Tag: Jason MacDonald

‘UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger’ — Round-by-Round Results


(Man, you know Dana’s heart isn’t in this one when he can’t even be bothered to put on a funky t-shirt. / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle. For more photos from this album, click here.)

We told you why you should watch, and we told you how we think it’ll go down. At this point, it’s in God’s hands.

Tonight in New Orleans, Jake Shields and Jake Ellenberger will lock horns in a pivotal welterweight contest. Will Shields shows flashes of his old submission-machine self, or will Ellenberger spoil the party in the Big Easy?

Plus: Middleweights Alan Belcher and Jason MacDonald kick off the main card, and Court McGee and Jonathan Brookins take the next steps in their post-TUF careers. Meanwhile on pay-per-view, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is boxing Victor Ortiz, and hell, maybe we’ll give you updates on that one as well.

Live round-by-round updates from the Spike TV broadcast of “UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger” will be piling up after the jump starting at 9 p.m. ET. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest. Here, we, go.


(Man, you know Dana’s heart isn’t in this one when he can’t even be bothered to put on a funky t-shirt. / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle. For more photos from this album, click here.)

We told you why you should watch, and we told you how we think it’ll go down. At this point, it’s in God’s hands.

Tonight in New Orleans, Jake Shields and Jake Ellenberger will lock horns in a pivotal welterweight contest. Will Shields shows flashes of his old submission-machine self, or will Ellenberger spoil the party in the Big Easy?

Plus: Middleweights Alan Belcher and Jason MacDonald kick off the main card, and Court McGee and Jonathan Brookins take the next steps in their post-TUF careers. Meanwhile on pay-per-view, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is boxing Victor Ortiz, and hell, maybe we’ll give you updates on that one as well.

Live round-by-round updates from the Spike TV broadcast of “UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger” will be piling up after the jump starting at 9 p.m. ET. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest. Here, we, go.

So they’re going to start airing King of Queens re-runs on Spike? EXTREEEEEME, BRO!!!!!!!

Alan Belcher vs. Jason MacDonald

Round 1: Belcher stalking with his jab. MacDonald tries for a takedown but Belcher defends, and they lock up against the fence. MacDonald re-sets for a single leg, and drags Belcher down after some effort. But Belcher lands on top, in MacDonald’s guard. Belcher with a stiff punch from the top. MacDonald trying to hold him, but Belcher opens up and blasts down heavy punches. MacDonald covers up, then grabs an arm for a kimura attempt. Belcher defends and moves to side-control. MacDonald re-establishes guard and gets slugged in the face. He looks hurt. Now elbows and more punches from Belcher and MacDonald turtles under the onslaught. Belcher pours it on until the ref stops it. It’s all over. Impressive return performance from the Talent.
Belcher def. MacDonald via verbal submission (strikes), 3:48 of round 1. Damn, I didn’t see Jason cry uncle, but there you go.

Jonathan Brookins vs. Erik Koch

Round 1: Koch starts with a leg kick. Brookins throws a teep, and shoots, Royce Gracie style. He’s a little slow with it, but he still grabs onto Koch’s leg. Koch defends, and Brookins sneaks in a sharp standing elbow in the clinch. Koch lands a knee to Brookins’s grill. Knee to the gut from Brookins, then another elbow. Koch gets free and lands a long straight left. Leg kick Koch. Another straight left. Brookins works his way inside and grabs onto Koch’s leg again. Brookins drops to the mat with it, but Koch makes him pay with hammerfists and elbows to the temple. Koch shakes free. Brookins with another short elbow. The round ends with Brookins flipping Koch to the mat.

Round 2: Koch opening up with his punches. Brookins dashes forward trying to grab Koch’s leg, but can’t convert. Koch lands his straight left again. Brookins works again for a takedown. Brookins drags Koch down, but Koch is quickly back up, with the TUF winner still hanging off of him. The crowd begins their inevitable booing. Koch breaks free. Leg kick from Koch. Great punch combo and leg kick from Koch. Brookins goes back to his wall-and-stall. Finally he puts Koch’s back on the mat. Koch pushes off and gets to his feet, eating a punch on the way up. Brookins is on him like glue. Koch with an elbow to his head to end the round.

Round 3: Nice 1-2 from Koch. Clinch and knee from Brookins. Brookins shoots in for the single but Koch pulls out. Koch sticks the jab. Leg kick Koch. Another single-leg attempt from Brookins. Good defense from Koch. Koch tries to disengage but Brookins follows him and sticks an elbow. They break, and Koch scores a head kick, followed by a leg kick. Brookins tries a superman punch. They tie up and Koch takes Brookins down for a half-second. Koch puts Brookins against the fence. They separate and trade punches before Brookins grabs on again. Dirty boxing from Brookins to the last bell. Kind of an ugly one.
Erik Koch def. Jonathan Brookins via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28). Whoa. Two judges gave Koch all three rounds? No love for takedown attempts tonight. Not that I’m complaining; Koch definitely won the majority of striking exchanges.

An interview appearance by Jon Jones and Rampage Jackson turns into an argument about the alleged Jones spy in ‘Page’s camp. “You gettin’ destroyed, homey,” Rampage says.

Court McGee vs. Dongi Yang

Round 1: Yang throws a straight to McGee’s body. He throws and lands to the head. Yang is a step quicker than McGee in the opening moments of the round, avoiding all of McGee’s punches. But McGee finally lands with a short right, and it’s a good one. Yang with a hook. They trade leg kicks. Yang catches a leg kick, but misses the counter punch. Yang stumbles after a leg kick. McGee reaches out at Yang’s face, not for the first time, and follows it up with a punch. McGee dashes forward with some punches at the bell.

Round 2: Inside leg kick Court. Both guys swing hooks at each other. McGee rushes in to clinch, Yang tosses him off. Yang lands a pair of counter-punches as McGee attacks. McGee jabs. Slick 1-2 from Yang. McGee fires the head kick. Hard straight left from Yang. McGee shoots and grabs Yang around the waist, but the Judo black belt easily gets out. Leg kick Yang as the crowd boos. Body shot Yang. Yang sticks him with a counter as McGee lumbers in. Head kick McGee, followed by a leg kick, then some punches. McGee shoots, Yang ain’t having it. There’s the bell.

Round 3: Yang jabs. McGee shoots in, Yang defends and chases him off. McGee throws a kick, eats a hook. Yang’s nose is bloodied. McGee lands a right. Yang staggers McGee with a hook and darts in with a flying knee! He takes Court to the mat but McGee is up and slugging. Now Yang looks stunned, but he fires back with a punch and kick. Now it’s a fight. McGee clinches up, Yang shakes off. McGee landing more punches now. Nice uppercut in close. McGee shoots, Yang defends, but McGee stays on him and puts Yang down briefly. McGee outboxing Yang now, but is it too late? McGee with another takedown, and drops elbows on Yang. McGee grabs a guillotine and cranks it, but Yang pulls out just as the round ends.
Court McGee def Dongi Yang via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-28). No time for a post-fight interview. Hey, that third judge scored one of the first two rounds 10-10. Good for him!

Jake Shields vs. Jake Ellenberger

Round 1: Ellenberger comes out throwing hard. Jake looking to implement his gameplan right away, but can’t get Ellenberger down on his first attempt. They clinch up, and Ellenberger lands a knee to the body and one to the chin that drops Shields to the mat. Holy crap! Ellenberger jackhammers some left hands into Shields’s dome until the referee jumps in. Shields in la-la land, trying to grapple with the ref. And now you’ll remember the name “Ellenberger.”
Jake Ellenberger def. Jake Shields via TKO, 0:53 of round 1.

Shields thinks it was an early stoppage. “Ref’s decision, [but] I wanted to keep fighting.” Huh. I mean, he was clearly unconscious. Maybe he was still out of it while giving that interview. And we are officially living in a post-Shields era. What did y’all think?

PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS

– Vagner Rocha def. Cody McKenzie via submission (rear-naked choke), 3:49 of round 2

– Evan Dunham def. Shamar Bailey via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)

– Lance Benoist def. Matt Riddle via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)

– Ken Stone def. Donny Walker via submission (rear naked choke), 2:47 of round 1

– Seth Baczynski def. Clay Harvison via submission (rear naked choke), 1:12 of round 2

– TJ Waldburger def. Mike Stumpf via submission (triangle choke), 3:52 of round 1

– Robert Peralta def. Mike Lullo via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)

– Justin Edwards def. Jorge Lopez via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)

UFC Fight Night Results: Alan Belcher Returns in Impressive Fashion

Filed under: UFC, NewsMiddleweight striker Alan Belcher blasted Canadian Jason MacDonald with ground and pound strikes to win in his UFC return Saturday at UFC Fight Night 25 in New Orleans, La.

