I'd like to test myself to see if I should move to Las Vegas and get a dream job of gambling for a living. So far, I'm 0-0 and my first game starts tomorrow night. Here we go:
Martin Kampmann vs. Diego Sanchez
I'm not so sure which fighter has a tougher test. I would say Kampmann is the favorite but a focused Diego is a relentless beast. Kampmann certainly does not want to drop two straight after a frustrating loss to Jake Shields. Kampmann will most likely prefer to stand with Diego and it would be a good idea to include some kicks in the stand-up department if he wants to pick Diego apart. His ground game isn't too shabby either and he could surprise Diego with a few slick submission attempts. For Diego, he needs to be totally unpredictable and animalistic. The Team Jackson fighter will definitely have a game plan to follow and it will be interesting to watch how that goes about. It's not certain what he's going to do but I have this weird feeling Diego might not respect the Dutch kick-boxer's stand-up. Eventually Diego will bring it to the ground but as mentioned before it will not necessarily be his world down there. All around this is an even fight with many members of the MMA community picking Kampmann. I will go for the upset on this one and say if Diego Sanchez is focused and in beast mode, he could edge out a victory that will improve his position in the Welterweight title picture.
Winner: Sanchez
CB Dollaway vs. Mark Munoz
TUF veteran CB Dollaway seems to be on somewhat of a resurgence as of late. Having won his past 3 fights (which includes an impressive submission win over Joe Doerksen at UFC 119), The Doberman isn't exactly ready for a title shot any time soon but he can stir up some noise if he beats Munoz tomorrow night. It's always easier said than done since Munoz is a very tough middleweight who is also looking to make waves in the division. With only one loss in his past five fights, the former NCAA Division I Champion has a deep MMA pedigree with powerful striking, strong grappling and a decent ground game. Both fighters will definitely test each other with superior strength and wrestling but I wouldn't be surprised if these two middleweights want to trade strikes for a lengthy period of time. Apparently these guys are friends who don't mind fighting each other (which was the same case for Munoz-Simpson back at UFC 123). This fight could be a very gritty affair with two fighters that are matched up perfectly with one another. This one is a toss-up, but I will go with Munoz to beat Dollaway in what should be a very close contest.
Winner: Munoz
Alessio Sakara vs. Chris Weidman
Chris Weidman makes his UFC debut and steps in for the injured Maiquel Falcao to face Italian powerhouse Alessio Sakara. Weidman, a fighter from The Longo-Serra Fight Team is no stranger to stylistic match-ups. The NCAA two-time Division I All-American knocked out Uriah Hall (a striker) in his second pro MMA fight which was billed as a striker vs. wrestler fight. Alessio Sakara is riding a three-fight win streak and faces a slightly easier test in Weidman than in Falcao (the UFC should still put that fight together when Falcao is ready to go). Although as Brian Ebersole proved at UFC 127, never count out an underdog no matter how unfamiliar you are with him. Weidman will look for a takedown early on in the fight and it will be interesting to see how Sakara can neutralize the fight on the mat. There's no question that Sakara will be looking for an early knock out but he cannot underestimate the undefeated Weidman in both stand-up and on the mat. The fact of the matter is all the pressure is on Sakara. Weidman just needs to control the Octagon jitters and stay focused.
Winner: Sakara
Brian Bowles vs. Damacio Page
These two WEC vets make their UFC debut and have already fought each other at WEC 35. Bowles only needed one round to submit Page by a guillotine choke. A very well-rounded fighter and former WEC Bantamweight Champion, Bowles will certainly be looking to finish Page the same way to earn back a shot at UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz (Bowles lost his belt to Cruz after one round because of a broken hand). Coming off of a loss at WEC 52 at the hands of Demetrious Johnson, it's evident that Page needs to work on his submission defense (five out of six losses via submission). He will be looking to avenge his loss to Bowles and more importantly, he needs a win to guarantee a spot on the newly-stacked UFC roster. For Bowles, he needs to prove his title loss was only a fluke because of his broken hand. Before that loss, he was undefeated at 8-0 and finished every single opponent in their respective bouts. Both fighters are pretty even when it comes to striking, having both knocked out opponents before. Meanwhile, both fighters are on very different paths with the UFC merger. Although a win for either of them can lead to the same road. Not entirely sure but this one could be a FOTN candidate .
Winner: Bowles
Picks
Diego Sanchez over Martin Kampmann
Mark Munoz over CB Dollaway
Alessio Sakara over Chris Weidman
Brian Bowles over Damacio Page
Joe Stevenson over Danny Castillo
Cyrille Diabate over Steve Cantwell
Shane Roller over Thiago Tavares
Takeya Mizugaki over Reuben Duran
Dong Yi Yang over Rob Kimmons
Rousimar Palhares over Dave Branch
Igor Prokajac over Todd Brown
0-0 so far...with my undefeated record in the balance.
