The UFC returns this Saturday from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, for one of the most anticipated cards in recent memory with UFC 168, which is headlined by a huge rematch, when Chris Weidman defends his UFC Middleweight Championship against former longtime champion Anderson Silva. The card is totally stacked, it includes UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey defending her title against her hated rival Miesha Tate, and an excellent heavyweight matchup when Travis Browne takes on Josh Barnett. I have been on fire with my picks lately, and I feel strong entering this card which has every MMA fan extremely pumped up, so let’s get to the picks:
Preliminary Card (Online): Robbie Peralta OVER Estevan Payan, Bobby Voelker OVER William Macario
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports One): John Howard OVER Siyar Bahadurzada, Dennis Siver over Manny Gamburyan, Gleison Tibau OVER Michael Johnson, Uriah Hall OVER Chris Leben
Main Card (Fox):
Dustin Poirier (17-3) vs. Diego Brandao (18-8) – Featherweight Bout - Diego Brandao is one of the biggest and most powerful featherweights in the UFC, but he cuts a lot of weight to have these advantages against his opponents. This showed at the weigh in, when Brandao tipped the scales at 153lbs, seven pounds over the 146 pound limit. Brandao continued to cut weight, but was only able to drop to 151.5 pounds, and he was fined 25% of his purse. The fight will go on as scheduled. Dustin Poirier looked like he was destined to hold UFC gold at one point, but two of his career three losses have come in his last four fights. Those losses were not to slouches, Poirer lost to The Korean Zombie in a fight that was named 2012 Fight of the Year, and lost to dangerous Cub Swanson who in my mind deserves a title shot. When a fighter misses weight, especially by that much, the late attempt to cut weight seems to hurt them physically and thinking “Will Dana White fire me if I lose?” takes a toll on them psychologically. Although Brandao will be the bigger man, and has the power advantage, I think Poirier uses his quickness advantage and picks him apart to win a decision. THE PICK: Poirier By Decision
Jim Miller (22-4-1) vs. Fabricio Camoes (14-7-1) – Lightweight Bout - Fabricio Camones is (1-1) since making his return to the UFC, submitting Tommy Hayden with a rear naked choke, then losing a decision to Melvin Guillard. He is a third degree Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, which makes him extremely dangerous against an aggressive wrestler like Jim Miller, who needs to be extremely careful on the ground in this bout. In Jim Miller’s last fight, he lost a match up to Pat Healy, but was awarded a Fight of the Night bonus for his effort. However, the decision was overturned to a no contest, when Healy tested positive for marijuana in his post fight drug test. Jim Miller also has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but the Jiu Jitsu advantage goes to Camoes in this fight, while Miller has the advantage striking and wrestling. Despite his excellent record, Miller is (1-1-1) in his last three fights, and he could really use a win on Saturday night. I think Miller gets the win, controlling his fight with his wrestling and striking and avoiding submissions, winning a decision. THE PICK: Miller By Decision
Josh Barnett (33-6) vs. Travis Browne (15-1-1) – Heavyweight Bout - Travis Browne is on an amazing roll right now, since returning from an injury that he suffered in his only career loss to Bigfoot Silva, Brown has consecutively knocked out Gabriel Gonzaga and Alistair Overeem in impressive fashion. His front kick knockout of Overeem will be on UFC highlight reels for eternity, it was devastating, and was an internet sensation. I think he has met his match this Saturday night against Josh Barnett, who fans of this site know, is one of my favorite all-time mixed martial artists. Josh Barnett has fought all over the planet, he has beaten many of the toughest heavyweights in the sport, and in my mind he is a mixed martial arts legend. Barnett is one of the most well rounded fighters in the world, he can knock you out, his submissions are world class and he is probably the most talented catch-as-catch can wrestler in the UFC. I think that Barnett’s catch wrestling and submissions play a huge advantage in this fight with the (6’7) Browne, I expect Browne to use his length to try to stay away from Barnett and strike from a distance. Eventually Barnett will get hold of one of Browne’s long limbs, wrestle him to the mat, and finish him with a submission. THE PICK: Barnett By Submission In The Second Round
Miesha Tate (13-4) vs. (c) Ronda Rousey (7-0) – Women’s Bantamweight Championship Bout - I could pick this fight in one word, Rousey, but I will elaborate. These two have fought before, on March 3rd, 2012, when Rousey defeated Tate with an armbar in the first round and won Tate’s Strikeforce Womens Bantamweight Championship. With that signature armbar, Rousey broke Tate’s arm, and there has been bad blood between the two ever since. Miseha Tate is a very skilled mixed martial artist, but in her last fight she was knocked out by Cat Zingano, who Rousey recently beat. In women’s MMA, there is everyone else, and then there is Ronda Rousey. I could list all her accomplishments here, but my hands would cramp up, and I would need to rehydrate and take a nap. Rousey is better than Tate everywhere, this will be a short fight, and Rousey will win it with an armbar. The worst thing about this fight for Tate is, Rousey is pissed off, she may break Tate’s arm again out of spite. THE PICK: Rousey By Submission In The First Round
