Kingdom MMA: UFC 159 Main Card Predictions
by Tommy Strong @strong_tea and Jack Broadey @J3cK_b
On Saturday night we will finally be able to put an end to the legacy of UFC 151 as Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen meet in the octagon at UFC 159. The two have recently been coaches on the latest series of The Ultimate Fighter in which Kelvin Gastelum from Team Sonnen won the contract to the UFC.
A lot of people have got an opinion as to whether or not Chael deserves this title shot but the talking will end on Saturday night and we will find out who the better man is.
Below you will find the predictions from some of the guys at Kingdom MMA for the main card.
Jon Jones (17-1) LHW Champ vs Chael Sonnen (27-12-1) #9 MW
Tommy: I feel this match up was more to do with boosting the TUF series ratings than it was to do with the fight, one in which Chael shouldn't be anywhere near. But that's a different topic altogether.We all know Chael is the most entertaining fighter in the UFC and certainly has brought more hype to this fight. He may have won the battle of the TUF series, but it will be Jon Jones that wins the war!
Chael's wrestling is one of the best in the UFC, but Jones has shown he's very hard to take down with a 100% take down defence in all of his UFC fights. I find it impossible to find a way that Chael can win this fight. Even if Chael can get him to the ground, he's very vulnerable to submissions.
Prediction: Jones by TKO Round 2
Jack: I believe this could get more interesting than people think. Sonnen without doubt has the game to put Jones on his back. Although Rashad struggled to take there fight to the ground I believe Sonnen is the better wrestler. That being said Jones should work his way up and deal with Sonnen. Not as quickly or as easily as some think though.
Prediction: Jones by Submission Round 3
Michael Bisping (23-5) #4 MW vs Alan Belcher (18-7) #10 MW
Jack: I think this is a good fight for Bisping. Belcher is actually quite good everywhere and probably has the edge in jiu jitsu. For that advantage to come into play though he has to get Bisping down or rock him. I don't see either happening. Belcher doesn't deal well with pressure. Something Bisping happens to be excellent at with his gas tank.
I think we see the old Bisping pressure style here maybe looking for a clinch for some Knees.
Prediction: Bisping by TKO from Ground and Pound following knees in the clinch Round 3
Tommy: I feel this really is the last chance saloon for Bisping to get the title shot he probably deserves.
Belcher will prove a very stern test for him on Saturday night. Belcher has a brilliant ground game and that was shown against Palhares, that he can submit very good fighters. Though Bisping has proved time and time again he has one of the best take down defences, and showed against Sonnen he's difficult to take down and keep down.
Bisping has a lot to prove after his loss to Belfort and after a lot of trash talking I feel he's going to back up and stop Belcher for the first time in his career.
Prediction: Bisping by TKO Round 2
Roy Nelson (18-7) #6 HW vs Cheick Kongo (18-7-2)
Tommy: Not ashamed to admit it, but I'm a massive Roy Nelson fan. Since winning the Ultimate Fighter back in 2009, I've really taken to him. He has a granite chin, and power that can knock out any heavyweight fighter!
I don't think Kongo has the power to knockout 'Big Country' and would be wise to keep the fight at range and pick his way to victory. But at some point Roy will get close to him and land something heavy on Cheick and knock him out.
Prediction: Roy Nelson by KO Round 1
Jack: This fight to me should be easy to pick and see how it plays out. Of course we all know this is MMA and anything can happen though. I will keep this one brief. Both men hit hard. Only Nelson has a good chin. That points to one thing for me.
Prediction: Nelson by KO Round 2
Phil Davis (10-1-1) #8 LHW vs Vinny Magalhães (10-5-1)
Jack: This is classic wrestler vs grappler match up. What's the best weapon Wrestling or BJJ?
I'm a firm believer that a solid wrestling practitioner with some solid defensive BJJ should be able to shutdown the offensive BJJ side with good positioning and strikes. Although Vinny is a threat here I see Davis having enough know how to keep out of submissions.
Prediction: Davis by Decision
Tommy: Both fighters seem to have a dislike for each other after a war of words over twitter. Magalhaes is brilliant on the ground with 8 out his 10 wins coming from submission. Though getting a world class wrestler like Davis to the ground will be near on impossible. Giving Davis a huge advantage on their feet.
This is not really a fight I'm looking forward too and I find Davis one of the most boring fighters in the UFC, but he is a tough fighter to beat and will dictate where the fight goes. For this reason I can see Davis winning a UD.
Prediction: Davis by Unanimous Decision
Jim Miller (22-4) #4 LW vs Pat Healy (29-16)
Tommy: Jim Miller really impressed me in his fight of the night (year) win against Joe Lauzon back in December.
Pat Healy comes into the fight on a 6 fight win streak, and since moving down to lightweight he's looked a top contender, with only injuries to Gilbert Melendez costing him the opportunity to fight for the StrikeForce Lightweight belt.
This could have fight of the night written all over it. Both very tough and pressure fighters who come to fight. I think Miller has a more rounded game than Healy and will just edge this. Though I wouldn't be surprised at all if Pat Healy was to get a decision in a very close fight.
Prediction: Jim Miler by Split Decision
Jack: This fight really excites me and is my pick for fight of the night. Great fight to open the card with and it's a tough one. Healy is on a role of late coming in from Strikeforce. Miller is always tough whoever he's put in with. I see a lot of action on the mat and Miller should be able to control the majority of rounds.
Prediction: Miller by Decision
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