\nVenue: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC, Canada
\nBroadcast: Pay-per-view<\/strong>
\n Betting: Bet on UFC 131 at BetOnline.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
Main Card<\/h3>\n
Heavyweight (265lbs)<\/strong> The Main Event was supposed to feature Brock Lesnar but his well documented health problems (damn Canadian Health Care System!) has led to Shane Carwin having to fill in. The Main Event now features two of the best strikers in the Heavyweight Division \u2013 chances are that this fight won\u2019t the full three rounds! Junior dos Santos knew that he was going to have to face an enormous man \u2013 his training with Team Black House will have prepared him for anywhere that this fight happens to go. Shane Carwin is certainly a dangerous man but his last fight against Brock Lesnar exposed his only apparent weakness \u2013 conditioning! Although Greg Jackson will have Carwin as ready as he could be, dos Santos\u2019s superior boxing should ensure that this fight will be dictated by the Brazilian.<\/p>\n Carwin is a very good fighter but dos Santos is right on the cusp of elite status. Expect dos Santos to continue on his path toward Heavyweight Gold \u2013 Cain Velasquez had better be ready because the dos Santos train is firmly on a Championship track. Pick:<\/strong> Junior dos Santos -190<\/p>\n Heavyweight (265lbs)<\/strong> In another tremendous Heavyweight tilt, Brazilian jiu-jitsu Black Belt Jon Olav Einemo returns to action after five years away to take on prospect Dave Herman in a battle of the UFC virgins. Herman has finished 19 of his 20 combatants during a stellar career and should be able to have his way with the inevitably rusty Einemo. Don\u2019t expect a long fight but expect a Herman win! Pick:<\/strong> Dave Herman -260<\/p>\n Lightweight (155lbs)<\/strong> Former WEC Lightweight Champion Donald Cerrone takes on Strikeforce and Bellator veteran Vagner Rocha on the Main Card of UFC 131. While the jiu-jitsu Black Belt Rocha is a serious threat on the mat, the all around skills of Donald Cerrone will prove too much for the injury replacement Rocha. Cerrone is the real deal and will prove it on Saturday night. Pick:<\/strong> Donald Cerrone -400<\/p>\n Middleweight (185lbs)<\/strong> Demian Maia, to me is one of the toughest fighters to figure out. Sure his standup is emerging but he is still exclusively a submission specialist. Mark Munoz, a former NCAA Div 1 wrestler has adapted well to MMA \u2013 he is effective in using his wrestling base to keep the fight standing and inflict immense damage in his strikes. I like the fact that Munoz trains at Team Black House with a fighter (Anderson Silva) who made Maia look silly inside the Octagon. Better striking and a superior training camp should be the difference in this one. Pick:<\/strong> Mark Munoz -130<\/p>\n Featherweight (145lbs)<\/strong> This could be a #1 Contender match in the Featherweight Division. The prize for winning? A bout against possibly the most dominant Champ in the UFC \u2013 Jose Aldo. Both Florian and Nunes have fought and beaten some top notch competition but Florian\u2019s experience against some of the best the UFC has to offer will be the difference. Florian\u2019s record may not be impressive but the caliber of his competition certainly is! Pick:<\/strong> Kenny Florian -300<\/p>\n Lightweight (155lbs)<\/strong> Two MMA veterans meet in what could easily be another in a long line of Fight of the Night for Sam Stout. Yves Edwards will step into the Octagon for the 57th time and is coming off impressive wins against John Gunderson and Cody McKenzie. He will have to be prepared to go the distance in this fight \u2013 Sam Stout has gone three rounds in nine of his last ten bouts. Edwards will also have to be prepared to eat some leather \u2013 Stout is a relentless striker whose will is the only thing better than his chin. Pick:<\/strong> Sam Stout -150 Featherweight (145lbs)<\/strong> Well rounded rising Featherweight prospect Dustin Poirier catches a bit of a break on Saturday \u2013 \u201cC+ level fighter\u201d Jason Young will provide the opposition. Young is a one dimensional fighter, striking is his game. Poirier should be able to use his immense all around skills to cement his Top 10 Featherweight status. Poirier won\u2019t be denied! Pick:<\/strong> Dustin Poirier -350<\/p>\n Light Heavyweight (205lbs)<\/strong> In a potential \u201closer gets cut match\u201d two journeyman Light Heavyweights do battle. Krzysztof Soszynski takes on Croatian Igor Pokrajac. Take the underdog in this one \u2013 Pokrajac despite being