Ultimate Fight Night 18 Preview

Here we are folks, a new month, a new UFC fight card. It's time for free fights again as the UFN travels to Nashville, TN. This card is pretty deep and features a great main event.

This card marks Carlos Condit's debut in the UFC after having defended his WEC WW belt for over 2 years! He faces a stiff test (though there are no others in arguably the toughest division in the UFC) in Martin Kampmann who just recently moved down to WW.

This should be a great night of fights so let's not waste any more time!

Steve Steinbeiss v. Ryan Jensen: Steinbeiss is 4-2, making his UFC debut after moving over from the WEC, with all 4 wins by stoppage. He is a striker. Jensen is 12-4, 0-3 in the UFC, with all 12 wins by stoppage. He is a submission fighter.

I'm honestly surprised Jensen is getting another shot but so be it. I'm going against my better judgement here but I'm actually going to pick Jensen to finally pull out a UFC win. I'll pick him to use his grappling to neutralize Steinbeiss and pick up a decision victory.

Tim McKenzie v. Aaron Simpson: Tim is 12-5, making his UFC debut after a long stint in the WEC, with 11 wins by stoppage. He is a striker with solid wrestling. Simpson is 4-0, making his UFC debut also moving over from the WEC, with all four wins by KO. He is a striker.

This should be a solid match up of strikers. I like McKenzie's experience in a big opportunity like this. I'll pick McKenzie to end Simpson's winning streak with a TKO in the first round.

Rob Kimmons v. Joe Vedepo: Kimmons is 21-4, 1-1 in the UFC, with 18 wins by stoppage. He is a submission fighter. Vedepo is 7-2, 0-1 in the UFC, with six wins by stoppage. He has a solid mix of striking and submissions.

I'm going to take Kimmons in this fight but not the way you might expect. I'll pick him to win by TKO in the first round.

Jorge Rivera v. Nissen Osterneck: Rivera is 15-6, 4-5 in the UFC, with 12 wins by stoppage. He is a striker. Osterneck is 5-1, making his UFC debut after coming from the WEC, with all five wins by stoppage. He is a submission fighter.

This will be a great match up of styles. I'm not sure Osterneck is ready for the big time yet. Rivera might be a journeyman but I'm sticking with him and his superior striking to win by TKO in the second round.

Brock Larson v. Jesse Sanders: Larson is 24-2, 1-1 in the UFC, with 20 wins by stoppage. He is a submission fighter with solid wrestling. Sanders is 20-4, making his UFC debut, with 18 wins by stoppage. He is also a submission fighter.

This might turn in to a boring ground fight for fans but it could also turn in to a stand up war. My bet though is that it turns into a great ground fight for those who appreciate that. I'm going to pick Larson who I think has the superior all around grappling skills to win by submission in the first round.

Tim Credeur v. Nick Catone: Credeur is 11-2, 2-0 in the UFC, with all 11 wins by stoppage. He is a submission fighter. Catone is 7-0, 1-0 in the UFC, with six wins by stoppage. He is well rounded with strong wrestling, BJJ, and boxing skills.

I like Credeur however I think Catone has a lot of potential. I'm going to pick him to keep winning with his well rounded game by keeping the fight on the feet. I'll pick Catone to win by TKO in the first round.

Ricardo Almeida v. Matt Horwich: Almeida is 9-3, 2-3 in the UFC, with four wins by submission. He is a submission fighter. Horwich is 22-11-1, 0-1 in the UFC, with 20 wins by stoppage. He is also a submission fighter.

This fight will most certainly be a BJJ battle. I think Almeida is the better BJJ artist so I'll pick him to win by submission in the first round.

Gleison Tibau v. Jeremy Stephens: Tibau is 16-6, 4-3 in the UFC, with 10 wins by stoppage. He is a submission fighter. Stephens is 16-4, 3-3 in the UFC, with 15 wins by stoppage. He is striker.

This will be a great clash of styles. I like Tibau in this fight to take it to the mat and negate Stephens' striking. I'll pick Tibau to win by submission in the second round.

Cole Miller v. Junie Browning: Miller is 13-3, 3-1 in the UFC, with 11 wins by stoppage. He is a BJJ artisit with some boxing. Browning is 3-0, 1-0 in the UFC, with three wins by stoppage. He is a Muay Thai fighter with some BJJ.

This will be another clash of styles fight. I think Junie will look to keep the fight standing where he will have the most decided advantage. I like Junie to keep the ball rolling with a TKO victory in the second round.

Tyson Griffin v. Rafael Dos Anjos: Griffin is 12-2, 5-2 in the UFC, with eight wins by stoppage. He is a wrestler with solid ground and pound. Dos Anjos is 11-3, 0-1 in the UFC, with seven wins by stoppage. He is submission fighter.

Dos Anjos did not make a good impression getting his block knocked off by Jeremy Stephens so I don't expect this fight to be any better against tougher competition. Because of that I'll pick Griffin to use his wrestling to control the fight and win by decision.

Ryan Bader v. Carmello Marrero: Bader is 8-0, 1-0 in the UFC, with seven wins by stoppage. He is a wrestler with developing striking and BJJ skills. Marrero is 10-2, he is 1-2 in the UFC, with six wins by stoppage. He is also a wrestler.

I think Bader is just a better wrestler with better all around skills. I'll pick him to win by submission in the first round.

Carlos Condit v. Martin Kampmann: Condit is 23-4, making his UFC debut, with all 23 wins by stoppage. He has strong striking and BJJ skills. Kampmann is 14-2, 5-1 in the UFC, with 12 wins by stoppage. He is striker.

This is a big fight for both fighters. Condit wants to prove that he belongs at the top of the heap of the UFC after being the WEC champ for so long. Kampmann is trying to prove he can hang with the top guys in the WW division in only his second fight at 170 lbs.

With a win both guys get catapulted into belt contention immediately. I personally think Condit has been under rated for far too long due to the promotion he fought for. Kampmann is no push over but I think it's Condit's time.

I like Condit's well rounded game and I think he'll use his superior grappling to take this fight to the mat where he'll have the decided advantage. Kampmann can hold his own there but Condit should control the fight. I'll pick Condit to win by decision.

This should be a great night of fights featuring a lot of young up and coming fighters. Condit v. Kampmann features two of the top 15 WWs in the UFC. Ryan Bader makes his debut after winning TUF 8. Tyson Griffin tries to bounce back after a tough loss to Sean Sherk.

Cole Miller v. Junie Browning is a match up of two bright young stars at LW. On the under card you have a ton of guys trying to bounce back from losses, continue to rack up wins in the UFC, or make a name for themselves in the big show after fighting in the WEC. It should make for a very exciting night of fights with a lot on the line for many of the fighters. In other words there are no excuses for boring fights!

My pick for submission of the night goes to Ricardo Almeida. My pick for KO of the night goes to Tim McKenzie. My pick for fight of the night goes to Condit v. Kampmann.

That's it for now folks. Stay tuned for my UFN 18 review as well as my first TUF 9 review later this week! Until then,

Soccer kicks and head stomps...