Glover Teixeira (-230) vs. Kyle “Kingsbu” Kingsbury (+180)
Teixeira is 17-2 and is an exciting Brazillian fighter. This match should be a good one to watch.
Kingsbury had a four fight win streak but Stephan Bonnar put an end to that at UFC 139. He won against Fabio Maldonado and Richardo Romero, not to mention victories over Jared Hamman and Al-Hassoun. He made his debut at The Ultimate Fighter, where he lost to Tom Lawlor.
Teixiera’s 17-2 record is even more impressive when you consider he hasn’t lost in his last 15 fights. He won over Ricco Rodriguez in a local Brazillian event and it was his fifth win of 2011, so he’s been busy. He should be able to handle Kingsbury and extend his win streak.
Jacob “Christmas” Volkmann (-200) vs. Paul “Sassangle” Sass (+160)
Sass is undefeated, but hasn’t fought the top tier fighters, so don’t read too much into his record.
Volkmann will be the biggest challenge he has faced so far, and he’s won his last five fights, after dropping down to the lightweight division. All wins have come by decision, because he seems to lack the ability to finish off fights, which makes him a “boring” fighter, and this match will likely be no exception.
Sass was scheduled to fight Evan Dunham last month, but wasn’t able to due to injuries. He last fought in October and he utilized a heel submission to take out Michael Johnson. He made his UFC Debut at UFC 120 and won by submission over Mark Holst.
Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy (-130) vs. Duane “Bang” Ludwig (+115)
Dan Hardy is 23-10 and 4-4 in the UFC, but is riding a four fight losing streak. He’s favored to end it here in this match, but not by much. Hardy hasn’t fought in nine months, and he last lost by submission to Chris Lytle. It has been horrible since he began his career with four consecutive wins before he suffered defeat to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 111. He’s remained on the circuit because he is exciting, but it will take more than just excitement to beat Ludwig, who won back to back fights before losing to Josh Neer last match. He’s 43-7-1 in his kick boxing career, so he will work a lot of kicks into his fight, which may make him susceptible to Hardy’s strong submission games. To be honest, as much as I like Hardy, I don’t have a very good feeling on this one, mainly because I don’t have a good read on Ludwig.
Diego “Ceara” Brandao (-280) vs. Darren Elkins (+220)
Brandao won Ultimate fighter season 14 and this will be his first fight since winning it. That’s a good reason to make him a heavy favorite. He won the feather weight version of TUF, as a member of Team Bisping and most of the fighters from that team come in with good submission moves, which has allowed him to win his last four fights. Elkins has dropped to the 145 lb weight class, and hasn’t fought since October, when he beat Tiequan Zhang, but he also beat Michihiro Omigawa at UFC 131 in June. I’m not saying he’s a horrible fighter, but Brandao’s experience and wide array of moves will give Elkins a lot of problems.
