UFC 110 Picks: Noguiera Vs Velasquez

Everyone has them.  Predictions before a big event.  Here are some that you might find interesting, some you might completely disagree with.  Tell me why in the comment section, I'm interested to hear your take on the fights. 

I will be keeping track of my picks for future reference to see how accurate I am.  Who knows, I may be able to make you a little money if you like some of my predictions.

Preliminary Fights

James Te-Huna vs Igor Pokrajac 

I’ll take the man who has taken on more than one individual at a time, James Te-Huna.  That’s right, if anyone can fight in Tag Team MMA matches, they will definitely be ready for the one fighter in front of them.  Look for the New Zealand native to win impressively.

C.B. Dollaway vs Goran Reljic

This fight really interests me.  I'm disappointed it's not on the main card.  I know CB gets a lot of heat, but he really is a good fighter.  He has so much potential to be a great fighter if he only had a good submission defense.  To his credit, this is something he can work on if he really wants to excel in MMA.  We’ve seen that wrestlers can dominate in MMA, and CB is no exception. 

Despite all this praise, I don’t see him beating a real prospect in Goran Reljic.  Superman as some have dubbed him, because he saves lives, can end the fight at any moment.  He has shown that he has good standup by beating Wilson Gouveia at UFC 84.  There lies the problem though, this was his last fight!  How will the rust affect him? 

He is coming off an injury, so we don’t know what kind of shape he will be in.  I still pick Goran Reljic, but wouldn’t be surprised to see a major upset here just because of the long layoff.

Chris Lytle vs Brian Foster

I love this fight for so many reasons.  Chris Lytle always comes to bang, and that’s what he’ll do in this fight as well.  I had him beating the “Muay Thai Wrecking Machine” Thiago Alves until that nasty cut opened up.  Eight of Foster’s 13 wins have come by way of knock out.  Look for him to prove his standup is better then Lytle’s, which it isn’t.  I expect a good fight; possibly fight of the night, but to sway in the favor of Chris Lytle.

Stephan Bonnar vs Krysztof Soszynski 

What a fight!  This is a very tough one to call for me.  You have the underachieving runner up for the original Ultimate Fighter versus the first pick of Frank Mir on the Ultimate Fighter Season Eight.  If you ask me, Stephan Bonnar is the original Ultimate Fighter.  He was robbed, but that’s not here nor there, back to the subject. 

I’ve been impressed with Soszynski’s performances in the octagon as of late.  His fight with Vera proved that he can take a beating and stay in a fight.  He was noticeably slower than Vera, but that shouldn’t be a problem here as he fights Stephan Bonnar.  “The American Psycho” lost to Mark Coleman is his last outing, and if Coleman’s exile from the UFC worries Bonnar, it should! 

Dana White has said there will always be a place for Bonnar in the UFC, but trust me, that place will not always be in the cage.  My money is on Soszynski, and you can put more money on this being one of the last fights we will ever see Bonnar in.  He will still be in the UFC, just not fighting.

Main Card

Keith Jardine vs Ryan Bader

This is the whole reason I want to watch this event.  This match has me completely intrigued.  I have been looking forward to this one for months.  We have the meanest looking glass jaw in the industry versus a man who calls himself “Darth.” If this were a battle of nicknames, this would be the greatest fight of the night, but something tells me this won’t be that exciting. 

I am more excited to see if Bader can take that next step up in competition.  Jardine has beaten the likes of Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell.  Ryan Bader’s last win was against Eric Schafer (side note, I hate the fact that the UFC will just call some people by their nickname and last name, example: Red Schafer). 

Ryan Bader can catch Glass Jaw in the first round, or can grind on him for the decision.  If he is unable to do either of these things, look for Jardine to use his unorthodox striking to pick Bader apart.  Jardine likes to utilize leg kicks, which will be his downfall as he will get taken down at will by the superior wrestler. 

I like Bader in this fight, just because he has the ability to grind out the decision.  I am completely hyped for a fight that will probably put me to sleep.

Joe Stevenson vs George Sotiropoulos

This is a big step up in the right direction for Sotiropoulos.  Joe Stevenson has been in there with the absolute best of the best and made it out of the first round against BJ Penn.  Joe is a legitimate black belt with the wrestling skills to get the fight to the ground where he wants to see the action. 

Not so fast though, because we have another skilled fighter who can end fights from the ground, George Sotiropoulos.  He was my pick to win season six of the Ultimate Fighter , but got absolutely rocked by Tommy Speer.  Since then, he has made some real noise putting up a four fight win streak in the octagon. 

With the huge step up in competition, I just see Joe Stevenson and his new training camp being able to overcome the overmatched Sotiropoulos.  Look for a victory via unanimous decision by Joe Stevenson.

Co Main Event

Michael Bisping vs Wanderlei Silva

Man, this fight has me excited.  In his last fight, Bisping knocked Denis Kang completely out of the UFC.  His improved standup is overshadowed by the fact that he was knocked stupid by Dan Henderson.  Wanderlei is a slight favorite in this fight, but he shouldn’t be.  He is faster and possibly better at middleweight, but that has yet to be seen.  We saw at 195, he looked drained early. 

He will be fighting this one at 185, where outside of a bad fight against Dan Henderson, he has actually looked impressive.  Sure, Michael Bisping is a jerk, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he should be able to outpoint Wanderlei Silva.  His losses are to Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans, two of the absolute best in all of MMA. 

Wanderlei Silva’s only win in his last six fights has come against the ugliest, meanest looking version of Glass Joe that I have ever seen.  Look for yet another loss on the man who has nothing left to prove in MMA.  Assuming Bisping wins, let him fight Marquardt!  That’s a match that has me excited to see.

The Main Event

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Cain Velasquez

This fight has me stumped.  I called in the other day to Sirius XM’s Fight Club and announced that Big Nog would submit Velasquez in less than three minutes.  That seems like an exaggeration, but I’m not sure.  Nogueira’s boxing skills are completely underrated.   This guy trains at Black House Gym, which is home to the likes of Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida and many more of the best fighters on the planet. 

His standup is good enough to give Cain problems, which would lead Velasquez to rely on his wrestling to take the fight down and pummel Nogueira.  There lies the problem… he can’t do this!  I know that Dave Camarillo has been working with Cain to help him prepare anything that Big Nog will throw at him, but can he really avoid the submissions of one of the best BJJ fighters of all time? 

I doubt it, which is why I feel that Cain Velasquez has about a 15 percent chance of winning this fight.  I think he is outclassed here, and should lose this one.  Sure his face may look like he’s taken a bunch of poundings, and he may look like he’s 50, but Big Nog is actually just 33 years old.  He’s actually younger than Anderson Silva!  Look for Nogueira to win inside of the first two rounds.

Picks : look for Te-Huna, Reljic, Lytle, Soszynski, Bader, Stevenson, Bisping and Nogueira to be victorious.