Benson
Henderson (c) v. Anthony Pettis
Doctor Law: Do people really remember the first time
these guys fought? I don’t mean the “Showtime kick”…we all saw that. I mean the
actual fight. It was one of the greatest fights in WEC history. People seemed
to agree that it was even at 2 rounds apiece entering the 5th round, where
Pettis sealed the decision victory with the aforementioned “Showtime kick.”
It’s going to be ridiculously difficult for those guys to live up to that fight.
Still, it should be fairly entertaining. I know Pettis won the first one, but
I’m going with the champ here. Sure, most of his wins are close decision
victories…but he always manages to win. I think he takes this one either by
decision or late round submission. Also,
Pettis lost to Guida…that’s not a good look bro. Let’s go with Bendo by decision.
DJ Mark:
This has to be one of the bigger fights we’ve seen in the lightweight division.
I don’t feel like I need to describe what happened in their first fight because
at this time, I don’t know if there’s anyone who hasn’t seen the ‘Showtime’
kick and that’s all you really need to know about their first fight. Both guys
have had good/great runs in the UFC even if Anthony stumbled a bit out of the
gates. Overall though I’ve been more impress with Henderson’s performances then
Pettis’s. I feel like Henderson should be able to win this fight but Pettis has
to have the mental edge knowing that he not only beat Henderson before, he made
a spectacle of their last fight. Henderson
by decision.
Lavender
Gooms: When TJ Grant got hurt and “Showtime” was tabbed as the
replacement…I won’t confirm or deny whether an Irish jig was done in
celebration. This is the rematch that
everyone has been waiting for since Pettis did his best Ninja Gaiden
impersonation all over Bendo’s face in the waning minutes of the fifth round of
their WEC title match. Considering how close the first fight was, the key to
this fight is one simple question; who has improved the most in the three years
since the first fight? Since his loss to Clay Guida, Pettis has looked great in
each fight and more importantly, looks better each time out. On the other hand, Bendo (save a thorough beating
of Nate Diaz…..”sigh”) hasn’t dominated any opponents in his title run and
arguably lost his last fight. Granted,
Bendo has been fighting the best in his weight class his last six fights and
Pettis has beaten the likes of Lauzon and Cerrone. My heart wants to say that Pettis and his
exciting style will leave with the belt, but my plums tell me that Benson’s
cardio gets him through another close decision.
Henderson by split decision.
Picking
Henderson: All of us
Picking
Pettis: We all could look really stupid here
Doctor Law:
Frank Mir is on TRT and, to be honest, I’m ok with that for this fight. The
reason: Josh Barnett is arguably the king of pissing hot for steroids. This
fight marks Barnett’s return to the UFC after an 11 year layoff. Mir is coming
off of back to back losses against two of the best heavyweights in the world:
JDS and Cormier. I know Mir hasn’t looked great recently, but I think he finds
a way to win this one. I know Josh wins
a lot, but it’s not against good people. I think Mir finds a way to get on top
of him and submit him late in the fight, when they both will look
over-the-hill. Mir by 3rd round submission.
DJ Mark:
On paper I think Mir might have more tools then Barnett in this fight. While
they’re both best fighting on the ground I think Mir has been more successful
there. Also I think he might be physically stronger and hit harder than
Barnett. That being said I do think that Mir has a questionable gas tank at
times and sometimes I feel like he lacks heart.
Barnett doesn’t give an inch and because of that and their close skill
level I expect an awesome fight. Personally I’m also just a big Barnett fan and
win, lose, draw, DQ or no contest I’m glad he’s back and I’m excited to see
this match and future match ups with him and the rest of the UFC HW roster. Barnett TKO GnP 3rd round 3:44.
Lavender
Gooms: Here’s a list of things that were going down in March of 2002; a 16
year old, 100 pound Gooms was wearing ridiculously large 4x t-shirts; R. Kelly
and Hova dropped “The Best of Both Worlds and Josh Barnett last fought in the
UFC, defeating Randy Couture for the Heavyweight title. Another person who fought on the prelims of
that card was a young Frank Mir. Had
Barnett not left the UFC after that fight, we likely would have seen Mir and
Barnett matched up within a few years of that card. I would normally say that if the fight were
to go to the ground it would be a done deal for whoever Mir is fighting. However, Barnett’s wrestling is good enough
that he’ll be able to dictate where the fight goes and the position on the
ground he finds most advantage. Barnett
will take Mir into later rounds and finish Mir off late with some ground and
pound. Barnett by TKO in 3rd round.
Picking
Mir: Doctor Law
Picking Barnett:
DJ Mark, Lavender Gooms
Chad Mendes
v. Clay Guida
Doctor Law:
If you read this site, I assume you listen to the podcast (if you don’t…get it
together mother f*cker). By listening to the podcast, you should know that I am
greatly looking forward to the absolute ass-kicking Chad Mendes will dish out
on Clay Guida. It’s going to be great. In case you’re wondering why I want to
see Guida get beat up so badly, it’s because of the Maynard fight. I was this
close to turning my dad into a MMA fan and Guida decided to just sh*t all over
that. I’m still bitter. Mendes by absolutely
dominating decision.
DJ Mark:
It seems like the UFC is just keeping Chad busy in till he can get his deserved
rematch with Jose Aldo. That’s not to say he can sleep on Guida here, but on
paper/film/video games Mendes is just the better fighter of the two. Besides a
complete and total mental meltdown I don’t see Chad losing this fight. Chad GnP TKO 1st round 4:12.
Lavender
Gooms: “What was that? Mendes is fighting someone NOT named ALDO? Obviously
going to smash Guida….Analysis? Nah not necessary, he’s easily the second best
featherweight in the world. No doubts in
my mind he finishes the hairy sparkplug known as Clay Guida…Now stop asking me
questions you’re interrupting Bridezillas”. Mendes by KO in 1st round.
Picking Mendes: All of us
Picking
Guida: None of us are this stupid
Ben
Rothwell v. Brandon Vera
Doctor Law:
Ben Rothwell is still fighting? He’s also on TRT? Why the hell is Brandon Vera
fighting at heavyweight? How long has Brandon Vera’s Facebook page been about
crazy right wing sh*t? What the hell is the point of this fight? Brandon Vera by decision.
DJ Mark:
When Vera first burst onto the scene he claimed he’d be the first active LHW
and HW Champion. Now, several years removed, and Vera isn’t ranked in either
division. Moving back up to HW seems like an odd choice but he’s facing a guy
at a very similar level. Ben has not and probably will not ever really light
the MMA world on fire and that’s okay because he’s a great HW journeyman, and
there’s nothing wrong with that. This should be a really competitive fight and
honestly I think it’s a coin toss for who’s going to win. I’m going with Ben
here because I always count the guy out and I just got a feeling he might be
able to pull it out. Ben by decision.
Lavender
Gooms: This should be an easy victory for Brandon Vera. Moving back to heavyweight means he should
have a marked speed advantage over Mr. Rothwell. He’ll utilize his speed along with his
superior skills to control the center of the octagon and get the KO. Vera
by KO in 1st round.
Picking Rothwell:
DJ Mark
Picking Vera:
Doctor Law, Lavender Gooms
Erik Koch
v. Dustin Poirer
Doctor Law:
When I read that this fight was announced, my honest reaction was: “these guys
didn’t fight already?” Turns out they
haven’t. Regardless, this is going to be a fun featherweight fight between young studs in the division. Both of these guys are coming off
losses to fighters at the top of the weight class so a win here is important to
get one of these back on track and closer to a title shot. I think Poirier is
probably a little more well-rounded than Koch, but this should be a close one.
Don’t let the ridiculous fake tan fool you, Koch is a very capable fighter.
Sidenote, watch “Fightville” on Netflix. It’s a documentary about Poirier and his
former gym. Poirer by 3rd round TKO.
DJ Mark:
This is another close fight on paper. I’ve been impressed with Dustin but a couple
set backs has hurt his standings and likely hood of getting a title shot any
time soon. Erik was about to get a shot but injuries postponed his opportunity.
I think whoever wins here gets put back into the picture but will still be a
few fights away from getting a crack at Aldo. I’m leaning towards Poirier
because overall I think he has the better skill set. Poirier by submission 2nd 3:30.
Lavender
Gooms: Both of these young guns are coming off losses to top ten guys in
the division (Poirier to Cub Swanson, Koch to Ricardo Lamas). The advantage goes to Poirier in this fight,
likely showing sharper striking and eventually ending this fight with blows on
the ground. Poirier by TKO in 2nd round.
Picking
Poirier: All of us
Picking
Koch: Sorry New Breed
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