UFC 168 Predictions

UFC 168 Predictions
by Ben Heather @benheather and Tommy Strong @Strong_tea

The UFC is back this weekend, and back in a big way with one of the best cards to take place this year. UFC 168 is sure to send the UFC off in to 2014 in a big way.

For the first time in a long time this weekends UFC event will potentially see two UFC titles change hands with both the middleweight title and the women's bantamweight title on the line. It is also the event which may settle two rivalries as Chris Weidman takes on Anderson Silva in what has to be the most anticipated rematch in UFC history. Also the true grudge match will take place as Ronda Rousey gets back in to the cage to face Miesha Tate and this time its in the octagon. If these fights live up to the hype and so do the remaining fights on the card it could easily be the best event of the year, if not all time.

Kingdom MMA will give you their predictions for the event which is sure to be a cracker!

Chris Weidman vs Anderson Silva

Strong: The fight everyone has been waiting for is finally upon us. Did Silva take Weidman serious previously? I don't think he did. Though he will have tool this time. Silva won't make the same mistake twice and I see Silva putting right when he done wrong in the first fight.

I don't see lightening striking twice!

Prediction: Anderson Silva - TKO RD 2

Heather: I have been waiting for this fight since Anderson Silva was knocked out in the last fight, the reason for that is simple.... Chris Weidman needs to win this fight to finally get some respect. I feel he has not got the respect he deserved for knocking out Anderson Silva and why.... that's simple because Anderson Silva did what Anderson Silva does in every fight the only difference was this time he got caught instead of looking flash.

It was only a matter of time with Anderson fighting the way he does before he got caught and finally Weidman did it.

I also feel that he will do the same again on Saturday night and then he will finally get some respect for the accomplishment which he has achieved. People keep saying how Anderson will be focused for this fight more than the first and will get the win, but I think that's complete rubbish. There is one man who will want to get the win more than anything on Saturday night and that man is Chris Weidman, he has everything to lose and if he does lose will probably not be getting another title shot for a while.

If Anderson changes anything then i believe it will be to Weidmans advantage. He has always thought the same way and so any changes to the way he fights may work against him.

Prediction: Chris Weidman - TKO RD 4


Ronda Rousey vs Miesha Tate

Strong: This is a real grudge match, with both fighters who truly have a dislike for each other. Though since their first fight in 2012 I feel Ronda is the fighter who's progressed, and Miesha has stood still or even took a step backwards.

Its going to take a special fighter to beat Ronda and feel Miesha's chance has passed. I would love to see Miesha win the title from her fierce enemy, though unless she can keep the fight standing for 3 rounds I don't see her winning.

Prediction: Ronda Rousey - Submission Rd 3

Heather: For me this is very simple... Ronda beats anyone at 135lbs and Tate only has this fight as it is good for business. She is coming in to fight the champ off a loss and nobody seems to be saying anything about it. Yet when other people get title shots when they are not the clear contender everyone bitches about the decision.

I will be surprised if it makes it past the first round and Miesha still has her arm!!

Prediction: Ronda Rousey - Armbar Rd 1


Josh Barnett vs Travis Browne

Strong: I love nothing better than a good heavyweight match up, and this is what we have right here. Both very powerful men who will look to put on an impressive performance to put themselves into the window of title contention.

Barnett will be keen to get Browne to the mat where he can do all the damage, where as Browne will do his utmost to keep the fight standing to put the advantage firmly in his favour.

Prediction: Travis Browne - TKO Rd 1

Heather: This fight has had me going back and forth in my head and to honest I am still not sure how it will pan out. I do believe these guys are right up the top of the division and a win could put them in a potential number 1 contender fight with Werdum if Cain is sidelined for a while.

As Tommy said, I also believe Browne will have the advantage standing up and he has only lost to Bigfoot Silva in a fight he looked great in until he got injured. I think if he did not get injured during the fight, that fight would have been very different. However, Barnett certainly will have the advantage on the ground.

Even as I am writing this I still don't know how it is going to go but it is certainly a fight I am looking forward to watching. I'm gonna take on punt on Browne and say he gets the W on Saturday night.

Prediction: Travis Browne - TKO Rd 3


Jim Miller vs Fabricio Camoes

Strong: Miller will be eager to get back to winning way after his loss to Healy (though later overturned to NC due to Healy's failed drugs test) I think in Camoes he has the perfect opportunity. Camoes is coming into the fight of the back of a defeat to Melvin Gulliard which is no shame, though anything he throws at Miller I can see him dealing with.

