A seemingly unstoppable champion. A Heavyweight contest that will determine who is on the road back to the belt. Two Light Heavyweights possibly fighting for their jobs. A duel between two up-and-coming Welterweights. And a battle of wills between two Featherweights. Who will win!?
Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida
Machida remains possibly the best striker in the light heavyweight division. This is common knowledge and it most certainly has not gone unnoticed by the Jones camp. The problem for Machida is that Jon Jones is still a very, very strong and athletic wrestler. The last strong, athletic wrestler that Machida fought was Rashad Evans, who tried to match him standing up. Jones is not likely to make the same mistake, and will attack early with takedowns, and will likely score a TKO with strong ground-and-pound before the fight reaches championship rounds.
Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
It feels a lot longer than three years since we saw Frank Mir demolish Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92. Even though there was loads of talk about “Big Nog” having a nasty staph infection shortly before the fight, in the end, things will be looking just about the same. While Nogueira had a strong victory over Brendan Schaub, there is no particular reason to think that Nogueira, who has struggled with injuries and infections, is any better than the fighter that barely edged out Randy Couture at UFC 102 or got floored by Cain Velasquez at UFC 110. Frank Mir, meanwhile, is substantially better than he was when he first beat Nogueira. Nogueira’s BJJ will likely prevent him from getting TKO’d, however expect Mir to dominate the fight on the ground en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Tito Ortiz vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
It is not going to be a nice night for the Nogueira brothers. While Tito Ortiz would probably end up losing a split decision to a wet cardboard box, “Lil Nog” has struggled in three straight fights against wrestling opponents in the UFC. Following up a controversial split decision win over the mostly unknown-at-that-point Jason Brilz, Nogueira dropped two fights to Ryan Bader and Phil Davis. Tito Ortiz is not as good as he used to be…but he is going to be able to replicate what Bader and Davis did and give Nogueira his third decision loss in a row.
Claude Patrick vs. Brian Ebersole
Claude Patrick is exciting many with his 14-1 record (3-0 in the UFC) but this will not be anywhere close to the first time fans have seen a submission specialist get beaten by a savvy veteran. Brian Ebersole has sixty-four career fights, and has the wrestling skills to stay safe from Patrick’s submissions attempt, and keep the fight standing. From there, Ebersole should be able to use his striking to score a TKO victory in the second or third round.
Mark Hominick vs. Chan Sung Jung
Chan Sung Jung is one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC’s Featherweight division. Mark Hominick is one of the best fighters in the UFC’s Featherweight division. This has the makings of an exciting fight, but all signs point to a Hominick win. Jung has an iron chin and strong standup, but Hominick is equally steely, and has the tools to keep the keep Jung from finding his range while standing and can take Jung to the ground when necessary. Look for Hominick to score a clear-cut decision victory.