UFC 145 Predictions: Marcus Brimage and Fighters Most Likely to Pull off Upsets

Most of the focus regarding the UFC 145 card is on the main event of Jon "Bones" Jones vs. "Sugar" Rashad Evans for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, but the card is certainly stacked and there are a ton of bouts that look as though they could go either way.

I can't envision Jones losing to Evans, but that doesn't mean that UFC 145 won't have some surprises. It's tough to remember a UFC pay-per-view taking place without at least a couple upsets going down, and Saturday's highly-anticipated event will be no different.

Here are three fighters who are most likely to shock UFC fans by pulling off upsets on Saturday night.

Marcus Brimage

Marcus Brimage and Maximo Blanco will do battle in an intriguing Facebook fight on Saturday night, as both fighters are trying to establish themselves. Blanco will be making his debut while Brimage will take part in just his second UFC fight and his second ever fight as a featherweight.

Blanco has a bit more experience, but Brimage enters the fight with some momentum. He beat Stephen Bass on The Ultimate Fighter 14 finale in his last bout, while Blanco was defeated by Pat Healy in a Strikeforce fight.

Blanco is a fairly heavy -325 betting line favorite, but this one seems like a toss-up to me. We have yet to see the full extent of what Brimage can do, but I expect him to make some major strides on Saturday.

Efrain Escudero

In a fight that has the potential to outshine the main event, Efrain Escudero and Mac Danzig will engage in a lightweight battle on FX. Both fighters are looking to bounce back from tough losses in their previous bouts and the winner figures to gain a ton of traction moving forward and will likely be much higher on the card in his next fight.

Both are submission specialists, but they rarely tap, so this should be a test of wills.

Danzig is a bit more experienced and might be the more ruthless fighter, but Escudero is six years his junior and stands a better chance of excelling in a fight that goes the distance.

This is one of the closest fights on the entire card, as Danzig is only a -190 betting line favorite. Escudero may be playing the role of underdog, but I consider him to be the more talented fighter and expect him to come out victorious.

Chad Griggs 

It isn't even the premier heavyweight fight on the card, but every diehard UFC fan is excited for the FX bout between Chad Griggs and Travis Browne. The heavyweight division seems to be on the decline, as Brock Lesnar is back in WWE and Alistair Overeem is in hot water over a positive drug test, so fans are looking for somebody they can get behind.

This fight features two such competitors, as Griggs is on a major hot streak since suffering his only career loss in 2007 and Browne is an undefeated veteran of UFC with wins over some brand names.

Because of Browne's undefeated mark and the fact that he's four years younger than Griggs, he's a pretty substantial favorite at -250. Griggs has been really impressive as of late, though, and it wouldn't shock me if he handed Browne his first loss.