UFC 101 Preview and Picks: Part 1
UFC 101 will feature not only a long-awaited title defense for BJ Penn against the ever-improving (and patient) Kenny Florian, but also Anderson Silva’s second trip to the UFC’s light heavyweight division, where he will take on Forrest Griffin. In my two-part preview of the event, you’ll get a breakdown of each fight along with picks, beginning with the preliminary bouts, which I’ll focus on here.
At UFC 100, my picks were 8-3, bringing up my record here at Fightmania to a total of 27-16. There are some tough fights to pick on this card though, so we’ll see how things go.
Danillo Villefort vs. Jesse Lennox
Villefort and Lennox both arrive by way of the WEC, and both sport impressive overall records at 9-2 and 10-1, respectively. Villefort will look to win on the mat, most likely by submission, while Lennox will be more likely to use his strength and striking in the pursuit of a victory. However, Villefort’s striking is pretty polished and he will be able to get at him with submission attempt after submission attempt. Lennox’s one loss was due to a knee bar, and Villefort will look for the leg locks early and often.
Prediction: Villefort by submission
George Sotiropoulos vs. George Roop
Roop brings some pretty good striking with him into the cage, but Sotiropoulos is the more complete fighter in the battle of the Georges. Roop is coming off two decisions in the UFC, a split decision win and a split decision loss, while Sotiropoulos is coming off a long layoff since his last fight in April of 2008. However, I think that Sotiropoulos should be able to finish this one off on the mat at some point via submission.
Prediction: Sotiropoulos by submission
Matt Riddle vs. Dan Cramer
This bout pits two talented young fighters with three professional bouts between them, all of which took place in the UFC. Both of these fighters prefer to either stand and bang or pound away at opponents on the mat, but the difference will be Riddle’s wrestling, which I think has looked better than Cramer’s thus far. This will be a very competitive fight, but I think that Riddle takes it, possibly by decision, but more likely by TKO after he tires Cramer out.
Prediction: Riddle by KO/TKO
Aaron Riley vs. Shane Nelson
This is a rematch of the non-fight the two had at UFC 96, when an early stoppage within the first minute brought the proceedings to a screeching halt. This time around, Riley will probably be more than a little ready to assert his anger on Nelson, who has actually impressed me since his run on “The Ultimate Fighter”. With that said, Riley is the definitive cagey veteran who has fought the best during his career and only really loses to top competition. I think he will be focused and ready to bring it to Nelson this time, and will do so in a decision victory that could be a very good fight.
Prediction: Riley by decision
Tamdan McCrory vs. John Howard
If you want to recoup some of your UFC pay-per-view expenses, make a quick bet on this fight with one of your less knowledgeable friends. Howard is intense, packed with muscles and always looks ready to pounce. Meanwhile, McCrory looks pasty, lanky, and like he hasn’t seen the sun in weeks. However, Howard faces a steep challenge in this one. He will have to get inside of McCrory’s “definitive reach advantage” (as Mike Goldberg will undoubtedly put it) to ply his trade, which will mostly involve separating McCrory from his senses with big punches.
Meanwhile, McCrory can strike from the outside, will readily utilize the clinch if Howard closes the distance, and will be better versed in jiu-jitsu when the fight hits the mat. McCrory is being built up well by the UFC and this fight will give him a tough opponent, but one who he should be able to show his skills off against. This should be another win for the “Barn Cat”, which means another opportunity for an entertaining post-fight interview, which is always a good thing.
Prediction: McCrory by submission
Thales Leites vs. Alessio Sakara
It would seem that someone within the UFC wants Sakara to lose. Why else would you pit him against someone with the jiu-jitsu acumen of Leites? We’ve seen this matchup play out before, and while some love the “classic striker-grappler matchup”, I think it tends to be an overrated scenario, particularly when the striker in the equation doesn’t have the wrestling skills to keep the fight upright for very long.
Leites showed in his now-infamous fight with Anderson Silva that he will do anything possible to get a fight to the mat, and with Sakara he will actually be successful. He’ll take Sakara to the mat one way or another, and end this one quickly. Sakara’s only chance is swinging for the fences in the brief moments that he has his feet under him.
Prediction: Leites by decision
by Jon Hartley for Fightmania.com
Tags: Anderson Silva, Forrest Griffin, Kenny Florian, UFC, WEC
