UFC 165 Recap

Jones and Gustafsson hanging out
 in a Toronto hospital after their fight.

Heading towards a stacked lineup to finish out 2013, the UFC made a stop in Toronto.  Compared to UFC 166, 167, and 168, this card did not seem as exciting despite it featuring two title fights.  This of course was because both title fights seemed like complete mismatches.  UFC 165 proved me wrong and entertained anyone who made it a point to go out and watch the fights on Saturday.  Jones vs Gustafsson stole the show as one of the best fights off all time.

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• Daniel Omielanczuk and Nandor Guelmino put on a battle of awesome names and heavy power to kick the night off.  They both went back and forth in the stand up as well as the grappling.  Nandor looked to be in better shape but Daniel Omielanczuk was able to connect with a powerful punch in the 3rd round to finish the fight.  This was an entertaining scrap of people making their UFC debuts.  Omielanczuk showed a lot of heart by digging deep and getting the finish in a very close fight.
• Alex Caceres systematically picked apart Roland Delorme from start to finish in their fight.  Delorme had his moments with heavier punches and some ground control, but Caceres was clearly the better man on Saturday.  So long as his drug test comes out clean, this is a huge win for Alex Caceres despite the split decision.
• Jesse Ronson also was given the benefit of being a Canadian by one judge in his split decision loss to Michel Prazeres.  Michel looked better start to finish in a boring grappling match.  Prazeres is very strong at lightweight and a well seasoned submission artist.
• John Makdessi had quite the impressive KO over Renee Forte.  It was quite the counter punch that hit Forte on the temple and won him the fight in the first round.

FS1:

• Mitch Gagnon and Dustin Kimura were early candidates for Fight of the Night.  Kimura rocked Gagnon with a body shot in some of the wild exchanges early.  Gagnon was able to jump on a submission when he sank in a guillotine choke that put Kimura to sleep.  This was the first of 2 fighters to not tap, and actually fall asleep on this card.  Excellent job by Yves Lavigne to notice Kimura was out by stopping the fight at the perfect time.  Gagnon took home $50,000 for Submission of the Night.
• Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson put his wrestling on display against Chris Clements in the first round of his fight.  In the 2nd, he went back to the striking we all love him for.  I was thinking in the 2nd round that he throws so many kicks that Clements wasn't even thinking about Thompson's punches.  Just as that thought went through my head, Wonderboy threw a nasty combo of punches that finished Clements.  Another impressive KO win for Wonderboy who has bested everybody he faced but Matt Brown.  Brown is on a 6 fight win streak and finished every opponent except Thompson, if that is any consolation.
• I thought Wilson Reis would be better than Ivan Menjivar in all aspects of MMA when they squared off.  I was right.  However, I thought Menjivar would sneak away with a decision due to biased Canadian judges.  That was not the case.  Reis was impressive enough to win a unanimous decision against the bantamweight veteran.  Look for potentially big things from Wilson Reis going forward.
• Myles Jury against Mike Ricci seemed like a fight that had to be exciting.  The fight did not live up to the expectations.  Jury was a superior wrestler and striker who took home a split decision win.  Jury stayed undefeated and will keep on winning if he doesn't get a step up in competition.

PPV:

