Initially there were going to be two title fights on this card. Jose Aldo, the featherweight Champion was to defend his newly appointed belt against Josh Grispi but had to pull out because of an injury. Another featherweight bout will replace it, still with Josh Grispi but of course will not be a title fight. Shane Carwin was also supposed to fight Roy Big Country Nelson but was also pulled because of an injury. A little disappointing because I thought since now Cain Velasquez is out for 6-8 months with an injury the winner of this fight would have fought Lesnar for the interim title but now I'm not sure what will happen with the heavyweight division. It's still going to be a great night of fights though, even the undercard has some pretty good match ups. Hopefully my picks are a little better this time than for the last UFC, that was rough.
Frankie Edgar (Champion) vs. Gray Maynard - Lightweight Championship
I really want Maynard to win this one. I feel bad that Edgar has taken so much slack for being the new champ. Even after he completely dominated BJ Penn in their instant rematch people still said he didn't deserve the belt. I don't agree that he doesn't deserve the title but he was still pretty unknown to me at the time and I wasn't very excited to see him as the champ. Watching him fight it is very clear he is a great fighter. He has defeated guys like Sean Sherk and Mark Bocek with his only loss coming from his opponent at UFC 125, Gray Maynard. They fought in 2008 when Maynard took the unanimous decision. A lot of people have said that this is Edgar's chance at revenge, to avenge his only loss. Maynard said it pretty well, this is HIS chance at revenge, he beat the guy and somehow Edgar still got everything. He got the title shot, he has the belt, he has what Maynard wants. Maynard lost in the semi-finals of the 5th season of TUF to Nate Diaz, who later went on to win the final. His professional career record is 10 - 0 winning his last three fights by decision. I definitely think this will be a great fight. Unfortunately I feel like it may go all five rounds but I'm kinda hoping Maynard surprises me and lands a big KO.
Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann - middleweight
I don't want to choose, I like both of these guys. Leben was one of the most controversial guys on the first season of TUF. I haven't watched the whole season yet but the episodes I have seen so far he has been crying. Knowing how he is now he has a bit of a tough guy attitude as well so I'll have to finish watching the whole season to see how he was back then in 2005. He's coming off a 3 fight win streak defeating all 3 of his opponents in 2010. He has 26 wins and only 6 loses. He's usually a knockout artist, with 14 of his wins coming by KO but is also really good at submissions. Stann has only been fighting for a few years. He started when he was still in active duty with the military. He won the silver star award which I am not familiar with but have read it's the third highest military decoration that can be awarded to someone of any level for valor (determination) in the face of the enemy. Pretty fitting award for a mma fighter to get. His record is 9 - 3 with most of his wins also coming by KO. However recently his fights have been going to decision. I like Leben but I think I want to go for Stann on this one. The All American lives in Georgia with his wife and two girls, has served in the military, played football and just seems like a cool dude. I'm surprised they didn't have him on the fight for the troops card instead but I'm looking forward to this fight for sure.
Dong-Hyun Kim vs. Nate Diaz - welterweight
As I mentioned earlier Nate Diaz won the 5th season of TUF. His professional record is 13 - 5 with his most recent win being a submission victory over Marcus Davis also fighting on this card. His opponent, Dong-Hyun Kim was an undefeated record but until his defeat of Amir Sodollah at UFC 114 has mostly fought guys I've never heard of. I'm pretty sure this will be an awesome fight and I hope Diaz takes the win.
Takanori Gomi vs. Clay Guida - lightweight
Guidaaaa! I love watching this guy fight. He's like a caveman! He has a brick wall of a chin and has never been knocked out. His record is 27 - 11 and even when he is loosing he keeps the pressure, swinging blind through his crazy curly hair. Probably because of this technique he hasn't won many fights by KO but definitely knows how to work a submission. His opponent, Gomi, has a slightly more impressive record of 32 - 6 and has also never been knocked out. This is one choice where I admit I am totally picking Guida just because I like him. He has the skill to pull off this win but Gomi is not going to be an easy opponent.
Thiago Silva vs. Brandon Vera - light heavyweight
Silva has an impressive record of 14 - 2 with his only loses coming from big names Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida. This will be his first fight since he had to pull out from UFC 117 with a back injury. Hopefully that doesn't affect him at all. His loss against Evans at UFC 108 was a little annoying, he would knock Evans down but then instead of finishing him would back off and kind of celebrate that he knocked him down instead of going in to finish. Of course giving Evans time to recover. The judges gave the decision to Evans. Brandon Vera's wife is also a fighter, how cool is that?! His record is a little less impressive 11 - 5 loosing his last two fights to Jon Jones and Randy Couture. I think if Silva comes in with an attitude that he wants to win and wants to finish it he'll pull off the win. But time will tell.
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