
170 lbs.: Mike Guymon vs. Daniel Roberts
185 lbs.: Chris Camozzi vs. Dongi Yang

Full post on this massive card later this week.

UFC 118 Predictions

Some pretty interesting fights on tap at this weekend's UFC 118. As usual, I've got some predictions to make. These are the same calls I entered into the UFC Fantasy game and I've now broken into the top 100 in the last two events so I'm hoping to continue the trend.

Let's get to the calls.

Frankie Edgar vs BJ Penn
Prediction: BJ by Submission
Reason: BJ might just tear Edgar's head off. He's coming into this fight pissed off and a pissed off BJ Penn is a damned scary sight on the other side of the Octagon. I am not dismissing Frankie Edgar but I think he got a little underestimated last time and I think BJ is going to leave nothing to chance.

UFC 115 Predictions

Here we go again! Another stacked UFC card. Headlined by the return of the Iceman, Chuck Liddell, after a full year layoff to rest, recover and let his body fully heal after a series of knockouts. There are some really good matches tonight and I'm jacked to enjoy the fights. My predictions for the fights are below. I have entered the same predictions at UFC's Fantasy Game. Get your picks and see if you can beat me!

Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin
Prediction: Liddell by TKO in Rd. 2
Reason: This is very tough fight to call. Both fighters are on the down slope of their careers (but don't tell them that), Chuck's taken the last year off to let his body heal up and to get in quite impressively ripped shape. Rich is a pro, an extremely well-rounded and talented striker. Like many fights, this one is going to come down to who lands the big punch first. I'm going with the Iceman but it could just as easily be Ace.

Patrick Barry vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
Prediction: Barry by TKO in Rd. 3

Martin Kampmann vs. Paulo Thiago
Prediction: Thiago by Submission in Rd. 2

Ben Rothwell vs. Gilbert Yvel
Prediction: Rothwell by TKO in Rd. 1

Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald
Prediction: Condit by Submission in Rd. 2

Evan Dunham vs. Tyson Griffin
Prediction: Griffin by Unanimous Decision

Mac Danzig vs. Matt Wiman
Prediction: Wiman by TKO in Rd. 2

David Loiseau vs. Mario Miranda
Prediction: Miranda by TKO in Rd. 3

Peter Sobotta vs. James Wilks
Prediction: Wilks by Unanimous Decision

Ricardo Funch vs. Claude Patrick
Prediction: Patrick by TKO in Rd. 1

Jesse Lennox vs. Mike Pyle
Prediction: Pyle by GomerTKO in Rd. 3

Fight of the Night: Liddell vs. Franklin
Knockout of the Night: Pyle
Submission of the Night: Condit

Check back and laugh at me if I do really bad! You can also post your picks in the comments too.

Update: Went 6 for 11 on the night after a truly stellar 5-0 start. Oh well, could be worse, I could have gotten my lights turned off and my lip split like Chuck (we still love you, Iceman!). My calls were good 102 out of 15000+ on UFC's Fantasy Pick'Em.

UFC Fight Night 21 Predictions

The UFC and Spike are kicking off another season of The Ultimate Fighter tonight and are putting on a free UFC event to start the season off right. Here are my predictions for the fights tonight.

Main event:
155 lbs.: Kenny Florian vs. Takanori Gomi
Prediction: Florian by TKO

Main card (Televised):
265 lbs.: Roy Nelson vs. Stefan Struve
Prediction: Nelson by smother submission

185 lbs.: Nate Quarry vs. Jorge Rivera
Prediction: Quarry by TKO

155 lbs.: Ross Pearson vs. Dennis Siver
Prediction: Pearson by Unanimous Decision

Under card (May not be broadcast):
155 lbs.: Rob Emerson vs. Nik Lentz
Prediction: Lentz by Unanimous Decision

155 lbs.: Gleison Tibau vs. Caol Uno
Prediction: Tibau by TKO

155 lbs.: Rafaello Oliveira vs. Andre Winner
Prediction: Winner by TKO

155 lbs.: Ronys Torres vs. Jacob Volkmann
Prediction: Volkman by Unanimous Decision

