Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson Predictions

Main Card:

Heavyweight: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson
Women's Welterweight Championship: Marloes Coenen (c) vs. Miesha Tate
Middleweight: Robbie Lawler vs. Tim Kennedy
Welterweight: Paul Daley vs. Tyron Woodley
Welterweight: Scott Smith vs. Tarec Saffiedine

Shawn's Predictions:
Scott Smith vs. Tarec Saffiedine: Smith via TKO
Paul Daley vs. Tyron Woodley: Woodley via Decision
Robbie Lawler vs. Tim Kennedy: Lawler via TKO
Marloes Coenen (c) vs. Miesha Tate: Tate via Decision
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson: Emelianenko via Decision

UFC 132 Prediction Results

132 without a doubt lived up to its hype, with great fights, and many spectacular finishes. The event started out with a bout between two welterweight contenders, Carlos Condit and Dong Hyun Kim. The bout looked fairly even, until Condit landed a devastating flying knee, followed by some huge shots to the face of DHK against the cage to secure the KO victory. Next was a very emotional bout between Tito Ortiz, who was fighting for his job, and Ryan Bader. A huge underdog, Ortiz proved he fought best with his back against the wall, as he nailed Bader with a huge right, sending him down to the canvas and securing a guillotine to make him tap. A great upset, with an amazing, emotional ending. Next was a very close fight between Dennis Siver and Matt Wiman in which Siver won a close decision by defending takedowns and winning some exchanges on the feet. Although it appeared to be very controversial, I still believed Siver deserved the win. Next was the highly anticipated fight between two heavy strikers, Wanderlei Silva and Chris Leben. Silva came out like a raging bull, throwing some wild strikes that eventually led to his demise. Silva attempted the clinch, but was answered with some huge uppercuts from Leben, sending himself down to the canvas out cold just 27 seconds into the bout, losing by KO. Lastly on the card,  Bantamweight Champ Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber fought a somewhat close bout in which Cruz showed to be more unpredictable on the feet, landing more shots and earning more points, winning the fight by unanimous decision.

My main concern after this event was the future of Wanderlei Silva. Being a fighter than most adore, it was hard to see him go down that quickly into the fight. He said he would like to fight for 5 more years, but this future is becoming less visible for him, his fans, and the UFC. Silva's chin is susceptible, but I believe he could be fighting smarter in the octagon. Hopefully he has 1 or 2 fights left in him, and hopefully he doesn't get brutally knocked out in either of them. Also, I would like to give a big kudos to Tito Ortiz. I have never really been a fan, but he proved why he should be in the UFC after his fight with Ryan Bader.

We also are awaiting to find out who's next for Carlos Condit, as he believes he should be the number one contender. With GSP already tied up in a bout against Nick Diaz, I am anxious to see if Condit will wait it out, or attempt to destroy another welterweight in his path. The same goes for Dominick Cruz. Many would like to see him fight Faber again because they are not sure if there is another serious contender for Cruz's belt. We'll have to wait and see.

As for points given after the event, Joe has 6 points, Jon had 3 points, I (Shawn) had 2 points, and Vinny has 1 point.

Standings:

Shawn: 54 points

Joe: 52 points

Vinny: 49 points

Jon: 40 points

...and Joe hops into 2nd place. See y'all at 133.

SL

UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry Prediction Results

After Nate Marquardt was shockingly cut from the UFC, this event looked fairly shitty, but surprisingly turned out well. For free, this was definitely an event to see, and I didnt even get to watch it! Anyways, Matt Mitrione defeated Christian Morecraft via KO, Matt Brown upset John Howard defeating him by decision, Charlie Brenneman had a huge upset over Rick Story, using his wrestling to defeat Story by decision, and in the main event, Pat Barry was beating the living piss out of Cheick Kongo, and ultimately ended up losing the fight via KO.

How does that happen you ask? Who the fuck knows. Barry hit Kongo with a huge overhand right, sending him down. Barry pounced and tried to finish him, ad Kongo would get back up and fall back down to the mat in a complete daze, The fight could have been stopped at certain points and not many people would have complained. Kongo seemed to recover himself from this half-sleep he seemed to be in, and got his back against the cage. Barry came swarming, and got caught with what seemed to be an uppercut from hell, sending him out cold to the canvas. Kongo landed on top of him and hit him until the ref stopped it, winning the fight via KO. Goodnight Irene. Kudos to Dan Miragliotta's reffing instinct.

