The UFC will make its third appearance on free network TV this Saturday with what appears to be a superb schedule of important fights. A few title contenders could emerge from Saturday night\u2019s action in both the Lightweight and Middleweight divisions \u2013 tune in, it should be another fun night of UFC action!<\/p>\n
UFC on FOX 3: “Diaz vs. Miller”<\/strong> Nate Diaz (15-7): +175<\/strong> In what is likely a #1 contender match for in the Benson Henderson\u2019s Lightweight strap stud wrestler Jim Miller takes on the well rounded and notoriously tough TUF 5 winner Nate Diaz. It wasn\u2019t that long ago that Miller was knocking on the door of a title shot and lost to Ben Henderson to interrupt his climb up the ladder. Miller has two recent losses \u2013 one to Henderson and one to another Lightweight standout Gray Meynard.<\/p>\n On the flip side, Nate Diaz had a rough 2011 with losses to Takanori Gomi and Donald Cerrone before bouncing back with two straight wins ahead of this fight. Diaz\u2019 best chance is to keep this fight standing and use his incredible boxing chops and only rely on his slick submission game is absolutely necessary.<\/p>\n But Miller is a crafty veteran \u2013 there is nothing that he hasn\u2019t seen. Look for Miller to drag this fight to the mat, out of the danger zones and to use his wrestling edge to control the unorthodox Diaz. Miller is a Stud \u2013 Diaz is just a \u201cB level\u201d fighter at the moment.<\/p>\n Pick:<\/strong> Jim Miller -225<\/p>\n Josh Koscheck (17-5): -120<\/strong> This should be a good one! Former Welterweight contender Josh Koscheck takes on a fighter that many view as the future of the division \u2013 up-and-comer Johny Hendricks. Koscheck is a former collegiate wrestler who has refined his game to become one of the more well rounded fighters in the Welterweight division while Hendricks is also a wrestler whose punching power was on display in his last win \u2013 an uber-impressive knockout of Jon Fitch.<\/p>\n While Hendricks is an intriguing prospect, Koscheck is still viewed as a top 10 Welterweight in the world. He is on a two fight win streak and looking to get back into title consideration. The well rounded and extremely motivated Koscheck takes this one!<\/p>\n Pick<\/strong>: Josh Koscheck -120<\/p>\n Alan Belcher (17-6): +240<\/strong> A pair of three fight win streaks is on the line when Welterweight submission ace Rousimar Palhares takes on the well rounded jiu-jitsu Black Belt Alan Belcher. Belcher has been on quite a role with three impressive wins \u2013 his last loss in the Octagon was 2 \u00bd years ago. Palhares owns the best leg lock in the business and has the strength and emerging striking game to give Belcher fits.<\/p>\n In this fight, look for Belcher to try to keep the fight standing but eventually this battle will hit the mat. Once there, Palhares has proven virtually unstoppable. The winner of this fight may face Anderson Silva down the line \u2013 take his countryman to be that man!<\/p>\n Pick:<\/strong> Rousimar Palhares -310<\/p>\n Pat Barry (7-4): -205<\/strong> If there is one thing that we know about this fight \u2013 it is that somebody is going to get knocked out! In a classic striker vs. striker match former WEC and Strikeforce Heavyweight Lavar Johnson takes on former kick boxer Pat Barry. Barry has been less than impressive as of late losing three of his last four fights while Johnson looked good in his UFC debut first round knockout win versus Joey Beltran. Barry is the more technical striker \u2013 Johnson the more powerful. Take the power over the technique in this one!<\/p>\n Pick<\/strong>: Lavar Johnson +175<\/p>\n John Hathaway (15-1):<\/strong> Welterweight prospect John Hathaway looks to rebound after getting derailed by Mike Pyle in his last fight when he takes on another up-and-comer, West German Pascal Krauss. Hathaway is by far the more experienced of the two and he does hold wins over names like Diego Sanchez and Kris McCray while Krauss, although looking good in his Fight of the Night debut against Mark Scanlon hasn\u2019t faced the same level of competition in his career. Take the Brit to prevail and to throw his name back in the Welterweight title conversation.<\/p>\n Pick:<\/strong> John Hathaway<\/p>\n Tony Ferguson (13-2): -270<\/strong> TUF 13 winner Tony Ferguson takes on TUF 12 finalist Michael Johnson on Saturday in a battle of two fighters on decent streaks. Johnson has won two straight fights and Ferguson has three straight. Two facts make me lean Ferguson in this one \u2013 Johnson steps in on very short notice and the fact that Ferguson has posted wins over some very tough competition \u2013 Yves Edwards, Aaron Riley and Ramsey Nijem. Take the TUF 13 winner to continue his streak in this one.