Such is life I suppose, but for me it’s kind of a bummer because while I am totally on board with the crazy antics of Nick Diaz, Nate just seems like the brother who has chosen to go big on the thuggishness but can’t back it up with straight comedy that his bro can provide.

As for the fight itself I don’t think that this warrants FOX TV main event status and not because these guys aren’t capable of being stars. Miller is one of the better fighters in the world in the sports toughest division while Diaz has that personality that is impossible to ignore. But I find it to be a mismatch. Currently Fight Matrix has them listed as #7 and 8 with Diaz as the higher ranked of the two but I just don’t buy into those numbers. I know a win over Donald Cerrone is worth a lot these days but certainly not that much. Also, I think the utter failure of his welterweight campaign should still be counted against him since he has only had 2 fights back at lightweight.

I will admit to being surprised by the ease with which Diaz handled Cerrone back at UFC 140 so maybe I’m writing him off too soon but that fight alone is not enough to convince me that he’ll have what it takes to combat the strength and wrestling ability of his opponent. Plus, if there are two things we can count on a Diaz to be it is cocky and sloppy and look how far that got Melvin Guillard when he ran up against Miller a few months ago. Miller’s only two loses in his last 18 fights have come against current UFC champ Ben Henderson and two time UFC contender Grey Maynard. Yes he got gobbled up in an ugly way by Henderson but there is no shame in that.

Much more shameful to me is Diaz’s 5-5 record in his last 10 outings. Sure that’s far better than I would have accomplished but Dana White really should be looking at that when granting title shots and not his excitement over the opportunity to splash Diaz’s name all over a PPV. To me this is clearly the easiest pick on the main card, look for Miller to chew Diaz up and finish him far before Nick has a chance to offer any brotherly advice from the corner. Miller doesn’t have the raw boxing skills that Diaz does but he has much more of a chance of landing a one punch knockout. I think he’ll land it early and end this fight in the opening frame but if not he can always fall back on his grappling and toss Diaz around the cage in much the same manner that Rory MacDonald did in Toronto last year.

Neither is likely to run out of steam though neither has ever fought past the third round. If you had to bet on one of them to outlast the other you would probably want to go with Diaz in that department which might slant the balance in his favor if this fight goes the distance. Of course for him to rack up massive points he’ll also have to keep things standing, something he had no problem doing against Cerrone. But I just can’t envision Miller letting things go that deep before he earns the stoppage victory. He’ll probably still need one more win to earn a rematch with Henderson (possibly against the winner of Guida/Maynard) but I have faith that he will one day be a champion.

Miller via 1st Round TKO
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In the main event, Antonio McKee (27-4-2) fights Chad Dietmeyer (8-1) in a lightweight scrap. McKee is a former UFC veteran, a former champion with MFC and an IFL standout. There is not a better fighter in the game that can control a fight and take it to the ground and keep it on the ground like McKee. McKee went on an 8 year undefeated streak and looks to continue his two-fight streak he is currently riding. For Dietmeyer, this will be a huge step up in competition and with it comes a huge career opportunity. Dietmeyer has fought on the Arizona circuit for some time, grabbing regional titles and a victory over the vaunted McKee would do wonders for his future. Expect McKee to do what he does best and try to get the fight to the ground early and keep it there. Dietmeyer needs to make McKee pay when he comes in for a takedown, a tall order, and then if he finds himself on the bottom work submission after submission.

In the co-main event, Jesse Juarez (15-5) takes on Leonardo Silva. For the Strikeforce and Bellator vet, Juarez this is another chance to get on the radar of the UFC. Juarez is a strong wrestler, especially as a welterweight, and will no doubt try and control the bout and get Silva on his back. For Silva, this could be a make or break fight as he has suffered back to back losses, so expect the Strikeforce and Bellator veteran to come out guns blazing, leaving nothing to chance. This is an important fight for both fighters for very different reasons so that is great news to the fans. Expect fireworks of some kind early on in this bout.

Don’t miss this exciting card. Extreme Fighters World Championship brings you another fully loaded card with “The Untamed 2″. Watch the hottest SoCal fighters compete in the cage. Order this event now, exclusively through the GFL Combat Sport Network at GFL.tv.
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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (March 28, 2012) – Invicta Fighting Championships will stream its inaugural all-women’s professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event live in its entirety, free of charge to a worldwide audience on the promotion’s website, InvictaFC.com, from Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. on Saturday, April 28.

