JWGunslinger
Warrior Forever
UFC 149: Faber vs Barao
Main Card (PPV)
Bantamweight Interim Title Fight: Urijah Faber vs Renan Barao
Middleweight: Hector Lombard vs Tim Boetsch
Heavyweight: Cheick Kongo vs Shawn Jordan
Welterweight: Brian Ebersole vs James Head
Welterweight: Chris Clements vs Matt Riddle
Preliminary Card (FX)
Middleweight bout: Court McGee vs Nick Ring
Bantamweight: Roland Delorme vs Francisco Rivera
Light Heavyweight: Ryan Jimmo vs Anthony Perosh
Bantamweight: Bryan Caraway vs Mitch Gagnon
Preliminary Card (Facebook)
Featherweight: Antonio Carvalho vs Daniel Pineda
Lightweight: Mitch Clarke vs Anton Kuivanen
Well it's taken some dips and dives but despite UFC 149 being labeled the most injury ridden card in UFC history with 9 fights being changed or scrapped we've still got a great card to look forward to here.
Mitch Clarke vs Anton Kuivanen
Starting off the card we've got two guys who flopped in their debut and are looking for their first octagon win. Kuivanen looks to rebound from a decision loss to Justin Salas in february while Clarke needs to come back strong after a TKO loss to John Cholish at UFC 140. The #2 lightweight in europe had a rough start to his UFC career but he should be able to take care of Clarke and I am guessing he doesn't make it to the scorecards.
Kuivanen via TKO
Antonio Carvalho vs Daniel Pineda
Carvalho will look for his first octagon win here after a loss to Felipe Arantes at 142, but he's got good experience and wins over the likes of Doug Evans and Hatsu Hioki. Pineda was on a roll winning his first two fights in the promotion by submission but most recently dropping a decision to former WEC Champ Mike Brown at UFC 146. Both guys are impressive and it should be a great war but I'm going to give a slight edge to Pineda.
Pineda via Submission
Bryan Caraway vs Mitch Gagnon
Here we'll see Bryan Caraway fight for the first time since his UFC debut victory at the TUF 14 finale, and he'll be taking on UFC newcomer Mitch Gagnon. Caraway fought in promotions like WEC, Elite XC and Strikeforce before joining the cast of The Ultimate Fighter 14 where he made it to the semi finals. Gagnon has only fought in small indy promotions but has a nice record of 8-1 with all of his wins coming by submission. Gagnon will likely be the agressive fighter and his best chance is to push the pace early as Caraway can be a slow starter and gets thrown off by a quick start. However I think Bryan has the smarts to not get caught and either win a decision with his wrestling or catch Mitch in a submission of his own.
Caraway via Submission
Ryan Jimmo vs Anthony Perosh
Another debut here as 16-1 MFC Light Heavyweight champion will take on former Heavyweight Anthony Perosh. Jimmo started off his career with a loss but has since won 16 straight fights against names like Marvin Eastman, Wilson Gouveia and Sokoudjou. On top of that he's the most recent MFC Light Heavyweight champion who defended his title twice before getting the call to the UFC. Perosh has put together a streak of his own after losing at Heavyweight to Mirko Cro Cop, he dropped to 205 and has scored 3 straight finishes including a win over touted striker Cyrille Diabate. Perosh has the edge on the ground but it's going to be a tough task to get it there, and I don't think he'll be able to do it.
Jimmo by Decision
Roland Delorme vs Francisco Rivera
I don't have the energy or care enough about this fight to go in depth, Delorme has the personality of a grapefruit so yeah.
Rivera via Decision
Court McGee vs Nick Ring
Nick Ring and Court McGee will get their rematch and what should be their rubber match that was put off when an injury had James Hammortree step in and face McGee who went on to win TUF 11. However in their first meeting Ring was able to control the fight and win a decision, both guys have grown since their fight on the show and are coming off their first losses in the promotion. I'm going to say that Ring does exactly what he did last time and he wins a close decision.
Ring via Decision
Chris Clements vs Matt Riddle
Time for "Chipper" Matt Riddle to come back and get a much needed win, after his time on TUF Riddle has spent his entire MMA career in the UFC(lying about his record to get on the show). Since then he has put together a record of 6-3 and given us some great fights, and he'll undoubtedly give us another against Canadian striker Chris Clements. Clements who debuted at UFC 145 has impressive wins over the likes of Jonathan Goulet and Rich Clementi will be looking to knock out Riddle with his superior striking. Riddle is a warrior and has become a bit of a grinder, if he can avoid Clements's stand up he can pull it off but I don't see it.
Clements via TKO
Brian Ebersole vs James Head
This one should be very exciting, James Head is looking hot after an upset KO of Papy Abedi but he's got a tall order in Brian Ebersole who is on one of the biggest rolls in the Welterweight division. On an 11 fight win streak(4 in the UFC) since a loss to Hector Lombard Brian Ebersole came out of nowhere last year with an amazing record compiled in the indys over the years and took it to longtime UFC standout Chris Lytle and every since the guy has looked more and more impressive. Head is a tough young kid with alot of talent but he will not stop Ebersole's momentum here.
Ebersole via Submission
Cheick Kongo vs Shawn Jordan
Man this was going to be such a good fight before Big Nog got injured and had Shawn frickin Jordan step in for him. However this will make for a great slugfest, Kongo is getting up there towards retirement but he's still one of the best strikers in the heavyweight division and he's miles ahead of Jordan in skill and experience. Jordan has scored some nice wins though, most notably a win over Lavar Johnson and nearly all of his wins come by TKO. Kongo looks to rebound from his TKO loss to Mark Hunt at UFC 144. Jordan may have clubs for hands but you can't go against Kongo in a stand up fight which it will almost certainly be.
Kongo via Decision
Hector Lombard vs Tim Boetsch
In what could end up being a #1 contender fight with an impressive performance, the undeniable Hector Lombard brings his 20 fight win streak to the UFC against a former 205er reborn at Middleweight, Tim Boetsch.
Lombard has been tearing up all the stiff competition outside the UFC for some time now and it's finally time for the former Bellator Middleweight Champion to test the waters on the grandest stage in MMA. For those who do not know this man is probably the biggest threat to Anderson Silva's title we've ever seen and if his wins over Alexander Schemenko, Jesse Taylor and Trevor Prangley aren't enough proof then his performance here will definitely show his worth.
Tim Boetsch was always regarded as a middle to lower level Light Heavyweight who never really beat anyone relevant, but after a loss to Phil Davis and a drop to 185 he found new life. He has since dominated Nick Ring and Kendall Grove in lopsided decision wins and scored one of the most impressive comeback wins of the year over Yushin Okami at UFC 144.
Although Boetsch is on the ride of his life I don't see him making any comebacks here, he's getting more than he can handle this time.
Lombard via Submission
Urijah Faber vs Renan Barao
What was meant to be the rubber match between Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz and constant contender Urijah Faber took a wrong left turn when Cruz wrecked his ACL and the title fight/TUF coaches fight was called off. Now Faber fights for the Interim belt against Renan Barao.
Riding a 28 fight win streak since losing in his MMA debut, Barao is looking scary as ever with his 5 wins in the UFC and WEC. Although many of those wins in that impressive streak are small time fighters throughout Brazil it is still an impressive feat and he has show in his last five fights that he's just as effective against tough fighters like Scott Jorgenson, Brad Pickett and Chris Cariaso.
Faber who has been at the top of the sport nearly all his career and the face of the now defunct WEC looks to add another title to his accoldes, and although he won't be able to get revenge against Cruz now the longtime WEC Featherweight Champion looks to add the 135 lbs title to his trophy room.
It's going to be an interesting fight, it's almost like the Cruz-Faber fight in that Barao is going to have the range in striking and will look to keep the distance and tear Faber up from there. Meanwhile Urijah will want to get in close and use those power shots and his extremely powerful grappling to overwhelm Barao. I'm gonna give Faber a slight edge here but it's going to be a very close and exciting fight and it could honestly go either way.
Faber via Decision
