UFC 160: Velasquez vs. Bigfoot 2 Preview

Main Card on PPV

Heavyweight Championship: Cain Velasquez (11-1) vs. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva (18-4)
Prediction: "Bigfoot" wins via 2nd round KO.

Last 3 Fights for Velasquez:
UFC 155 - Junior dos Santos II - Win by unanimous decision for Heavyweight Championship
UFC 146 - Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva I - Win by TKO (elbow & punches) at 3:36 of round 1
UFC on FOX 1 - Junior dos Santos I - Loss by KO (punches) at 1:04 of round 1 for Heavyweight Championship

Last 3 Fights for "Bigfoot":
UFC 156 - Alistair Overeem - Win by KO (punches) at 0:25 of round 3
UFC on FX 5 - Travis Browne - Win by TKO (punches) at 3:27 of round 1
UFC 146 - Cain Velasquez I - Loss by TKO (elbow & punches) at 3:36 of round 1

For the second fight in a row, Velasquez is fighting a guy that he has already met inside the Octagon before. In the first encounter between the two Velasquez came out victorious and many are thinking this fight will go the same exact way.

While Silva's chin is in question, Velasquez was knocked out last year as well. When I look at the three main factors of the fight in stand-up, wrestling and BJJ; I see this fight being very even. In my opinion the stand-up is even with Velasquez having the wrestling advantage and "Bigfoot" having the jiu-jitsu advantage.

I think in the first round we will see a lot of Velasquez applying the pressure and using his wrestling to win the round. In the second round I'm expecting Silva to realize he doesn't want a grappling match and eventually throw some heavy blows that will likely catch Velasquez early in the second. If Silva isn't able to finish Velasquez early in this fight then expect a lot of what we saw in the second Velasquez-dos Santos fight.

Heavyweight: Junior dos Santos (15-2) vs. Mark Hunt (9-7)
Prediction: Hunt wins via unanimous decision.

Last 3 Fights for dos Santos:
UFC 155 - Cain Velasquez II - Loss by unanimous decison for Heavyweight Championship
UFC 146 - Frank Mir - Win by TKO (punches) at 3:04 of round 2
UFC on FOX 1 - Cain Velasquez I - Win by KO (punches) at 1:04 of round 1 for Heavyweight Championship

Last 3 Fights for Hunt:
UFC on Fuel TV 8 - Stefan Struve - Win by TKO (punches) at 1:44 of round 3
UFC 144 - Cheick Kongo - Win by TKO (punches) at 2:11 of round 1
UFC 135 - Ben Rothwell - Win by unanimous decision

As good and exciting as the main event will be, I think this is the fight to watch. The main event will likely end early by KO, but I just don't see either of these guys getting knocked out. These two guys have the heaviest hands in the heavyweight division as well as the strongest chins. Hunt has only been knocked out once while JDS has never been knocked out in his career.

The winner of this fight will likely get the winner of the Velasquez-Silva fight at some point later this year and which ever way this fight and the main event end, that fight later this year will definitely be worth watching.

This fight will likely not to see the ground once in 15 minutes unless someone knocks the other guy down, so I'm not even going to bother to write about the ground games of each fighter. As for standing on the feet, I'm giving Hunt the slight advantage overall as he is a former professional kickboxer. Dos Santos might have the better hands, but Hunt will be a lot better at using kicks and knees than JDS is. I think this fight will go the full time and in the end Hunt will be victorious. Hunt asked for this fight when Overeem got hurt and with a win tonight he could finally get that UFC title shot.

Light Heavyweight: Glover Teixeira (20-2) vs. James Te Huna (16-5)
Prediction: Teixeira wins via 2nd round submission.

Last 3 Fights for Teixeira:
UFC on Fox 6 - Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - Win by unanimous decision
UFC 153 - Fabio Maldonado - Win by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of round 2
UFC 146 - Kyle Kingsbury - Win by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 1:53 of round 1

Last 3 Fights for Te Huna:
UFC on Fuel TV 7 - Ryan Jimmo - Win by unanimous decision
UFC on Fuel TV 4 - Joey Beltran - Win by unanimous decision
UFC on FX 2 - Aaron Rosa - Win by TKO (punches) at 2:08 of round 1

Teixeira came into the UFC known as a guy who was really impressing everywhere he fought and also Chuck Liddell's training partner. Now in three fights in the UFC he might be one of the scariest guys at 205 and a future challenger to Jon Jones.