All four of us got two points each, because nobody expected any of that shit to happen.

Standings:

Shawn: 52 points

Vinny: 48 points

Joe: 46 points

Jon: 37 points

SL

UFC 132 Predictions

Main Card:

Bantamweight Championship: Dominick Cruz (c) vs. Urijah Faber

Middleweight: Wanderlei Silva vs. Chris Leben

Light Heavyweight: Tito Ortiz vs. Ryan Bader

Welterweight: Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim

Lightweight: Dennis Siver vs. Matt Wiman

Shawn's Predictions:

Dennis Siver vs. Matt Wiman: Siver via Decision

I think that this is a step up for Matt Wiman, but its the only way he will start to make a name for himself. Siver is coming off a great win against George Sotiropoulos and this gained him a lot of momentum. Siver's stand up is great, and he proved with his last fight that his takedown defense isnt too shabby. Wiman might be able to take Siver down, but if Siver uses his superior kickboxing to keep distance, he should be fine. I expect Siver to use his kickboxing to pick his spots on the feet and score points much like his last fight. Siver by decision

Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim: Kim via Decision

This is a very hard to fight to predict for me, but it comes down to Kim's wrestling advantage and BJJ defense. Condit is known for his striking abilities and his high finish percentage, and because of this I would not be surprised if Condit caught Kim and put him out. We have seen that Kim has faded towards the end of his past bouts, and that Condit tends to rally towards the finish, but I expect this fight to go a lot like Kim's fight with Diaz. If Condit keeps being repeatedly taken down, then he has a very slim chance. I expect Kim to keep working takedowns much like his fight with Diaz, and stifle any submission attempts that Condit brings. The pick is Kim by very close decision.

Tito Ortiz vs. Ryan Bader: Bader via Decision

As motivated as Tito is, he is getting older. Bader is coming off of a loss against the current champ Jon Jones, but still has a lot left in him. I think Tito's body slamming, ground and pound days are over, as he is too old and not big enough to out muscle most LHW's in the division. Meanwhile, Bader is throwing around plenty of fools (except Jones of course). Without much left to say, I expect thi bout will look much like Ortiz's bout with Hamill. Bader will use his power to control the pace of this fight, hitting Tito with powerful shots and attempting takedowns. Bader will do just enough to win the bout on the scorecards.

Wanderlei Silva vs. Chris Leben: Silva via TKO

This could be candidate for fight of the decade, but once again, I would not be surprised if this turned into the opposite of a slugfest, which is a three-round stand fest. Either these guys will be swinging for the fences, or waiting until another makes a mistake. Every fight these guys are in is usually a war, so im going with the slugfest. Silva is back and looking better than ever, while Leben is coming off of a loss to Brian Stann. A win against a fighter like Silva would be huge for Leben, but it wont be that easy. Silva should watch out for Leben's left, and Silva shouldnt put himself in a position for Silva's flurries. I expect Silva to be quicker and more crisp with his strikings, while Leben will tire out and become sloppy with his shots. The two should be in the middle of some huge back and forth exchanges with both getting hurt at certain points but I think Silva is faster and more powerful. I expect Leben to go down in the later rounds, thereby having Silva recieve his first knockout win in more than three years.

Dominick Cruz (c) vs. Urijah Faber: Faber via Decision

This bout is a rematch, but could potentially be much different than their first fight years ago. Dominick Cruz has improved greatly and will not be an easy feat for Faber this time around. Faber might out-strength Cruz, but Cruz has good takedown defense. If Cruz keeps the distance this is his fight to win, but if Faber works the clinch and backs Cruz up against the fence, it's Faber's fight. I expect Faber to use his powerful striking to pressure Cruz and work takedowns. If Cruz can stay unpredictable on the feet then he has a chance, but I think Faber is too experienced. I think Faber will work some takedowns and stay busy on the feet. It should be close, but I'll take Faber to win a very close back and forth fight.