185 lbs.: Gerald Harris vs. Mario Miranda
Prediction: Harris by TKO

170 lbs.: Charlie Brenneman vs. Jason High
Prediction: High by Submission

185 lbs.: Lucio Linhares vs. Yushin Okami
Prediction: Linhares by TKO

Update: The annoying thing about tape delayed sports events is that, with Twitter and real-time sports sites, there's almost no way to avoid seeing who won and who lost well before the events. In this case, I knew every winner and loser and didn't even end up trying to watch the fights themselves. Which kind of sucks.

Anyway, how'd I do? Looks like I called 8 for 11 on the night. I did not predict Roy Nelson's big knockout of Struve and I did not see Nate Quarry getting schooled by Jorge Rivera. I'm not unhappy with my predictions but I am unhappy that the night had been ruined before I'd gotten a chance to watch the fights.

That and why does Spike lock down their damned content so much? It is annoyingly difficult to find an online feed to watch the shows on Spike.

UFC 111 Predictions

Great, great card lined up for tonight's UFC 111. Headlined by a couple of big time fights in Hardy taking on GSP and Mir and Carwin going at it. Saunders and Fitch as a late replacement bout along with Diaz and Markham means this ought to be a fun card all the way through.

Should be a night of fights that will not disappoint. Here are my predictions for the night's fights.

Georges St. Pierre vs. Dan Hardy
Prediction: GSP by TKO

Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin
Prediction: Carwin by KO

Ben Saunders vs. Jon Fitch
Prediction: Saunders by TKO

Fabricio Camoes vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Prediction: Pellegrino by Submission

Jim Miller vs. Mark Bocek
Prediction: Miller by TKO

Nate Diaz vs. Rory Markham
Prediction: Diaz by Submission

Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Brown
Prediction: Almeida by Decision

Jared Hamman vs. Rodney Wallace
Prediction: Wallace by Decision

Tomasz Drwal vs. Rousimar Palhares
Prediction: Drwal by Decision

Matt Riddle vs. Greg Soto
Prediction: Riddle by TKO

There ya go.

Update: It was a great night of fights, wish I could have seen the undercard battles as well but that's how it goes sometimes. I ended up pulling a 7-3 here and a very solid 8-1 on the ESPN pick'em. The Carwin massacre of Mir was impressive, fast and demonstrated how much power Carwin has in those short punches. Mir looked huge but it wasn't anywhere near enough to slow down the Carwin 1st round stoppage train.

The GSP/Hardy fight was impressive but more so because GSP dominated another strong fighter nearly from opening bell to final bell. Dan Hardy never got a chance to open up and launch his bombs. GSP took him down at will, controlled him from the top position and basically had complete control the entire time. Watching GSP fight is like watching BJ Penn fight at lightweight, there's just nobody close to his level.

It was a bad pick to take Saunders over Fitch because Fitch is a smothering kind of overpowering guy, he does pretty what GSP does, take them down and control them. Not as dynamic and not as complete as GSP but Fitch is a very, very good fighter.

It was a good night of fights, wish I'd been able to rally up some pals to drink and play cards but that's alright, I was able to concentrate on the fights.

My UFC Fight Night Predictions

An odd Sunday telecast of mixed martial arts action, UFC on Versus: Vera vs. Jones (though we are all excited that the UFC is back on Versus!), is fast approaching and yet another card stacked with some fights that look pretty exciting on paper from the main event on down. Which makes for a fun night but a tough card to predict.

But I'm gonna give it a shot anyway because that's just how I roll.