“Since we announced the formation of Invicta, we’ve received tremendous support and interest from fight fans around the world who are eager to watch some of the best fighters in the women’s field of MMA compete in our first event,” said Invicta President and Co-Founder Shannon Knapp.

“The live stream,” continued Knapp, “is the best way to give fans, no matter where they are located, the opportunity to participate and take in the action as it unfolds and, at the same time, establish the forthcoming Invicta website as an online destination for women’s MMA content.”

The live stream on InvictaFC.com will begin at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST with the event’s five-bout preliminary card and continue with the seven-bout main card.

The first-ever Invicta Fighting Championships event will be headlined by a long-awaited featherweight (145 pounds) rematch between superstar Marloes Coenen (19-5) of The Netherlands and Romy Ruyssen (5-1) of France.

In the co-main event, two 29-year-old submission specialists – Jessica Penne (8-1) of Laguna Hills, Calif. and Lisa Ellis-Ward (14-7) of Lacey, Wash.- will square off with one another at strawweight (105 pounds).

Undefeated rising star Cat “Alpha” Zingano (6-0) of Denver, Colo. will square off with fellow hard-hitting prospect and professional boxer Anita “El Tigre” Rodriguez (5-2) of Dallas, Texas in a featured bantamweight (135 pounds) bout.

Strikeforce bantamweight star and United States Marine Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche (5-2) of San Diego, Calif. will square off with unbeaten prospect Ashleigh Curry (1-0) of Kansas City, Mo.

Another Strikeforce bantamweight competitor, Sarah D’Alelio (4-2) of San Jose, Calif., will face Shana “Rock Solid” Nelson (5-2) of Hibbing, Minn.

Leslie Smith (3-2) of Pleasant Hill, Calif. will meet Kaitlin Young (7-5) of St. Louis Park, Minn. at bantamweight and Sally Krumdiack (9-4) of Bellingham, Wash. will duke it out with Sarah Schneider (5-5) of Kansas City, Mo. at flyweight (115 pounds).

In preliminary card action, Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc (7-5) of Tulsa, Okla. will take on Amy Davis (2-2) of Idaho Falls, Idaho at strawweight. Sarah Maloy (2-2) of Ada, Okla. will meet Michele Gutierrez (3-2) of Las Vegas, Nev. in a super flyweight (125 pounds) tilt. Mollie Estes (1-0) of Lake Lotawana, Mo. will face Randi Miller (0-0) of Broomfield, Colo. at featherweight. Unbeaten Ashley Cummins (2-0) of St. Louis will battle Sofia Bagherdai (4-1) of Upland, Calif. at flyweight. Jessica Philippus (0-0) of Marshall, Mo. will make her professional debut against Meghan Wright (1-3) of Cincinnati, Ohio in a strawweight matchup.

All bouts have been approved by the Kansas State Athletic Commission.

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Photo: MMA Weekly

PRESS RELEASE:

Palo Alto, California (USA): As mixed martial arts nears its twenty-year anniversary here in the United States, MMA fans are starting to see second generation competitors enter the ranks of fighters. Right here in the Bay Area, two young fighters are continuing their father’s legacy as they prepare for their likely eventual pro fight debuts. Their quest will continue this Saturday, as Casey and Nikko Jackson will look to represent their father, former UFC/Strikeforce fighter Eugene “The Wolf” Jackson, at the Fox Theatre in Redwood City, California as Elite Combat Sports brings “Hybrid 3” to the Bay Area. “Hybrid 3” will feature a mix of electrifying mixed martial arts and Muay Thai fights, and showcase some of the top amateur fighters on the West Coast.

At “Hybrid 3,” 20 year-old Nikko Jackson will put his 8-4 amateur record on the line against undefeated Keith Cutrone (5-0), while 19 year-old Casey will look to improve his 4-3 record against Ashton Pierce, who will be making his amateur MMA debut.

A West Coast MMA legend, Eugene Jackson is remembered for his brutal KO of Royce Alger at UFC 21 in 1999, as well as his 15-9 record that included only one decision. A seven-time UFC veteran who also fought four times in Strikeforce, “The Wolf” finished his career with three wins in four fights, and won the now-defunct Strikeforce U.S. Middleweight Championship in the process. During his career, he faced well-known fighters such as Joe Doerksen, Wanderlei Silva, Sanae Kikuta, Jeremy Horn, Ricardo Almeida, Tony Fryklund, Ronald Jhun, and Joe Riggs.

