UFC 121: Lesnar Vs Velasquez Predictions: Special Scary Pirate Halloween Edition

 This Saturday, the UFC is putting on an amazing card of fights. 

And with Halloween rapidly approaching, the all important question is not “Can Cain Velasquez shock the world by defeating Brock Lesnar?” Nor is it, “Can Martin Kampmann pull off yet another huge upset by beating Jake Shields?” 

 Those are important questions, of course. But they pale in comparison to this one: “Which UFC 121 fighter is the scariest looking pirate?? ARRRR!!!”

Welcome to the UFC 121 Special Halloween Edition. Candidates for best pirate are:

1.) Gilbert Yvel (super-tatooed pirate pictured top-right.)

2.) Brock Lesnar (Viking pirate pictured bottom right.)

3.) Court McGee (black-bearded pirate pictured top-left.)

4.) Tom Lawlor (all around scruffy pirate pictured bottom-left.)

While I’m at it, here are…

My UFC 121 Picks

MAIN CARD

Brock Lesnar (5-1) over Cain Velasquez (8-0)

Cain Velasquez is the more well-rounded fighter of the two. 

Brock has more raw power in his strikes, and he's probably the better wrestler of the two, but his stand-up is still pretty awful.

The fight really comes down to whether Cain can keep it standing. I think he might for a round, or maybe two. 

This is where Brock is supposed to fall victim to Cain’s superior striking. While Cain is a better technical striker than Brock, Lesnar has more power behind his punches and might just surprise everyone. 

In any event, Brock will survive early and be taking Cain down at will after the second round. Cain is even good enough on the ground to keep Brock from finishing the fight quickly, but he won’t be able to hold him off indefinitely. 

Brock Lesnar wins by ground and pound TKO in the fourth round.

Jake Shields (25-4) over Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann (17-3)

Strikeforce Champion and Elite XC Champion—both of those titles were taken away by circumstances, not by Jake losing them in a title fight. 

Shields is an absolute beast on a five-year, 14-fight win streak. He's an elite wrestler and extremely good at sinking submissions. 

This is one of the most intriguing matchups of the evening. 

Martin Kampmann is getting quite the reputation for being the underdog in high-profile fights, and unexpectedly pulling out the upset. He spoiled Carlos Condit's UFC welcome party and, coming in as an underdog, he's beaten Thales Leites, Drew McFedries, Jorge Rivera and Paulo Thiago.

Shields definitely has the grappling and submissions advantage over just about anyone at 170 pounds, but Kampmann is no slouch in that department. Kampmann was a Thai Boxing champion in Denmark before his mixed martial arts career. 

Martin should have a significant advantage in the standup, but Shields has neutralized far more dangerous strikers than Kampmann—including the man who KO’d Kampann just one year ago, Paul Daley. Shields is coming off the biggest win of his career thus far over another lethal striker/wrestler, Dan Henderson. 

If Shields wins, he gets a title shot against Georges St. Pierre. There is no word yet whether Kampmann will get a title shot with a victory, so it would probably depend on how impressive he is. 

It’s not going to matter anyways. 

Jake Shields wins this by third-round submission.

Paulo Thiago (13-2) over Diego “The Nightmare” Sanchez (21-4)

Diego Sanchez used to be almost unstoppable. 

He was undefeated through his first 17 fights, and he most certainly lived up to his nickname, “The Nightmare.” 

He’s one of those fighters with the complete package of skills. Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, striking, and he’s good at all of them. 

But I think Diego is fading. The relentless pace and attack that made Diego Sanchez so dangerous has slowed. 

Meanwhile, Paulo Thiago is the hungrier, more dangerous fighter right now. He's probably Diego's equal in grappling, and I’d say he hits a bit harder in the standup. 

Diego and Paulo are both coming off of disappointing losses. Nobody has ever stopped Diego—BJ Penn cut Diego, and that fight was stopped by the doctor, but Diego has never been knocked out nor submitted. 

I think Paulo gets it done by Unanimous Decision.

Matt “The Hammer” Hamill (9-2) over “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz (15-7)

Classic student-versus-mentor matchup, Tito was Matt Hamill’s coach on The Ultimate Fighter 3.

Hamill was favored to win TUF, but was sidelined by injury. 

Tito Ortiz used to be an MMA god. He successfully defended the Light Heavyweight title five times—a mark which no other Light Heavyweight has reached to this day. 

But Tito has been plagued with injuries, and he's just not the fighter he used to be.

Matt Hamill is one of those inspiring stores of overcoming adversity. Matt is completely deaf and has been all his life, but he's an extremely dangerous wrestler and striker. 

Ortiz is coming off a big loss and a disappointing withdrawal from coaching yet another season of The Ultimate Fighter due to injury. Matt Hamill was absolutely manhandled by Jon “Bones” Jones (just like everyone else Jon Jones has fought recently), but won the fight by a controversial disqualification. 

Matt bounced back with a win over Keith Jardine. Matt will beat Ortiz, and probably any other Light Heavyweight that’s not in the top 10. 

Matt Hamill by second-round TKO.

Brendon “The Hybrid” Shaub (6-1) over Gabriel “Napão” Gonzaga (11-5)

A very interesting matchup, this pits "The Ultimate Fighter runner up who could” against the guy with the most stunning and brutal knockout in MMA history. 

Shaub keeps proving everyone wrong and winning against the odds. And Brendon isn’t just winning, he’s knocking guys out in the first round.

Gonzaga has been off and on ever since he dropped Mirko Cro-Cop with the nastiest head-kick I've ever seen. Gonzaga has consistently won against every non-elite fighter. 

This is a big step up for Shaub, but I think he’s ready for it. Brendon’s star is rising, and this is his big moment to shine. 

This fight could definitely go either way, but I think Shaub wins by knockout in round 3.

UNDERCARD ON SPIKE TV

Court “The Crusher” McGee (12-1) over Ryan Jensen (15-6)

The most recent "The Ultimate Fighter" winner, Court McGee, will be making his post-TUF debut. 

Ryan Jensen has been around the UFC for awhile, racking up a mixed bag of wins and losses. Among all the small local fights in Utah, Court McGee has one big-time fight on his record—a Unanimous Decision loss to the legendary Jeremy Horn (87-20), accounting for Court's only loss on record. 

That was three years ago. 

No shame in losing one to Jeremy Horn, as many other great fighters have as well, and he made a good fight of it. Court is a bit raw, but he gets the job done against a mid-level UFC veteran. 

I think McGee has this one by second-round submission.

As for the rest:

Patrick “The Predator” Côté (13-6) over “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (6-3)

NON-TELEVISED UNDERCARD

“Ninja” Daniel Roberts (10-1) over Mike “The Joker” Guymon (12-3)

Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout (15-6) over “Relentless” Paul Taylor (10-5)

“The Ox” Dong Yi Yang (9-0) over Chris Camozzi (13-3)

Gilbert “The Hurricane” Yvel (36-15) over Jon Madsen (6-0)

This should be a great night of fights! Happy Halloween, everyone!