Te Huna has also been very successful as of late in the UFC and has only suffered one defeat in his time fighting in the Octagon. His only UFC defeat came to Alexander Gustafsson, who is currently considered as the best challenge to the champion, Jon Jones.

I think this fight might be pretty even on the feet, but am giving Teixeira the slight advantage there. On the ground I think Teixeira will have a clear advantage as he has never been submitted while Te Huna has suffered defeat via submission three times (a fourth by injury). I see this fight going past the first round as they will likely feel each other out first with Teixeira ending it in the second round. With this win I think Teixeira will likely need one more victory before earning a shot at Jones sometime in 2014.

Lightweight: Gray Maynard (11-1-1, 1NC) vs. TJ Grant (20-5)
Prediction: Maynard wins via unanimous decision.

Last 3 Fights for Maynard:
UFC on FX 4 - Clay Guida - Win by split decision
UFC 136 - Frankie Edgar III - Loss by KO (punches) at 3:54 of round 4 for Lightweight Championship
UFC 125 - Frankie Edgar II - Split draw for Lightweight Championship

Last 3 Fights for Grant:
UFC on FOX 6 - Matt Wiman - Win by KO (elbows & punches) at 4:51 of round 1
UFC 152 - Evan Dunahm - Win by unanimous decision
UFC on Fuel TV 3 - Carlo Prater - Win by unanimous decision

While I don't know too much about Grant coming into this fight he has been on a bit of a roll inside the Octagon. I don't really know if I believe the hype surrounding him as he has only defeated guys outside the top 15 of the lightweight and welterweight divisions. Maynard will definitely be the biggest test of his career tonight.

Gray Maynard has never been a guy that ends fights. Maynard uses his great wrestling to get his fights to the ground and then is usually able to keep his opponents there for 15 or 25 minutes depending on the length of the fight. He has been a very successful fighter in the UFC with only one loss in his career so far and could be looking at another title shot with a win tonight against Grant.

This fight is being looked at as a possible #1 contender's fight with the winner fighting Benson Henderson later this year for the UFC Lightweight Championship. Maynard will likely win this fight by using his wrestling and strength and not allowing Grant to really do anything. Unless Maynard finishes Grant tonight, or looks a lot more impressive than he has as of late I just don't see him having a shot against Henderson for the title.

Lightweight: Donald Cerrone (19-5, 1NC) vs. K.J. Noons (11-6)
Prediction: Cerrone wins via 1st round submission.

Last 3 Fights for Cerrone:
UFC on FOX 6 - Anthony Pettis - Loss by TKO (body kick & punches) at 2:35 of round 1
UFC 150 - Melvin Guillard - Win by KO (head kick & punch) at 1:16 of round 1
UFC on Fuel TV 3 - Jeremy Stephens - Win by unanimous decision

Last 3 Fights for Noons:
Strikeforce: Marquardt vs Saffiedine - Ryan Couture - Loss by split decision
Strikeforce: Tate vs Rousey - Josh Thomson - Loss by unanimous decision
Strikeforce: Melendez vs Masvidal - Billy Evangelista - Win by unanimous decision

Both of these guys were at the top of smaller promotions prior to coming to the UFC. Cerrone challenged for the WEC Lightweight Championship, losing all three times, with Noons winning the EliteXC Lightweight Championship and being unsuccessful in knocking off Nick Diaz for the Strikeforce Welterweight Championship.

This fight is Noons' first fight in the Octagon as he is finally coming over from Strikeforce. Noons is probably more known for his rivalry with Nick Diaz more than anything else in his career at this point and since the last Diaz fight he hasn't been all that successful. Including the second Diaz fight he is now 1-4 in his last five fights. Noons was once considered one of the best guys in the weight class while with the EliteXC and Strikeforce and may be a loss tonight from getting his walking papers.

Cerrone is also coming into this fight off of a loss. While Cerrone has been very successful so far in his career, he just seems to be that fighter that can never win the big one. He lost in all three of his WEC Lightweight Championship bouts, and probably would've earned a title shot had he not lost to both Anthony Pettis or Nate Diaz in the UFC.

