UFC 160: Preliminary Card Predictions for Velasquez vs. Bigfoot 2

This weekend, the UFC makes its triumphant return to the pay-per-view market when UFC 160 comes live from Las Vegas, NV. The card will be headlined by a heavyweight title clash between champion Cain Velasquez and challenger Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva.

Co-headlining the card is a potential No.1 contenders bout between former champion Junior dos Santos and Mark Hunt. Both are tough, hard-hitting heavyweights who have torn through most of the division in their respective UFC careers.

Before those special attractions take place, the prelims will go down on Facebook and FX. Let's take a look at those bouts and make some predictions.

Jeremy Stephens vs. Estevan Payan

The card kicks off in the on Facebook with a battle of featherweights, when Strikeforce import Estevan Payan is met by UFC staple Jeremy Stephens, who makes his debut appearance at 145.

Payan comes to the UFC on the heels of a 2-0 run in Strikeforce where he decisioned Alonzo Martinez and knocked out Mike Bravo. Unfortunately for Payan, he is best remembered for eating one of the nastiest spinning backfists in MMA history while competing in Bellator.

Stephens is coming off the roughest stretch of his career and is likely fighting for his job. He has lost three straight against top lightweights Anthony Pettis, Donald Cerrone and Yves Edwards. To add insult to injury, his first attempted encounter with Edwards was halted due to a police warrant the day of the fight in Minnesota.

This is going to be a striking battle unless Stephens wishes to grind out a decision victory on "El Terrible." That is definitely not his style though, so expect to see wild exchanges from the two. Stephens may not be the most technical striker, but if one ounce of leather from his haymakers glances the chin of Payan, it's night-night for the former Strikeforce competitor.

Prediction: Stephens def. Payan via knockout

Brian Bowles vs. George Roop

We move onto the bantamweight division, when skin-and-bones brawler George Roop meets the returning Brian Bowles, who has been on the shelf for quite some time.

Roop is an absolute freak at 135 pounds, especially because he stands over six-feet-tall. He recently broke a two-fight skid and saved his job with an impressive decision over Ruben Duran. 

Bowles has not been seen since November of 2011, when he was submitted by Urijah Faber at UFC 139. Ring rust may be a factor for Bowles or he may be well rested and energized to get back in the Octagon. 

Roop is a rangy striker that can outpoint people on the feet, but Bowles is a bull with his punches. The former WEC champion throws those soupbones around with the intention of blasting people's heads off their shoulders.

Midway through the fight, Bowles will bash Roop's skull with one of the strikes and finish him on the ground.

Prediction: Bowles def. Roop via TKO

Stephen Thompson vs. Nah-Shon Burrell

We cap off the Facebook portions of the prelims with a battle in the welterweight division, when kickboxer Stephen Thompson meets late-replacement Nah-Shon Burrell, who fills in for the injured Amir Sadollah.

Thompson is a decorated kickboxer with a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He stormed onto the UFC scene in an impressive debut, in which he torched Dan Stittgen with a masterful head kick. However, his latest outing saw him get dominated on the ground by Matt Brown, halting his frantic momentum.

Burrell found spotlight in Strikeforce, where he amassed a 3-1 record. There, he defeated Joe Ray, Lukasz Les and James Terry before succumbing to a knockout loss at the hands of Chris Spang. He made his UFC debut in his most recent bout, where he won a barnburner against fellow Strikeforce import Yuri Villefort.

This match will pit a kickboxer up against a traditional boxer. That being said, Burrell could use his athleticism, quickness and explosiveness to surprise Thompson with takedowns to make the striker uncomfortable. 

Then again, Burrell is all about the show, so he may just stand and bang with Thompson. Either way, I love his athleticism here and will give him the nod.

Prediction: Burrell def. Thompson via decision

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Abel Trujillo

Kicking things off on FX will be a lightweight battle of young guns, when Russian prodigy Khabib Nurmagomedov takes on Abel Trujillo.

