UFC Fight Night 35 Quick Picks

Yoel "the Soldier of God" Romero will look to be one of many
middleweight title contenders following this event.

It did not go well for Luke Rockhold in his UFC debut, but the way Vitor Belfort is fighting who can blame him for the loss.  He takes on Costa Phillippou in a very fun card full of entertaining fighters.

Fight Pass (which I do not like because I no longer get free Facebook prelims!!!!)

• Charlie Brenneman is back and I could not be happier.  W for him all day via afro submission.  Sorry Beneil Dariush, but your undefeated streak is coming to an end.
• Vinc Pichel had no idea who he signed up to fight when he took on Rustam Khabilov in his UFC debut.  I do not see Garett Whiteley suplexing Vinc to death.  Pichel via violent KO.

FS1 Prelims:

• Alptekin Ozkilic looks like he could be a legit threat at flyweight.  Win via decision.
• Trevor Smith did not look technical in his last fight but he looked exciting.  I see him landing that power punch on Brian Houston and taking home a KO win.
• Isaac Vallie-Flagg is my boy, win via 4 consecutive split decisions.
• Unless he is completely overmatched I will always pick Justin Edwards via guillotine.  Ramsey Nijem sucks so I am going with Justin Edwards via guillotine? Yes.

FS1 Main Card:

• I love both Cole Miller and Sam Sicilia.  Therefore I am protesting this pick.  Either Sicilia via KO or Miller via submission is my prediction I guess.
• John Moraga is more my boy that IVF.  I'll take him over the rising star Dustin Ortiz.
• Yoel Romero is my boy as well. Always will be picked by me.  KO over Derek Brunson.
• TJ Dillashaw is totally my boy.  Fight of the Night victory over Mike Easton who I hope does not get cut.
• Lorenz is my last name so Lorenz Larkin is most definitely my boy.  KO win over Brad Tavares.
• Luke Rockhold is still a top 10 middleweight despite his brutal loss to Vitor.  He has beat some tough guys like Tim Kennedy and Jacare Souza so expect him to demonstrate that in this fight.  Costa Phillippou looked awful in his last fight against Carmont, so he will be hungry for a bounce-back win.  My boy Luke will get it done with wrestling and kickboxing to get the decision win.

I am 1 for 1 so far in 2014!!!  Hopefully I will continue to be correct and win some money on MMA this year.

Fighter of the Year: Vitor Belfort

Vitor showed off his new kicking game in 2013.

There are many people who had an impressive 2013 in the UFC and other fight organizations but Vitor Belfort stands alone as the best.  Not only was Vitor 3-0 against top middleweights and a light heavyweight, but he won all of them with headkick knockouts in a combined 10 minutes and 16 seconds.  Throw in that Dan Henderson was known as a guy who is impossible to knock out and his latest win is even more impressive.  There is no denying Vitor had a great year headlining cards in Brazil and that is why he is the Brutal Sports Fighter of 2013.

There are many people that had similar years to Vitor in wins, but nobody won as impressively as Vitor.  There is something about a headkick KO that really speaks to the superiority of Vitor's game. There is a reason Vitor will be the next man to fight Weidman for the middleweight title.  Yes there is controversy about his TRT use and complaints that he only fights in Brazil, but it does not diminish from the quality of Vitor Belfort's wins in 2013.

Runners up:

• Urijah Faber (4-0):  He won 4 fights including a top contender fight with Michael McDonald earning him a title shot on February 1st against Renan Barao.  No doubt he had a great year, especially considering he finished 3 of those fights with a submission.  Look for the California Kid to have a big 2014 as well.
• Demetrious Johnson (3-0):  DJ defended his belt 3 times in 2013.  He won a decision against Dodson, submitted Moraga, and knocked out Joe Benavidez.  If that is not impressive I do not know what is.
• Anthony Pettis (2-0):  He finished Cerrone with a liver kick in Chicago and beat Benson Henderson with a 1st round armbar to win the lightweight belt.  He had a bad year with injuries and the media due to his pulling out of the Aldo fight and stealing TJ Grant's title shot.  I say he will not still be champ in 2015 if he ever comes back from injury.
• Chris Weidman (2-0):  The dude beat Anderson Silva, the greatest fighter in UFC history, twice.
• Johny Hendricks (1-1):  He beat Condit in a Fight of the Night performance and SHOULD HAVE WON against GSP in another Fight of the Night that ended in a controversial decision.

