UFC 106 Picks
Tonight’s UFC 106 card is quickly approaching. Let’s take a look at the fights and my picks:
- Kendall “da Spider” Grove [12-6] vs Jake Rosholt [6-1]. Usually if one guy has a nickname and the other doesn’t, you should go with the guy with the nick. However… Rosholt has the better record, is a world class wrestler and in his fight submitted Chris Leben. My pick – Rosholt.
- Ben Saunders [7-1-2] vs Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis [21-6]. Saunders is primarily known as a kickboxer and Davis a boxer (although half of his wins are by submission). This should be a competitive fight. My pick – Davis (well, he does have the nickname).
- Amir Sadollah [2-1] vs Phill “The New York Bad Ass” Baroni [13-11]. Sadollah won season 7 of The Ultimate Fighter and is a quite, modest guy with a personality that’s hard not to like. Baroni on the other hand, is just the opposite. Baroni hasn’t won a fight over an opponent with a winning record in 3 years and many say he is just being brought back to the UFC to give Sadollah a win over a “name”. Okay, my pick – Sadollah [despite the fact that he doesn’t have a nickname].
- Antonio Rogerio “Minotaro” Nogueira [17-3] vs Luis “Bana” Cane [11-1-1]. This should be a tough fight. Nogueira will be the fan favorite and perhaps the fight favorite going in. He’s also a skilled Muay Thai and BJJ fighter. Cane is a tough kid who likes to bang. If Cane can keep out of trouble if it goes to the ground, or better yet, keep the fight standing, he’ll have a good chance. My pick – Cane in an upset.
- Paulo Thiago [11-1] vs Jacob “Christmas” Volkmann [9-0]. Thiago is a black belt in BJJ, while Volkmann is a world class wrestler. This should be a great contest. My pick – Volkmann in an upset win [and, yes, Volkmann does have the nickname]
- Josh “Kos” Koscheck [15-4] vs Anthony “Rumble” Johnson [8-2]. This has the potential to be the fight of the night. It’s also a tough one to pick. [Yeah, both have nicknames.] Koscheck and Johnson both have strong backgrounds in wrestling, but I’d give the edge to Koscheck. Both like to bang, and here the edge goes to Johnson. If Koscheck can take Johnson down, he could have a good chance for a victory. Two things could prevent that: 1] Johnson’s got the height and reach advantage and knows how to avoid takedowns and 2] Koscheck sometimes seems to forgot that his strength is wrestling and instead goes for the knockout. I look for this to be a great fight. My pick – Koscheck [despite the fact that his nickname seems like an after thought.]
- Tito “The Hunington Beach Bad Boy” Ortiz [16-6-1] vs Forrest Griffin [16-6]. This should also prove to be an interesting fight. Two of the biggest fan favorite fighters [try saying that 3 times fast] squaring off in a rematch [the first ended in a controversial split decision win for Ortiz]. Oritz is primarily known as a wrestler who takes down his opponents and then works them over with brutal elbows. Griffin projects the image of an unskilled brawler, but in reality is a skilled striker who holds a brown belt in BJJ. I don’t think that Otiz will be able to finish Griffin early, although he may be able to take him down in the first round. After the first, takedowns will be much more difficult and Griffin’s superior striking will come into play. My pick – [despite no nickname] Griffin.
Solid picks Craig, I’m picking Forrest, Koscheck, Rosholt and Amir as well. I’m picking Amir just based on faith as I like how he is able to take some early punishment to set up for a sub and while he was getting his ass kicked in his last fight, it was an early stoppage in my opinion. I’m taking Saunders over Davis though. I like his style better and he’s more entertaining, at least to me. I’ve never seen either Cane or Lil’ Nog fight, so I’m not making a pick either way.