Nurmagomedov has been nothing short of brilliant in his UFC career so far, running a 3-0 record against notables Kamal Shalorus, Gleison Tibau and Thiago Tavares. The sambo master has used a combination of power striking, wrestling and vicious top game to destroy opponents and bring him into the 155-pound spotlight.

Trujillo is coming off the heels of an impressive UFC debut, where he battered Marcus LeVesseur with disgusting knees to the body. Trujillo has a wrestling background, but has shown competence standing, which would make sense as he trains with the Blackzilians. 

Trujillo looks like a solid prospect, but Nurmagomedov is taking a step down in competition to face him (Tibau and Tavares are both ranked higher than Trujillo). Seeing what "The Eagle" has done to his UFC opposition, there is little doubt in my mind that he will be nothing short of dominant in this affair.

Prediction: Nurmagomedov def. Trujillo via submission

Colton Smith vs. Robert Whittaker

Ultimate Fighter winners collide in the lightweight division, when season 16's Colton Smith meets The Smashes winner Robert Whittaker.

Smith is young in his career at 2-1, but was dominant in a lackluster season of the long-running reality show. Before beating Mike Ricci at the finale to win the show, Smith knocked off Jon Manley, Igor Araujo, Eddy Ellis and Jesse Barrett to get to the spot he's in today. The knock on Smith is that he has employed tactics like faking the glove tap, a sign of disrespect and blatant arrogance that MMA fans do not quickly forget.

Whittaker was a powerhouse on his respective season of the reality show. The experienced Aussie made mincemeat of the competition while competing at welterweight, dispatching of Luke Newman and Xavier Lucas before besting Brad Scott in the finals.

Whittaker's biggest question mark is his wrestling, the obvious strength of Smith. In fact, Smith's only weapon in competition so far has been his wrestling, so Whittaker needs to avoid that.

Expect a snoozer when Smith puts Whittaker on his back. One can only hope Whittaker lands a from-out-of-nowhere punch that plants Smith unconscious to save this fight from sure horridness.

Prediction: Smith def. Whittaker via decision

Dennis Bermudez vs. Max Holloway

We then move to the featherweight division, where exciters Dennis Bermudez and Max Holloway are set to square off.

Bermudez is a pain-absorbing machine, as seen on his time on TUF and in the UFC. Despite dropping the championship of the 14th season to Diego Brandao, "The Menace" has cranked off three straight victories over Pablo Garza, Tommy Hayden and Matt Grice (Fight of the Night).

Holloway has also seen success in the Octagon, despite being just 21 years old. The youngster has a mirrored record of Bermudez, dropping his debut before winning three straight. His wins have come over veterans Pat Schilling, Justin Lawrence and Leonard Garcia.

Holloway's glaring weakness is his takedown defense and ground game, which was exposed in his debut against Dustin Poirier. While Bermudez is crazy and likes to strike, he is also smart to the knowledge that his high-level wrestling background is his route to victory.

Prediction: Bermudez def. Holloway via submission

Mike Pyle vs. Rick Story

The main attraction of the prelims takes place in the welterweight division, when long-time vet Mike Pyle meets near-clone (minus the sick mullet) Rick Story in a battle to move up the crowded welterweight ladder.

It's hard to believe that a 14-year veteran of the sport who is 37 is hitting the best stride in his career right now. Pyle has done that, going 7-3 in his last 10 bouts, all of which took place in the UFC. He finds himself on a three-fight tear, knocking out Ricardo Funch, Josh Neer and James Head in that span with a variety of punch-and-knee combinations.

Story is a wrestling-based fighter with confidence for days and the skills to potentially back it up. The man who was once on his way to a welterweight title shot has gone 2-3 in his last five, a long shot away from the six-fight win streak that came before it.

Pyle is easily the more well-rounded guy and has the wrestling defense to keep Story on the feet. From there, he will outpoint him using boxing and clinch work to run a convincing decision.

Prediction: Pyle def. Story via decision