End of 2013 Fighter Rankings

Chris Weidman is still the best middleweight and is
even higher on the pound for pound list now as well.

2013 was a great year for MMA.  The 2 greatest pound for pound fighters on the planet have fallen from the top of the totem pole and new stars have emerged.  This is how my rankings are heading into 2014.  (Not taking Lim/Saffiedine into effect until next rankings)

Men's Pound for Pound:

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

Heavyweight:

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

Dropping Out: Vitaly Minakov (20)

Light Heavywight:

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

Middleweight:

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

Welterwight:

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

Lightweight:

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

Dropping out: Tatsuya Kawajiri (18)

Featherweight:

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

Bantamweight:

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

Dropping Out: Scott Jorgensen (8) (due to change in weight class)

Flyweight:

1. Demetrious Johnson (1)
2. John Dodson (3)
3. John Lineker (4)
4. Joe Benavidez (2)
5. John Moraga (5)
6. Ian McCall (6)
7. Jussier Formiga (7)
8. Darrel Montague (8)
9. Ali Bagautinov (9)
10. Tim Elliot (10)
11. Zack Makovsky (NR)
12. Scott Jorgensen (NR)
13. Louis Gaudinot (NR)
14. Dustin Ortiz (NR)
15. Alptekin Ozkilic (NR)

Women's Pound for Pound:

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

UFC 168 Recap

Legs are NOT supposed to do that.

When the greatest fighter of all time finally loses for the first time, the rematch will obviously be one of the biggest fights to schedule.  Little did the UFC know that it was the less anticipated rematch between Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate that would steal the show.  These two women stole the show on one of the most stacked and anticipated UFC cards of all time.  Also, if you had told me the second Anderson Silva vs Chris Weidman fight would be more shocking than the first I would call you an idiot.  However, it was.  Anderson Silva lost the rematch in one of the strangest, most disgusting, and tragic endings to a fight (and maybe a career) that I have ever seen.  Here is my quick recap of the night and what I think is on deck for some of this card's fighters:

Facebook prelims:

• Robbie Peralta was controlled for 2 rounds by Estevan Payan's wrestling, but pulled off a 3rd round comeback by finishing Payan via KO.
• William Macario looked outstanding winning a decision against Bobby Voelker with precision and power in his standup.  Voelker is going nowhere despite his 0-3 UFC record since Dana White loves his fighting spirit.

FS1 prelims:

• John Howard won a decision over Siyar Bahadurzada largely due to Siyar having nothing in his gas tank.
• Dennis Siver bounced back from a loss to Cub Swanson with a hard-fought victory over Manny Gamburyan.  Siver upset me by throwing no spinning kicks, but he still looked great.
• Michael Johnson looks better and better ever fight.  The only way to follow up a decision win over Joe Lauzon is to knock out a very durable Gleison Tibau.  Right when Tibau is looking like a contender he gets knocked back to earth.  Johnson has nothing but big fights on the horizon after 2 very impressive wins in a row.  Maybe Gray Maynard is on deck for him, since he has fallen from title contention to gatekeeping.  I think it would be a great test for both Maynard and Johnson.
• Uriah Hall may have retired Chris "the Crippler" Leben on Saturday.  He stunned him late in the first round and did not get the finish only because Chris was "saved by the bell."  (or so we thought)  In between rounds Chris said he was done and he was clearly out of it.  Leben has got to call it retirement because he doesn't have anything left in his fight game.  Thanks for the KO of Wanderlei and the Fight of the Night against Akiyama.  That is how I will remember your great career.

