Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's fight week. So you know what that means... UFC Pay Per View time! 25 year old Jon Jones looks to continue his domination over the UFC Light Heavyweight division, as he seeks his 9th straight win and 5th consecutive title defense. But to do it, he'll have to walk through a man who has been considered by many one of his biggest challenges yet, the always outspoken Chael Sonnen. In other action, Michael Bisping looks to rebound from a devastating TKO loss from Vitor Belfort as he goes up against the always dangerous Alan "The Talent" Belcher. Also on the main card, Roy Nelson looks to keep so far his longest win steak inside the octagon alive as he takes on French kickboxer Chieck Kongo. A twitter affair comes to head between Phil Davis and Vinny Magalhaes, and Jim Miller looks for his 12th win inside the octagon as he welcomes former Strikeforce veteran Pat Healy. Ladies and gentlemen.. this is your UFC 159 prediction thread.
Hello everyone! I'm Alex Cochrane here with your UFC 159 prediction thread. Jon "Bones" Jones made his octagon debut 4 and a half years ago, and is perhaps one of the biggest household names in all of MMA today. Within those four years, he has gone 11-1 inside the octagon with his only loss being a disqualification to Matt Hamill, he has dominated every top contender in the division, and if he continues his success will probably go down as one of the greatest fighters in the world today. This took notice to Chael Sonnen, one of the most outspoken personalities in the game today who would seek to replace his team mate Dan Henderson at the ill fated UFC 151 card. This weekend, they finally get to do battle as they step inside the octagon to face each other. Also, in the co main event Michael Bisping looks to get back into his top place in the UFC's middleweight division as he takes on another fighting who's hungry for redemption, Alan Belcher. Other fights on the main card include Ultimate Fighter winner Roy Nelson looking to add another knockout to his list against another the frenchman; Chieck Kongo, seasoned grapplers Phil Davis and Vinny Magalhaes do battle to see which of their grappling systems is more superior, and Jim Miller looks to put punctuation on his fight of the night performance at UFC 155 as he takes on a debuting Pat Healy. It's live, it's on Pay Per View, it's UFC 159! Let's take a look at what I think will go down.
Light Heavyweight (205 lbs) Championship: Jon Jones Vs Chael Sonnen
Everybody's who been paying attention to MMA for the last 8 months knows the story behind this, Jon Jones was originally scheduled to face Dan Henderson at the Mandalay Bay Events Center at UFC 151. However, Henderson pulled out citing a knee injury and Chael Sonnen was tapped as his replacement, when Jones refused to fight Sonnen on such notice the card was cancelled and left a lot of people in the UFC pissed off at the champ. These two most recently served on coaches for The Ultimate Fighter, and although they played nice on the show.. I believe the real animosity will be unleashed when these two finally step foot in the octagon to face each other. Bones has been absolutely tearing through competition recently and seems nearly unstoppable, his biggest threat was thought to have been Rashad Evans but Rashad could not get inside his reach. That doesn't seem like it'll be much of a problem for the taller Chael Sonnen who I believe will easily get inside Jones' long reach, take him down and pepper him with relentless ground and pound. In the end, however, I believe that Jones will rally back in the late rounds and catch the challenger in a skilled submission.. and for bonus points, I say he does it off his back!
Prediction: Jon Jones by Submission in Rd. 4
Middleweight (185 lbs) Bout: Michael Bisping Vs Alan Belcher
Michael Bisping is definitely out for some redemption after coming up short in this fight, The Count is one of the few top middleweights in the UFC who still has yet to face Anderson Silva. It seems every single time that Bisping gets close to UFC gold is when he chokes as proven in his last fight where he was TKO'd by Vitor Belfort early in the second round. Alan Belcher is also coming off a loss to top middleweight Yushin Okami at UFC 155 so it's safe to say that both men are out to make proof that they still belong in the top of the UFC's middleweight division. Michael Bisping will more than likely be on his bicycle this whole fight like he normally does, using his superiour kickboxing and striking to keep Belcher at bay. Unfortunately the real factor that will make this an interesting fight for Belcher is if he can get Bisping on his back and soften him up with ground and
pound. However, seeing as The Count was able to stop Chael Sonnen from taking him down I see that as a nearly impossiple task for Belcher will be continuously out struck en route to a unanimous decision loss.