• Pat Healy is one of the most veteran fighters in the lightweight division.  He is a seasoned veteran who is massive at 155 and tough as nails.  Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn't care who or what Pat Healy is. Nurmagomedov is a combat sambo champion and an undefeated mixed martial artist.  He was better than Healy in striking, wrestling, and was very explosive in this fight.  Khabib is in the top 10 and is here to stay.  Give this guy a top 5 opponent like Gilbert Melendez or Benson Henderson in his next fight because he is for real and he is exciting.  If he wins that fight, he is ready for a shot at the title.  As for Healy, he is not yet at gatekeeper status despite his 17 career losses.  He still submitted Jim Miller and anyone who does that is a high level lightweight.  He is still in the mix at 155 and should be given tough opponents to grind with going forward.  Maybe Rafael dos Anjos could be his next opponent?
• Francis Carmont did not win a controversial decision in his fight with Costa Philippou, but he did put Dana White to sleep.  Boring Carmont fight again.  Crappy performance from Costa.  Quite frankly, both of their stocks dropped.  Carmont does have an 11 fight win streak including 6-0 in the UFC.  Look for Dana to give him a really tough opponent outside of title contention in his next fight so he gets a loss and more importantly, an excuse for Dana to cut him.  Okami vs Carmont anyone?
• Brendan Schaub's glass chin held up long enough for him to sink in a nice submission against Matt Mitrione.  Schaub won with a first round d'arce choke that put Mitrione to sleep.  Dana White said this was a warmup for Schaub who will have a much bigger fight going forward.  That of course means somebody fell out of a fight already scheduled.  With Hunt/Bigfoot, DC/Nelson, Mir/Overeem, Browne/Barnett, and Gonzaga/Jordan already on tap, Schaub will likely step in for one of these guys. Personally, I don't think he will ever beat a top 10 heavyweight, so he better hope Dana wants him to fight Gonzaga or Jordan.  I hope Mir or Overeem got hurt because I don't want to see either of them cut from the UFC after their fight.
• Renan Barao beat Eddie Wineland with a spinning back kick to the face.  I think the stoppage was a tad premature, but Barao was the better man as always.  He received high praise from Dana, calling him "The Floyd Mayweather of MMA."  Having been undefeated for over 8 years with over 20 wins in a row and over 30 fights without a loss, Barao is definitely on his way to a potential Mayweather-like record.  Especially since he is only 26 years old.  Hopefully Cruz is on deck for him in the first half of 2014.
• Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson put on one of the best fights of all time on Saturday night.  Part of this was because Jones was such an overwhelming favorite.  Gustafsson came out fearless and ready to go, and rocked an awesome song in his walkout.  Jones wore a shirt that said "Not Quite Human"  which I thought was ironic, because Gustafsson showed that he is very human.  Round 1 was all Gus, using his range to pick Jones apart with his sneaky boxing.  Jones landed some kicks but it was Gustafsson landing the clean shots.  Then Gustafsson did something that nobody had ever done to Jon Jones, he took him down.  Gustafsson definitely won the first round.  The 2nd and 3rd round were also great rounds for Gustafsson.  I think they were close enough to go either way on the judges scorecards, but it was clear that Alex was landing the cleaner shots.  I gave round 2 to Alex and round 3 to Jones.  In the 4th round, Alex started dissecting Jones with his striking game.  Jones looked to be losing a 3rd round in the fight, which would have forced him to finish Gustafsson in the 5th.  With about a minute left, Jon erased the first 4 minutes of the round with one blow.  Jones threw a spinning back elbow that rocked Gustafsson and bloodied him up.  Gustafsson went into survival mode to keep the fight going.  Jones landed knees, punches, and elbows to follow up on a rocked Gustafsson, but he still could not get the takedown.  In the 5th, two exhausted fighters left everything they had in the Octagon, but it was Jones who looked to be the better man late.  Jones finally got a takedown to seal the round but the fight was very much anyones to win when the judges' decisions were read.  Jones won 49-46, 48-47, and 48-47 securing a unanimous decision.  Despite the loss, Gustafsson's stock has gone up a ton.  He will likely get a rematch although I would rather see him fight once more while Jones fights Teixeira.

On a side note: The three greatest fights I can think of have all taken place in the light heavyweight division. Those fights were Griffin vs Bonnar, Henderson vs Shogun, and of course Jones vs Gustafsson.  The Edgar/Maynard trilogy and other great fights have taken place over the years, but these three stick out to me as the best.  Even when I watch the Jones/Gustafsson fight a second time to see if the judges got it right, I found myself going absolutely insane watching the heart and souls of the two fighters on display in the most important fight of both of their lives.  I no longer disrespect Jon Jones, he is the champion for a reason and could be for a very long time.

Picks after UFC 164: 131/225

Picks last event: 3/3

Picks in this event: 7/12  (I picked Reis and Menjivar so I am just not counting it)

Pick totals: 141/240=58.75%

UFC bonuses:

FOTN: Jones/Gustafsson

SOTN: Gagnon

KOOTN: Barao

Brutal Sports Awards:

Beatdown of the Night: Nurmagomedov

Sketchiest Decision of the Night: Ronson/Prazeres

Upset of the Night: Carmont

Three Stars:

• Alexander Gustafsson
• Jon Jones
• Khabib Nurmagomedov

UFC 165: Jones vs Gustafsson

Renan Barao is a monster at 135.

