UFC 195 Picks

What a crazy year 2015 has been for the UFC. Record smashing events. New stars have emerged long dominate champions fell and so many great fights. And they start 2016 with an excellent card that should get it off on the right foot.

UFC Welterweight Championship Robbie Lawler (c) 26-10 NC MMA 11-4 UFC vs. Carlos Condit 30-8 MMA 7-4 UFC- Some fights just make you got OH I WANT TO SEE THAT. This is one of those fights. Lawler the champion that later in life and later in his career have hit his stride and become the man. Condit the long time contender. Former WEC and Interim UFC champion looking to stake his claim. This fight was originally set for UFC 193 but Lawler suffered an injury to his thumb but thankfully the fight stayed together and we get it now. Lawler last fought in July at UFC 189 making his first title defense against Robbie Lawler. That fight was epic I was the fight of the year and it could very well be the greastest fight in UFC if not MMA History. Early on Lawler hurt MacDonald bashed in his noise. Than MacDonald landed a head kick that dazed Lawler. Just back and forth. Going into into the fifth Rory had the title won on the card but Lawler just kept attack and it was to much down went MacDonald and Lawler kept his belt. The only guy to beat Lawler during this UFC run was Johnny Hendricks in a very close fight. Condit last fought in May at a UFC Fight night. He battered Thiago Alves and just shut the dangerous Brazilian down. Condit may not have the greatest recent record but one loss was on an injury the other two were to GSP and Hendricks championship level fighters.

Very good chance someone goes to sleep in this fight These guys have thirty five combined Knockouts. Lawler has 20 career knockouts. Early on his was power puncher but since moving to American Top Team he's added in much more kicks. He used to be a throw it all and hunt the KO guy but now he's a much smarter fighter. He's smart when he goes hard and now he's actually seemingly getting stronger as the fight goes on. Lawler has also only been knocked out once. Condit has 15 career knockouts. He's also been a very good diverse striker he's got excellent Muay Thai makes use of all the weapons. His lone TKO loss was on an injury. He's always been a very smart fighter willing to change his game plan to beat someone. Vs. Kim he was the attacker vs. Diaz he was the counter striker. Tough one to call I will give Lawler the edge in striking but it will be close.

Very different numbers on the ground though. Lawler is from Iowa heart of USA Wrestling started in a very wrestling based camp but it was weakness early on in his career. Part of that was he was such a good striker he would go over board loading up. Lawler only has 1 win via submission and has five career submission losses but his last submission loss was in 2011 and that was to Jacare. In recent fights he's shown much better takedown defense. Condit has great wrestling often used it to mix up and open up strikes. Condit has 13 career submission wins against 3 losses. But his last win via submission was way back in 2008. I will give Condit the edge on the ground but I don't know if he can take or keep Lawler down long enough.

Both men are with elite camps. Lawler is at American Top Team. Since moving down there to Florida he's become such a better fighter. He's game plans are better he looks stronger and in better shape and he works with many great UFC fighters. Condit is a Jackson Winkeljohn fighter the camp he's spent most of his career at. Another elite camp tons of great fighters out there could also help them has been the fact that camp has had a lot of big fight recently. You had Holm, Cerrone and Overeem all trying to peak at the same time. One factor that could hurt Lawler if the fact his long time boxing coach Matt Pena has retired.

This should be an excellent fight. I can't wait to see it. My pick is Lawler. He's been on such a role the last few years. He just look so good. I think his power can shut Condit down the take down defense should be good enough to keep it standing. Condit had some problem lately but still got this shot. I think right now Lawler is the better fighter.

Stipe Miocic 13-2 MMA 7-2 UFC vs. Andrei Arlovski 25-10 1NC MMA 14-4 UFC- It's the embodiment of the next generation vs. older generation. Arlovski who in 2005 won the UFC Heavyweight Championship made a legit claim to be number 1 contender in 2015. Miocic made his MMA debut in 2010 and in five years has become a guy man have pegged as a future world champion. Miocic last fought in May at a UFC Fight Night. He absolutely dominated Mark Hunt. Took him down time and again and just pounded on him. Finally into the fifth round the he got the TKO. He was going to fight Ben Rothwell in October but he suffered an injury and pulled out. Arlovski last fought in September at UFC 191 facing off with Frank Mir. Going into the fight Mir had two consecutive KO's while had three in a row. So fans were hoping for a really exciting barn burner. Instead we got a very conservative fight. Neither guy took much risk. Arlovksi got a decision win. For Alrovoski on a long winning streak a chance to truly stamp his spot as number 1 contender. For Miocic its a chance to win over fans and get a big win over a top contender.

Both these guys are known for there boxing. Arlovksi has always shown great MMA style boxing while Miocic has shown good hands and prior to his MMA career he won the Golden Gloves in his native Ohio. Stipe has nine career knockout wins his lone knockout loss was to Stefan Struve. But he also went toe to toe with JDS beat him up pretty good and manged to not get rocked after taking some hard shots. Arlovski has 17 career KO wins but he's also been knocked out 7 times. Also you gotta factor in Arlvoski is 36 years old and been in a lot of hard fights. Arlovksi is more prone to get wild and just slug away. Micoci seems to be more technical and he will have a three inch reach advantage. I think striking wise I gotta give Micic the edge if he fights smart. With Arlovski he can connect and hurt anyone but if is to wild wild he can also get caught.

Grappling wise both have background. Miocic was a division one wrestler we have seen him mix that in and take guys down to get some ground and pound. He's not much of a submission fighter he's only got one submission win but never been submitted in his career. Arlovski got his start in Sambo.Mimic He archived the rank of Master of Sport. We have seen some great Sambo fighters in the past.archived Now Arlovski also not much of a submission fighter. Only three career submission wins but also never been submitted. Again I'm giving the edge to Micoci because he's more likely to use his wrestling.

The training teams give a huge advantage to Arlovksi. He's with Jackson Winkeljohn. A great camp he's also got a whose who of elite fighters to train with. Miocic fights out of Ohio with Strong Style Fight Team. The only other notability name I can link to that team is Jessica Eye. Don't get me wrong that team has been with Stipie and helped make him a great fighter but the edge has got to go with the guy in New Mexico. Pick wise I'm leaning to Miocic. I think this is when he takes a step forward and truly become a title contender.

UFC Superfight Weekend Fallout

It took three nights thirty four fights sixty eights fighters and thirteen seconds to pull off the biggest weekend in MMA history. Two new champions were crowned potential next title challengers were determined and the entire UFC was shaken up.

The Fights-

UFC 194- There isn't a whole lot to break down about eh main event. It's simple McGregor slipped a punch and landed his own knocked Aldo out in a mere thirteen seconds. We can speculate on how much Aldo was affected by the trash talk and mind games. What we can see is that movement and speed beats brute force. McGregor antics often take away from the fact he is a very talented fighter with an amazing mix of both. Writing my predictions I said Aldo needed to do what he always does pace the fight and land leg kicks. Out of character he went for a big punch early. The very thing that played to McGregor's advantage. In the Co-Main Event Chris Weidman battled Luke Rockhold. Early on Weidman took the back of Rockhold. But the challenger never panicked he manged to take over late and never really let up. The second round saw Rockhold start hitting hard power kicks. When it went to the ground it was all Rockhold. Weidman appeared to be winning the third until an ill timed spinning head kick. Rockhold took him down and punished him. To the shock of many Herb Dean allowed the fight to go on. In the fourth Rockhold took him down again and finished the job. An emotional Rockhold broke down in tears of joy while Weidman slumped.

Once again Yoel Romero wins a fight on a big card and once again a dirty move appeared to have added him. Early on Romero landed a spinning back fist that badly injured Jacare Souza. On auto pilot Souza went for submissions but Romero landed viscous ground and pound. In the second Romero was clearly already tired and Souza went for a takedown only for Romero to grape the fence and land on top. Referee Mark Goddered stood the fight back up but many felt it wasn't enough and that a point should have been taken. Souza did win the third round but it wasn't enough. Maia was Nelson was a classic Damien Maia fight. He controlled potion with his superior grappling skills. Gunnar Nelson got a few reversal but never truly got control.

In the opening contest of the PPV Max Holloway outpointed Jeremy Stephens. Holloway looked great and has been near perfect since his loss to McGregor. In the featured contest of the prelims Urijah Faber won but looked awful badly gassing vs. Frankie Sanez. Honestly if Sanez had thrown more combos he might have won. Tecia Torres finally showed flashed of the excellent fighter we know she can be. Her UFC career has been under whelming at times. Warley Alves and Leonardo Santos both scored impressive finishes.

The Ultimate Fighter Finale- Frankie Edgar made his Featherweight debut against Aldo and lost a very close fight since than he's chased a rematch. He's watched this year as McGregor was granted a title shot in part due to his mouth and Mendes getting an interim title shot over him. Edgar has always had good boxing but isn't know for power. Managing to land a perfect hook he dropped Chad Mendes. For Mendes the loss is a huge set back. Ryan Hall smoothed Artem Lobov with the Russian Hammer seeming like he was looking for one perfect shot instead of combinations. An illegal upkick might as been the difference in Tony Ferguson vs. Edson Barboza but Ferguson got the win. All night appeared to the better fight. Evan Dunham manged to outpace Joe Lauzon. Lauzon seemed a step to slow and behind Dunham all night. After a rough couple of years Dunham has had a great 2015 with three big wins.

UFC Fightnight- For Paige VanZant she finally ran into the fighter she simply couldn't out muscle or out work. Rose Namajuanes like PVZ loves to push the pace but she brought a level of technical skill that the VanZant lacks. Namajuanes dominated the fight outstirking and time and again trapping VanZant in submission. To PVZ's credit it took a lot to break her she kept trying no one would have blamed her for tapping earlier. Namajuanes moves back into title contention while VanZant know knows she needs to learn. In other key fight from the weekend Sage Northcutt battled Cody Pfister. Early on Pfister scored a takedown exposing the very basic ground game of Northcutt. But a some what controversial stand up gave Northcutt new life. In the second round the 19 year old locked in a choke and improved to 2-0.

Biggest Winners

Conor McGregor- Do I really need to explain this? McGregor came to the UFC declared he was something special. Declared he would be champion declared he would easily beat Aldo. And he's done it all. In the many months leading up to this fight McGregor played Aldo perfectly time and again upsetting him getting the champion to act differently that normal. Even the “calm” Aldo this week was different from the normal killer we are used to. Aldo came out head hunting and McGregor made him pay. Had he failed the haters would have pounced instead McGregor silenced them and has made history. He's now a champion and might just wind up being the top PPV act in all of MMA.

Luke Rockhold- When it became clear that Rockhold would be the next challenger to Weidman many fans and analyst got excited. Many were expecting a very close and exciting fight between two great fighters. Many thought Rockhold's advantage was to stay standing and he certainly landed hard powerful kicks. But his dominance on the ground was truly amazing. Repeatedly he managed out grapple and out power the superior wrestler. Post fight Rockhold shed light on struggles in his recent camp with a staff infection that affected his training camp. Rockhold had the talent and skill to dominate the division for years to come.

Frankie Edgar- Many thought a win over Chad Mendes would net Edgar another title shot. Many thought if the fight ended via knockout it would be Mendes KO'ing Edgar. Instead Edgar landed a picture perfect hook to Mendes Jaw. In many ways Edgar is the most intruding match up against McGregor. Edgar has beaten much bigger fighters, he pushes an amazing pace. His boxing and footwork could pose an issue to McGregor. While there reports McGregor might already want to move up reports have suggested Edgar would still get a title shot or fight for the vacant title.

Biggest Losers

Jose Aldo- No matter how much Aldo wants to claim “It wasn't a real fight.” Or his supporters will claim it was a fluke that McGregor could never do that again. The fact remains it happened. And this could be considered the most humiliating loss in combat sports history. For well over a year McGregor mocked and called out Aldo. He got in his face he pestered him, touched him, stole his belt and looked him in the face telling him “Your going to die.” And when Aldo finally got his chance to shut McGregor up he was knocked out and woke up watching McGregor celebrate. Aldo was clearly devastated after the fight and I won't be shocked if he never fight again.

Chad Mendes- Mendes is now 1-3 in his last four fights. You can say the 3 are the elite and one of those losses can on very short notice but the fact remains that is a very poor record. Mendes has also been knocked out in two straight fights. Mendes is now in that difficult spot he's still very good but out of title contention. For some fighters this would be the time to move up or down in weight. Mendes doesn't seem to have that option. He would be a very small lightweight and would have to kill himself to make bantamweight.

Yoel Romero- Romero got the victory but it wasn't a good win. The controversy due to his cage holding reminded everyone of his controversial win over Tim Kennedy. Once again Romero gassed out as the fight went on even though he was clearly trying to conserve energy. One has to wonder if Romero would have anything if he ever had to go to a forth or fifth round epically against someone like Rockhold who can push a pace and punish the body.

Ronald Souza- “I'm always one fight away from title shot...” “If I don't get one after a win at UFC 194 I'm going after Dana White...” Jacare made not effort to hide his frustration with not getting a title shot already. Not that I can blame IMO he was more desrdrtbinh of a title shot than Belfort and had to watch Rockhold leap frog him. And why again you can argue he should have won the fight the judges didn't give it to him. The former Strikeforce champion will now once again have to work his way towards title contention while the road seems short given his past success you just never know

What comes next

At this stage Conor McGregor can pretty much call his own shot. Most people agree if he stays at featherweight he will defend the title against Frankie Edgar. With his footwork and pressure Edgar might be the perfect foil to McGregor. Also Edgar never gets to up or to down meaning the mind games may not work. Of course McGregor has already openly spoke of moving up to Lightweight and Dana White has said he would be given an automatic title shot. I think it will depend on who wins the title fight on Fox. If Cowboy wins than McGregor moves up if Dos Anjos than he fights Edgar.

For Edgar all he can really do it wait. He should get the neck shot at Featherweight. McGregor has said he wants to keep both titles. White said on FS1 that he would have McGregor vacate the title. If the title was vacated Edgar would have to be one of the men fighting for it. If the UFC allows the new champion to keep his title and go after 155 gold and Edgar wants to fight the perfect opponent would be Max Holloway. Holloway is on a long winning streak. At 23 Holloway has the rare mix of youth and experience. But beating Edgar would establish him as true contender.

Jose Aldo made it clear he wants a rematch with McGregor. But that would be an awful idea. Why many are screaming “Ronda gets a rematch so should Aldo.” But those people are comparing apples to oranges. Ronda made a major strategy mistake and than panicked. Aldo fell to a single punch and looked mentally shot. McGregor clearly got to him and I don't think rushing into a rematch is going to help. Aldo needs time away from McGregor to not thing about McGregor or deal with McGreorg's mind games. Watching him after the fight its clear he needs to fight to rebuild his confidence. A perfect option Cub Swanson. They fought back in the WEC with Aldo wining easily. Since than Swanson made himself a top contender but has dropped two in a row. This would be a perfect fight to let Aldo get his footing back.

UFC on Fox Picks

How do you follow up a Triple Header? With a loaded card on network TV of course.

UFC Lightweight Championship Rafael dos Anjos © 24-7 MMA 13-5 UFC vs. Donald Cerrone 28-6 1 NC MMA 15-3 UFC- August 28 2013 these two fought at a UFC Fight Night. Dos Anjos won a split decision. It seemed like dos Anjos won the first two rounds really keeping the fight a boxing range working over the body. But as the fight was closing out it seemed Cerrone was coming on. He got his range and started to use his leg kicks. That also was Cerrone's last loss. Dos Anjos lost his next fight but wound up getting a title shot as the dominoes fell now he's the champion and we got a rematch and this time its five rounds. Dos Anjos last fight was in March in UFC 185 he won the title from Anthony Pettis. It was about as perfect a fight as you can see. Early on he hurt Pettis with a big punch that shut his eye. His striking was crisp and powerful if the fight went to the ground it was all dos Anjos. He's now won four in a row in that time he blew out both Pettis and Nate Diaz before that he became the only man to knockout Benson Henderson.

Cerrone's last fight was in May at UFC 187 he kicked John Makdessi so hard in the face it broke it jaw and got him to retire. That fight was a trap in a lot of way. Makedessi is not a contender he was replacing the injured Khabib Nurmagomedov. So it went from a true challenge to a fight Cerrone could have easily looked past but he didn't. Instead he dominated. Cerrone' has now won eight fights in a row including wins over Henderson. Eddie Alvarez, and Myles Jury. Five of those fights he's finished. Cowboy has always been a top contender but now it seems to have found that little higher level the best of the best find.

Both men are very good strikers. They don't have a lot of knockouts dos Anjos only has four and in his MMA career Cerrone only has five. That said both men clearly hit hard and do damage just look at what dos Anjos did to Pettis. He's striking has gotten better since joining King's MMA. Cerrone was also a kickboxer and did have 18 knockouts there. Both guys like to fight coming forward. Dos Anjos was able to get the advantage and take Cerrone out of his game. Both men can punch and kick. I want to lean towards giving Cerrone the advantage standing up. But it's going to slight. Dos Anjos did do some good work on his feet the first time. It's unlikely either guy score a knockout given that each man has only been knocked out once each.

Both these men have great ground games. I think that is part of the reason why Cerrone has a lower knockout rate. He loves to rock a guy on his feet and go for a submission. Cerrone has 15 career submission wins and he's only been submitted once. Dos Anjos has 8 career submissions but the man is a third degree blackbelt in BJJ. He's also only had one submission and that was due to injury. Even though Cerrone has more submission I think dos Anjos has the better ground game. The guy has great control and the first fight he blocked Cerrone's attempt to submission attempts same with Pettis. Also he took both men down easily. The one guy that gave him trouble was Nurmagomedov a very high level wrestler. I am giving dos Anjos the advantage but again it's close.

Both men are out of high level camps. Cerrone a long time Jackson Winkeljohn fighter and dos Anjos is out of King's MMA. I want to give the edge to dos Anjos. Jackson's is a great camp but it's also had some downs in recent years. Kings is led by the legendary Rafael Cordory. A great trainer it's a smaller camp but it has a high level of fighters out of it. Again slight edge. Now Cerrone fought more recently and dos Anjos was injured after his last fight. But it's not a long layoff. But yeah a slight edge to Cerrone.

Now I think this will be a very close fight. I could see it ending pretty much any way. Hell this could wind up being fight of the year. As a fan I would love to see Cerrone get the win. But I am leaning towards dos Anjos in this fight. The guy has looked so good. Anyone that can do that to Pettis is going to be hard to beat. I see this going five rounds and the champion retains.

Junior dos Santos 17-3 MMA 11-2 UFC vs. Alistair Overeem 39-14 1NC MMA 4-3 UFC- November 2011 JDS knocks out Cain Velasquez to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship. December 2011 The Reem than viewed as beat heavyweight in the world by many makes his UFC debut easily beating Brock Lesnar establishing his spot as number 1 contender. The fight is announced for May of 2012. It would never happen. Before the fight Overreem was tested and found to have elevated testosterone. The fight was called off and he was suspended. Since than the fans have wanted this fight and both men have open talked of wanting this fight. Also now the fight has a chance to grant the winner a title shot. Both men have beat current champion Fabrico Werdum.

Dos Santos was the last December Fox card. He got a decision victory Stipe Miocic it was a close fight. I personally thought JDS should have lost. In his last four fights his record stands at 2-2. But he took a lot of punishment in all four. In the losses both were to Velasquez and while he landed some shots he took a lot of punishment. He KO'ed Mark Hunt but not after taking some hard shots. And he was pretty banged up after the Stipe fight. I think a year off was needed. Overeem last fought in May at UFC 185 he battered Roy Nelson for three rounds. The win gave him his first ever UFC winning streak. Truth is Overeem's been a let down in the UFC. He's not taken the same brutal prolonged beatdowns JDS has but he's been KO'ed by Bigfoot, Browne and Rothwell all fights he was a heavy fave in.

Its a battle of Boxing vs. Dutch Style Muay Thai in the striking department. Dos Santos one of the very boxers in MMA he's got heavy hands good footwork. He has twelve career knockouts and his lone KO loss was when he was slammed into the mat. Overeem known for great kicks and knees. He was also the K-1 Grand Prix champion. He went into the top event in kickboxing and beat great kickboxers. He has 16 career knockouts in MMA but he's also been knocked out 9 times including all 3 UFC losses. Reem would be the more diverse striker but he's also more likely to drop his hands and get caught. I almost want to just say toss up given how close it is. The amount of punishment JDS has taken worries me but I am going to give JDS the edge. JDS can use his footwork and speed. Plus with Reem I could easily seem him have a little success and get to cocky because well that's all 3 UFC losses.

Junior dos Santos ground game is something we hear a lot about but never see. He has two submission wins but one was a verbal submission in his fight with Cro Cop and that was thanks to his striking. His only other submission win was his second career fight in 2006. He also has 1 career submission loss back in 2007. That said he grapples very well. He blocked all of Frank Mir's wrestling and submissions and manged to do well vs. Velasquez it was just he was facing a NCAA champion. It seems his grappling is more defensive to keep it standing instead of using his black belt to submit or decision guys. Overeem has 19 career submission wins. A few are due to strikes but even than there was a time when at 205 lbs you could argue his submissions skills were very under appertained. He's also only lost twice via submission. Now that said Reem hasn't had a submission since 2009. It seems that as he moved up to heavyweight and packed on muscle he got away from his grappling. I say the edge goes to JDS because we have seen him use it more in the UFC.

With the kind of power these guys posse anything can happen. Even if they don't end the fight just look at UFC 155 JDS got hurt early by a big punch and never recovered. Again as a fan I would love to see JDS win but I am picking Overeem. It does all depend on which Reem shows up. But I think he fights smart I think he comes in aware he can get hurt so he keeps his hands up. Just the sure amount of damage JDS has taken lately and the fact he's not as active as he used to be worries me.

Michael Johnson 16-9 MMA 8-5 UFC vs. Nate Diaz 17-10 MMA 12-8 UFC- Interesting fight both guys have been fighting a long time. Both guys are looking to make one more run to the top and see if they can get that belt. Johnson last fought in August and he was flat out robbed by three morons they called judges. He dominated the fight against Beneil Dariush but they said he lost. Decisions like that make you think not only should they never be allowed to judge a fight they should never allowed to watch fight. That also snapped a strong 4 fight winning streak. Diaz hasn't fought in a year at the last December Fox card. You could make an argument that was the worse Diaz has ever looked. He had sat a year during that time he demanded more money he demanded title shots he came in missed weight and than was dominated by Rafael dos Anjos. By the end of that fight his leg was destroyed by RDA's leg kicks. He's also lost 3 of his last 4 his lone win being over Gray Maynard a guy that is a shell of his former self.

Striking wise again it's a battle of a kickboxer vs. a guy that wants to box. Diaz has a four inch reach and is know for his boxing he loves that Stockin Slap style. In his career he has 4 knockouts only been knocked out once. But we also seen him show huge gaps when guys kick him and don’t' let him box. Hell it appeared in the dos Anjos fight he had no idea how to check a kick. Johnson has never been knocked out and he's got 7 career KO wins. I will say Johnson has the advantage. Diaz and his brother always want to brawl and box if Johnson fights smart and use kicks I think it's his game. He may not be able to crack like RDA did but I'm sure his team which has great kickboxers on it have worked with him on attacking those legs.

Diaz is a BJJ blackbelt he also had a lot of success on the ground. 11 career wins via submission. He also only been submitted once. Johnson has only 2 career wins via tap out and he has 6 career submission losses. If this goes to the ground Diaz will have an advantage. To me the pick isn't that card. It's Johnson. For the third straight year Diaz is only fighting once. Johnson is more active. Johnson has more momentum. I ever wonder how serious Nate Diaz is taking his career. Hell he seems more concerned with picking fights with other people. I think Diaz losses another one.

