There’s something for everyone on the stacked UFC 188.
Irish eyes will be focused squarely on the early prelims where Cathal Pendred will be looking to extend his unbeaten UFC run.
Our MMA writers’ records thus far look like this:
Bourbon Ben Kiely: 75-48
Darragh The Quizmaster Murphy: 73-50
Cain Velasquez (13-1) v Fabricio Werdum (19-5-1)
BK: People gave out yards when Frankie Edgar opened up at such a huge favourite over Urijah Faber. However, Edgar won that fight with relative ease against a California Kid who left everything in the cage. The thing about betting odds is they usually favour the guy who’s probably going to win.
Even though Velasquez has been out injured so long that Donald Cerrone has managed to rack up seven straight wins in his absence, he’s still probably going to win.
He’s got that ludicrously good cardio that no heavyweight has the right to possess and he’s got the advantage in the striking department over the Brazilian. Velasquez is the baddest dude on the planet and I’ve no doubt he’ll prove it yet again in the main event. Velasquez via TKO (round 2)
DM: I don’t think anyone would disagree with the statement that this could be the most highly anticipated heavyweight title fight since the days of Brock Lesnar.
Bookmakers have Velasquez a 2/11 favourite over the interim champion and his favouritism is justified but those odds are a little crazy considering the unknowns that this match-up throws up.
How has Cain’s 21 months away from competition affected him? How will he fare in a guard as active as Werdum’s? And how is his body after persistent injuries and an obvious tough camp at AKA?
Having posed those questions, I think the answer to every one will be “ah Cain’ll be grand”. The champ is a phenom and he simply finds a way to win at every obstacle.
Werdum has never experienced the pressure that Cain can put on people and that will be the deciding factor in the championship rounds. Velasquez via decision
Gilbert Melendez (22-4) v Eddie Alvarez (25-4)
BK: This has all the makings of a fight that couldn’t possibly disappoint.
These two warriors rose to prominence in separate promotions outside the UFC, so it’s a delight to see them finally go toe-to-toe on the sport’s biggest stage.
Both have high-risk fighting styles that puts an emphasis on hurting their opponent while leaving themselves susceptible to getting tagged. Luckily, they also both have chins of granite which allows them to absorb such a beating in the pursuit of that highlight reel knockout.
I think Melendez has more heart, is slightly more intelligent when it comes defending himself. In a fight like this, anything could happen though. All it takes is for either fighter to pull off something crazy for the course of the fight to change. Melendez via decision
DM: This is going to be a bloody scrap with fight of the year potential written all over it.
For strictly UFC fans who have only seen Alvarez’s showing against Donald Cerrone, don’t be fooled. The Bellator product is a beast who may have fallen to the dreaded UFC jitters in his promotional debut.
He will have more to offer Melendez but I just think that this is going to be a test of heart that will be decided by who controls the centre of the octagon better. I see El Nino winning that battle and having the better pressing. It won’t be pretty but I’m too big a fan of Gil to ever pick against him. Melendez via decision
Kelvin Gastelum (10-1) v Nate Marquardt (33-14-2)
BK: It will be interesting to see if Gastelum will pull a Poirier/Rumble and actually look even better at a higher weight class. He looked on the cusp of contendership in the weltwerweight division until his weight cutting issues rubbed Uncle Dana the wrong way and El Presidente forced him back up to middleweight.
I think he learned a lot from the Woodley loss, and he may even enjoy fighting in a division that looks like it could run out of challengers for Weidman. If the All-American beats Rockhold, Jacare and Romero, there isn’t much left there to keep him busy.
Maybe with a few wins under his belt Mini-Cain could work his way up to the business end of 185 lb. Gastelum via decision
DM: Nate Marquardt gets the honour of welcoming Gastelum to the middleweight division and many would be tempted to give the 185lb legend the edge.
But let’s be honest, Marquardt should have hung up his gloves in 2012 and I think even Kelvin will be surprised at how better a fight he has now that he’s not killing himself to make 170lbs.
He will have spent his entire camp working on technique rather than worrying about what excuse he’ll make for coming in ten pounds heavier.
I’d love to see Nate do the business and go out on a high but I think Gastelum takes this everywhere. Gastelum via TKO (round 2)
Yair Rodriguez (4-1) v Charles Rosa (10-1)
BK: I don’t think the home crowd will be too enamoured with the outcome of this fight. The TUF: Latin America winner is just too inexperienced to overcome Rosa’s excellent ground game. Rosa via submission (round 1)
DM: Think that Yair Rodriguez would be on the main card of a Vegas PPV? I don’t think so.
Not to be cynical but this is just a case of the promotion chucking a Mexican onto the main card for the sake of pleasing the crowd and I think he may be out of his depth against Charles Rosa.
Rosa isn’t the type who will get overwhelmed by the Mexico City crowd and, finish machine as he is, he should be able to spoil the party with his superior submission game. Rosa via some weird choke we’ve never seen (round 1)
Tecia Torres (5-0) v Angela Hill (2-0)
BK: With that Polish fighter with all the Js and Zs in her name holding the belt, the womens’ strawweight division suddenly became very interesting.
I wouldn’t rule Hill out of this one. Her stellar stand up makes her a constant threat, but Torres’ strength, grappling prowess and ever improving striking should be enough for her to take this fight. A couple more wins could earn her a bout against Jedrzejczyk. Torres via decision
DM: In any other sport in the world, you’d give Angela Hill the advantage because of her athletic superiority over the whole division but this is mixed martial arts and Tecia Torres is quite simply the better technician.
She’s got stunning stand-up and ever-improving wrestling so it’s tough to see away that she’s turned over by Hill.
The experience advantage also undeniably lies with Torres who has seen off legit competition in Paige VanZant, Rose Namajunas and Felice Herrig thus far. Torres via decision
Augusto Montaño (15-1) v Cathal Pendred (16-2-1)
BK: It upsets me that Irish MMA fans aren’t getting behind Cathal Pendred. He’s 3-0 in the UFC, and that’s something to be celebrated.
Despite the fans’ complaints, more significant strikes, four takedowns and that submission attempt at the end of round one earned him that win over Sean Spencer. It wasn’t pretty, but he definitely won it.
I’m sincerely hoping he’s improved his striking game for this fight. He has the wrestling, the toughness, the cardio and the jiu-jitsu, but he’s missing out on that vital part of the game. I think the Mexican will rock him early, but the Punisher will recover, take him down and work his way to victory. Pendred via decision
DM: It’s difficult to pick against any SBG fighter when you see the good work they’re doing in there.
While Pendred’s wrestling acumen and heart should be enough to earn him the victory, it won’t be easy playing the role of the villain in the lion’s den. Pendred via decision