Prediction: Jim Miller - Unanimous Decision

Heather: I will not waste too much of your time in the write up for my pick for this fight. Jim Miller has a far greater set of skills to lose this fight. I am unsure of the match making behind this fight.... however a loss for Miller would be very bad for any potential future title shot he still dreams about.

Prediction: Jim Miller - Unanimous Decision


Dustin Poirier vs Diego Brandao

Strong: This is one of the fights I'm looking forward to most. It has fight of the night written all over it! Poirier will be full of confidence of the back of beating Erik Koch in August. But he will be up against it when facing former TUF 14 winner Diego Brandao.

Brandao has a wild style of fighting that will lend itself to Dustin's striking. Though, if Brandao manages to land one of his wild attacks on Poirier we should be in for a real treat of a fight.

Piorier has fought some of the best fighters within the division, Brandao hasn't fought anyone to the level of Poirier, I feel this might be the key!

Prediction: Dustin Poirier - Unanimous Decision 

Heather: Firstly Dustin Poirier is one of my favourite fighters to watch, he always comes to fight and always turns up. That being said I can guarantee to you right now that two things will happen on Saturday night.

1) Diego Brandao will come out quickly with some big shots in the first round
2) Diego Brandao will then gas..... badly!!

What happens next I believe Dustin will take care of business and weather the early onslaught before finishing a gassed Brandao in the third round and probably by pulling off another highlight reel submission.

Prediction: Dustin Poirier - Submission RD 3

Please let us know what your predictions are for this event and if you agree with both of ours.

Fighter vs Writer - UFC 168 Calderwood vs Heard

Fighter vs Writer: JoJo Calderwood - UFC 168
by Ben Heather @benheather

Welcome to another Kingdom MMA fighter vs writer challenge.

For this feature we challenge some of the biggest names from the world of MMA to give us their picks and fight outcomes for specific MMA events. Then they will be challenged by one of our writers, who will make their own predictions. Previously we have challenged the likes of Dustin Poirier, Luke Barnatt, Jim Alers, Mike Wilkinson, Phil Harris, Cathal Pendred and Michael Wootten.

This weeks opponent was the perfect woman for the job. After recently taking her MMA record to 8-0 at Invicta 7 with a unanimous decision win over Katja Kankaanpaa she was back in the news when Dana White told the world that the UFC will now have a 115lb womens division and that she was one of 11 women to have signed for the UFC. She is of course Jojo Calderwood and this weekend she will compete against our newest writer Sam Heard.

The Scoring
If you predict the correct winner of the fight you will get one point and if you predict the correct method of victory you will get an extra point. However, if the fight ends in a stoppage and you predict the round as well the method you could earn a third bonus point. If the fight goes the distance you can only earn a maximum of two points.

The Predictions

Chris Weidman vs Anderson Silva

Calderwood: I think Silva will be back to his best for this fight with a point to prove.

Prediction: Anderson Silva - TKO Round 3 

Heard: The moment we’ve all been waiting for! I believe we will see a more serious, focused Anderson Silva who will keep the clowning to a minimum. Until he got caught in the first fight, Anderson seemed quicker than Weidman and was landing hard leg kicks at will. I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if Anderson was able to “give back” the KO to Weidman.

However, as much as it pains me to say it, I think Weidman has the edge here. Historically, championship rematches have never failed the older fighter and though Silva is without doubt the GOAT there is no escaping the fact that he is nearing 40. Weidman is a relentless wrestler who happens to also have decent stand-up and even better submissions; everyone knows that wrestlers are the worst matchups for Anderson. He nearly got that heel hook in the first round of their first clash and I believe we could see Anderson, who could well just have accepted the rematch he initially showed no interest in for the big cheque, tap out.

Prediction: Chris Weidman - Submission Round 4

Ronda Rousey vs Miesha Tate

Calderwood: I'd love to see this go a bit but Ronda is pretty determined and it's going to go the way everyone expects.

Prediction: Ronda Rousey - Armbar Round 2

Heard: The bookies would have you believe this fight is certain to end with Ronda’s hand raised. I really think that they’re undervaluing Miesha Tate here. In their first match Miesha looked like she had an edge on the feet and displayed some brilliant counter-grappling to resist Ronda’s first attempt at the Armbar and even take the Bantamweight Champion’s back.