Randa Markos 5-2 MMA 1-1 UFC vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz 7-0 MMA Making UFC Debut- Even though this fight isn't getting a lot of press it's a good showcase place for this young division. Markos former TUF competitor pulled off the biggest upset of the season when she beat third ranked Tiecia Torres followed that up by beating Felicia Herring before losing to Rose Namajauan. Kowalkiewicz is making her UFC debut. Strawweight is such a new division we really haven’t figured out who is really good and who the true contender are to Joanna Champion. Markos last fought in April at UFC 186 earning a decision over Aisling Daly. Kowalkiewicz last fought in February at KSW 30 getting a decision win over Kalinda Faria.

Hard fight to pick. I have only seen a little of Markos and I have seen none of Kowalkiewicz. Markos has never scored a knockout and from what I have seen her striking it's dynamic is more basic. Kowalkiewicz has one knockout and from I can tell she doesn't come from a team that has a rep for developing strikers. Markos has 3 official submission wins and Kowalkiewicz has two. I want to give an edge to Markos giving she did submit Herring on TUF and other than that Herring has never been submitted.

I'm picking Markos because the X-Factors go to her. She's been in the UFC before and that does mean something. Your used to the flow of the show and being in front of so many people. Also it appears Kowalkiewicz will have to travel also she's only fought out Poland once before. Also Markos is now training at the high level Tri-Star Gym. Meaning she will have great coaches and great training partners. Why Kowalkiewicz is with a team closer to home.

UFC 194, TUF Final, and Fight Night Picks

We got three straight nights of UFC Action. And it's three nights of some pretty loaded cards. So yeah not just picking the PPV but fights from all three nights

UFC 194

UFC Featherweight Championship Jose Aldo (c) 25-1 MMA 7-0 UFC vs. Conor McGregor (ic) 18-2 MMA 6-0 UFC- Chuck Liddle vs. Tito Ortiz, Fedor Emilenko vs. Mirko Cro Cop, there are just some fights that bring an extra level of anticipation to them. Fights that are years in the making. And this fight is one of them. Aldo has been the super dominate champion for year but McGregor has become the mega star. Conor McGregor walked into the UFC called his shot and started calling out Aldo from day one. And he's not just asking for a title shot as far as he's concerned he's already the champion he just needs the belt. Aldo at first ignored him but more and more he had to acknowledge him. We saw the world tour and how pissed he got. This fight was originally booked for UFC 189 in the summer. Than Aldo got hurt. There was some controversy as to how bad he was hurt and if he could have fought or if he couldn't. End of the day they didn't.

McGregor did fight at UFC 189 in July. It was an interim title fight against Chad Mendes. Early on looked good middle of the fight he got taken down and held down and took some punishment but he eventual took control again. He scored a knockout win last in the second round. Now a lot of people will go “Mendes didn't have a training camp he tired out.” Conor though will say “It was my body kicks that tired Mini Mendes out.” Plus in that fight Mendes had McGregor in trouble but the Irishmen survived. End of the day Conor won he's not lost since 2010 and four fight in a row he's knocked his opponent out. Aldo hasn't fought since October of 2014 at UFC 179. It was a very exciting fight with Chad Mendes. Mendes has long been thought of as the guy that could beat Aldo but they have fought twice and twice Aldo's hand was raised. Aldo's lone loss was all the way back in 2005.

Both these guys are known for there striking. Aldo has 14 career wins via knockout. Some of which are just amazing highlights. He has had great leg kicks that just batter and bruise his opponents. McGregor 16 career wins via knockout. He's more diverse striker. While Aldo is the Nova Uno student using Muay Thai. McGregor we see pull moves out various different styles. Aldo its mostly roundhouse kicks while McGregor it's side, front, back and spinning kicks. In terms of movement and footwork edge to McGregor. Also McGregor has four inches in the reach department. He's also taller so in the leg length edge to McGregor. Aldo has a lot of knockout but the rate has dropped his last one was in 2013 and that was with the help of an injury to his opponent. McGregor's scored a lot of knockouts. I think Aldo will be hunting the knockout and that could backfire. For me edge goes to McGregor in striking.

Neither guy is known for going to the ground. Aldo's one was was via submission as were both of Connor's. That said both were years ago. McGregor only has one submission win while Aldo has two but again years ago. I am giving the edge to Jose Aldo in terms of the ground game. Sometimes with Conor's movement we have seen him easier to take down. Also Aldo has a blackbelt in BJJ while McGregor is a brown belt. Aldo Aldo's come from Nova Uno a top school while McGregor's comes under his long time coach John Kavanaugh. I don't expect the ground to be an issue. But I will give the edge to Jose Aldo.

I think a big X-Factor is the fact McGregor reminds me so much of this boxer. Like McGregor this boxer used a lot of movement in a very unusual way. Like McGregor he was matched up against a very dominate and frightining champion. And like McGregor this boxer talked a lot. Now this boxer openly would mock his opponent kind of like how Mendes got mocked. And the opponent wore himself out. That boxer was named Ali. I think the smart game plan for Aldo would be to use his leg kicks take away McGregor's movement. But if a pissed off Aldo comes in hunts the knockout he could be playing into McGregor's game plan. We know Aldo has hard weight cuts and tires out late. Blowing has gas tank head hunting could be just what McGregor wants. Just go watch the UFC Embbed on there world tour and tell me that Aldo isn't losing it when ever he's around McGregor. You need fire to fight but you can't fight stupid.

Now this is a tough fight to pick. We know what Aldo can do. Aldo has a legit claim at being pound for pound king. But McGregor has something special. A lot of people will go “McGregor” talked his way into a title shot. But look at the names he beat. Porier a long time top five fighter now making a run at 155. Holloway a fighter who since than has seven in a row. He destroyed both Diego Brando and Dennis Siver badly beating them up. And stopped Mendes a very dangerous fighter. I Think that movement that really no one else in MMA does. I think that is going to allow him to avoid a lot of Aldo's big shots. All great fighter lose. And I think Aldo time is passing. McGregor wins. I think he gets this to the third and Aldo will be out of gas and than he will be knocked out.

UFC Middleweight Championship Chris Weidman (c) 13-0 MMA 9-0 UFC vs. Luke Rockhold 14-2 MMA 4-1 UFC- This has the potential to be a very special fight. These guys careers are very similar. They were both signed to upper level promotions very early on in there careers. Both won world championships in massive upsets. Both have faced a whose who at Middleweight. Both are great grapples with excellent striking. And both have the potential to dominate the division for many years to come.

Weidman's last fight was in May at UFC 187 he finally faced off again Vitor Belfort in a fight years in the making. Early on he charged went after Belfort but got sloppy giving Belfort a chance to attack and land those lighting fast punches that have finished so many guys. But Weidman managed to recover he got Belfort down and just started to land viscous ground and pound giving him a TKO win in just under three minutes. He ran MMA's answer to Murder's Row, Silva twice, Machida and Belfort and won all four. Rockhold last fought in April at UFC on Fox. He faced off with Lyoto Machida and dominated him. We had seen Machia knocked out and submitted before but we had never see him dominated like that. Rockhold got him down held him down and beat the crap out of him. After the first round Machida went to the wrong corner. In the second round he got the rear naked choke locked in and submitted Machida. That puts him at 4 wins in row all via finish and third submission in a row.

Now neither guy really comes from a striking background but both men have become very good at it. Also both are very good at mixing there striking into grappling. Weidman of course works with the very respected Ray Longo. He's got 6 career knockouts. People often look at the wins over Silva as flukes forgetting he hurt Anderson Silva with good power punches. He's also been in the cage with great strikers and not gotten knocked out or even really rocked. Rockhold's coach Javier Mendez was a kickboxer and turned some good wrestlers into good strikers. But he only has three knockout wins. Also both of his career losses are via knockout. On top of that Weidman has a 1 inch reach advantage. So I am giving the edge to Weidman.

