Filed under: UFC
The peculiarities of the UFC’s recent schedule have kept the Fighter vs. Writer series on a bit of a hiatus, but now we’re back. In the last installment, I smoked Brendan Schaub with my UFC 137 predictions, though he didn’t exactly help himself out by refusing to pick a winner in the Roy Nelson-Cro Cop fight.
This time around, I visited one of UFC 139‘s prelim fighters to get his thoughts on his colleagues on the main card. Dear readers, I give you former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres, who now has two fights on his hands for Saturday night. And unlike Nick Pace, my weight is right where it’s supposed to be.
Let’s do this, Miguel.
Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
Torres: Rua via KO. “I love Henderson, love his style, I’ve seen a lot of his fights like. But I’ve been watching Shogun since the Pride days. Every time somebody kicks I scream because of him. So I have to go with Shogun. Somebody’s getting knocked out.”
Fowlkes: Henderson via KO. If he gets past the first round without being swarmed by Rua, I think he makes it a nasty, messy fight, wearing Rua down until he can put him away with that big right hand of his.
Wanderlei Silva vs. Cung Le
Torres: Le via KO. “I love Wanderlei, too. He’s another one of those guys I’ve watched for a long time. My heart says Wanderlei, but my mind says Cung Le. Cung Le’s knocked out a lot of his opponents, and Wanderlei’s been knocked out a lot lately. But I hope I’m wrong.”
Fowlkes: Le via KO. Silva’s power always gives him a decent chance in any fight, but it’s true, his chin ain’t what it used to be. Le can use those kicks to keep him at a distance and look for opening, and Silva probably won’t be able to get close enough to do much damage.
Torres: Faber via decision. “Bowles has broken his hand two or three times already, so it depends how healthy his hand is, and his mind. I know he hits hard, but if he gets a punch in and hurts his hand, it will kill his confidence. So I think Urijah takes it.”
Fowlkes: Faber via decision. I still think that, the odds being what they are, Bowles isn’t a bad underdog pick, but Faber’s a tough match-up for anybody in the bantamweight division. He has an impressive ability to figure an opponent out over the course of a fight, and he only gets stronger in the later rounds.
Stephan Bonnar vs. Kyle Kingsbury
Torres: Bonnar via decision. “I’m going with Stephan. Stephan’s my boy, so I can’t go against him. He could be fighting Brock [Lesnar], and I’m still going to pick Stephan. Stephan’s a grinder, though. He’ll grind him out.”
Fowlkes: Kingsbury via decision. I have no such loyalty to Mr. Bonnar, and I think Kingsbury is underrated these days. He’s gotten a lot better in a very short time, and he could surprise a few people here, Miguel included.
Martin Kampmann vs. Rick Story
Torres: Kampmann via TKO. “That’s a close one, but I like Kampmann. I like his style. He’s tough, and I think he takes it. That’s a fight where they’re going to go at it, and somebody’s getting finished.”
Fowlkes: Kampmann via decision. I don’t know if I can see this one ending inside the distance, and I agree that it’ll be a tight one, but I think Kampmann is a just a little bit better and a tad more well-rounded. In a fight this close, that could be all it takes.
Torres picks: Rua, Le, Faber, Bonnar, Kampmann
Fowlkes picks: Henderson, Le, Faber, Kingsbury, Kampmann