Main Event:
Brandon Vera vs. Jon Jones
Prediction: Jones by TKO

Junior Dos Santos vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
Prediction: Dos Santos by TKO

Chieck Kongo vs. Paul Buentello
Prediction: Kongo by TKO

Alessio Sakara vs. James Irvin
Prediction: Sakara by Submission

Clay Guida vs. Shannon Gugerty
Prediction: Guida by Unanimous Decision

Eliot Marshall vs. Vladimir Matyusheno
Prediction: Marshall by Submission

Duane Ludwig vs. Darren Elkins
Prediction: Ludwig by Knockout

John Howard vs. Daniel Roberts
Prediction: Howard by TKO

Brendan Schaub vs. Chase Gormley
Prediction: Schaub by TKO

Mike Pierce vs. Julio Paulino
Prediction: TKO

Eric Schafer vs. Jason Brilz
Prediction: Schafer by Submission

Fight of the Night: Dos Santos vs. Gonzaga
Submission of the Night: Marshall
Knockout of the Night: Ludwig

And there ya go. I've been hovering just outside the top 100 in the fantasy league on UFC.com. Maybe this is the week I break into the double digits. Check back and see! And if you've got some predictions then leave a comment and let's hear 'em!

And then, just as soon as we've caught our breath from tomorrow's fights, there are some more outstanding fights next weekend with Georges St. Pierre defending his title against Dan Hardy and Shane Carwin finally locking horns with Frank Mir. March is going to go out with a BANG!

My Quick UFC 110 Predictions

Not much chit-chat for now, here are my picks for tonight's UFC 110 fights.

Big Nog over Cain
Silva over Bisping
Sotiropolous over Stevenson
Bader over Jardine
Cro Cop over Perosh
Soszynski over Bonnar
Lytle over Foster
Reljic over Dollaway
Pokrajac over Te Huna

Not taking too many risks with picks tonight. Maybe taking Silva over Bisping is a risky call since Silva's lost three of his last four. But I think Silva's going to be just too damned much for the mouthy Brit.

Fight of the Night will likely be Lytle and Foster but might end up being Cain and Big Nog.
Submission of the Night will likely be Sotiropolous and Stevenson.
Knockout of the Night will be Silva and Bisping.

Either way, it should be a pretty decent night of fights. I'm most looking forward to Bader/Jardine, Lytle/Foster and Silva/Bisping with Big Nog/Cain a close fourth.

UFC Fight Night Predictions

Some good fights coming up in the next couple of days with the WEC fights tonight and then a UFC Fight Night on Monday.

Not too much time to put too much into this one since we're supposed to be getting ready to go check out the Cyclocross races in Aptos.

Here we go.
Maynard over Diaz
Escudero over Dunham
Lawlor over Simpson
Sadollah over Blackburn
Leben over Silva (looking forward to seeing Leben back in action)
Lennox over Story
Tavares over Lentz
MacDonald over Guymon
Bradley over Dos Anjos (love the square hair, Raf)
Harris over Salter
Forbes over Catone

Fight of the Night to Maynard vs Diaz
Submission of the Night to Sadollah
Knockout of the Night to Lawlor

Check back to see how my calls go.

UFC 107 Predictions

Time to put my money where my mouth is, make my UFC 107 predictions public and see how I do after tonight's outstanding fight card is run.

Televised Bouts
BJ Penn vs. Diego Sanchez
Prediction: Penn
Reason: Sanchez is an animal and comes with a furious power but Penn is the kingpin in the lightweight division. I think this is going to be a great fight but I'm going with the champ.

Frank Mir vs. Cheick Kongo
Prediction: Mir
Reason: Kongo is pissed off at remarks Mir's said recently, he's going to come with some anger. But I think the basic fact is that Mir's jits is far better than Kongo's jits defense. I see a choke out or arm bar in this one.

Jon Fitch vs. Mike Pierce
Prediction: Fitch
Reason: Don't know Pierce but I do know Fitch and he is one of the toughest sumbitches in the fight game. He brings his A-game each time he fights and his A-game is pretty damned good.

Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida
Prediction: Florian
Reason: I like Guida, everybody likes Guida but Florian is the better fighter. Period. Aside from Penn above, I think Florian is the class of the weight class.

