LHW: #9 Chael Sonnen (0-1) vs. #10 Shogun Rua (13-6)
Pick: Chael Sonnen – Shogun very well may still be a pretty good fighter, but stylistically, this is a bad match up for him. Sonnen’s takedowns and ground and pound will be too much here.
HW: #6 Alistair Overeem (4-1) vs. #8 Travis Browne (5-1)
Pick: Travis Browne – I’m tempted to say Alistair Overeem is overrated, but his win over Fabricio Werdum does make him legitimate. But Travis Browne is the real deal and more in his prime than Overeem. Look for Browne to get a heavyweight title shot in 2014.
BW: #2 Urijah Faber (5-2) vs. #7 Yuri Alcantara (2-0)
Pick: Yuri Alcantara – I have too many memories of Faber losing twice to Mike Brown who used his size and strength to beat Faber. Alcantara is the bigger fighter here and has less mileage than Faber and is more in his prime. I’m concerned that Faber could outwrestle Alcantara like Hacran Dias did, but Faber isn’t nearly as big. People say Faber has just been losing to top competition, but he has 5 losses in the last 5 years. Out of fighting 4 top fighters, it’s very telling that Faber couldn’t beat any of them.
WW: #11 Mike Pyle (8-3) vs. #18 Matt Brown (10-5)
Pick: Mike Pyle – Out of all the tough fights to pick on this card, this one could be the toughest. Pyle has a track record of beating guys who are pretty good in John Hathaway and Rick Story. For Brown, besides Jordan Mein, his win streak has been against lack luster competition so I have to go with Pyle.
MW: #49 Uriah Hall (0-1) vs. John Howard (0-0, #56 UFC WW)
Pick: Uriah Hall – This fight is a tailor made bounce back fight for Uriah Hall. Howard isn’t even a middleweight, he’s a welterweight. The UFC doesn’t want Hall to become the next Phillipe Nover.
LW: #15 Joe Lauzon (9-5) vs. #39 Michael Johnson (4-4)
Pick: Joe Lauzon – Johnson has shown the ability to upset a few good fighters here and there, but Lauzon is the Cheick Kongo of the lightweight division. He finishes and looks great against lower level fighters and only loses to the best.
BW: #5 Brad Pickett (6-3) vs. #6 Michael McDonald (5-1)
Pick: Michael McDonald – McDonald is young and will only continue to get better. I think Pickett has reached his ceiling on potential and he doesn’t have the skills to beat McDonald.
FW: #22 Conor McGregor (1-0) vs. #26 Max Holloway (3-2)
Pick: Conor McGregor – Holloway is a good fighter, but Marcus Brimage is even better. And McGregor made Brimage look like he has no business being in the UFC. Mark my words, Conor McGregor is the next big pay per view draw for the UFC.
FW: #20 Steven Siler (4-1) vs. #21 Mike Brown (8-4)
Pick: Steven Siler – Siler is one of those fighters that has great talent and a great record in the UFC but gets no respect. Brown is good enough to beat sub par competition, but Siler is not that.
FW: #18 Diego Brandao (3-1) vs. #28 Daniel Pineda (3-2)
Pick: Diego Brandao – Brandao is a top talent who’s only real flaw is a lack of takedown defense. He won’t have to worry about that here against Pineda.
FW: #13 Manny Gamburyan (4-3) vs. #32 Cole Miller (1-2)
Pick: Manny Gamburyan – Gamburyan is extremely under rated because of his inability to stay healthy. People forget that when fighting Nate Diaz on the Ultimate Fighter Finale, Gamburyan was winning the fight until he separated his shoulder. He’ll look good against Miller.
LHW: #15 Ovince St. Preux (6-1) vs. #27 Cody Donovan (1-0)
Pick: Ovince St. Preux – Ordinarily, Donovan isn’t the type of fighter that gets signed to the UFC, but they needed someone to fight Nick Penner on short notice last December and Donovan was the best guy they could find that would take the fight. And he won, which is great. But St. Preux is a very good talent who is only getting better.
LW: #38 Ramsey Nijem (3-2) vs. James Vick (0-0, #12 LW Prospect)
Pick: James Vick – The bookies have Nijem favored?? That’s crazy! Obviously, people have forgotten who James Vick is, with him being hurt and having the long layoff. Vick is a blue chip talent who I think could possibly be a contender in the lightweight division in the next few years.