On September 21st, Jon Jones will look to pass Tito Ortiz in the record for light heavyweight title defenses in the UFC.  His opponent is a young prospect who has put together a 6 fight win streak on his way to a title shot.  After battling middleweights Belfort and Sonnen in his last 2 title defenses, Jones will have his hands full with the very tall and talented Alexander Gustafsson.  Oh yeah, and the interim bantamweight title is on the line too.  Here is how I see the night going down from the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs:

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• Nandor Guelmino made his Strikeforce debut in the final event by Strikeforce.  He was quickly outwrestled and submitted by Josh Barnett.  Also making his UFC debut is his opponent Daniel Omielanczuk.  Neither guy is very well known, but I have at least seen Nandor fight before.  However, I was not impressed whatsoever.  I like the slick submission artist, Daniel Omielanczuk to submit Nandor with an armbar.
• Bantamweight prospects Roland Delorme and Alex Caceres will follow up the heavyweight battle.  I like Delorme a lot.  He had a very impressive win against Edwin Figueroa, who beat Caceres a while back.  I think Delorme takes a decision and Caceres gets his walking papers.  Delorme via decision.
• Michel Prazeres lost his UFC debut to Paulo Thiago back in May after starting his career 16-0.  His opponent Jesse Ronson has a decent record of his own.  I don't think either guy is the most dangerous lightweight on the planet, but I give the edge to Prazeres in this one.  I like Prazeres via boring decision.
• Renee Forte is a solid fighter, but his work will be cut out for him against John Makdessi in Canada.  Makdessi is a very talented striker with the Canadian judges on his side in this one.  I think Makdessi jabs Forte to death and takes home a decision win.

FS1

• All of Mitch Gagnon's fights except one have ended in a submission.  Dustin Kimura has a few submission wins of his own.  I like this ground battle being quite exciting on the ground.  I think Kimura has a slight edge in this one and will sink in a rear-naked choke.
• Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson promises to be one of the UFC's newest stars.  His opponent, Chris Clements lost his last fight, which later because a no contest due to that clown Riddle being busted for pot.  I hope Thompson can pull off another spectacular head kick in this one.  Thompson via head kick KO.
• Ivan Menjivar never seems to miss a card in Canada.  He will look to bounce back from his loss to Urijah Faber against Wilson Reis.  Reis was a Bellator standout that only lost to featherweight standouts Joe Soto, Patricio "Pitbull" Freire, and bantamweight champion Eduardo Dantas.  I think he can give Menjivar fits in what should be an awesome back and forth battle.  I am taking Menjivar via split decision due to the Canadian judges.  I think Reis wins in the eyes of most fight fans, but losses the nod to Menjivar.
• Mike Ricci is the member of Tri-Star Gym that nobody really talks about.  He trains with Rory and GSP in Canada and is a very talented lightweight.  Myles Jury is 12-0 professionally, with a loss to Al Iaquinta on TUF.  The fight was a split decision after 3 rounds, and Al was a finalist on the show.  After Iaquinta's last win over Ryan Couture, it is hard to say a split decision loss to Al is a bad performance.  Although he doesn't look physically strong, Jury hits hard.  He is a faster more crisp striker than Ricci and I think he will tag the smug look of Ricci's face.  Ricci is not a dangerous fighter, although talented.  I think Jury's killer instinct is the difference maker in this fight.  Myles Jury via violent and bloody TKO.

Pay-Per View:

• For the second time in a row, a PPV by the UFC is kicked off by an epic matchup.  The Poirier vs Koch battle last time was wild, expect nothing less from Healy and Nurmagomedov.  This fight is near the top of that list I keep referring to, of underrated fights you cannot miss.  Healy just submitted Jim Miller in the 3rd round of his last fight, only to have his FOTN, SOTN bonuses, as well as the win taken away from him due to a positive test for smoking weed.  Nurmagomedov is still undefeated and still looking dominant as ever.  He tossed Abel Trujillo around like a rag doll in his last fight.  I believe the winner of this fight is a fight with TJ Grant away from a title shot.  Healy has constantly taken a beating in fights, only to emerge victorious late.  He is better than Martin Kampmann in making comebacks in my opinion.  I think Khabib comes out hot and takes the fight to Healy only to be submitted in the 3rd round.  This time, Pat Healy won't smoke his fight bonuses away.  I think he takes home both SOTN and FOTN yet again.  Healy via triangle/armbar combo.  On a side note, it is good to see Khabib taking things seriously by making weight.  Although, the cut is part of the reason I like Healy to win late.  Should be a classic.
• I don't know how worthy Francis Carmont is of PPV, but I do like this match.  Costa Philippou is a beast, who is on a tear as of late.  Against Tom Lawlor and Lorenz Larkin, Carmont won controversial decisions.  The Lawlor one was of course, in Canada.  Costa hits for enough power to ensure this doesn't happen again.  Costa via TKO.
• The only person with a worse chin that Brendan Schaub is Alistair Overeem.  Schaub will go down quick if Mitrione can hit him in the jaw.  Pat Barry has a sick chin and was put down by Mitrione in about a minute.  Schaub will probably look to use his athleticism to get Mitrione to the ground to squeak out a boring decision.  Mitrione is quick enough to land that one shot, which will be all he needs.  Glass chin going down, Mitrione by KO in less than 2 minutes.
• Renan Barao or Dominick Cruz?  Who is the best bantamweight on the planet?  Eddie Wineland says it is him, and he has a chance to prove it on Saturday.  Will Wineland be able to take out Barao?  Doubtful.  I love Eddie and I think his wins over Pickett, Jorgensen, and even his loss to Faber were very good performances.  He has power and could knock out Barao if he lands the right shot.  Barao has 30 wins and a no contest since losing his MMA debut.  He is on one of the longest streaks in MMA history, and is as unbeatable as it gets.  Him and Aldo are training partners who both are in the pound for pound mix.  He should outclass Wineland in all areas and pick up the finish.  He will likely stun Wineland and jump aggressively on a submission.  Barao via RNC in the 4th.
• Nobody is really giving Alexander Gustafsson a chance to dethrone Jon Jones.  I am not one of those people.  The Mauler has some serious power and a vicious uppercut.  If it lands, it will be goodnight for Jon Jones.  But landing clean shots on Jones is next to impossible.  Gustafsson has the reach advantage to hang with Jones in the standup.  But Jones is a superior wrestler with nasty elbows on the ground.  We have never really seen Alex on his back, expect for the fight that Phil Davis submitted him.  Alex has a chance, but that is all.  I hope he pulls off the upset, but I think Jones retains his belt.  Will he submit Gustafsson on the ground, or get a TKO is the only question that I have to think about. I say Jones via 4th round TKO with nasty elbows.  This will be his 6th title defense, a new light heavyweight record.

SOTN: Healy

FOTN: Healy/Nurmagomedov

KOOTN: Thompson

Dream Fight Card

Silva vs Jones has been talked about forever,
but it might only happen in our dreams.

There are so many big UFC fights coming up as well as a few awesome Bellator/WSOF cards as well.  Looking at some of these and trying to pick my favorite has me thinking, "What would the best fight card ever look like?"  I debated whether I would include legends like Chuck Liddell or Fedor Emelianenko or just use current fighters.  I went with a fight card that could actually happen now.  Obviously some of these fights are a little ridiculous to be on prelims, but hey, it's my dream card so I can make it happen.  Also, I think anything more than 2 title fights would be ridiculous so I had to limit my dream card to just 2 title fights.  Lucky for me, some of these fights are actually happening.  I hope you like my dream fight card, here it is:

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• Pat Curran vs Cub Swanson
• Jacare Souza vs Demian Maia at 185lbs
• Jon Fitch vs Ben Askren

FS1 Prelims:

• Vitor Belfort vs Gegard Mousasi at 185lbs
• Brad Pickett vs Urijah Faber
• Michael Chandler vs Gilbert Melendez
• Mark Hunt vs Roy Nelson

PPV:

• Josh Thomson vs Benson Henderson
• BJ Penn vs Sean Sherk 2
• Ronda Rousey vs Cyborg Santos at 145lbs
• Anderson Silva vs Jon Jones at 205lbs
• Johny Hendricks vs GSP
• Renan Barao vs Dominick Cruz

I just want to explain a few of my picks, because some of them are a bit strange.  I like Pat Curran, Ben Askren, and Michael Chandler a lot as Bellator Champions.  So I found top level UFC guys that are exciting to fight them.  Swanson is stupid entertaining and talented.  Cub vs Curran would be nuts.  Souza vs Maia at middleweight would be the fight between the two best submission artists to ever compete in mixed martial arts other than Royce Gracie himself.  Jon Fitch vs Ben Askren is similar to Souza vs Maia, they are the two best people at their trade.  They are both "boring" wrestlers, but I think it would be a hell of an interesting match up for my dream prelims.