Paul Buentello vs. Stefan Struve
Prediction: Struve

Preliminary Bouts
Alan Belcher vs. Wilson Gouveia
Prediction: Gouveia

Matt Wiman vs. Shane Nelson
Prediction: Nelson

Johny Hendricks vs. Ricardo Funch
Prediction: Hendricks

Rousimar Palhares vs. Lucio Linhares
Prediction: Palhares

DeMarques Johnson vs. Edgar Garcia
Prediction: Garcia

Kevin Burns vs. TJ Grant
Prediction: Burns

Update: I went 7-11 on my picks this time around and scored 173 points in the UFC Fantasy picks which was good enough for 112th place out of more than 20,000. Not too bad. And the fights were very, very good action almost all the way through the night. I wonder how Diego Sanchez's face is feeling today because looking at it post fight made me cringe.

UFC 94 Predictions

There is an outstanding night of UFC action on tap this evening. Still not sure if I'm going to be able to watch the event but here are my predictions.

Georges St. Pierre vs. BJ Penn: St. Pierre via TKO in Round 3
Reason: Its much harder to step up in weight class and BJ's conditioning is always a question mark. The deeper this fight goes, the more likely St. Pierre wins it. Plus, St. Pierre has gotten better and better and better with each successive fight, his physical attributes combined with his confidence makes for a very daunting opponent. But then, BJ Penn is a very dangerous opponent with superb jui jitsu and better striking than I think many give him credit for. It should be an excellent fight either way.

Lyoto Machida vs. Thiago Silva: Machida by TKO in Round 2
Reason: Thiago Silva is a rabid pitbull in the ring, he comes at his opponents and usually can overwhelm them. But Machida's style runs perpendicular to most others. He is elusive and patient and has no problems waiting to pick his shots. Machida's technical skills are nearly perfect.

Stephan Bonnar vs. Jon Jones: Jones by TKO in Round 2
Reason: I like Stephan Bonnar but he's coming off a long layoff from injury, he's going to be a little rusty while Jones is hot to make a name for himself.

Nate Diaz vs. Clay Guida: Diaz by submission in Round 2
Reason: This has greatness written all over it. Guida is fun to watch, win or lose. He brings high intensity and relentless attack. Diaz is a tough son of a bitch who fights smart and has outstanding jui jitsu.

Karo Parisyan vs. Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim: Stun Gun via TKO in Round 2
Reason: Unless Karo refound his heart, he's going to get his ass handed to him. There's no question about Kim's heart, he wants to kick ass. Parisyan has the skills to win but those panic attacks he's spoken of make his heart questionable. We'll see if he's worked out the mental kinks.

Jon Fitch vs. Akihiro Gono: Fitch by KO in Round 2
Reason: Jon Fitch is aching to wipe away the memory of Georges St. Pierre schooling him. Gono is a very good fighter but Fitch is a cut above and is going to bring his A game into the Octagon. Still, this could go to Gono if Fitch is over-aggressive.

Manny Gamburyan vs. Thiago Tavares: Gamburyan by TKO in Round 1
Reason: Tavares is no joke and he could easily win this fight but Gamburyan is a very, very strong and very, very driven fighter with outstanding striking and a big heart. This could also be fight of the night style battle.

Chris Wilson vs. John Howard: Don't know either fighter well enough to make a call.

Jake O’Brien vs. Christian Wellisch: O'Brien by TKO in Round 1
Reason: I don't know much about Wellisch but I've seen O'Brien fight several times and he brings it. I'm not really strong on this prediction without more info on Wellisch but I'm taking Jake here.

Matt “No Regard” Arroyo vs. Daniel Cramer: Arroyo by TKO strikes in Round 3
Reason: Cramer's a real fighter despite his pretty face. He takes the game seriously and comes ready to kick some ass. But I tend to think Arroyo has the edge in skill and the ability to finish. I could be wrong though, we'll just have to wait and see.

