UFC 131 Fight Card: Early Predictions for Every Fight

UFC 131 has just had a major shake up.

Originally the main event was to be Brock Lesnar vs. Junior dos Santos for the No. 1 contendership to the heavyweight title.

Unfortunately, a flare up of diverticulitis has forced Lesnar to pull out of the scheduled bout.

Luckily for the UFC, Shane Carwin was set to fight on that card already, and he agreed to move up into the main event and take on Junior dos Santos in a No. 1 contender bout.

So now the main event features two outstanding strikers, in a fight that is sure to end in a knockout.

But who's going to get the knockout? And what about the rest of the fights?

Read on to find out my early predictions for every fight on the card.

Michihiro Omigawa vs. Darren Elkins

Michihiro Omigawa (12-9-1) takes on Darren Elkins (12-2) in a featherweight matchup.

Omigawa started off his career pretty poorly, but in his last 10 fights, he is 8-2, including wins over Nam Phan, LC Davis, and the No. 2 featherweight in the world, Hatsu Hioki, so don't let the record fool you.

In Omigawa's last fight, he lost a unanimous decision to No. 1 contender, Chad Mendes.

Darren Elkins also comes into this fight off a loss. In Elkins' last fight, he submitted to an armbar in just 41 seconds.

Both of these two are going to be looking for wins to get them back on the right track.

Prediction: Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision.

Joey Beltran vs. Dave Herman

Joey Beltran (12-5) will be taking on Dave Herman (20-2) in a heavyweight bout.

Beltran is currently on a two fight losing streak, dropping unanimous decisions to Matt Mitrione and Pat Barry. Beltran will probably be fighting for his job in this fight.

Herman will be making his UFC debut, and I cannot wait to see him. Herman became well known among hardcore fans for winning his first 15 fights all with a finish, and all but one in the first round.

In addition, of Herman's two losses, one of them was a DQ. This is an exciting young fighter (he's only 26), and I expect him to do big things in the UFC heavyweight division.

Prediction: Dave Herman via first round TKO.

Nick Ring vs. James Head

Sick mouthpiece.

Nick Ring (11-0) takes on James Head (7-1) in a middleweight bout.

Ring was a participant on season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter and he defeated the eventual champion, Court McGee, in a quarterfinal bout. Unfortunately for Ring, he ended up pulling out of the competition with an injury.

He made his UFC debut at UFC 127, where he defeated Riki Fukuda via unanimous decision.

James head will be making his UFC debut coming off a win over Gerald Harris. Yeah, the same Gerald Harris that was unceremoniously cut by the UFC.

I can only assume he was signed due to gaining a victory over someone the UFC thought was a good fighter.

Prediction: James Head via unanimous decision.

Dustin Poirier vs. Jason Young

Dustin Poirier (9-1) takes on Jason Young (8-3) in a featherweight bout.

Poirier comes back to the Octagon on the heels of his upset over Josh Grispi. Originally Grispi was to fight Jose Aldo for the title, but when an injury forced Aldo out, Grispi wanted to remain on the card. That turned out to be a mistake when Poirer took the unanimous decision.

So Poirier will now look to climb up the featherweight ladder and earn himself a number one contender spot.

Jason Young makes his UFC debut after earning two straight unanimous decision victories in smaller promotions.

Prediction: Dustin Poirier via second round submission.

Jesse Bongfeldt vs. Chris Weidman

Jesse Bongfeldt (15-4-1) takes on Chris Weidman (5-0) in a middleweight bout.

Bongfeldt makes his second appearance inside the Octagon, and in his last outing, he and Rafael Natal fought to a majority draw.

Before that, Bongfeldt had been on a 7 fight winning streak, including wins over current UFC fighters, Sean Pierson and TJ Grant.

Chris Weidman also makes his second appearance inside the Octagon. In his last fight, he won a unanimous decision over Alessio Sakara. Weidman took the fight with two weeks notice.

Prediction: Chris Weidman via second round TKO.

Sam Stout vs. Yves Edwards

Sam Stout (16-6-1) takes on Yves Edwards (40-16-1) in a lightweight fight.

Stout comes into this fight off a split decision win over Paul Taylor. Before that, he had won 3 straight "Fight of the Night" awards, winning two of those fights.

In his UFC career, he has won 5 total "Fight of the Night" awards, and he is a very exciting fighter, and has finished the fight in more than half of his victories.

