Roundtable: 2014 End of Year UFC Champion Predictions

Roundtable: 2014 End of Year UFC Champion Predictions

by Chris Houten - @mrhouts, Tommy Strong - @strong_tea, Ben Heather - @benheather, Sam Heard - @SamHeard_

As we start a new year Kingdom MMA are taking a look in to the future with all of our magical crystal balls to predict who will be the champions in the UFC on the 1st January 2015. Once you have read our thoughts on each weight class, let us know if you agree with them and if not who you think will be champion.


FLYWEIGHT

Chris Houten: Demetrious Johnson
Possibly the easiest division to predict in all of the UFC, I generally don't see anyone touching Johnson at the moment. He is sharper than everyone else in the division, quicker than everyone else in the division, a better boxer than everyone else in the division and one of the best wrestlers at 125 as well. 

Tommy Strong:  Demetrious Johnson
Mighty Mouse has shown over the last year he's a cut above the current crop of fighters in the flyweight division, with three title defences in 2013 beating John Dodson, John Moraga and recently a stunning KO over Joseph Benavidez. Though it was Dodson who gave DJ his toughest fight to date, his speed and power gave Johnson real trouble.  But he still found a way to win.

With the arrival of Brad Pickett to the division, who is 1 of 2 people to beat Johnson, it shall be very interesting if they get to face each other again.

Though I predict DJ still being the champion by the end of 2014.

Ben Heather: Demetrious Johnson
Simply put Demetrious Johnson is the best flyweight on the planet!! He has already beat the top contenders in the division and I don't see him being troubled this year. I would love to say Brad Pickett could be champion, but at the minute he is still an unknown having not fought in the flyweight division yet, so I will stick with Mighty Mouse.

Sam Heard: Demetrious Johnson
No one imagined that Mighty Mouse had the power to put away long time #1 contender Joseph Benavidez, let alone in the first round. Johnson has now seen off the division’s top competition in style and I believe he should be able to continue his reign in 2014. His confidence must be sky-high. 


BANTAMWEIGHT

Chris Houten: Renan Barao
2014 will be the biggest year in bantamweight history, with Renan Barao taking on Dominick Cruz in a champion vs champion unification bout. While I wouldn't be surprise if Cruz comes out on top, I think Barao might be too much for Cruz who hasn't fought in over 2 years.

Tommy Strong: Renan Barao
It'll be over 2 years since Dominick last fought back in October 2011 defeating Demetrious Johnson to retain his Bantamweight title. It will be interesting to see if the time out with the ACL injury will take its toll on Cruz or make him a better fighter for the time off. Facing Renan Barao in February will be a very interesting fight, and Barao the current holder of the bantamweight interim title has all the tools and more to get his hands on the title.

Ben Heather: Urijah Faber
Man, Urijah Faber has to be one of the best fighters in the UFC to never hold a title. He wins every fight he has that isn't for a title but I think once Barao vs Cruz has unified the division, Faber will get his chance to get revenge against whoever is champion, a chance I feel he will come good on.

Sam Heard: Urijah Faber
Like a fine wine, Faber just keeps getting better and better with age. I thought his last fight against McDonald would be a difficult test for him but Faber was unchallenged as he picked up another submission win. Though he has already lost to Barao, that fight was very close and Faber seems to be the more improved since the two last fought (assuming of course that Barao beats Cruz).

 
FEATHERWEIGHT

Chris Houten: Jose Aldo
While it wouldn't surprise me if Aldo beats Lamas and commits to a move up to 155, I personally don't think it will come until the end of the year. I don't see anyone at 145 troubling Aldo.

Tommy Strong: Jose Aldo
I'll keep this very short and sweet! Jose Aldo is a beast for this weight. The only way I see Aldo not holding this title is if he decides to move up to Lightweight for new challenges!

Ben Heather: Cub Swanson
This is my most risky pick. The reason I have picked Cub gives away my next pick. I think Jose Aldo will vacate his title and move up to Lightweight in 2014 leaving a stacked division chance to move forward and the first fight to make should be Cub vs Chad Mendes in a rematch to decide the vacated title. I think Cub will get the better of that fight and become the next Featherweight champion.

