Add to that the fight of TUF 18 trainer Ronda Rousey vs Miesha Tate and we are in for one hell of a show so let’s get to it and see how it could go down.
Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier #6 vs Diego “DB”
Brandao
We start the main card with a bout in the Featherweight division and this should be one great battle. We last saw Dustin Poirier at UFC 164 when he won a unanimous decision against Erik Koch. His opponent is season 14 TUF winner Diego Brandao who even though lost his first outing in the UFC has since gone on a three fight winning streak.
Even though Brandao is on a bit of a streak his wins have not been against any high caliber opponents and he will face his biggest test to date when he steps in the cage against Poirier.
Dustin is a very smart fighter who has more to lose in this fight, with a win he can step up the ladder even further.
Look for him to really use stand up game here but if it does go to the ground he won’t mind as he does have a solid ground game with a brown belt in BJJ. Brandao does out rank him with a black belt in BJJ but the problem may be is he is also a very emotional fighter so he will need to keep that in check, in the end it doesn’t matter how great your ground game is if your too tired to use it.
Look for Poirier to land some great combinations standing up, then taking this to the ground to grind out a win. Expect Brandao to come out swinging and if he can keep his emotions together and not get frustrated when the diamond doesn’t go down he can edge his way to take a big scalp
We start the main card with a bout in the Featherweight division and this should be one great battle. We last saw Dustin Poirier at UFC 164 when he won a unanimous decision against Erik Koch. His opponent is season 14 TUF winner Diego Brandao who even though lost his first outing in the UFC has since gone on a three fight winning streak.
Even though Brandao is on a bit of a streak his wins have not been against any high caliber opponents and he will face his biggest test to date when he steps in the cage against Poirier.
Dustin is a very smart fighter who has more to lose in this fight, with a win he can step up the ladder even further.
Look for him to really use stand up game here but if it does go to the ground he won’t mind as he does have a solid ground game with a brown belt in BJJ. Brandao does out rank him with a black belt in BJJ but the problem may be is he is also a very emotional fighter so he will need to keep that in check, in the end it doesn’t matter how great your ground game is if your too tired to use it.
Look for Poirier to land some great combinations standing up, then taking this to the ground to grind out a win. Expect Brandao to come out swinging and if he can keep his emotions together and not get frustrated when the diamond doesn’t go down he can edge his way to take a big scalp
Jim Miller #10 vs Fabricio Camoes
I find this fight to be very interesting and
really think that anything could happen on one side we have Jim miller who has
had only one other outing this year when he lost to Pat Healy at UFC 159 by
submission.
On the other side of the cage is Fabricio Camoes who hasn’t really done much since his return to the UFC and his last fight was back in July in 2012, he lost to the talented Melvin Guillard and you would think that a loss here would see him being shown the door again.
Everything here points to Miller walking away with the easy victory, he is a well rounded fighter and even though we haven’t got to see much of him in the last two years I expect him to come out and control the centre of the GON and land some solid combinations with dangerous Muay Thai elbows.
His one weakness is his ground game, hard to believe with a black belt in BJJ but he has been choked out in two of his last three fights and here is where I think this could get interesting.
Camoes has a solid submission game he has a third degree black belt in BJJ and he needs to get this fight to the ground and get it there as quickly as possible, if he can do that his chances of winning will increase by a hell of a lot.
A win here to Miller doesn’t really do much but a loss is going to really hurt him. I see Jim Miller winning by KO here but never count out an animal when they have their back against the wall and Camoes is just that he knows he needs to win here and that makes him dangerous.
On the other side of the cage is Fabricio Camoes who hasn’t really done much since his return to the UFC and his last fight was back in July in 2012, he lost to the talented Melvin Guillard and you would think that a loss here would see him being shown the door again.
Everything here points to Miller walking away with the easy victory, he is a well rounded fighter and even though we haven’t got to see much of him in the last two years I expect him to come out and control the centre of the GON and land some solid combinations with dangerous Muay Thai elbows.
His one weakness is his ground game, hard to believe with a black belt in BJJ but he has been choked out in two of his last three fights and here is where I think this could get interesting.
Camoes has a solid submission game he has a third degree black belt in BJJ and he needs to get this fight to the ground and get it there as quickly as possible, if he can do that his chances of winning will increase by a hell of a lot.
A win here to Miller doesn’t really do much but a loss is going to really hurt him. I see Jim Miller winning by KO here but never count out an animal when they have their back against the wall and Camoes is just that he knows he needs to win here and that makes him dangerous.
Josh Barnett #6 vs Travis Browne #5
This a huge fight when it comes to the
standing in the HW division a win here to either man will really be a big step
and on to face current No.1 contender Fabricio Werdum who has really been
slated as the next to take on champion Cain Velasquez, but with Velasquez on
the shelf till late next year after shoulder surgery a lot can happen between
now and his return. Even Junior Dos Santos has come out saying he wants the
winner of this one. Josh Barnett is a true veteran of the sport
he has taken on every legend in the HW division and we last saw him at UFC 164 when he Knocked out Frank Mir. He takes on
a beast of a fighter in Travis Browne who when last in the octagon knocked out
Alistair Overeem.
