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
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com