The UFC returns to the base of former Strikeforce operations; The HP Pavilion in San Jose, California as the defunct Californa based promotion's best fighters make their long awaited debuts inside the octagon. Benson Henderson seeks his 7th straight win and his 3rd consecutive title defense as he defends his UFC Lightweight Championship against the former Strikeforce poster boy and most successful champion - Gilbert Melendez. Also, in the co main event, a long awaited battle between two heavyweight juggernauts and seasoned grapplers finally comes to fruition as submission special and former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir goes on one with former Pan Am Gold Medalist in amateur wrestling and Strikeforce heavyweight champion; Daniel Cormier. In other action Matt Brown looks for a repeat performance of his upset knockout of Mike Swick as he takes on skilled Canadian knockout artist Jordan Mein. And Nate Diaz looks to rebound from his last dissappointing loss as he welcomes Josh "The Punk" Thomson back into the octagon. Ladies and gentlemen.. this is your UFC on Fox 7 Prediction thread!
Hello everyone, I'm Alex Cochrane here giving you my latest edition of UFC predictions. After losing his lightweight title in a razor thin decision to Anthony Pettis in the old WEC, Benson Henderson quickly made a name for himself by defeating the likes of Mark Bocek, Jim Miller, and Clay Guida. He than went on to capture the UFC lightweight championship against Frankie Edgar, defended his title against Edgar in a rematch, than defeated Nate Diaz in a lop sided fight to prove that he is indeed the number one lightweight fighter in the world today. Somebody who wants to dispute this claim; former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez. Riding a 7 fight win streak since April 2009, Melendez dominated Strikeforce's lightweight division and in the process gained 2 Lightweight tiles, 11 wins, and 4 consecutive title defenses. Tonight, he finally makes his way to the octagon in hopes of derailing the hype train that is Ben Henderson. In other action, Frank Mir looks to make his long awaited return to the octagon and use his unorthodox submission game in hopes of giving the debuting Daniel Cormier his very first loss. It's live, it's free, it's UFC only on Fox! Let's take a look at some of my predictions for this upcoming event.
Lightweight (155 lbs) Championship: Benson Henderson (c) Vs Gilbert Melendez
Benson Henderson is riding high as of late after making his debut in the octagon back in April 2011. He has since strung together 6 straight wins, defended his title twice, and picked up two fight of the awards in the process. After defeating Frankie Edgar for the UFC Lightweight title back in February 2012, Henderson defended his title against Edgar in a controversial split decision and than dominated Nate Diaz in nearly every aspect en route to a lopsided unanimous decision victory. Gilbert Melendez on the other hand has been tasting success for much long. The former Strikeforce lightweight champion first regained the Strikeforce interim title back in April 2009 and later merged that title by defeating Josh Thomson in December that year. Since than he has defended his title four times against Shinya Aoki, a stunning TKO finish of Tatsuya Kawajiri, Jorge Masvidal, and edged Josh Thompson in a rubber match of that year. This is without a doubt going to end any doubt to who the greatest fighter at 155 pounds in the world is. Benson Henderson will look to push the pace on Melendez and utilize heavy leg kicks to setup his takedown attempts, however he will probably not find much success in taking Melendez down. As Melendez has trained consistantly with Jake Shields, if this one stays on the feet it will probably favour Melendez who will outstrike the lightweight champion en route to a unanimous decision
Prediction: Gilbert Melendez via Unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
Heavyweight (220-265 lbs) Bout: Frank Mir Vs Daniel Cormier
These two were originally scheduled to meet at a scrapped Strikeforce event back in April, however with Mir withdrawing due to an unnamed injury the entire event was scrapped as the event has now been moved to this event. Frank Mir has not appeared in competition ever since his TKO loss to former champion Junior Dos Santos last May, but he has been training hard every single day and preparing hard for his next fight. He couldn't ask for a much worse opponent though, unfortunately, as Daniel Cormier's ground and pound style spells pretty much the worse for Frank Mir in almost every aspect. Out of the 6 losses in Frank Mir's storied career, all of them have come by some form of knockout.. to say the least, 4 of those have come by some form of wrestling related techniques. I don't see this one playing out well for Mir who will succumb to another quick TKO on the ground within the first round.
