UFC 109 Picks

Before I go into who is going to win, I need to point out that Dana White is a genius. At this point, some people are nodding while others are shaking their heads. I have been on the fence about this as I think sometimes his demeanor does not help uninformed people realize this isn't human cockfighting and it is much safer than boxing.

This upcoming UFC card has changed all of that as every media outlet is hyping that this is the first ever matchup between UFC Hall of Famers. Why is this important? The UFC Hall of Fame is not selected with any sort of process; it's just people that Dana White feels should be in the Hall of Fame. This is not the baseball Hall of Fame where former athletes slowly get closer to gaining election; it's just Dana White deciding, "Hey, that guy hasn't fought in a while and he's never said anything bad about the UFC. Let's put him in the Hall of Fame." Yet, when I put on ESPN and they are talking about the fights, the number one thing mentioned is that this is the first time ever that two current UFC Hall of Famers have ever fought. Great marketing by Dana White, and he deserves mad props.

Anyway, here are the picks for the fights tomorrow:

Philippe Nover over Rob Emerson - I don't think Nover's all that good, but for some reason, I'm very anti-Rob Emerson.

Phil Davis over Brian Stann - Stann is training with Greg Jackson's camp which is a good move, but Phil Davis is really athletic and a great wrestler, so he can probably manage to get a decision win in this fight.

Chris Tuchscherer over Tim Hague - Hague got knocked out in seven seconds in his last fight, and Tuchscherer trains with Brock Lesnar, enough said.

Rolles Gracie over Joey Beltran - Beltran's a late replacement and the UFC wants to make money off the Gracie name so this is probably a first round submission for Rolles.

Mac Danzig over Justin Buchholz - Danzig is a good, well-rounded fighter, and I think he'll be able to control Buchholz on the ground to get a win.

Melvin Guillard over Ronys Torres - I am not confident in this pick at all as Torres has torn through his opponents. He is supposed to have good wrestling, but Paulo Filho was also supposed to be a Brazilian with good wrestling. If Torres can take him down, I think Guillard is in big trouble, but I think he keeps it standing long enough to knock out Torres.

Frank Trigg over Matt Serra - Matt Serra is overrated since he got lucky three years ago against GSP. Trigg is a pretty tough guy. I think he can both outstrike and dominate him from top position when he takes him down.

Mike Swick over Paulo Thiago - Swick can keep the fight standing and basically pick apart Thiago. I'm hoping for a SwickKick, because I doubt he'll be able to pull of the Swickotine.

Demian Maia over Dan Miller - Miller is tough, but eventually the fight will go to the ground and Maia will be on top; that's bad news for Miller.

Nate Marquardt over Chael Sonnen - I really thought this had upset possibilities with how great Sonnen's wrestling is. Then he started talking about how game plans don't exist in MMA. I think Marquardt should be safe in this fight because of that. He's got too well-rounded of an attack to lose to Sonnen.

Randy Couture over Mark Coleman - I almost had myself convinced Coleman could win this match, but it's really doubtful. When I finally looked at their last fights, it became obvious that Couture is a higher quality fighter. Couture got a generous decision against Brandon Vera while Coleman beat Stephen Bonnar by decision. Coleman would get dominated by Vera, and Couture would manhandle Bonnar, hence, I got to go with Couture on this one.

I like the Middleweight Fights on this card, but it's not the strongest UFC card. I like the card in two weeks a ton more.

Again, mad props to Dana White.

-Joe