So Josh my have gotten the win in our little prediction war for UFC 158, but I’m sorry, Bobby Voelker absolutely should have won that fight against Patrick Cote. Now had the judges scored that fight correctly, I would have come out on top that night 2-1 in our three fight dissension battle. Nonetheless, I still have one win on him.
It’s dissension at its best, the ongoing prediction battle between MMAfix.com writers, Ryan “Fight Freek” Poli and Josh Leduc.
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Gegard Mousasi
Fight Freek’s thoughts : Gustafsson’s last win was over Shogun, while Mousasi’s was over Mike Kyle, who is no where near the top ten in the light heavyweight division. I applaued Mousasi for his wins over Ovince St. Preux and Hiroshi Izumi, but again, not as impressive as beating Thiago Silva or Shogun. Gustafsson is a giant light heavyweight, with excellent boxing. Now mix in superb takedown defense, and Gegard will have a hell of a hard time figuring out how to win this one.
Pick : Alexander Gustafsson
Josh’s thoughts : Mousasi’s has excellent striking, with an top notch submission game as well. The mauler used his size advantage to beat Shogun, but Mousasi has beating larger opponents before using nothing more than his superior technical abilities. Bottom line, Gustafsson’s striking and grappling skills aren’t nearly as diverse, and Mousasi will have more ways to win.
Pick : Gegard Mousasi
Tor Troeng vs. Adam Cella
Fight Freek’s thoughts : Tor was clipped bad in his loss on the Ultimate Fighter, but his fight to get into the house was more impressive than that of Cella’s. Not to mention, he’s has five times the professional experience, and his only loss in twelve fights was to the former UFC middleweight title contender, Thales Leites. Too Many factors in Tor’s corner for me to side with Cella.
Pick : Tor Troeng
Josh’s thoughts : Cella lost to Uriah Hall, who may be the best fighter on this TUF season. Tor, not so much. In only four professional fights, Cella has stopped all his opponents. Two by submission, and two by KO. I’m going with Cella’s well rounded skills, and ability to finish.
Pick : Adam Cella
And for the record, here’s the rest of our picks that we agree on…
Ryan Couture < Ross Pearson
Matt Mitrione > Phil De Fries
Brad Pickett > Mike Easton
Diego Brandao > Pablo Garza
Akira Corassani < Robbie Peralta
Ben Alloway > Ryan LaFlare
Reza Madadi < Michael Johnson
Chris Spang < Adlan Amagov
Marcus Brimage > Conor McGregor
Michael Kuiper < Tom Lawlor
Papy Abedi > Besam Yousef
– Ryan “Fight Freek” Poli
@FightFreek