Prediction: Daniel Cormier via KO/TKO in Rd. 1
Lightweight (155 lbs) Bout: Nate Diaz Vs Josh Thomson
As the main event features clash between two of the top lightweight fighters in the world, it's only fitting that the opening bout on the main card should feature those two mens' last adversaries. Nate Diaz faced off against Benson Henderson at UFC on Fox last December losing a lopsided unanimous decision, while Thomson's last fight took place against Melendez last May where he lost a razor thin split decision. Both men are looking to get right back on track and they certainly got the chance to do so. On the feet this one looks like it could favour Thomson as he presents a technical more clean striking style as opposed to Diaz's wild punching which has gained him the record of the most throw strikes in a fight. My thoughts is that this one will be decided on the ground where the favour will point to Diaz. Utilizing his closed guard and pulling off a submission in the first round.
Prediction: Nate Diaz by Submission in Rd. 2
Welterweight (170 lbs) Bout: Matt Brown Vs Jordan Mein
Out of 43 professional wins between the two of them, Matt Brown and Jordan Mein have a combined total of 24 of those wins by some form of knockout. So we can expect this one to stay strictly on the feet. Matt Brown is at the highest point of his 8 year career, riding a 4 fight win streak all coming last year, his latest win where he knocked out Mike Swick in the 2nd round proved that he can hang with top competition. Brown was originally slated to fight another highly touted knockout artist Dan Hardy but Hardy was forced to withdraw from the bout after being diagnoused with Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome. Now replacing him is Jordan "Young Gun" Mein, a young Canadian knockout artist who made a name for himself in the Strikeforce division but an even bigger impact in his UFC debut when he became the first man to finish Dan Miller via first round TKO. Although these men are heavy hitters, it is only Mein who has ever been finished by strikes and he has only been done so once out of 35 professional fights. I highly doubt that we will see a finish in this one, but I do see Matt Brown using his wrestling after an exciting first round, much like he did in his fight against Stephen Thompson back in April 2012. I sense these two going the distance, where "The Immortal" will walk away with a razor thin unanimous decision.
Prediction: Matt Brown by Unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Well folks, thanks for reading and remember.. don't forget to UFC Saturday April 20... only on Fox! If you wish to make some predictions, please do so.. I'd love to read them!
Hello everyone, I'm Alex Cochrane here giving you my latest edition of UFC predictions. After losing his lightweight title in a razor thin decision to Anthony Pettis in the old WEC, Benson Henderson quickly made a name for himself by defeating the likes of Mark Bocek, Jim Miller, and Clay Guida. He than went on to capture the UFC lightweight championship against Frankie Edgar, defended his title against Edgar in a rematch, than defeated Nate Diaz in a lop sided fight to prove that he is indeed the number one lightweight fighter in the world today. Somebody who wants to dispute this claim; former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez. Riding a 7 fight win streak since April 2009, Melendez dominated Strikeforce's lightweight division and in the process gained 2 Lightweight tiles, 11 wins, and 4 consecutive title defenses. Tonight, he finally makes his way to the octagon in hopes of derailing the hype train that is Ben Henderson. In other action, Frank Mir looks to make his long awaited return to the octagon and use his unorthodox submission game in hopes of giving the debuting Daniel Cormier his very first loss. It's live, it's free, it's UFC only on Fox! Let's take a look at some of my predictions for this upcoming event.