Since his retirement, Jackson has poured his energies into fighting the gang culture that has plagued East Palo Alto in recent years. He has taken in many young athletes, training them to put their aggression into training for the cage rather than on the streets. Now, through his sons Nikko and Casey, “The Wolf” is passing on a heritage that should live long into the future.

“It’s an honor to have two great young fighters like Nikko and Casey on the card,” said Dave Madsen. “Eugene is a true legend, and a gentleman, and we welcome him with open arms to any ECS event.”

ECS’ “Hybrid 3” takes place on Saturday, March 17th at the Fox Theatre in Redwood City, California. Doors open at 6 PM, with the first fight hitting the cage at 7 PM. Tickets are available online at http://www.elitecombatsports.com/store/tickets.php.

Besides the Jackson bouts, other notable fights on the card include a California State Amateur Bantamweight Championship bout between the current title-holder Radames Garcia and the undefeated Ashton Crow, as well as a scrap between John Donaldson and Isaiah Batin-Gonzalez. In addition, Charlie Seang and Jaime Rios will engage in a featherweight battle that will see one of these two combatants get their first loss.

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But any misconceptions about her ability to fight for her right to fight aside she still has a larger problem in the marketing of her own brand and that is the in cage product she puts on display. We’ve all forgotten it by now (thankfully) but her five round jab-a-thon with Takayo Hashi back in February 2010 still stands as the most excruciating main event in televised MMA history. The folks at Showtime, supposedly operating independently of Dana White’s influence, are not the brightest promoters on the planet but they were at least smart enough to know that sending Rousey in there to break Tate’s arm would make for far better TV than whatever Kaufman could provide and based off of last night’s title fight they were right.

Kaufman though is no dim bulb and knew that she had to provide something more than just peppering Alexis Davis with little baby leg kicks to win the respect of the fans and the suits and so she came out with reckless abandon and engaged in a bloody three round war that saw her take home a majority decision. It was a crazy sight to see and totally unlike any Sarah Kaufman we had known before. Later on her battered mug was rolled out to cage side to watch Rousey armbar her way to victory in another spectacular women’s match setting up an inevitable showdown between the two. Unfortunately this will just be another case in which the pre-fight mic work will almost certainly outshine anything that happens after the bell rings as everything I’ve seen since Rousey burst on the scene seems to indicate that she is indestructible.

Of course I am basing that off of what Rousey has done to low level competition and then to Tate but women’s MMA being what it is (shallow) it’s always hard to gauge an athlete’s true worth and I think in the case of Miesha Tate her beauty causes even more cloudiness. As much as I would love to judge her solely on her in-ring performance it is hard because I find it hard to believe that somebody not blessed with that face would have been pushed quite as hard as she. It was always her sitting ringside with Frank Shamrock winking at the camera and not, say, Marleos Coenen. Be that as it may she has more than earned her spot in the division by winning a one night, four woman tournament and choking out the aforementioned Coenen, neither of which are small tasks. However, going into her fight with Rousey the entire MMA community had predicted her going down to a first round submission and they all were proven right. But was the lack of respect due to a perceived false push of Tate or to the apparent awesomeness of Rousey? Either way Rousey did what she was done in every other one of her pro bouts and earned a stoppage victory in under a round.

Kaufman may not have beauty on her side but she is respected by the MMA media. She may even be less of an underdog heading into her fight with Rousey. We all know she can win fights (she’s 15-1 after all) we just didn’t know until last night that she could do it with any sort of panache. And yet I still dare you to tell me that there is any other possible outcome to their fight other than Rousey by first round submission. I might bite on second round submission but that is as far as I’ll go.
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The lightweight title picture(s) being what it is we never really got the unification bout between the UFC and WEC that we all craved. But this weekend we’ll get the closest thing yet to that as Ben Henderson tries to claim the UFC title from Frankie Edgar. Even though Henderson missed his chance to close down the WEC with their title he did hold it for the last 14 months of the promotions existance except for their final night. And during that reign was pretty much universally left off of pound for pound lists while Zuffa’s more reputable lightweight champ, Edgar starting in April of 2010, got to soak up all the glory. It was just taken as common knowledge that the WEC Lightweight champ really couldn’t be considered as good as the UFC champ because the competition wasn’t nearly as stiff. However, we have seen time and time again that the WEC division was no joke as they continue to score wins over UFC guys. And considering that these two were the reigning champs in the finals months of the WEC there is no better chance to examine the conventional wisdom that proclaimed Edgar the far superior fighter. Even the betting line is remarkably close for the UFC title fight giving indication right away that perhaps Bendo was undervalued back when he fought for that other Zuffa promotion.

