Hello fight fans and welcome to that column you've all been waiting for! Where I breakdown the next UFC card and give you my picks! Once again I'm always up for constructive criticism so send me some with your comments. Let me know if you'd like a poll or maybe you would like me to give you my thoughts on a past match up? The sky is the limit here people, I'm writing because I want people to enjoy reading it! So with that being said lets get underway!
Julian Erosa 15-3 vs Teruto Ishihara 8-2-2
On paper Erosa looks like the more well rounded of the two, he has a more diverse resume, has won more, and lost less. With that being said Ishihara has "bam bam" power and if he can get inside on Erosa he could very well sleep him with ease. It's worth noting that both men stand southpaw as well.
Pick: Julian Erosa via Unanimous Decision
Jason Saggo 10-2 vs Justin Salas 12-6
Saggo is a submission wizard he's one of those guys that can just lock you up in something out of nowhere. It always worries me when a fighter has never been to decision before though. Salas on the other hand has more experience and is a pretty well rounded fighter. The trend with this card looks to me like they're putting up masters of a specific craft up against well rounded guys in a sink or swim situation if you will. Saggo is 3 inches taller but only has a 1 inch reach advantage on Salas. As much as I like Salas I just don't see him winning this fight.
Pick: Jason Saggo via 3rd Round Submission
Diego Sanchez 27-8 vs Jim Miller 25-7
When I saw the placement of this fight on the card it floored me. I can't believe guys who always entertain, always look for a finish are stuck this low on this card. Is it just me or does Sanchez look like he wants to fight all the time? The way he came out at the weigh ins all hopping around and then mean mugging Miller made me laugh quite a bit. Not because Sanchez is always full of intensity but because he looked like a 12 year old boy telling his father he didn't want to go to his room. Anyways this is an easy one for me.
Pick: Diego Sanchez via 1st Round KO/TKO
Darren Elkins 20-5 vs Chas Skelly 15-1
2 tall featherweights meet to see who the tall guy in the division really is. Skelly has a better ground game but is well rounded and Elkins has more power but is also well rounded. Very close match-up here. I'm a firm believer that no one over 30 should sport a mohawk but that doesn't mean Elkins won't win the fight.
Pick: Chas Skelly via Unanimous Decision
Vitor Miranda 12-4 vs Marcelo Guimaraes 9-1-1
Miranda has 4 inches of reach and sleeps people. Enough said.
Pick: Vitor Miranda via 1st Round KO/TKO
Erick Silva 18-6 vs Nordine Taleb 11-3
I am such a huge fan of Silva. When he's on he could beat anybody in the division. When he's off he stinks the place up worse than a popcorn fart in a southern church. I also watched Taleb on the ultimate fighter and was a fan of his skillset throughout the course of the show. With all of that being said Silva has alot more octagon experience than Taleb does. In my own person opinion Taleb has better trainers than Silva does. This is one of those fights where i don't want to pick a winner.
Pick: Erick Silva via 2nd Round KO/TKO
Brandon Thatch 11-3 vs Siyar Bahadurzada 21-6-1
Thatch definatley looks to be the bigger fighter at least as far as the square off at the weigh ins is concerned. But Bahadurzada is a very scary individual. Thatches glass jaw shatters in the first round.
Pick: Siyar Bahadurzada via 1st Round KO/TKO
Amanda Nunes 11-4 vs Valentina Shevchenko 12-1
What can we expect here? I expect an absolute WAR. Which is great for the fight fan side of me but not so great for the writer in me that needs to pick a winner. I think that Nunes is going to have some problems with Shevchenko's southpaw stance.
Pick: Valentina Shevchenko via 1st Round Submission
Corey Anderson 8-1 vs Tom Lawlor 10-5
It's amazing how few fights Lawlor has for how long he's been in the game. Anderson who will play the part of the young buck coming to steal the old mans milk money.
Pick: Corey Anderson via 1st Round KO/TKO
Gian Villante 14-6 vs Ilir Latifi 12-4
Latifi has that short stocky frame that you can fit so much power into, but Villante trains with the some of the best in the world. Picking with my heart always gets me into trouble but I simply cannot pick Villante because of my strong disgust for his teammate Chris Wideman.
Pick: Ilir Latifi via 1st Round KO/TKO
Holly Holm 10-0 vs Meisha Tate 17-5
Is Tate not aware that it is not a good idea to sign to fight a kickboxer who has a reach advantage on you? I'm sure their aren't to many people picking Tate to win here but if she is going to have any success whatsoever she needs to grab ahold of Holm and never EVER let go. In my opinion the Uriah Faber of the womens bantamweight division gets herself to the title shot yet again but can't come up victorious.
Pick: Holly Holm via Unanimous Decision
Conor McGregor 19-2 vs Nate Diaz 19-10
I don't know what to say when it comes to a McGregor fight. Does anybody really? Lets look at this from less of a fanboys point of view and analyze. The stockton slap vs the heavyweight left hand. The only way Diaz wins this fight is if he executes the perfect gameplan, drags McGregor down and submits him. But who in their right mind would not predict exactly what Mystic Mac has said? Has he been wrong about himself yet? Even though Diaz is an extremely hard guy to finish until McGregor is wrong about himself, he gets the benefit of the doubt from me.
Pick: Conor McGregor via 1st Round KO/TKO
I realize that picking only 3 decisions out of a whole fight card is ludacrious but who doesn't want to see every single fight have a definitive finish? Anyways I really hope you enjoyed my breakdown of UFC 196 and I can't wait to bring you the next one. Please feel free to comment with your suggestions, questions, or just plain old comments about my column. Until next time.
