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!!

UFC 159 Main Card Results - Jim Miller vs Pat Healy

Pat Healy defeats Jim Miller by Rear Naked Choke Round 3, 4:02

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

In the battle of the beards Pat Healy took his chance to prove he belongs in the UFC in his return to the octagon. The fight opened up the PPV and many expected an exciting battle that could potentially win Fight of the night. That's exactly what we got.

Jim Miller coming off an exciting fight of the year contender with Joe Lauzon, came out very aggressive in the 1st round. He went after Healy trying to end the fight early with power strikes. Healy however had the know how to survive the early onslaught.

As clearly as Healy knew he lost the 1st round he also knew he tuned the tables on a tiring Miller in the second with an effective ground game. As the old saying goes styles make fights and this stylistic clash was great. In a topsy turvey fight where both men found success,  Healy eventually took control of the fight in the 3rd and final round.

The effective ground game on a tiring Miller finally paid dividends with a late submission. Healy managed to sneak his hooks in to complete a rear naked choke after a long battle. Miller is as tough as they come and you could tell he was never going to tap out. Healy squeezed it in and put Miller to sleep to win a brilliant fight.

Healy was on quite a tear in Strikeforce before the promotion folded He will be pleased to prove he belongs in the upper echelons of the Lightweigt division after beating a perennial contender like Jim Miller. He has always been in contention himself though. He was twice scheduled to fight the ex Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez before the fights fell through due to injury.

Gilbert Melendez would be a logical fight for the UFC to make next for Healy but I believe the UFC will want to avoid putting Strikeforce fighters in with each other too early. Not that Healy will care who he gets next. He won impressively on his return to the UFC after a long 7 year absence. That's all that mattered to him. In his words "All the 155ers out there, I'm putting you on blast,"

UFC 159: Weigh In Results

Weigh in Results for UFC 159

by Ben Heather @benheather

Tomorrow will see UFC 159 live from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The main event will see Jon Jones attempt to defend his UFC World Light Heavyweight title when he faces Chael Sonnen.

The two have recently been opposing coaches on the latest series of The Ultimate Fighter and now its time for the talking to stop and time for them to get in to the octagon to see who is the better fighter. Earlier today they both stepped on to the scales and made weight to make the fight official.

Also on the card is the fights between Michael Bisping vs Alan Belcher and Vinny Magalhaes vs Phil Davis both of these fights have become personal with insults going back and forth between the fighters. This will hopefully lead to some good fights for all of us fans to watch.

UFC 159 Full Weigh-in Results:

Jon Jones (205) vs Chael Sonnen (205)

Alan Belcher (185) vs Michael Bisping (186)

Cheick Kongo (237) vs Roy Nelson (258)

Phil Davis (205) vs Vinny Magalhaes (205.5)

Pat Healy (155.5) vs Jim Miller (155)

Johnny Bedford (136) vs Bryan Caraway (136)

Ovince St. Preux (206) vs Gian Villante (206)

Sheila Gaff  (133) vs Sara McMann (134)

Rustam Khabilov (156) vs Yancy Medeiros (155.5)

Leonard Garcia (145) vs Cody McKenzie (145)

Nick Catone (173) vs James Head (170.25)*

Kurt Holobaugh (145) vs Steven Siler (145.25)

*Catone will forfeit 20 percent of his fight purse after coming in 2 lbs overweight.

Writer vs Fighter - UFC 159 Main Card Picks Challenge - Heather vs Barnatt

UFC fighter Luke Barnatt challenges Kingdom MMA in a picks challenge

by Ben Heather @benheather

Welcome to Kingdom MMA's inaugural writer vs fighter challenge.

For this challenge we will be challenging some big 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.

For this first event we will be predicting the fight outcomes from UFC 159 which is headlined by Chael Sonnen challenging Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight championship. As this is the coaches fight at the end of the latest series of TUF, there was only one person we wanted to do the writer vs fighter challenge against.... As we said earlier we will be challenging some big names from the world of MMA and coming in at 6'6 there are not many guys bigger than "Bigslow" himself Luke Barnatt.

