UFC 120: Predictions for Each Fight on London Card

As you might've noticed if you've come to GuysNation a few times to view MMA-related material, I do predictions for each and every UFC event dating all the way back to UFC 102 last August (when GuysNation.com started).

Some months I have great luck in picking winners.  Some months you'd want to shoot me if you took my predictions to Vegas to place wagers.  Either way, I try to give at least a little bit of insight as to who I'm picking in each of the contests.  It's usually a gut feeling (especially on the preliminary fights where the combatants are lesser known), but as most could tell you, MMA is tough to accurately predict.

Preliminary Card

Light Heavyweight Bout: James McSweeney (England) vs. Fabio Maldonado (Brazil)

I like what I've seen from McSweeney based on his time on The Ultimate Fighter, and I don't hold the loss to crafty veteran Roy Nelson against him, nor the disputed loss to Travis Browne. 

I have to respect Fabio Maldonado's pedigree, coming up through Team Nogueira, undefeated in 22 professional boxing fights, and he hasn't lost an MMA fight in three years (albeit only leaving Brazil to fight once during that time period). 

Maldonado looks prone to lose by kneebar, but I don't think that's something McSweeney's going to be locking in.  Though I don't usually like to rely on folks coming out of Brazil for the first time to make their UFC debut (having seen trends and been burned on it in the past), I'll trust that the Nog's have Fabio prepared.

Prediction: Fabio Maldonado

Lightweight bout: Spencer Fisher (USA) vs. Kurt Warburton (England)

Spencer Fisher has lost two in a row, so a loss here could likely mean he loses his UFC contract.  Wharburton is on his home soil and holds a win over Ross Pearson as part of his 6-1 record.  Careers on opposite paths, I'm afraid.

Prediction: Kurt Warburton

Lightweight bout: Paul Sass (England) vs. Mark Holst (Canada)

I like the combination of BJJ and Shotokan Karate from Mark Holst, and I think his UFC debut jitters are over after a decision loss to John Gunderson back in June.  I wouldn't be surprised if Paul Sass wins this fight, given his 10-0 record where he finished almost all of his opponents in the first three minutes of the fight by submission!  If Sass wins this fight convincingly, I'll definitely add him to my "watch" list.

Prediction: Mark Holst

Heavyweight bout: Rob Broughton (England) vs. Vinicius Queiroz (Brazil)

I can definitely respect that Rob Broughton is tough enough to win a one-night MMA tournament, and given that it was held back in late January, I don't think it'll have any lingering effects.  As I don't know anything about Vinicius Queiroz, I'll have to just predict that his experience isn't as strong as Broughton's, and as this fight is on Rob's home turf, I have to give him the nod.

Prediction: Rob Broughton

Light Heavyweight bout: Cyrille Diabaté (France) vs. Alexander Gustafsson (Sweden)

Cyrille only has one loss in the past five years, understandable when you consider his opponent was Lightweight Champion Shogun Rua.  His past three fights have all ended in the first round, two submissions (in different fashion) and a TKO by punches. 

Alexander Gustafsson is coming off a first round loss in Abu Dhabi back in April, so he'll be looking to rebound and make a statement against the veteran opponent.  The outcome of this fight intrigues me greatly, and for now I'll go with the man on the win-streak because I don't think Gustafsson's experience is robust enough.

Prediction: Cyrille Diabaté

Main Card

Welterweight bout: James Wilks (England) vs. Claude Patrick (Canada)

The last time James Wilks was in the UK, he lost to the hard-hitting Matt Brown.  He followed that up with a win in Vancouver to get back on track, and I think Wilks is going to be returning to form and will give the UK fans something to cheer about.  No offense to Claude Patrick, but I don't think his submission skills are going to cut it against the crafty Wilks, who surely wants a win for his home country fans.

Prediction: James Wilks

Heavyweight bout: Cheick Kongo (France) vs. Travis Browne (USA)

Cheick Kongo seems to do well against non-elite challengers, having lost to current No. 1 contender Cain Velasquez and former champion Frank Mir in his only two losses of the past two years, going 4-2 over that span of time.   

Browne is undefeated, however, and was already successful in his UFC debut.  It worries me just a little bit that he has never fought outside of North America before (eight wins in the United States, two in Mexico), but something tells me that the UFC wouldn't put him in the fight against Kongo in Europe unless they knew he had a strong chance to make a statement with a victory over the veteran. 

Marketing an undefeated Browne is far more enticing than marketing a veteran who doesn't look likely to ever win the championship belt in his weight class.

Prediction: Travis Browne

Welterweight bout: John Hathaway (England) vs. Mike Pyle (USA)

For my reasoning on making this prediction, view the full article over at GuysNation.com.

Prediction: John Hathaway

Welterweight bout: Dan Hardy (England) vs. Carlos Condit (USA)

For my reasoning on making this prediction, view the full article over at GuysNation.com.

Prediction:  Carlos Condit

Middleweight bout: Michael Bisping (England) vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama (Japan)

For my reasoning on making this prediction, view the full article over at GuysNation.com.

Prediction:  Michael Bisping