Fighting for the first time in 16 months due to a seriou…

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Middleweight striker Alan Belcher blasted Canadian Jason MacDonald with ground and pound strikes to win in his UFC return Saturday at UFC Fight Night 25 in New Orleans, La.

Fighting for the first time in 16 months due to a serious eye injury, Belcher showed little ring rust by forcing MacDonald to verbally submit at three minutes and 48 seconds into the first round.

“I didn’t know if I ever was going to fight again and I know tonight this is what I want to do,” said Belcher, who seemed a fight away from a title shot before the eye injury. “I want to pursue that belt and I’m back, baby.”


Despite carrying a five-inch reach advantage, MacDonald felt his best bet was to take the fight to the ground, pulling guard a minute-and-a-half into the fight. After shrugging off MacDonald’s intentions for a submission, Belcher punished MacDonald with left-right punches and right elbows. MacDonald attempted a kimura to stop Belcher’s flurry, but it also allowed Belcher to pass to side mount. Belcher tried for a crucifix which allowed MacDonald to escape back to open guard. But Belcher’s punches were too effective, as he would pass to knee on stomach and fire away for the finish.

Belcher improved his record to 16-5, while MacDonald dropped to 26-15.

 

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UFC Live Blog: Alan Belcher vs. Jason MacDonald Updates

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NEW ORLEANS – This is the UFC Fight Night 25 live blog for Alan Belcher vs. Jason MacDonald, a middleweight bout ontonight’s UFC on Spike telecast from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

Belcher (16-6, 7-4 UFC), from nearby Biloxi, Miss., returns for the first time in 16 months following successful surgeries to repair a detached retina. Despite the lengthy layoff, Belcher’s last four fights have resulted in fight night bonus awards – two Fight of the Night wins and two Submission of the Night checks. His only loss in his last five fights was a controversial split decision against Yoshihiro Aikyama at UFC 100.

MacDonald (25-14, 6-6 UFC) knows what it’s like to return after a long layoff. The Canadian came back following a severe broken leg suffered at UFC 113 to submit Ryan Jensen in the first round at UFC 129 in April. MacDonald’s first two UFC wins, in 2006, were submissions of Ed Herman and Chris Leben.

The live blog is below.

Round 1: This has the potential to be a fun little scrap. Belcher’s been out for 16 months, but is fighting in front of his home bayou fans. MacDonald got some momentum after a submission win in April coming off a near-year layoff. They touch gloves and get rolling. MacDonald misses a couple strikes to start. Belcher ties him up with a quick Thai clinch, but he can’t land anything from it. Only 30 seconds in, the crowd is chanting “Alan!” MacDonald reverses and is looking for a takedown, but winds up on his back with Belcher looking for some ground and pound. Belcher postures up and lands a couple good shots, then starts bringing them with a little more intensity. The crowd goes crazy hoping for a finish, but MacDonald covers up and stays mostly safe. Belcher moves into side control, then gets up and lands some good shots from his feet. MacDonald looks to be in a little trouble and is mostly just trying to survive. And soon after, he’s taken a few too many. Dan Miragliotta jumps in to stop it, and Belcher has a nice win in his return.

Result: Alan Belcher def. Jason MacDonald, submission (verbal tapout, strikes), 3:48 Round 1

 

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Filed under:

NEW ORLEANS – This is the UFC Fight Night 25 live blog for Alan Belcher vs. Jason MacDonald, a middleweight bout ontonight’s UFC on Spike telecast from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

Belcher (16-6, 7-4 UFC), from nearby Biloxi, Miss., returns for the first time in 16 months following successful surgeries to repair a detached retina. Despite the lengthy layoff, Belcher’s last four fights have resulted in fight night bonus awards – two Fight of the Night wins and two Submission of the Night checks. His only loss in his last five fights was a controversial split decision against Yoshihiro Aikyama at UFC 100.

MacDonald (25-14, 6-6 UFC) knows what it’s like to return after a long layoff. The Canadian came back following a severe broken leg suffered at UFC 113 to submit Ryan Jensen in the first round at UFC 129 in April. MacDonald’s first two UFC wins, in 2006, were submissions of Ed Herman and Chris Leben.