Sam Heard: Jose Aldo
Even with an injured foot in his last fight against the Korean Zombie Aldo looked as good as ever. This year his biggest test will be the inevitable rematch against Chad Mendes whom he already overcame once in the very first round. Though knockout-machine-Mendes has looked vastly improved, I still believe the Featherweight division will be Aldo-town in 2014.


LIGHTWEIGHT

Chris Houten: Khabib Numagamedov
The lightweight division is a bit of a mess right now with 3 fighters in the division who can lay claim to being the number one contender - TJ Grant as was meant to fight for the title at UFC 164, Josh Thompson who was also meant to fight for it at UFC on FOX 9, and Gilbert Melendez who Dana White claimed was the number 1 contender after his epic battle with Diego Sanchez at 166.

So where does Khabib Nurmagomedov fit into all of this? Simple, with Pettis out injured the division will have to continue to fight each other. Sure it will take a lot for Numagamedov to get the title shot, but I expect Benson Henderson to beat Josh Thompson, knocking Thompson out of contention. I feel Grant may struggle with ring rust on his return. That would only leave Melendez who is rumoured to be fighting Nurmagomedov in the first quarter of the year. With a win over Melendez, Nurmagomedov would become no. 1 contender.

Tommy Strong: Benson Henderson
"Showtime" Pettis showed that his first win over then current lightweight champion Benson Henderson wasn't a fluke by defeating him via first round armbar! This division is stacked with talent, and on any given day we could see 3 or 4 different champions.

This is one of the hardest for me to try and predict, I'm sticking my neck on the line here: and the new Lightweight Champion: Benson Henderson.

Ben Heather: Jose Aldo 
As I said before I see Aldo moving up in weight. However I do not only think he will move up in weight but I think he will then get his shot and begin his reign over the lightweight division. This will lead to a lot of big fights at lightweight which will be great fun for all of us fans.

Sam Heard: Gilbert Melendez
The UFC’s most talented division’s title picture will be put on hold as champion Antony Pettis is out injured until mid-2014. Melendez, in my opinion, already did enough to earn championship gold with his (incorrect) split-decision loss to Bendo; this adversity should reinforce his determination to get another title shot with a different outcome.


WELTERWEIGHT

Chris Houten: Carlos Condit
While Johny Hendricks vs Robbie Lawler will see one of them crowned champion I don't expect either to hold the belt at the end if the year. While it really wouldn't surprise me to see Nick Diaz make a comeback in 2014 to fight for the belt, which I feel he could win. I actually expect Carlos Condit to be the champion of the welterweight division at the end of 2014.

With the retirement of GSP, Condit is the most well rounded fighter in the division. I expect Hendricks to beat Lawler to become champ, only to lose the title to Condit before the years out, with Condit picking up where he left off in round 3 of their first fight.

Tommy Strong: Johny Hendricks
With the devastating news that GSP will be taking an indefinite leave of absence. The UFC have announced that Johny Hendricks will take on Tom Lawler to decide who will become the new champion.

I'm pinning my hopes of Hendricks taking the win and holding the title he deserved in a controversial loss to GSP.  Again, this is another division that it wouldn't surprise me if it changed hands a couple of times this year.

If Hendricks can win the title, I think for 2014 he has the skills and power to hold onto the belt.

Ben Heather: Carlos ConditAt UFC 171 Hendricks will become the new welterweight champion. That same night Condit will get chance for a rematch when he wins the number 1 contender fight. Later in 2014 the two will meet and over 5 rounds I think Condit will be able to get his wish and not just be called interim champ but the undisputed welterweight champion.

Sam Heard: Carlos Condit
The likely winner of the vacant belt has got to be Hendricks. However, had his match against Carlos Condit been a five-round fight I firmly believe Condit would have won as he clearly had more left in the tank. Therefore if he gets a title shot I think he’ll get the W over Bigg Rigg. He first has to overcome Tyron Woodley which is no small task but if anyone can do it its Carlos.


MIDDLEWEIGHT

Chris Houten: Lyoto Machida
The middleweight division is by far the most intriguing going into 2014, with at least 4 or 5 fighters who could potentially be champion at the end of year. Regardless some of the fans thoughts, Chris Weidman is a worthy champion, and although he faces a tough test in Vitor Belfort, I expect Weidman to pass the test.

