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Alessio “Legionarius†Sakara (14-7-0) vs. James “The Sandman†Irvin (14-5-0)
Alessio Sakara has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Elvis Sinosic, Victor Valimaki, James Lee, Joe Vedepo and Thales Leitas, while suffering losses to Dean Lister, Drew McFedries, Houston Alexander and Chris Leben. Alessio Sakara made his UFC debut in auspicious fashion, fighting Ron Faircloth to a no contest after Alessio Sakara got kicked in the groin and couldn’t continue the fight. Prior to entering the UFC in late 2005, Alessio Sakara had fought UFC veteran Assuerio Silva at the Jungle Fight 3 event. In an interesting career note for Alessio Sakara, the recent victories over Joe Vedepo and Thales Leitas marked the first two fight winning streak in the fighters UFC run. Alessio Sakara will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with eight victories coming by knockout. James Irvin has had an interesting run in the UFC, with victories coming over Terry Martin, Hector Ramirez, Luis Cane and Houston Alexander, while suffering defeats to Mike Kyle, Stephan Bonnar, Thiago Silva and Anderson Silva. James Irvin also competed in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, defeating Jody Poff, Houssain Oushani and Doug Marshall, while suffering a lone defeat to Lodune Sincaid. James Irvin started off his career with an undefeated run in the Gladiator Challenge promotion, where he defeated Bo Cantrell, Allen Scoville, Pete Werve and Scott Smith. It has been nearly two years since James Irvin last had an MMA fight, so cage rust may become a factor in the fight. James Irvin will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with ten victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Alessio Sakara
UFC Heavyweight Division Fight
Cheick Kongo (14-6-1) vs. Paul “The Headhunter†Buentello (27-11-0)
Cheick Kongo has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Gilbert Aldana, Christian Wellisch, Assuerio Silva, Mirko Cro Cop, Dan Evensen, Mostapha Al-Turk and Antoni Hardonk, while suffering defeats to Carmelo Marrero, Heath Herring, Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir. Cheick Kongo also competed in the Rings Holland promotion, defeating Andre Tete, Dave Van Der Veen, Dave Vader, Joop Kasteel and Dave Dalgliesh, while suffering a defeat to Rodney Glunder. It has been nearly a year since Cheick Kongo last achieved an MMA victory, with his last win coming over Antoni Hardonk at UFC 97. In an interesting career note for Cheick Kongo, his recent losses to Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir marked the first two fight losing streak during his UFC run. Cheick Kongo will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with nine victories coming by knockout. Paul Buentello has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Justin Eilers, Kevin Jordan and Gilbert Aldana, while suffering defeats to Andrei Arlovski and Stefan Struve. Paul Buentello also competed in the Strikeforce promotion, defeating Tank Abbott, Ruben Villareal and Carter Williams, while suffering a defeat to Allistair Overeem. Paul Buentello also competed in the only two Affliction MMA events, defeating Gary Goodridge and Kirill Sidelnikov. Prior to entering the UFC in early 2005, Paul Buentello had already competed against UFC veterans Evan Tanner, Dan Severn, Gan McGee and Mike Kyle. In between his two separate UFC runs, Paul Buentello had only competed in two other MMA promotions, Strikeforce and Affliction MMA. Paul Buentello will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with seventeen victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Cheick Kongo
UFC Heavyweight Division Fight
Junior “Cigano†Dos Santos (10-1-0) vs. Gabriel “Napao†Gonzaga (11-4-0)
Junior Dos Santos is currently undefeated in UFC competition, defeating Fabricio Werdum, Stefan Struve, Mirko Cro Cop and Gilbert Yvel. Junior Dos Santos also competed in the Demo Fight, Mo Team League and Xtreme Fighting Championships promotions, where he defeated Jailson Silva Santos, Edson Silva, Joaquim Ferreira, Jair Goncalves and Geronimo Dos Santos, while suffering a lone loss to Joaquim Ferreira. Junior Dos Santos will be entering the fight riding a five fight winning streak, which has lasted nearly three years. Of his eleven professional MMA fights, none have ended by decision for Junior Dos Santos, which speaks to his finishing abilities. In an interesting career note for Junior Dos Santos, his UFC debut at UFC 90 in late 2008 marked the first MMA fight in North America. The only fighter to take Junior Dos Santos past the first round in his MMA career is Mirko Cro Cop, which occurred at UFC 103. Junior Dos Santos will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with seven victories coming by knockout. Gabriel Gonzaga has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Kevin Jordan, Fabiano Scherner, Carmelo Marrero, Mirko Cro Cop, Justin McCully, Josh Hendricks and Chris Tuchscherer, while suffering defeats to Randy Couture, Fabricio Werdum and Shane Carwin. Gabriel Gonzaga also competed in the Jungle Fight promotion, defeating Charlie Brown and suffering a defeat to Fabricio Werdum. Prior to entering the UFC in late 2005, Gabriel Gonzaga defeated UFC veteran Brandon Lee Hinkle at a Meca World Vale Tudo event. Gabriel Gonzaga was once the top contender to the UFC Heavyweight Title, losing his title shot to Randy Couture at UFC 74. Of his fifteen professional MMA fights, none have gone to a decision for Gabriel Gonzaga, which speaks to the fighters finishing abilities. Gabriel Gonzaga is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with all of his victories coming by knockout and submission.
My Prediction: Junior Dos Santos
UFC Light Heavyweight Division Fight
Brandon “The Truth†Vera (11-4-0) vs. Jon “Bones†Jones (9-1-0)
Brandon Vera has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Fabiano Scherner, Justin Eilers, Assuerio Silva, Frank Mir, Reese Andy, Michael Patt and Krzysztof Soszynski, while suffering defeats to Tim Sylvia, Fabricio Werdum, Keith Jardine and Randy Couture. Brandon Vera also had a short run in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, defeating Andre Mussi and Mike Whitehead. Brandon Vera started off his MMA career in impressive fashion, with an eight fight undefeated streak that lasted over four years. Along with opponent Jon Jones, Brandon Vera will be making UFC history by headlining the first live card to air on the Versus Network. Thus far in his UFC run, Brandon Vera has fought three former UFC Heavyweight Champions in Frank Mir, Tim Sylvia and Randy Couture. Brandon Vera will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with seven victories coming by knockout. Jon Jones has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Andre Gusmao, Stephan Bonnar and Jake O’Brien, while suffering a lone defeat to Matt Hamill. Jon Jones started off his MMA career in impressive fashion, with a nine fight undefeated streak that had lasted nearly two years. In an interesting career note for Jon Jones, who started off his MMA career by winning four fights in a single month, defeating Brad Bernard, Carlos Eduardo, Anthony Pina and Ryan Verrett. In his first year in professional MMA, the year 2008, Jon Jones fought in eight MMA fights and won all eight of them. Of his ten professional MMA fights, Jon Jones has only seen two of them go to a decision, which speaks to the fighters finishing abilities. Jon Jones will be looking to use his striking abilities to win the fight, with five victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Jon Jones
(Note: I will be providing live coverage of UFC On Versus 1 on Sunday Night March 21st at 9pm EST. on PWInsiderXtra.)
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