UFC 92 Predictions

Tonight's UFC 92 The Ultimate 2008 is one of the most anticipated nights of mma fighting in the entire year. The card is STACKED!

Here are my predictions:

Main Event:
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin (16-4) vs. Rashad Evans (12-0-1)
Prediction: Tough call, Forrest is as tough as anyone but Rashad is pretty impressive. I'll go with Forrest in a decision.

Main card (Televised):
UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira (31-4-1) vs. Frank Mir (11-3)
Prediction: Never bet against Nogueira, the guy is like an ass kicking machine. Noqueira by TKO in Round 3.

C.B. Dollaway (7-1) vs. Mike Massenzio (11-2)
Prediction: I'd like to see C.B. start winning some fights and he's got history with Mike. C.B. by submission in Round 2.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (28-7) vs. Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1)
Prediction: Rampage has lost to Wanderlei twice in the past. I expect Rampage will be as motivated as he's ever been. Rampage by KO in Round 2.

Cheick Kongo (12-4-1) vs. Mustafa Al-Turk (6-3)
Prediction: If this fight stays standing then Cheick wins but, as it is likely to do, if it goes to the ground, he's toast. Mustafa by TKO in Round 2.

I'm not going to get too much into the undercard that won't be televised but I will call Matt Hamill vs. Reese Andy. Hamill is very powerful and has been working on his standup. I'm seeing Hamill with a TKO in Round 1.

There ya go, check back tomorrow to see how I did this time after my last not so awesome calling job.

UFC 91 Predictions

Time for some fight predictions for tomorrow night's UFC 91. I'll be watching and the UFC's president, Dana White, is predicting upwards of a million PPV buys which I don't see happening but I do think this will easily break previous UFC sales records.

Couture vs Lesnar - this is a tough one to call but I'm going to go with Randy to win this. Lesnar is getting better and better in each fight but The Natural has been playing this game for a long time and is one of the most savvy fighters ever to grace the Octagon. Brock Lesnar is an impressive physical specimen and an outstanding athlete. He's strong, fast and big. But he has yet to have his chin tested in an MMA match. I don't think he's going to enjoy getting punched in the face by Randy at all. And who knows what will happen if/when he gets cut.
Prediction: Couture by TKO strikes.

Florian vs Stevenson - personal feelings aside (I tend to think Joe Stevenson is a bit of a douchebag) I think Kenny is going to win this fight. He's fast, strong and very talented. Stevenson is really well experienced for his age but I just don't see him winning. Plus Kenny Florian has, oddly enough, sharp elbows that are like bony knives.
Prediction: Florian by TKO strikes.

Gonzaga vs Hendricks - Gabriel Gonzaga nearly kicked Mirko Cro Cop's head clean off, he's a monster with heavy hands and outstanding jui jitsu. I don't know much about Hendricks but I'm going with the known monster and giving the fight to Gonzaga via TKO in the second.
Prediction: Gonzaga by submission, possibly a rear naked choke.

Quarry vs Maia - I am a fan of Nate "Rock" Quarry. He had spinal fusion surgery and has returned to the Octagon and had several very exciting and great wins. I don't know Maia very well but he's supposed to be an excellent fighter and will give Quarry everything he can handle. But, in the end, I think Quarry will handle him.
Prediction: Quarry by TKO strikes.

The next four fights are fighters I have little to no knowledge of and can't make any kind of a prediction one way or the other.

Brown vs Thomas - Any fan of the UFC has seen Matt Brown on a recent season of The Ultimate Fighter. He's a tough guy, he likes to fight and he will absolutely bring it. Don't know much about Thomas but he's got a good record (which is different on different MMA sites) and is a good wrestler.
Prediction: Brown by knockout.

There it is. I doubt I'll be spot on but you never know. I'd like to see Couture win primarily because I like him and I tend to think Lesnar is too raw, too new and hasn't earned a shot at the heavyweight title after a mere three professional fights. Plus there's the whole fact that he comes from the WWE and its circus sideshow idiot mentality. Sorry, I absolutely hate "professional" wrestling because it isn't a sport, its a soap opera on steroids.