With a big win over Mousasi, I feel Machida could earn a shot as the middleweight title, and I think he has the skills to dethrone Weidman. Machida is a far better striker that Weidman and I think Chris Weidman would struggle to take Machida down. It really wouldn't surprise me either if Machida, knocked out Chris Weidman.

Tommy Strong: Vitor Belfort
Whatever you say about Weidman, he's champion and deserves to be. Beating Silva not once, but twice is no mean feat. With Silva going to be out for some time, and no word if he will return.

Up next for Weidman is Vitor Belfort, this In my opinion is an even harder test than Silva. Vitor has 3 knockouts in 2013 with victories over top ranked fighters, Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold and then the granite chinned Dan Henderson.

If this fights takes place in Brazil then Vitor has to be a firm favourite. I hope this happens in Las Vegas so we get to see a 'clean' Belfort and not one that has an advantage of being able to use TRT.

Ben Heather: Vitor Belfort
Even with his title fight against Weidman being in Vegas I think Belfort will pass all the required drugs tests. After all, we have just seen Antonio Silva fail a drugs test and if Vitor was still abusing the system he would have failed a test by now. I think Vitor's rise will continue and he will become a ufc champion again in 2014.

Sam Heard: Vitor Belfort
There is something preventing me jumping on the Weidman bandwagon and I don’t believe he will be the champion this time next year. Belfort had the best year of any fighter in 2013, consistently making some of the best fighters in the world look subpar. His hyper-aggressive style is probably as different a match-up to Silva as is humanly possible and I believe he can overwhelm Weidman.


LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT

Chris Houten: Jon Jones 
With injuries to Pettis and Velasquez,  GSP retiring, and Anderson Silva out for at least a year if not for good, I expect 2014 to a busy year for Jon Jones, who the UFC will look to push in absence of some of the promotions stars. I expect Jones to run though his next opponent, Glover Texeria, and should be able to make the adjustment to beat Gustafsson.

I expect Daniel Cormier to provide Jones with his biggest challenge this year, but I think Jones wins this one also before committing to a move to heavyweight.

Tommy Strong: Jon Jones   
Jon Jones had the toughest fight of his career when he fought Alexander Gustafsson back in September winning via UD, which many thought was a very close fight and our fight of the year! Next up for Jones is the heavily hyped Glover Teixeira at UFC 172 in April. Glover known for his power and submissions will be up against it facing bones who has a reach and height advantage.

This one was a little easier for me to predict - Jones remains Champion.

Ben Heather: Jon Jones 
This is the easiest choice out of every division. Jon Jones is the pound 4 pound best fighter in the world and will still hold both that title and his UFC belt come this time next year.

Sam Heard: Daniel Cormier
DC will be making his overdue debut into the 205lb division this year and I believe that if he takes well to the weight-cut he possesses the tools to dethrone the current p4p #1 Jon Jones. DC’s Olympic-class wrestling is supplemented by his decent striking and athleticism. A win over Rashad who has himself looked fantastic of late should be enough to get him a title shot.


HEAVYWEIGHT

Chris Houten: Cain Velasquez 
I predicted earlier in the week in My Bold Predictions for 2014 that I don't expect to see Velasquez fight this year and I'm sticking to it. The champions injury seems pretty bad, and Velasquez has a history of delayed recoveries. Should Velasquez return to the octagon this year however, I do rather fancy Werdum's chances against Velasquez, should Werdum beat Travis Browne.

Tommy Strong: Cain Velasquez
Cain has surprised me since his defeat to JDS. After that defeat, I didn't think we would see him get even better. With two stunning and brutal victories in his rematches to JDS no one in the division will be relishing the prospect of fighting the Mexican.

Cain was due to fight Fabricio Werdum at UFC 172, though was forced to pull out due to an injury. With JDS unlikely to get a rematch anytime soon, and maybe the only fighter that could possibly give him a tough fight is his training partner (Daniel Cormier) and he is moving down to light heavyweight. I Think Cain will hold onto the belt for at least another year or two. But as we all know in the heavyweight division, it only takes one punch for things to change!!  

