UFC 155 Official Picks

UFC 155 was announced and it looked to be one of the most stacked cards the UFC had put together in a long time.  Various injuries and changes in matchup have taken place over time to deteriorate the card slightly, but this should be an amazing card full of great fights.  Chael Sonnen, Phil Davis, Forrest Griffin, and Chris Wiedman are all names that were scheduled but had to cancel.  Luckily, Jim Miller and Constantinos "Costa" Philippou were able to save the day, as well as Varner versus Guillard getting rescheduled for 155.

This very exciting main card, as well as prelim card.  My prelim picks are as follows:

• Leonard Garcia defeats Max Holloway via KO
• John Moraga defeats Chris Cariaso via Decision
• Phil De Fries defeats Todd Duffee via Submission (RNC)
• Myles Jury defeats Michael Johnson via TKO (and gets his 11 consecutive 1st round finish)
• Jamie Varner defeats Melvin Guillard via Submission (RNC)
• Erik Perez defeats Byron Bloodworth via Submission (armbar)
• Brad Pickett defeats Eddie Wineland via Submission (guillotine) (Submission of the Night)

After this exciting slew of fights on Facebook and FX, it is time to go out to your favorite bar for the PPV portion of UFC 155!  This is a card featuring major changes yet incredible entertaining and intriguing fights.

• Chris Leben and Derek Brunson will kick off the main card on Saturday night.  Leben is a man who has some wicked standup and has all the potential in the world to be a top middleweight.  Coming off 2011 losses to Brian Stann and Mark Munoz, with a win against Wanderlei Silva in between, Leben is looking to get back on track with a big win in his only fight in 2012.  Derek Brunson is on no hot streak of his own, coming into this match with a 2 loss skid.  This is a fight where both guys are looking to knock each other's head off, and should be incredibly entertaining.  I am trusting the veteran to come through with a big win.  Leben via KO.
• Next up to bat are two of the middleweight division's best: Alan Belcher and Yushin Okami.  This is actually the first of 2 rematches on the card, but the first Belcher/Okami fight goes all the way back to UFC 62.  In the first match, Okami won via unanimous decision.  However we should not expect he same thing since both fighters have evolved and grown vastly since this match.  Since being finished by Anderson Silva and Tim Boetsch, Okami has gotten back into the win column with a TKO victory of his own over Buddy Roberts. He is still one of the bigger guys in the 185 lb division and will be looking to make a statement with a win over Belcher.  Alan Belcher has been on a tear of late, winning 6 of his last 7.  His one loss was a controversial split decision that I found shocking.  Alan Belcher has a sick standup game and proved to us against Palhares that his ground game is not bad either.  I see Alan dominating the standup game and eventually catching Okami with a punch that finishes him. Belcher via KO of the Night.
• We are staying in the middleweight division for our next fight: Tim Boetsch versus Costa Philippou.  Since Mr. Wonderful, Phil Davis, submitted him, Boetsch has been on a tear winning all 4 of his UFC fights at middleweight.  Costa is on a 4 fight winning streak of his own, against lesser opponents however.  I give Costa credit for stepping in for Wiedman to take Boetsch on, but I do not see this going well for him.  Boetsch is a beast and will be looking to put on a show to make up for a boring fight against Hector Lombard.  I see him dominating all aspect of the fight and taking home a more decisive victory this time around.  Boetsch via Decision.
• For the co-main event of the night, exciting lightweights Jim Miller and Joe Lauzon will square off.  Miller has 4 career losses to Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard, Benson Henderson, and Nate Diaz.  These are the last 4 guys to fight for the belt in the 155 lb division.  He enjoys fighting the best and gladly stepped in for the injured Gray Maynard to take on the dangerous submission artist Joe Lauzon.  Lauzon is one of the most exciting fighters in the game, racking up a bunch of Submission of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses over his UFC career.  He has finished every single opponent he has beaten and is a sneaky contender in the lightweight division.  That is where things get interesting.  Miller has only been finished once, when Nate Diaz choked him out in his last fight.  However, I found that to be a fluke of a submission since Miller lost his mouthguard and actually got his tongue stuck between his teeth while Diaz choked him, forcing him to tap.  It was one of the grossest submissions I have seen, but it had some element of luck to it.  As much as I love Joe Lauzon, I see this fight going to the judges scorecard due to Miller's ability to survive submissions.  Lauzon should not be too upset if this is the case because he will likely take home Fight of the Night bonus in his loss.  Miller via Decision.

Main Event of the Night: Velasquez versus Dos Santos II

Cain Velasquez is a destroyer who left a path of destruction behind him on his way to becoming the UFC's Heavyweight Champion.  After defeating Brock Lesnar in spectacular fashion to attain the belt, it looked as though it would stay that way for a long time.  In a shocking turn of events, Junior dos Santos knocked out underfeated Velasquez in the very first round of his first title defense to become champ.  They both have fought once since then, securing dominant victories at UFC 146 as expected.  Dos Santos won with a 2nd round TKO of veteran Frank Mir, and Velasquez by way of dominant ground and pound over Bigfoot.  These 2 guys are above and beyond everyone else in a very stacked heavyweight division.  They are both truly dominant and champion caliber fighters.  JDS has some of the best striking and insane takedown defense to go with it.  Much like former champ Chuck Liddell, takedown defense and KO power is all he needs to win.  Velasquez uses a different approach in his dominant fighting style.  He has good enough striking to hang with most fighters, but he prefers to wrestle people to the ground and pound them into the matt.

The ability of Cain to takedown JDS is still an unknown.  Cain was clipped so early in the first fight that he was never able to try and take him down to issue his ground and pound.  Great takedowns versus great takedown defense is going to be the key to this fight.  If JDS can keep things standing, the result could be the same as last time.  If taken to the ground, Junior could be in for a world of trouble.  This is sure to be a thrilling fight regardless to who wins or how quick it is.  Heavyweights rarely let us down when they have the destructive power that Cain and Junior have.  I am pulling for Velasquez simply because I want to see a rubber match in the future.  I think if they fought 10 times they would win 5 a piece.  My official prediction for Saturday night is going to be Cain Velasquez via TKO but I am not confident enough to bet on it.

Should be a great night of fights on Saturday!

Check back here on Sunday to see my post fight analysis.