I will be attending UFC 81 in person in Las Vegas this weekend. Incidentally it’s Superbowl weekend, so Vegas will be filled with sports betters and fight fans. Headlining the event are two fights; Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar and Tim Sylvia vs. Rodrigo Nogueira.
Ever since Frank Mir’s motorcycle accident he has not been himself in any of his last few fights. He’s 2 for 2 in his last four fights and those wins came from non-ranked fighters. Brock Lesnar is more famous for his Pro Wrestling days, and he only has one MMA fight under his belt. We have yet to see his talent as a fighter. On paper Frank Mir is a sure win against the Pro Wrestling juggernaut. But don’t count Lesnar out too quickly. Lesnar is a four-time all american collegiate wrestler. So with a solid wrestling background and a mountain of muscle it’s going to give Mir a tough time in the cage.
UFC’s Heavyweight division is so thin that about half of Syliva’s fights are either for the number 1 contender spot or a title shot. It’s kind of ridiculous. Hopefully Lesnar can shuffle the division up a bit. The Sylvia/Nog fight is a fight I’m looking forward to watch. Sylvia likes to stand and box and Nog has one of the slickest ground game in the heavyweight division, but he is not afraid to stand toe to toe, but we’re going to have to wait and see what kind of gameplay Nog will bring to the cage
My picks:
-Headliners-
I see Brock Lesnar beating Mir via ref stoppage. Mir is going to have a hard time controlling Lesnar’s strength. The only way Mir can win is to get a quick submission or somehow tire Lesnar out and put him in a choke.
Sylvia will beat Nog by decision. Nog doesn’t have the cage experience on the level of Sylvia. Nog will try to stand, but he will be flustered by Syliva’s longer reach. Even though Nog has faced tougher competition those epic battles have put so much wear and tear on his body that if he wants to beat Syliva he as to come in the cage with a game plan that Sylvia has never faced.
-Undercards-
Nate Marquardt beats Jeremy Horn
Ricardo Almieda beats Rob Yundt
Tyson Griffin beats Gleison Tibau
Chris Lytle beats Kyle Bradley
Terry Martin beats Marvin Eastman
David Heath beats Tim Boetsch
Keita Nakamura beats Rob Emerson