I'll report back in after the fights with a scorecard tally and fight reflections.

Playoffs

[Update 10/9/07 8:10 am: And the Yankees are sent packing by the Indians. This is going to be an interesting AL and NL Championship series.

And I think Joe Torre has been treated like crap by Steinbrenner, who's a colossal jackass.

I think I'll start a new thread for the Championship series as this one is getting a wee bit long in the teeth now.]

[Update 10/7/07 8:00 pm: Of course the Yankees would have to go and ruin Sweep Sunday, the grand finale to Sweep Weekend by winning game three against the Indians. Of course, the Red Sox did their business and put the whimpering Angels down.

Oh well, I guess the Yankees will just go down tomorrow. I wonder if they have to now win every game through to the World Series or Torre will get canned? What great working conditions!]

[Update 10/6/07 9:56 pm: The Rockies just finished Sweep Saturday after the Diamondbacks knocked the Cubs out of the playoffs earlier today. The Phillies and Cubs get to go home. And we've got an all NL West Championship matchup.

Keep your fingers crossed for Sweep Sunday to send the Indians and Red Sox into battle and the Yanks and Angels home.]

[Update 10/4/07 8:26 pm: I should note that my predictions above are not indicative of what I'd like to see happen so much as what I think will happen. What I'd like to see is the Yankees lose in three (down 1-0 to the Indians now) and go home crying and throw A-Rod to the Giants. But I don't think it'll happen. Anyway, the Rockies are staying on target against the Phillies (erroneously posted originally as the Padres, woops), the Yanks got crushed and the Cubs are currently down. Oh yeah, Byrnes hit a triple in the second.

I think I'm going to just update this post as the playoffs continue.]

Original post 10/4/07 12:06 am
I thought I'd saved these but they've now gone missing so oh well.

Here are my predictions for the 2007 baseball playoffs.

Red Sox over Angels in four. Yankees over Indians in three. Diamondbacks over Cubs in four. Rockies over Phillies in three.
Red Sox over Yanks in five. D'Backs over Rockies in five.
Red Sox over D'Backs in six.

But I could be wrong. If Byrnes' bat wakes up then watchout for the D'Backs to really catch fire.

Got a different outcome in mind? Break it down for me.

Super Bowl XLI Prediction

I don't have a real horse in today's Super Bowl match up. I like some things about the Colts and I like alot of things about Da Bears so, in a one to one matchup, I'm more of a Bears fan than a Colts fan.

And only a little bit tinged by my up-raising in Baltimore during the era when the Colts were stolen in the middle of the night.

My prediction for today's game is for the Bears to win, final score 31-24. Not for them to beat the spread (7 points last I checked) but for the Bears to win outright. What am I basing this on? [Update 3:13 pm: With a wet field and conditions, I'd knock three points off each score, maybe more if the rain holds up.]

Defense, fire and special teams.

There's no question that Peyton Manning is a far superior quarterback at this stage in his career than Rex Grossman. That's not really debatable.

But the Bears defense is well rested, fired up and is going to really make things tough on Peyton to get his job done. And yes, Manning has weapons to use in Marvin Harrison, Joseph Addai, Dallas Clark and Dominic Rhodes. But you watch the Bears D come on strong and smack them right in the mouth.

On the Bears offensive side, Rex is shaky and it'll remain to be seen if Good Rex or Bad Rex shows up today. But he's also got some weapons to make use of.

The game will, as many NFL games do, come down to special teams and turnovers. If the Bears can strip the ball or intercept it more than twice, they'll win. If not then they'll lose. And don't be surprised if Devon Hester lights up the scoreboard on a kick return.

Either way, it'll be a good game and I'm looking forward to it.

[Update: Nine twenty pm, Colts by 12. Damn. The game got kind of boring in the second half. Oh well, nice job Peyton, Tony and the rest of the guys.]

Tags: Super Bowl, Bears, prediction, Colts