On to my FS1 prelims, I love the idea of Vitor Belfort getting in there with a top striker.  Gegard is a sick striker and a former Strikeforce champ.  They both could fight at 205 or 185, but I want this fight to take place at middleweight.  It would be a perfect top contender fight right now at middleweight.  Next I have Urijah Faber against Brad Pickett.  These are some tough dudes at the talent rich bantamweight division that would make for one heck of a fight.  I don't know how this fight hasn't happened yet, but it makes perfect sense to be exciting and meaningful.  Michael Chandler vs Gilbert Melendez is probably my favorite fight because it is the least likely to happen.  When he was in Strikeforce wrecking everybody not named Josh Thomson, Gilbert was widely remarked as the best lightweight on the planet.  I think he beat Benson Henderson and I still think he is the best at 155 today.  Chandler took the Bellator belt from Eddie Alvarez and is still undefeated.  Both of these guys are real threats at lightweight, even against the UFC's best.  Strikeforce vs Bellator in the UFC, gotta love that matchup.  Mark Hunt vs Roy Nelson would be the fight of the two best chins I have ever seen.  Those two throw bombs and eat bombs like it's their job, because it is. Hunt vs Nelson guarantees to be nuts.

On to my dream Pay-per view, I started with former lightweight champion Benson Henderson vs Josh Thomson.  I love Thomson and he would be an excellent match up for Benson.  Josh is still a top 5 lightweight and this fight also guarantees excitement.  Another lightweight match includes the rematch between BJ Penn and Sean Sherk 2.  The first fight was the biggest fight in lightweight history when BJ was the champ and defended his belt against a man who was also the champ before having it "unjustly" stripped from him.  Only their rematch wouldn't be for a title, it would be for bragging rights.  I would want this to be announced as the last fight for both men, so they really leave it on the line.  Winner retires happy, loser regrets the fight for the rest of his life.  Ronda Rousey vs Cyborg at 145 would be the battle for the best pound for pound female fighter on the planet.  Would Ronda get another armbar or would Cyborg knock her silly?  I would love to find out.  Next I have the super fight every person ever has wanted to see.  Jon Jones vs Anderson Silva is still on the table although the hype behind it has dwindled.  I would still love to see it although I think Jones would wrestle Silva to death and throw his vicious elbows to win.  The first of my two title fights is happening in November.  I have picked Johny to beat GSP since the day he knocked out Jon Fitch.  I cannot wait for that fight to finally happen.  Lastly, I have the bantamweight unification bout as my main event.  Yes, the 135 pound unification title fight is the fight I am most excited for. Cruz may not come back to make this fight a reality, but boy do I hope he does.  Cruz is next to unstoppable thanks to his crazy unorthodox striking and his incredible timing with his takedowns.  Barao is without a loss in 31 straight fights including wins over Urijah Faber, Brad Pickett, Michael McDonald, Scott Jorgensen, and others.  The dude is a stud and I don't know who could beat him or Cruz other than each other.  This fight has intrigued me for a long time and it is by far the fight I am most excited to see.  It anchors my dream card over any other fight out there.

Any fights I may have forgotten?  Any fights you think I should take off my dream card?  Leave a comment!

The 3 Headed Monster of Featherweight Contenders

Swanson (left) and Lamas (right) are two
 of the best featherweights in the world.

Those of you who follow my blog know that I think Jose Aldo is the pound for pound best fighter on the planet today.  Better than Silva, GSP, Jones, and the rest of the MMA world.  Recently Anthony Pettis won the UFC Lightweight Championship and called out Jose Aldo to a fight for the 145 lb belt.  Although Dana White and many fight fans around the world want to see that fight, the time is not now.  Although it is a gamble to see if both Aldo and Pettis can keep winning, I think that fight generates more interest down the road.

As for the lightweight division, I think TJ Grant absolutely deserves the title shot he earned with a 1st round KO of Gray Maynard.  Following that fight, Grant/Pettis winner has another contender to fight.  Gilbert Melendez is fighting Diego Sanchez.  I am actually dismissing Sanchez as a real threat to Melendez and assuming Gil will win that fight.  Gilbert Melendez should take on the winner of Nurmagomedov vs Pat Healy in a top contender fight.  Melendez vs Healy (or Nurmagomedov) winner should fight the winner of Grant vs Pettis.  As you can see, Pettis is busy enough with legit contenders at 155.  Don't forget that Henderson, Thompson, or someone else could rise to prominence by then as well.

