UFC 121 predictions
Lesnar and Carwin square off
Autumn McDowell
Sports Writer
On Saturday, the heavyweight title will be on the line as Cain Velasquez looks to de-belt the current champ Brock Lesnar in UFC 121.
Although Lesnar is not what you would call a “fan favourite,” what with his crazy antics before and after his fights, the guy has been on an absolute tear since losing his first fight in the UFC.
Velasquez and Lesnar have quite a similar skill set which should lead to an interesting back and forth battle between these two heavyweights. Velasques is coming into this fight with a perfect 8-0-0 record, but will his 0 have to go?
Ironically, Lesnar’s last opponent, Shane Carwin also had an unblemished record before the fight, but Lesnar quickly changed that. Lesnar ended up pulling off a submission, which was quite surprising and opened up a lot of people’s eyes to see that Lesnar is not just a wrestling beast, but the guy actually has some skill. Granted, Carwin has next to zero Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training, but a win is a win, and finishing a fight is even better. Current challenger, Velasquez, is coming off of possibly the most impressive win of his career, which was over Antonio Rodrigo Nogeria, who he beat via KO/TKO in the very first round. I predict that Lesnar will retain the belt and consequently hand Velasquez his first loss in the octagon via second round TKO.
The co-main event on this card sees UFC newcomer Jake Shields take on Martin Kampman in a welterweight showdown. Shields has been quoted numerous times as saying that he could “beat GSP.” Though I think that there is no way in hell that he could beat St-Pierre, I am excited to finally see him step into the octagon. Shields is rated as being a perfectly well-rounded fighter in the three major areas of striking, takedowns, and submissions, while Kampman is rated as having a much greater submissions but also has striking and takedowns. Chances are fairly good that Kampman will be looking to get the fight down to the ground, while Sheilds will look to stand up and bang. However, what makes this fight extremely intriguing is that the winner will eventually take on St-Pierre for the belt. I predict that Shields will earn the title shot by laying and praying until he squeaks out a unanimous decision.
In yet another fight that is an almost guaranteed decision, a former coach and student will square off. Back on The Ultimate Fighter 3, Matt Hamill was a contestant and Tito Ortiz was his coach. Now the two will face off in a light-heavyweight bout as both try desperately to climb the division’ s ladder.
This will mark the first time in the show’s history that a coach and student will fight each other.
During the time on the show, Ortiz worked closely with Hamill as he believed that the kid had great potential despite being deaf. Although Hamill was injured on the show and was not able to win the contract, he has had quite a successful UFC career. Hamill is coming off of a split decision win against Keith Jardine, while Tito has not had his arm raised in what seems like forever. Not counting his wife, Jenna Jameson, Tito has not won a fight since 2006 when he fought UFC senior citizen Ken Shamrock. I predict that this fight will most certainly go the distance with Hamill having his hand raised and Tito relaying a list of excuses as to why he lost.
