UFC on ESPN: Velasquez v. Ngannou Picks

Cain Velasquez v. Francis Ngannou

Picking Cain: All of us
Picking Ngannou:

James Vick v. Paul Felder

Picking Vick: Dr. Law, DJ Mark, Kid P
Picking Felder: Gooms

Cortney Casey v. Cynthia Calvillo

Picking Casey:
Picking Calvillo: All of us

Aljo Sterling v. Jimmie Rivera

Picking Rivera: Kid P, DJ Mark
Picking Aljo: Gooms, Dr Law

It's MMAzing 2019 Standings (as of 2/11/19)
1. Lavender Gooms - (9-2)
2. Dr. Law (8-3)
2. DJ Mark -  (8-3)
4. Kid Presentable - (6-5)

UFC 200: Tate vs Nunes Picks and Predictions

So yeah... where are we again? If you haven't kept up with the scuttlebutt of the mma world, Jon Jones tested positive for something, and regardless of his B result, has been pulled from the card. In steps Anderson "The Spider" Silva?!? And is Brock the main event now? Most outlets seem to be showing Tate now headlining which makes sense as it is the only fully legitimate title on the line this night. While the card order may be in question still at the time of this writing, it has been a whirlwind of changes in the 11th hour, and honestly it's just disappointing for us as fans, and these men as competitive athletes. If you haven't seen the clip of DC being told that Jones was pulled yet, well then just trust that this fight meant EVERYTHING to him. It's pretty amazing that we're getting Anderson on essentially 3 days notice. I'm sure it's the last thing the company wanted to have another PR nightmare on their ends right at the eve of their biggest night, but if you've made it this far and are still with me, you know it's going to be an insane night of fights still.

Women's Bantamweight Championship 
Miesha Tate (c) vs Amanda Nunes

@mieshatate

Your new main event ladies and gentlemen? The last year or so has definitely been the era of unexpected champions. The ones we expected to maintain par for the course all fell by the wayside as countless unexpected new heroes rose up. Ronda was the monster that made Holly the monster killer. And surely if you could kill the monster, this lady that never came close wouldn't stand a chance... until she did. In spite of everything, Miesha does not break. There is something about a fighter who gets tougher the longer the fight goes and knows, really knows, what it means when you need to finish at the end. This strength of Miesha's is going to be the biggest challenge to Nunes who has proven to fade in fights. Known for powerful hands and aggressive flurries, the book on Nunes is that she has to win early here and that she has to finish. The longer the fight goes, it plays into Miesha's wheelhouse. The fellas are all right in presuming we'll have an #andSTILL, but there seems to be something in the water right now that people can't hold onto their belts. Amanda Nunes by early round TKO.

Cupcake: Doc Law, DJ Mark, Gooms
Lioness: Kid P

UFC 188: Velasquez vs. Werdum Predictions

As the old saying goes, if at first you don't succeed pray to God Cain Velasquez doesn't get injured again. Seems UFC has been praying to the MMA Gods and at least for now they have listened! After Cain wasn't able to compete at UFC 180 in Mexico City, the UFC decided not to walk away from the table and threw those dice again and what we have is one hell of a Pay Per View event. Cain is defending his belt against a primed and game Werdum and the co-main event is a dream match five years in the making when Gilbert Melendez finally faces off with Eddie Alvarez.

UFC 166 Predictions

Via UFC Newsletter

When asked Cain Velasquez said that this is most likely not the last time he and Junior Dos Santos face each other.  Junior on the other hand believes this will be the last time.  Not exclusive to the realm of fighting, three is a number that is huge in our collective psyches.  Three strikes you’re out, the holy trinity(for you Catholics), Neapolitan ice cream, and more movie trilogies than can be counted here.  So there is some credence that’s lent to the notion that this will be the last fight.  But there’s a huge exception, if we’re left wanting more then there MUST be a fourth fight.  Whether we get a fourth will be determined on whether Junior can either win the belt or make it a close and compelling fight.

UFC 160 Predictions

via mmatko.com

What happens when four people say they are going to make a predictions post and they all forget? An extra short version of staff predictions of course.

UFC Heavyweight Championship:
Cain Velasquez (c) v. Antonio Silva

UFC 146. Do you remember it? It wasn't that long ago. Today is actually one year to the day of that event. Why is this significant? It's because that was the date Cain Velasquez turned a UFC fight into a God damn horror movie. He brutalized this guy named Antonio Silva and left him in a pool of his own blood. One year later...they're fighting again. Mostly due to lack of options. I'm going to go out on a limb as say that Cain is probably going to take this one.