As for Jose Aldo, the list of contenders at featherweight continues to grow.  He recently defended his belt against Chan Sung Jung and Frankie Edgar.  Even with those two big wins, there are still 3 very relevant contenders.  Chad Mendes is coming off of a huge KO of Clay Guida to follow up a streak of 3 consecutive first round knockouts.  He lost to Aldo once but is an entirely different fighter now.  Duane Ludwig has turned Mendes and all the other Team Alpha Male guys into animals.  The case for Chad Mendes to get the next title shot is very strong after his win over Guida, but is he the best case?

I would argue that Ricardo Lamas should have received the UFC 163 title shot over Chan Sung Jung.  They were originally scheduled to be in a top contender battle before Pettis fell off the card.  Jung, not Lamas got the call for the title shot.  Lamas has a 4 fight win streak at featherweight and has a 4-0 UFC record.  He has wins over Matt Grice, Cub Swanson, Hatsu Hioki, and Erik Koch.  His finishes of Koch and Grice were violent finishes.  His submission of Swanson was crafty, considering that he is a BJJ black belt.  He is also a stylistic challenge to Jose Aldo with his powerful wrestling and dangerous ground and pound.  He is the 2nd of 3 worthy featherweight candidates to fight Aldo next.

Lastly, is Cub Swanson.  He last lost to Ricardo Lamas by submission in late 2011.  Since that fight he is 5-0 with 4 finishes, all in the UFC's featherweight division.  He is a perfect match with Gregg Jackson and has been a machine since his loss to Lamas.  It could be argued that Cub has jumped in front of Lamas in line for a title shot because Lamas only has 2 wins since the Swanson fight, and Swanson has 5 wins since that loss.  Being inactive could cost Lamas since Cub Swanson and Chad Mendes are two of the most active guys in the UFC.  Swanson vs Aldo would be a rematch of a WEC match that lasted only 8 seconds.

So who is the winner?  The inactive guy on a 4 fight winning streak that has never faced Aldo?  Or the two guys on 4 and 5 fight winning streaks that show no signs of slowing down, but have lost to Aldo in the past?  Or is Pettis the right man to get the next title shot at 145?

My answer is clear.  As I said, Anthony Pettis is busy at 155.  If he keeps winning and Aldo also keeps winning, the Pettis/Aldo superfight would generate as much interest as a Silva vs GSP or Silva vs Jones.  If they keep winning it could mean the Pettis/Aldo fight would set PPV records.  Save that fight for down the road, it is worth the gamble.

Chad Mendes and Ricardo Lamas are on 4 fight winning streaks.  Cub has won 5 straight.  Cub Swanson recently defeated the incredibly talented Dustin Poirier and finished the German superstar Dennis Siver.  Cub Swanson should get the next title shot at 145.  Mendes and Lamas should fight in a "Fight Night" main event to determine the next top contender.  The winner of Mendes/Lamas should take on the winner of Swanson/Aldo.  In the meantime, look for superstars like Frankie Edgar, Clay Guida, Dennis Siver, Dustin Poirier, Erik Koch, or even Conor McGregor to rise to prominence and get their deserved chance to fight for the title.  145 is now one of the deepest divisions in the sport, let the best man win.

On a side note, if Aldo does defeat at least 2 of the 4 possible matchups (Lamas, Swanson, Mendes, or Pettis), then he is without a doubt the pound for pound king.  Regardless of who GSP, Jones, Silva, or even Weidman beat.

UFC Fight Night 28: Teixeira vs Bader

Glover Teixeira and his hero Mike Tyson.

For the 3rd time in 8 days, the UFC is putting on a show.  Although not the deepest card, UFC Fight Night 28 has a trio of main event level fights.  Rather than bore you with a typical array of picks, I am going to go into depth on the three big bouts.

Joe Benavidez vs DJ was a battle for the first ever flyweight champion in the UFC.  DJ won that fight and has since defended his belt against both John Dodson and John Moraga.  Demetrious Johnson is one heck of a champ at 125.  However, Joe Benavidez still wants a piece.  He has looked incredible by winning a decision over Ian McCall and a body knockout of Darren Uyenoyama.  His opponent in Brazil is a hometown favorite, Jussier Formiga.  He lost a top contender bout to John Dodson but bounced back with a great win over Chris Cariaso.  Formiga with a win over Benavidez would rocket to the top of the division.  However, I believe Joe Benavidez will win impressively yet again and get that rematch with DJ.  Joe Benavidez with another TKO, in the 3rd round.