Edwards comes into the fight on a three fight winning streak, including his "Fight of the Night" and "Submission of the Night" victory over guillotine choke expert, Cody McKenzie.

Edwards is one of the most experienced fighters in the lightweight division, and this fight is sure to be outstanding.

Prediction: Yves Edwards by third round rear-naked choke.

Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Igor Pokrajac

Although this fight is not yet on the official fight card, I am going to include it.

Krzysztof Soszynski (25-11-1) takes on Igor Pokrajac (23-8) in a light heavyweight bout.

Soszynski comes into this fight following a unanimous decision win over Goran Reljic at UFC 122.

Soszynski is a very well rounded fighter, as he has 10 wins by (T)KO and 11 via submission, including wins over Stephan Bonnar and Brian Stann.

Pokrajac is another well rounded fighter, and he is coming off a TKO win over Todd Brown. In the fight, Brown was hit with a knee and punches, but was then saved by the bell. When he went to his corner, he could not stand of his own power and the fight was stopped.

Pretty impressive.

Prediction: Krzysztof Soszynski via third round TKO.

On a side note, this is probably the most difficult matchup to spell in UFC history.

Mac Danzig vs. Donald Cerrone

Mac Danzig (20-8-1) takes on Donald Cerrone (14-3 [1 NC]) in a lightweight matchup.

Danzig comes into this fight after an impressive, Knockout of the Night recipient, win over UFC veteran, Joe Stevenson.

Before that, Danzig lost in a controversial fight against Matt Wiman, where the fight was stopped although Danzig had not submitted and was still conscious. So Danzig could have potentially been on a three fight winning streak.

Cerrone makes his second appearance inside the UFC Octagon, and is currently on a three fight winning streak.

In Cerrone's last fight, a Fight of the Night performance, he submitted Paul Kelly with a rear-naked choke in the second round.

Cerrone is a good young fighter, and all three of his losses were to current/ former WEC champions.

Prediction: Donald Cerrone via first round submission.

Kenny Florian vs. Diego Nunes

Kenny Florian (14-5) takes on Diego Nunes (16-1) in a featherweight bout.

Florian comes into this fight making his featherweight debut, looking for a run at the title, and a fight against Jose Aldo.

Florian's last fight was at UFC 118, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Gray Maynard in a No. 1 contender's bout.

After that fight, and with the UFC absorbing the WEC, Florian decided it was time to drop down and make a run at UFC gold in a different weight class.

Nunes comes in looking for a win that would send him skyrocketing up the rankings.

Many people think that this may be a No. 1 contender's bout, with the winner taking on the winner of Aldo-Mendes.

Nunes was very impressive in the WEC, and in his UFC debut, he defeated the former champion, Mike Brown, via split decision.

Prediction: Kenny Florian via first round submission.

Demian Maia vs. Mark Munoz

Demian Maia (14-2) takes on Mark Muñoz (10-2) in a middleweight matchup.

Maia comes into this fight after two consecutive unanimous decisions over Kendall Grove and Mario Miranda.

Maia's past three wins have all gone to decision, but that is because he has been wanting to showcase his standup lately.

Muñoz comes in off a first round, first minute, TKO over CB Dollaway. 

Muñoz has got dynamite in his hands, and he has 6 stoppages due to strikes. He is also a purple belt in BJJ.

Prediction: Demian Maia via first round submission.

Junior Dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin

Junior dos Santos (12-1) will be taking on Shane Carwin (12-1) in a heavyweight matchup as the main event of the evening.

dos Santos comes into the fight after coaching season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter. He was originally supposed to fight Brock Lesnar for a No. 1 contender's spot, but on May 12th, Lesnar was forced to pull out as his diverticulitis had flared up.

Before JDS' coaching stint on TUF, he was on a 7 fight winning streak including (T)KOs over Fabricio Werdum, Stefan Struve, Mirko Cro Cop, Gilbert Yvel and Gabriel Gonzaga, and then a unanimous decision over Roy Nelson.

Carwin comes into this fight after an 11 month absence, during which he had a back injury. In Carwin's last fight, he was within seconds of becoming the UFC Heavyweight Champion, but he gassed out and Brock Lesnar was able to survive. In the second round, Lesnar came back and submitted him with an arm-triangle choke.

This fight features two dynamic strikers, both with knockout power in each hand. This fight is almost too close to call, but I guess I have to do it.

Prediction: Junior dos Santos via second round knockout.