The UFC is in Prime Time on Saturday night with what should be an excellent card for UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Thompson, which takes place at The United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The main event should be a classic, as former Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson takes on Josh Thompson, with the winner moving closer to a title shot against champion Anthony Pettis. I am coming off of my worst UFC picks in recent memory at UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Philippou, I went (1-5) picking the preliminary fights, but rebounded going (4-2) on the main card. It was still not enough to finish above (.500), and I had my first losing record at a UFC since early November (5-6 at Belfort vs. Henderson). Time to right the ship, let’s get to the picks:
Preliminary Card (Fight Pass): Walt Harris OVER Nikita Krylov
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports One): George Sullivan OVER Mike Rhodes, Daron Cruickshank OVER Mike Rio, Hugo Viana OVER Junior Hernandez, Chico Camus OVER Yaotzin Meza, Eddie Wineland OVER Yves Jabouin, Sergio Pettis OVER Alex Caceres
Main Card (Fox):
Darren Elkins (17-3) vs. Jeremy Stephens (22-9) – Featherweight Bout – In what should be an excellent fight between two exciting featherweights, UFC veterans Darren Elkins and Jeremy Stephens square off, with the winner climbing the ranks and moving closer to a title shot. Darren Elkins has won seven of his last eight fights, the one loss coming to Chad Mendes in April, and there is no shame in losing to a top flight contender like Mendes. Jeremy Stephens had lost three fights in a row competing at lightweight, but he dropped down to featherweight, and is since unbeaten (2-0). This fight could go either way, and it will come down to the power of Stephens against the quickness and volume of Elkins, I like the more powerful Stepehns to catch Elkins and finish him with punches and continue his unbeaten streak at Featherweight. THE PICK: Stephens By TKO In The Second Round
Donald Cerrone (21-6-1) vs. Adriano Martins (25-6) – Lightweight Bout - “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone is one of my favorite competitors to watch, when he is focused he is one of the most dangerous fighters in mixed martial arts, with a combination of precision kickboxing ability and an excellent ground game. Cerrone’s career has been up and down since he joined the UFC in 2011, he has gone on winning streaks, and whenever it seems like he has finally put it together he ends up taking a loss. Adriano Martins is a big lightweight who is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, he is on a six fight winning streak, including winning his UFC Debut over Daron Cruickshank via armbar which earned him submission-of-the-night. Martins is a tough competitor, he has only lost once by way of TKO due to doctor stoppage, his other five losses have all come by way of decision. Donald Cerrone is tough as well he only been knocked out once and submitted once, his other four career losses have come by decision, so I think this one goes to the judges. If this fight goes to a decision, and I think it will, I expect Cerrone to use his kickboxing to out strike Martins and win a decision. THE PICK: Cerrone By Decisionn
Stipe Miocic (10-1) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (16-7) – Heavyweight Bout - Stipe Miocic is an incredible athlete, he was a Division-I wrestler and baseball player at Cleveland State University, and also a Golden Gloves boxing champion. Miocic is small for an MMA heavyweight, he uses his quickness and boxing ability to tire out heavier opponents, he picks them apart and wins on strikes. Miocic’s one career loss came to Stefan struve in the UFC, but since he has rebounded, and picked apart Roy Nelson for a decision victory. Gabriel Gonzaga is a UFC veteran who is in the midst of a career renaissance, he has won five of his last six fights, the one loss coming to the very dangerous Travis Browne. If Miocic can keep this fight standing, he will easily out strike Gonzaga, and should win a decision. However the very experienced Gonzaga is a huge step up in competition for Miocic, and I think the crafty Gonzaga will capitalize on a mistake, take Miocic to the mat and be able to finish him with a choke. THE PICK: Gonzaga By Submission In The First Round
Benson Henderson (19-3) vs. Josh Thomson (20-5-1) – Lightweight Bout – Josh Thomson was slated to fight Anthony Pettis for the UFC Lightweight Title, but Pettis was sidelined with a torn knee ligament, and Thomson will instead face the former champion Benson Henderson. Thomson has been one of the more entertaining mixed martial artists to watch during his career, his battles with Gilbert Melendez in Strikeforce are legendary and it is nice to see him become a contender in the UFC lightweight division. In his last fight in the UFC, Thomson finished Nick Diaz with a head kick and punches, which is the only time that Diaz has ever been knocked out in his career. Benson Henderson is the former UFC Lightweight Champion, he lost his title in his last fight to Anthony Pettis, and he had previously won seven straight fights. Anthony Pettis has been the one man that Henderson has been unable to beat in MMA, of his three career losses two have come to Pettis, the other coming in 2007. I think that this is going to be an excellent, back-and-forth fight, with Thomson landing some nasty strikes while Henderson controls the action with his wrestling. I think in the end, Henderson wins a close decision. THE PICK: Henderson By Decision
OVERALL RECORD:
Preliminaries (160-114-2) Main Card (144-79-2) Overall (304-192-4)
Main Events (35-8-1)
MMA PICKS RECORD (by event):
UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Philippou
Preliminaries (1-5) Main Card (4-2) Overall (5-7)
UFC 168: Silva vs. Weidman 2 -
Preliminaries (4-2) Main Card (3-2) Overall (7-4)
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)