UFC Fight Night 80, The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale: Main Card Staff Predictions
There's a triple whammy of UFC this week, with UFC Fight Night 80 and the The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale warming people up for the highly anticipated UFC 194 Saturday. In anticipation of that, we're here to give you a double shot of main card staff predictions, for the two "free" cards on Thursday and Friday (Fight Pass is free on a seven-day trial to new subscribers).
The main cards are as follows:
UFC Fight Night 80 (Fight Pass)
- Rose Namajunas vs. Paige VanZant
- Jim Miller vs. Michael Chiesa
- Sage Northcutt vs. Cody Pfister
- Elias Theodorou vs. Thiago Santos
TUF 22 Finale (Fox Sports 1)
- Frankie Edgar vs. Chad Mendes
- Edson Barboza vs. Tony Ferguson
- Artem Lobov vs. Ryan Hall (TUF 22 lightweight final)
- Joe Lauzon vs. Evan Dunham
- Ryan LaFlare vs. Mike Pierce
- Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Jason Knight
That's quite the lineup of fights that is a solid blend of both established names, young talent and fan favorites. So who are we picking here? Who should you lean toward? Read on and find out.
Standings
1 of 7
Look, I could talk all day about how good it feels to be the undisputed, unquestioned champion of the Bleacher Report predictions team. I really could. But that would just be kind of mean. Here are the team standings and the results from Fight Night 79:
Steven Rondina: 35-11 (2-2)
Craig Amos: 33-13 (3-1)
Scott Harris: 33-13 (2-2)
Jonathan Snowden: 26-20 (4-0)
Nathan McCarter: 25-21 (2-2)
UFC Fight Night 80 Main Card Fights
2 of 7
Nathan McCarter
Elias Theodorou, unanimous decision
Sage Northcutt, TKO, Round 1
Scott Harris
Theodorou, unanimous decision
Northcutt, submission, Round 2
Jonathan Snowden
Theodorou, unanimous decision
Northcutt, fix
Craig Amos
Theodorou, submission, Round 3
Northcutt, submission, Round 2
Steven Rondina
Theodorou, unanimous decision
Northcutt, TKO, Round 2
Jim Miller vs. Michael Chiesa
3 of 7
Nathan McCarter
If Miller wants to be a contender again, he has to win this fight. Chiesa is crafty in his own right, but I don't see him being able to upend Miller. I'll take the vet.
Miller, unanimous decision
Scott Harris
Why do they keep matching up Miller with all these equally likable, equally bearded counterparts? Why can't you just let me pull for the guy without being all conflicted? I don't know. Miller has a lot of miles at age 32; Chiesa could spend these 15 minutes clinging to his back and wearing him out.
Chiesa, unanimous decision
Jonathan Snowden
Oddsmakers are having a tough time with this one, and for good reason. Two of my favorite maxims collide here. There are, indeed, levels to this sport. And Miller has been on a different plane than Chiesa for a number of years. But I also believe in viciously turning my back on fighters who look old, at least when it comes to wagering. And Miller is 32 going on 50.
Miller, split decision
Craig Amos
Miller has slowed down some, but he's still a tough fight for anyone in the lightweight division. He'll exercise an edge in the striking and match Chiesa's tenacious grinding style in close quarters, pulling out a close decision win.
Miller, unanimous decision
Steven Rondina
The years have been catching up to Miller, but he's still a wily veteran. I'm thinking his southpaw striking will prove to be the difference against a good, but still somewhat green, Chiesa.
Chiesa, unanimous decision
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Rose Namajunas vs. Paige VanZant
4 of 7
Nathan McCarter
This won't be an easy fight for VanZant, but Namajunas didn't show me much takedown defense against Carla Esparza. VanZant is quicker on her shots than the former champion, and over the course of five rounds, that will how she pulls this out.
VanZant, unanimous decision
Scott Harris
VanZant is a creature of pressure. She'll go for takedowns and phone-booth brawls designed to rob Namajunas of her operating room. But you know what? I don't think this one follows the PVZ playbook. Namajunas will hit VanZant in the mouth, literally and metaphorically, and take advantage of the youngster's suspect grappling game. Sound the upset alarms.