an injury replacement has the take down defense and the type of striking prowess that has given Soszynski fits in the past. Pick:<\/strong> Igor Pokrajac +190<\/p>\n Featherweight (145lbs)<\/strong> Michihiro Omigawa will try to impose his incredible Judo skills on Darren Elkins, a fighter that hasn\u2019t gone more than one minute in either of his UFC appearances (1-1 over that span). Omigawa\u2019s record certainly isn\u2019t all that impressive but we just haven\u2019t seen enough of Elkins to give him the nod. Pick:<\/strong> Michihiro Omigawa<\/p>\n Middleweight (185lbs)<\/strong> Two grapplers meet in Middleweight action on Saturday night. Canadian submission specialist hopes to build on a terrific career in Canada (wins over TJ Grant and Sean Pierson) against wrestler\/grappler Chris Weidman. Weidman was impressive in defeating a tough Alessio Sakara in his UFC debut but I like the experience and home crowd to carry Bongfeldt to victory. Pick:<\/strong> Jesse Bongfeldt +220<\/p>\n Heavyweight (265lbs)<\/strong> Aaron Rosa will attempt to build on an impressive four fight win streak when he takes on the durable Joey Beltran who is feeling the heat in the UFC. I like Beltran\u2019s ruggedness and desperation to prevail in this one \u2013 a loss could mean the end of his UFC career. Pick:<\/strong> Joey Beltran +150<\/p>\n Middleweight (185lbs)<\/strong> Undefeated \u201cThe Ultimate Fighter 11\u201d alum looks to build upon his wave of success when he takes on UFC newcomer James Head in Middleweight action. While Ring is coming off a controversial decision win against Riki Fukada, Head left no doubt in his last fight \u2013 defeating a very tough Gerald Harris. That\u2019s good enough for me! Pick:<\/strong> James Head<\/p>\n UFC 131 Heavyweight matchup between Junior dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin. Saturday night will give us a glimpse into the future of the UFC with a ton of quality bouts. Here are your UFC 131 free predictions and previews\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":38976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1436],"tags":[166,49734,49739,29487,49741,49735,49740,49742,49736,49737,49738,49649,1942,3365,5199],"class_list":["post-39033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fight-club","tag-betting-odds","tag-dos-santos-vs-carwin-picks","tag-einemo-vs-herman-picks","tag-fight-card","tag-florian-vs-nunes-picks","tag-free-ufc-131-picks","tag-munez-vs-maia-picks","tag-rocha-vs-cerrone-picks","tag-rogers-arena","tag-ufc-131","tag-ufc-131-odds","tag-ufc-131-picks","tag-ufc-predictions","tag-ultimate-fighting-championship","tag-vancouver"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39033"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39033\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39077,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39033\/revisions\/39077"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nJunior dos Santos (12-1-0): <\/strong>-190
\nShane Carwin (12-1-0): <\/strong>+155<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/UFC-131-Gambling-e1307467190903.jpg\" "\\"UFC")
\nJon Olav Einemo (6-1-0): <\/strong>+200
\nDave Herman (20-2-0): <\/strong>-260<\/p>\n
\nVagner (6-1-0): <\/strong>+300
\nDonald Cerrone (13-3): <\/strong>-400
\nVagner Rocha replaces injured Mac Danzig<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nMark Munoz (10-2-0): <\/strong>-130
\nDemian Maia (13-2-0): <\/strong>+100<\/p>\n
\nKenny Florian (13-5-0): <\/strong>-300
\nDiego Nunes (15-1-0):<\/strong>+220<\/p>\nPreliminary Card<\/h3>\n
\nYves Edwards (39-16-1): <\/strong>+120
\nSam Stout (16-6-1): <\/strong>-150<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nJason Young (8-3-0): <\/strong>+250
\nDustin Poirier (9-1-0): <\/strong>-350
\nJason Young replaces injured Rani Yahya<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nKrzysztof Soszynski (22-10-1): <\/strong>-240
\nIgor Pokrajac (23-8-0): <\/strong>+190
\nIgor Pokrajac replaces injured Anthony Perosh<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nMichihiro Omigawa (10-9-1):<\/strong>
\nDarren Elkins (12-2-0):<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nJesse Bongfeldt (21-7-1): <\/strong>+220
\nChris Weidman (5-0-0): <\/strong>-300<\/p>\n
\nAaron Rosa (16-3-0): <\/strong>-180
\nJoey Beltran (12-5-0): <\/strong>+150<\/p>\n
\nNick Ring (9-0-0):<\/strong>
\nJames Head (7-1-0):<\/strong><\/p>\nCLICK HERE TO BET ON UFC 131 AT BETONLINE – FREE CASH TO ALL NEW CUSTOMERS – FREE CASH just for becoming a member.<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"