UFC Fight Night predictions

Can't say I'm terribly excited about this event. Still, let's pick some winners, ok?

Jon Jones vs Vladimir Matyushenko
Vlad is the old dog, facing off against the new blood. Don't know too much about him, which is odd considering this is the main event. His record is impressive, but he is getting up there (39) and most of his fights go to decision. Can he hang with the energetic Jones? I'm gonna say no. I'm picking Jones.

Mark Munoz vs Yushin Okami
Two guys who have good records but who have stumbled when it matters most. Munoz is on Matt Hamill's highlight reel and Okami fell to Rich Frankin, climbed the ladder again, then fell to Chael Sonnen. This could be a close fight, but I'm gonna go with Munoz in a bit of an upset.

John Howard vs Jake Ellenberger
I've missed most of Howard's fights, but he has been impressive, I hear. He has power and submission skills, while Ellenberger is a wrestler. If it goes to decision, I'd pick Ellenberger, but if it stops before the distance, then I'd bet on Howard. This could be an exciting finish or dull as hell. I'm gonna hope for exciting and pick Howard.

Tyson Griffin vs Takanori Gomi
Gomi has been less than impressive since coming over to the UFC from Japan where he was revered. He has lost three of five and four of eight. Not good. Sounds like he's living off his reputation. Griffin is a mystery and is coming off a loss. He seems to be a skilled fighter but never seems to have a good game plan. He has 10 UFC fights, though, and has won fight of the night in five of those fights. That's impressive. I'm not sold on Gomi, so I'm gonna pick Griffin.

Paul Kelly vs Jacob Volkmann
I picked Volkmann once and he let me down. Bet against him the next time and he won a fight he shouldn't have. What to do? Kelly's a tough boy. I'm picking Kelly.

DaMarques Johnson vs Matthew Riddle
I like Riddle, but he's a bit green. Johnson has more experience and I bet that's gonna serve him well. I'm picking Johnson.

James Irvin vs Igor Pokrajac
The Sandman returns. I hope he is all healed up and this won't be another disappointing and brief outing. He was brutalized by Anderson Silva then had to quit when Alessio Sakara punched him in the eye. I don't know much about Pokrajac other than his record is ok and he has beaten no one of consequence. It seems both of these guys can bang. I don't like Irvin's chances on the ground, but I'll pick him anyway.

Brian Stann vs Mike Massenzio
Stann is a pretty tough guy but has a mediocre UFC record. I know squat about Massenzio other than he tends to finish fights early and has lost to CB effing Dollaway for Pete's sake. If Dollaway can TKO this guy, so can Stann. I'm picking Stann.

Darren Elkins vs Charles Oliveira
Who...? Both of these guys have terrific records and finish fights early. maybe they haven't faced tough enough competition? Well, we'll see who responds to the pressure. Elkins or Oliveira? Elkins has fought once in the UFC so I'm gonna bet that helps. I'll pick Elkins.

Rob Kimmons vs Steve Steinbeiss
What is Steinbeiss doing in the UFC? He has lost his last two (one in WEC, one in UFC) and has lost to BILL EFFING MAHOOD for Pete's sake!! WTF? Kimmons has four UFC fights (2-2) with losses to Dan Miller and Jorge Rivera. Something tells me the loser is going home. I'm picking Kimmons for giggles.

This event might totally suck. We'll see.

UFC 116 Results

Sucks that I missed this one. Apparently there are no UFC fans in Haliburton. Heard it was great. Saw some replays online.

Brock Lesnar def. Shane Carwin (sub2)

Lesnar by submission? Who had THAT bet? As I kind of predicted, though, Carwin caught Lesnar but Lesnar survived and when it reached the second round, Carwin had no gas left. Good for Lesnar for learning a submission. If he can learn one or two more that he can use in tandem with his wrestling, he may be REALLY dangerous. (1-0)

Chris Leben def. Yoshihiro Akiyama (sub3)

Leben with a submission now? WTF? The world is upside down. Once again, Leben snags victory from the jaws of defeat as he sinks in a very late triangle to upset the very tired Akiyama. Akiyama ought to drop to welterweight, but apparently the Japanese are loathe to cut weight. (1-1)

Chris Lytle def. Matt Brown (sub2)

Another slugger gets a submission. This one isn't that strange, though, as Lytle won in a similar fashion last time out. I kinda called this one - this was just a poor match-up for Brown. (2-1)

Stephan Bonnar def. Krzysztof Soszynski (TKO2)

Saw only highlights. Bonnar was a mess afterwards. This is a bad result for the Polish Experiment as his career is now spinning its wheels after a good start. If you can't fight smart enough to beat Bonnar, you probably don't deserve to be in the UFC. I have no idea where either fighter goes from here. (2-2)

George Sotiropoulos def. Kurt Pellegrino (unanimous)

Sotiropoulos keeps climbing the ladder. Look for a very tough opponent next time out. The UFC will want to really test the up-and-comer. (3-2)

Brendan Schaub vs Chris Tuchscherer (heavyweight)

Schaub has dynamite in his hands. Let's see where it leads him. (4-2)

Ricardo Romero def. Seth Petruzelli (sub2)

Romero busted up Petruzelli's arm. Seth was looking alright up until that point. Romero was gassed, but Petruzelli couldn't finish and he paid the price. (5-2)

Kendall Grove vs Goran Reljic (split)

Didn't watch this so much as listen to it, 'cause I knew it went to decision and I'm not that big a fan of Grove's. Looks like it might have been a bit of a controversial decision. One judge scored it 30-27 Grove and another 29-28 Reljic? Strange. (5-3)

Gerald Harris def. Dave Branch (KO3)

Looks like Harris was winning this one, though Branch had the third one locked up, from what I could tell. Branch had Harris in a triangle, but Harris picked up Branch a la Rampage and slammed him. I didn't see the other angle, but looking at the live angle it looked like Harris may have knocked Branch out using his head, and not the mat. That reminds me of Ortiz's win over Evan Tanner. That's unfortunate. (6-3)

Daniel Roberts def. Forrest Petz (split)

Didn't see it. (7-3)

Jon Madsen def. Karlos Vemola (unanimous)

Didn't see it. (7-4)

7-4, eh? Not bad.