UFC 86 Preview

Here is a quick preview to UFC 86, which takes place on July 5th. I won't be watching live, as I will be in the wilderness. I'll get a review up once I see all the fights.

Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin (LHW Championship)- Rampage has respect for Forrest's ground game, so expect this one to stay standing. Jackson has been training at a high level, as is Forrest. Both will look to keep this an entertaining fight. Forrest is always in top shape, so don't expect him to gas.

Jackson has six straight victories, including 3 straight in the UFC. Forrest has two straight victories in the UFC since his loss to Keith Jardine. Forrest is coming off a huge victory over Shogun Rua. Jackson is coming off huge wins over Dan Henderson, Chuck Liddell and Marvin Eastman. Both have been on the shelf for quite awhile because of The Ultimate Fighter reality show.
*MMA Blaster pick - Jackson via KO, R3 - WRONG

*From Jackson v. Liddell 1

Ricardo Almeida vs. Patrick Cote- This is a grappler (Almeida) v. striker (Cote) match-up. The fight will likely come down to whether or not Almeida can get Cote to the ground. Almeida debuted in the UFC at UFC 31 against Matt Lindland. He had 6 straight wins before he decided to take a four year break. His only fight since his comeback was a Guillotine Choke victory over Rob Yundt at UFC 81. Cote has 4 straight victories since his loss to Travis Lutter in the TUF 4 finale. 3 have been in the Octagon, with his latest a TKO over Drew McFedries.
*MMA Blaster pick - Almeida via armbar, R2- WRONG

Joe Stevenson vs. Gleison Tibau- Stevenson's last fight was a submission loss to BJ Penn in January for the LW title. Tibau is coming off a decision loss to Tyson Griffin.
*MMA Blaster pick - Stevenson via rear naked choke, R3- CORRECT

Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle- Koscheck is coming off an impressive victory over Dustin Hazelett. He will look to keep the fight on the ground and away from Lytle's boxing skills. Lytle is coming off a victory over Kyle Bradley at UFC 81. If Koscheck wins it sets him up nicely for a potential title shot or number one contender match.
*MMA Blaster pick - Koscheck via decision - CORRECT

Marcus Aurelio vs. Tyson Griffin- Tyson currently has 3 straight decision victories in the UFC. Aurelio has two straight victories since a split decision loss to Clay Guida. Both are excellent grapplers, this bout has the potential to be very exciting or slow.
*MMA Blaster pick - Griffin via decision - CORRECT

Undercard
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Justin McCully - MMA Blaster pick - Gonzaga via submission, R3 - CORRECT
Jorge Gurgel vs. Cole Miller - MMA Blaster pick - Miller via decision - CORRECT
Melvin Guillard vs. Dennis Siver - MMA Blaster pick - Guillard via KO, R2 - CORRECT
Justin Bucholz vs. Corey Hill - MMA Blaster pick - Hill via TKO, R3 - WRONG
*MMA Blaster Picks- 6-3

UFC 78 Picks - Total Card

UFC 78 Picks, by the MMA Blaster

I have previously written about the top three fights in the blog. Instead of posting individually, I've decided to clump the rest together.

Bisping vs. Evans - Evans by Decision
Chonan vs. Parisyan - Parisyan by TKO rd 3
Lytle vs. Alves - Alves by decision

Silva vs. Alexander - Alexander by TKO rd 3- This is the toughest fight to call. It could go either way and the winner will instantly be a top 2-3 contender. I just have a feeling Alexander will continue the momentum and win in a brutal fashion. Thiago, out of team Chute Boxe, has some impressive wins over German Tomasz Drwal (14-2), James Irvin (12-4) and Vitor Vianna (7-1). Alexander has victories over Elite XC vet Jon Murphy (4-2), wins over UFC vets Alessio Sakara (11-5) and Keith Jardine (13-3).

Edgar vs. Fisher - Edgar by decision- This fight will be awesome, probably the fight of the night. I have a feeling that Edgar will pull it out. His gutzy performance against Tyson Griffin made me a huge fan. Fischer is no slouch and it could easily go either way.

Doerksen vs. Herman - Doerksen by ground and pound, rd 3 - Only reason I am giving it to Doerksen is the experience factor. Herman lost by triangle in the previous fight, and I am betting he will be game this time around. Herman is (2-2)in the UFC with two wins in a row. Doerksen is 1-3 in the UFC, last losing to Paulo Filho in the WEC.

Reinhardt vs. Lauzon - Lauzon by TKO, rd 2- Reinhard has mostly fought in smaller shows against, no offense to the Courage Fighting Championships, LOF, EC and KOTC. He has fought many fighters with sub 500 records and 0 fers. Lauzon has fought in the TUF tourney, KO'd Jens Pulver, and beat Brandon Melendez in the TUF finale. I see Lauzon imposing his will and ground and pounding a TKO in the second.

Caudillo vs. Aurelio - Aurelio sub rd 1 -this is by far the easiest fight to call on the card. I think the UFC is building Aurelio up for an eventual title shot.

Gono vs. McCrory - McCrory by decision- Gono has a huge experience edge, but my gut tells me that McCrory is the real deal and can pull this one off.