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Amir Sadollah (2-1-0) vs. “Bad†Brad Blackburn (15-9-1)
Amir Sadollah has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating CB Dollaway and Phil Baroni, while suffering a lone defeat to Johny Hendricks. Amir Sadollah entered the UFC in mid-2008 after defeating CB Dollaway to win the UFC Ultimate Fighter 7. Of his three professional MMA fights, only one has gone past the first round for Amir Sadollah, which speaks to his finishing abilities. Amir Sadollah joins a select list of UFC competitors that has fought every fight of his MMA career in the UFC. It has been less than two months since Amir Sadollah last had a UFC fight, so conditioning could become a factor in the fight. Amir Sadollah will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with a lone victory coming by way of submission. Brad Blackburn has gone undefeated in UFC competition, defeating James Giboo, Ryo Chonnan and Edgar Garcia. Brad Blackburn was also a veteran of the International Fight League, where he defeated Gustavo Muchado, Chris Wilson, Jay Hieron and Delson Heleno, while suffering defeats to Rory Markham and Mark Miller. Prior to entering the UFC in 2008, Brad Blackburn had fought former UFC star Roger Huerta at a International Fighting Championship event. Brad Blackburn will be entering the fight riding a four fight winning streak that has lasted nearly two years. Brad Blackburn will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with eight victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Brad Blackburn
UFC Middleweight Division Fight
Tom “The Filthy Mauler†Lawler (6-1-0) vs. Aaron “A-Train†Simpson (6-0-0)
Tom Lawlor is currently undefeated in UFC competition, having achieved victories over both CB Dollaway and Kyle Kingsbury. The only loss suffered by Tom Lawlor in his MMA career came to UFC veteran Shane Primm in March 2008. Tom Lawlor is a veteran of both the World Fighting Championships and Full Force Productions promotions, where he defeated Jason Barlog, Caser Barros and Travis Bartlett, while suffering a lone defeat to Shane Primm. Tom Lawlor will be entering the fight riding a three fight winning streak that has lasted nearly two years. Tom Lawlor is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with five victories coming by knockout and submission. Aaron Simpson is an undefeated fighter who has defeated both Ed Herman and Tim McKenzie in UFC competition. Aaron Simpson also spent some time in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, where he defeated David Avellan. Of his six professional MMA fights, none have gone to a decision for Aaron Simpson, which speaks to his finishing abilities. Aaron Simpson will be entering the fight riding a six fight undefeated streak that has lasted well over two years. Aaron Simpson will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with all of his victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Aaron Simpson
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
Efrain Escudero (12-0-0) vs. Evan Dunham (9-0-0)
Efrain Escudero is an undefeated fighter who has already defeated both Phillipe Nover and Cole Miller in UFC competition. Efrain Escudero entered the UFC in 2008 after defeating Efrain Escudero in the UFC Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale. Efrain Escudero is a longtime veteran of the Rage In The Cage promotion, where he defeated Chris Collado, Joe Cronin, Mike Smith, Nic Stone, Jose Rodriquez, Peter Newsheller and Eric Regan. Efrain Escudero fought more than half of his MMA career fights in the year 2007, where seven of his twelve MMA fights occurred in. Efrain Escudero also is part of UFC history, as he was in the headlining fight of the first ever UFC preliminary fights that aired on Spike TV. Efrain Escudero will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with nine victories coming by way of submission. Evan Dunham is an undefeated fighter who has already defeated both Per Eklund and Marcus Aurelio in UFC competition. Evan Dunham is also a veteran of the Rise Fighting Championships promotion, where he defeated Nassor Lewis and Eben Kaneshiro. Evan Dunham also spent a little time in the Palace Fighting Championships promotion, where he defeated Dustin Akbari. Evan Dunham will be entering the fight riding a nine fight undefeated streak, which has currently lasted nearly three years. Like Efrain Escudero, Evan Dunham had fought the majority of his MMA fights in 2007, with five fights occurring that year. Evan Dunham will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with five victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Efrain Escudero
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
Gray “The Bully†Maynard (8-0-0) vs. Nate Diaz (11-4-0)
Gray Maynard is an undefeated fighter who has already defeated Joe Veres, Dennis Siver, Frankie Edgar, Rich Clementi, Jim Miller and Roger Huerta in UFC competition. Gray Maynard started off his UFC career in an auspicious fashion, when he fought Robert Emerson to a no contest after both men where knocked out after a takedown gone wrong. It has been nearly three years since Gray Maynard has competed outside of the UFC, with his last non-UFC fight coming in the World Extreme Fighting promotion. Gray Maynard will be entering the fight riding an eight fight undefeated streak that has currently lasted over three years. Gray Maynard is a fighter known for taking fights the distance, with six victories coming by way of decision. Nate Diaz has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Manny Gamburyan, Junior Assuncao, Alvin Robinson, Kurt Pellegrino, Josh Neer and Melvin Guillard, while suffering defeats to Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson. Nate Diaz has also spent time in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, where he defeated Alex Garcia, Gilbert Rael and John Hurley, while suffering a defeat to Hermes Franca. Nate Diaz has also fought once in the Strikeforce promotion, where he defeated Tony Juares by TKO in the opening round. It has been less than three months since Nate Diaz last had an MMA fight, so conditioning could be a factor in the fight. Nate Diaz will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with eight victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Gray Maynard
(Note: I will be providing live coverage of UFC Ultimate Fight Night 20 right here on PWInsiderXtra on Monday January 11th at 9pm EST.)
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