Martin Kampmann vs. Diego Sanchez
I'm not so sure which fighter has a tougher test. I would say Kampmann is the favorite but a focused Diego is a relentless beast. Kampmann certainly does not want to drop two straight after a frustrating loss to Jake Shields. Kampmann will most likely prefer to stand with Diego and it would be a good idea to include some kicks in the stand-up department if he wants to pick Diego apart. His ground game isn't too shabby either and he could surprise Diego with a few slick submission attempts. For Diego, he needs to be totally unpredictable and animalistic. The Team Jackson fighter will definitely have a game plan to follow and it will be interesting to watch how that goes about. It's not certain what he's going to do but I have this weird feeling Diego might not respect the Dutch kick-boxer's stand-up. Eventually Diego will bring it to the ground but as mentioned before it will not necessarily be his world down there. All around this is an even fight with many members of the MMA community picking Kampmann. I will go for the upset on this one and say if Diego Sanchez is focused and in beast mode, he could edge out a victory that will improve his position in the Welterweight title picture.
Winner: Sanchez
CB Dollaway vs. Mark Munoz
TUF veteran CB Dollaway seems to be on somewhat of a resurgence as of late. Having won his past 3 fights (which includes an impressive submission win over Joe Doerksen at UFC 119), The Doberman isn't exactly ready for a title shot any time soon but he can stir up some noise if he beats Munoz tomorrow night. It's always easier said than done since Munoz is a very tough middleweight who is also looking to make waves in the division. With only one loss in his past five fights, the former NCAA Division I Champion has a deep MMA pedigree with powerful striking, strong grappling and a decent ground game. Both fighters will definitely test each other with superior strength and wrestling but I wouldn't be surprised if these two middleweights want to trade strikes for a lengthy period of time. Apparently these guys are friends who don't mind fighting each other (which was the same case for Munoz-Simpson back at UFC 123). This fight could be a very gritty affair with two fighters that are matched up perfectly with one another. This one is a toss-up, but I will go with Munoz to beat Dollaway in what should be a very close contest.
Winner: Munoz
Alessio Sakara vs. Chris Weidman
Chris Weidman makes his UFC debut and steps in for the injured Maiquel Falcao to face Italian powerhouse Alessio Sakara. Weidman, a fighter from The Longo-Serra Fight Team is no stranger to stylistic match-ups. The NCAA two-time Division I All-American knocked out Uriah Hall (a striker) in his second pro MMA fight which was billed as a striker vs. wrestler fight. Alessio Sakara is riding a three-fight win streak and faces a slightly easier test in Weidman than in Falcao (the UFC should still put that fight together when Falcao is ready to go). Although as Brian Ebersole proved at UFC 127, never count out an underdog no matter how unfamiliar you are with him. Weidman will look for a takedown early on in the fight and it will be interesting to see how Sakara can neutralize the fight on the mat. There's no question that Sakara will be looking for an early knock out but he cannot underestimate the undefeated Weidman in both stand-up and on the mat. The fact of the matter is all the pressure is on Sakara. Weidman just needs to control the Octagon jitters and stay focused.
Winner: Sakara
Brian Bowles vs. Damacio Page
These two WEC vets make their UFC debut and have already fought each other at WEC 35. Bowles only needed one round to submit Page by a guillotine choke. A very well-rounded fighter and former WEC Bantamweight Champion, Bowles will certainly be looking to finish Page the same way to earn back a shot at UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz (Bowles lost his belt to Cruz after one round because of a broken hand). Coming off of a loss at WEC 52 at the hands of Demetrious Johnson, it's evident that Page needs to work on his submission defense (five out of six losses via submission). He will be looking to avenge his loss to Bowles and more importantly, he needs a win to guarantee a spot on the newly-stacked UFC roster. For Bowles, he needs to prove his title loss was only a fluke because of his broken hand. Before that loss, he was undefeated at 8-0 and finished every single opponent in their respective bouts. Both fighters are pretty even when it comes to striking, having both knocked out opponents before. Meanwhile, both fighters are on very different paths with the UFC merger. Although a win for either of them can lead to the same road. Not entirely sure but this one could be a FOTN candidate .
Winner: Bowles
Picks
Diego Sanchez over Martin Kampmann
Mark Munoz over CB Dollaway
Alessio Sakara over Chris Weidman
Brian Bowles over Damacio Page
Joe Stevenson over Danny Castillo
Cyrille Diabate over Steve Cantwell
Shane Roller over Thiago Tavares
Takeya Mizugaki over Reuben Duran
Dong Yi Yang over Rob Kimmons
Rousimar Palhares over Dave Branch
Igor Prokajac over Todd Brown
0-0 so far...with my undefeated record in the balance.
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