UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Pettis Is a Surprisingly Fun Card

UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Pettis happens this weekend, and there are actually a lot of fights that I am interested in. In fact, I would say there are more fights on this card that I am excited about than last week's ballyhooed UFC 217. I'm going to limit it to the five fights I am most interested in, but from the prelims through the main card, this one is definitely worth your time.

5. Raphael Assuncao (-330) vs. Matthew Lopez (+270)
This is pretty clearly a fight where the UFC has no idea what to do with Raphael Assuncao. His only loss in the last six years is to TJ Dillashaw, and that only makes them 1-1 against each other. But he also has been on the right side of three split decisions during that time, so it's not like he's been dominant. Lopez provides an interesting matchup as he has a strong wrestling background and some nasty ground and pound that he used to upset Johnny Eduardo in his last fight. If Lopez can control the positions, he's dangerous, but I think Assuncao has a few too many weapons to see him getting upset in this one.

4. Andrei Arlovski (+317) vs. Junior Albini (-392)
This is just two large men who are going to slug it out. Albini is the heavy favorite for good reason as he's been crushing fools since losing a couple fights by submission early in his fighting career. Arlovski has lost his last five fights, but he's put some scares in people during that time as he still has great power in his hands, but when heavyweights find his chin, he usually finds the floor. Arlovski has provided me loads of entertainment over the years, but win or lose, I'm kind of hoping he hangs it up after this one. Oh, and I'm expecting lose.

3. Joe Lauzon (-115) vs. Clay Guida (-105)
Neither of these guys are relevant for the title picture, but they are both high-paced fun fighters that have been around the UFC forever. I mean, Joe Lauzon debuted against Jens Pulver at UFC 63, and Clay Guida debuted the next month at UFC 64. I've been ready to give up on both of these guys as relevant fighters multiple times, but then they will bounce back and look great, making me look very stupid. Either way, this is going to be a high-paced, super fun fight. I'm taking Clay Guida, because I think he can control the fight with his wrestling, especially with him now training at Team Alpha Male. It's a close fight, but I figure I should give the edge to the person who was nice to me (Joe Lauzon has never interacted with me, for the record).

2. Dustin Poirier (+106) vs. Anthony Pettis (-126)
The main event of the evening only gets the second spot on my list. There is no doubt that these are two incredibly talented fighters who could be deserving of a title shot down the line. Dustin Poirier almost made a leap into title contention during his last fight, but it was cut short due to an illegal knee strike from Eddie Alvarez. Anthony Pettis has been on top of the mountain and now is trying to work his way back up. Pettis has looked more tentative in his last handful of fights, as he used to pair smooth striking with well-timed aggression, but now it's almost like he's waiting for the perfect time to strike instead of racking up points using good times to strike. Even with that, the only person to really outclass Pettis was Max Holloway who is making everyone look like a fool. I'm going to take Pettis by decision, but I don't feel great about it.

1. John Dodson (-125) vs. Marlon Moraes (+105)
Full disclosure: John Dodson once trained me in mixed martial arts, so I am incredibly biased for this fight. With that being said, I'm kind of in line with the betting odds on this one. I see it as a very close fight as I like Moraes a lot and thought he did enough to win in his UFC debut against Raphael Assuncao. But Dodson is really, really good. He has two losses to Demetrious Johnson, and he came out on the wrong end of a split decision against John Lineker, a fight that most people thought Dodson won, and a fight that Lineker did not make weight for. Moraes is good, but he's not Mighty Mouse good, and that's why I think Dodson takes it and immediately calls out TJ Dillashaw (who he knocked out in their UFC debuts) after the fight.

For a random fight night card, there is a lot to look forward to. And I didn't even have time to mention Matt Brown vs. Diego Sanchez, Nate Marquardt vs. Cezar Ferreira, and a Sage Northcutt fight. It's not the super fights of last weekend, but it's still going to be fun. As Steve Brule would say, "Check It Out."

UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson Predictions

So I'm going to the UFC on Fox card this coming Saturday. I am very pumped as it will not only be my first UFC card, it is also just a really stacked card. I know which fight I am most excited about, but there are like five fights that are close in being the second most exciting fight to watch.

I'll admit I didn't look that hard for odds on fights, but I found them for the main card. Two fights that are not on the main card are Ryan Bader vs. Vladimir Matyushenko and Clay Guida making his featherweight debut against Hatsu Hioki. I'm taking Bader and Guida in those fights, although I do feel that the Janitor is very underrated. I think Guida could be a real force at 145, because his lack of size at lightweight was probably his biggest issue. Also, Clay Guida is an awesome dude, and that slightly factors into my picks.

TJ Grant (-120) over Matt Wiman
I think TJ Grant will be too physical for Wiman. I think he will bully him in the clinch and be able to take him to the ground if he chooses to. I see it as a close fight, but I think Grant will win a decision.

Erik Koch (-150) over Ricardo Lamas
I think this is a real even matchup. Both of these guys are very tough featherweights, and it should be a fun stylistic match. Koch will want to keep the fight standing and strike, while Lamas is going to look to take him down. I think both guys will be successful at different points of the fight, but I see Koch keeping it standing enough to earn a decision over Lamas. Still, it should be a fun fight to watch.