Splitting the grappling advantage. Wrestling it's Weidman. We know his background an All American wrestler in college. He brings in some great wrestlers to work with. Rockhold did wrestler in high school and has dome some judo. But never pursued eeither to the level Weidman did with wrestling. So in terms of just plain grappling I think the edge goes to Weidman. But the thing about MMA it adds in the submission game. Weidman has three career submission wins and is trained by Matt Serra a very talented fighter and teacher. We have head a lot about a BJJ game but never seen it. Rockhold though thrives in submissions. He has nine career submissions wins including his last three and he's submitted some good names like Machida and Bisping. I don't know how good he is off back. But we see it in MMA submission can happen standing or catching a guy on a takedown. He could sweep or reverse. Weidman might be able to submit Rockhold but I'm pretty sure Rockhold can submit pretty much any one he fights.

Rockhold trains with AKA one of the top teams in MMA and spars with Daniel Cormier and Cain Velasquez. Weidman is a Serra Longo guy he does bring him some good guys but Edge goes to Rockhold. Some have tried to make a big deal out of the fact Weidman went five rounds with Machida and had some tough rounds in that fight. Rockhold beat him easy in two. I don't put to much stock in that a lot goes into each fight. Plus you can say Rockhold was KO'ed by Belfort while Weidman easily beat Belfort. It appears Rockhold has the cardio edge but Weidman's only gone five once he struggled late but it was also a learning moment for him.

This could be a real close fight. Honestly it feels like a real toss up. You could see it go either way. But I am going with Weidman. I think his striking gives him the edge. The wrestling could really cancel out submissions. Plus it says something when you have never lost. Just a swagger and a confidence. Again Rockhold is talented and I could see him winning but I think Weidman keeps his title

Yoel Romero 10-1 MMA 6-0 UFC vs. Ronaldo Souza 22-3 1NC MMA 5-0 UFC- Third time has got to be the charm. This fight was first booked back at UFC 184 but Jacare got sick. Than it was set for UFC on Fox in April but Romero got hurt and pulled out. Both have fought since than and won. It's pretty basic logic that the winner of this fight goes on to face the winner of Weidman vs. Rockhold. Souza last fought in April at the UFC on Fox. With Romero pulling out he wound up facing Chris Camozzi a fighter he beat in his UFC debut. Going into that event Souza was ranked above Rockhold but he beat a guy he already beat who was not a contender. So he got jumped in the rankings. Souza is one an eight fight winning streak. His last loss was to Rockhold in a close fight back in Strikeforce. Romero managed to recover. In June he knocked out Lyoto Machida with a great power punch and several viscous elbows. Even though Machdia was coming off a loss I think most thought he would be able to beat Romero given his movement and counter striking. Romero's lone loss was back 2011 in his lone Strikeforce fight but he's not loss in the UFC.

In terms of knockout power the edge appears to go to Romero. Nine of his career wins are via knockout. Jacare Souza only has two career wins via knockout and two of his three losses saw him get knocked out. Although one of those was pretty fluky and the other was all the way back in 2003. I would actually give the technical advantage to Souza. Over the years we have seen his striking improve a lot. And Romero seems to chase the knockout and just go straight a head. I could see Souza doing some real damage if he can cut angles and even tire out Romero a bit. Also Jacare uses more kicks I think that can help. And I think he throw kicks because he won't worry about going to the ground.

If these two just come out and just have a straight grappling match it should still be amazing. Romero was a Silver Medal winner for Cuba in the Olympics he has defeated some of the greatest wrestlers ever. He also a world champion in freestyle wrestling. Meanwhile Jacare is one of the single greatest Brazil Jiu-Jitsu fighters of all time. He was a multi time world champion. He won the biggest tournaments. Now in terms of there MMA careers Romero has become more of a striker. We don't really see him go for takedowns. Now he's never lost or won via submission. Souza though has sixteen career wins via submission wins. He's never lost via submission. I gotta give the edge in grappling to Souza. Romero has never faced a guy as good in submission as Jacare. Meanwhile Jacare has submitted some very talented guys through out bout his BJJ and MMA career. Even if Romero does go for a takedown Romero can get him off his back.

I would give a big X-Factor advantage in terms of cardio to Souza. In his lone career loss Romero tried out badly. He also chases the knockout and that can wear you out. Souza I have never see tire out. He doesn't chase knockouts or even submissions. I think the longer this guys the edge to Jacare. My pick is Jacare. I think his striking will be enough to prevent a knockout. I think his chin is solid enough now. And if this goes to the ground you fee like it would only be a matter of time. I think Jacare racks up another submission win and he does it in the first round.

Demian Maia 21-6 MMA 15-6 UFC vs. Gunnar Nelson 14-1-1 MMA 5-1 UFC- Classic booking right here. Maia you long time veteran. He's been in the UFC about as long as Nelson has been fighting. Maia had a title shot fairly early in his UFC career which he lost. Since than he's had a lot of success but never been able get another one. Nelson the relativity young up and comer. He's proven he can beat the lower to mid level guys but a win over Maia is the kind he needs to start moving into title contention.

Maia last fought in August at UFC 190. He scored a second round submission win over Neil Magny. That was a huge win for him. It was his first finish since 2012 it extended his winning streak to three and Magny came in with a lot momentum he was on seven fight winning streak. Maia showed all how great is control on the ground is. Nelson last fought in July at UFC 189 he submitted Brandon Thatch in the first round. Just prior to that he had suffered his first career loss to Rick Story. You always wonder with an unbeaten fighter how they will respond when they do suffer that loss. Nelson looked good he out paced Thatch and locked in a submission for a win.

Neither of these guys are really strikers. Both men have 3 career KO wins. Maia only lost once via knockout and Nelson has never been knocked out. Maia has had some ups and downs with his striking. He's never been great at it. Times he's look good though other times awful. Part of that has to be though he's not worried about striking or not wanting to strike so he's looking for a takedown. Just based on the eyeball test Nelson is more consistent. I will give him the slight edge. This could be the kind of fight where both guys are both so good on the ground it forces a stand up fight. But I doubt it.

Both these guys made there name on the ground. Maia was a BJJ world champion like Jacare. Especially early on in his career it didn't seem like he tried to strike at all he just dragged guys to the ground and submitted them. Nelson doesn’t have the pure BJJ background but he's most of his fight via submission. Both fighters have 10 career submissions wins and never been submitted themselves. Now Nelson has a lot more recent submissions. But I am giving the edge to Maia. Maia just has an ability to control guys and smother them. Look at his fight with Jon Fitch he didn't get the submission but he kept Fitch on his back pretty much the whole fight.

In terms of a pick with Maia. He's had bigger fight vs. bigger names. Nelson can win this but he's going to need some big moments. I almost think he's got to hurt Maia early on. Maia I can see just getting some takedown and riding out the clock.

Max Holloway 14-3 MMA 10-3 UFC vs. Jeremy Stephens 24-11 MMA 11-10 UFC- Max Holloway is the young gun that is starting to become a true contender. He's only 23 years old but already got a lot of experience. Jeremy Stephens is the classic rock noise veteran fighter. He's actually only 29 but he's been in the UFC since 2007. He's fought a lot of big names in his career and has a win over the current UFC lightweight champion. You would think Holloway has a chance to earn a title shot but Stephens can't be looked past. And we just saw it with Whittaker beating Hall all that momentum he's built can be stolen with a loss. Holloway last fought in August at a UFC Fight Night. He got an injury TKO over Charles Olivera. For the little bit we saw him he looked good but it was an injury win. That did though put him at seven wins in a row. Stephens last fought in July at UFC 189. He faced off with Dennis Bermudez in a pretty back and forth fight. Than early in the third round he landed a devastating flying knee for a win. That snapped a two fight losing streak.

Stephens is about as tough a fighter as you can find. He's got 16 career knockout wins and he's only been knocked out once and that was to another vet in Yves Edwards. Stephens also has two more inches of reach. Holloway has six career knockout wins and never has been knocked out in his career. I guess it depends on how the stand aspect goes is who I will give the advantage to. If it's a techincale more controlled I think that gives the edge to Holloway. But if this winds up being a wild and crazy brawl than your playing right into Stephens game.

