Author: Steven Cook

UFC 146 Dos Santos vs Mir Main Card: Predictions for Every Fight

There’s no doubt that the upcoming fight between Junior dos Santos and Frank Mir will be an exciting one, but there’s much more where that came from on the UFC 146 main card. Cain Velasquez will hope to welcome Antonio Silva to the Octagon in styl…

There’s no doubt that the upcoming fight between Junior dos Santos and Frank Mir will be an exciting one, but there’s much more where that came from on the UFC 146 main card. 

Cain Velasquez will hope to welcome Antonio Silva to the Octagon in style as Silva gears up for his UFC debut after starting up his career in Strikeforce. 

Let’s take a look at who will come out on top of each of the big matchups on the main card for Saturday night’s action.

 

Frank Mir vs. Junior dos Santos 

Frank Mir is one of the most feared fighters in UFC for a good reason: He’s notched eight submissions and has embraced his reputation as a downright lethal fighter when it comes to knockouts. He also comes in off three straight wins.

On the other hand, Junior dos Santos shouldn’t have too many problems taking care of Mir. He should be able to get it done as long as they don’t spend too much time on the ground. 

Prediction: Dos Santos by KO

 

Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva

Silva makes his UFC debut against Cain Velasquez, a hungry fighter who’s eager to put his recent woes behind him. 

It’s understandable that Silva will have some growing pains moving to a whole new game.

And when I say growing pain, I mean pain. 

Prediction: Velasquez by TKO

 

Dave Herman vs. Roy Nelson

Now, here comes what could be the most evenly matched fights of the night. 

Both fighters desperately need wins as they are both coming off of grueling losses, and I’ll take the one with the better ground game. 

Prediction: Nelson by KO

 

Shane del Rosario vs. Stipe Miocic

Shane del Rosario is making his UFC debut and coming off a 2011 car accident which had him sidelined to this point. Regardless, this looks like a very even fight on paper.

Both fighters are undefeated, and the winner could catapult himself into the conversation for a title race. 

Prediction: Del Rosario by TKO

 

Stefan Struve vs. Lavar Johnson

Lavar Johnson has seen his name emerge as one of UFC’s hottest commodities after back-to-back decisive wins.

But his ground game needs work, and Struve will show him just that. 

Prediction: Struve by TKO


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Ultimate Fighter 15: New Live Format Delivers Much-Needed Excitement

With television ratings spiking for the show, UFC headman Dana White promised that Ultimate Fighter 15 would be a fresh, new take. With two episodes in the books, the show has made a drastic improvement with their new format. The fights are now sh…

With television ratings spiking for the show, UFC headman Dana White promised that Ultimate Fighter 15 would be a fresh, new take. 

With two episodes in the books, the show has made a drastic improvement with their new format. The fights are now shown live, which adds flair and excitement to the bouts. 

Instead of the episode dragging on as it would in past seasons, the viewer was left with anticipation toward the fight that would come up at the end of the episode. In episode two, that fight featured James Vick with an incredible knockout on Daron Cruickshank. 

As always, you don’t have to look far to find critics of the show. But they did a great job of adding excitement when it desperately needed a restructuring.

I was left on pins and needles during the show, anticipating the upcoming fight between Vick and Cruickshank. The producers were able to build the storyline for the fight as well as focus on other emotionally appealing occurrences.

Instead of multiple rounds in years past, they’ve switched to one five-minute round. This adds explosiveness to the fights, as fighters who generally come out slow cannot do so.  

White admitted the show wasn’t worry-free, however, in an interview with MMAJunkie.

“Going into this thing … you’re always nervous when you do something new and do something different,” White said. “We worked long and hard on this show to make sure this came off with no hitches.”

All the worrying paid off, White said later. 

“It was perfect. Everything went according to plan. There were literally no hiccups whatsoever.” 

For instance, Michael Chiesa was causing us tough guys watching the show to tear up a bit when he found out that his father had passed away. His dad was able to watch son Mike face off on live television in the prior episode.

White promised the show to be more emotional, and he delivered.

Now with a revamped show and increased excitement, the fighters must continue to deliver gut-wrenching bouts to keep the viewers interested. This show will live and die with the watch-ability of these fights. 

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