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UFC Welterweight Division Fight
Matt “No Regard” Arroyo (3-2-0) vs. Dan Cramer (2-0-0)
Most fans will remember Matt Arroyo as a cast member on the UFC Ultimate Fighter 6, which was eventually won by Mac Danzig. Matt Arroyo has fought twice before in the UFC, losing to Matt Brown at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale and defeating John Kolosci at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale. Matt Arroyo is also a veteran of the Reality Fighting Championships promotion, where he has fought both Matt Brown and Reggie Pena. Matt Arroyo will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with all three career victories coming by submission. Most fans will remember Dan Cramer as a cast member of the UFC Ultimate Fighter 7, which was won by Amir Sadollah. Despite competing on the reality program, this fight will mark Dan Cramer’s official UFC debut outside of the reality show. Dan Cramer is a veteran of the Full Force Productions promotion, where he defeated John Cannata and Matt Burke. Dan Cramer will look to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with one victory coming by way of knockout.
My Prediction: Dan Cramer
UFC Light Heavyweight Division Fight
“Irish” Jake O’Brien (10-2-0) vs. “The Hungarian Nightmare” Christian Wellisch (8-4-0)
Jake O’Brien started off his UFC run in impressive fashion with three straight victories in the UFC over Kristof Midoux, Josh Shockman and Heath Herring. Jake O’Brien then started to slip in the UFC after suffering losses to Andrei Arlovski and Cain Velasquez, the two losses forced Jake O’Brien to move from the UFC Heavyweight Division down to the UFC Light Heavyweight Division. Jake O’Brien also fought in the UFC sister promotion, World Extreme Cagefighting, where he defeated Jay White. Jake O’Brien will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with eight victories coming by knockout. Christian Wellisch is competing in a pivotal fight in his UFC career, as he has already achieved two UFC victories over Anthony Perosh and Scott Junk, while suffering losses in the UFC to Cheick Kongo and Shane Carwin. In an ironic twist, Christian Wellisch also fought once in World Extreme Cagefighting, defeating Jay White, whom Jake O’Brien also fought in the WEC. Christian Wellisch is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with seven victories coming by knockout or submission.
My Prediction: Jake O’Brien
UFC Welterweight Division Fight
Chris “The Professor” Wilson (14-4-0) vs. John “Doomsday” Howard (10-4-0)
Chris Wilson is a veteran of the UFC and the now deceased International Fight League and is currently on a one fight winning streak. In the UFC, Chris Wilson suffered a defeat to Jon Fitch at UFC 82, then achieved a victory over Steve Bruno at UFC 87. During his time in the International Fight League, Chris Wilson defeated Rory Markham and Jay Hieron, while suffering a loss to Brad Blackburn. Chris Wilson is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with eleven victories coming by knockout or submission. John Howard will be making his UFC debut in this fight, but he is a veteran of the International Fight League, where he defeated Nick Calandrino. John Howard is also a veteran of the Ring Of Combat and Combat Zone promotions, where he fought UFC veteran Dan Miller. John Howard is currently riding a three fight winning streak, with his last loss coming in November of 2007. John Howard will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with six victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Chris Wilson
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
Manny “Pitbull” Gamburyan (8-3-0) vs. Thiago Tavares (13-3-0)
Manny Gamburyan was a finalist on the UFC Ultimate Fighter 5, where he lost to Nate Diaz in the series finale after suffering a shoulder injury. Manny Gamburyan rebounded from the loss by defeating Nate Mohr at UFC 79 and Jeff Cox at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 13, before suffering a loss to Rob Emerson at UFC 87. Prior to coming to the UFC, Manny Gamburyan fought top MMA fighters like Jorge Santiago, Sam Morgan and Sean Sherk. Manny Gamburyan will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with five career victories coming by submission. Thiago Tavares is competing in a pivotal fight in his UFC career, with UFC victories over Jason Black, Naoyuki Kotani and Michihiro Omigawa, while suffering losses in the UFC to Tyson Griffin, Matt Wiman and Kurt Pellegrino. Thiago Tavares started off his professional MMA career in impressive fashion with a twelve fight win streak, but has only won one of his last four professional MMA fights. Thiago Tavares will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with ten career victories coming by submission.
My Prediction: Thiago Tavares
UFC Welterweight Division Fight
Jon Fitch (17-3-0) vs. Akihiro Gono (29-13-7)
Jon Fitch started off his UFC run in a truly spectacular fashion with victories over Brock Larson, Josh Burkman, Thiago Alves, Kuniyoshi Hironaka, Luigi Fioravanti, Roan Carneiro, Diego Sanchez and Chris Wilson. The fairy tale run came to an end at UFC 87, when Jon Fitch lost to current UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre, which was his first loss in six years. Prior to competing in the UFC, Jon Fitch took on other top MMA fighters like Mike Pyle, Wilson Gouveia, Solomon Hutcherson, Kyle Jensen, Shonie Carter and Jeff Joslin. Jon Fitch is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with nine victories coming by knockout and submission. Akihiro Gono is a well traveled MMA veteran who has fought in top promotions like the UFC, PRIDE, Pancrase and Shooto. Thus far in his UFC run, Akihiro Gono has defeated Tamdan McCrory and suffered a loss to Dan Hardy. Besides his UFC opponents, Akihiro Gono has fought the likes of Matt Hughes, Ivan Salaverry, Murilo Rua, Yuki Kondo, Chael Sonnen, Mauricio Rua, Tim McKenzie, Dan Henderson and Dennis Kang. Akihiro Gono is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with fourteen victories coming by knockout or submission.
My Prediction: Jon Fitch
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
