I'm extra excited about this card because it features two of my favorite fighters in Anderson Silva and Diego Sanchez. I'm only giving my predictions for the main card and a couple preliminary fights, because I don't care about the other fights at all. So as Mike Goldberg likes to say, "here we go..."
Gray Maynard vs. Rich Clementi
This is an interesting matchup in my opinion. Maynard is coming off a win over Frankie Edgar, where he used his considerable size and strength advantage to keep Edgar at bay.
He was never in danger of being finished, because as we all know, Edgar can't finish a fight. Clementi is a different story, with double-digit victories via KO/TKO as well as submission. I look for this fight to go a lot like Maynard's fight against Nate Diaz on TUF Five. Maynard will punish Clementi early, but get caught late.
Rich Clementi def. Gray Maynard via 3rd round submission
Hermes Franca vs. Marcus Aurelio
I wish this was televised because it should be an entertaining fight. Franca is a jiu-jitsu whiz who always takes the fight to the ground. However, given Aurelio's equally impressive jiu-jitsu game, it'll be interesting to see what happens.
At any rate, I expect this fight to resemble a BJJ match with both men attempting and escaping submission after submission. I'm picking Aurelio to win, based solely on the fact that he has a win over Gomi. That's somewhat irrelevant, but, hey.
Marcus Aurelio def. Hermes Franca via unanimous decision
Sean Sherk vs. Tyson Griffin
I somehow hope that these two morons knock each other out, since I can't stand either fighter. That's highly unlikely, however, since neither of these guys can box. Anyway, Sherk is looking to get back on the winning track after an embarassing loss to BJ Penn at UFC 84.
Griffin is coming off a win over the aforementioned Marcus Aurelio at UFC 86. Both these guys are lay and pray artists, and this fight should come down to whoever can take the other guy down, and lay on him the longest. I'm picking Sherk to pull out the victory, delaying Griffin's hope for a title shot.
Sean Sherk def. Tyson Griffin via split decision
Fabricio Werdum vs. Junior Dos Santos
This is Junior Dos Santos' first fight with the UFC, and it seems to me that he was handpicked as an easy win for Werdum until the Mir/Nogueira/Lesnar/Couture tournament is settled. Unless Santos debuts a la Houston Alexander, I don't see him beating a fighter the caliber of Werdum.
Fabricio Werdum def. Junior Dos Santos via 1st round TKO
Thales Leites vs. Goran Reljic
I've watched every Thales Leites fight since he's been with the UFC, and despite his 13-1 record (4-1 UFC), he's just not a guy who impresses me. The only legitimate win he has is over Nate Marquardt at UFC 85, but Marquardt more or less beat himself that night.
Reljic is coming down to 185 from 205 after defeating Wilson Gouveia at UFC 84, and has finished 7 of his last 8 opponents. I think it's unlikely he'll finish Leites, but I expect him to win convincingly.
Goran Reljic def. Thales Leites via unanimous decision
Diego Sanchez vs. Thiago Alves
This has "Fight of the Year" written all over it. Diego showed improved standup in his win over Luigi Fioravanti, but I doubt he'll stand with Alves, as Alves is arguably the best striker in the UFC not named Silva. Alves is also a BJJ black belt, but the fact that he was submitted by Spencer Fisher, and that he has no submission victories makes me question his grappling skills.
I may be a little biased, but I believe that Diego is the second best welterweight in the world behind GSP. Alves' TKO of Karo Parisyan at UFN 13 doesn't impress me so much. Not only was it was a questionable stoppage, but Denver's altitude seemed to have a weird effect on everyone who fought that night.
I'm even less impressed by Alves' most recent victory over Matt Hughes. Hughes is on the downside of his career, and Alves weighed in at 174. I believe we'll see vintage Diego Sanchez at UFC 90. It should be a fast, back and forth battle, but I expect Diego to come out on top and move that much closer to a shot at GSP/Penn.
Diego Sanchez def. Thiago Alves via split decision
Anderson Silva vs. Patick Cote
Cote has made some interesting comments leading up to this fight, saying that it'll take 10 punches from Silva to knock him out, whereas he can knock Silva out with just one. I believe James Irvin also said something to that effect, and we know how that turned out.
Anyway, I'm not even giving Cote a puncher's chance in this one. Yes, he's on a five fight winning streak, but Silva is a different fighter than anyone Cote has seen thus far. That pretty much goes without saying. I don't expect this fight to go more than a few minutes, but the ending should be spectacular.
Anderson Silva def. Patrick Cote via 1st round KO
Well, those are my predictions for UFC 90. Agree or disagree, any comments are welcome.
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about 1 month ago
I think Alves will beat Sanchez. I've never been a fan of Alves, but he was a different fighter against Matt Hughes than I'd seen before. If that version of Thiago Alves shows up, the Nightmare is going to be in for a rough night.