It’s hard to sleep on Henderson, a guy who has gone 13-1 in his last 14 outings and who maybe was the victim of some biased judges who were won over by Anthony Pettis and his flashy cage kick at WEC 53. Since entering the UFC he shut out Mark Bocek which may not be saying a lot other than it happened in Bocek’s backyard. But after that he chewed up and destroyed a seemingly unstoppable Jim Miller in August earning himself a title eliminator match up against the man who had earlier in the year flattened Pettis, Clay Guida. The fight was one of the best of the year but Henderson was never really in any danger. He ended up losing one round on one of the judges scorecards and now is ready to take on Edgar in Japan.

Strategically he is also a tough nut to crack. He has a well balanced offense that means that he can’t really be exploited on his feet or on the ground. His legs are possibly the biggest in MMA and have proven difficult to control. He already has a significant size advantage over Edgar and when you factor in those thighs it’s really hard to see him getting taken down at all. If Edgar were to get him there then he would have a wrestling advantage but desiring a take down of Henderson and actually scoring it are two different things. Plus Edgar has to be well aware of Henderson’s ability to choke, four of his career victories have come via the guillotine. Though all of his UFC wins have come thanks to the judges so perhaps the competition has started to catch on, not that it has done them a whole lot of good.

Of course Edgar is one of the top fighters in the world. He has a record of 14-1-1, but if we eliminate Gray Maynard from the equation he is 14-0 and in his last fight he knocked Maynard out sort of nullifying that loss and that draw in the process. He has speed and heart and resilience but I just can’t see it being enough to get past Henderson who has all of those things and simply a larger frame. Of course I can’t imagine Henderson being crafty or aggessive enough to pull off a stoppage (I’m willing to go so far as to say that after round 1 of Edgar/Maynard 2 I’d bet that Edgar will never be finished in his career). He never was a guy you could count on to score a knockout so unless Edgar inexplicably, accidentally sticks his neck where it doesn’t belong watch for this fight to go the distance with Henderson squeaking by on the scroecards.
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It’s common knowledge to those of us who follow the sport that UFC matchmakers don’t like to repeat themselves if at all possible. It bores the average fan or so they tell us and I’m not even saying that I disagree with it as a general premise to follow. It only becomes a problem when somebody as dominant of Georges St-Pierre steps into the picture and effectively cleans out the division. But with him out of the picture for the next year or so and the UFC on the verge of crowning an interim champion those who have fallen to the pound for pound king may be ready for a shot at redemption. The first name that popped into my head was, of course, Jon Fitch. Here was a man who before his last fight had also more or less cleaned out the division with one major exception: the unanimous decision defeat at the hands of GSP. But then Johny Hendricks only took 12 seconds to smash those dreams thus forcing us to consider who else is primed for a comeback and the choice is rather clear, Josh Koscheck.

Koscheck, the ever self aware frat boy heel, has two GSP losses to his record and most recently in his December 2010 title fight we saw him do little else besides sustain an eye injury that kept him out for most of 2011. When he return however he massacred Matt Hughes and was set to take on Carlos Condit before he got plucked from that contest and placed in the main event. His record or the quality of his wins are not spectacular but his skills are undeniable as is his marketability. And thanks to the shuffling of the deck at this card he has been thrown something of a softball in Mike Pierce. Koscheck comes in as a -245 favorite and despite Pierce’s 13-4 record it is hard to envision any sort of scenario in which he is not able to secure a victory here.

Pierce meanwhile is no push over himself having won every fight in the Octagon thus far except for the times he had to battle Fitch and Hendricks. Both of those guys are wrestling based and like to play on the mat and while Koscheck also excels at that game he is better than either of them at striking. Pierce doesn’t get taken down easy though I still expect Koscheck to take one or two attempts to do so. If that doesn’t fly then he’ll be happy to stand and bang where he should find a lot more fortune. Pierce has never been finished so the real question will be whether or not he’ll keep that streak alive or if Koscheck will score another knockout of the night on him. Obviously if he were able to manhandle Pierce the same way he did Hughes then it would do wonders for his chances of returning to the top of the division. As mentioned earlier he has already been beaten soundly by GSP twice but since we don’t have a firm timetable on his return a win for him at UFC 143 could open the door for a matchup against the winner of the Condit/Diaz tilt.