Ben Heather: Cain Velasquez
I don't see Cain fighting in 2014. I think his injury is worse than the UFC have let on. So therefore he will still be the champ.

However, in his absence I think a interim champ will be crowned and that man is Travis Browne. Whether it be against Werdum or somebody else I see his great run of form carrying on in to 2014.

If Cain is back I think Browne will get a shot at Cain but Cain gets the win in that fight to keep his title.

Sam Heard: Cain Velasquez
Perhaps the most stable champion in the entire UFC. The Mexican was steps ahead of JDS at UFC 166; the second best heavyweight is himself head and shoulders better than the rest of the heavyweight competition so this demonstrates just how good Cain is. The likelihood is his first test of the year will be Werdum who I am not massively impressed by.
 

STRAWWEIGHT (WOMEN)

Chris Houten: Carla Esparza
A lot of people are gunning for Jo Jo Calderwood to win TUF 20 and go on to be the Strawweight champion. I do see her doing particularly well, however I feel Carla Esparza has the wrestling background to neutralise the striking of Calderwood, gain top position and grind out a decision, should the two meet at some stage in the tournament. 

Tommy Strong: Carla Esparza
With the announcement of the UFC introducing a new women's 115b strawweight division, TUF 20 ( 'TheUltimate Fighter') will have a new look this year, with the winner of the show being crowned the new champion of the division.

I really can't wait for this. They have shown since the arrival of the bantamweights, they belong here and brought new excitement to the fans.

With 11 of the 16 cast named, we are yet to know who the other 5 might be. Of the 11 named, we are in for a real treat with the likes of Carla Esparza, Claudia Gadelha, Felice Herrig to name a few. We might even see the first British fighter crowned as a UFC champion in Joanne Calderwood.

In the end though, I think Carla Esparza has the tools to become the first Womens 115lb champ.

Ben Heather: Joanne Calderwood
Whoever wins the TUF 20 series will be the champ at the end of the year and I think Jojo is the British hope the UFC has needed to bring home a championship title. She is certainly a top contender and with a bit of luck in the house we could see her have that belt placed around her waist by the end of the year.

Sam Heard: Carla EsparzaArguably one of the harder classes to call as we can’t predict how the inhabitants of the all-new strawweight division will fair on the big stage that is the UFC. However, the former Invicta Strawweight champion looked comfortable at the top, dispatching an array of world-class opponents so she is the most prudent pick to be the champion come year’s end


BANTAMWEIGHT (WOMEN)

Chris Houten: Cat Zingano 
2014 is going to be the busiest and toughest year to date for current champion Ronda Rousey. Up first for Rousey is fellow Olympian Sara McMann who should provide a stern test for Rousey but one which I think she will pass. Waiting in the wings though are the winner of Davis vs Eye and Cat Zingano.

Having watched every fight Rousey has had as a pro I still feel she has flaws in her striking - particularly her defense, and I expect someone to be able to take advantage of these flaws awfully soon. 

Rousey is open to be hit and if Zingano catches her the same way she did Tate, it will be game over.

Tommy Strong: Ronda Rousey
Love her or hate her, Ronda is great for the UFC and MMA in general. If not for her, maybe we still wouldn't see women's mma within the UFC. The women have brought a breath of fresh air to the UFC and long may it continue.

Ronda is coming off a spectacular victory over her arch enemy Miesha Tait last Saturday via her trademark armbar. Great to see her back in action so soon, with the announcement straight after the fight that Ronda would face Sarah McMann a former Silver Medallist at the 2004 summer Olympics. If anyone can withstand Ronda's take downs it surely has to be Mcmann?

Though Sarah hasn't fought the calibre Ronda has, and not been in the spotlight with all the attention like Ronda. If Mcmann can't beat Ronda, I fear unless we see Cyborg fight, the title will be hers for as long as she wishes. 

Ben Heather: Ronda Rousey
I see Rousey defending her title a few times in the year and adding some more arms to her collection. UFC 170 will certainly be her toughest test to date though as McMann may be able to defend her incredible take downs.

