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| Johny has won big fights on the last 2 cards GSP was on, now it's his turn to take on GSP. |
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- Gian Villante and Cody Donovan will get the night started in the light heavyweight division. Both of these guys were victims of OSP in their last fights. Villante is my pick to keep his job with a win over Donovan. I say KO because why not? Villante via KO.
- I am not a believer that Sergio Pettis is as good as his brother Anthony. However, he shouldn't have trouble with Will Campuzano. Everyone expects a head kick or body kick finish from Sergio but I say he barely gets a close decision win due to UFC jitters and over hype. But a W is a W. Sergio via decision.
- Jason High was the victim of a sick submission to Erick Silva before getting a nice one of his own in his last fight. I give him an even better chance against Anthony Lapsley. I think grinds out a decision in a stinker of a fight, but who really cares other than me since it's on Facebook. High via decision.
FS 1 Prelims:
- Erik Perez and Edwin Figueroa is a quietly awesome fight. This could be Fight of the Night, even on this stacked card. Perez lost for the first time in the UFC in his last fight and will be looking to bounce back. Figueroa isn't the most dominant fighter, but the dude has heart. I think Perez beats him senseless for 15 minutes and gets a dominant decision win. Figueroa is fun to watch and will have his moments, but the night should belong to Perez. Perez via bloody decision.
- Chest hair. That's all you need to know about Brian Ebersole. Even thought the arrow of chest hair is all you need to know, I'll tell you more. Ebersole is a veteran of 67 fights and has great submission skills. Rick Story was a highly regarded prospect before falling from grace. Although Story is tough and should be a good matchup, Rick will be mesmerized by the arrow of hair and will get caught in a submission. Arm-triangle choke win for Ebersole. (Allegedly an upset, I might throw cash down)
- Ed Herman will take on Thales Leites in a battle of UFC veterans. Herman has powerful standup but will likely have that neutralized by Leites. I see Leites beating Herman in very similar fashion to how Jacare Souza did. Herman will be put against the cage, taken down, beat up, and submitted. Leites via submission (arm-triangle choke).
- Donald Cerrone has had ups and downs in his career but how the hell is this guy fighting on a preliminary fight!!! This is a treat for those who watch on free TV but not on PPV. Evan Dunham also has had his moments, but similar to Rick Story has fallen from his hype train. I think Donald salvages a rough 2013 with an end of the year win. Cerrone via decision.
Pay-Per View:
- I am the biggest fan of the little guys, but Cerrone deserves to make PPV over Elliot and Bagautinov. Maybe the flyweights will prove me and everyone else wrong and put on a show, who knows? What I do know is that Elliot was ultra impresssive in his last win, destroying Louis Gaudinot. He also has a notable win over former UFC lightweight champ, Jens Pulver. His opponent Ali Bagautinov is relatively unknown. He is a combat sambo guy looking to make it 10 wins in a row. I say Elliot continues to win via funky striking and awesome wrestling. Elliot via decision.
- Is Josh Koscheck falling from being a contender, much like his buddy Jon Fitch? Is Tyron Woodley over-hyped and not that good? I say yes to both. Kos is not who he once was and Woodley lost to Nate Marquardt who has now lost 3 straight fights and clearly has a weak chin. I don't really know what to expect here, so I will side with the veteran guy, Josh Koscheck. I think Josh employs a wrestling strategy to keep Woodley's power away from his chin. I think this will be a boring fight and Koscheck will hold Woodley against the cage for 3 rounds like Jake Shields did. Koscheck via decision. (allegedly an upset, money might go down again)
- Rory MacDonald is not a fan favorite, at least not in the US. Robbie Lawler is the favorite of any person who has ever seen him fight. Everyone in the MGM Grand will be begging to see Lawler knock MacDonald's head off, but it won't happen. I believed that Ellenberger could do it, but Rory is too good. Although based on how unbelievable Lawler looked in his last fight, I can at least hope for Robbie to win. But he won't. MacDonald via decision.
- Rashad and Chael are both awesome wrestlers and great personalities. Chael takes everyone not named Jon Jones down. Will he take Rashad down? Probably not. Rashad should be able to sprawl and brawl his way to a victory. HOWEVER, do not be shocked if Chael turns into the next submission guru and wins this with a slick submission. Submitting Shogun is no joke, and Chael has done so much submission training over the years that he could have found a new weapon. But still I side with Rashad tagging Sonnen and finishing him with strikes. They will hug it out and be besties again. Rashad via TKO.
- GSP is one of the greatest of all time. Not just a UFC great, but an MMA great. He is a future Hall of Famer and the best welterweight ever. He is a great guy, the face of Canada, and one of the UFC's biggest draws. Johny Hendricks is just an Oklahoma boy who loves his family, loves to wrestle, and has the best 1 punch knockout power in the welterweight division. I have said since the day he decimated Jon Fitch that Hendricks is the guy to beat GSP. He, like Weidman to Silva, is the one bad matchup for the "unbeatable" champion when you look at styles. Like Weidman, he also has that mentality that he can do it. He thinks he is destined to be the guy to beat GSP. He is on a mission and coming to Vegas to take a belt home. I have never picked anybody to beat GSP ever. I thought Condit could beat GSP, but I sided with GSP. I will be picking Johny Hendricks to beat GSP on Saturday night from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. I say GSP worries too much about the left hand and gets caught by a right hook. Johny can not only stuff GSP's takedown, I think he might even take Georges down. Johny is on a mission and Saturday will be the night. Johny Hendricks via right hook KO in round 3!!
UFC award predictions:
FOTN: Perez/Figueroa
SOTN: Ebersole
KOOTN: Hendricks
Picks entering event: 168/290
On a side note: I never discussed anything regarding Belfort/Henderson. Vitor is unbelievable and better get the winner of Weidman/Silva 2. Henderson should retire although I don't mind if he stays around because I love that guy. Also from that card, Brandon Thatch is a stud and look for him as a prospect to watch in 2014.
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