The New Year's celebrations continue as the UFC promotes its first pay per view offering of the year. And anytime there's a title fight on pay per view, it's a safe bet that MMA fans around the world will be watching.
Let's take a look at that line-up...
Abel "Killa" Trujillo (12-7-0) vs. Tony "2.0" Sims (12-3-0)
Trujillo is coming off two very disappointing back-to-back submission losses to Tony Ferguson and Gleison Tibau respectively, and in the same fashion no less. Needless to say, he'll probably have eyes in the back of his head for this one, as he'll be on the lookout for that rear naked choke. But he's fighting a guy who isn't really known for his submissions, so I don't think Trujillo has much to worry about in that regard. Actually, before those two losses, Trujillo won his previous two fights in grand fashion with two devastating knockouts. Sims is no stranger to knockout victories himself, but he has barely dipped his feet in the UFC talent pool. These guys are evenly matches, with a slight experience advantage going to Trujillo. I'm thinking Trujillo picks up yet another TKO.
Brian "T-City" Ortega (9-0-0) vs. Diego "DB" Brandao (20-10-0)
I have to say that Brandao has been one of the major disappointments coming out of The Ultimate Fighter. He looked like an absolute beast on that show, and I fully expected him to just plow through the competition in the UFC. He was doing well at first, but all it really took was one devastating knockout at the hands of Dustin Poirier to take him down a peg or two. And then that knockout led to another, at the hands of Featherweight Champ Conor McGregor. But Brandao seems to be back to his winning ways in recent fights, so I guess not all hope is lost. Ortega is undefeated though, and will likely have more confidence heading into this fight, compared to a guy who's been knocked out. Ortega made a major statement in his previous fight by knocking out Thago Tavares, and he will undoubtedly be looking to do the same here. I don't see it happening though, because to even compare Ortega to Conor McGregor at this point is like apples and hockey pucks. I'm going to say Brandao continues his winning streak here with another TKO.
Albert "Einstein" Tumenov (16-2-0) vs. Lorenz "The Monsoon" Larkin (16-4-0)
It's no secret at this point that both of these guys have some serious knockout power. The difference is that Larkin has actually been knocked out himself, while Tumenov has yet to taste a defeat so devastating. Actually, that might not be 100 per cent accurate, because all defeats are devastating I suppose. What I meant is that there is a world of difference between losing a decision and losing by knockout. I've seen fighters that have been able to bounce back from decision losses, but then when those same fighters get knocked out, it ends up haunting them for a while, and they just aren't the same. Larkin actually defeated Robbie Lawler just three years ago, and he's had much bigger fights, so I can't go against him. I'll pick Larkin to get the Unanimous Decision.
Andrei "The Pit Bull" Arlovski (25-10-0) vs. Stipe Miocic (13-2-0)
I think the outcome of this fight will depend heavily on which version of Arlovski shows up, because we've seen two of them in the last couple of years. There was the Arlovski who dominated both Travis Browne and Antonio Silva. But there's also the Arlovski who barely eked out a decision over Frank Mir and Brendan Schaub. I think other than being knocked out by Stefan Struve, Miocic has remained consistent. I was quite impressed that he was able to knock out Mark Hunt, and I think that puts him in the top five, as far as heavyweights go. Needless to say, he can not afford a loss here, and I don't expect him to taste defeat. I'm picking Miocic by TKO.
"Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (26-10-0) vs. "The Natural Born Killer" Carlos Condit (30-8-0) for the UFC Welterweight Championship
2015 wasn't the greatest year to be a champion, but I guess Robbie Lawler has a different opinion. There were only three titles that did not change hands in 2015, and Lawler's was one of them. Well technically the Light Heavyweight Title never changed hands, but a new champion was crowned. In any event, Lawler has had quite the journey in the UFC. He returned to the promotion in 2013, following a string of losses in Strikeforce, and he has been dominant ever since. In fact, his only loss since returning was a very close decision against Johny Hendricks, but he was able to rectify that by beating Hendricks to claim his title. Condit also fought a very close fight with Hendricks, but the loss to Tyron Woodley might have set him back a bit. I think these two guys will have a great fight, and I fully expect it to go the distance, which I think favours Lawler, as he really seems to pick up a lot of momentum in the later rounds. I'm picking the champ to retain by Unanimous Decision.
