August 10, 2012 – This Saturday night in Denver, Colorado marks a pivotal second chance for former UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar as he takes on current titlist Benson Henderson for the second time at UFC 150.
The two first met this past February at UFC144 in Japan with Henderson coming away with the belt after five hard-fought rounds by both men. It was somewhat of an ironic and surely crushing loss for Edgar – his first loss since 2008 after four epic fights against B.J. Penn and Gray Maynard. Now it’s his turn to get the second chance in this one instead of giving it as he has for the last two years as champion.
Also supporting the championship rematch is what should be another explosive lightweight contest in Jackson MMA’s own “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone taking on former Jackson’s MMA fighter turned Blackzillian Melvin Guillard. Both these men are looking to rbing their win streaks up to two as they continue climbing back up the divisional ladder after some crushing losses in “top-five” matchups earlier this year so expect this to be a much-needed pivotal win for whoever comes out the victor.
Middleweight matchups pairing four veterans in Jake Shields versus Ed Herman and Yushin Okami versus Buddy Roberts along with a featherweight bout pitting young prospects Justin Lawrence and Max Holloway against each other complete the UFC 150 PPV card.
UFC 150 starts with the opening preliminary bout on Facebook at 6:30 Texas standard time followed by the four-fight FX card at 7PM and of course the PPV beginning at 9PM.
Here are our quick predictions for all the action set for Denver.
UFC 150 Main Card Predictions
155 lbs.: Ben Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar (TITLE)
Analysis – Their first fight was fiercely fought with neither guy willing to back down but we saw Ben Henderson pitching a near shutout despite some observers giving the fight to Frankie Edgar. Yes, Edgar did stay busy as is his trademark style but Henderson is simply a bad style matchup for him. He’s too big, too rangy, and every bit of the athlete Edgar is while having the wrestling and striking acumen to keep up with Edgar’s pace. On the other hand, Frankie has the heart of a champion and never quits. He should also have speed on his side but unless he goes Jersey Shore on Bendo like he did against Gray Maynard in their third fight but if that doesn’t happen, it’s not going to be another bad night for him at the end. In fact it’s quite possible than Henderson does even better this time around.
Prediction – Ben Henderson over Frankie Edgar by unanimous decision.
155 lbs.: Donald Cerrone vs. Melvin Guillard
Analysis – This is an interesting matchup in the sense that it pits two former teammates at Jackson’s MMA against each other with both guys ‘needing’ this win to get back to the upper echelon of the division. Both guys certainly love the slugfests and they will come out ready for war. Guillard has that lightning-quick right hand and the advantage as far as pure KO power but Cerrone has the technical striking advantage and most certainly outclasses Melvin on the ground. We believe he’ll win this one on the ground unless pride gets in his way and he gets unnecessarily careless.
Prediction – Donald Cerrone over Melvin Guillard by submission, RD2.
185 lbs.: Jake Shields vs. Ed Herman
Analysis – We honestly don’t know what to make of this fight. Ed Herman is a well-rounded mid-card veteran (read: journeyman) at this point in his career. Jake Shields is definitely higher up on the ladder but he remains the specialist he’s always been and look to use his grappling to control, out-position, and potentially submit the “Short Fuse.” Ed has the striking advantage but I think that gets mitigated with the smothering game Jake is likely to put on him. And he (Jake) won’t gas as badly at middleweight as he did when he was making the cut down to 170. Let’s not forget this is where beat Dan Henderson in his last middleweight fight at Strikeforce. And Ed Herman is no Hendo. The question shouldn’t be whether he wins, but whether he can finish it inside the distance.
Prediction – Jake Shields over Ed Herman by submission, RD3.
185 lbs.: Yushin Okami vs. Buddy Roberts
Analysis – Yushin Okami was originally matched up with knee-killing submission artist Rousimar Palhares but Toquinho got injured and now he’s facing Buddy Roberts. A fighter out of Jackson’s MMA with a 12-2 record (1-0, UFC), Buddy will surely be no pushover but until he proves otherwise, he’s not on the same level as Okami, who’s toiled near the top of the division for years. This fight should be his for the taking even though he’s dropped 2 in a row.
Prediction – Yushin Okami over Buddy Roberts by unanimous decision.
145 lbs.: Justin Lawrence vs. Max Holloway
Analysis – This is going to be a solid battle between two young prospects. Everybody saw how hyped up Justin Lawrence was on TUF as one of the young prodigies at the Blackhouse camp. He showed flashes of that ability but we wouldn’t say he’s fulfilling everyone’s prophesies about him just yet. Meanwhile, Holloway hasn’t received quite as much hype but has looked good minus a loss to 145 lbs. contender Dustin Poirier. Tough fight to call here but it should be a very exciting fight.
Prediction – Max Holloway over Justin Lawrence by KO, RD2.
UFC 150 – Undercard Quick Picks (FX and Facebook)
145 lbs.: Dennis Bermudez vs. Tommy Hayden – Bermudez by TKO, RD2
185 lbs.: Jared Hamman vs. Michael Kuiper – Hamman by unanimous decision.
135 lbs.: Ken Stone vs. Erik Perez – Stone by TKO, RD3.
135 lbs.: Dustin Pague vs. Chico Camus – Pague by unanimous decision.
145 lbs.: Nick Lentz vs. Eiji Mitsuoka – Lentz by submission, RD2.