Koscheck knows that at 34 the clock is kind of ticking on him and I expect that to play into his strategy. He needs a win and he needs it to be sexy so look for him to go full court press on Pierce. Pierce will probably be able to survive for a round simply by slowing the action and neutralizing his opponent but by the second round look for the always crafty Koscheck to figure out his line of defense and then bust right on through it.
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Without placing blame on any one elbow I think we can agree that Mark Munoz did take a bit of steam out of the UFC of Fox 2 card that will be broadcast live from Chicago this Saturday night. But the entire card, from the Facebook prelims on up, is stacked so harping on his injury hardly seems worth it. Plus we could always just look on the bright side…this new card pretty much guarantees that we’ll get to see Chael Sonnen choke Michael Bisping unconscious plus we get a downright fantastic battle between established middleweight star Demian Maia (15-3) and the new guy on the block Chris Weidman (7-0)

Certainly the UFC found themselves in a spot when Munoz pulled out of his fight a few weeks back but they recovered nicely bringing in Weidman, a man who has been deemed the future of the division. And in matching him up against Maia we’ll get to see just what he’s made of. Maia, sadly, has settled into a gatekeeper role as after laying a bomb in his title fight against Anderson Silva back in 09 he has pretty much guaranteed that he will never get another title shot in that division. Plus after starting 11-0 he has only gone 4-3 in his last seven fights and at 34 he’s no young buck so where exactly does his career go from here? If he expects it to go anywhere he is probably going to need a highlight reel victory over Weidman and really, what are the chances he pulls that off?

When Weidman entered the UFC a little under a year ago he brought with him a 4-0 record and buckets full of hype. Since then he has chewed up the lower end of the division earning himself, with an assist from Munoz, a chance to take out a top 10 middleweight in front of an audience of millions. It was a risky fight for him and his team to take, especially considering the short notice, but when a career opportunity like this presents itself you pretty much have to say yes. Vegas likes him as a -150 favorite in what they claim will be the most hotly contested main card fight of the night. Weidman is a stud grappler and should have the striking advantage so victory is easily within his reach but if anybody is going to shrink under the brightest of bright lights it will be him.

If anything is going to be an X factor that has the potential to tilt this fight one way or the other I would say that it would be experience and Weidman’s lack of it which could lead to him being filled with over confidence as he enters the Octagon. It’s hard to overstate the difference in skill level between a Tom Lawlor and a Demian Maia and I’m sure Weidman is aware of that but considering that he has walked through every fight of his career thus far it will be interesting to see what happens when somebody actually holds his feet to the fire. Weidman will try to lean on his striking, I assume, because despite some obvious efforts by Maia he will never really know how to box properly. Maia does have a huge advantage however in worthwhile experience and I like him here especially if he is able to get Weidman to the mat. The fight is probably not the best ambassador for the sport but we as an MMA community will have to eventually get over such insecurities. If you and I are able to appreciate the art of a good ground war then why can’t the rest of the country? To the best of my knowledge Maia has retired from the finishing game so don’t look for any awe inspiring finishes but he should end up in the winner’s circle thanks to a trio of 29-28 scorecards.
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Miller’s career has been a pretty spectacular thus far though his workmanlike, grind em out style has certainly won him no friends in the UFC front office. Back when Charles Oliveira was undefeated and not known for needing illegal knees to finish Nik Lentz Miller polished him off in no time with a slick looking knee bar submission. He went on from there to crush the also previous undefeated (and seemingly indestructible) Kamal Shalorus before coming face to face with Ben Henderson. We could make the point that the fights he had to take were challenging to a fault and that the UFC could have done more to protect him as a contender but that is neither here nor there next to the fact that he just got mauled that night by the man who will next month fly to Japan to take on Frankie Edgar. And as tough (and painful) as that loss was the reality is that Miller is still a top 10 lightweight whose only career losses have come against the top three guys in his weight class and a win on Friday will certainly put him right back “in the mix” (as they like to say).