The live blog is below.

Round 1: This has the potential to be a fun little scrap. Belcher’s been out for 16 months, but is fighting in front of his home bayou fans. MacDonald got some momentum after a submission win in April coming off a near-year layoff. They touch gloves and get rolling. MacDonald misses a couple strikes to start. Belcher ties him up with a quick Thai clinch, but he can’t land anything from it. Only 30 seconds in, the crowd is chanting “Alan!” MacDonald reverses and is looking for a takedown, but winds up on his back with Belcher looking for some ground and pound. Belcher postures up and lands a couple good shots, then starts bringing them with a little more intensity. The crowd goes crazy hoping for a finish, but MacDonald covers up and stays mostly safe. Belcher moves into side control, then gets up and lands some good shots from his feet. MacDonald looks to be in a little trouble and is mostly just trying to survive. And soon after, he’s taken a few too many. Dan Miragliotta jumps in to stop it, and Belcher has a nice win in his return.

Result: Alan Belcher def. Jason MacDonald, submission (verbal tapout, strikes), 3:48 Round 1

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Retirement May Loom for Jason MacDonald, but Not Until He Stops Having Fun

Filed under: UFC, NewsNEW ORLEANS – In a lot of ways, had Jason MacDonald reinjured the ankle that he hurt at UFC 113, it would have at least kept him from being conflicted down the road.

As it is, MacDonald’s ankle feels healthy, he said, and he fee…

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NEW ORLEANS – In a lot of ways, had Jason MacDonald reinjured the ankle that he hurt at UFC 113, it would have at least kept him from being conflicted down the road.

As it is, MacDonald’s ankle feels healthy, he said, and he feels good about where he’s at heading into his Saturday fight against Alan Belcher at UFC Fight Night 25.

MacDonald said a reaggravation of that injury might have forced him to retire from MMA. But it’s not the ankle that will ultimately wind up deciding when it’s time for him to quit – it’s the realistic mindset he prides himself on.

“I’m interested, I’m still motivated to go train every day, I still enjoy it – so I’m still going to do it,” MacDonald said Thursday at the New Orleans Athletic Club. “The moment I don’t want to put in the work, I’ll be a guy who steps away. I’m not going to wait until I’ve been knocked out four times in a row and just hang on for that one more pay day. I have things to fall back on. There are other things in my life besides fighting. When I stop having fun, I’m going to move on in life.”

It’s ironic that MacDonald was recently in the position to come back after a long injury layoff. An injury against John Salter at UFC 113 in Montreal last year kept him on the shelf until UFC 129 in April, when he ignited his home country Canadian fans in Toronto with a submission win over Ryan Jensen.

Now MacDonald (25-14, 6-6 UFC) faces Belcher (16-6, 7-4 UFC), who has been out since, coincidentally, UFC 113 with eye problems that required surgery. And MacDonald said he knows what Belcher has on his mind.

“I can relate to what he’s going through,” MacDonald said. “I know the things that were going through my head before Toronto: ‘Am I gonna get back good enough to do this? Am I gonna reaggravate the injury and call it wrap, call it a career?’ There are lots of unanswered questions there. I was able to answer those questions in Toronto, and obviously Alan’s going to have to answer those questions. I think I can understand some of the things going through his head.”

Belcher had plenty of momentum on his side before his layoff – four straight fight night bonuses and a 3-1 mark which had just a controversial split decision loss to Yoshihiro Akiyama as a blemish.

But MacDonald said even a win over Belcher doesn’t mean he can necessarily count on sticking around for a while to go on a title run.

“For me, I know I belong here,” MacDonald said. “I’m no one-fight wonder. If you look at my fights and my record, I’ve fought a who’s who of the middleweight division. It’s not a question of if I belong here, it’s how much longer can I do this for? How much longer do I want to do this for?”

MacDonald said Chris Lytle‘s retirement last month had him thinking about his own situation with four kids at home, and being closer to 40 than 30. He also said keeping it real comes in handy.

“I’m not a title contender,” MacDonald said. “People might say that’s a poor thing to say, but I’m realistic. Even if I beat Alan on Saturday, I’m a lot of fights away from a title shot. You start asking yourself, ‘How many more fights do I want to do this for?’ When it’s time to step away, it’s time to step away. I don’t know the answer to that question yet. I’m 37 years old, I’ve had a good run and now it’s time to start looking forward.

