Live from the Pepsi Center in Denver Colorado its UFC 135. The youngest UFC Champion in history Jon “Bones” Jones will defend his title for the very first time when he takes on future Hall of Famer Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. It’s been less then four years since Jones stepped foot inside his first mma gym. After finishing his first three professional fights in the month of April alone and three more by the beginning of July the UFC would come calling. Taking his first UFC bout on two weeks notice which would be the first time Jones would see the Judges scorecards but all three Judges gave the fight to Jones, following that up with another unanimous decision win over the always game Stephan Bonnar. But then like a switch going off so did Jones destroying his next six opponents including the only loss on his record a disqualification to Matt Hamill that was the result of bad refereeing and this past March one of the best Light Heavyweights in the world Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to capture the UFC title. It’s amazing how far Jones has come in a short period of time and he will be considered the best pound for pound fighter on the planet one day most likely sooner then later.
Fighting out the blue corner Quinton “Rampage” Jackson with big slams and heavy hands he’ll always have a chance to win. That being said it will be a miracle if Jackson defeats Jones or like winning the lottery what ever the metaphor you would like to use. I’m predicting Jon “Bones” Jones takes Jackson down and finishes him off via elbow strikes in the very first round.
Coming off losses and long layoffs former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes takes on Josh Koscheck. Losing his last bout to Bj Penn in twenty-one seconds last November Hughes is on the verge retirement with nothing left to prove he took a fight against Diego Sanchez most likely thinking he could defeat Sanchez and end his career on a win. However plans would change when Sanchez pulled out of the fight due to a broken hand. Enter big mouth Josh Koscheck calling out Hughes for the same reason Koscheck believes Hughes will be an easy fight for him to return after a broken orbital bone at the hands of UFC Champion Georges St. Pierre last December. This will be a battle of wrestling skills at it’s best the fighter that can take they other down will win this fight. I‘m predicting that fighter will be Josh Koscheck defeating Matt Hughes via unanimous decision.
Two big Heavyweights will collide this Saturday when Travis Browne takes on Rob Broughton. With only one fight under his belt in the UFC it’s tough to gage Broughton skills with an average record of 15-5-1 he seems to have a decent ground game for a fighter from England that’s promising as we know they for the most part they have good stand up and below average ground skills. Standing 6’7 weighting 250lbs Travis Browne it will be difficult for a man too handle knocking out the very tough Stefan Struve with a superman punch this past May. I’m predicting Travis Browne knocks out Rob Broughton in the second round and earns himself the Knock Out of the Night Award.
Returning to the Lightweight division after being tossed around at UFC 129 in Toronto by Rory MacDonald this past April Nate Diaz will take on the very tough Takanori Gomi. This is a tough fight to predict as Diaz has lost two fights in a row and can’t afford to lose a third. Also coming off a loss Gomi needs this victory and if he can keep this fight standing it’s his to win. Always wanting to stand and bang Diaz should try to take this fight to the ground right from the word go but he won’t. I’m predicting Takanori Gomi pounds Nate Diaz on his way to a unanimous decision victory.