So what’s changed since then? Ronda seems to be spending an increasing amount of time on her acting career. There’s no doubting Tate seems more focused on her MMA career at this stage. Added to this, Rousey’s nature as a fighter who’s ultra-specialised in one very focused area means that training and a game plan can be focused on countering her speciality; namely that awesome Armbar of hers. I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that not only does Miesha take Ronda into the uncharted territories of the 2nd and 3rd round put that she pulls off the upset.

Prediction: Miesha Tate - Unanimous Decision

Josh Barnett vs Travis Browne

Calderwood: I think Barnett is one of the best heavyweight submission guys, he's dealt with tall opponents before and I think once he gets past Browne's range I think the sub will come.

Prediction: Josh Barnett - Submission Round 2

Heard: Despite coming off two huge wins, I’m not entirely sold on Travis Browne. Though he went on to KO Overeem with that brilliant front kick, I think Overeem did enough to get the stoppage as there were stages where Browne seemed defenceless and have seen referees jump in for far less. Yes, he did beat Gonzaga but Barnett is a very different beast to the Brazillian, having competed at the top level throughout his whole career and has only ever lost to the very best.

I don’t think Barnett will manage to get the finish against Browne but I think he has an advantage in all areas. Browne’s experience is mainly limited to the first round while Barnett has gone all the way in a five round main event so expect Barnett to show better conditioning.


Prediction: Josh Barnett - Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Jim Miller vs Fabricio Camoes

Calderwood: I don't know too much about Camoes, I like watching Jim Miller fight and I'm pretty sure he's coming off a loss so he will be even more dangerous.

Prediction: Jim Miller - Unanimous Decision 

Heard: I believe this is a showcase fight for Miller with Fabricio being fed to the lions a bit. Camoes is 1-1 in the UFC and coming off a loss to inconsistent Melvin Guillard while Miller is arguably one of the best lightweights to have never had a shot at the title and is coming off a loss which he very nearly won ( and which was eventually overturned) to Pat Healy.

I think Miller has the tools to win comfortably.

Prediction: Jim Miller - Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30, 27)

Dustin Poirier vs Diego Brandao

Calderwood: Looking forward to this fight, I think it will be competitive for a round or two but Brandao will gas leaving Poirier to win on points.

Prediction: Dustin Poirier - Unanimous Decision and FOTN

Heard: There’s no doubting that Brandao’s kamikaze aggression makes for entertaining fights but it makes it very difficult to have any faith in him as a pick. He has a tendency to rush out all guns blazing for the first round only to slow down ridiculously in the latter two thirds of the fight. This bad fight IQ won’t fair well against an athlete like Poirier.

Poirier survived and overcame the elite striking skills of Erik Koch in his last fight so should be able to weather the early storm of Diego Brandao. When Brandao inevitably gases I think Poirier should be able to implement his slick submission skills and get the win in the latter part of the fight, probably by armbar or his signature d'arce choke.

Prediction: Dustin Poirier - Submission Round 3


So that's our predictions for the fights, we will be live tweeting on Saturday night as always and we will keep you all informed as to how the challenge is going with latest scores throughout the main card.

Thanks again to JoJo for providing us with her picks for this weekends fights and it just leaves me to say.... May the best man or woman win!!

Fighter vs Writer - UFC Fight Night 27 - Poirier vs Heather

Fighter vs Writer: Dustin Poirier - UFC Fight Night 27
by Ben Heather @benheather

Welcome to another Kingdom MMA fighter vs writer challenge.


For this challenge we challenge some of the biggest names from the world of MMA to give us their picks and fight outcomes for specific MMA events. Then they will be challenged by one of our writers, who will make their own predictions. Previously we have challenged the likes of Luke Barnatt, Jim Alers, Mike Wilkison, Phil Harris and Cathal Pendred. Last time out at UFC Fight Night 26, Cathal Pendred was defeated by Chris, which still leaves Jim Alers as the only fighter to beat one of our Kingdom MMA writers.

This weeks opponent needs no introduction. He is one of the biggest names in the Featherweight division and is currently ranked #6 in the UFC official rankings. He is also the star of the movie Fightville and holds impressive victories over Jonathan Brookings, Max Holloway and many more. He is of course Dustin Poirier and you can see him return to the Octagon on Saturday night against Erik Koch at UFC 164.

