Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson vs John "The Magician" Dodson:
This
will be the fastest fight in UFC history, and yet it will probably be the
longest. There is a tremendous amount of
speed between these two fighters and they will put on an expo on how the little
guys can throw quick hands effectively.
If it goes to the ground it will be because of the explosive takedowns
of these speedsters. However most fans
do expect this fight to be a long 25 minute decision, which probably will be
the case. TUF winner John Dodson has some
crazy power despite being a 125lb fighter, but Johnson has yet to be finished
in his MMA career. His only losses came
by way of decision to Brad Pickett due to his crazy supplex slams and bantamweight
champion Dominick Cruz who used his wrestling to control Johnson for 5
rounds. There was a time when Dom was
the fastest most elusive fighter in the UFC and his bizarre striking and speed
dictated fights. Johnson overcame this
by being faster so Cruz had no choice but take the fight to the ground, where
Johnson was slippery but not sneaky enough to escape the champ. Now, both of these guys have faster and more
elusive strikes than Cruz and will have an exciting technical striking
matchup. One of them could get clipped
and knocked out but there is a good chance this goes to a decision. Either way
it should be exciting and both of these very likable guys will put on a show
for the capacity crowd at the United Center. Despite many people expecting a decision victory for "Mighty Mouse" Johnson, I am leaning Dodson on this fight because of his power. 4th
round TKO victory for Dodson.
On a side note, the 145, 135, and 125lb divisions
have been under scrutiny for their lack of ability to finish fights, however
their success as a division and PPV draws should not be judged by their
finishing ability. Jose Aldo, Dustin
Porier, Renan Barao, Dominick Cruz, Demetrious Johnson, Urijah Faber, Michael
McDonald, John Dodson, and others are some of the most exciting and talented
fighters in the UFC today. The Korean
Zombie and Dustin Porier fight has been viewed as Fight of the Year in 2012 by
many MMA writers. Aldo and Homminick
had a 5 round war in Toronto that amazed fans, only to be followed up by a
boring fight between much bigger PPV draws GSP and Jake Shields. The Benavidez
vs Johnson fight and the Faber vs Barao did not necessarily help the view that
the lower weight classes have trouble finishing. This does not mean that next time out we
won’t see fireworks from all of these guys.
Aldo vs Edgar could be one of the most exciting fights the UFC has put
on in a while. With such a dangerous guy
like Aldo (who just knocked out Mendes in the first round) fighting such an
exciting fighter like Frankie Edgar, the 145lb division is headlining a card
with big stars Rashad Evans and Alistair Overeem on it. UFC on Fox 6
(Johnson vs Dodson) and UFC 156 (Aldo vs Edgar) main events could decide the
future of the lighter weight classes’ success going into the future. They need to put on a show for the fans who
will all be hoping for a finish, but a decision does not guarantee a boring
fight. I am a big fan of the old WEC
fights with Cerrone, Aldo, Faber, etc. and so I am pulling for the lighter
weight guys to gain some respect and these next 2 events will play a big role
in their future with the UFC.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs Glover Teixeira:
Glover
has gained some serious hype since joining the UFC but he is definitely in for
his toughest test yet. Rampage is a
former dominant champ of the UFC and PRIDE, but seems to have lost his desire
to fight at an elite level. He WAS a
dominant wrestler at some point in his career, but Jones and Bader exposed him
as a subpar wrestler in MMA. He said he
knows Glover wants to immediately take this fight to the ground which greatly
angers him. He does not like fighters
who just control people on the ground with wrestling, and most fans agree with
him. Trouble is that is exactly what
should happen on January 26th in Chicago. I think Rampage is a great fighter and I will
miss him in the octagon. That said, he
will get dominated by a better fighter who wants it more than he does. Glover has a bright future and Rampage had a
brilliant past. He lost his desire to be
great and he will fizzle out of the UFC with a subpar performance against a
tough guy in Glover. Teixeira via
decision.
Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone vs Anthony "Showtime" Pettis:
The winner of this fight will take
on Ben Henderson…..oh what’s that? Nevermind.
These top 5 lightweights have to take a backseat to Gilbert Melendez
when it comes to getting their UFC title shot, but that does not diminish the
importance of this fight. Whoever comes
out victorious will be the #3 guy in the lightweight division behind just Gil
and Benson. Gray Maynard, Jim Miller,
and Eddie Alvarez are also near the top, so the winner might fight one of them
in a top contender bout going into the future.
As for now, you have 2 exciting guys that do not like each other going
at it with a ton on the line. They both
are great strikers with sick leg kicks.
They both can hang with some of the best wrestlers in the division. They both have plenty of solid submission
skills, including both being dynamite off their back with armbars and triangle
chokes. There is no limit to what either
of these guys can achieve in their fighting careers. Although they have never fought, they share a
common opponent in Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson. Cerrone is 0-2 against him in the WEC with a
razor close decision loss in a Fight of the Year performance, and a 1st
round guillotine choke loss in the rematch.
Pettis beat him to win the WEC Lightweight Championship to be the last
WEC champion. I like both guys and would
love to see either of them get a title shot at Henderson, but I think Pettis is
on a mission. I love Cowboy, but he does
not have as much to prove and Pettis.
Pettis was given a title shot but the draw between Edgar and Maynard
threw the whole division into a loop.
Pettis should come out of this victorious whether it be by submission,
KO, or decision. This is a matchup that
could be as fun as the Lauzon vs Miller fight.
Get ready for some exciting fights at 155 because there are few boring
fighters in this division! My
prediction: Pettis via submission, guillotine.
Erik Koch vs Ricardo Lamas:
Unfortunately, I do not know much about these 2 guys because they have been on the under card
for most of their fighting careers. They
are going to try and make their main card appearance a lasting impression as
they kick off the Fox portion of this event.
Koch was originally scheduled to fight Aldo at UFC 153 but was replaced
by Edgar when he sustained an injury.
Aldo then got hurt and rescheduled for UFC 156 against Edgar, not
Koch. Rather than be disgruntled and
whine about it, he decided to fight another top 10 guy in Lamas to prove he
deserves that title shot. An
unimpressive win gets him nowhere, but a knockout or submission in an exciting
fight on national TV could make him a big enough PPV sell to take on the winner
of Aldo/Edgar in the next 145lb title fight.
If he loses or is unimpressive in a win then Mendes, Jung, Porier, or
even the Hioki/Guida winner could jump him in the title picture.
Koch has only 1 career loss and it was to Chad Mendes. Lamas has a lot to gain from a win as
well. If he wins then he is looking at
another top 5 guy in his next fight.
Both of these guys are young and have bright futures. Hopefully they know what is on the line and
come out swinging to put on a show. I’m
taking Koch via submission. (leglock??)
Preliminary Card on FX:
TJ Grant defeats Matt Wiman via submission (armbar)
Ryan Bader defeats Matyushenko via decision
Hatsu Hioki defeats Clay Guida via submission (RNC)
Mike Russow defeats Shawn Jordan via KO
Mike Stumpf defeats Pascal Krauss via submission (RNC)
Sean Spencer defeats Rafael Netal via decision
Preliminary Facebook fight:
Simeon Thoresen defeats David Mitchell via submission (RNC)
Mike Russow defeats Shawn Jordan via KO
Mike Stumpf defeats Pascal Krauss via submission (RNC)
Sean Spencer defeats Rafael Netal via decision
Preliminary Facebook fight:
Simeon Thoresen defeats David Mitchell via submission (RNC)
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