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“Diamond†David Kaplan (2-2-0) vs. George Roop (8-4-0)
David Kaplan will be entering this fight on a two fight losing streak, which includes a loss to Junie Browning at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale. Prior to the two fight losing streak, David Kaplan defeated Steve Headden and Rich Swawola to start off his MMA career undefeated. The only other loss in the career of David Kaplan came to Cristiano Marcello at Fury FC 2: Final Combat in 2006. David Kaplan will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with all of his prior victories coming by knockout. George Roop made his UFC debut at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale, where he lost to Shane Nelson by split decision. George Roop is a longtime veteran of the Rage In The Cage promotion, where nine of his twelve career fights occurred in. While in the Rage In The Cage promotion, George Roop defeated Strikeforce veteran Tito Jones by unanimous decision. George Roop will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with four victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: George Roop
UFC Welterweight Division Fight
Yoshiyuki “Zenko†Yoshida (10-3-0) vs. Brandon Wolff (7-3-0)
Yoshiyuki Yoshida made his UFC debut at UFC 84: Ill Will by defeating War Machine via submission with an anaconda choke. In his next appearance at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 16, Yoshiyuki Yoshida lost to Josh Koscheck in the evenings main event by knockout. Before coming to the UFC, Yoshiyuki Yoshida fought overseas in the Greatest Common Multiple and Shooto promotions, where he holds a victory over top rated welterweight fighter Dan Hardy. Yoshiyuki Yoshida will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with six victories coming by knockout. Brandon Wolff made his UFC debut at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 16 in a losing effort to Ben Saunders by knockout. Before coming to the UFC last year, Brandon Wolff defeated UFC veteran Chad Reiner by split decision. Besides competing in the UFC, Brandon Wolff fought in promotions like Super Brawl, World Extreme Cagefighting and Elite XC. Brandon Wolff will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with three wins coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Yoshiyuki Yoshida
UFC Light Heavyweight Division Fight
“The Polish Experiment†Krzysztof Soszynski (17-8-1) vs. Andre Gusmao (5-1-0)
Krzysztof Soszynski came to the UFC after a run on the UFC Ultimate Fighter 8 and has defeated Shane Primm and Brian Stann thus far in the UFC. Krzysztof Soszynski was also a veteran in the now defunct International Fight League, where he defeated Tom Howard, Devin Cole and Dan Christinson, while suffering losses to Ben Rothwell, Mike Whitehead and Reese Andy. Also, before coming to the UFC, Krzysztof Soszynski fought UFC and WEC veterans Marcus Hicks, Mike Kyle and Matt Horwich. Krzysztof Soszynski will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with nine previous victories coming by way of submission. Andre Gusmao made his UFC debut at UFC 87: Seek & Destroy, losing to Jon Jones by unanimous decision. Before making his way to the UFC, Andre Gusmao went undefeated in the International Fight League, with victories over Mike Ciesnolevicz, Brent Beauparlant and Wojtek Kaszowski. Prior to the loss to Jon Jones at UFC 87, Andre Gusmao was on a five fight undefeated streak that lasted over a year. Andre Gusmao will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with three victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Krzysztof Soszynski
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
“The Filipino Assassin†Phillipe Nover (5-1-1) vs. Kyle Bradley (13-6-0)
Phillipe Nover made it to the finals of the UFC Ultimate Fighter 8, losing to Effrain Escudero by unanimous decision. Before making it to the UFC, Phillipe Nover primarily fought in the Ring Of Combat promotion, where he defeated Michael McQuade, Dave Drago, Abner Lloveras and Jay Coleman. The loss to Effrain Escudero at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale ended a five fight undefeated streak that lasted over four years. Phillipe Nover will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with three previous victories coming by way of submission. Kyle Bradley has fought twice before in the UFC, losing to Chris Lytle at UFC 81: Breaking Point and to Joe Lauzon at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 15. Before making his two UFC appearances, Kyle Bradley fought top MMA names like Melvin Guillard and Jamie Varner. The loss to Chris Lytle at UFC 81 snapped a seven fight winning streak for Kyle Bradley that lasted over a year. Kyle Bradley will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with eight prior victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Effrain Escudero
UFC Heavyweight Division Fight
Pat “HD†Barry (4-0-0) vs. Tim “The Thrashing Machine†Hague (9-1-0)
Pat Barry is an undefeated fighter who made his UFC debut at UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008, where he defeated Dan Evenson by TKO. Prior to making his UFC debut at UFC 92, Pat Barry fought all three of his previous fights in the Combat USA promotion. While in the Combat USA promotion, Pat Barry defeated Mike Delaney, John George and Simon Diouf in his three fights there. Pat Barry will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with all of his prior wins coming by knockout. Tim Hague will be making his UFC debut in this fight, but he is a longtime veteran of the King Of The Cage promotion. While in the King Of The Cage promotion, Tim Hague defeated UFC veteran Sherman Pendergarst by TKO. Prior to suffering a loss to Miodrag Petkovic in early 2008, Tim Hague was on a five fight undefeated streak and is currently riding a four fight winning streak into this fight. Tim Hague will be looking to use his striking skills to gain a victory, with five victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Pat Barry
UFC Welterweight Division Fight
Brock Larson (25-2-0) vs. Chris “The Professor†Wilson (14-5-0)
Brock Larson is a longtime veteran of MMA and returned to the UFC after a two year long absence by defeating Jesse Sanders at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 18. During his initial run in the UFC, Brock Larson defeated Keita Nakamura and suffered a loss to Jon Fitch. Brock Larson is also a longtime veteran of the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, where he defeated Erik Apple, Kevin Knabjian, John Alessio and Carlo Prater, while suffering a loss to Carlos Condit in his only WEC defeat. Brock Larson will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with seventeen victories coming by submission. Chris Wilson is a veteran of UFC competition, with a victory over Steve Bruno, with losses coming to Jon Fitch and John Howard. Prior to coming to the UFC, Chris Wilson fought top MMA names like Nick Thompson, Brad Blackburn, Jay Hieron, Rory Markham and Derrick Noble. The last four fights in Chris Wilson’s MMA career have all ended by decision, with his last non-decision fight coming in August 2007. Chris Wilson is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with eleven victories coming by submission and knockout.
My Prediction: Brock Larson
(Note: I will be doing live coverage of UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida on Saturday May 23rd at 10pm. EST. right here on PWInsiderXtra.com)
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
