Rony “Jason” vs. Sam Sicilia
This has “Fight of the Night” written all over it. Neither fighter is scared of a dogfight, and they both have the tendency to move forward at all times during their fights. The clear power advantage goes to Sicilia, at such a light weight class, his one punch knockout ability goes unrivaled. There’s always that chance that it could be nighty night, for Jason, but I don’t see this fight ending early due to Jason’s ability to take punishment, and still come forward. In the end, it will be Jason’s more well-rounded style that will give him an edge. Sicilia hasn’t displayed much more than just his heavy hands, no kicks and no Jiu-Jitsu. Jason will have a six inch reach advantage over Sicilia, and no one knows how Sicilia’s cut to featherweight will affect his performance. Jason simply has too many advantages for him not to find a way to overcome the punching power of Sicilia, and win this fight by decision.
Gleison Tibau vs. Fransisco Trinaldo
In only his second fight in the UFC, Trinaldo draws an elite contender in Tibau. I doesn’t take a genius to realize that Tibau has nearly every advantage in this fight, size, height, reach, grappling, and experience. This is just a golden opportunity that is coming a little too early for Trinaldo, he’s just not ready yet for an opponent at Tibau’s skill level. Tibau will use his wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu to overpower Trinaldo and look to finish with his famous guillotine choke.
Diego Brandao vs. Joey Gambino
In his last fight, Gambino fell victim to Steven Siler and was caught in a guillotine choke. Why he’s now being matched up with the faster, more skillful Brandao, is far beyond my comprehension. Gambino can’t match Brandao’s Jiu-Jitsu, and Brandao has the better striking. This should be an easy win for Brandao, and if he doesn’t finish Gambino, he’ll certainly take all three rounds to win a unanimous decision.
Sergio Moraes vs. Renee Forte
The predictions on this fight are split nearly 50/50. I can see why, both have the same amount of experience, and have wins by both knockout and submission. What makes me lean towards Moraes, is that he has the grappling advantage, but he also went toe to toe with Cezar Ferreira, an excellent striker, and gave him a run for money. Forte may have better striking than Moraes, but he is no Cezar Ferreira. Moraes will be able to hold his own on the feet, and will eventually get the Forte to the ground where he will submit him.
Luis Cane vs. Chris Camozzi
To be blunt, I’m just not impressed with Camozzi. His last four wins were either by split decision, against a semi-talented UFC newbie, or stopped because of a cut after he was clearly losing the fight. Cane is used to fighting bigger opponents at light heavyweight, and he has faced a higher level of competition than Camozzi, taking on Cyrille Diabate, Antonio Nogueira, and Sokoudjou. Camozzi will not be able to avoid the heavy strikes and the takedowns of Cane, and he will fall victim to either a knockout or submission. My money is on the knockout.
Cristiano Marcello vs. Reza Madadi
The majority of Madadi’s wins are by submission, but now he’s facing an elite Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, so this may be the first time we see him look to keep the fight standing. It would be a mistake for Madadi to challenge Marcello on the ground, so his best chance would be to try and knock him out on the feet. The fighters that give Marcello a tough time, are those with excellent striking and footwork, a skill Madadi doesn’t possess. Madadi might have a slight striking advantage, but it won’t be enough to stop Marcello from clinching with him, and then getting a takedown. From there, Marcello will easily take whatever submission Madadi gives him.
Written by : Ryan “Fight Freek” Poli
@FightFreek