Craig Zablo

UFC 107 is Saturday and it features a worthy card:

• Kenny Florian vs Clay “The Carpenter” Guida. My rule of thumb is that a fighter with a nickname will usually beat one without.  That goes by the wayside in this fight.  While Guida is a  tough, active fighter, I think that Florian‘s skills will be too much for him to overcome.  My prediction: Florian [unless “The Carpenter” brings a hammer into the cage.]
• Jon Fitch vs Mike Pierce. Mike who?  My prediction: Fitch.
  
• Frank Mir vs Cheick Kongo. I’m a big Mir fan.  Kongo has never impressed me.  My prediction: Mir. [Surprised?]
• BJ “The Prodigy” Penn vs Diego “The Nightmare” Sanchez. Wow.  This should be a great fight.  BJ isn’t one of my favorite fighters, but he is one of the best.  I am a HUGE fan of Diego Sanchez.  Everyone says that BJ should win… and he probably should.  My prediction: Out on a limb and going with the underdog Sanchez.

For another perspective on the fights, check out Ryan Cody’s predictions!

UCF presented The Ultimate Fighter finale last night on SPIKE. Let’s look at the results and my predictions…

Darrill “The Boss” Schoonover vs James “The Hammer” McSweeney. My prediction: Schoonover. The Result: McSweeny via 3rd round stoppage making me 0-1 for the night.

Marcus “Big Baby” Jones vs Matt Mitrione. My prediction: Mitrione.  The result: Mitirone by brutal 2nd round KO taking me to 1-1.

Frank “The Answer” Edgar vs Matt Veach. My prediction: Edgar. The result: Edgar via 2nd round choke submission moving me to 2-1 for the night.

Kimbo Slice vs Huston “The Assassin” Alexander. My prediction: Alexander. The result: Kimbo wins by decision in a very surprising fight taking me to 2-2. // Huston had a game plan to turn what everyone thought would be a slugfest in to a strategic battle.  Huston circled and kicked at Kimbo, who kept his composure and picked his shots.  Kimbo brutally slammed Huston to the mat on more than one occasion [after a boring first round].  Kimbo also worked for submisions!  Kimbo deserved the win and proved that he is taking MMA seriously.

Matt “The Hammer” Hamill vs Jon “Bones” Jones. My prediction: Hamill. The result: Hamill won via DQ after Jones hit him with illegal blows [straight elbows to the face while Hamill was on the mat] which moved me to 3-2 for the night. // Jon “The Bones” Jones is no joke. This kid dominated Hamill from the opening bell.  Hamill was hurt repeatedly and the fight could have been stopped earlier.  I’ll take the win and so will Hamill, but the truth is Jones should have won and pretty easily.

Roy “Big Country” Nelson vs Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub. My prediction: Schaub  The result: Nelson via first round KO making me 3-3 for the night.

Overall a break even night of predictions for a fun night of fights.

UCF presents The Ultimate Fighter finale tonight on SPIKE.  Let’s look at the fights and my predictions…

Darrill “The Boss” Schoonover vs James “The Hammer” McSweeney. I hope Schoonover wins.  He was calm and modest while on the show. McSweeney was the opposite.  McSweeney is a tough guy and had he not been showboating and got caught, he might have made the finals.  My prediction: Schoonover.

Marcus “Big Baby” Jones vs Matt Mitrione. This is a tough one to call.  Jones takes his opponents to the ground and muscles them.  Mitrione packs a hammer punch [and can take a shot to the head as well].  Will Mitrione be able to land one on “Big Baby” and make it lights out, or will “Big Baby” take Mitrione to the mat and have him ready to tap before lands?  Both are kind of flakey when it comes to fighting.  Hmmmm…. I know, go with the guy with a nickname… or not…  My prediction: Mitrione.

Frank “The Answer” Edgar vs Matt Veach. Both have great records, so this time we go with the guy that has the nick.  My prediction: Edgar.

Kimbo Slice vs Huston “The Assassin” Alexander. People will tune in to watch Kimbo.  Ya gotta love Kimbo.  I’d hate to see Kimbo lose another fight.  Kimbo is actually good for the sport [and I didn’t believe that a year ago].  My prediction: Alexander [and not just because he has a nickname and Kimbo doesn’t].

Matt “The Hammer” Hamill vs Jon “Bones” Jones. Although “Bones” is undefeated, I think that is about to change.  My prediction: Hamill.

Roy “Big Country” Nelson vs Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub. After seeing Schaub get out from Big Baby’s full mount, I believe he will be able to do the same from Big Country’s big belly.  As my nephew, Bartledoo Joey said after watching Big Country lose in a pay-per-view: “Big Country was yelling, ‘Beer me” before the ref stopped the bout!”  My prediction: Schaub will have Big Country calling for beers.

Let’s hope my predictions will be better tonight than in the last UFC event.