6 days from now, while the March Tournament winds down round 2, you can top off your weekend with a nice little UFC event that will feature the likes of Brandon Vera, Jon Jones, and Junior Dos Santos. As a result, Im going to drop my picks for the main card that night and the reasons for them. Here be the picks!
Brandon Vera (15-4) vs Jon Jones (10-1)
Im all in on Jon Jones. The guy seems to impress with every outing and I dont expect anything less in his matchup against Vera. Vera used to be a great prospect, but it just seems that hes never fulfilled that potential he showed early in his career right up to his stoppage of Frank Mir. It seems that since his little contract dispute with the UFC and the subsequent loss to Tim Sylvia, the guy just hasnt had that killer instinct about him when he goes up against stiff competition.
On the flip side, I think Jones has all the confidence in the world about him, hes connected himself with a good camp (TriStar Gym in Montreal and Greg Jackson in New Mexico), and his fight against Vera will be another exhibition of just how good this guy is. A win over Vera is just another step for Jones as he would be beating a good gatekeeper within the 205 division. I'll take Jones via a stoppage in the 2nd or 3rd. He'll get the fight to the ground because hes strong and a good Greco-Roman wrestler. Granted, Couture didnt get Vera on the ground easily, but then again I think Jones' size and strength should do the trick.
Junior dos Santos (10-1) vs Gabriel Gonzaga (15-4)
In another good matchup of young prospect versus veteran looking to rebound, we have heavyweight KO artist Junior dos Santos going up against Gabriel Gonzaga. For me, the fight is fairly easy to pick - Im taking dos Santos. Why? Because Gonzaga likes to throw on the feet. Despite the strong grappling pedigree, as of late it seems that he has been content to try and trade on the feet against other heavyweights. With that said, if he decides to trade with dos Santos, we're going to see one epic knockout. Cigano's hands are pure class and if Gonzaga looks to trade with dos Santos, this fight is over within the first round.
Cheick Kongo (19-5) vs Paul Buentello (27-11)
In another fight that should leave fans happy with a knockout, we have Cheick Kongo going up against Paul Buentello. Kongo is looking to rebound after a pair of losses that have really derailed his campaign for a heavyweight title shot. With a guy like Buentello, he has a fighter that is tailor made for him - someone who will look to stand and trade on the feet but also is smaller and almost exclusively uses his hands. Buentello has shown throughout his career to have problems with tall, stalking kickboxers (Overeem, Arlovski). I dont expect that trend to change all too much. Give me Kongo in the mid round to stop the fight.
Alessio Sakara (14-7) vs. James Irvin (14-5)
This fight should again be explosive. Dont really have too many insights into the fight other than I like Irvin to win via a KO. Irvin's the naturally bigger fighter. Yea, thats pretty much my analysis of the fight - give me the bigger guy. Sucks, I know, but Im just not very psyched for this fight like I am for the 3 that follow after.
So there be the picks! Enjoy that weekend of basketball and fighting! Should be a blast!
Until next time
-TheZar
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