Andre Winner v. Rolando Delgado
Wasn’t Delgado going by Roli until like three days ago? If you don’t remember him, he was the guy on the Mir v. Nog season of The Ultimate Fighter whom was constantly questioned about his BJJ black belt. He’s 1-1 since joining the UFC and seems to be one of these guys who they like putting on cards overseas. His last fight was a loss to Paul Kelly in Germany. He features great BJJ, and improving standup. My biggest question about him is his strength and chin, as he has a really slight frame.
Winner was the runner up of the US v. UK TUF season. He’s 0-1 in the UFC, as he lost to Ross Pearson at the Finale. I’m curious to see more of winner. His record indicates a strong submission background, as he’s got three submission victories. My only concern about him is a lack of ability to finish, as he has a ton of decision victories.
While Delgado is a nice fighter, I think Winner has a better all-around game, and more potential.
Prediction: Winner via Decision
Alexander Gustaffson v. Jared Hamman
Gustaffson is making his UFC debut out of Stockholm, Sweeden. He is a wrestler/boxer with an 8-0 record. Six of those wins have come by knockout, indicating that he has some pretty sick power. Besides, that I have to admit that I don’t know much about the Sweedish MMA scene, and none of his opponents are exactly names.
Hamman is also making his UFC debut but is American. His best win was a KO victory over Travis Wiuff in 2007. He’s a Strikeforce veteran, meaning he has a bunch more “big fight” experience than the swede. He’s 10-1, and avenged his only loss to Poai Suganuma. The first fight ended with Hamman being knocked out with a flying knee, in the second fight, he knocked Suganuma out with punches.
When in doubt, take the veteran.
Prediction: Hamman via TKO
Paul Kelly v. Dennis Siver
What’s an England card without Paul Kelly? The British brawler is 3-1 in the UFC with his only loss is against Marcus Davis, and it’s never a bad thing to lose to The Irish Hand Grenade. Kelly wants to keep every fight on the feet, but has been grinding out some decisions. He’s the hometown favorite, that’s for sure.
His opponent is Dennis Siver, who is 3-3 in the UFC, and another European staple for the company. He’s famous for his spinning back kick KO of Nate Mohr at UFC 93. He’s 2-0 his coming back from the nether regions of the MMA universe. He’s got a pretty good ground game to go with top notch kickboxing.
I’ll take the German to upset the British favorite.
Prediction: Siver via submission
Nick Osipczak v. Matt Riddle
Osipczak is another fighter off the TUF 9 cast. He beat American Frank Lester at the finale, and likely earned himself another fight with the victory. He’ll be the hometown favorite against the American as usual. He’s a practicioner of Shaolin-Kung Fu. Let’s make something clear: He’s not GSP, who has combined his Karate with other skills to make himself a more dangerous fighter. He’s just a Shaolin kung-fu guy. Not good.
Riddle on the other hand has as much potential as any fighter in the UFC. He debuted as the guy who lost to Tim Credeur on TUF 8 with terrible coach Rampage Jackson. Riddle got on the show by breaking the jaw of Serra Fight Team fighter Dan Simmler, but lost his first fight. He was 21 at the time.
Since then, Riddle has become a scalding hot prospect. He has great wrestling, and th ekind of knockout power that few people posses. IF he reaches his ceiling, He could easily follow the Dan Henderson archetype to success. Riddle is looking to make it four in a row in Britain, and I think that he will.
Prediction: Riddle via KO
Terry Etim v. Shannon Gugerty
Etim is 4-2 in the UFC, with wins over Sam Stout and Justin Buchholz on his record. Etim is another British favorite. He’s got an all-around game including some pretty good Muay Thai, and a really ground game. He has nine submission victories to his credit, and two submission of the night awards as well.
Gugerty is 2-1 in the UFC against some pretty mediocre competition. His best win is against Spencer Fisher, who’s ground game looks like a fish out of water. He has a great submission background as well, with eight of his 12 career victories coming by submission.
If the ground games cancel each other out, I like Etim’s muay thai to win the standup war.
Prediction: Etim via TKO
Paul Taylor v. John Hathaway
Taylor is 3-3 in the UFC and is most noted for his war with Paul Kelly at UFC 80. He has three fight of the night awards under his belt, and even if he doesn’t win, he’ll have a place in the UFC because he garners exciting fights with an aggressive style. While he has some submission wins, he most known for his standup ability with five career KO victories.
Hathaway is also British, making this the only fight on the card that features Brit on Brit violence. Hathaway is 2-0 in the UFC, with two european victories to his credit. Also a standup fighter, expect a ton of action in this fight, and eitheir fighter could score a clean shot and a KO.
Prediction: Hathaway via TKO
March 5, 2010, at 5:23 pm
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