Travis Browne vs. Antonio Silva
In the majority of Browne‘s fights, he is usually the heavier fighter with the longer reach, but it’s Silva who will have both advantages in this fight. Silva, a judo and jiu-jitsu black belt, is a phenom on the ground, so Browne should do everything in his power to avoid Silva’s attempts to take the fight there. Browne’s only chance is to come out fast and catch Silva with an early knockout, however, Silva and is also a black belt in karate and has skilled muay thai strikingis more than capable of handling himself on the feet as well. Eventually Silva will get the fight down to the ground and get Browne in a compromising position. He always has a good chance of submitting Browne, but most of his wins are by knockout/TKO via ground and pound. If Silva was able to stop Mike Kyle and Fedor Emelianenko, I have the utmost confidence that Silva can do the same to Browne.
Prediction : Silva via TKO
Jake Ellenberger vs. Jay Hieron
If it wasn’t for the fact that Hieron defeated Ellenberger six years ago, in a bout outside the UFC, nobody would care about this fight. Not only has Ellenberger developed into an elite athlete and one of the best welterweights in the world, but what has Hieron done to earn a fight with Ellenberger? Yes, he’s beating some bigger names in other MMA organizations, but how does that earn anyone a shot against a top ten welterweight? It would’ve made more sense to match Ellenberger with either Mike Pierce or Aaron Simpson, and have Hieron fill a slot on the preliminary card. It’s ridiculous to think that Hieron is co-main event material. I don’t see Ellenberger loosing two fights in a row, especially to Hieron. Don’t get me wrong, Hieron has skills and is a good stiker, but not on the level he needs to be to give Ellenberger a run for his money. Martin Kampmann is arguably the best pure striker in the welterweight division, and even he collapsed under the power of Ellenberger in the opening seconds of the fight. Kampmann was able to turn things around in the second round, but Ellenberger won’t give Hieron the opportunity to do the same. The Juggernaut will be able to use his elite wrestling and throw Hieron around like a rag doll and use his big power to put Hieron away.
Prediction : Ellenberger via TKO
John Dodson vs. Jussier da Silva
Silva may be the former #1 ranked flyweight in the world, but he’s at a disadvantage in this fight with Dodson. For maybe the first time in his career, Dodson will have the size advantage. This will make it that much harder for Silva to get Dodson to the ground, which is the only way Silva has even the slightest chance of getting his hand raised. Dodson has excellent takedown defense, so Silva will have to literally drag Dodson to the ground to pose any sort of threat. However, with the size and speed advantage in the favor of Dodson, he’ll have no problem avoiding Silva takedown attempts, especially if he was able to avoid the takedown attempts of a great wrestler like TJ Dillashaw. Winning the striking battle will be a walk in the park for Dodson since he won’t be battling a large reach disadvantage that he faced in his last fight with Tim Elliott. Dodson will pick Silva apart on the feet, and when Silva becomes overly frustrated when his takedown attempts are unsuccessful, Dodson will push the pace and look the finish the fight.
Prediction: Dodson via KO
Justin Edwards vs. Josh Neer
The fact that this fight is on the main card completely baffles me. This fight should’ve been swapped out with one of the preliminary fights, it just doesn’t make sense. This fight doesn’t require a great deal of research. Neer has better striking, more experience, and has fought opponents at a higher skill level. Both Edwards and Neer are purple belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but I’d even give the grappling advantage to Neer, based solely on his ability to hold his own against high level jiu-jitsu fighters like Nate Diaz and Gleison Tibau. If Edwards is able to take Neer down, Neer has a very underrated and active guard that has caught UFC veterans Melvin Guillard and Mac Danzig. People who are picking Edwards to beat Neer are simply hoping for an upset and I don’t see it happening.
Prediction: Neer via TKO
Written by : Ryan “Fight Freek” Poli
@fightfreek