This fight is definitely a must win for Noons, while Cerrone could possibly be alright with a loss. I think that Cerrone definitely is the much more well-rounded fighter and should be able to beat Noons. His biggest advantage over Noons is on the ground as Noons used to box and kickbox so I'm expecting Cerrone to get the fight to the ground and submit Noons early. This will more than likely be the first and last appearance of K.J. Noons in the UFC.

UFC on Fuel TV 8: Silva vs. Stann Preview

This Saturday night Wanderlei Silva and Brian Stann will headline a light heavyweight fight at UFC on Fuel TV 8. This event is coming live from Japan where many fighters will be making their returns to the country where they became popular while fighting in PrideFC, DreamFC or Sengoku.

UFC on Fuel TV 8 Preview:

Main Card on Fuel TV:

Light Heavyweight: Wanderlei Silva (34-12-1) vs. Brian Stann (12-5)

"The Axe Murderer" is arguably one of the five greatest fighters to ever set foot in the ring or cage. The guys that he has beaten and things he has accomplished are legendary. He was the first Pride Middleweight Champion, he won the 2003 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix and he was a semi-finalist in both the 2005 Pride Middleweight and the 2006 Pride Open-Weight Grand Prix. He has beaten Dan Henderson, Kazushi Sakuraba three times, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson twice, Ricardo Arona, Michael Bisping and Cung Le just to name a few. Silva was a legend in the now-defunct PrideFC and is making his first return to the place where he was once champion for over five years.

The guy that will be across the Octagon from him tonight is a guy that posses very similar striking power with his hands. Stann is a former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion and former marine who goes by the nickname "All-American." His career hasn't run as long as Silva's but he has beaten an alright list of fighters as well. Some of the guys that Stann has beaten include Steve Cantwell twice, Chris Leben, Jorge Santiago and Alessio Sakara.

I'm very excited for this fight as I'm willing to bet that there's no way this fight goes the full five rounds. Silva has managed to win by knockout 24 times in his career with Stann winning nine of his by knockout. Both of these guys are going to stand with each other and I'm guessing that it won't last long. The key for this fight is where the action occurs. If it turns into a boxing fight then Stann has a chance at winning but if Silva is able to use his Muay Thai style and land some knees and kicks he will come out the victor.

My Prediction: Silva wins via KO (round 1).

Heavyweight: Mark Hunt (8-7) vs. Stefan Struve (25-5)

Hunt is coming in to this fight on a three-fight winning streak over Chris Tuchscherer, Ben Rothwell and Cheick Kongo. He's a decorated kickboxing competitor outside of fighting MMA and was once one of the best heavyweights in the world while fighting for PrideFC. Outside of his current win streak he also holds notable wins over two of the greatest fighters ever in Wanderlei Silva and Mirko "Crocop" Filipovic.

His opponent is a giant in Stefan Struve. Struve stands at about 7 feet tall and is the tallest fighter in the UFC today. He has been able to use his size to his advantage in most of his fights and is coming in to this one on a four-fight win streak. He has defeated the likes of Paul Buentello, Pat Barry, Dave Herman, Lavar Johnson and Stipe Miocic in his career.

The main key to this fight is where it ends up. If it stays standing expect Hunt to knock Struve out. If it goes to the ground expect Struve to submit Hunt. Hunt and Struve have each only had one fight in their careers go the distance so don't expect this one to end up on the judges cards.

My Prediction: Hunt wins via KO (round 1).

Catchweight (158 lbs): Takanori Gomi (34-8) vs. Diego Sanchez (23-5)

Sanchez is coming in to this fight a little heavy as he weighed two pounds over the limit during yesterday's weigh-in. He has spent most of his career going back and forth between welterweight and lightweight and hasn't been able to win the big one when given the chance. Sanchez is a fighter that would extremely benefit from the UFC adding another weight class in between lightweight and welterweight as he is too small at 170 and struggles to make it down to 155. Sanchez holds wins in his career over some of the best fighters in the world at both 155 and 170 including Jorge Santiago, Kenny Florian, Nick Diaz, Karo Parisyan, Clay Guida, Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann.

Gomi is making his return to his native country for the second time since joining the UFC. He was once the number one lightweight in the world while champion of PrideFC and is currently on a two-fight win streak. While fighting all over the world he holds notable wins over Ralph Gracie, Jens Pulver, Luiz Azeredo twice, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Hayato "Mach" Sakurai, Marcus Aurelio and Tyson Griffin. His win over Gracie was the fastest knockout in the history of PrideFC which only lasted six seconds.