Anderson Silva vs. (c) Chris Weidman – Middleweight Championship Bout - The greatest mixed martial artist of all-time, Anderson Silva, is out for vengeance against the man who ended his 17 fight winning streak and took away his Middleweight Title. Chris Weidman is an incredible wrestler, he has good hands, and reports are his Jiu Jitsu is improving at a speed that nobody has seen before. Weidman is also tough as nails, he is nine years younger than Anderson Silva, and he will fight tooth and nail to keep his Middleweight Title. In their last fight, Weidman won the first round, and in the second round Silva began to use his superior striking to pick Weidman apart. Silva started clowning Weidman and was trying to make him look silly, when suddenly Weidman caught Silva with a punishing left hook, knocking the champion out cold. It was the MMA equivalent of “The Shot Heard ‘Round The World” for the first time since 2006, we had a new UFC Middleweight Champion. Anderson Silva claims that he will not change his style, but I am certain he will take Chris Weidman much more seriously this time around, and I have to believe that he will not clown the champion. I expect this to be an excellent fight, I think that Weidman will get a few takedowns, and will even win a few rounds. The Greatest Of All-Time is without his crown, I think he uses his superior striking to pick Weidman apart, I think he will eventually catch Weidman with a combination and a few knees and finish him with punches after an incredible fight. However, unlike the last time around, I will not be shocked if this fight goes the other way and Weidman defends his title. THE PICK: Winner and NEW UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva By TKO In The Fourth Round
OVERALL RECORD:
Preliminaries (155-107-2) Main Card (137-75-2) Overall (292-181-4)
Main Events (34-7-1)
MMA PICKS RECORD (by event):
UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Benavidez 2
Preliminaries (4-3) Main Card (3-1) Overall (7-4)
UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Bigfoot -
Preliminaries (4-1) Main Card (4-1-1) Overall (8-2-1)
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate Finale:
Preliminaries (3-2) Main Card (5-0) Overall (8-2)
UFC 167 Hendricks vs. St-Pierre-
Preliminaries (6-1) Main Card (4-1) Overall (10-2)
UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson -
Preliminaries (1-4) Main Card (4-2) Overall (5-6)
UFC Fight Night: UFC Fight For The Troops 3 -
Preliminaries (6-2) Main Card (3-2) Overall (9-4)
UFC 166: dos Santos vs. Velasquez III -
Preliminaries (6-2) Main Card (4-1) Overall (10-3)
UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Shields -
Preliminaries (1-3) Main Card (3-3) Overall (4-6)
UFC 165: Gustaffson vs. Jones -
Preliminaries (5-3) Main Card (4-1) Overall (9-4)
UFC Fight Night: Bader vs. Teixeira -
Preliminaries (3-2) Main Card (4-2) Overall (7-4)
UFC 164: Henderson vs. Pettis -
Preliminaries (5-2) Main Card (3-2) Overall (8-4)
UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann -
Preliminaries (4-1-1) Main Card (5-1) Overall (9-2-1)
UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen -
Preliminaries (4-3) Main Card (3-3) Overall (7-6)
UFC 163: Aldo vs. Korean Zombie -
Preliminaries (4-3) Main Card (4-1) Overall (8-4)
UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Moraga -
Preliminaries (4-4) Main Card (4-0) Overall (8-4)
UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman -
Preliminaries (4-2) Main Card (1-4) Overall (5-6)
UFC 161: Evans vs. Henderson
Preliminaries (2-4) Main Card (3-2) Overall (5-6)
UFC on FuelTV: Nogueira vs. Werdum
Preliminaries (4-2) Main Card (3-3) Overall (7-5)
UFC 160: Velazquez vs. Silva -
Preliminaries (4-3) Main Card (4-1) Overall (8-4)
UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold -
Preliminaries (5-4) Main Card (3-1) Overall (8-5)
UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen -
Preliminaries (5-1) Main Card (3-2) Overall (8-3)
UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Melendez -
Preliminaries (4-4) Main Card (2-2) Overall (6-6)
The Ultimate Fighter Finale: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen -
Preliminaries (3-4) Main Card (3-2) Overall (6-6)
UFC on FuelTV: Moussasi vs. Latifi -
Preliminaries (2-5) Main Card (3-3) Overall (5-8)
UFC 158: St-Pierre vs. Diaz -
Preliminaries (5-2) Main Card (3-2) Overall (8-4)
UFC on FuelTV: Sliva vs. Stann -
Preliminaries (2-3) Main Card (3-3) Overall (5-6)
UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche -
Preliminaries (5-3) Main Card (4-1) Overall (9-4)
UFC on FuelTv: McDonald vs. Barao -
Preliminaries (1-5) Main Card (3-3) Overall (4-8)
UFC 156: Edgar vs. Aldo -
Preliminaries (3-3) Main Card (3-2) Overall (6-5)
UFC on FOX: Johnson vs. Dodson -
Preliminaries: (4-2) Main Card (2-2) Overall (6-4)
UFC on FX: Bisping vs. Belfort -
Preliminaries (3-3-1) Main Card (2-2) Overall (5-5-1)
Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine -
Preliminaries (5-1) Main Card (4-1) Overall (9-2)
UFC 155: Velasquez vs. dos Santos -
Preliminaries (6-1) Main Card (0-5) Overall (6-6)
UFC on FOX 5: Henderson vs. Diaz -
Preliminaries (2-5) Main Card (3-1) Overall (5-6)
UFC 154: St-Pierre vs. Condit -
Preliminaries (5-2) Main Card (2-3) Overall (7-5)
UFC on FUEL TV: Franklin vs. Cung Le -
Preliminaries (1-2) Main Card (4-1) Overall (5-3)
UFC 153: Silva vs. Bonnar -
Preliminaries (5-1) Main Card (4-2) Overall (9-3)
UFC 149: Faber vs. Barao -
Preliminaries (4-2) Main Card (2-3) Overall (6-5)
UFC 148: Sliva vs. Sonnen II -
Preliminaries (3-2) Main Card (5-1) Overall (8-3)
UFC 146: Dos Santos vs Mir -
Preliminaries (4-3) Main Card (4-1) Overall (8-4)
UFC on FOX 2: Evans vs. Davis -
Main Card (3-0)