(Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
CHEICK KONGO VS. ANTONI HARDONK
This fight might be a good time to take a bathroom break or make a beer run, because it's going to be boring. There's a good chance Kongo could finish Hardonk, but it's all going to depend on which version of the Frenchman shows up. If the powerful striking version of Kongo shows up, Hardonk could go to sleep within a minute or two.
If the decision-prone version of Kongo that can't wrestle his way out of a paper bag steps in that cage, though, we're going to be sitting through fifteen minutes of two guys rolling around and not doing anything remotely effective.
Can you tell that I'm not enthused about this fight? Because I'm not.
PREDICTION: Cheick Kongo by decision
LUIZ CANE VS. STEVE CANTWELL
The most interesting thing about this fight is Cane's nickname: "Banha" means "lard" in Portugese.
Cantwell was another victim of the WEC's decision to fold the light heavyweight division into the UFC. He defeated Razak Al-Hassan in his UFC debut, but he's up against a talented fighter in Luiz Cane in this match.
Cane's lone UFC loss came against James Irvin, and he only lost that fight because he threw an illegal knee while Irvin was down. Cane has defeated Soukoudjou and Jason Lambert during his UFC tenure, and beat fighters such as Andre Gustavo and Wagner Ribeiro during his time in Brazil.
Cantwell is a decent fighter, but he's overmatched in this one. I believe Cane is on his way to great things in the UFC, and Cantwell is standing in his way.
PREDICTION: Luiz Cane by TKO (Round One)
ELIOT MARSHALL VS. VINICIUS MAGALHAES: Magalhaes by submission (Round Two)
DENIS KANG VS. XAVIER FOUPA-POKAM: Kang by TKO (Round One)
JASON MACDONALD VS. NATE QUARRY: Quarry by decision
DAVID LOISEAU VS. ED HERMAN: Herman by decision
MARK BOCEK VS. DAVID BIELKHEDEN: Bocek by submission
RYO CHONAN VS. TJ GRANT: Chonan by TKO (Round Two)
SAM STOUT VS. MATT WIMAN: Wiman by decision
Jeremy Botter is the Editor-In-Chief of Inside Fights, a blog title covering the mixed martial arts and boxing industries. He also serves as a contributor to the Houston Chronicle's mixed martial arts coverage.
5 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete