Takeya Mizugaki vs. Scott Jorgensen

Mizugaki is a true bantamweight contender. He had won five in a row before walking into the WEC and getting a shot at Miguel Torres, losing an unanimous decision to the world’s best bantamweight at the time. He came back with a win over Jeff Curran, but it was a split decision and not all that impressive. He’s got to get this win over Jorgenson to remain relevant.

Jorgenson in replacing Damacio Page, who was injured during training for this fight. Jorgenson is 3-2 in the WEC, coming off a win against Noah Thomas. Let’s be honest here, this was supposed to be a showdown between two contenders, and now it’s a fight to show off Mizugaki. Jorgenson needs to take Mizugaki down and hold him there to win.

Prediction: Mizugaki via TKO

Joseph Benavidez v. Rani Yahya

Benavidez trains with Team Alpha Male and Urijah Faber. Which means that I love him desperately. His last fight against Dominick Cruz was a good contest, but he lost a unanimous decision that I thought was a lot closer than the scores would have indicated. A good wrestler with decent submissions, Benavidez is a good bantamweight prospect.

Yahya’s name is pronounced Ya-Ya. Like the kid from The Sandlot. He’s a former Abu Dhabi champion, which means that you know that his submissions are excellent. More evidence: he’s 3-0 in the WEC and all three of his fights have ended in submission of the night. The key to this matchup his Benavidez in Yahya’s guard. Can Yahya submit him, or will he finally get punched in the face and put in a bad situation?

Prediction: Benavidez via TKO

Anthony Njokuani v. Chris Hordecki

Njokuani is an exciting prospect for the WEC. He’s 2-1 in the WEC, and is only loss is to current lightweight interim champ Ben Henderson. His last two fights have ended with knockouts, and KO of the night honors. He’ll want to keep this fight on the feet, and if he does, he has a good shot to score yet another knockout.

His opponent is willing to stand and bang. Hordecki is a guy that WEC general manager has been trying to sign for a long time. He’s an IFL veteran who is 13-1 in his MMA career. He’s already said that he is planning to stand with the Nigeran-American. Don’t expect any submissions in this one.

Prediction: Njokuani via TKO

Donald Cerrone v. Ed Ratcliff

Cerrone has already said that is planning to drop to 145 lbs after this fight regardless of the outcome. He has been a top-tier WEC lightweight for a long time, and will be added to an already stacked featherweight division. In his loss to Ben Henderson, Cerrone put up a fight but ultimately was controlled from the top by Henderson and was unable to use his jiu-jitsu to get a victory. He’s well rounded, but at his best on the ground.

Ratcliff is 7-1 in his MMA career and has a 2-1 record in the WEC. He’s primarily a standup fighter that hits very hard. His best hope is to end this fight quickly with a KO, and if he doesn’t he might be in trouble.

Prediction: Cerrone via submission