Anthony Pettis (-120) over Donald Cerrone
Although Pettis was not impressive against Clay Guida or Jeremy Stephens, he looked like his old self when he decimated Joe Lauzon. He has had a year off due to injuries, so it is tough to say if he can pick up where he left off, but I really believe he can. Cerrone is one of the toughest guys in the UFC, so I really hate to pick against him. Still, the matchups that will cause Pettis problems are wrestlers, and Cerrone will stand up with him and trade shots. I think Pettis will get the better of more exchanges to earn the victory.

Glover Teixeira (-300) over Quinton Jackson
In these other fights, I really hate picking against either of the guys in the fight. In this fight, I would like to pick against both of these guys. Teixeira hasn't lost in nearly eight years. That's insane, but he also hasn't fought the best competition, so I still think it is hard to say that this guy is one of the best light heavyweights in the world. On the other hand, Rampage hasn't been the same guy in a while. I feel like most fighters have progressed past him, where he is just trying to maintain his old level of skill as opposed to striving for improvement. He's said this will be his last fight in the UFC, and he just doesn't seem like a guy who wants it as bad as he used to. Hopefully he can move past fighting and live a life, because I have a feeling that a lot of his contemporaries are going to run into some mental health issues down the road. Teixeira by submission in the second round.

John Dodson (+175) over Demetrious Johnson
I am going to be up front about something. I was trained by John Dodson. He is an awesome guy, and the main reason I am going to this UFC card is to support him and hopefully watch him win the UFC Flyweight Championship. Obviously, it's tough for me to give an unbiased opinion on this fight, but the more I think about the fight, the more I believe that John Dodson will win. I'll admit that when I first heard the matchup, I thought that it would be a tough matchup for Dodson. As I have thought about it more, I think it's a tough matchup for both guys. I don't know if anybody is as fast as Demetrious Johnson. That dude is incredible. But Dodson is incredibly fast too. I think the speed advantage probably goes to Johnson since he is more active with his footwork. But power, without a doubt, goes to Dodson. All it takes is one shot with a guy like that, and he can end the fight. Johnson does a very good job of picking his shots with takedowns, but Dodson has very good defensive wrestling. On top of that, both guys come from very good training camps. Oh yeah, and neither of these guys have been finished.

So with all that information...well, shit, these guys are pretty damn evenly matched. I do see this match being won on the feet, so it's a matter of picking a preference of Johnson's speed versus Dodson's power. I just don't see Johnson being able to pop in, land shots, and pop out without taking some shots from Dodson. I'm going with John Dodson by TKO in the fourth round.

Even though I'm not sure what's going to happen in the fights, I am sure that it will be a hell of a night of fights, and I'm pumped for it.

WAR LITTLE JOHN.

The Ultimate Warrior Now Has Twitter

To say the timing of my following of the Ultimate Warrior was fortuitous is a gross understatement of how perfectly that I timed this. Right after I announced that I was following The Warrior, he not only started posting videos like they are going out of style, but he has started a Twitter account. And like all things Ultimate Warrior, it's fucking amazing.

He started out his Twitter feed in the least surprising manner...by talking shit to Hulk Hogan.

@UltimateWarrior The Ultimate Warrior

@HulkHogan4Real Karma is coming to collect Terry.

I really think that this was Ultimate Warrior's number one purpose for setting up a Twitter account. Hulk Hogan hasn't been acknowledging him as a threat, so he figured he'd let it be known that he is going to put a bullet in Hulkamania. But that's not all as he totally burned Hogan with another tweet.

@UltimateWarrior The Ultimate Warrior

@OfficialHTM Absolute BS! Good to hear from you man. Stay active, passionate and healthy!! Hogan has no spine, no pun intended!

I'll admit, it took me a while to understand the "no pun intended" part of this tweet. I finally realized he was referring to Hulk's numerous back surgeries. Personally, I feel like instead of going with "no pun intended" a better way to end that tweet would have been with a "Hogan has no spine, literally!" To each their own.

But then Warrior got really steamed. Hulk Hogan had the audacity to block people who were talking shit to him on Twitter, which is completely unreasonable in the land of the Warrior. Twitter alone was no longer enough for The Warrior, he decided to go back to his trusted friend, YouTube to create this:

I've watched this video about two dozen times. Each time I am absolutely mesmerized. I love that he calls it a social networking party, and uses that to challenge Hulk Hogan's former partying days. I love that he says that Hulk Hogan has a womanly handshake. And I love that he tells Hogan that he and his Warriors are going to bust down the wall of his (theoretical social networking party) house if he won't let them through the (theoretical) front door. He then gives an awesome diabolical laugh to end the video. It's all phenomenal.

How do you top that? For normal beings, they wouldn't be able to. For the Warrior, it's a piece of cake. Yesterday morning, he topped his amazing video when he greeted his Twitter followers with this message:

@UltimateWarrior The Ultimate Warrior

Morning, warriors. Yesterday is gone. Forever. Today, you rip fresh ass.

I wish I had something insightful to say, but it would only alter the perfection of that tweet.

-Joe

P.S. Macho Man may have tragically passed away, but he lives on in the Where's Randy Savage tumblr. This photo is amazing.

P.P.S. Here's a good article on Clay Guida who has a really interesting fight against Anthony Pettis tomorrow. The first four paragraphs gave me a good laugh, because I can vouch that John Dodson has been doing ridiculous moves like that before Pettis ever did it in his match against Ben Henderson.