Prediction: Michael Bisping by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Heavyweight (220-265 lbs) Bout: Roy Nelson Vs Cheick Kongo
Now interestingly enough, to me this one has been nearly two and a half years in the making. Back at UFC 117, these two were originally scheduled to meet until Cheick Kongo pulled out of the fight and Nelson was matched up with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior Dos Santos. But I believe that there's nearly no bad blood here, Roy Nelson is coming off the heels of a first round TKO win over Matt Mitrione last December and is looking to keep that momentum going, Cheick Kongo hasn't fought since July 2012 and is looking to keep his name in the game and amongst the top in today's stacked UFC heavyweight division. Luckily I don't see this one holding up for long, we've seen in the past how weak Cheick Kongo's chin is evident of his knockout loss to Mark Hunt last year, and on top of that from all of his past wins in the UFC we know how explosive the one punch knockout power of Roy Nelson is regardless of his voluptuous figure. I think needless to say, my oppinion is that Kongo goes down in the first round.
Prediction: Roy Nelson by KO/TKO in Rd. 1
Light Heavyweight (205 lbs) Bout: Phil Davis Vs Vinny Magalhaes
You guys are gonna laugh at how this one was setup, I had the opportunity to hear from Mr. Wonderful himself what he thought of this matchup. He stated that Vinny Magalhaes called him out over twitter and at the time when he was boasted with this, he had to search him up on google just to figure out who he was. But upon his research he should know that this man is no joke, upon holding a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu Vinny Magalhaes has never gone to the judge's score cards in bouts that favour him. Out of 10 wins he holds 8 by submission and 2 by knockout proving that he's just as deadly on his feet as he is on his back. Along with Davis' wrestling pedigree I imagine these two will negate each other on the ground and keep this one on the feet where it will be a close decision. But I'm assuming due to his ability to stay in the game over a long period of time, this one will probably favour the former Penn State wrestler.
Prediction: Phil Davis by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Lightweight (155 lbs) Bout: Jim Miller Vs Pat Healy
Despite going 2-2 in his last four fights, Jim Miller's only losses have come to UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson and former No. 1 contender Nate Diaz in those fights. His last performance against Joe Lauzon which earned him fight of the night honours proved that he is still willing to stand and bang with the best. Pat Healy who made himself a top contender in Strikeforce's lightweight division was originally scheduled to meet Gilbert Melendez for the title twice before Gil pulled out twice citing a shoulder injury both times. Needless to say both men are hungry for the gold hunt and if this is anything like it's hyped up to be.. I sense a fight of the night coming on here. Pat Healy has a wealth of experience, including a submission win over former UFC interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit which will probably play the most part in this bout and will squeak out a razor thin split decision.
Predicition: Pat Healy by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Well ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for reading this thread. Until next time, I'm Alex Cochrane signing off. If you'd like to leave your predictions, please do so for I'd like to hear them myself!
Hello everyone! I'm Alex Cochrane here with your UFC 159 prediction thread. Jon "Bones" Jones made his octagon debut 4 and a half years ago, and is perhaps one of the biggest household names in all of MMA today. Within those four years, he has gone 11-1 inside the octagon with his only loss being a disqualification to Matt Hamill, he has dominated every top contender in the division, and if he continues his success will probably go down as one of the greatest fighters in the world today. This took notice to Chael Sonnen, one of the most outspoken personalities in the game today who would seek to replace his team mate Dan Henderson at the ill fated UFC 151 card. This weekend, they finally get to do battle as they step inside the octagon to face each other. Also, in the co main event Michael Bisping looks to get back into his top place in the UFC's middleweight division as he takes on another fighting who's hungry for redemption, Alan Belcher. Other fights on the main card include Ultimate Fighter winner Roy Nelson looking to add another knockout to his list against another the frenchman; Chieck Kongo, seasoned grapplers Phil Davis and Vinny Magalhaes do battle to see which of their grappling systems is more superior, and Jim Miller looks to put punctuation on his fight of the night performance at UFC 155 as he takes on a debuting Pat Healy. It's live, it's on Pay Per View, it's UFC 159! Let's take a look at what I think will go down.