So there you have it.
Who are you picking?
Let's take a look at that line-up...
Abel "Killa" Trujillo (12-7-0) vs. Tony "2.0" Sims (12-3-0)
Trujillo is coming off two very disappointing back-to-back submission losses to Tony Ferguson and Gleison Tibau respectively, and in the same fashion no less. Needless to say, he'll probably have eyes in the back of his head for this one, as he'll be on the lookout for that rear naked choke. But he's fighting a guy who isn't really known for his submissions, so I don't think Trujillo has much to worry about in that regard. Actually, before those two losses, Trujillo won his previous two fights in grand fashion with two devastating knockouts. Sims is no stranger to knockout victories himself, but he has barely dipped his feet in the UFC talent pool. These guys are evenly matches, with a slight experience advantage going to Trujillo. I'm thinking Trujillo picks up yet another TKO.
Brian "T-City" Ortega (9-0-0) vs. Diego "DB" Brandao (20-10-0)
I have to say that Brandao has been one of the major disappointments coming out of The Ultimate Fighter. He looked like an absolute beast on that show, and I fully expected him to just plow through the competition in the UFC. He was doing well at first, but all it really took was one devastating knockout at the hands of Dustin Poirier to take him down a peg or two. And then that knockout led to another, at the hands of Featherweight Champ Conor McGregor. But Brandao seems to be back to his winning ways in recent fights, so I guess not all hope is lost. Ortega is undefeated though, and will likely have more confidence heading into this fight, compared to a guy who's been knocked out. Ortega made a major statement in his previous fight by knocking out Thago Tavares, and he will undoubtedly be looking to do the same here. I don't see it happening though, because to even compare Ortega to Conor McGregor at this point is like apples and hockey pucks. I'm going to say Brandao continues his winning streak here with another TKO.
Albert "Einstein" Tumenov (16-2-0) vs. Lorenz "The Monsoon" Larkin (16-4-0)
It's no secret at this point that both of these guys have some serious knockout power. The difference is that Larkin has actually been knocked out himself, while Tumenov has yet to taste a defeat so devastating. Actually, that might not be 100 per cent accurate, because all defeats are devastating I suppose. What I meant is that there is a world of difference between losing a decision and losing by knockout. I've seen fighters that have been able to bounce back from decision losses, but then when those same fighters get knocked out, it ends up haunting them for a while, and they just aren't the same. Larkin actually defeated Robbie Lawler just three years ago, and he's had much bigger fights, so I can't go against him. I'll pick Larkin to get the Unanimous Decision.
Andrei "The Pit Bull" Arlovski (25-10-0) vs. Stipe Miocic (13-2-0)
I think the outcome of this fight will depend heavily on which version of Arlovski shows up, because we've seen two of them in the last couple of years. There was the Arlovski who dominated both Travis Browne and Antonio Silva. But there's also the Arlovski who barely eked out a decision over Frank Mir and Brendan Schaub. I think other than being knocked out by Stefan Struve, Miocic has remained consistent. I was quite impressed that he was able to knock out Mark Hunt, and I think that puts him in the top five, as far as heavyweights go. Needless to say, he can not afford a loss here, and I don't expect him to taste defeat. I'm picking Miocic by TKO.
"Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (26-10-0) vs. "The Natural Born Killer" Carlos Condit (30-8-0) for the UFC Welterweight Championship
2015 wasn't the greatest year to be a champion, but I guess Robbie Lawler has a different opinion. There were only three titles that did not change hands in 2015, and Lawler's was one of them. Well technically the Light Heavyweight Title never changed hands, but a new champion was crowned. In any event, Lawler has had quite the journey in the UFC. He returned to the promotion in 2013, following a string of losses in Strikeforce, and he has been dominant ever since. In fact, his only loss since returning was a very close decision against Johny Hendricks, but he was able to rectify that by beating Hendricks to claim his title. Condit also fought a very close fight with Hendricks, but the loss to Tyron Woodley might have set him back a bit. I think these two guys will have a great fight, and I fully expect it to go the distance, which I think favours Lawler, as he really seems to pick up a lot of momentum in the later rounds. I'm picking the champ to retain by Unanimous Decision.
So there you have it.
Who are you picking?
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