Wednesday, April 16, 2014

TUF Nations Finale Main Card Predictions





#6 Dustin Poirier vs. Akira Corassani

Although these two have similar win loss records I give the advantage to “The Diamond”(Poirier, just in case you didn’t know). The #6 ranked featherweight is 3-2 in his last five fights, which were all against top 15 competition. Poirier will be the first opponent that Corassani fights that is ranked so it will be interesting to see if the Sweden born fighter will fair in his first true test in the octagon. The Renzo Gracie Combat Team fighter is currently unranked but is riding a three fight-winning streak. Like I mentioned in the beginning of this I give the advantage to Poirier only based off the experience he has but that doesn’t mean I’m counting out the TUF veteran.

Poirier by decision

Team Canada dominated this season on the Ultimate Fighter and it will be on full display tonight as all four fighter in the tournament final are from Team Canada which has never happen when The Ultimate Fighter features more than one weight class.

Chad Laprise vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier

Now I’m not going to sit here and tell you guys that this was one hell of a season because it wasn’t but it was good. Especially when you have the second most brutal knockout in TUF history (Click Here) second only to Uriah Hall’s infamous spinning back kick a couple of seasons ago (Click Here). So because of that I’m going to go with Mr.Laprise.

Laprise by KO

Elias Theodorou vs. Sheldon Westcott

I’ve been doing some research on tonight’s fighters and on paper this fights look evenly match but a closer look into Sheldon Westcott and this guy is a finisher. With a record of 8-1-1 and a 9 fight unbeaten streak Westcott has finished six of his opponents in the first round and only one of those six has made it past the first minute. Elias Theodorou looks nothing like a fighter but inside the cage he’s undefeated with an 8-0 record and five stoppages included. How can you side against someone who has ended 6 of his 8 fights within the first three minutes? Obvious I’m going with Westcott

Westcott by Submission


Patrick Cote vs. Kyle Noke

So now we’re up to the traditional coaches fight at the end of every TUF season. Now this is a fight that won’t make any significant impact in the middleweight rankings but it should be really interesting. Patrick Cote maybe most remembered as the first person in the UFC to make it past the second round during the terrorizing reign of MMA legend Anderson Silva before a knee injury to Cote ended his only shot at the title. Noke meanwhile hasn’t fought in almost 19 months and it will be interesting to see if he’s affected by cage rust. Both fighters have been away from competition for more than a year so like I said it should be interesting to see who isn’t affected by ring rust.

Cote by Decision


#5 Michael Bisping vs. #8 Tim Kennedy

Bisping will be making his octagon return after almost a year away due to an eye injury and waiting for him is Army Ranger Tim Kennedy who has been campaigning for a fight with Bisping since Kennedy made the jump from Strikeforce after the UFC purchase. Bisping has been campaigning for a shot at the middleweight title ever since the UFC has banned TRT use (look up Vitor Belfort) and with a win over Kennedy his voice could be heard. Kennedy is no stranger to 5 round fights as he fought twice for the Strikeforce middleweight title and both times coming up short but now Kennedy is currently on a three fight win streak. The winner of this battle between Top 10 middleweight could potentially be next in line for the strap as it is still unclear when or if Vitor Belfort or Anderson Silva return.

Bisping by Decision



Overall this should be a good night of fights. Let me know if you agree or disagree with me. Don’t forget to check out my live round by round analysis on Twitter and Facebook.

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