What Barnett needs to do in this one is try and take it to the ground early and use his ground game, let’s face it he has the best ground game of all the heavyweights, But also has great Muay Thai so that makes him equally dangerous in the stand up.
Travis Browne has been an absolute highlight reel when it comes to knockouts, in his eight fights in the UFC no one will ever forget his superman punch on Stefan Struve. Browne will come out very strong and will try to knockout Barnett, he needs to keep it off the ground otherwise he will find himself on his back getting smothered and that will not end well for him. What we have is a great fight which really could end at any moment and who knows what way with both possessing knockout power. Barnett needs to win as he isn’t getting any younger and he eagerly desires to be the next in line for Cain Velasquez.
What Barnett needs to do in this one is try and take it to the ground early and use his ground game, let’s face it he has the best ground game of all the heavyweights, But also has great Muay Thai so that makes him equally dangerous in the stand up.
Travis Browne has been an absolute highlight reel when it comes to knockouts, in his eight fights in the UFC no one will ever forget his superman punch on Stefan Struve. Browne will come out very strong and will try to knockout Barnett, he needs to keep it off the ground otherwise he will find himself on his back getting smothered and that will not end well for him. What we have is a great fight which really could end at any moment and who knows what way with both possessing knockout power. Barnett needs to win as he isn’t getting any younger and he eagerly desires to be the next in line for Cain Velasquez.
Ronda Rousey Champion vs Miesha Tate #2
The Co main event of the night see’s the
coaches of season 18 of TUF hit the GON
and this is will be a war! or will it just be another round one arm bar to the champion. History would say it will be, in every fight that Rousey has been in they all knew it was coming and I’m guessing they all trained for weeks but one way or another they end up on their backs tapping out to the arm bar. What Tate needs to do is keep it on the feet for as long as she can. Tate does have good wrestling but that means she would have to take it to the ground and that will be dangerous unless she can keep Ronda on her back and try and not let her get a hold of her arm. Rousey is by far one of the best things to happen to the UFC in a long time she just knows how to win and I can’t really see it being any different here she will use her judo and get Tate to the ground or wait for Miesha to take her to the ground and then work into the position where she hits the arm bar not in the first maybe the second.
I like Tate and think that she has a lot of skills to come out the victor here, the stars will have to align for it to go her way and maybe the unknown can work in her favour, what happens if you take Rousey past the first round, If you can keep her on her feet, maybe Rousey will just come into this with a little bit too much emotion after the TUF season. Or maybe it will just end in the first round with Rousey Breaking Tate’s arm.
Chris Weidman Champion vs Anderson Silva #1
So here we go the rematch for the
Middleweight championship and we all know what happened last time. Silva
dropped his hands and started taunting Weidman and then he stuck his chin out
and Weidman made him pay. So with no disrespect to Weidman this one will come
down to which Anderson Silva we get one would think he isn’t going to show up
and do the same thing. I believe that a 100% Silva is nearly unbeatable and if
he shows up and fights the way we all knows he can he will walk away with his
belt again.
I’m
looking for Weidman to use his wrestling this time round and maybe look to
really smother Silva. His grappling is good but in the first fight twice he
went for a leg lock and both times Anderson shook them off with ease.
Silva can be very sneaky with his submissions but I think if Weidman is smart he can avoid it. He also has some real great cardio so if this does go the distance and I’m not planning that it will Weidman will be fine.
Silva can be very sneaky with his submissions but I think if Weidman is smart he can avoid it. He also has some real great cardio so if this does go the distance and I’m not planning that it will Weidman will be fine.
What Silva do we get here? If you believe
the promos he would like to believe he is back but back for what?
Will we get the old Silva the one who used his superior speed with stand up skills, using the vicious kicks we know he has.
I’m looking for Anderson to play a much smarter game here and not stick his chin out as much or taunt Weidman as much. Well not in the first three round at least. Silva let Weidman win the last fight because he was lazy and sloppy I don’t think we have seen Anderson Silva like that before. Another thing to note here is that he is 38 getting on in age so you have to wonder how important it is for him to walk away (like GSP did) with the belt. That will also determine how much he wants this fight.
Will we get the old Silva the one who used his superior speed with stand up skills, using the vicious kicks we know he has.
I’m looking for Anderson to play a much smarter game here and not stick his chin out as much or taunt Weidman as much. Well not in the first three round at least. Silva let Weidman win the last fight because he was lazy and sloppy I don’t think we have seen Anderson Silva like that before. Another thing to note here is that he is 38 getting on in age so you have to wonder how important it is for him to walk away (like GSP did) with the belt. That will also determine how much he wants this fight.
I feel like Weidman will still walk away
with the gold, he is the future of this division and I think he has more to
prove and more to lose. Silva will still go down as one if not the best of all
time even if he loses, either way this will be one great fight and the true
winners will be the fans
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