George Sotiropoulos vs. Dennis Siver
In a lightweight bout that could have title implications George Sotiropoulos will take on Dennis Siver. Sotiropoulos has been on an incredible run as of late and if he continues his winning streak then he will surely get a shot at the title sooner rather than later. Dennis Siver will also be coming into this fight with some momentum after stopping Andre Winner at UFC 122. Siver is a very well rounded fighter with one of the best spinning back kicks in the game, which if it lands has the potential to end fights. Even though Siver is usually comfortable both on the ground or trading strikes, I think it would be best for him to try & avoid going to the ground with Sotiropoulos. George is also well rounded and has improved his stand-up considerably but his ground game is on a whole other level to most fighters in his division and if he gets Siver down then I think it’ll only be a matter of time before he locks up a submission. At the end of the night I think Sotiropoulos will be too much for Siver and will extend his winning streak and take one step closer to that shot at the belt.
My Prediction: George Sotiropoulos via submission.
Michael 'The Count' Bisping vs. Jorge 'El Conquistador' Rivera
In the co-main event of the evening Michael Bisping will look to build off of his recent victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama by taking out the resurgent Jorge Rivera. Rivera has had a new leash of life recently, winning 3 consecutive fights and showing everyone that he’s not quite done yet despite being 38 years old. Rivera has some big power in his hands and is very dangerous in the clinch so i’m expecting him to do everything in his power to keep the fight standing or get Bisping up against the cage where he will then be free to work some of his Muay Thai. I think Bisping is the more well rounded fighter in this bout and should be the better striker technically, so as long as he circles away from Rivera’s power and keeps his hands up then he should be able to pick Jorge apart with his punches. We have seen Bisping get rocked in the past so his defence will be absolutely key in this fight, he cannot let the mind games that Jorge has been playing get to him. If he does get caught up in a brawl with Rivera then we could see a big upset. Even though it does look like Rivera has got under Bisping’s skin recently with all the videos he’s been releasing, I still expect Bisping to stay calm and take the W in this fight.
My Prediction: Michael Bisping via decision.
'The Prodigy' BJ Penn vs. Jon Fitch
In the main event of the night BJ Penn and Jon Fitch will face each other to earn a chance to become the number one contender for the welterweight title. Jon Fitch is one of the most dominant welterweights in the world today, with only 1 blemish on his UFC record which was his loss to GSP, other than that loss Fitch has won every bout he’s been involved in since making his debut with the organisation. At the moment he is on a 5 fight win streak and will be full of confidence going into this fight against the former welterweight & lightweight champion BJ Penn. Penn will also be confident coming into this fight after his spectacular highlight reel finish of Matt Hughes at UFC 123. This should be an interesting clash of styles, Penn is more known for his explosive finishes whereas Fitch tends to grind his opponent down over the course of the fight, eventually breaking them. Fitch will be the much bigger fighter in this bout and I don’t think it’ll be long before he looks to tie BJ up and try to take him to the ground, Penn has some of the best boxing in MMA and Fitch will not want to test his power, even though he has a very solid chin. If Fitch does get the fight to the ground he is going to need to be more vigilant than usual, as Penn can be very dangerous off of his back and his flexibility is almost unrivalled. Fitch will likely look to put Penn up against the cage where he can use his elbows and ground & pound to wear the ‘Prodigy’ down and take away that explosiveness. Now onto BJ’s tactics, Penn will want to look to use his takedown defence, which he’s been working on relentlessly with Matt Hughes, to stuff Fitch’s takedowns at every opportunity. The more he is able to do this, the more Fitch’s confidence will be dented. If Penn can prevent the takedown and somehow force Fitch into a striking match then I think he has an excellent chance of pulling of the win. However with Fitch’s background this is a big ask and seeing as Fitch is a cardio machine, if BJ doesn’t put him away early then we could see Fitch come back and steal the fight. This is a difficult fight to predict, but I think unless Penn hurts Fitch in the beginning of the fight, then Fitch will eventually take over and grind out the decision victory.
My Prediction: Jon Fitch via decision.