Sam Heard: Ronda Rousey
After her recent victory at UFC 168 it would take a bold man to predict the end of the Rousey-era in 2014. Despite losing her streak of first-round victories, Rousey’s grappling and judo throws looked awesome against Tate. Although her striking still clearly isn’t world-class, I believe her amazing ground game will be enough to keep her on top.

Kingdom MMA Awards 2013: Worst Fight of the year

Kingdom MMA Worst Fight of the Year Award 2013: Soa Palalei vs Nikita Krylov

by Ben Heather @benheather

Although 2013 has been a great year for MMA it has also had a few stinkers. So this is the wooden spoon award of the year. Thankfully for us all this was actually quite a hard award to think of a winner for because we really have been treated to some amazing fights in 2013.

However, we had three contenders which were put forward as the worst fight of the year, our first contender was the fight between Jake Shields and Tyron Woodley at UFC 161 where the pair clinched for most of the fight in which Shields failed to get Woodley to the floor in the first two rounds alone with a staggering 11 attempts. The fight was either spent tied up in the clinch or pushed up against the side of the cage but nothing of serious note happened. All in all a stinker of a fight. However, Shawn Jordan must have been watching and gave the fans something to cheer about as he knocked out Pat Barry within a minute in the next fight.

Then in July Rory MacDonald vs Jake Ellenberger met at UFC on FOX 8 was certainly a fight with very little happening during the fight. Rory was waiting for Ellenberger to make the move and when he did, did just enough to win the fight without doing much in the process. Thankfully Demetrious Johnson vs John Moraga came on after that fight and put on a show for the fans to make them rightfully forget that fight ever happened.

Our winner though comes from UFC 164 at the end of August when Soa Palelei faced off against Nikita Krylov. Before the fight both guys had impressive records, Soa was returning to the UFC after a one fight stint years before and Nikita was making his debut in the UFC so both really wanted to impress..... unfortunately for both men and us fans that did not happen on this night. The fans were instead treated to over 11 minutes of fighting between two clearly gassed fighters before Soa put Nikita out of his misery and picked up the TKO win. Soa however announced after the fight that he went in to the fight with an injury, having suffered a fractured rib the week of the fight which led to him putting on a lack luster performance.

Thankfully Soa made up for this recently as the UFC returned to his home nation and he quickly knocked out Pat Barry making people forget all about his previous fight.

We are sorry to do this, but the award for worst fight of 2013 goes to Soa Palelei vs Nikita Krylov. Please forgive us and we hope to see you perform well again in 2014.

Kingdom MMA 2013 Awards: Male Fighter of the Year

Kingdom MMA Male Fighter of the Year Award 2013: Vitor Belfort

by Ben Heather - @benheather

2013 has been a great year for MMA, so many fighters have upped their game and the quality level of MMA has improved so much at all levels. The European shows such as Cage Warriors and BAMMA have put on great shows and the fighters abilities constantly improve with every event. Then you look at the UFC and look at the level of the fighters now to those a few years ago. Its no comparison, the guys now are incredible athletes and have put on a brilliant year of fighting for us all to enjoy and now we have the hard task of picking just one fighter to call Male fighter of the year.

Anthony Pettis became the lightweight champion, Johny Hendricks believes he deserves to be UFC Welterweight champion and Chris Weidman has twice defeated Anderson Silva. Alexander Gustafsson also pushed Jon Jones all the way but couldn't quite pull off the upset but certainly put on the performance of his life. All in all it has been a great year.

The main contenders for the award were.
Vitor Belfort who rebounded from losing to Jon Jones in his last fight of 2012 to come through three fights in 2013 and finish all of them with head kicks. Next up for Vitor is a title fight with Chris Weidman in 2014.

Demetrious Johnson has dominated his division fighting the best contenders in the division and improving with every single fight. First he easily defeated John Dodson by Unanimous Decision and then he put away top contenders John Moraga and Joseph Benevidez.

But it was clear that this year there could only be one winner and that man was Vitor Belfort.

Vitor Belfort has had possibly the best year of his MMA career which is very impressive as Belfort is now 36. Belfort is always surrounded by controversy whenever he fights due to his continued use of TRT and his previous failed drugs test. However, he is using TRT within the legal limits and until it is banned (I hope) can continue to. After all, the skills he has shown this year and the fighters he has beaten can not all be down to him using TRT.