“But right now, right here, right this second, I’m focused on Saturday night.”

MacDonald and Belcher open the main card of UFC Fight Night 25 on Spike TV at 9 p.m. Eastern. The main event features a welterweight fight between Jake Shields and Jake Ellenberger.

 

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Five Reasons to Watch ‘UFC Fight Night 25: Shields vs. Ellenberger’

UFC Fight Night 25 battle on the bayou jake ellenberger jake shields
(McGee vs. Yang, the middleweight showdown that UFC fans have been…wait a minute, remind me again who Yang is?)

Unless you’re one of those Bud Light ‘Battle on the Bayou’ contest winners, you’re probably not overly excited about Saturday’s “Shields vs. Ellenberger” UFC event on Spike. Boxing already has Saturday night locked up, with Floyd Mayweather‘s ring-return against 24-year-old WBC Welterweight champ Victor Ortiz, and it feels like UFC Fight Night 25 will be an overlooked prelude to next week’s Jones vs. Rampage card.

But let’s not admit defeat so soon. We’ll be liveblogging the Shields vs. Ellenberger main card on CagePotato.com starting at 9 p.m. ET, and it would be nice if a few of you showed up to keep us company. Could it be one of those “crap on paper, bonkers in reality” events? Who knows, but consider the following…

All Eyes on Jake: So far, Jake Shields‘s UFC career has consisted of an underwhelming (and razor-thin) split-decision victory over Martin Kampmann, and a rout at the hands of Georges St. Pierre. His dominant stretch of eight-straight stoppage victories in 2006-2009 are a distant memory in the minds of MMA fans, and he needs a dramatic win here, badly. Shields’s dance partner, Jake Ellenberger, has been spent years fighting for recognition, and with four straight Octagon wins over serious competition, he’s starting to get it. Stylistically, the fight might not be a barn-burner, but it could have career-altering implications for the headliners.

UFC Fight Night 25 battle on the bayou jake ellenberger jake shields
(McGee vs. Yang, the middleweight showdown that UFC fans have been…wait a minute, remind me again who Yang is?)

Unless you’re one of those Bud Light ‘Battle on the Bayou’ contest winners, you’re probably not overly excited about Saturday’s “Shields vs. Ellenberger” UFC event on Spike. Boxing already has Saturday night locked up, with Floyd Mayweather‘s ring-return against 24-year-old WBC Welterweight champ Victor Ortiz, and it feels like UFC Fight Night 25 will be an overlooked prelude to next week’s Jones vs. Rampage card.

But let’s not admit defeat so soon. We’ll be liveblogging the Shields vs. Ellenberger main card on CagePotato.com starting at 9 p.m. ET, and it would be nice if a few of you showed up to keep us company. Could it be one of those “crap on paper, bonkers in reality” events? Who knows, but consider the following…

All Eyes on Jake: So far, Jake Shields‘s UFC career has consisted of an underwhelming (and razor-thin) split-decision victory over Martin Kampmann, and a rout at the hands of Georges St. Pierre. His dominant stretch of eight-straight stoppage victories in 2006-2009 are a distant memory in the minds of MMA fans, and he needs a dramatic win here, badly. Shields’s dance partner, Jake Ellenberger, has been spent years fighting for recognition, and with four straight Octagon wins over serious competition, he’s starting to get it. Stylistically, the fight might not be a barn-burner, but it could have career-altering implications for the headliners.

TUF Winners Return: Due to poorly-timed injuries, Court McGee and Jonathan Brookins — the winners of TUF 11 and TUF 12, respectively — haven’t competed since last year. Nevertheless, McGee is still a solid favorite over Dongi Yang, the South Korean fight-finisher who has split a pair of Octagon appearances, most recently TKO’ing Rob Kimmons in March. I’m much more concerned for Brookins, whose first post-TUF bout will be against Erik Koch, the Roufusport-trained killer who has won Knockout of the Night bonuses in his last two fights. My money’s on Koch here, especially considering the way Brookins was gobbling punches against Michael Johnson — and I’d also call this bout an early front-runner for Fight of the Night.

