I hate the Video Game Awards. If you haven't heard yet, Spike can't show any UFC 107 prelim fights because of its obligations to air the highly-anticipated 2009 Video Game Awards. I'm a little bitter, yes.
The good news is this isn't the strongest preliminary card in the world, so perhaps we're not missing much, though it does feature some fighters worth keeping an eye on such as Alan Belcher and Johny Hendricks.
Here are my picks:
Kevin Burns (8-3) vs. TJ Grant (14-3)
Burns seems to prefer the stand up game, as seen in his two striking wars with Anthony Johnson. Grant, on the other hand, is a more versatile grappler with some solid wrestling that he displayed in his unanimous decision loss to undefeated Don Hyun Kim. Grant is better overall and should ride his grappling edge to an easy decision.
The pick: Grant
DaMarques Johnson (9-7) vs. Edgar Garcia (7-1)
I can't figure Johnson out. He was USA's golden boy on The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 but was manhandled by James Wilks at the finale in July. Yet he beat the Brit's Nick Osipczak, albeit in a sloppy slugfest, who impressed me with his win over Matt Riddle at UFC 105. Despite his mediocre record, Johnson's aggression and willingness to slug should give problems to Garcia, who was super hesitant in his UFC debut loss to Brad Blackburn back in July.
The pick: Johnson
Rousimar Palhares (9-2) vs. Lucio Linhares (13-4)
Ironically, Linhares has most recently been fighting for M-1 Global, Dana White's favorite company in the whole world, and he has a loss on his record to Thales Leites, who the UFC cast off to Canada. The BJJ-focused Linhares is riding a five-fight win streak while Palhares, also a submissions expert, hasn't fought in nearly a year and that was against a past-his-prime Jeremy Horn. I give the edge to Linares simply because he should be a tad sharper.
The pick: Linhares
Johny Hendricks (6-0) vs. Ricardo Funch (7-0)
Hendricks barely broke a sweat in his knockout win over Amir Soddollah at UFC 101 and now he meets the newcomer Funch, a Brazilian who is somewhat of a mystery given the lack of video on him. Hendricks himself said he only found one clip of Funch on Youtube while prepping for the bout. Both are unbeaten but Hendricks has the better pedigree as a national-champion wrestler and I really don't expect Funch to match that level of grappling.
The pick: Hendricks
Matt Wiman (10-5) vs. Shane Nelson (13-5)
If BJ Penn is fighting on a card, Shane Nelson is not far behind. I really have not been impressed by the Hawaiian Nelson from his stint on The Ultimate Fighter to his most recent loss to Aaron Riley at UFC 101. Wiman isn't going to light-up the lightweight division anytime soon, either, but he seems to have more heart (and power) when he fights, so I'm going with the Handsome one by knockout.
The pick: Wiman
Alan Belcher (13-5) vs. Wilson Gouveia (12-6)
Belcher put on a striking display against Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 100 but gave up one too many takedowns and fell to a close decision. Gouveia hasn't fought since being dismantled by Nate Marquardt in January. Belcher is also closer to home being from Mississippi and I see this being a stand-up battle that should play into his strengths. This is Belcher's fight to lose.
The pick: Belcher
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