Chael Sonnen (27-12-1): +675<\/strong><\/p>\nSonnen brings some of the best technical classic wrestling to the Octagon \u2013 he is strong and when he gets you down, there is simply no getting up. Other than that, Sonnen has to be viewed as average in every other aspect of MMA. He has made a career of bullying his opponents \u2013 something that just won\u2019t happen against Jon Jones.<\/p>\n
Jones is perhaps the most athletic fighter in the UFC. He is long, he is lanky, he is quick, he is unorthodox and he is simply top notch anywhere a fight happens to go. Taking a look at whom he\u2019s defeated is a who\u2019s who of MMA legendry \u2013 Shogun Rua, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Rampage Jackson and Vitor Belfort to name a few. His only career loss came against Matt Hamill \u2013 by DQ in a fight he was totally dominating. Nobody has been close to Jon Jones in his 18 fight UFC career.<\/p>\n
Jones will have a huge striking advantage in this fight and he may just have the edge on the ground as well. Perhaps the biggest advantage for Jones however will be his size \u2013 Sonnen is a Middleweight hoping to hang with an absolutely elite Light Heavyweight \u2013 I can\u2019t see it happening. Jones will pick Sonnen apart on his feet and finish this fight in style on the ground \u2013 Sonnen has been submitted eight times in his career already.<\/p>\n
While I am tempted to put a little dough on the upset, common sense has crept in!<\/p>\n
Pick<\/strong>: Jon Jones -875<\/p>\nAlan Belcher (18-7-0): +150<\/strong>
\n Michael Bisping (23-5-0): -170<\/strong><\/p>\nA rather prickly encounter immediately precedes the Main Event. Michael Bisping and Alan Belcher have made no bones about their disdain for each other \u2013 now they get to show it in the Octagon. Both of these men are in the second tier of Middleweights \u2013 close to title contention but not quite at the Anderson Silva level. Both have gone 1-2 in their last three fights against top Middleweights and both absolutely need the win to get their names back in the contender conversation again.<\/p>\n
Belcher and Bisping are both elite strikers with underrated ground games but this fight is most likely to stay standing. I like the footwork of Bisping to be too much for Belcher in this one – any tiny advantage may be enough for victory in this battle of evenly matched stars. Bisping likely won\u2019t engage Belcher all that much \u2013 movement will be his game. This fight is almost certainly headed for a decision with Bisping doing enough from the outside to outpoint Belcher.<\/p>\n
Pick:<\/strong> Michael Bisping -170<\/p>\nRoy Nelson (18-7-0): -240<\/strong>
\n Cheick Kongo (18-7-2): +200<\/strong><\/p>\nHeavyweights clash at UFC 159 when Roy Nelson returns to the Octagon against Cheick Kongo. We all know what Nelson brings to the table \u2013 immense power, a granite chin and an elite grappling skill set. Kongo has won three of his last four fights but has been somewhat unflattering inside the Octagon as of late.<\/p>\n
Kongo can\u2019t help but engaging in striking battles for some reason \u2013 he always seems to get himself into slugfests. Against Nelson, this is a dangerous proposition. He won\u2019t be able to hurt Nelson\u2019s cement head and he won\u2019t be able to duck Nelson\u2019s hay-makers. It all adds up to and early night for both men and a huge headache for Cheick Kongo.<\/p>\n
Pick:<\/strong> Roy Nelson -240<\/p>\nPhil Davis (10-1-1): -350<\/strong>
\n Vinny Magalhaes (10-5-0): +270<\/strong><\/p>\nFormer M-1 champion Vinny Magalhaes brings his incredible Brazilian jiu-jitsu chops to the Octagon Saturday against the well rounded Phil Davis \u2013 loser of just one fight in his 12 fight career. Davis is an elite wrestler with emerging striking \u2013 he has defeated the likes of Alexander Gustafsson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Brian Stann over his career.<\/p>\n
Magalhaes has an incredible submission game but the problem here is that he has to hope to get Davis to the mat in order to apply his strategy and Davis\u2019s wrestling chops should be enough to prevent this from happening. Expect the athleticism and wrestling skills of Davis to dominate in this one \u2013 Magalhaes\u2019s tremendous skills will be minimized by the striking advantage and the overall strength and octagon control of Davis. [ad-3573245]<\/p>\n
Pick:<\/strong> Phil Davis -320<\/p>\nPat Healy (29-16-0): +265<\/strong>
\n Jim Miller (22-4-0): -315<\/strong><\/p>\nVeteran Lightweights clash in the first fight on the Pay-Per-View card Saturday when former Strikeforce standout Pat Healy takes on Jim Miller. Both will be trying to enter the Title Contender conversation on Saturday. Miller is as tough as nails \u2013 a wrestler primarily with a terrific submission game while Healy has a very similar skill set although it may not quite be at the caliber of Miller.<\/p>\n
In a fight between two fairly evenly matched wrestlers, the striking game will likely be the difference. Miller has the technical striking edge here and the fact that he has been inside the Octagon with the superior challengers has me leaning Miller\u2019s way in a decision victory. It should be entertaining and it should be Miller with his hand raised at the end of the night.<\/p>\n
Pick:<\/strong> Jim Miller -315<\/p>\n