Pay-per view:

• Dustin Poirier beat Diego Brandao quickly with his fast pace, aggressive style, and perfect technique.  This dude is a real stud at 145 despite losing to the Korean Zombie and Cub Swanson.  Give him a rematch with the Zombie and I guarantee it will be Poirier who gets the win.  As for Brandao, get your life together and then we will talk about your next fight.
• Jim Miller submitted a blackbelt in the first round, no big deal.  Fabricio Camoes was a nobody before this fight and stays that way after.  I do think Miller was snubbed of Submission of the Night honors though.  Next for Jim should be a rematch with Nate Diaz or Gray Maynard.  If not a rematch, then give him TJ Grant or Edson Barboza.  There are a lot of options for Jim Millers who is a borderline top 10 fighter right now.
• Travis Browne is for real.  I have always loved this kid at heavyweight to be a contender.  Stop doubting me, stop doubting him.  Beating Josh Barnett is no small feat.  Neither is beating Overeem or Gonzaga.  He has beat all three of them in a row and will likely be facing Fabricio Werdum for a shot at Cain Velasquez.  His takedown defense and devastating striking is enough to strike fear in everyone in the division.  Not to mention he is the perfect style of fighter to beat the seemingly unbeatable Cain Velasquez.  Mark my words, Travis Browne will be a UFC champion in 2014 so long as Cain comes back from injury.  Browne is legit.  As for Barnett, he has nothing but huge fights for himself despite the setback.  Maybe Barnett vs Bigfoot or Barnett vs Hunt?  He beat Hunt in 2006 before Hunt knew what a submission was.  The rematch could generate some interest and test if Hunt is truly ready to be a contender.
• As I mentioned in my introduction, Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey stole the show winning Fight of the Night on a stacked card.  Oh and Ronda took home Submission of the Night too.  These two girls hate each other and sportsmanship still did not exist after their war.   Tate looked outstanding on the feet compared to previous fights and her submission defense was on point.  Her flaw was that she kept shooting for takedowns and Rousey would simply use that judo experience to flip her over and take a dominant position.  Surviving her way to round 3 is a victory in itself for Tate, but Rousey still reigns supreme over the women's bantamweight division.  She is already scheduled to fight Sara McMann is February which should be an outstanding fight.  Rousey will actually have a wrestling disadvantage against McMann but I am sure she has some tricks up her sleeve.  Both women are Olympic medalists so it should be a fantastic fight.  I love McMann and think she has the potential to beat Rousey, but I would prefer to see her have another fight for more experience prior to fighting for the belt.  I do think Alexis Davis was snubbed of a title shot since Davis has 2 UFC wins and has beat more stern competition in Liz Carmouche. Look for Davis vs Jessica Eye in a top contender fight in the near future.  As for Miesha Tate, anyone is a potential opponent for her next fight.  Having lost 2 in a row I think they give her a break and have her fight an easier opponent such as Bethe Correia or Amanda Nunes.  As a consolation, Tate has won 2 Fight of the Night bonuses despite her 2 losses.
• In the most anticipated rematch in MMA, Anderson Silva broke his leg over Chris Weidman's knee.  There really isn't anything more to say.  He lost twice to Weidman and yet everyone thinks both fights are flukes.  I have to say that even if both endings were flukes, Weidman has been dominant in every minute of both fights and easily has won every round he has completed with Silva.  Were the endings strange?  Sure.  But I think the Weidman era of the middleweight division has begun.  With Vitor, Jacare, Lyoto, and other monsters waiting for their shot at the title, the UFC has plenty of awesome options for title fights in Weidman's future.  Don't be sad that Silva is done as champion and maybe done forever, be happy that the next wave of contenders has a new guy to gun for.  The middleweight division is more talented than ever before, even without Anderson on top.

My final note is that I predicted the entire pay-per view results correct!

Picks entering event: 184/315

Picks during event: 8/11

Pick totals for 2013: 192/326=59%

For my first year I am content with this percentage but I am looking to be between 65-75% in 2014.

Brutal Sports Awards:

Beatdown of the Night: William Macario

Sketchies Decision of the Night: None (GOOD JOB VEGAS!)