Guillard’s ascent was more sudden. His rise to the top was helped greatly by Kenny Florian who bowed out of a fight with Evan Dunham which allowed Guillard to step in and blast the guy. He then creamed an outmatched Shane Roller and should have done the same to Joe Lauzon. But, unfortunately, he got clipped with a clean left that led to him tapping out 47 seconds into the fight. He too is looking to get back into the hunt and considering his age and, more importantly, the wear and tear on his body I think it is safe to say that it is all or nothing for him this weekend if his goal is to one day wear UFC gold. The game plan should be fairly obvious, he will look to overwhelm Miller early with his explosive offense. But Miller is an ultra tough combo of cerebral cool and physical sturdiness so the notion of Guillard just hotshoting his way through him strikes me as a tad unlikely. It should result in a highly entertaining first round though as Guillard will probably come at him with his entire repertoire while Miller will be forced into full on defensive mode hoping to hold on until Guillard either gets frustrated or gasses out.

I wouldn’t be terribly surprised to see Miller sacrifice the opening frame knowing that Guillard has a reputation for getting tired and coming off the battle plan in the later rounds. Henderson had all the luck a guy could ever hope for against Miller but he never really had him on the verge of being finished. He beat the hell out of him to be sure but he needed the State of Wisconsin judges to deliver the finishing blow. The fight is a real gem and makes the rest of this sour card somewhat worth it but choosing a winner is a tough endeavor. For me it comes down to my gut feeling that I trust Miller in a way that I could never trust Guillard. Maybe he’ll get lucky and maybe he’ll land a killer knee early on but overall I would consider Guillard too risky a bet. I’ll stick with Miller to outsmart his way to a late submission victory.

Pick: Miller via 3rd Round Submission
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There are two highly questionable main card attractions on the UFC 142 slate that are bringing lopsided betting lines to those fans willing to shell out the big bucks for the pay portion of the show. First up we have the always crazy Rousimar Palhares coming in as a stunning -600 favorite and while that line strikes me a tad inflammatory he should have no trouble at all tapping Mike Massenzio. The other supposed mismatch that is clogging up the PPV is this one between streaking prospect Erick Silva (13-1) and veteran journeyman Carlo Prater (29-10-1) who will finally be making his Octagon debut in his 41st professional fight. Now Silva is only hovering around the -525 mark but no matter, it seems as all the money is on him and why not after his performance at UFC 134 where he diced up Luis Ramos in less than a minute. He has been touted as the future of the welterweight division by Anderson Silva and the general sense is that once he gets through another semi-gimme in his home country he will be thrust into the upper echelon of the division.

The only problem with that theory is that people seem to be sleeping on Prater who has put together an impressive career for himself. He holds wins over UFC mainstays Carlos Condit, Melvin Guillard and Spencer Fisher. He entered the WEC as a title contender in 2008 but lost first in a rematch to Condit and then to Brock Larson before being let go by the promotion. He’s currently on a four fight win streak that was started on national TV 11 months ago when he choked out Bryan Travers at Strikeforce Challengers 14. At 30 age is not exactly on his side but he is wealthy in other aspects of his game. We have seen recently with the success of Brian Ebersole that entering the UFC after years of being ignored can be a pathway to victory.

Silva has the reputation he does mainly because of his striking ability (and he will have a nice reach advantage come Saturday night) but his bread and butter has been his submission game throughout his career. He has seven submission victories to just three that fall into T/KO category. I bring this up mainly because I wonder which direction Silva will go in as the fight enters deep water. He looked amazing in his last fight when he was able to slip one big punch around the guard of Ramos but assuming that punch isn’t going to land for a few rounds this time around what is his back up plan exactly? If a ground game is his comfort zone he may run into something of a buzz saw there as Prater is well versed in many techniques (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Luta Livre, wrestling) and has used them to great effect throughout his career. Also, youth and intensity don’t get you very far once the fight becomes a grappling affair.

It gives me no joy in this case to pick against Erick Silva but I am afraid that stylistically this is just not a good match up for him. I was as excited as everybody else in August after the KO that was shown ad naseum during the night and I would love to see just how high he can actually soar. But unless he can replicate that lightning fast outcome he got the last time the UFC came to Rio he is going to be slogging uphill here. If he can work out a gameplan where he keeps the action standing then he should have his hand raised no problem, but once this contest hits the mat I feel as though his game is going to be exposed in a major way. Look for Prater to take this one and score one of the bigger upsets we will see all year.

Pick: Carlo Prater via 2nd Round Submission
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