Jens Pulver vs. Urijah Faber

I love Jens Pulver. He’s definitely one of my favorite fighters for the mere fact that he’s a pure fighter and never makes excuses. He just puts up or shuts up. Unfortunately, he’s going to battle with a great fighter in Urijah Faber. The key factor in this bout will be whether Pulver can keep this fight on the feet. Faber’s takedowns are as explosive as you can get at 145 pounds, and I find it hard to believe that Pulver can simply stuff them at every encounter in the cage.

I’m also not convinced that Pulver’s training on the ground is going to be enough to stop his power on the ground. This fight could easily be ended in much of the same way that Penn ended his fight with Pulver.

Leland’s Prediction: Urijah Faber via submission, Round 2

Jeff Curran vs. Mike Brown

A lot of people are calling this an upset special, but few remember that Curran is one of the better jiu-jitsu guys in MMA today at his weight class. Although Faber was much quicker than Curran during their bout, I doubt Curran will allow that to happen once again. Brown has shown in the past that he’s susceptible to the submission, and he’s mostly a guy who tries to knock his opponents out. Curran doesn’t have bad standup at all, and he will likely spar with Brown until the opportunity to hit the floor presents itself.

This should be a decent war between these two veterans, but I’m going to pick the Jeff Curran due to his ground superiority over Brown.

Leland’s Prediction: Jeff Curran via unanimous decision

Miguel Torres vs. Yoshiro Maeda

Maeda is probably best known for being “that guy” who got KO’d by “Krazy Horse” Bennett at Bushido 7 back in PRIDE’s days, but he’s made his way to the cage in WEC to fight one of the best grapplers at 135 in Miguel Torres. Maeda has some great power in his hands, and it’s evident that his kicks can also take opponents out as Charlie Valencia found out. Can he avoid Torres ground game? That’s the big question in this fight.

Torres is a monster on the ground. His length helps his guard stay high on his opponent’s back which allows him to transition to multiple submissions quickly and effectively. I can’t bet against a guy who can transition so smoothly.

Leland’s Prediction: Miguel Torres via submission, Round 1

Rob “Razor” McCullough vs. Kenneth “The Machine” Alexander

Alexander doesn’t stand much of a chance here, in my opinion. He doesn’t have the ground game to keep McCullough down, and his striking is average at best. McCullough should be able to stalk him and use his Muay Thai striking abilities to wear down Alexander. Leg kicks will be a big part of this bout early, and McCullough will likely throw some huge bombs that will eventually land.

Leland’s Prediction: Rob McCullough via TKO/KO, Round 1

Quick Picks

Charlie Valencia vs. Dominic Cruz: Evenly matched in this one, but Valencia has fought some tougher competition than Cruz. I also need to see another German suplex… with release from Valencia. Valencia via submission, Round 2

Mark Munoz vs. Chuck Grigsby: Tough to call considering Grigsby’s record recently is padded with subpar competition. Munoz is only 3-0, tough to judge his talent at this point in his career. I’ll lean toward Grigsby due to experience. Grigsby via TKO/KO, Round 1

Chase Beebe vs. Will Ribeiro: Chase has a decent chin and can likely avoid Ribeiro’s power, but it’s more likely that Beebe will put this to the ground quickly. Beebe via submission, Round 2

Jose Aldo vs. Alexandre Franca Nogueira: Nogueira makes his way to the States after fighting in Shooto for quite awhile. His first test in Aldo should be a decent warm-up bout, and I think his jiu-jitsu will be much better than what Aldo can fend off. Nogueira via submission, Round 1

Luis Sapo vs. Alex Serdyukov: Serdyukov had a solid win over Ryan Stonitsch in his last bout, but Sapo has fought some decent competition including a win over Daniel Acacio. His only loss is to current UFC fighter Yoshiyuki Yoshida, who is a monster in the cage. I’ll take Sapo. Sapo via TKO/KO, Round 2

Tim McKenzie vs. Jeremy Lang: While Lang boasts a 12-0 record, his strength of record is questionable considering he has a lot of wins over sub .500 fighters. I’ll take McKenzie based on his losses being to higher caliber opponents. McKenzie via TKO/KO, Round 1

Danny Castillo vs. Donald “Cowboy Cerrone: Cerrone was well on his way to getting some bigger matchups when he was busted for using diuretics. He’s tough, versatile on the ground, and should be able to avoid the striking game. Cerrone via submission, Round 1