The co-main event features a hugely important middleweight bout between Yushin Okami and Jacare Souza.  Okami has been on a roll with wins over Belcher and Lombard.  His wrestling is smothering and he is a tough man to dictate the pace against.  He is just a suffocating wrestler that is powerful enough to control the fight.  Jacare Souza is one of the best submission artists in the game and has an ever improving striking game.  He was 7-1 in Strikeforce and 1-0 in the UFC with a very controversial loss to Luke Rockhold.  I rarely side against Yushin Okami, but Jacare is another level of fighter.  I do not know if Okami will be submitted, but I think he is dominated in the striking game as well as beaten in the grappling game.  Souza via decision on his way to his signature gator crawl.

Glover Teixeira is getting a lot of hype for someone who is only 4-0 in the UFC.  He has looked dominant in each of those 4 fights though including a win over former champ Rampage Jackson.  He is in line to take on the winner of Jones vs Gustafsson with an impressive win over Ryan Bader.  Ryan Bader is a guy that takes a lot of heat because he was submitted by Tito Ortiz.  If you look at his record, his only UFC losses are to current champ Jon Jones, and former champions Tito Ortiz and Lyoto Machida.  He has a win over former champion Rampage Jackson as well as a very impressive win over tough competitor Vladimir Matyushenko.  I think he has a good chance to win this fight. He is very under rated and I think it is ridiculous how big of a favorite Glover is.  That said, Glover Teixeira will most likely win.  I like Glover to win a decision, but not be overly impressive.  Glover is good, but is he that killer finisher we want him to be?  We will see on Wednesday night!  Glover Teixeira via 5 round decision win.

Updated Fighter Rankings: (9-1-13)

Jose Aldo (left) and Renan Barao (right)
 are training partners and 2 of the top
10 best fighters on the planet today.

For the second month in a row, a new champion has been crowned.  It is kind of funny that it was Benson Henderson, since I dropped him out of the pound for pound rankings to make room for Chris Weidman, and now he is definitely out.  Or is he??  I am now doing the top 20 instead of top 10 because so many divisions have a bunch of fighters on the cusp of the top 10.  It is almost as if they move in with a win, then fall out when another guy wins.  So top 20 it is! (except for flyweight)

Men's Pound for Pound:

1. Jose Aldo (1)
2. Jon Jones (2)
3. Georges St. Pierre (3)
4. Anderson Silva (4)
5. Chris Weidman (5)
6. Demetrious Johnson (6)
7. Dominick Cruz (7)
8. Cain Velasquez (8)
9. Renan Barao (10)
10. Anthony Pettis (NR)
11. Junior Dos Santos (NR)
12. Urijah Faber (NR)
13. Vitor Belfort (NR)
14. Johny Hendricks (NR)
15. Chad Mendes (NR)
16. Joe Benavidez (NR)
17. Michael McDonald (NR)
18. Benson Henderson (NR)
19. Frankie Edgar (NR)
20. Gilbert Melendez (NR)

Heavyweight:

1. Cain Velasquez (1)
2. Junior Dos Santos (2)
3. Travis Browne (5)
4. Fabricio Werdum (3)
5. Daniel Cormier (4)
6. Mark Hunt (6)
7. Stipe Miocic (7)
8. Josh Barnett (NR)
9.  Roy Nelson (9)
10. Antonio Silva (10)
11. Stefan Struve (NR)
12. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (NR)
13. Frank Mir (8)
14. Alistair Overeem (NR)
15. Gabriel Gonzaga (NR)
16. Ben Rothwell (NR)
17. Shawn Jordan (NR)
18. Alexander Volkov (NR)
19. Cheick Kongo (NR)
20. Soa Palelei (NR)

Light Heavywight:

1. Jon Jones (1)
2. Alexander Gustafsson (3)
3. Glover Teixeira (4)
4. Phil Davis (5)
5. Lyoto Machida (2)
6. Rashad Evans (6)
7. Dan Henderson (7)
8. Gegard Mousasi (9)
9. Ryan Bader (10)
10. Chael Sonnen (NR)
11. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (NR)
12. Shogun Rua (8)
13. Emanuel Newton (NR)
14. Muhammed Lawal (NR)
15. Attila Vegh (NR)
16. Rampage Jackson (NR)
17. Thiago Silva (NR)
18. James Te-Huna (NR)
19. Ryan Jimmo (NR)
20. Rafael Cavalcante (NR)

Middleweight:

1. Chris Weidman (1)
2. Anderson Silva (2)
3. Vitor Belfort (3)
4. Yushin Okami (4)
5. Ronaldo Souza (5)
6. Mark Munoz (6)
7. Michael Bisping (7)
8. Costa Philippou (8)
9. Luke Rockhold (9)
10. Tim Boetsch (10)
11. Tim Kennedy (NR)
12. Cung Le (NR)
13. Alexander Shlemenko (NR)
14. Thales Leites (NR)
15. Alan Belcher (NR)
16. Rich Franklin (NR)
17. Tom Watson (NR)
18. Yoel Romero (NR)
19. Francis Carmont (NR)
20. Lorenz Larkin (NR)

Welterwight:

1. Georges St. Pierre (1)
2. Johny Hendricks (2)
3. Rory Macdonald (3)
4. Carlos Condit (5)
5. Matt Brown (7)
6. Demian Maia (4)
7. Dong Hyun Kim (6)
8. Jake Ellenberger (8)
9. Robbie Lawler (9)
10. Ben Askren (NR)
11. Jake Shields (NR)
12. Josh Burkman (NR)
13. Josh Koscheck (NR)
14. Martin Kampmann (10)
15. Nick Diaz (NR)
16. Tarec Saffiedine (NR)
17. Nate Marquardt (NR)
18. Jon Fitch (NR)
19. Tyrone Woodley (NR)
20. Erick Silva (NR)

Lightweight:

1. Anthony Pettis (4)
2. TJ Grant (2)
3. Gilbert Melendez (3)
4. Michael Chandler (5)
5. Benson Henderson (1)
6. Josh Thomson (6)
7. Pat Healy (7)
8. Gray Maynard (8)
9. Khabib Nurmagomedov (9)
10. Rafael dos Anjos (NR)
11. Eddie Alvarez (NR)
12. Jim Miller (NR)
13. Nate Diaz (NR)
14. Donald Cerrone (10)
15. Shinya Aoki (NR)
16. Melvin Guillard (NR)
17. Edson Barboza (NR)
18. Jorge Masvidal (NR)
19. Joe Lauzon (NR)
20. Tatsuya Kawajiri (NR)

Featherweight:

1. Jose Aldo (1)
2. Chad Mendes (3)
3. Cub Swanson (2)
4. Ricardo Lamas (4)
5. Frankie Edgar (6)
6. Dustin Poirier (9)
7. Pat Curran (7)
8. Conor McGregor (10)
9. Chan Sung Jung (5)
10. Erik Koch (8)
11. Dennis Siver (NR)
12. Nik Lentz
13. Darren Elkins (NR)
14. Clay Guida (NR)
15. Hatsu Hioki (NR)
16. Charles Oliveira (NR)
17. Paticio Freire (NR)
18. Manvel Gamburyan (NR)
19. Steven Siler (NR)
20. Mike Brown (NR)

Bantamweight:

1. Dominick Cruz (1)
2. Renan Barao (2)
3. Urijah Faber (3)
4. Michael McDonald (6)
5. Eddie Wineland (4)
6. Rafael Assuncao (7)
7. Brad Pickett (5)
8. T.J. Dillashaw (8)
9. Scott Jorgensen (9)
10. George Roop (10)
11. Bibiano Fernandes (NR)
12. Yuri Alcantara (NR)
13. Mike Easton (NR)
14. Marlon Moraes (NR)
15. Takeya Mizugaki (NR)
16. Tyson Nam (NR)
17. Eduardo Dantas (NR)
18. Erik Perez (NR)
19. Joe Warren (NR)
20. Bryan Caraway (NR)

Flyweight:

1. Demetrious Johnson (1)
2. Joe Benavidez (2)
3. John Dodson (3)
4. Jussier Formiga (4)
5. John Moraga (5)
6. Darrel Montague (6)
7. John Lineker (9)
8. Ian McCall (7)
9. Tim Elliot (NR)
10. Louis Gaudinot (8)

Women's Pound for Pound:

1. Ronda Rousey (1)
2. Cristiane Santos (2)
3. Sara McMann (3)
4. Cat Zingano (4)
5. Jessica Aguilar (5)
6. Miesha Tate (6)
7. Alexis Davis (7)
8. Sarah Kaufman (8)
9. Liz Carmouche (9)
10. Marloes Coenen(10)
11. Michelle Waterson (NR)
12. Jessica Eye (NR)
13. Jessica Penne (NR)
14. Amanda Nunes (NR)
15. Carla Esparza (NR)
16. Zoila Gurgel (NR)
17. Megumi Fujii (NR)
18. Rosi Sexton (NR)
19. Shayna Baszler (NR)
20. Tara LaRosa (NR)