<\/p>\n Pick:<\/strong> Tony Ferguson -270<\/p>\n John Dodson (12-5): lines not available TUF 14 bantamweight winner John Dodson steps back into the Octagon against submission grappler Darren Uyenoyama on Saturday. Both fighters are coming off wins \u2013 Uyenoyama\u2019s came against the very tough Norifumi Yamamoto and Dodson\u2019s against TJ Dillashaw. Dodson certainly has skills and his decision to train with the famed Greg Jackson should serve him well. Dodson takes this one in possible the closest fight of the night.<\/p>\n Pick:<\/strong> John Dodson<\/p>\n Danny Castillo (13-4): lines not available<\/strong> In a battle of possible Lightweight future contenders WEC veteran Danny Castillo takes on submission specialist John Cholish. Castillo has fought some tough guys \u2013 losses to Joe Stevenson and Jacob Volkmann were followed up by impressive wins over Shamar Bailey and Anthony Njokuani. Cholish has some terrific skills but it won\u2019t be enough to overcome the experience of Mr. Castillo in this one.<\/p>\n Pick<\/strong>: Danny Castillo<\/p>\n Pablo Garza (11-2): +145<\/strong> TUF 14 finalist Dennis Bermudez takes on super-tough Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner Pablo Garza in what should be a very good scarp at UFC on FOX 3. Bermudez is a wrestler who looked OK on the show but proved that he still has a ways to go while Garza already owns a Knockout and Submission of the Night in his career. Garza\u2019s only career loss was to a very good Dustin Poirier. It is clear who the better fighter in this one is.<\/p>\n Pick<\/strong>: Pablo Garza +145<\/p>\n Nick Denis (11-2): lines not available<\/strong> Another TUF 14 alum, grappler Johnny Bedford takes on striking machine Nick Denis this weekend. While Bedford\u2019s grappling is decent, it will be the knockout power of Denis that will steal the show. In a possible Knockout of the Night (like the one in his debut versus Joseph Sandoval) take Denis to emerge victorious.<\/p>\n Pick<\/strong>: Nick Denis<\/p>\n Mike Massenzio (13-6): lines not available<\/strong> Czech brawler Karlos Vemola will look to rebound from a loss in his last fight when he takes on Brazilian jiu-jitsu Black Belt and loser of two of his last three fights, Mike Massenzio. Vemola, as a Middleweight will certainly have the strength advantage in this one \u2013 he has fought at Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight in the past. Massenzio hasn\u2019t impressed me \u2013 look for Vemola to exploit a weak defense and end this one early!<\/p>\n Pick<\/strong>: Karlos Vemola<\/p>\n Louis Gaudinot (5-2): lines not available<\/strong> TUF 14 alum Louis Gaudinot welcomes newcomer Brazilian John Lineker to the UFC in Flyweight action. Gaudinot is a decent grappler who lost his most recent fight by TKO to Johnny Bedford while Lineker has won an impressive 13 straight fights in Brazil. Lineker is a tough guy \u2013 his streak continues!<\/p>\n Pick:<\/strong> John Lineker<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" UFC on FOX 3 promises action-packed card The UFC will make its third appearance on free network TV this Saturday with what appears to be a superb schedule of important fights. A few title contenders could emerge from Saturday night\u2019s action in both the Lightweight and Middleweight divisions \u2013 tune in, it should be another […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":45598,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1436],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fight-club"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50865","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=50865"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50886,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50865\/revisions\/50886"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nDate\/Time: Sat., May 5, 2012, at 8 p.m. ET
\nLocation: IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ
\nBroadcast:<\/strong> FOX<\/p>\n
\n Jim Miller (21-3): -225<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Johny Hendricks (12-1): -110<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Rousimar Palhares (14-3): -310<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Lavar Johnson (16-5): +175<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Pascal Krauss (10-0):<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Michael Johnson (10-6): +210<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nDarren Uyenoyama (7-3): lines not available<\/p>\n
\n John Cholish (8-1): lines not available<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Dennis Bermudez (7-3): -175<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Johnny Bedford (18-9-1): lines not available<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Karlos Vemola (8-2): lines not available<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n John Lineker (19-5): lines not available<\/strong><\/p>\n