Lightweight (155 lbs) Championship: Benson Henderson (c) Vs Gilbert Melendez
Benson Henderson is riding high as of late after making his debut in the octagon back in April 2011. He has since strung together 6 straight wins, defended his title twice, and picked up two fight of the awards in the process. After defeating Frankie Edgar for the UFC Lightweight title back in February 2012, Henderson defended his title against Edgar in a controversial split decision and than dominated Nate Diaz in nearly every aspect en route to a lopsided unanimous decision victory. Gilbert Melendez on the other hand has been tasting success for much long. The former Strikeforce lightweight champion first regained the Strikeforce interim title back in April 2009 and later merged that title by defeating Josh Thomson in December that year. Since than he has defended his title four times against Shinya Aoki, a stunning TKO finish of Tatsuya Kawajiri, Jorge Masvidal, and edged Josh Thompson in a rubber match of that year. This is without a doubt going to end any doubt to who the greatest fighter at 155 pounds in the world is. Benson Henderson will look to push the pace on Melendez and utilize heavy leg kicks to setup his takedown attempts, however he will probably not find much success in taking Melendez down. As Melendez has trained consistantly with Jake Shields, if this one stays on the feet it will probably favour Melendez who will outstrike the lightweight champion en route to a unanimous decision
Prediction: Gilbert Melendez via Unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
Heavyweight (220-265 lbs) Bout: Frank Mir Vs Daniel Cormier
These two were originally scheduled to meet at a scrapped Strikeforce event back in April, however with Mir withdrawing due to an unnamed injury the entire event was scrapped as the event has now been moved to this event. Frank Mir has not appeared in competition ever since his TKO loss to former champion Junior Dos Santos last May, but he has been training hard every single day and preparing hard for his next fight. He couldn't ask for a much worse opponent though, unfortunately, as Daniel Cormier's ground and pound style spells pretty much the worse for Frank Mir in almost every aspect. Out of the 6 losses in Frank Mir's storied career, all of them have come by some form of knockout.. to say the least, 4 of those have come by some form of wrestling related techniques. I don't see this one playing out well for Mir who will succumb to another quick TKO on the ground within the first round.
Prediction: Daniel Cormier via KO/TKO in Rd. 1
Lightweight (155 lbs) Bout: Nate Diaz Vs Josh Thomson
As the main event features clash between two of the top lightweight fighters in the world, it's only fitting that the opening bout on the main card should feature those two mens' last adversaries. Nate Diaz faced off against Benson Henderson at UFC on Fox last December losing a lopsided unanimous decision, while Thomson's last fight took place against Melendez last May where he lost a razor thin split decision. Both men are looking to get right back on track and they certainly got the chance to do so. On the feet this one looks like it could favour Thomson as he presents a technical more clean striking style as opposed to Diaz's wild punching which has gained him the record of the most throw strikes in a fight. My thoughts is that this one will be decided on the ground where the favour will point to Diaz. Utilizing his closed guard and pulling off a submission in the first round.
Prediction: Nate Diaz by Submission in Rd. 2
Welterweight (170 lbs) Bout: Matt Brown Vs Jordan Mein
Out of 43 professional wins between the two of them, Matt Brown and Jordan Mein have a combined total of 24 of those wins by some form of knockout. So we can expect this one to stay strictly on the feet. Matt Brown is at the highest point of his 8 year career, riding a 4 fight win streak all coming last year, his latest win where he knocked out Mike Swick in the 2nd round proved that he can hang with top competition. Brown was originally slated to fight another highly touted knockout artist Dan Hardy but Hardy was forced to withdraw from the bout after being diagnoused with Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome. Now replacing him is Jordan "Young Gun" Mein, a young Canadian knockout artist who made a name for himself in the Strikeforce division but an even bigger impact in his UFC debut when he became the first man to finish Dan Miller via first round TKO. Although these men are heavy hitters, it is only Mein who has ever been finished by strikes and he has only been done so once out of 35 professional fights. I highly doubt that we will see a finish in this one, but I do see Matt Brown using his wrestling after an exciting first round, much like he did in his fight against Stephen Thompson back in April 2012. I sense these two going the distance, where "The Immortal" will walk away with a razor thin unanimous decision.
Prediction: Matt Brown by Unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Well folks, thanks for reading and remember.. don't forget to UFC Saturday April 20... only on Fox! If you wish to make some predictions, please do so.. I'd love to read them!
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