In three fights in the octagon this year Vitor Belfort has put away Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold and Dan Henderson and has done it in 10 minutes 17 seconds combined. To be able to finish the calibre of fighters he has finished in the method he has is truly amazing. He went in to both the Bisping and the Rockhold fight as the underdog even though both of those fights were in his home country.

The highlight of his year has to be the spinning back kick knockout of Luke Rockhold. The timing was perfect and the skill required to do the move was simply jaw dropping. Which is why we awarded the Knockout our Knockout of 2013.

Vitor then got revenge over Dan Henderson after losing the first fight between the pair when they fought in Pride in October 2006. This time Vitor knocked Henderson out for the first time in his 40 fight career.

People may call him a cheat or argue that he shouldn't be allowed to use TRT but the fact is he is allowed at the minute and based on his performances we award him the Kingdom MMA Male Fighter of Year 2013.

Brad Pickett Talks to Kingdom MMA About His Upcoming Fight with Ian McCall

Kingdom MMA caught up with Brad "One Punch" Pickett to discuss dropping to 125lbs and his next fight

by Ben Heather @benheather and Tommy Strong @Strong_tea

On Friday we caught up with the one and only Brad "One Punch" Pickett (23-8 MMA 3-3 UFC) to discuss the news which was recently announced on UFC Beyond The Octagon where he announced he was going to be dropping to flyweight and will fight Ian "Uncle Creepy" McCall (12-4-1 MMA 1-2-1 UFC) in his flyweight debut at the O2 Arena in his home town of London on 8th March 2014.

That fight certainly has already got a lot of buzz surrounding it and people are excited to see just how Brad gets on at flyweight. So we asked him:

Ben: Firstly, thank you for taking the time to speak to us today. What made you decide that it was the right time now to drop down in weight?
Pickett: I made the decision originally to drop down in weight when i was on my honeymoon. I had a lot of time to myself as it was really quiet in the Maldives and you start thinking about a lot of things.

For me being a fighter, I needed challenges. At the moment I am ranked number 5 in the bantamweight division. There are four people above me, I have fought three of them and lost to all of them so there wasn't really anywhere for me to go. The only people I had left to fight were people who were ranked lower than myself and for me that was something to not really be motivated for and I wanted motivating and I wanted to have a challenge.

With me not being the biggest bantamweight I thought it would be possible to go down a weight class, to reinvent myself and to have a new challenge so that's what I did. Also, the other factor in it is I have a win over the champion so that was another little factor but it wasn't the main factor. The main factor was to get a new challenge.

Ben: Had you thought about it at all before the McDonald fight?
Pickett: No, It was when I was on my honeymoon. I had the McDonald fight and if I had beat him I would have been in line for a title shot. You don't look to change things when you are winning its when you lose that you look to change things so I didn't even think about it until after I got married and was on my honeymoon.

Ben: Was it completely your idea to drop down in weight or had it been suggested to you beforehand which led you to consider it?
Pickett: It has always been loosely suggested because obviously I have beaten Demetrious Johnson so everyone would suggest it but I have never really looked at it as a possibility, as I wasn't doing too bad as a bantamweight. I was up there in the mix and with a win or two I was in line for a title shot so that's why I didn't want to lose another 10lbs and go down a weight class. As soon as there was no more challenges left for me at that weight class I wanted to make a new challenge for myself.

Ben: Have you done a trial cut or do you have plans to do a practise cut before your fight?
Pickett: I don't do test weight cuts, I don't believe in them personally. Its a really mentally tough thing to do weight cutting if you're cutting a lot of weight and I think unless you have something at the end of it, like a fight you're not really gonna mentally do it.

I will make the weight but I will do it when it comes to fight I've got everything in order. Obviously I walk around a lot lighter now, I walk around 10lbs lighter now because I've got to cut that extra 10lbs and now I am stabilised at this weight as well I don't have to diet to stay here.

Ben: Will Christmas have any impact on the weight and drop to flyweight? After all its a time when people tend to eat more unhealthy foods.
Pickett: Not too bad, my weight is quite good at the moment. I will eat over Christmas and I still got a lot of time next year to do it and I am going away in January to America and that's when I will concentrate a lot more on the weight cut.