Grappling advantage is tough to call as well. Stephens has shown pretty good wrestling in the past. But he's not a real finisher on the ground he's got 3 submissions wins in 35 career fights. Holloway only has two but in 17 fights. I think I will give the edge to Holloway because he's young and he's still got room to grow. With Stephens he's style and skill are his style and skills. He won't turn into a slick ground fighter later in his career.

The X-Factors gotta give the team advantage to Stephens. He works out of Alliance a very top level camp. It's a place that has numerous fighters in the UFC and other top companies. Holloway is out of Hawaii and fights with a small camp out of there. We do see smaller camps work but I always want to give the edge the bigger team with more top level coaches and talent to push the fighter. The other X-Factor Holloway is younger and has far fewer hard miles on his body. Stephens is only 29 but he's fought so long and had so many hard fights. You wonder how much damage he can take. This is a tough fight to pick. Stephens you can never count out but I'm going with Holloway. He's looked so good lately and that youth means a big upside.

Urijah Faber 32-8 MMA 8-4 UFC vs. Frankie Sanez 11-2 MMA 3-0 UFC- This is one of those fights that makes you scratch you head and wonder “How did this get booked?” It seems the UFC wanted to book Faber in a bigger fight but some guys turned it down. As a result Sanez is getting the biggest fight of his career. Faber lost fought in May at a UFC Fight Night. He lost a five round decision to Frankie Edgar. It marked the first time Faber had ever lost a non title fight in his MMA career. Edgar really seemed to have his number the whole night. Sanez last fought August at another Fight Night he beat Sirwan Kakai via decision. There is no need to do more normal breakdown I'm giving all the advantages to Faber. He's more experienced we know how good his wrestling and submission are. He's got good hands and power and when he's lost via knockout it's been to top guys. Sanez will needs a real special performance. I do think Faber is starting to slip but he's still to good for Sanez.

The Ultimate Fighter Finale

Man you know it's a big weekend when a former world champion fights a former top title challenger and two young potential title challengers fight and it's not even on PPV. Instead we get it for free on FS1.

Frankie Edgar 19-4-1 MMA 13-4-1 UFC vs. Chad Mendes 17-3 MMA 8-3 UFC- If you aren't excited for this fight than I don't know what's wrong with you. You talking about two of the very best in the entire sport. Both guys have been viewed as the one that might be able to beat Aldo and both had very close fights with Aldo. Frankie has made it clear he believes he's earned another title shot and has been passed over. Mendes is now in a spot where he needs big wins and if he can beat Frankie he's made a statement that even with being 0-3 in title fights he's should get another chance at the belt.

Mendes last fought in July at UFC 189. He lost via knockout to Conor McGregor. Now you have to keep in mind. He took that fight with no notice didn't have any type of training camp outside of what ever drilling he did or work helping others get ready for fights. He was wining that fight. But he tired out and McGregor caught him. That said Mendes is now 0-3 in UFC title fights and lost two of his last three. So he's got to get wins going again. Edgar last fought in May at a UFC Fight Night where he beat Mende's teammate Urijah Faber. Pretty dominate fight for him. Now he's at four wins in a row all of which are over top names. And there was a lot of talk about why Mendes got the slot in the fight with McGregor while Frankie didn't. Edgar has made it clear he wants the next shot. You would have to think he's looking to have a statement win. So no matter what happens on the PPV he's got next shot.

Power wise edge goes to Mendes he has won 7 times via knockout while Frankie only has 5. That said Frankie Edgar does not get knocked out. We have seen him take hard powerful shots get rocked go jelly legend only to recover. Hell just go watch the second and third fights with Grey Maynard. And Frankie has really good boxing. Both these men mostly use punches. Mendes is more of a load up and go for the knockout guy while Frankie just throws a lot. I'm going to give the edge to Edgar. This is a five round fight and we have seen Mendes start to tire out if he can't get a knockout. I think Edgar's style and the fact I don't think a 2×4 to the head could knock him out gives him the edge. Frankie might get rocked and he might be bleeding out the noise but that is every Frankie Edgar fight.

Both men have wrestling backgrounds but Mendes did it a higher level in a bigger conference. Also Mendes an Alpha Male guy a top wrestling camp known for there use of The Guillotine choke. That said Mendes really doesn't use his wrestling in his MMA career. He's more of like I said a guy that likes to stand up and throw power punches. Edgar does use his wrestling pretty well. Also Frankie has more submission wins he has 4 while Mendes only has 2. Again if Mendes tries to load up he could open the door for Edgar to take him down. I think the edge goes to Frankie on the ground as well.

One X-Factor to consider is the fact Alpha Male has had some issues lately. There high profile departure of TJ Dillishaw. Also Martin Kampman who had taken over as head coach has left the team. That kind of stuff can affect a fighter. Meanwhile Edgar has the same team around him that has been there for years. So it should come as no shock that I am picking Edgar. I think this will be a great fight but I feel Mednes is to much of a head hunter. I think that will hurt him in the long run against someone like Edgar.

Tony Ferguson 19-3 MMA 9-1 UFC vs. Edson Barboza 16-3 MMA 9-3 UFC- I've seen some people argue that UFC should get rid of The Ultimate Fighter because “The winner never do anything” or “Good talent doesn't come out of it.” Well Tony Ferguson disproves those arguments. This is a fighter that seems to be destination to become a true contender. Originally Ferguson was supposed to face the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov but Khabib got hurt opening the door for Barboza another fighter that clearly has the potential to break into the upper level of the division. Ferguson last fought in July at a UFC Fight Night. He dominated Josh Thompson so bad Thompson went running to easier fight. That put Ferguson at six wins in a row. His lone UFC loss is to Michael Johnson and he's only gotten better since. Barboza last fought in July at a UFC on Fox. He gave the first loss to to Paul Fielder in a very exciting fight. The issue for Barboza is he wins but than suffers that one loss that keeps him out of the upper rankings.

Both fighters have 9 career MMA knockout wins. Ferguson has never been knocked out while Barboza has only 1 knockout loss in MMA. Both guys are known for there power but it's been a while since either had a knockout. Barboza hasn't had one since 2013 while Ferguson's last knockout was in May of 2014. Ferguson has a one inch reach advantage. But I'm giving the edge slightly to Barboza. The man has has a kickboxing record of 25-3 with 22 knockouts. Now in terms of grappling I am giving the edge to Ferguson. He has 6 career submission wins via submission while Barboza only has two. Ferguson's come much more recently.

Again this is one of those fights that can be really close. But I am picking Ferguson I do think the submission game can be key. Also it seems like Barboza doesn't always show up mentally to big fights. Also in the stand there are times where Barboza gets to obsessed with the highlight reel knockout. So as a result he over does spinning kicks. I think with Ferguson that will cost him. Plus Ferguson just seems like he's getting better and better. Give me Ferguson and I'll go so far to say he will score a knockout.

Joe Lauzon 25-10 MMA 12-7 UFC vs. Evan Dunham 16-6 MMA 9-6 UFC- These are two guys that have faced a whose who in the UFC lightweight division. Both these guys have also been in a number of exciting fights over the years. Lauzon last fought in July where he knocked out Takanormi Gomi in the first round. He's won 3 of his last 4. Lone loss to Al Iaquinta a great fighter most have pegged a furture contender. Dunham's last fight was also in July one week before Lauzon did. He went to a decision and won over Ross Pearson. That' puts him at two in a row after a three fight losing streak.

Striking everything says give the advantage to Lauzon. He's got a 1.5 advantage in the reach he has more career knockouts. Lauzon has seven knockouts. Dunham only has 3 and his last TKO in the UFC came in 2012 and that was due to injury. Outside of that his last KO came in 2009. While Lauzon has been knocked out four times I don't see Dunham being able to do it. Both men have decent technical striking. Both do have holes in there game. Both men have very good ground games. Dunham has six career submission wins. He's also got very good wrestling. Lauzon though has 17 career submission wins. I'm giving the edge to Lauzon the guy has not just submitted a lot of people but he's submitted some very good guys. I'm picking Lauzon. It's simple I just think he's a better fighter.