The Crowd-Pleaser: The UFC knew what they were doing in booking middleweights Alan Belcher and Jason MacDonald to kick off the main card. Both guys go for broke in every fight, and have eight combined performance bonuses to show for it. With back-to-back stoppage wins over Wilson Gouveia and Patrick Cote in his pocket, Belcher returns to the cage after the eye-ailment that nearly ended his career. And speaking of miraculous comebacks, MacDonald is coming off his first-round submission win against Ryan Jensen, which followed his gnarly leg-snap against John Salter.

Do or Die for Dunham: Once an undefeated blue-chip prospect in the lightweight division, Evan Dunham now has his back against the wall following two straight losses — one a bullshit decision against Sean Sherk, the other an ugly TKO against Melvin Guillard. His next opponent, Strikeforce/TUF 13 veteran Shamar Bailey, is a hefty underdog, but he’s got the wrestling skills and power to make it a contest. Can Dunham get his head back in the game and take care of business? Because if he doesn’t, he’ll very likely be out of a job.

Don’t Sleep On the Prelims: The entire “Shields vs. Ellenberger” preliminary card will be streamed on Facebook.com/UFC, and Dunham vs. Bailey isn’t the only match to keep an eye on. Following his Fight of the Night-worthy loss to Yves Edwards in January, Cody McKenzie — and his dreaded “McKenzietine” choke — will return against Vagner Rocha. Plus, Saturday night will kick off with the debut of Jorge Lopez, a 22-year-old welterweight who took a break from high-school at the age of 14 to train with Wanderlei Silva — which sounds a hell of a lot cooler than what I was doing at 14.

(BG)

UFC Fight Night 25 Predictions

Filed under: UFCWill Jake Shields bounce back from his loss to Georges St Pierre in style, or will Jake Ellenberger win his fifth fight in a row? Can former Ultimate Fighter winners Court McGee and Jonathan Brookins continue their winning ways? Will Al…

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Will Jake Shields bounce back from his loss to Georges St Pierre in style, or will Jake Ellenberger win his fifth fight in a row? Can former Ultimate Fighter winners Court McGee and Jonathan Brookins continue their winning ways? Will Alan Belcher be ready to go in his first fight in more than a year? We’ll attempt to answer those questions as we predict the winners for Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night card.

What: UFC Fight Night 25: Shields vs. Ellenberger

Where: New Orleans Convention Center

When: Saturday, the Facebook prelims start at 5:30 p.m. ET and the Spike TV card starts at 9.

Predictions on the four televised fights below.

Jake Shields vs. Jake Ellenberger
 Shields is a trooper for going through with this fight just three weeks after his father and manager, Jack Shields, died. One of the big questions heading into this fight is whether his father’s death has disrupted Shields’ preparation, and that’s a question we really have no way of answering. That makes this fight tough to predict.

Based purely on what we’ve seen from these two in the cage, Shields would have to be considered a solid favorite: Although he lost a unanimous decision to Georges St. Pierre, Shields has handily beaten everyone else he’s faced over the last few years. But Ellenberger is no slouch: He’s on a four-fight winning streak, and he’s 9-1 in his last 10, with the only loss coming by split decision to Carlos Condit.

Ellenberger is a better striker than Shields, and an upset wouldn’t shock me. But I expect Shields to use his superior grappling to grind out a decision and maintain his status as a Top 3 welterweight.
Pick: Shields
Court McGee vs. Dongi Yang
 McGee won Season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter and picked up a victory in his first fight after that, submitting Ryan Jensen in October. After that McGee suffered a knee injury, and he’s now been inactive for 11 months, but if he can shake off the ring rust he should match up well with Yang. I like McGee to submit Yang late in the fight.
Pick: McGee
Jonathan Brookins vs. Erik Koch
 Brookins won Season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter and is now fighting for the first time since then, moving down to his more natural weight class of featherweight. Brookins is a talented young fighter, but I think he’s facing an even more talented (and younger) fighter in the 22-year-old Koch. Koch has a great instinct for finishing fights, and I think he’ll finish Brookins in what should be an exciting fight.
Pick: Koch
Alan Belcher vs. Jason MacDonald
 It’s great to see that Belcher is finally back, more than a year after an eye injury threatened his MMA career. Belcher was just starting to make his mark in the UFC, with two impressive wins in a row, when the eye injury sidelined him. Now he’s back, and the UFC is easing him back into things with a very winnable fight against the 36-year-old MacDonald. Belcher should beat MacDonald up and win by TKO.
Pick: Belcher

 

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