UFC 133 Picks<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\nTito almost beat him in 2007. The fight ended in a draw \u2013 but only after Ortiz was penalized a point for grabbing the fence. Ortiz shocked rising star Ryan Bader with a submission win a month ago. As an injury fill-in for UFC 133, he may have the mental edge over Evans, as no one expects Tito to win.<\/p>\n
Still, based on the pure matchup, I like Rashad Evans. Ortiz\u2019s greatest strength is his grappling and it\u2019s totally neutralized against Evans, whose wrestling is also top-notch. Evans is also the faster fighter \u2013 as quick and tough to hit as anyone at 205 points. Worse yet for Tito, Evans has the edge in the striking department, too. Neither guy has dynamic hands but Evans at least has significant punching power. Tito dropped Bader but has never been known as a real slugger; Evans, on the other hand, has a few spectacular knockouts to his name.<\/p>\n
Ortiz won\u2019t make it easy for Evans but I just don\u2019t see him as better than Evans in any facet of the fight game \u2013 especially at his advanced age.<\/p>\n
Pick: Evans -450<\/p>\n
Middleweight: Vitor Belfort (19-9) vs Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-3, 2 NC)<\/h3>\n
UFC 133 odds: Belfort -310, Akiyama +255<\/p>\n
Belfort vs Akiyama should be the fight that saves this card. I can\u2019t possibly imagine a dull affair here. Belfort is among the sport\u2019s greatest knockout artists and Akiyama\u2019s go-for-broke style almost guarantees an exciting fight every time he steps into the cage.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately for Akiyama, his style makes him a sitting duck against Belfort. \u201cSexyama\u201d has solid judo and good striking but one glaring weakness: defense. He doesn\u2019t block punches. He\u2019s not even that he can\u2019t; he just doesn\u2019t try! In all three of his UFC bouts so far, he\u2019s gotten into a wild slugfest, eating punch after punch, staggering around like a drunken zombie.<\/p>\n
That may have worked against a second-tier opponent like Alan Belcher, but it made Akiyama gas out and get submitted against Chris Leben. Michael Bisping didn\u2019t knock Akiyama out but landed so many shots that he dominated him on the points.<\/p>\n
Belfort should be the ultimate nightmare for Akiyama. Some experts feel Belfort has the best pure hands in the history of MMA. He\u2019s amazingly fast, extremely powerful, and very aggressive when he has someone hurt. Akiyama could survive three rounds in the pocket against Bisping\u2019s weak punches but Belfort will absolutely murder him if he doesn\u2019t change his strategy. From what we\u2019ve seen so far, Akiyama won\u2019t smarten up. He seems to enjoy being in wars. That will get him knocked the eff out versus Belfort. [ad-3573245]<\/p>\n
Pick: Belfort -310<\/p>\n
Rory MacDonald (11-1) vs Mike Pyle (21-7-1)<\/h3>\n
UFC 133 odds: MacDonald -280, Pyle +230<\/p>\n
Rory MacDonald, a rising star at 170 pounds, faces a gatekeeper on Saturday in Mike Pyle. The young Canadian will have to be careful against Pyle, who has a truckload of submission victories to his name.<\/p>\n
But I don\u2019t see Pyle as much of a threat to MacDonald, who has 10 of his 11 wins by finish \u2013 six via submission. In his last fight, MacDonald faced another elite submission fighter in Nate Diaz. MacDonald absolutely dominated Diaz, tossing him around the Octagon like a ragdoll.<\/p>\n
Well-rounded fighters can go a long way in MMA. Look at Georges St-Pierre. MacDonald trains with GSP now and it\u2019s starting to show. He can tap guys out, he can knock guys out, he\u2019s very athletic in he\u2019s in great shape. MacDonald is the total package. He only has a loss on his record because the UFC gave him Carlos Condit too early, almost like it didn\u2019t realize at the time how good Condit was.<\/p>\n
I think MacDonald puts away Pyle without much trouble \u2013 and sets himself up for a top-10 opponent in his next bout.<\/p>\n
Pick: MacDonald -280<\/p>\n
UFC 133: OFFICIAL FIGHT CARD<\/h3>\n
Main card<\/strong><\/p>\nLight Heavyweight bout: Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz
\nMiddleweight bout: Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
\nWelterweight bout: Dennis Hallman vs. Brian Ebersole
\nMiddleweight bout: Jorge Rivera vs. Costantinos Philippou
\nWelterweight bout: Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Pyle<\/p>\n
Preliminary card (televised)<\/strong><\/p>\nLight Heavyweight bout: Matt Hamill vs. Alexander Gustafsson
\nFeatherweight bout: Chad Mendes vs. Rani Yahya<\/p>\n
Preliminary card (Facebook)<\/strong><\/p>\nBantamweight bout: Ivan Menjivar vs. Nick Pace
\nWelterweight bout: Johny Hendricks vs. Mike Pierce
\nFeatherweight bout: Mike Brown vs. Nam Phan
\nMiddleweight bout: Rafael Natal vs. Paul Bradley<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/UFC-133-Poster1-e1312386655485-150x150.jpg\" "\\"UFC")