135 lbs: Yves Jabouin (-190) vs Walel Watson (+155)
Yves is a good boxer, but unfortunately there is a lot more to UFC than just boxing, so maybe he chose the wrong career. He has never won by KO or TKO though, and he has also never dominated in the striking game. He’s usually about even in that area. If Watson wants to win this fight as the underdog, he knows he has to get it to the mat. Still, it seems Jabouin will likely be able to avoid this as his take down defense is as good as it needs to be to accomidate a fight style like his. He’s a better fighter; that is why he is favored, not because logistics dictate it makes sense. For Jabouin to beat better fighters, he is going to have to diversify his portfolio, but he should be OK with Watson if he can keep the fight where it starts — standing.
155 lbs: Dennis Hallman (+135) vs. John Makdessi (-165)
Makdessi has been pegged as one with the potential to be one of the best lightweight fighters in the UFC. He’s 9-0 and he won his first two UFC events. While that is a great start, he hasn’t faced the upper tier opponents, and Hallman should give Makdessi his first real test tonight…
Hallman has fought over 60 fights in his career, so he has a track record. He’s a good striker but better on the ground and Hallman will try to get this on the ground from the opening second, because he knows that is where his chance at victory is by far the greatest, but Makdessi’s unique striking game will make him a good fighter for time to come, plus he has the take down defense necessary to keep the fight standing, where he wants it. In his young career, Makdessi has only been taken down one time, and I expect him to prevail in this and improve to 10-0.
185 lbs: Jared Hamman (-225) vs. Costa Philippou (+175)
Hamman is exciting at least, and this should make this fight a good one to watch. He is a reckless attacking striker and takes a lot of risks. Because of that Philippou could exploit a serious mistake and end up winning this as an underdog. Contenders aren’t usually as haphazard as Hamman is, and he’ll have to fight a lot better than he did in his decision win over Jorge Rivera to handle Philippou in this one. Truly, though, according to many MMA pundits, this is a pretty even fight, so it would make most sense to bet on the underdog when all factors are taken into acount.
205 lbs: Igor Pokrajac (+195) vs. Krzystof Soszynski (-250)
Soszynski won his last fight on points after Mike Massenzio was unable to get him to the ground, and he won the fight before that against Goran Reljic on points, too. Unfortunately, we might see more of that tonight…because that is Soszynski’s M.O. He likes to stand and bang it out with the heavy guys in his weight class and tends to want to work away at opponents rather than go for the big knockout. He also has a great take down defense, and should be able to prevent Pokrajac from utilizing his only chance in the fight, namely a takedown/submission. Soszynski is 9-2 in his last 11 fights and has fared well against much better opponents, so expect the favorite to prevail in this one.
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