UFC Fight Night

Hey if they can air baseball every night. If freaking boring football can be on seven nights a week. Why the hell can't we do 3 UFC events in a weekend. Especially when these cards are so loaded.

Rose Namajunas 3-2 MMA 1-1 UFC vs. Paige VanZant 6-1 MMA 3-0 UFC- Both are young fighters that have already been very impressive. Both are very young. Both also have a good mix of skills while they are only getting better. Also both have already gained a pretty large fan base. Also both are willing to bring it. Namajunas last fought in October at UFC 192 she submitted Angelia Hill even before getting the submission she was able to land some good technical strikes. Now Namajunas record is a little deceptive. Don't forget she was on TUF 20 and got to the finals but only the loss with Espazra counts on her record. PVZ last fought in September at UFC 191. She got a third round submission win over Alex Chambers. That fight could have been a real trap for her. She was expected to win Chambers was lower ranked than her previous opponent. And you do see it fighters have a let down and get upset.

Both have pretty good striking but it hasn't resulted in knockouts. VanZant has only one career knockout and Namajunas has never scored a knockout since turning pro. PVZ seems to be a volume striker. In the Chambers fight she kept marching forward getting the Thai Plum and landing a lot of knees. Namajunas has a little more of an unorthodox stye we see her throw side kicks, ax kicks moves we don't always see in MMA as most people stick to round house kicks and front kicks. Just based on the eyeball test I'm going with Thug Rose. With VanZant's style I think it could cost her. Namajunas showed a good jab against he very aggressive Angelia Hill. Those kicks can keep VanZant off her. Plus striking not just the punches and kicks it's movement and Namajunas seems to use hers real well

The two strawweights have shown some good wrestling and submission skills. VanZant submitted Chambers last time out. Now in the fight before that she faced Felice Herring man she showed great ability to grind. It felt like in every grappling exchange Paige was the one making that final effort and winning the scrambles. Meanwhile all three of Namajunas career wins come via submission also on TUF she won all three of her fight there via submission. Now Carla Eszparaz did beat Rose via submission but I don't think PVZ has the same wrestling skills. I am going with Namajunas here as well. She's got very good very slick submissions. Also VanZant openly talked about being worried about going to the ground with Chambers until late. I don't think Chambers is nearly as good Namajunas is on the ground.

Both women work with great camps. VanZant is a member of Team Alpha Male. A camp with great wrestling and great submissions. Which should help her get ready and improve what ever weakness she felt she had on the ground. Namajunas in the past has worked with Rufuse Sport but now is at the Grudge Training Center a good camp but not the same rep as Alpha Male. So that is an edge for PVZ. The thing about both fighters they are still young and still have there prime a head of them. So they both should be much better than they were last time out. So yeah maybe VanZant comes out strong but just from what I have seen Namajunas is just that little bit better than VanZant. I think Namajunas wins and gets a second round submission.

UFC 193 Picks

As I said previously when Ronda Rousey fights it's not just another fight it's not just another card it's an event. UFC 190 pretty much sold sole on who popular Ronda is was the best selling UFC PPV in over a year. Now's she headling a massive arena show. And this is a loaded card so here are my picks

UFC Bantamweight Championship Ronda Rousey © 12-0 MMA 6-0 UFC vs. Holly Holm 9-0 MMA 2-0 UFC- This fight has been talked about for years. By now we all know Rousey's story Judo Champion Olympic Bronze Medal winner who becomes the top Women's MMA Fighter in the world. Holm was a top ranked boxer and held numerous world championships. She also came in MMA and you would hear her name brought up long before she signed with the UFC. Well know we are getting that fight. Of course now people are bashing it because they feel the need to bash Rousey and anything the UFC does. But that's another story.

Rousey last fought in August at UFC 190. She was paired with Bethe Correia. The fight had become very personal. Correia had mocked Rousye's friends she made some pretty tasteless comments about Rousey. The champion had talked about wanting to drag out the fight and Punish her challenger. And she kind of did since the fight went 34 seconds as opposed to 14 or 16 her previous two had. Going into the fight the thought was Correia's only chance was if it was a brawl. Rousey made it a brawl went right into Correia's face and than landed a powerful punch right to the side of the head. The challenger fell down face plants eyes wide open but the brain had turned off. Holm's last fight was July at a UFC fight night. She dominated Marion Reneau on the way to a decision win. Some will focus on “She's beat two mid level fighters and not finished either.” Me I'm looking at the fact she looked much more at ease and her style could give the Rowdy One trouble.

This time I'm going to have to split the striking advantage. In terms of knockout power with the hands that goes to Rousey. She has 3 KO's and the last two were due to her hands. She rocked Alexis Davis and just destroyed Corriea. But in terms of technical striking that is Holm's edge. We see it with Rousey she usually goes straight forward trying to swarm and crush her foe. Holm didn’t' have many Knockouts as a boxer but her punches are good and crisp and her footwork is great. If Rousey tries to swarm her I could see Holm cutting angles and countering her wild shots. In terms of knees and kicking. Well Rousey has the one knee to the body win over McMann but Holm's kicks are great. She already has four career wins thanks to using kicks. Also unlike most MMA fighters who relay solely on roundhouse kicks Holm mixes it up. You see her use side kicks and front kicks. Another key if she can get the kicks going she can keep Rousey on the outside taking away that clinch. So striking overall advantage Holly Holm.

Its really a no contest in terms of grappling and ground game. There are some things Holm has going for her. Like I said her kicks could keep the fight at range and keep Rousey from clinching up and she does have great take down defense. But Holm does not have a grappling background. She has never won a fight via submission. Rousey you all know this by now Judo world champion, Olympic Bronze Medal Winner in 2008 and two time team member (04, 08) been training on the mat since she was a little girl. She has nine career submission wins all thanks to the armbar. Also she gets the arm in different position. No doubt grappling huge advantage to Rousey.

Let's talk about trainers. Rousey its the usual Glendale Fight Club team. Her boxing/head coach Edmond Tarverdyan. BJJ with Rener Gracie and judo with many of her old coaches from Judo. GFC has become a bit of hot spot for fighters lately but really only Rousey has has huge success out of there. It clear Tarverdyan and Rousey have a great connection he understands her and gets the most out of her. Holm a member of Jackson WinkleJohn. Greg Jackson one of the best MMA coaches ever a great game planner. Mike WinkleJohn was also her trainer as a boxer they have a great connection as well. You have two contrasts Holm is in the big camp with a lot of names while Rousey in the smaller camp that is more built around her. Now if this goes more than one round Greg Jackson won't be Bryan Caraway going “She's breaking” to exhausted fighter.

Another huge factor will be the fact Holm has never been in a fight this big. First this is taking place in a big arena. Holm was a world boxing champion but the truth women's boxing doesn't draw huge crowds. Most of her fights have taken place in New Mexico where she is from. Rousey has main e vented many shows she was in the Olympics twice. Plus add in the amount of press and attention going into this. For Rousey that is old hat. So advantage Rousey.

So who to pick? Let me say this. I think Holm stylistic can be an issue for Rousey. That said I feel like she is going to have to be perfect. If there is any little hole left open I feel Rousey will go through it and beat her. Plus with someone like Rousey you just can't pick against her until you see someone real special as well. My pick Ronda Rousey I think this goes to the ground and Rousey uses that arm bar. That said I have side prediction this fight goes more than one round.

UFC Strawweight Championship Joanna Jedrzejczyk © 10-0 MMA 4-0 UFC vs. Valerie Letourneau 8-3 MMA 3-0 UFC- We often debate who is the best this or that in MMA. And it very well could be Jedrzejczyk. The Polish born former Muay Thai champion has put on clinches in her two UFC title fights. Now she looks to make her second defense. We thought it was going to be against Claudia Gadelha who had a very close fight with Jedrzejczyk and also just beat Jessica Aguilar to become number 1 contender. But than the dominoes fell. Carlos Condit got hurt moving a welterweight title fight off this card and moving Rousey's fight to it. The plane had been for both womens title to be defended on the same card. So they moved Jedrzejczyk to this card and because Gadelha is dealing with injury and Letourneau is coming off a big win she gets a title shot.

