UFC Fight Night: Diaz v. Neer Preview

Alright folks it's time for another Fight Night lead in to the next season of TUF. I swear it's like the only time they show free fights anymore. Anyway, this has a couple interesting fights on the card and I'm always down for some free action but otherwise this card isn't exactly chalk full of compelling match ups. There really aren't any title contenders here and there aren't any interesting back stories. So since there's no news I'll just make my picks.

Brad Morries v. Jason Brilz: Morris is 9-3, 0-1 in the UFC, with 6 wins by stoppage. He's a fairly well rounded fighter. Brilz is 15-1-1, making his UFC debut, with 13 wins by stoppage. He is also a well rounded fighter but is probably at his best on the ground. You know my stance on rookies. I never pick them. So obviously I'm going with Morris. I'll pick him by decision here.

Rob Kimmons v. Dan Miller: Kimmons is 21-3, 0-1 in the WEC, 1-0 in the UFC, with 18 wins by stoppage. He is mostly a submission fighter. Miller is 8-1, 1-0 in the IFL, with 6 wins by stoppage. He is also mostly a submission fighter. Again, I never pick rookies and in a match up like this where neither guy will want to take it to the ground Kimmons definitely has the better stand up. I'll pick Kimmons by decision.

Alessio Sakara v. Joe Vedepo: Sakara is 16-7, 3-4 in the UFC, with 13 wins stoppage. He is a striker. Vedepo is 7-1, making his UFC debut, with 6 wins by stoppage. He is a well rounded fighter. Another UFC rookie can only mean one thing... I'm picking Sakara. I'm picking Sakara by TKO in round 2.

Drew McFedries v. Mike Massenzio: McFedries is 7-3, 3-2 in the UFC, with 4 wins by stoppage. He is a striker. Massenzio is 10-2, 0-1 in the IFL, with 6 wins by stoppage. He is mostly a ground fighter. How may rookies did they put in this show!? I'm picking McFedries to keep it standing and get the TKO in round 2.

Wilson Gouveia v. Ryan Jensen: Gouveia is 10-5, 4-2 in the UFC, with 9 wins by stoppage. He is a well rounded fighter. Jensen is 13-4, 0-2 in the UFC, 0-1 in Strikeforce, with all 13 wins by stoppage. He is also a well rounded fighter. I'm picking Gouveia here who I just think is at a different level. I'll go with Gouveia to win by submission in round 1.

Ed Herman v. Alan Belcher: Herman is 14-6, 3-3 in the UFC, with 11 wins by stoppage. He is mostly a ground fighter. Belcher is 11-5, 3-3 in the UFC, with 10 wins by knockout. He is mostly a striker. This is a pretty even match. Obviously Herman would like to go to the ground and Belcher would like to stay standing. While Herman isn't bad on his feet he fights too crazy there to win. So who wins this really depends on where this fight winds up. This is a real toss up but I'm going to go with Belcher here winning by decision.

Joe Lauzon v. Kyle Bradley: Lauzon is 16-4, 3-1 in the UFC, with all 16 wins by stoppage. He is mostly a submission fighter. Bradley is 13-5, 0-1 in the UFC, with 12 wins by stoppage. He is mostly a striker. Again this is a solid striker vs. grappler match up. However, this time I see the grappler winning. Lauzon is a great young fighter and I think Bradley is just outmatched here. I'll pick Lauzon by submission in round 1.

Mac Danzig v. Clay Guida: This is probably the fight I'm looking forward to most. Danzig is 19-4-1, 0-1 in PRIDE, 2-0 in the UFC, with 14 wins by stoppage. He is mostly a submission fighter. Guida is 23-9, 1-1 in Strikeforce, 1-0 in the WEC, 3-3 in the UFC, with 14 wins by stoppage. He is also mostly a submission fighter. This should a be a great fight as both guys are good on the ground and neither will probably want to go there. This should lead to an exciting stand up battle. I think Guida is the better striker so I'm going to pick Guida here to win by KO in round 1.

Houston Alexander v. Eric Schafer: Alexander is 8-3, 2-2 in the UFC, with 7 wins by stoppage. He is a striker. Schafer 9-3-2, 1-2 in the UFC, with 8 wins by stoppage. He is a submission fighter. This fight is a good striker vs. grappler match up but it's also interesting as both of these guys are coming off two consecutive losses in the ocatagon and we all know a 3rd straight loss is a one way ticket home for awhile. Obviously if Alexander can keep it standing he should win. I'll pick Alexander here by KO in round 1.

Nate Diaz v. Josh Neer: Diaz is 9-2, 3-1 in the WEC, 1-0 in Strikeforce, 4-0 in the UFC, with all 9 wins by stoppage. He is a submission fighter. Neer is 21-6-1, 3-3 in the UFC, 0-1 in the IFL, with 18 wins by stoppage. He is a well rounded fighter. I think Diaz will take this to the ground and win this fight handily. I'll pick Diaz by submission in round 2.

My pick for submission of the night is Joe Lauzon. My pick for KO of the night is Houston Alexander. And my pick for fight of the night is Ed Herman v. Alan Belcher. That's all for now folks. Stay tuned for my review later in the week along with my new TUF recaps. Until then,

Soccer kicks and head stomps...