Luke Barnatt was part of Team Sonnen on the latest series of TUF where he made the quarter finals on the show. After filming for the show finished he spent the next few months training with Chael to prepare for his fight with Collin Hart at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale as well as helping Chael prepare for his fight this weekend against Jon Jones.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Luke this past week and he gave us one of the most open and in depth interviews Kingdom MMA has had, which can be read here. At the same time he provided us with his predictions for UFC 159.

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 bonus point and if the fight ends in a stoppage and you predict the round as well you could earn a third point. If the fight goes the distance you can only earn a maximum of two points.

The predictions:

Main Event: Jon Jones vs Chael Sonnen

Luke: Mr Chael P Sonnen via devastating beatdown... pretty much a sequel of the Silva beating... but with a much happier ending.

Prediction: Sonnen

Ben: I cant look past Jon Jones in this fight, realistically he should still be undefeated and nobody has still looked like testing him. For that reason I can't predict anything other than a Jones win. However I do think Chael will put up one of the hardest tests that Jones has had yet.

Prediction: Jones by TKO Round 4

Co Main Event: Michael Bisping vs Alan Belcher

Luke: Michael has Alan beat everywhere... I see this being a 1st round stoppage. Bisping has fire brewing inside from the Belfort fight. he'll come out fast and hard.

Prediction: Bisping by TKO Round 1

Ben: I agree with Luke, I think Bisping wants to win this fight more than any other in his career so far. Yes obviously he wanted to win his last one which would have got him a title shot but if he losses this weekend he may struggle to get back up the ranks again. A win is vital and I predict Bisping to win on points.

Prediction: Bisping by Unanimous Decision

Roy Nelson vs Cheick Kongo

Luke: Who Cares??

Prediction: N/A

Ben: I think this is another fight where Nelson will finish the fight early, Kongo has had his chin tested a few times and buckled and nobody hits harder than Nelson.

Prediction: Nelson by KO Round 1

Phil Davis vs Vinny Magalhaes

Luke: Vinny Magalhaes via 2nd round Leg Lock ;)

Prediction: Magalhaes by Submission Round 2

Ben: I again agree with Luke on this fight I think the underdog will come through and pick up the win. Davis is a good fighter and his record shows that but I think Vinny has enough to be in a position at some point to get hold of a limb and keep hold of it long enough to finish the fight. Most likely via an armbar.

Prediction: Magalhaes by Submission Round 3

Jim Miller vs Pat Healy

Luke: This is a tough one... but after what Miller did to Lauzon, I can't see a way he can lose this fight.

Prediction: Miller

Ben: Miller wins this fight for me 9/10 and I don't think Saturday will be the exception. Healy has been on a great run lately and should have had his chance to fight for the Strikeforce title but against Miller I don't think he will be able to enforce his game plan and Miller will be able to pick up a tough, hard fought Unanimous Decision victory.

If its anything like his fight with Lauzon we will be in for a treat.

Prediction: Miller by Unanimous Decision

So that's our predictions for this 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 Luke for providing us with his picks for this weekends fights and it just leaves me to say.... May the best man win!!

UFC 159 Main Card Predictions

Kingdom MMA: UFC 159 Main Card Predictions

by Tommy Strong @strong_tea and Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

On Saturday night we will finally be able to put an end to the legacy of UFC 151 as Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen meet in the octagon at UFC 159. The two have recently been coaches on the latest series of The Ultimate Fighter in which Kelvin Gastelum from Team Sonnen won the contract to the UFC.

A lot of people have got an opinion as to whether or not Chael deserves this title shot but the talking will end on Saturday night and we will find out who the better man is.

Below you will find the predictions from some of the guys at Kingdom MMA for the main card.

Jon Jones (17-1) LHW Champ vs Chael Sonnen (27-12-1) #9 MW
 

Tommy: I feel this match up was more to do with boosting the TUF series ratings than it was to do with the fight, one in which Chael shouldn't be anywhere near. But that's a different topic altogether.

We all know Chael is the most entertaining fighter in the UFC and certainly has brought more hype to this fight. He may have won the battle of the TUF series, but it will be Jon Jones that wins the war!

Chael's wrestling is one of the best in the UFC, but Jones has shown he's very hard to take down with a 100% take down defence in all of his UFC fights. I find it impossible to find a way that Chael can win this fight. Even if Chael can get him to the ground, he's very vulnerable to submissions.