Jedrzejczyk last fought in June on a UFC Fight Night card. It was the first time a UFC title had been defend on Fight Pass. She just beat the living hell out of Jessica Penne. It was another Muay Thai clinch by the champion. By the end Penne was badly bleeding. Finally in the third round the fight was called off after Jedrzejczyk landed some big punches and knees. Letourneau last fought in August on a UFC Fight Night Card. She beat Maryna Moroz giving her the first loss of her career. Moroz was coming off a stunning upset over highly ranked Joanne Calderwood.

If we are talking about striking there is no doubt that Jedrzejczyk gets the advantage. She was a world champion in Muay Thai there was talk of her being a member of the Polish Olympic Boxing team. Now it should noted they each have four career wins via knockout. But the little of Letourneau that I have seen she doesn't appear nearly the same level of striking that Jedrzejczyk does. Maybe against most MMA fighters her striking would be enough but not someone with such a heavy striking background.

The ground game doesn't really come up much for either fighter. Both each have a single submission win. But it was years ago Letourneau it was in her fourth career fight and that was back in 2009. Jedrzejczyk it came her in second career MMA fight that was back in 2012. I am giving the edge to Jedrzejczyk because she has shown really good takedown defense. We see it she sprawls and lands some good elbows to the head.

If there is one edge I can give to Letourneau its her team. She fights out of American Top Team. That is one of the top team in MMA it has a lot of good female fighters. Meanwhile Jedrzejczyk trains out of her gym in Poland. Yes she has been successful but you do wonder how good is the total coaching she is getting. Now this is a tough pick. So far Jedrzejczyk has looked great. I haven't seen much of Letourneau so it's hard to know if she is cable of hanging with the champion. But I have to pick Jedrzejczyk just based on her striking. I think we see a similar fight to what we have seen in the last two fight. Jedrzejczyk hits a lot of high volume strikes wears out her opponent and TKO's her.

Antonio Silva 19-7 1 NC MMA 3-4 1 NC UFC vs. Mark Hunt 10-10 1 NC MMA 5-4 1NC UFC- December 7^th 2013 at a UFC Fight Night in Brisbone Australia these two fought for the first time. Given the background of both men you hoped it could be an exciting fight what we got was one of the greatest fights of all time. As that fight played out over five rounds they just kept hitting strikes that you are thinking sooner or later had to result in a knockout. But some how they kept fighting. The fight was scored a draw. It was so amazing people wanted a rematch. And it appeared we were going to get but than it came that Silva had elevated testosterone. Turns out he was getting unapproved TRT treatments as a result he was suspended Hunt moved onto other fights and Silva was suspended. But now after both men have had some ups and some downs we are getting the rematch.

Hunt last fought in May at a UFC Fight Night card he lost a very one sided decision to Stipe Miocic. To show how one sided it was Hunt only landed 48 strike while Mocico laned a UFC record of 361. That puts him at two losses in a row. His lone win was over Roy Nelson. While Hunt made a real comeback in his UFC Career you are starting to worry how much he's got left. Silva last fought in August at UFC 191. He was hurt early in his fight wit Soa Palelei but in the second round he came back and got the KO win. It was his first win since 2013.

Striking you gotta give the edge to Mark Hunt. Of course he was a K-1 champion. The man has tremendous knockout power in his hands and his tree trunk like legs deliver devastating leg kicks. He's the only guy to ever knockout Roy Nelson. Now Bigfoot Silva does have 14 career wins via knockout but he's also lost 6 times via knockout. This guy does not like to get hit. I know he lasted in the first vs. Hunt but I don't know if he can do it again. Hell in his last fight it feel like Palelei tiring out had more to do with his win. He got rocked early and you wonder if vs. someone else if he could lasted. The striking advantage goes to Hunt hands down.

When it comes to ground game the edge goes to Bigfoot. While he does only have 3 wins via submission he's a BJJ black belt. He's never lost Ia submission as well. Hunt has improved on the ground game a lot of the years. But he has six submission losses. Miocicio managed to control him on the ground he never got back up. Hunt has also never won a fight via submission. I don't this fight spend much time on the ground but if it does advantage Silva.

Truth is this is not an easy pick. Both guys have had issues. I don't know if this fight will come any where near the level of the first fight. Both men have a lot of miles on the body. But I am going with Hunt. I just don't trust Bigfoot's chin. I think this time Hunt lands the big punch he was looking for and gets the knockout win.

Uriah Hall 12-5 MMA 5-3 UFC vs. Robert Whittaker 14-4 MMA 5-2 UFC- Which Uriah Hall shows up? Do we get the force of nature, human highlight reel we saw on TUF and against Mousasi or do we get the unsure guy that can't pull the trigger we saw against Howard and Natal? For Robert Whittaker this is a big chance. Originally he was supposed to face Michael Bisping but now he faces a guy coming off a huge win. All that momentum Hall just built he can steal. And oh yeah Whittaker is from New Zeland so he's got a home court fight here.

Hall just fought in September at UFC Fight Night Japan. He scored the biggest win of his career. He knocked out former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi. That puts him at two wins in a row. As I have and will talk about there is always an issue with mental state. Early on Mousai was looking good he got Hall down. But this time Hall didn't break. He recovered and in the second round spinning jump kick followed up with a flying knee and the knockout win. Whittaker last fought in May he knocked out Brad Tarves in 44 seconds. That wins puts him at 3 in a row and two knockouts in a row. Since moving up to middleweight he seems to be finding his grove.

People rave about Hall's striking. His only loss via knockout came to Chris Weidman the current UFC champion in there early career. Of course Hall has 9 of his career wins via knockout. But he's not just throwing a good one or two or round house kick. He's spinning and jumping and hitting guys with techniques that seem more out of a movie fight than a real fight. But do not sleep on Whittaker's power he's got 7 career wins via knockout. Both men only have lost once via knockout. Gotta give the edge to Hall just the power and that ability to pull of spectacular moves. Plus Hall will have a huge reach advantage. Gonna give the edge in grappling to Whittaker. He's got 5 career submission wins. Hall's only got the one. But it doesn’t seem like the ground game will be much of a factor in the fight.

The big X-Factor in this fight is Hall's mental state. When this guy is on you think he could beat 100 men. When he's off you wonder why picked a career. And the scary thing is he's off nights really are against guys he should have beat easy. In a strange way this feels like a trap fight. But I'm going to pick Hall. This guy is so good I think he did turn a corner last time out.

Stefan Struve 26-7 MMA 10-5 MMA vs. Jared Rosholt 13-2 MMA 5-1 UFC- Struve making a fairly quick turn around he just fought in August at UFC 190. On the plus side he scored first win since 2012 against one of the biggest names by getting a decision over Big Nog. On the down side he didn't look good in that fight. And Big Nog is that classic legend that held on way to long. Why is only 27 he's got a lot of hard miles on his body. Rosholt last fought in August in a UFC Fight Night. Again on the plus side he's on a two fight winning streak. On the down side he's not facing even really mid level contenders. The UFC is starting to make some cuts and both guys need a win to keep there name on roster.

Striking I am giving the edge to Struve. He's the tallest guy on the roster he's got a huge 84.5 inch reach. He's got a Muay Thai background. Now he's not a perfect striker. He's never developed a great jab we have seen guys get in on him. He's won only 7 times via knockout and been knocked out 6 times. But Rosholt he only has 4 career knockouts. Why I don't see Struve at this stage turning into the great striker. I think he will be able to do just enough.

Grappling again the edge goes to Struve. Why is only ranked as brown belt in BJJ he does have 16 career wins via submission. And he's only been submitted once. Rosholt has three career submission wins and he's never lost via submission. But at the end of the day I am more likely to see Struve getting a submission than Rosholt. Well I've given the edge to Struve in two different catergores. So yeah he's my pick. I think the boat has long sailed on Struve becoming a contender I do think he's good enough to still beat Rosholt.