The Scoring
If you predict the correct winner of the fight you will get one point and if you predict the correct method of victory you will get an extra point. However, if the fight ends in a stoppage and you predict the round as well the method you could earn a third bonus point. If the fight goes the distance you can only earn a maximum of two points.

The Predictions
(Note: The fight card wasn't finalised when we spoke to Dustin so we will only be picking 5/6 main card fights)

Carlos Condit vs Martin Kampmann

Dustin's Prediction: Carlos Condit - Decision 

Heather: This is a big fight for both guys, a win could push both guys very close to getting the next title shot, however a loss could seriously damage that dream. I have to pick Condit here, I can't see a way which Condit loses. Yes he has lost his last two but against the champion and challenger for the belt. I think that's still respectable. That will be pushing Carlos to get back in the win column and he will come Saturday night.

Prediction: Carlos Condit - TKO Round 3

Donald Cerrone vs Rafael Dos Anjos

Dustin's Prediction: Donald Cerrone - TKO

Heather: Cerrone for me is in a similar group to Urijah Faber, he will beat almost anyone in the division other than the very elite guys and even then (Other than the Pettis fight) he will put up a bloody good fight. In my opinion he is also one of the most exciting fighters to watch. He always comes to fight and rarely disappoints the fans.

On the other hand Dos Anjos has improved so much over the past couple of years after starting his UFC career 4-4 he has gone on a 4 fight win streak and a win on Wednesday would certainly be the biggest of his career. Unfortunately for Rafael I don't see it happening and I see him being finished within the distance. I think Cerrone will be able to beat him a number of ways but I am picking a third round submission for this.

Prediction: Donald Cerrone - Sub Round 3

Kelvin Gastelum vs Brian Melancon

Dustin's Prediction: Brian Melancon - TKO 

Heather: As one of the few guys who predicted that Kelvin would defeat Uriah Hall in his last fight I am not going to pick against him today. Gastelum has a decent skill set and now with the drop down to welterweight he won't be one of the smaller guys.

Melancon has taken this fight on short notice after a very impressive debut in the octagon. That fight proved an upset as he defeated Seth Baczynski on the buzzer at the end of the first round and another win on Wednesday night would be just as big of an upset.

I think Gastelum will be able to grind out an early onslaught from Melancon but then control the fight to pick up a decision victory.

Prediction: Kelvin Gastelum - Decision

Court McGee vs Robert Whittaker

Dustin's Prediction: Court McGee - Decision 

Heather: Whittaker impressed me in the TUF Smashes and was definitely one of a couple of good fighters to come out of the house. At the same time in his last fight against Colton Smith I didn't expect to see the improvements I did and thought he would lose..... how wrong was I!! After that performance I am now expecting to see big things in this fight.

McGee on paper has faced greater competition than Whittaker and in his last fight looked very impressive in the first round before he looked like he was gassed and then just did enough to win the decision when really he should have finished the fight.

Against Whittaker he will not be given the ability to cruise and I think Whittaker will have enough to come away with the win in equally impressive style to his last fight.

Prediction: Robert Whittaker - TKO Round 1

Brad Tavares vs Robert McDaniel

Dustin's Prediction: Brad Tavares  - TKO

Heather: This is simple for me.... If Jon Jones wasn't his coach on TUF Bubba would not have been given a second chance and we wouldn't even have this fight. I really do not understand why this fight has even been made. Tavares has fought and beat a lot better fighters than McDaniel and I can see him cruising to another win come fight night.

Hopefully we will now see Tavares matched up with a big name fighter as he works towards the top 10 in the division. He certainly deserves a better opponent than Bubba McDaniels.

Prediction: Brad Tavares - TKO Round 2


So that's our predictions for the fights, we will be live tweeting on Wednesday night as always and we will keep you all informed as to how the challenge is going with latest scores throughout the main card.

Thanks again to Dustin for providing us with his picks for this weekends fights and it just leaves me to say.... May the best man win!!

