George Sotiropoulos v. Jason Dent

Love Sotiropoulos. He’s a huge lightweight with the kind of BJJ that can end fights quickly. He’s grown a lot as since his appearance on The Ultimate Fighter. He’s got three wins in the UFC but none of them are over anyone with a name. The best of them in the ultra-lanky lightweight George Roop.

Dent is a TUF 9 alumni who has in a win in his one fight since. He’s another BJJ guy with 15 of his 19 career wins coming by submission. He had a previous stint in the UFC, and he lost to Gleison Tibau and Roger Huerta before being cut.

In what promises to be a technical, BJJ battle, I’ll take the guy who has more potential.

Prediction: Sotiropoulos via unanimous decision

Caol Uno v. Fabricio Camoes

How the mighty have fallen. Uno went from his famous wars with B.J. Penn to being on the undercard. In his comeback at UFC 99, he lost a fight he simply should not have against Spencer Fisher. Before that, he lost a fight in Japan against Shinya Aoki. Is Uno done? He 42 total fights under his belt, which is more than veterans like Randy Couture. There’s a possibility that the battle wounds have just caught up with him.

Camoes is a UFC newcomer. He’s 10-4 in his MMA career, but lacks any big wins. He’s a second degree black belt under Royler Gracie, so you know that his BJJ is solid. Most of his wins come by submission, which you’d figure. He’s walking into a really crowded 155 division, and will have impress right away to move up the ranks.

Prediction: Uno via TKO

Brock Larson v. Brian Foster

Larson is a Minnesota Mixed Martial Arts product that we praised on this site, so needless to say that he lost his last fight. He’s 26-3 in his career and he called for him to get more respect before he lost to solid up and comer in Mike Pierce. He’s a very strong wrestler with a background in Guerilla Jiu-Jitsu, which is a combination of BJJ and Judo. A former WEC fighter, he’s 2-1 since coming over to the UFC and will look to continue to use his all around game to climb in the rankings.

Foster is from the HIT Squad camp that Matt Hughes runs. Foster lost his first UFC fight in really bizarre fashion. He lost to Ricky Story via Arm Triangle, but he actually defended the move correctly. When you are in an arm triangle, you are taught to keep your opponent inside of your guard. That keeps him from getting any kind of leverage. Well, Story didn’t need any leverage to choke to out Foster. When you lose in such a strange way, you have to prove that the last one was a fluke.

Prediction: Larson via Submission

Paulo Thiago v. Jacob Volkmann

Thiago’s on this undercard too, huh? It wasn’t too long ago that he knocked out Josh Koscheck, right? Since then he lost a decision to Jon Fitch at the swing fight of UFC 100, and now he’s been banished to the undercard. He’s only loss is the one to Fitch, and he still has a bunch of potential.

Volkmann is making his UFC debut, but has big fight experience as his last bout was on ESPN’s Bellator Fighting Championship. He’s 10-0, and a very hot prospect. Another Minnesota Mixed Martial Arts project, he’s got great BJJ, and a decent all around game. Side note: His nickname is Christmas. Not kidding.

I’m just pretty sure that this fight is designed for Thiago not to lose.

Prediction: Thiago via unanimous decision

Kendall Grove v. Jake Rosholt

Is there more maddening fighter in the UFC than Kendall Grove? He shows potential that makes you jump out of your seat sometimes, and other times you think that he just flat out sucks. Since TUF 3, he’s won three in a row, lost two in a row, then won two more, then lost to Ricardo Almeida, which isn’t that bad. I still think that he is the best fighter that he has ever been. His muay thai causes problems for just about anyone because of his length. On the ground, he’s not a real pro, but he’s better than most.

Rosholt is another member of Oklahoma State wrestling dynasty that has made it’s way over to the UFC from the WEC. He’s 1-1 in the UFC since coming over. His loss was to an underrated Dan Miller, but his win was over Chris Leben, and there were rumors that Leben had fallen into drug use again and had not trained for the fight at all. Rosholt will likely try to take Grove down, and if he does the question becomes can he possibly stay out of Grove submissions.

In a word: Nope.

Prediction: Grove via submission

Marcus Davis v. Ben Saunders

Mark my words: This will be the most exciting fight on the card.

Davis is a former boxer that has made himself a really nice career in MMA. Since appearing on TUF, He’s 8-2, and his losses are to Mike Swick and Dan Hardy. In the Hardy fight, there is an argument to be made that Davis actually should have won a split over Hardy. If he did, he probably gets a rematch with Swick, and maybe we’re talking about him taking on GSP.  He’s not just a good boxer, but he’s got good muay thai, and a good enough ground game to get back to his feet.

Saunders is also a muay thai practitioner with excellent stand-up. He’s shown a propensity to bang, and was even talking smack to Mike Swick before Swick put him down for good. He’s 7-1-2 in his career, and 3-1 in the UFC. I think that Saunders is a future contender, but this not going to be his fight.

Prediction: Davis via TKO

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