Ben: Will you be going back to American Top Team for this camp?
Pickett: Yes I will be going back to Florida, that's always where I do my training camps so I am looking forward to going back there. I will be there for 8 weeks and come back a week before the fight

Ben: What do you think you gain by going to America and ATT that you cant get in the UK?
Pickett: one, there is a lot more full time training partners so I have a lot more full time people who are my size to train with.

The other factors and the reason I go to America is because I go away to train so I can get away from my day to day distractions. The lifestyle you are used to eating, diet, your friends and your social life. Its hard to concentrate on a training camp when you are still around everything. That's why I go to America because its so easy to switch on and focus on my diet, my training, everything and its all about me just training for this fight.

Ben: When you knew that you was going to be dropping down to flyweight did you ask to fight McCall or was this fight given to you?
Pickett: I like to look at fights that make sense and to me the McCall fight made sense. He was available as he was supposed to fight Scott Jorgensen and he got injured so timing wise he will be back in the right time and I wanted to fight a tough opponent within the weight class so Ian made sense.

Ben: What do you think McCall's main strengths are and how do you match up to them?
Pickett: His main strengths.... well he is very well rounded and I am very well rounded but I do believe I am a little bit better than him in every area.

Ben: How does it feel knowing you will be fighting in your home town for the UFC?
Pickett: Yeah I am excited, I have fought in London before and I have fought for the UFC before but I have never fought in London for the UFC and for me to do that at the O2 which in my eyes is the best arena in Europe let alone England. I can't wait I am so excited

Ben: What are your opinions of the other contenders to the flyweight belt. Guys such as Lineker, Benevidez and Dodson to name just a couple.
Pickett: They are all exciting fights and fighters to watch but to me at the minute I am just focusing on McCall. Hopefully I will be able to beat McCall and then I can look at other people after the fight. They are all exciting and well rounded and the division is getting more stacked all the time so its an exciting division to be involved in.

Ben: Do you believe a win over McCall and the fact you have beaten Demetrious Johnson before will be enough to get you a title fight off the back of this fight?
Pickett: I believe so. I think he has cleaned out most of the weightclass at the moment and there is no real contenders for him that he hasn't thought so I believe a win over McCall could potentially put me in line for a title shot.

Ben: Would you like to thank anyone?
Pickett: Yeah I would like to thank all my supporters and all my fans.
My two teams American Top Team and Team Titan and all of my sponsors who have supported me.

Thank you so much for your time to do the interview with us and we wish you a safe trip to America for the camp and can't wait to see you fight in your home town on March 8th. Also we would like to take this opportunity to wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and all of your family.

UFC on FOX 8 Weigh in results

Weigh in Results for UFC on Fox 8

by Ben Heather @benheather

Tomorrow nights UFC live from the Key Arena in Seattle Washington, is now set after the weigh ins have now made the fights official. The main event sees Demetrious Johnson attempt to defend his UFC Flyweight title for the 2nd time against John Moraga. This fight will be a step up for Moraga in terms of how many people get to see his fight as last time out he was fighting on the Facebook prelims of UFC 155 and now he is headlining a UFC on FOX event live on national TV in the USA. Johnson has looked impressive since it was first announced that the UFC would create a flyweight division and last time out put on a brilliant performance against John Dodson, who many people thought may have beaten him going into the fight. Both men weighed in within the 125lbs limit to make the fight official. Now its just a matter of time before we see if Johnson can remain undefeated at Flyweight in the UFC or will Moraga become the second Flyweight champion in UFC history.

In the co main event, we will see a welterweight fight which could have a massive impact on the welterweight division as Rory MacDonald is set to battle Jake Ellenberger. Both men weighed in under the 171lbs limit at the weigh ins, and they both know that a big win will move them a step closer to a potential title shot. If Rory wins and puts on a show tomorrow night that could leave him, GSP, the Tristar gym and the UFC with a massive dilemma to answer if GSP beats Johny Hendricks at UFC 167. Due to the timing of this fight and the title fight not due to take place until November I think the logical move would be to put the winner of this fight back in to action against the winner of the Condit vs Kampmann 2 which takes place at the end of August. That number 1 contender fight could take place in December leaving the winner to fight for the title early next year. However that being said, on a personal note I would love nothing better than to see GSP vs Rory.