Upset of the Night: Travis Browne (not in my opinion but in Vegas's opinion)

Three Stars:

1. Travis Browne
2. William Macario
3. Dustin Poirier

UFC 168

Anderson Silva as the challenger actually
engaged in the stare-down properly.

The wait is finally over.  Debatably the biggest fight and biggest event the UFC has ever put on is finally here.  UFC 168 will put on the rematch between Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva as well as the second meeting between rivals Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate.  There is also a hugely important heavyweight fight between Travis Browne and Josh Barnett as well.  Grab a seat at the bar early or pony up the money to buy this pay-per view, it is going to be a dandy.

Facebook Prelims: 6:30 pm

• Robbie Peralta does enough to squeak by Estevan Payan and win a decision
• Bobby Voelker gets his first UFC win over William Macario

Fox Sports 1 Prelims: 8 pm

• Siyar Bahadurzada seems to be talented enough to get it done over John Howard
• Dennis Siver via spinning back-kick knockout over Manvel Gamburyan
• Gleison Tibau over Michael Johnson via decision
• Uriah Hall has all the potential in the world, he just needs to find that killer inside him.  I think Chris Leben the kind of guy that forces the issue which will awake the beast that Uriah Hall is.  Leben retires after suffering a devastating KO loss to Hall

Pay-per view: 10 pm

• Dustin Poirier is one of the most talented and most exciting fighters in the UFC and at age 24 could be a serious contender at featherweight.  Diego Brandao is also young and talented but has issues with his gas tank in some fights.  He missed weight by a ton and seems unprepared for a very tough fight.  I already was very confident in Poirier, but after the weigh in chalked Brandao up as 7 pounds overweight I KNOW Poirier will win the fight.  He is a beast and he is angry.  Poirier via 1st round TKO from hell.
• Jim Miller has dropped considerably in the lightweight rankings after dropping 3 of his last 5 fights, so the UFC gave him a free win by putting him against Fabricio Camoes.  Interesting enough, Camoes and Anderson Silva made their MMA debuts the same night and it took Anderson 25 minutes to beat Camoes in their 2nd fights of the night back in 1997.
• Travis Browne has his work cut out for him when he faces Josh Barnett in a very important heavyweight fight.  Josh Barnett has only been 11-1 since 2006 with his only loss coming to Daniel Cormier, but his only impressive win in my book was over a "washed up" Frank Mir.  Travis has recently defeated Alistair Overeem and Gabriel Gonzaga in impressive fashion but still gets no respect.  I think Travis Browne pulls off yet another stunning victory as the underdog and not only beats, but finishes a very durable Josh Barnett on Saturday night.  The winner of this fight should fight Fabricio Werdum with a title shot at stake regardless to who wins.
• Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate have a very well-documented rivalry dating back to their Strikeforce days.  Many people are on the Tate bandwagon because they hated Ronda as a coach on TUF.  It really doesn't matter what people think of either girl because Ronda is going to win by armbar in the first round yet again.  As much as I would like Miesha to win, I know a mismatch when I see one.  It will be entertaining as hell despite the predictability of the result.  And hey, if it is not an armbar or if Miesha somehow wins it could be the new upset of the year instead of Weidman defeating Silva.
• Chris Weidman vs Anderson Silva 2, what else needs to be said?  The first time these two fought I came so close to picking Weidman but I just couldn't do it.  I knew he was a good wrestler but his striking is actually sneakily strong.  I have to say I see this fight going similarly to the first fight between Anderson and Chael Sonnen.  I think Weidman ignores Silva's antics and takes the fight to the ground early and often.  The only difference between Sonnen and Weidman is the submission savvy possessed by Weidman as well as power in his punches.  Because of this, there will be no submission comeback for Anderson.  Also, Weidman will stun him and eventually finish him with punches and elbows to retain his fight.  Weidman via 4th round TKO.

2013 has been an amazing year for the UFC and MMA in general.  My pick totals heading into the final event of the year stand at 184/315.  Hopefully I will add to that before I reset for 2014.  Thanks for reading an enjoy the fights!

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