Saturday is going to provide one of those fight cards that will not, for a change, have a heavyweight bot as the main event. The fight card in question?
That would be UFC 124, which will take place on Saturday, December 11 from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada at 10 PM Eastern/7 PM Pacific.
Of course, featured as the main event of the evening will be Josh Koscheck taking on Georges St. Pierre in a fight that should have title implications.
Yours truly will take a stab and predict the winners of the 11 fights on the card, with a brief analysis and who I expect to win their bout. With that out of the way, in the words of Mike Goldberg, “Here-we-go!!”:
Pat Audinwood vs. John Makdessi: Interesting matchup here as Makdessi is making his UFC debut while Audinwood is an Octagon vet. Audinwood has the edge on cardio, having never scored a knockout and his bouts lasting longer than most fighters of the same length of service. Audinwood will win if he can outlast or submit Makdessi. On the flip side, Makdessi is a far superior striker, which could bode well for him as we don’t know what kind of chin Audinwood has. Winner: Makdessi by TKO, 2nd Round
T.J. Grant vs. Ricardo Almeida: Predicting this bout is like deciding on flank steak vs. cubed steak for dinner. Neither fighter has any appreciable striking power, so look for the fight to go to the mat, with whoever establish guard first and maintains it probably will pull out the decision. Suffice it to say, this will probably be one of the most boring bouts on the card. Winner: Almeida by unanimous decision
Joe Doerksen vs. Dan Miller: This fight will be very similar to the Grant-Almeida tilt as this will be a mat battle. A hunch tells me that Miller will be the one who establishes position on the ground and make Doerksen pay, as a result. Winner: Miller by submission, late-1st Round
Matt Riddle vs. Sean Pierson: This one should end early. Riddle doesn’t stand out in any one area except for his cardio, which means nothing if you’re getting your clocked cleaned. Meanwhile, Pierson is fighting in front of a hometown crowd like GSP, so he has that going for him along with superior striking abilities. If he can use it, then a TKO is in the offing for Pierson. Winner: Pierson by TKO, late-1st Round.
Jesse Bongfeldt vs. Rafael Natal: Two newbies who obviously want to make a name for themselves. Bongfeldt is making his UFC debut, having fought in Canada for some time while Natal is making his PPV premiere. Bongfeldt is a puncher while Natal is more a submission specialist; look for Natal to establish ground control while I expect Bongfeldt to make a few rookie mistakes along the way. Winner: Natal by unanimous decision
Mark Bocek vs. Dustin Hazelett: Two submission specialists – pure and simple – which depending on your point of view, can make for either an exciting or boring fight. This one will go to the mat and whoever estalbishes position on the ground first should earn the victory. Winner: Bocek by submission, mid-2nd Round
Thiago Alves vs. John Howard: Alves has been battling issues both in and out of the ring. We all know that he has battled not making weight along with losing his last two bouts. Having said that, Alves is the better striker than Howard. Howard, in order to win, will need to take the fight to the mat because he has no business geting into a boxing match with Alves. Winner: Howard by unanimous decision
Joe Stevenson vs. Mac Danzig: Both fighters are in a must-win situation here as Stevenson has lost 4 of his last seven fights while Danzig has lost 4 of his last five. What Stevenson has going for him is the better ground game and his submision skills, all of which he will need to secure the win. Danzig’s wrestling ability will have to be top-notch along with his speed if he expects to remain in the UFC. One thing is for certain here: the loser of this bout gets their walking papers. Winner: Stevenson by submission, late-1st Round
Jim Miller vs. Charles Oliveira: Once again, a submission vs. power bout; this bout, in my estimation, will end early as Miller, despite his good submission skills and ground game, is simply no match for the fist of Oliveira. There is a reason why Oliveira is 14-0 coming into Saturday. This could very well be the TKO of the Night. Winner: Oliveira by TKO, early-2nd Round
Stefan Struve vs. Sean McCorkle: Here is the problem I have with this fight. Struve with his height advantage, couldn’t overwhelm Roy Nelson. Freakin’ Roy Nelson! McCorkle is undefeated and should be able to dismantle Struve. After all, he hurt Mark Hunt – badly. Look for this one to end early as McCorkle submits Struve and the Swede’s career in the UFC all of a sudden is in jeopardy of ending. Winner: McCorkle by submsission, early-2nd Round
Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck: This will be the Fight of the Night as the winner of this fight is going to need to maintain some ground control. St. Pierre is well-rounded, both on the mat and striking while Koscheck uses his strength to push folks around. Whoever loses their composure loses this one. A chess match if ever I saw one. Winner: St. Pierre by unanimous decision
Do you agree? Disagree? Let Octagon Buzz know which fighters will win Saturday at UFC 124.
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