The UFC returns to pay per view Saturday night from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and they've certainly stacked the deck for this one.
Some may be talking about the crowning of an Interim Middleweight Champion, while others may be discussing the possibility of a title change in the women's division. Then there are those that are focused on the huge heavyweight bout between Overeem and Werdum that could determine the next number one contender in that division. No matter which fight is being watched, I highly doubt that there will be too many bathroom breaks during this show.
Let's take a look...
Anthony "Showtime" Pettis (19-6-0) vs. Jim Miller (28-9-0)
Anthony Pettis hasn't had the greatest bit of luck since losing the lightweight crown back in 2015, especially considering that four of his six career losses happened in his last five fights, so needless to say, the pressure is on, and Jim Miller is a very tough opponent, especially under those circumstances. Having said that, Miller has had his own string of losses lately, so this fight is more or less a proving grounds bout, as these guys will be looking to show that they still deserve to be in the upper echelon of the lightweight division. I think for either of these guys to be successful, they cannot take unnecessary risks, especially Pettis, who is known for his capoeira fighting style. However, they cannot be too cautious, because I've noticed this pattern with a lot of great fighters who kind of lose their confidence after a big loss. I'm a fan of both of these guys, but I would say that Pettis has more to lose in this fight, which I think will make him the more aggressive of the two, and I choose Pettis to get the Unanimous Decision.
Fabricio "Vai Cavalo" Werdum (21-6-1) vs. Alistair "The Reem" Overeem (42-16-0)
Werdum will be forever known as the man who ended Fedor Emilianenko's 10-year winning streak. But then he lost to Alistair Overeem. For Werdum, this fight is obviously about redemption, while Overeem looks to get back into the title hunt, especially after that rather embarrassing post-match interview after the loss to Miocic. I think Overeem gained a bit of his momentum back after knocking out Mark Hunt in his last fight, which is certainly no easy task. Werdum earned a decision over Travis Browne, so I really don't think either of these guys' losses to Stipe Miocic had any kind of adverse effect on them. This will be an interesting bout, but since Werdum has had a lot more success in the UFC than Overeem thus far, I think it's his fight to lose. I'll pick Werdum to win by TKO.
Curtis "Razor" Blaydes (7-1-0) vs. Daniel Omielanczuk (19-7-1)
One interesting statistic is that Blaydes has never seen a fight that didn't end in a knockout. Maybe that will paint a picture of the outcome of this fight. If it goes to the ground though, I'd have to favour Omielanczuk, who will probably look to apply that strategy, even though he is quite skilled at hand-to-hand combat himself. I'll pick Omielanczuk to win via rear naked choke.
Robert "The Reaper" Whittaker (18-4-0) vs. Yoel "Soldier of God" Romero (12-1-0) for the Interim UFC Middleweight Championship
This is going to be a very intense fight, and I honestly think either one of these guys could have dethroned current Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping. I don't expect this to make it to five rounds, and considering that both of these guys have devastating knockout power, I think this fight will end via KO. Whittaker has the youth on his side, so I think he'll have the advantage in a longer fight, and I'll pick Whittaker to win the title by TKO.
Amanda "Lioness" Nunes (14-4-0) vs. Valentina "Bullet" Shevchenko (14-2-0) for the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship
Shevchenko lost a decision to Nunes a little over a year ago, but after submitting Julianna Pena in her latest fight, she earned her way right back into title contention. Nunes has been on fire lately though, and her performance gets better and better in each fight, so I don't expect this one to go the distance. Considering that she's already beaten the challenger, she definitely has the edge in this fight, and I'll pick her to win by TKO.
So there you have it.
Who are you picking?
Some may be talking about the crowning of an Interim Middleweight Champion, while others may be discussing the possibility of a title change in the women's division. Then there are those that are focused on the huge heavyweight bout between Overeem and Werdum that could determine the next number one contender in that division. No matter which fight is being watched, I highly doubt that there will be too many bathroom breaks during this show.
Let's take a look...
Anthony "Showtime" Pettis (19-6-0) vs. Jim Miller (28-9-0)
Anthony Pettis hasn't had the greatest bit of luck since losing the lightweight crown back in 2015, especially considering that four of his six career losses happened in his last five fights, so needless to say, the pressure is on, and Jim Miller is a very tough opponent, especially under those circumstances. Having said that, Miller has had his own string of losses lately, so this fight is more or less a proving grounds bout, as these guys will be looking to show that they still deserve to be in the upper echelon of the lightweight division. I think for either of these guys to be successful, they cannot take unnecessary risks, especially Pettis, who is known for his capoeira fighting style. However, they cannot be too cautious, because I've noticed this pattern with a lot of great fighters who kind of lose their confidence after a big loss. I'm a fan of both of these guys, but I would say that Pettis has more to lose in this fight, which I think will make him the more aggressive of the two, and I choose Pettis to get the Unanimous Decision.
Fabricio "Vai Cavalo" Werdum (21-6-1) vs. Alistair "The Reem" Overeem (42-16-0)
Werdum will be forever known as the man who ended Fedor Emilianenko's 10-year winning streak. But then he lost to Alistair Overeem. For Werdum, this fight is obviously about redemption, while Overeem looks to get back into the title hunt, especially after that rather embarrassing post-match interview after the loss to Miocic. I think Overeem gained a bit of his momentum back after knocking out Mark Hunt in his last fight, which is certainly no easy task. Werdum earned a decision over Travis Browne, so I really don't think either of these guys' losses to Stipe Miocic had any kind of adverse effect on them. This will be an interesting bout, but since Werdum has had a lot more success in the UFC than Overeem thus far, I think it's his fight to lose. I'll pick Werdum to win by TKO.
Curtis "Razor" Blaydes (7-1-0) vs. Daniel Omielanczuk (19-7-1)
One interesting statistic is that Blaydes has never seen a fight that didn't end in a knockout. Maybe that will paint a picture of the outcome of this fight. If it goes to the ground though, I'd have to favour Omielanczuk, who will probably look to apply that strategy, even though he is quite skilled at hand-to-hand combat himself. I'll pick Omielanczuk to win via rear naked choke.
Robert "The Reaper" Whittaker (18-4-0) vs. Yoel "Soldier of God" Romero (12-1-0) for the Interim UFC Middleweight Championship
This is going to be a very intense fight, and I honestly think either one of these guys could have dethroned current Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping. I don't expect this to make it to five rounds, and considering that both of these guys have devastating knockout power, I think this fight will end via KO. Whittaker has the youth on his side, so I think he'll have the advantage in a longer fight, and I'll pick Whittaker to win the title by TKO.
Amanda "Lioness" Nunes (14-4-0) vs. Valentina "Bullet" Shevchenko (14-2-0) for the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship
Shevchenko lost a decision to Nunes a little over a year ago, but after submitting Julianna Pena in her latest fight, she earned her way right back into title contention. Nunes has been on fire lately though, and her performance gets better and better in each fight, so I don't expect this one to go the distance. Considering that she's already beaten the challenger, she definitely has the edge in this fight, and I'll pick her to win by TKO.
So there you have it.
Who are you picking?
RSS Feed