Dustin Poirier talks to Kingdom MMA about UFC 164, fighting Cub Swanson in the UK, Conor McGregor and more

Kingdom MMA catch up with Dustin Poirier for a UK exclusive interview

by Ben Heather @benheather

Yesterday Kingdom MMA had the pleasure of catching up with Dustin Poirier to discuss his fights at UFC 164 as well as a lot of other topics. Dustin comes in to the fight off the back of a loss in the co-main event of UFC on FUEL 5 against Cub Swanson in Wembley Arena, London. Since then he has taken a bit of time out after two fights in the space of two months in December last year and then February of this year, but is now ready to get back to action.

Ben: Your last fight was in the UK, did you get chance to get out and see much of London while you was in the UK and what did you think of England?
Poirier: I was not able to see much but what I did get to see was beautiful, aside from it raining the entire time we were there.

Ben: Last time out you lost in a close battle to Cub Swanson, do you regret taking that fight on short notice?
Poirier: I don't regret taking the fight, it was a learning experience and I'm a stronger fighter because of it.

Ben: I caught up with you in the Hilton hotel a couple of hours after that fight against Cub and at that time you said that you thought you won the first and second rounds and did enough to win the fight. Did you watch the fight back and how do you think it should have been scored?
Poirier: I did watch the fight over and  I think the decision was right, we were one and one going into the third and I think he edged me out in the third.

Ben: Do you feel if you had the full camp before fighting Cub the result would have been different?
Poirier: I definitely think that if I had a full training camp it would have gone differently. I would've been in shape to push the third round.

Ben: Who do you think is now the number 1 contender at featherweight? It seems a lot of guys feel they deserve the title shot but who do you think should be next to get the shot?
Poirier: Ricardo Lamas deserves the next shot at the featherweight title.

Ben: If an opportunity arose and you were asked to step in on short notice for another fight like you did against Cub would you still take the fight?
Poirier: It depends on my weight at the time and if the fight is worth taking on short notice.

Ben: I believe in the past your weight fluctuates a lot when you are not preparing for a fight. How much weight do you normally have to lose during a fight camp? Also, on average how much do you have to cut for weigh ins?
Poirier: I lose an average of 15 pounds during camp and another 15 pounds for the weight cut.

Ben: You have now been training at American Top Team for coming up to a year, how do you feel this had improved your game and how different is it to where you previously trained?
Poirier: I feel like my game is more well rounded and I'm getting pushed by top level guys every day. I'm a completely different fighter than how I was a year ago.

Ben: It seems lately the name on everyone's lips in the UK is Conor McGregor, what is your opinion of him and would you be interested in a fight with him?
Poirier: Connor Mc who??

Ben: At UFC 164 you will finally fight Erik Koch. You were supposed to fight him back in Feb '12 at UFC 143 before he got injured. Has it been easier preparing for this fight due to the past preparation you put in for that first fight?
Poirier: No it's not easier because it's a different fight and we're both different fighters than we were a year ago.

Ben: You will be fighting Koch in what I believe is his hometown, does this add an exciting edge to the fight for you?
Poirier: For sure! I get to be the bad guy for the night and he's going to need a stadium full of fans to cheer him up after I beat him.

Ben: Have you been training on anything specific for your fight against Koch?
Poirier: I've been training and preparing for any way the fight could go but have been focusing on my kickboxing. Everyone looks at me as a jiu jitsu fighter but I started as a kickboxer before anything and you will see that in this fight.

Ben: How do you expect the fight to go at UFC 164?
Poirier: Me knocking Erik Koch out!!

Ben: Where do you think a win will put you in an already stacked division?
Poirier: Back where I belong...At The Top!

Ben: Would you say that putting on a show, entertaining the crowd with exciting fights and being known as an entertaining fighter is important to you? Or is it all about getting the win no matter if its a boring fight.
Poirier: It's all about getting the win for me but luckily, I don't know how to have a boring fight!

Ben: UK fighter and team mate of yours Brad Pickett is in action this weekend, how do you think he will get on against Michael Mcdonald?
Poirier: I think it will be a competitive fight first round and then Brad will pull ahead second and third.

Thank you for your time Dustin, we wish you all the best in your fight at UFC 164 and look forward to speaking with you again soon.

UFC 164 is headlined by the rematch between Benson Henderson vs Anthony Pettis for the UFC lightweight championship in a fight which the fans have been hoping to see ever since Anthony Pettis landed the showtime kick in the first fight between the two. UFC 164 takes place on 31st August and can be seen live on BT Sports in the UK.