Staff Standings:
Last Event Winner: Luke Irwin (9-3)
Ben Kohn: 58-26 .690
TC Engel: 69-35 .663
Josh Hall: 33-18 .647
Luke Irwin: 111-63 .638
Earl Montclair: 51-31 .622
Lucas Bourdon: 3-2 .600
Nolan Howell: 60-45 .571
Dan Galvan: 5-6 .455
Lightweight Bout: Benson Henderson (20-3) vs. Rustam Khabilov (17-1)
Luke Irwin: Too much for Khabilov here. I’m surprised Bendo even agreed to it, actually. Rustam is a fun fighter, but he hasn’t seen a fighter like Henderson. Khabilov will try his dynamic Sambo and Pankration offense, but Henderson has a way of thwarting those plans. Henderson via UD.
Nolan Howell: While there is literally nothing to like about Ben Henderson as of late, hard to believe Rustam Khabilov will be able to implement any sort of his sambo against him. On the feet, I believe Khabilov will be surprisingly competitive and might even have a slickness edge. While signs point to Bendo Bendoing his way to victory, I’ll take the upset. Khabilov by UD.
Ben Kohn: This is such an intruiging matchup and one that I have been looking forward to for a while. Benson is one of the most difficult nuts to crack and his amazing chin and recovery abilities, strength, wrestling and grappling, as well as rangy powerful striking game make him a nightmare to have to fight. Khabilov has looked great so far but he is going up against a former champion who speciliazes in making fighters look bad. Benson should be able to deal with the suplexes and raw but powerful striking of Khabilov. Benson Henderson by Unanimous Decision.
Lightweight Bout: Diego Sanchez (24-7) vs. Ross Pearson (15-6)
Luke Irwin: Ross loves to throw, Diego loves to throw, Ross tends to land most of his punches, Diego tends not to. Don’t screw us here again, judges. Pearson via SD.
Nolan Howell: Don’t really have any analysis here. Sanchez should use his decent grappling base, but god knows he lives the stand and bang gimmick to the death and Pearson is sharper than Sanchez on a day when he’s better than his best. Pearson by UD.
Ben Kohn: Diego Sanchez is pretty much shot as a fighter but Ross Pearson……I think he can actually beat to be honest. He’s crazy enough and his chin is still holding up to rush at Pearson, who has a meh chin at best, and could get him against the fence to either drag him down (and use his still lethal grappling) or land his crazy haymaker shot like he did against Melendez. I think he will take this fight to be honest. Diego Sanchez by TKO Round 3.
Flyweight Bout: John Dodson (15-6) vs. John Moraga (14-2)
Luke Irwin: This is a rematch from a 2010 fight at Nemesis Fighting, where Dodson took a UD. Moraga has looked great against lower-level fighters, but when he takes a step up, even against a mid-level guy like Dustin Ortiz, he gets shut down. I think Dodson’s power is too much here. Dodson via R2 KO.
Nolan Howell: While Moraga showed to be a notch above the lower ranks of UFC flyweights, Dodson is consistent top-three. Moraga’s wrestling could be the only potential wrench in the plan, but Dodson is too capable of a counter-wrestler with his speed. Speed kills. Dodson by first-round KO.
Ben Kohn: Dodson is either the second or third best Flyweight in the world right now and would most likely be top 10 at bantamweight if he so chose to move up. His speed and power are just incredible and while Moraga is a really good fighter, he struggles with defending takedowns is more than willing to trade. If he trades with Dodson, he’s going to sleep. John Dodson by KO Round 2.
Lightweight Bout: Jason High (18-4) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (20-7)
Luke Irwin: High will now be one of the bigger lightweights, but RDA is still one of the best and strongest, and can still dictate where a fight goes. dos Anjos via UD.
Nolan Howell: Aside from wrestling, High doesn’t really do anything better than dos Anjos. dos Anjos by first-round submission.
Ben Kohn: I like Jason High. He’s a fun fighter with really good grappling but he is most definitely out of his league here. I know he will have a size advantage by RDA is a legitimate top Lightweight with grappling that is either on par or even better than High and he certainly has better striking. I don’t see how High wins this unless he can grind out a decision in top control but I doubt it. Rafael Dos Anjos by Unanimous Decision.
Lightweight Bout: Piotr Hallmann (14-2) vs. Yves Edwards (42-20-1)
Luke Irwin: Let ’em fly, Yves. Edwards via UD.
Nolan Howell: Both men are capable grapplers and strikes, but Hallmann just has youth on his side and Edwards hasn’t looked great. Hallmann by UD.
Ben Kohn: Ugh, I really don’t want to pick against Edwards but he really hasn’t looked very good in a long time. He’s technically lost 3 in a row (his last fight was a NC) and was knocked out against Meideros. I don’t know how much he has left in the tank and I doubt he can finish Hallman who’s extremely tough. Sorry Thug-jitsu. Piotr Hallman by Unanimous Decision.
Bantamweight Bout: Bryan Caraway (18-6) vs. Erik Perez (14-5)
Luke Irwin: A tough bout to call here, as Perez’s hype train has slowed down to a crawl lately. Caraway gets more attention from being Miesha Tate’s significant other than he does for his fighting, which makes him very, very underrated. Caraway’s grappling is exceptional and he’ll put it to use here. Caraway via R2 submission.
Nolan Howell: This is Perez’s fight to lose on the feet, but Mizugaki proved that his ground game can be exploited. Against Caraway, that is a game you don’t want to play. Caraway’s durability will allow him to wade through and work his great top-game grappling. Caraway by second-round submission.
Ben Kohn: Ah Bryan Caraway, so nice of you to allow us another chance to watch you get punched in the face. But seriously, he’s a pretty good fighter with strong grappling and legitimate wins placing him as a solid middle of the pack fighter. Perez is the guy the UFC hopes becomes a real force in the division to bring in some Mexican viewership to the little guys and while he’s pretty good, he’s definitely had some work to do. He has no wins against guys on a similar level to Caraway and Mizugaki exploited his technical flaws. I don’t know if Caraway can do that though and that makes this a tough fight to pick. Gonna go witht he veteran who has the stronger resume this time. Bryan Caraway by douc…I mean Unanimous Decision.
Bantamweight Bout: Sergio Pettis (10-1) vs. Yaotzin Meza (20-9)
Luke Irwin: SERGE, I KNOW YOU DON’T WANT TO CUT TO FLYWEIGHT. I KNOW YOU SAID IT’S HARD. PLEASE CUT TO FLYWEIGHT. IT’S WHAT WE’VE ALL WANTED FOR YEARS. YOU LOOK LIKE A BOY AGAINST MEN. Meza via UD.
Nolan Howell: Pettis should still have what it takes here on the feet and is probably able to stifle the ground game of Meza. Pettis by UD.
Ben Kohn: I’m not so high on the mini-Pettis bandwagon yet but I do think he’s a solid fighter. He’s not a future champ in my eyes yet but he can sure as hell beat Meza, who’s only UFC win is against John Albert. Anthony…I mean Sergio Pettis by TKO Round 2.
Welterweight Bout: Bobby Voelker (24-11) vs. Lance Benoist (6-2)
Luke Irwin: Loser goes home here, I assume, and Voelker is better than Benoist, but not by much. Voelker via UD.
Nolan Howell: Can’t believe Benoit…oh, fuck, Benoist? Voelker by UD.
Ben Kohn: Neither of these guys are fighters I’m comfortable saying “ya, he should win”. Voelker is a brawler and he’s tough with some decent power while Benoist beat Matt Riddle…but he’s only been decisioned so I guys Benoist will last to the bell. Volker is slow as shit and has taken tons of damage so maybe Benoist can outpoint him idk. Lance Benoist by Unanimous Decision cuz why not.
Flyweight Bout: Danny Martinez (16-5) vs. Scott Jorgensen (14-9)
Luke Irwin: Christ, almighty, Scotty. I like Scott a ton, always have. He’s 1-5 in his last six. The UFC obviously wants to keep hi around, but losing this fight here gives them no choice. I think something is just fundamentally broken in Jorgensen, and maybe being cut will give him a chance to recoup and find whatever he’s missing. Martinez via UD.
Nolan Howell: Jorgensen should be better than Martinez here still, but who the fuck knows if he even knows he is? Scotty doesn’t know, but I’ll take him. Jorgensen by unanimous decision.
Ben Kohn: It sucks to see how far Spotty Scotty has fallen. Seems like since he dropped his spots, he’s been on a run of bad luck. I think he’s declining badly but he should have enough left wrestling wise to take out the brawling Martinez. Scott Jorgenson by Unanimous Decision.
Lightweight Bout: Jake Lindsey (9-0) vs. Jon Tuck (7-1)
Luke Irwin: Neither man has a UFC win, even though technically Tuck has one. But it was Tiequan Zhang, so, yeah, none. Pretty even fight, but I still don’t altogether trust Asian MMA fighters to come through. Lindsey via R3 TKO.
Nolan Howell: Uh. Lindsey by first-round TKO.
Ben Kohn: Jon Tuck should win this because Super Saiyan is a fucking awesome nickname. Jon Tuck by Unanimous Decision.
Light Heavyweight Bout: Patrick Cummins (4-1) vs. Roger Narvaez (6-0)
Luke Irwin: Enough with Patrick Cummins. Narvaez via R2 TKO.
Nolan Howell: Luke Irwin’s boy should have it here. Cummins by first-round TKO.
Ben Kohn: Cummins should have the grappling to take this guy out. Seriously, judging him on his Cormier fight would be foolish. Patrick Cummins by TKO Round 2.
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