UFC 156: Aldo vs. Edgar Predictions

• #1 Jose Aldo (11-0) vs. #2 Frankie Edgar (0-0)

Pick: Frankie Edgar – The difference will be Edgar’s ability to catch Aldo’s infamous leg kicks and maybe even take Aldo down. When UFC lightweights have dropped from 155 to 145, they have a 15-2 record. The fact that Edgar has been able to hang with the best fighters at 155 proves how good he is. And it’s not as if Edgar is now cutting a whole bunch of weight. In reality, Frankie Edgar should be fighting at bantamweight. He’s not going to be sapped of his strength like some other fighters have been when they’ve cut to a new weight class for the first time. Aldo could definitely win this fight, but I’m picking Edgar.

• #3 Alistair Overeem (4-0) vs. #9 Bigfoot Silva (4-3)

Pick: Alistair Overeem – Bigfoot Silva has a very suspect chin. Velasquez and Cormier have exploited it. I think Travis Brown would have beat Bigfoot Silva if he didn’t blow out his knee. Bigfoot has a puncher’s chance, but I think it’s pretty safe to put money on Overeem.

• #6 Joseph Benavidez (1-1) vs. #10 Ian McCall (0-1)

Pick: Joseph Benavidez – Under normal circumstances, I’d pick Ian McCall to win this fight. He has notable wins over Jussier Formiga in Tachi Palace and I scored him winning his first fight with champion Demetrious Johnson. But I’ve been hearing that McCall is dealing with a lot of personal problems right now including a possible divorce. McCall’s mind may not be entirely on the fight and that is reason enough for me to pick Benavidez.

• #2 Rashad Evans (12-2) vs. #13 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (3-2)

Pick: Rashad Evans – I’ve never really been impressed by Lil Nog. I think he’s another one of these fighters who is living off their glory days in Pride. In the UFC, Lil Nog’s biggest win was against a retiring Tito Ortiz. Rashad has beat a lot of the best 205 pounders in the world. I think Rashad will easily win this fight.

• #4 Jon Fitch (14-2) vs. #15 Demian Maia (2-0)

Pick: Jon Fitch – This fight is a real coin flip and could go either way. Maia has been very impressive at welterweight before, but Fitch has never been submitted. And when a submission fighter’s speciality is neutralized, it usually isn’t a good night for them. I could be wrong, but I think Fitch’s wrestling and grappling will be the difference.

• #11 Gleison Tibau (11-5) vs. Evan Dunham (6-3)

Pick: Glesion Tibau – Tibau has been one of the most underrated lightweights in world. Dunham has been one of the more overrated 155’s where his biggest fight was a close loss to Sean Sherk. Dunham beats the guys he supposed to, but Tibau isn’t one of them.

• #18 Tyron Woodley (4-1) vs. Jay Hieron (0-1)

Pick: Tyron Woodley – Woodley is one of the better welterweight prospects that’s out there and think he’ll do pretty well. Almost every fighter has a bad night and the loss to Marquardt qualifies as that. Hieron is old and over the hill. He barely beat Romario da Silva last year on the regional circuit.

• #22 Jacob Volkmann (6-1) vs. Bobby Green (1-1)

Pick: Jacob Volkmann – Volkmann is one of those fighters that is very, very good, but the UFC doesn’t promote as much because he’s a boring, wrestling oreinted fighter. Bobby Green could be good, but his loss a couple years ago to JZ Cavalcante doesn’t inspire me too much. Volkmann’s going to win in boring fashion here.

• Yves Edwards (3-3) vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg (1-0)

Pick: Isaac Vallie-Flagg – Yves Edwards has been a decent gate keeper in recent years in the UFC but he’s headed towards the end. Vallie-Flagg trains with Greg Jackson and looked pretty good in Strikeforce. He’s good enough at this point to out wrestle and control Edwards.

• #11 Edwin Figueroa (2-1) vs. #23 Francisco Rivera (1-1)

Pick: Francisco Rivera – This fight really should be on the FX prelims. Both of these guys have promising futures, but Cisco looked like he really turned the corner in his knockout over Roland Delorme. His power is going to be the difference against Figueroa.

• #21 Chico Camus (1-0) vs. Dustin Kimura (0-0)

Pick: Chico Camus – Chico should really be fighting at flyweight, but while he’s at 135, he still has the wrestling to win. Kimura is a relatively unknown newcomer in the UFC and those guys usually don’t do too well.