Bisping vs. Akiyama - Fun fact: Akiyama means "Autumn Mountain" in Japanese. Anyways… I'm going with Bisping here. Bisping has fought more fights (particularly in the UFC) than Akiyama. Yoshihiro "Sexyama" as he's called, is fantastic in Judo, and pretty darn good with karate. Despite that, I think Bisping is a more well rounded fighter, having fought a wider gamut of opponents. I'll also bet Bisping is feeling pretty good coming off of that win over Dan Miller last May. Factor in the location of this event, which is being held on Bisping's home turf, and he looks like a pretty solid pick.
Prediction: Michael Bisping by decision.
Hardy vs. Condit – Hardy's last loss was to GSP. St.-Pierre—who I am convinced is some sort of cyborg—and currently is the number 1 welterweight champion of the world, according to the gospel of Sherdog. That's not really fair, now is it? Hardy is also an Englishman, who will enjoy a bit of a morale boost going into the ring. Will it be enough to last him through 3 rounds of submission attempts by Condit? How to best avoid Condit's submission attempts should be at the forefront of Hardy's mind over the next few days; I'll bet Hardy pulls through in the end.
Prediction: Dan Hardy by KO in the 3nd.
Hathaway vs. Pyle – Another British native, John Hathaway has a (pounds) sterling record; 14-0, with an even distribution of submissions, knockouts, and unanimous decisions. Let that soak in for a minute. This guy can equally easily choke someone out, knock them out, or win a fight unanimously with his technical skills. I don't want to slight Pyle, who trains with Xtreme Couture, and is a fantastic competitor. Unfortunately, I can't pick everyone to win :(
Prediction: John Hathaway by decision.
Kongo vs. Browne – Kongo has had some crazy-tough matchups over the last year-or-so. His last two losses were to Frank Mir (14-5) and Cain Velasquez (8- 0), respectively. Mir taunted Kongo at the weigh-ins before UFC 107, citing his weakness in submission defense (to put it nicely). Travis Browne is undefeated, but it's not exactly like he has the best grappling game. Browne is probably looking to knock Kongo out, and I don't really see that happening.
Prediction: Cheick Kongo by KO in the 2nd.
Wilks vs. Patrick – James Wilks was inspired to study martial arts by Bruce Lee's famous precursor to MMA: Jeet Kun Do. He later moved to the U.S. to train BJJ. While his dedication to my most favorite forms of martial arts is commendable, I just don't feel that he has a better ground game than Claude Patrick here.
Prediction : Claude Patrick by submission in the 3rd.
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