UFC 83 Picks
Matt Serra Vs. Georges St. Pierre
Matt Serra: Serra loves to pound on people with his heavy hands, but his real power is on the ground using his BJJ skills. Serra is an agressive fighter who does NOT back down.
Georges St. Pierre: GSP is a very well rounded fighter with excellent stand up skills, kickboxing ability, and a very good ground game. He loves to take his opponents head on with using THEIR fighting style against them.
Fight Analysis: In GSP style, I believe he will try to keep this fight standing. Why? Well, quite simply because that was how Matt Serra beat him the last time. Much like the Hughes fight, where GSP out-wrestled a champion wrestler, GSP will use his stand up to work over Matt Serra. Serra will start off with his heavy hands and, I think, will be a little frustrated at the elusiveness of GSP. However, he will eventually hit gold and while I know this is not a popular opinion, but...
Prediction: Matt Serra by TKO. Best guess - round 2.
Charles McCarthy Vs. Michael Bisping
Charles McCarthy: McCarthy is supposedly skilled at submissions and has strong stand up power. My opinion, he is a TUF reject who has no heart and skimpy ability.
Michael Bisping: Bisping has a good standup game and a lot of heart. Bisping has also beaten much better ground game fighters than Charles McCarthy
Fight Analysis: This is a relatively easy fight to predict, IMO. Bisping has a ton of heart (which McCarthy seems to lack). McCarthy's only chance in this fight would be to get Bisping to the ground and submit him, but this just isn't going to be a possibility. While McCarthy may get Bisping to the ground once or twice, it will not be for long. Bisping will take this fight in glorious fashion.
Prediction: Michael Bisping by TKO. Best guess - round 1.
Travis Lutter Vs. Rich Franklin
Travis Lutter: Lutter is, of course, a submission specialist with the emphasis on BJJ. Lutter is a better fighter than his recent record might show and his BJJ is his main strength.
Rich Franklin: Rich Franklin, former UFC middleweight champion, has one of the best striking skills in the division and, in general, is a very well-rounded fighter with excellent conditioning.
Fight Analysis: This, IMO, is another easy prediction. While Travis Lutter has an excellent ground game which he will certainly try to use against Franklin, it is nothing Rich hasn't seen many times over. He knows how to defend against it, but more importantly, he knows how to exploit it to his advantage. This is an easy call:
Prediction: Rich Franklin by TKO. Best guess - round 1.
Mark Bocek Vs. Mac Danzig
Mark Bocek: Bocek is an excellent grappler with strength and heart. His main fighting style is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu where is is relatively accomplished, but he has very good wrestling ability as well. He gives his all each fight and trains hard to win.
Mac Danzig: Danzig loves the stand up, but has the ability to defend against the ground game. He has a solid stand up fighting style with a very methodical/experienced/intellectual twist. He brings with him experience, dedication, and a lot of heart. If you haven't heard of Mac, that's because he has been fighting in other arenas and is well-accomplished.
Fight Analysis: This fight is much more difficult to call than most analysts are saying... Bocek has the ability to make Mac's life difficult in this fight. His ground game is superb and he has been training with an excellent team (Henderson's Team Quest) which should only make him that much better with the ground game. Mac Danzig, though, has seen a lot of fighting styles and knows very well how to play them all. Mac will keep this fight standing, for the most part, and never let Bocek get the better of him. It won't take long for Danzig to catch Bocek with his extremely accurate hands.
Prediction: Mac Danzig by TKO. Best guess - round 2.
Nate Quarry Vs. Kalib Starnes
Nate Quarry: Quarry, recently come back off a serious back injury, needs to make a point in this fight. He has to show that he isn't as sloppy as his last fight showed. Quary is a patient fighter who likes to use his hands to end a fight.
Kalib Starnes: Trains BJJ and wrestling mostly, but also works standup as well. Kalib is a natural talent with good ability to finish a fight.
Fight Analysis: Both Quarry and Kalib will keep this fight standing (even though it would likely be in Kalib's best interest to move the fight to the ground). While both have good stand up skills, Quarry is stronger and more precise with his striking ability. I don't see this fight moving to the ground even though both fighters have an excellent ground game. Since this fight will remain standing, Quarry will eventually get the shot he wants and that shot will end the fight.
Prediction: Nate Quarry by TKO. Best guess - round 2.
Rich Clementi Vs. Sam Stout
Rich Clementi: Clementi is a very well-rounded fighter, but excels on the ground with his submission game. He has a lot of heart and always trains hard.
Sam Stout: Sam Stout excels in the stand up game with excellent striking and a lot of power. Additionally, he can take a punch (as he proved in the Fisher fight)
Fight Analysis: This fight could really go either way. If Clementi gets Stout on the ground, it's over. Stout has (next to) no skills on the ground and Clementi is a master of submissions. However, if Stout can keep Clementi standing, he will eventually get the unanimous decision (I don't believe Clementi will get knocked out - he has too good of a chin). My bet is on Clementi getting Stout to the ground and making quick work of him... The fight will be:
Prediction: Rich Clementi by Submission. Best guess - round 1.
UFC 83 Betting Odds
The BetUS Lines (Odds) Available:
UFC 83 SERRA VS ST PIERRE 2
Matt Serra +350 Georges St Pierre -500
Travis Lutter +300 Rich Franklin -400
Nate Quarry -280 Kalib Starnes +200
Charles McCarthy +230 Michael Bisping -300
Mark Bocek +350 Mac Danzig -500
Jason Day +300 Alan Belcher -400
Ed Herman +160 Demian Maia -200
Rich Clementi +130 Sam Stout -160
Brad Morris +190 Cain Velasquez -240
Kuniyoshi Hironaka -220 Jonathan Goulet +175
Joe Doerksen +135 Jason MacDonald -165
Mark Bocek +300 Mac Danzig -500
Travis Lutter +210 Rich Franklin -320
Charles McCarthy +260 Michael Bisping -330
Nate Quarry -265 Kalib Starnes +205
Matt Serra +300 Georges St Pierre -500
Joe Doerksen +135 Jason MacDonald -165
Jason Day +300 Alan Belcher -450
Ed Herman +140 Demian Maia -180
Rich Clementi +120 Sam Stout -160
Brad Morris +200 Cain Velasquez -260
Kuniyoshi Hironaka -240 Jonathan Goulet +190