Outside of that fight, I agree with every one of your picks. It always makes me laugh when people claim they will beat Silva, because Rich Franklin said the same thing, twice, before getting murdered by Silva. James Irvin was even worse, because he talked a lot of trash. I get it, you have to talk trash to build up the fight. Nobody wants to see two friends fight each other, they want to see bad blood even if the bad blood isn't entirely real. The Ultimate Fighter with Rampage and Forrest ended up being lame because both guys liked each other, and that hurt the drawing power of their fight to a great degree.
But Irvin made all these claims, and then Silva caught his kick, dropped him with one nasty jab that opened up a giant gash under his eye, and then finished him. Cote may be able to take a punch, but Silva is the most accurate striker in MMA today, and I think he's going to overwhelm Cote quickly and finish him in the first round.
from about 1 month ago
I'd have to agree with Alves over Sanchez. I think Alves is a pretty scary dude at 170 (if he can make 170). While Matt Hughes may be on the "downside of his career", Alves is the only guy Hughes has lost to since 2001 who wasn't named George St. Pierre or B.J. Penn. That's pretty exclusive company.
about 1 month ago
Alves isn't at all, in a reasonable conversation, arguably the best striker in the UFC not named Silva.......but I do agree that Sanchez will win.....and I'm going Diego via unan. decision instead of split!
All in all not a bad article!
from about 1 month ago
Alves is without a doubt the best striker at 170, and among the best in the UFC in all divisions. Anderson Silva is #1, and I'd rank Alves up there with Wanderlei, Rampage, and Shogun. I hope Diego takes it to him though.
about 1 month ago
Great article but I do disagree on Tyson Griffen being the type to lay and pray. All of his fights are extremely techincal and he does not finish I will give you that. There is constant action though and to watch the fluidity of him and his opponants sink and escape submission after submission is very fun to watch. Sorry to disagree, but otherwise great article. I cant stand Sherk by the way, that part we definitely agree on. I also see Diego taking Alves as well.
from about 1 month ago
That's a good point about Griffin. I did enjoy his fights with Frankie Edgar and Clay Guida, and I suppose his style isn't lay and pray, per se. He definitely has talent, but I don't like him as a fighter because I like to see fighters end fights. I'm rooting for him against Sherk though, because I hate Sherk. It's nearly impossible to define the level of suck that is Sean Sherk.
from about 1 month ago
I totally agree about Sherk. He has had his days in the sun but in the end....not my style. It brought me great pleasure to watch Mr Penn dismantle him with such ease. He made him look horrible and that was worth every penny of the pay per view. Thanks for commenting back on Griffen. I think it bothers him as much as you and I from what he says. He has been focusing heavily on striking hoping to knock someone out. I will say this, he is the only one to stop much less beat Faber. That is a strong point for him. Overall though Im a fan of finished fights as well. I hate watching jugdes with vague boundaries tell me who won a fight when I know damn well on my own scale who won. It gets frustrating. Great take on the card though thanks man. I had forgotten about the Werdum fight. Too bad hes being pushed to the way side so the UFC can shoot an amatuer to the top while Werdum has to wait. As for Diego he seemed to lose focus when he started dating that hot little blonde ring girl. That was about three fights ago and he seems to be back on track, hopefully he can give some nightmares to some more fighters and make his way up to GSP. Later bro.
about 1 month ago
I agree right down the line with your summations and predictions with the exception of the Silva/Cote fight which most consider a forgone conclusion. Your comment regarding Cote facing something he has never faced before in Silva, I believe neither man has faced anyone with this degree of high intelligence. Cote is a very intelligent fighter and intelligence should never, ever be under estimated. We will see in a few more days but my prediction is as follows... 1st round explosive and even. 2nd round Silva aggression will be his Achilles’ heel in this fight. Early 2nd round will go to the ground with Silva being knocked there and before the conclusion of the 2nd round Silva will sucumb to a rear naked choke.
about 1 month ago
To get to the second round Cote had better have a chin made of iron that is plated with really thick titanium, because Silva is going to find it and try to break it. 1st round, Silva by knock out or fight stoppage.
about 1 month ago
You may be right only time will tell. Silva is an absolute stud and he will be ready. I don't think that he thinks (Silva) he underestimates any fighter but, I have never seen Silva fight an intelligent fighter and there is the chink I think will be exploited.
Yes, I am counting on Cote having an iron jaw. An iron jaw comes from 75% conditioning i.e. cardio, 20% heart/desire and 5% genetics. As I write this I am recalling Silv's surgical striking and am second guessing myself just a bit :) I still want to see what he does with a very intelligent fighter who will avoid knees to the head (mark my word) and will throw hammers the entire first round.
from about 1 month ago
Franklin and Henderson are two of the more intelligent fighters in the sport, and Silva walked right through them. I don't see any way Cote can win this fight. Silva has never been knocked out, and he's just too good for Cote to be able to land clean shots on him. It's even more unlikely that Cote will submit him. Cote only has 3 submission victories in his career, and none of those were in the UFC. Silva is a BJJ black belt, and his ground game is far too good for him to be submitted by a guy who's essentially a boxer/wrestler. Remember, Travis Lutter and Jeremy Horn weren't even able to submit Silva.
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