Also on the main card we have a welterweight contest between Robbie Lawlor and Bobby Voelker in which we see two men having there second fight in the UFC since coming over from Strikeforce. Robbie Lawlor shocked a few people when he knocked out Josh Koscheck at UFC 157 and now looks to continue that good work against late replacement Voelker who stepped in on 16 days notice for this fight. Could that decision prove to be a good idea.... we will find out tomorrow night.

Finally we have Liz Carmouche vs Jessica Andrade. Carmouche will become the first women to fight twice in the octagon tomorrow night after being defeated by Ronda Rousey in the first ever women's fight in the UFC. Carmouche was originally slated to fight Miesha Tate before she got the opportunity to fight for the title and in the process coach on the next series of The Ultimate Fighter. This fight also marks the first women's MMA fight on network TV in the USA. Jessica Andrade will be making her UFC debut and has a 9-2 MMA record including fighting seven times last year. Andrade will be looking to make it three wins in a row tomorrow night but it will definitely be against her strongest opponent yet.

John Albert, Tim Means and Jorge Masvidal all missed weight, all of the other fighters made weight when they stepped on to the scales making all of the fights official. I expect John Albert and Jorge Masvidal to attempt to lose the last bit of weight but with Tim Means coming in 4 lbs over weight I expect him to lose a lot of money.

A full list of results from today's weigh in can be found below.

Main Card - Live on ESPN at 1am Sunday 28th July 2013

Demetrious Johnson (c) (124.5 lbs) vs. John Moraga (124.5 lbs)    
Rory MacDonald (170.5 lbs) vs. Jake Ellenberger (171 lbs)
Robbie Lawlor (170.5 lbs) vs. Bobby Voelker (170 lbs)
Liz Carmouche (136 lbs) vs. Jessica Andrade (134 lbs)   

Prelims - Live on UFC.tv

Michael Chiesa (155.5 lbs) vs. Jorge Masvidal (157.5 lbs)***
Danny Castillo (155 lbs) vs. Tim Means (160 lbs)** WTF
Mac Danzig (155 lbs) vs. Melvin Guillard (155 lbs)    
Yves Edwards (155 lbs) vs. Daron Cruickshank (156 lbs)   
Ed Herman (186 lbs) vs. Trevor Smith (185 lbs)   
Julie Kedzie (135.5 lbs) vs. Germaine de Randamie (135 lbs)

Facebook Prelims - Live on Facebook

Aaron Riley (156 lbs) vs. Justin Salas (155 lbs)   
John Albert (137 lbs)* vs. Yaotzin Meza (136 lbs)   

*John Albert has 2 hours to lose 1 lb
** Tim Means has 2 hours to lose 4 lbs
*** Jorge Masvidal 2 hours to lose 1.5lbs

Two more fights added to UFC on FOX 8

Flyweight Title fight to headline UFC on FOX 8

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

UFC on FOX 8 takes place July 27 in Seattle, Washington and it look like we have our complete card with the announcement of the headline fight.

Demetrious Johnson (17-2-1 MMA 5-1-1 UFC) and current UFC Flyweight Champion  is back from injury. He meets John Moraga (12-1 MMA 2-0 UFC) as his number 1 contender in a match that was briefly linked to the TUF17 Finale before injury scuppered that after surgery was needed to fix a torn labrum on Johnson's right shoulder.

This is a bit of a filler fight as the flyweight division searches for some order and gives a chance for new contenders to emerge. Johnson is the first and only UFC flyweight champion after coming through the tournament to kick the division off with a win over Ian McCall in the semis and defeating the highly rated Joseph Benavidez for the title. He defended his title for the 1st time at a previous FOX event UFC on Fox 6 where he beat John Dodson via decision.

 The card also got a boost with another intriguing fight added. Miesha Tate will try to get back on the title trail after her knockout loss to Cat Zingano with a fight against Liz Carmouche a former contender who was beaten by Ronda Rousey last time out. The division is very shallow at the moment so a win for either fighter puts them straight back into contention.