Namajunas, submission, Round 1
Jonathan Snowden
VanZant's style requires her to be mistake-free—in this case for 25 minutes. I don't know she can survive that long with a submission wizard like "Thug" Rose.
Namajunas, submission, Round 3
Craig Amos
VanZant will win most of the fight, but it only takes a moment for Namajunas to end it. The former Ultimate Fighter contestant is better in space and is capable of finishing the fight off her back. She'll score the upset and reassert herself as the future of the division.
Namajunas, submission, Round 3
Steven Rondina
I can see Rose losing here. When you look at how she crumbled the last time she fought a pressure-focused grappler (Carla Esparza), I can understand people picking VanZant here. I'm just not completely sold on VanZant being that good at this point.
Namajunas, submission, Round 4
TUF 22 Finale Main Card
5 of 7
Nathan McCarter
Kawajiri, TKO, Round 2
LaFlare, unanimous decision
Dunham, TKO, Round 2
Scott Harris
Kawajiri, TKO, Round 1
LaFlare, unanimous decision
Dunham, TKO, Round 2
Jonathan Snowden
Kawajiri, TKO, Round 2
Pierce, unanimous decision
Lauzon, submission, Round 3
Craig Amos
Kawajiri, TKO, Round 2
LaFlare, unanimous decision
Dunham, unanimous decision
Steven Rondina
Kawajiri, unanimous decision
LaFlare, unanimous decision
Dunham, unanimous decision
Edson Barboza vs. Tony Ferguson
6 of 7
Nathan McCarter
I love this fight. It should be very fun if it remains on the feet, but I'm expecting Ferguson to put in some serious ground work in the co-main event. He could very well earn the next crack at the lightweight belt.
Ferguson, TKO, Round 3
Scott Harris
The true winner here is you, the MMA viewer. Don't let this one fall through the cracks of a crazy weekend lineup. Barboza's a human highlight reel, and he'll go for it here as he always does, but Ferguson has the movement, the power and, if needed, the wrestling to get this where it needs to go. Give the man a title shot.
Ferguson, TKO, Round 2
Jonathan Snowden
Tony Ferguson is on a march. Destination? UFC gold.
Ferguson, unanimous decision
Craig Amos
I have a bad habit of not picking Ferguson when he's faced with a tough opponent. That's the case here, but I'd like to think I've learned my lesson. Better later than never, right? Because while Barboza may have a narrow edge in the exchanges, Ferguson's wrestling and grappling has come a long way from his Ultimate Fighter days.
Ferguson, submission, Round 2
Steven Rondina
I've never been on board the Barboza bandwagon and have been riding Ferguson's hype train for a while.
Ferguson, submission, Round 3
Frankie Edgar vs. Chad Mendes
7 of 7
Nathan McCarter
Edgar's two-inch reach advantage will play a key role early as Mendes struggles to get inside for effective striking or takedowns. Then Edgar will start mixing up his game and confusing Mendes. Look for another impressive five-round fight out of the former lightweight champ.
Edgar, unanimous decision
Scott Harris
It's hard to sleep on Mendes, especially this 2.0 version that we've seen post-Duane Ludwig with much-improved boxing. The 30-year-old will be a great barometer for the fighter four years his elder in Edgar. Here's guessing Edgar still has enough speed and toughness to avoid big damage and get the better of exchanges, especially in those deep waters we hear so much about.
Edgar, unanimous decision
Jonathan Snowden
When in doubt, go with the fighter more likely to end the bout. That's Mendes.
Mendes, KO, Round 2
Craig Amos
An interesting matchup and a tough one to call. The pick here is Edgar in what should be an entertaining, back-and-forth scrap.
Edgar, unanimous decision
Steven Rondina
I'm surprised to see so much support for Edgar. Not that I blame y'all. Mendes has solid individual tools, but his sheer power masks an inability to handle fighters that have multifaceted striking games. Edgar will box Mendes up en route to the scorecards.
Edgar, unanimous decision
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