UFC 145: One-Fight Card or Great Card? Breakdown of Every Fight

UFC 145, to the occasional fan, is a one-fight card. Jon "Bones" Jones versus "Suga" Rashad Evans for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship is the fight that the fans are going to pay for with this card. Rightfully so, but is the rest of the card set up to surprise us all? I break down every fight in the building.

Featherweights: Marcus Brimage vs. Maximo Blanco (Facebook)

Tale of the tape

	Marcus Brimage	Maximo Blanco
Age	27	28
Height	5'4"	5'7"
Reach	71"	70"
Record	4-1	8-3-1 1 NC
Stance	Non-Orthodox	Orthodox

In this fight you have an experienced Venezuelan in Maximo Blanco, who has proven to have KO power in his hands, against a relative newcomer in Marcus Brimage, who also has solid power and has only gone to decision twice.

One good number for this fight is 78. That's the percentage of these guys' fights that end in a finish one way or another. Facebook has a solid bout to stream.

Prediction: Blanco by 2nd round TKO

Excitement Scale: 3/5

Welterweights: Keith Wisniewski vs. Chris Clements (Facebook)

Keith Wisniewski has something to prove. He's been released from the UFC before and then went on a six-fight win streak to get re-signed; however, he dropped a decision in his first fight back against Josh Neer. He's shown an ability to finish fights by submission and also has solid stand up.

Chris Clements is making his UFC debut and has dynamite in his hands. The 10 fights that he's won have all come by way of TKO, but of course, that's not against UFC competition.

Prediction: Clements by third-round KO.

Excitement scale: 2/5

Lightweights: Mac Danzig vs. Efrain Escudero (FX)

Tale of the Tape

	Mac Danzig	Efrain Escudero
Age	32	26
Height	5'8"	5'9"
Reach	70"	71"
Record	20-9-1	18-4

Both guys, coming off of losses, are going to have to step their game up for this fight because this is one that could go either way. Danzig has alternated wins and losses for his last five fights while Escudero lost his UFC debut after a two-fight win spurt.

Both guys are good at submissions, but I don't see a finish in this one.

Prediction: Danzig by unanimous decision, 29-28. Fight of the night contender.

Excitement Scale: 3/5

158lb Catchweight: John Makdessi vs. Anthony Njokuani (FX)

Tale of the Tape

	John Makdessi	Anthony Njokuani
Age	26	32
Height	5'8"	6'1"
Reach		75"
Record	9-1	14-6 1 NC

Due to Makdessi missing weight for the second straight fight, this will be contested at a 158-lb. catchweight. Njokuani has heavy hands, but Makdessi has proven to be tough.

Prediction: Makdessi by decision.

Excitement Scale: 2/5

Welterweight: Matt Brown vs. Stephen Thompson (FX)

Tale of the Tape

	Matt Brown	Stephen Thompson
Age	31	29
Height	6'	6'
Reach	76"
Record	13-11	6-0

Should be a great matchup with both guys seeing who can impose their will on the other. Brown has shown that he can fall prey to a submission, but I don't see the kickboxer being able to do that.

Prediction: Thompson by first-round KO.

Excitement Scale: 3/5

Heavyweights: Travis Browne vs. Chad Griggs (FX)

Tale of the Tape

	Travis Browne	Chad Griggs
Age	29	33
Height	6'7"	6'3"
Weight	250	228
Reach	78"	73"
Record	12-0-1	11-1

This is an early favorite for KO of the night. Griggs is a little small coming in and Browne is undefeated.

Prediction: Browne by KO

Excitement Scale: 4/5

Lightweights: Mark Bocek vs. John Alessio

Tale of the Tape

	Mark Bocek	John Alessio
Age	30	32
Height	5'9"	5'9"
Reach	75"
Record	10-4	34-14

To me, this fight is pretty simple. Styles make fights, and somebody is going to tap out.

Prediction: Bocek in the second round by rear naked choke.

Excitement Scale: 4/5

Featherweights: Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin

Tale of the Tape

	Mark Hominick	Eddie Yagin
Age	29	33
Height	5'8"	5'7"
Reach	68.5"
Record	20-10	15-5-1

Hominick is fighting for his UFC life in this one after losing two straight. Yagin is trying not to start a losing streak of his own. This one should be a lot of fun.

Prediction: Hominick by decision

Excitement Scale: 4/5

Bantamweights: Miguel Torres vs. Michael McDonald

Tale of the Tape

	Miguel Torres	Michael McDonald
Age	31	21
Height	5'9"	5'8"
Reach	76"	70"
Record	40-4	14-1

Torres is always exciting to watch no matter where the fight goes, and I see this one as also being in the mix for fight of the night. McDonald is fighting for a title shot and will be more than up for the task.

Prediction: Torres by Decision

Excitement Scale: 3.5/5

Heavyweights: Brendan Schaub vs. Ben Rothwell

Tale of the Tape

	Brendan Schaub	Ben Rothwell
Age	29	30
Height	6'4"	6'5"
Weight	237	263
Reach	79.5"	80"
Record	8-2	31-8

Rothwell has faced some serious competition, so fighting Brendan Schaub might seem like an easy road. It won't be.

Prediction: Schaub by second-round TKO

Excitement Scale: 2/5

Welterweights: Rory MacDonald vs. Che Mills

Tale of the Tape

	Rory MacDonald	Che Mills
Age	22	29
Height	6'	6'1"
Reach	76.5"	76"
Record	12-1	14-4 1 NC

This is the Co-Main Event for a reason. All of the necessary components are in place for there to be fireworks, and this fight will prove to be a worthy lead-up to the Championship fight. MacDonald is the last person to hand Nate Diaz a loss, and he came seven seconds away from taking Interim UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit to decision.

Che Mills is on a five-fight tear that's seen three KOs. In his last fight he made quite the UFC debut by TKOing Chris Hope in 40 seconds.

Prediction: Che Mills by third-round TKO

Excitement Scale: 4/5

Light Heavyweight Championship: Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans

Tale of the Tape

	Jon Jones	Rashad Evans
Age	24	32
Height	6'4"	5'11"
Reach	84.5"	75"
Record	15-1	17-1-1

This one is the fight we've all been waiting for. Yes, it has lost some of its luster after being hyped and then postponed multiple times, but some things are just worth waiting for.

As for the fight itself, Rashad does know Jones' game and knows what he has to do. He has the edge in hand speed and footwork which will be paramount in this fight. He also has the power in his hands and takedown ability unlike anyone Bones has ever faced.

As for Jones, the scary thing for all of his opponents is that he just continues to get better. I'm interested in seeing how far along Jones' kickboxing has come along to see if he can stand and bang with a good striker like Rashad. Reach is also going to be very important and Jones is only getting better at using it.

Prediction: Evans by decision. Hopefully it's not one of those grudge match snooze fests, but this does have the potential to be a ground-and-pound fight from Evans. We're going to have a new UFC Lightweight Champion.

Excitement Scale: 4.5/5

Who Ya Got?

I think we're going to have a surprisingly good card to watch tonight whether it's on Facebook, FX, or of course PPV. I think we'll all have a profound respect for the matchmakers after this one. And remember to comment below with your picks.