Picking the champ: It's like we're all Nostradamus
Fools picking Silva: none of us

Junior Dos Santos v. Mark Hunt

via titocouture.com

The #RallyforMarkHunt has paid off in a big way. The big man is now fighting JDS for a shot at the UFC title. Does he have what it takes to beat Cigano. Yes. Mark Hunt could knock out a rhino. I am so excited for this fight that there is NO possible way that it can live up.

Fans of logic: DJ Mark, Lavender Gooms
Mark Hunt was born down...you know this: Doctor Law, Kid Presentable

Bold Predictions for 2013

Invicta FC notwithstanding, the first major card of year is the final Strikeforce card this weekend.  With that in mind, the year is still in it’s young phase and no major fights haven taken place; this is a great time to make some well thought out (and absolutely absurd) predictions for the next 12 months.

UFC 155 Predictions

Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Championship
Junior Dos Santos (c) v. Cain Velasquez

Image via Themmanews

Doctor Law: The second of what I hope will be many fights between these two great heavyweights. The first one left much to be desired and really answered no questions. Both guys having fairly significant injuries almost makes you want to throw the result out for the first match up. I think everybody knows what each guy is planning on doing in this fight. Junior is going to want to keep it standing while Cain will hope to take Junior down and beat him up there. I think Cain will get Junior down, but Junior will find a way back to his feet. This is close call, but I think I’m going with the champ to repeat. I also want to see happy JDS. That’s always pretty funny. JDS by 3^rd round TKO.

DJ Mark with a "K": Their first fight was so short that it’s difficult to take away a lot from it. The one thing we learned is that Junior has the power to stop Cain early in the fight, which isn’t all that surprising but is still a very important factor.  I thought Cain’s strategy in the first fight was a pretty decent one (he seemed to be focusing on leg kicks to counter the distance of a boxer like Junior) but was also putting himself in a lot of danger. This time around I would think Cain would try a different approach and try to make this a grappling match. Cain’s bread and butter is wrestling and I think using those skills is the safest way for him to get his title back. The problem is that Junior is extremely good at staying off his back. It’ll be interesting to see if Cain is able to get the match on the ground and if he has the skill to keep Junior there. I fear if Cain can’t gain control of this fight by either getting it to the ground or pushing Junior up against the fence it’ll just be a matter of time till Junior can lay his hands on Cain and retain his title. Since I have yet to see anyone be able to use this type of game plan against Junior I’m siding with him. Junior via 2^nd round TKO 2:31.

Kid Presentable: First things first, no matter who wins here, these are the top two heavyweights in the world. Even if Cain gets put to sleep a minute into the fight once more, I still wouldn’t hesitate to pick him to smash the rest of the division. That said, I think we’ll see something a little different this time. Cain is a smart and fast evolving fighter. Everyone and their mother knows the big question mark is what if Cain took the fight to the mat? It will be interesting to see Cain’s game plan because you can’t just simply take it to the mat, you have to train how you are going to set up taking your shot. JDS has some of the most successful take down defense in the division and even then he has long trained under the Nogueiras and won’t be helpless if it goes there. I really hope that Cain takes this just to keep this feud going, because if there are any two fighters deserving of more than just a trilogy of fights, it’s these two guys here. Overall though, I can’t really pick Cain until he proves that he can take down and neutralize JDS biggest weapons. Cain so far has proven to be quite hitable in every one of his fights, and Overeem is probably the only other guy in the division that hits this hard. JDS by TKO round 3.

Image via Bleacherreport

Lavender Gooms:I think to call Cain the number #1 contender would be an insult to just how good he really is.  In the heavyweight division Junior Dos Santos and Cain are 1 and 1A.  Both of these fighters are young(ish) and extremely talented. This might be premature, but I think this could be the beginning of the first true rivalry in MMA on the same level as Ali-Frazier. I would not be surprised if the heavyweight title changes hands between the two of them three or four times in the next five years.  There is no denying that JDS caught him (very well) in their fight a year ago and dropped him very early in their fight.  However I attribute that more to Cain losing his head for a bit and trying to stand with an extremely feared striker and being much more hesitant than he has ever been.  This time around I see Cain using the high level wrestling he wasn’t able to use in the first fight.  I think Cain wins this time, mainly because you can’t have a good rivalry stating off 0-2 right? Velasquez by TKO in 3^rd round.  

Picking Dos Santos-Dr. Law, Kid P, DJ Mark
Picking Velasquez- Gooms