Prediction: Jones by TKO Round 2

Jack: I believe this could get more interesting than people think. Sonnen without doubt has the game to put Jones on his back. Although Rashad struggled to take there fight to the ground I believe Sonnen is the better wrestler. That being said Jones should work his way up and deal with Sonnen. Not as quickly or as easily as some think though.

Prediction: Jones by Submission Round 3

Michael Bisping (23-5) #4 MW vs Alan Belcher (18-7) #10 MW

Jack: I think this is a good fight for Bisping. Belcher is actually quite good everywhere and probably has the edge in jiu jitsu. For that advantage to come into play though he has to get Bisping down or rock him. I don't see either happening. Belcher doesn't deal well with pressure.  Something Bisping happens to be excellent at with his gas tank.

I think we see the old Bisping pressure style here maybe looking for a clinch for some Knees.

Prediction: Bisping by TKO from Ground and Pound following knees in the clinch Round 3

Tommy: I feel this really is the last chance saloon for Bisping to get the title shot he probably deserves.

Belcher will prove a very stern test for him on Saturday night. Belcher has a brilliant ground game and that was shown against Palhares, that he can submit very good fighters. Though Bisping has proved time and time again he has one of the best take down defences, and showed against Sonnen he's difficult to take down and keep down.

Bisping has a lot to prove after his loss to Belfort and after a lot of trash talking I feel he's going to back up and stop Belcher for the first time in his career.

Prediction: Bisping by TKO Round 2

Roy Nelson (18-7) #6 HW vs Cheick Kongo (18-7-2)

Tommy: Not ashamed to admit it, but I'm a massive Roy Nelson fan. Since winning the Ultimate Fighter back in 2009, I've really taken to him. He has a granite chin, and power that can knock out any heavyweight fighter!

I don't think Kongo has the power to knockout 'Big Country' and would be wise to keep the fight at range and pick his way to victory.  But at some point Roy will get close to him and land something heavy on Cheick and knock him out.

Prediction: Roy Nelson by KO Round 1

Jack: This fight to me should be easy to pick and see how it plays out. Of course we all know this is MMA and anything can happen though. I will keep this one brief. Both men hit hard. Only Nelson has a good chin. That points to one thing for me.

Prediction: Nelson by KO Round 2

Phil Davis (10-1-1) #8 LHW vs Vinny Magalhães (10-5-1)

Jack: This is classic wrestler vs grappler match up. What's the best weapon Wrestling or BJJ?

I'm a firm believer that a solid wrestling practitioner with some solid defensive BJJ should be able to shutdown the offensive BJJ side with good positioning and strikes. Although Vinny is a threat here I see Davis having enough know how to keep out of submissions.

Prediction: Davis by Decision

Tommy: Both fighters seem to have a dislike for each other after a war of words over twitter. Magalhaes is brilliant on the ground with 8 out his 10 wins coming from submission. Though getting a world class wrestler like Davis to the ground will be near on impossible. Giving Davis a huge advantage on their feet.

This is not really a fight I'm looking forward too and I find Davis one of the most boring fighters in the UFC, but he is a tough fighter to beat and will dictate where the fight goes. For this reason I can see Davis winning a UD.

Prediction: Davis by Unanimous Decision

Jim Miller (22-4) #4 LW vs Pat Healy (29-16)

Tommy: Jim Miller really impressed me in his fight of the night (year) win against Joe Lauzon back in December.

Pat Healy comes into the fight on a 6 fight win streak, and since moving down to lightweight he's looked a top contender, with only injuries to Gilbert Melendez costing him the opportunity to fight for the StrikeForce Lightweight belt.

This could have fight of the night written all over it. Both very tough and pressure fighters who come to fight. I think Miller has a more rounded game than Healy and will just edge this. Though I wouldn't be surprised at all if Pat Healy was to get a decision in a very close fight.

Prediction: Jim Miler by Split Decision

Jack: This fight really excites me and is my pick for fight of the night. Great fight to open the card with and it's a tough one. Healy is on a role of late coming in from Strikeforce. Miller is always tough whoever he's put in with. I see a lot of action on the mat and Miller should be able to control the majority of rounds.

Prediction: Miller by Decision