Usually when fighters come in to fights not at the weight limit they tend to gas early. Unless Sanchez is able to end the fight in the first round I don't think he will be able to win this one. I know he has great cardio, but he can't be in the best shape if he struggled so poorly to get to weight. I'm expecting this fight to stay standing with Gomi ending it in the second round.

My Prediction: Gomi wins via KO (round 2).

Middleweight: Yushin Okami (28-7) vs. Hector Lombard (32-3-1)

Okami is a fighter that for the majority of his career has been a very boring fighter. He tends to use his great wrestling to get position but when he gets top position very rarely does he actually look to finish the fight. He holds notable wins over Alan Belcher twice, Mike Swick, Evan Tanner, Mark Munoz and Nate Marquardt.

Lombard is the exact opposite of Okami. Only seven of his 32 wins have gone the distance as he tries to finish most of his fights. He is the former Bellator FC Middleweight Champion who went almost six years without losing a fight during his career. He holds notable wins over James Te-Huna, Brian Ebersole, Alexander Shlemenko, Trevor Prangley and Rousimar Palhares.

I think that this fight has two ways of it going. Either Lombard ends the fight early or Okami is able to use his size and wrestling to win a decision. Lombard usually puts it all out on the line early in fights so I wouldn't be surprised if Okami was able to win a boring decision.

My Prediction: Lombard wins via TKO (round 1).

Featherweight: Mizuto Hirota (14-5-1) vs. Rani Yahya (17-7)

In what is the least "sexy" of the fights on tonight's main card this fight is really a toss up. Hirota is dropping down to featherweight for the first time in his career in what is likely a good career move for him. Hirota fought the majority of his career in his native Japan fighting in Shooto, DEEP and Sengoku and will be making his return home. He holds notable wins over Mitsuhiro Ishida, Satoru Kitaoka and Katsunori Kikuno.

Yahya has spent the majority of his career fighting under the ZUFFA umbrella in both WEC and UFC and will be looking to add on to his most recent win over Josh Grispi. Yahya also holds wins over Mark Hominick, Eddie Wineland and Mike Brown while fighting at both bantamweight and featherweight in his career.

Yahya will likely be trying to win by submission as 15 of his 17 wins have come by it with only two coming by decision. Hirota will be trying to win the fight the other way as he has never won a fight by submission in his career. I'm expecting Hirota to try and neutralize Yahya's ground game and use his new size advantage at featherweight to his advantage.

My Prediction: Hirota wins via unanimous decision.

Welterweight: Dong Hyun Kim (16-2-1) vs. Siyar Bahadurzada (21-4-1)

Dong Hyun Kim is basically the welterweight version of Yushin Okami. He's just as boring and rarely does he end his fights. Kim most recently defeated Paulo Thiago and also has wins over Amir Sadollah and Nate Diaz.

Bahadurzada is a very explosive kickboxer who has also won a few of his fights by submission. Very rarely does he put on a boring fight and his most recent win was also over Paulo Thiago. Bahadurzada is currently on a seven-fight win streak and hasn't lost in over four years. He holds wins over Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos and John Alessio in his time prior to coming to the UFC.

I see this fight the same as I do the Okami-Lombard fight. Bahadurzada will likely end the fight in the first or second rounds or Kim will likely win a decision. If Kim is unable to get Bahadurzada to the ground he could end up knocked out and on the floor just as early as Paulo Thiago found out in his fight against Bahadurzada.

My Prediction: Bahadurzada wins via KO (round 2).


Preliminary Card on Facebook:

Middleweight: Riki Fukuda (19-6) vs. Brad Tavares (9-1)

My Prediction: Tavares wins via unanimous decision.

Bantamweight: Takeya Mizugaki (16-7-2) vs. Bryan Caraway (17-5)

My Prediction: Caraway wins via submission (round 3).

Lightweight: Cristiano Marcello (13-4) vs. Kazuki Tokudome (11-3-1)

My Prediction: Marcello wins via submission (round 1).

Bantamweight: Alex Caceres (8-5) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (11-6)

My Prediction: Caceres wins via unanimous decision.

Welterweight: Marcelo Guimaraes (8-0-1) vs. Hyun Gyu Lim (10-3-1)

My Prediction: Guimaraes wins via unanimous decision.