Julian Erosa 15-3 vs Teruto Ishihara 8-2-2
On paper Erosa looks like the more well rounded of the two, he has a more diverse resume, has won more, and lost less. With that being said Ishihara has "bam bam" power and if he can get inside on Erosa he could very well sleep him with ease. It's worth noting that both men stand southpaw as well.
Pick: Julian Erosa via Unanimous Decision
Jason Saggo 10-2 vs Justin Salas 12-6
Saggo is a submission wizard he's one of those guys that can just lock you up in something out of nowhere. It always worries me when a fighter has never been to decision before though. Salas on the other hand has more experience and is a pretty well rounded fighter. The trend with this card looks to me like they're putting up masters of a specific craft up against well rounded guys in a sink or swim situation if you will. Saggo is 3 inches taller but only has a 1 inch reach advantage on Salas. As much as I like Salas I just don't see him winning this fight.
Pick: Jason Saggo via 3rd Round Submission
Diego Sanchez 27-8 vs Jim Miller 25-7
When I saw the placement of this fight on the card it floored me. I can't believe guys who always entertain, always look for a finish are stuck this low on this card. Is it just me or does Sanchez look like he wants to fight all the time? The way he came out at the weigh ins all hopping around and then mean mugging Miller made me laugh quite a bit. Not because Sanchez is always full of intensity but because he looked like a 12 year old boy telling his father he didn't want to go to his room. Anyways this is an easy one for me.
Pick: Diego Sanchez via 1st Round KO/TKO
Darren Elkins 20-5 vs Chas Skelly 15-1
2 tall featherweights meet to see who the tall guy in the division really is. Skelly has a better ground game but is well rounded and Elkins has more power but is also well rounded. Very close match-up here. I'm a firm believer that no one over 30 should sport a mohawk but that doesn't mean Elkins won't win the fight.
Pick: Chas Skelly via Unanimous Decision
Vitor Miranda 12-4 vs Marcelo Guimaraes 9-1-1
Miranda has 4 inches of reach and sleeps people. Enough said.
Pick: Vitor Miranda via 1st Round KO/TKO
Erick Silva 18-6 vs Nordine Taleb 11-3
I am such a huge fan of Silva. When he's on he could beat anybody in the division. When he's off he stinks the place up worse than a popcorn fart in a southern church. I also watched Taleb on the ultimate fighter and was a fan of his skillset throughout the course of the show. With all of that being said Silva has alot more octagon experience than Taleb does. In my own person opinion Taleb has better trainers than Silva does. This is one of those fights where i don't want to pick a winner.
Pick: Erick Silva via 2nd Round KO/TKO
Brandon Thatch 11-3 vs Siyar Bahadurzada 21-6-1
Thatch definatley looks to be the bigger fighter at least as far as the square off at the weigh ins is concerned. But Bahadurzada is a very scary individual. Thatches glass jaw shatters in the first round.
Pick: Siyar Bahadurzada via 1st Round KO/TKO
Amanda Nunes 11-4 vs Valentina Shevchenko 12-1
What can we expect here? I expect an absolute WAR. Which is great for the fight fan side of me but not so great for the writer in me that needs to pick a winner. I think that Nunes is going to have some problems with Shevchenko's southpaw stance.
Pick: Valentina Shevchenko via 1st Round Submission
Corey Anderson 8-1 vs Tom Lawlor 10-5
It's amazing how few fights Lawlor has for how long he's been in the game. Anderson who will play the part of the young buck coming to steal the old mans milk money.
Pick: Corey Anderson via 1st Round KO/TKO
Gian Villante 14-6 vs Ilir Latifi 12-4
Latifi has that short stocky frame that you can fit so much power into, but Villante trains with the some of the best in the world. Picking with my heart always gets me into trouble but I simply cannot pick Villante because of my strong disgust for his teammate Chris Wideman.
Pick: Ilir Latifi via 1st Round KO/TKO
Holly Holm 10-0 vs Meisha Tate 17-5
Is Tate not aware that it is not a good idea to sign to fight a kickboxer who has a reach advantage on you? I'm sure their aren't to many people picking Tate to win here but if she is going to have any success whatsoever she needs to grab ahold of Holm and never EVER let go. In my opinion the Uriah Faber of the womens bantamweight division gets herself to the title shot yet again but can't come up victorious.
Pick: Holly Holm via Unanimous Decision
Conor McGregor 19-2 vs Nate Diaz 19-10
I don't know what to say when it comes to a McGregor fight. Does anybody really? Lets look at this from less of a fanboys point of view and analyze. The stockton slap vs the heavyweight left hand. The only way Diaz wins this fight is if he executes the perfect gameplan, drags McGregor down and submits him. But who in their right mind would not predict exactly what Mystic Mac has said? Has he been wrong about himself yet? Even though Diaz is an extremely hard guy to finish until McGregor is wrong about himself, he gets the benefit of the doubt from me.
Pick: Conor McGregor via 1st Round KO/TKO
I realize that picking only 3 decisions out of a whole fight card is ludacrious but who doesn't want to see every single fight have a definitive finish? Anyways I really hope you enjoyed my breakdown of UFC 196 and I can't wait to bring you the next one. Please feel free to comment with your suggestions, questions, or just plain old comments about my column. Until next time.