Light Heavyweight (205 lbs) Championship: Jon Jones Vs Chael Sonnen
Everybody's who been paying attention to MMA for the last 8 months knows the story behind this, Jon Jones was originally scheduled to face Dan Henderson at the Mandalay Bay Events Center at UFC 151. However, Henderson pulled out citing a knee injury and Chael Sonnen was tapped as his replacement, when Jones refused to fight Sonnen on such notice the card was cancelled and left a lot of people in the UFC pissed off at the champ. These two most recently served on coaches for The Ultimate Fighter, and although they played nice on the show.. I believe the real animosity will be unleashed when these two finally step foot in the octagon to face each other. Bones has been absolutely tearing through competition recently and seems nearly unstoppable, his biggest threat was thought to have been Rashad Evans but Rashad could not get inside his reach. That doesn't seem like it'll be much of a problem for the taller Chael Sonnen who I believe will easily get inside Jones' long reach, take him down and pepper him with relentless ground and pound. In the end, however, I believe that Jones will rally back in the late rounds and catch the challenger in a skilled submission.. and for bonus points, I say he does it off his back!
Prediction: Jon Jones by Submission in Rd. 4
Middleweight (185 lbs) Bout: Michael Bisping Vs Alan Belcher
Michael Bisping is definitely out for some redemption after coming up short in this fight, The Count is one of the few top middleweights in the UFC who still has yet to face Anderson Silva. It seems every single time that Bisping gets close to UFC gold is when he chokes as proven in his last fight where he was TKO'd by Vitor Belfort early in the second round. Alan Belcher is also coming off a loss to top middleweight Yushin Okami at UFC 155 so it's safe to say that both men are out to make proof that they still belong in the top of the UFC's middleweight division. Michael Bisping will more than likely be on his bicycle this whole fight like he normally does, using his superiour kickboxing and striking to keep Belcher at bay. Unfortunately the real factor that will make this an interesting fight for Belcher is if he can get Bisping on his back and soften him up with ground and
pound. However, seeing as The Count was able to stop Chael Sonnen from taking him down I see that as a nearly impossiple task for Belcher will be continuously out struck en route to a unanimous decision loss.
Prediction: Michael Bisping by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Heavyweight (220-265 lbs) Bout: Roy Nelson Vs Cheick Kongo
Now interestingly enough, to me this one has been nearly two and a half years in the making. Back at UFC 117, these two were originally scheduled to meet until Cheick Kongo pulled out of the fight and Nelson was matched up with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior Dos Santos. But I believe that there's nearly no bad blood here, Roy Nelson is coming off the heels of a first round TKO win over Matt Mitrione last December and is looking to keep that momentum going, Cheick Kongo hasn't fought since July 2012 and is looking to keep his name in the game and amongst the top in today's stacked UFC heavyweight division. Luckily I don't see this one holding up for long, we've seen in the past how weak Cheick Kongo's chin is evident of his knockout loss to Mark Hunt last year, and on top of that from all of his past wins in the UFC we know how explosive the one punch knockout power of Roy Nelson is regardless of his voluptuous figure. I think needless to say, my oppinion is that Kongo goes down in the first round.
Prediction: Roy Nelson by KO/TKO in Rd. 1
Light Heavyweight (205 lbs) Bout: Phil Davis Vs Vinny Magalhaes
You guys are gonna laugh at how this one was setup, I had the opportunity to hear from Mr. Wonderful himself what he thought of this matchup. He stated that Vinny Magalhaes called him out over twitter and at the time when he was boasted with this, he had to search him up on google just to figure out who he was. But upon his research he should know that this man is no joke, upon holding a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu Vinny Magalhaes has never gone to the judge's score cards in bouts that favour him. Out of 10 wins he holds 8 by submission and 2 by knockout proving that he's just as deadly on his feet as he is on his back. Along with Davis' wrestling pedigree I imagine these two will negate each other on the ground and keep this one on the feet where it will be a close decision. But I'm assuming due to his ability to stay in the game over a long period of time, this one will probably favour the former Penn State wrestler.
Prediction: Phil Davis by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Lightweight (155 lbs) Bout: Jim Miller Vs Pat Healy
Despite going 2-2 in his last four fights, Jim Miller's only losses have come to UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson and former No. 1 contender Nate Diaz in those fights. His last performance against Joe Lauzon which earned him fight of the night honours proved that he is still willing to stand and bang with the best. Pat Healy who made himself a top contender in Strikeforce's lightweight division was originally scheduled to meet Gilbert Melendez for the title twice before Gil pulled out twice citing a shoulder injury both times. Needless to say both men are hungry for the gold hunt and if this is anything like it's hyped up to be.. I sense a fight of the night coming on here. Pat Healy has a wealth of experience, including a submission win over former UFC interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit which will probably play the most part in this bout and will squeak out a razor thin split decision.
Predicition: Pat Healy by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Well ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for reading this thread. Until next time, I'm Alex Cochrane signing off. If you'd like to leave your predictions, please do so for I'd like to hear them myself!