The who will beat Eddie Alvarez
The who will beat Eddie Alvarez

Last week I went 4-3 (1NC) which is by far my worst week of picking in history. However, the real shock in that Sean Salmon actually won a fight. My overall record is now 124-59 (16NC) which is an all time low 68 percent. This weekend there is a ton of quality MMA, and I will do my best to fill you in on the happenings. Today we take a look at Dream 12, the UFC 104 under card and an up and coming female fighter.

Dream 12
Eddie Alvarez (18-2) vs. Katsunori Kikuno (12-1-2)

It should not be difficult for Eddie Alvarez to take down Katsunori Kikuno and win via ground and pound. However, what is the chance of that happening? Alvarez has always showed his love for the stand up game, and his ability to get caught. He will come out like a ball of fire and continually catch hard single shots from Kikuno. Kikuno will be able to win the decision by landing more solid shots and keeping a safe distance.
Pick = Katsunori Kikuno

Kazushi Sakuraba (25-12-1) vs. Zelg Galesic (9-4)
FEG found another fighter who is mostly a stand up guy. Sakuraba should be able to win this on the ground, but every second they spend on the feet could spell the end for the aged superstar.
Pick = Kazushi Sakuraba

Paulo Filho (18-1) vs. Dong Sik Yoon (4-7)
A lot of people think Paulo Filho has fallen off, because he has won ugly recently. That doesn’t matter here. Last time out Dong Sik Yoon lost ugly. Filho will be the better grappler on the ground, and that really is the only place Yoon has any skill.
Pick = Paulo Filho

Marius Zaromskis (12-3) vs. Myeon Ho Bae (8-4)
The “Whitemare” gets a softball here after blowing through the tournament. Hopefully they can bring in some more contenders to face this up and coming welterweight.
Pick = Marius Zaromskis

Kuniyoshi Hironaka (15-6) vs. Won Sik Park (7-1-1)
The new Cage Force lightweight champion Kuniyoshi Hironaka makes his return to dream against Won Sik Park. Park has an impressive record, but Hironaka is light years ahead on the ground. If Hironaka decides to take it there it should be over quickly.
Pick = Kuniyoshi Hironaka

Yoshiro Maeda (25-7-2) vs. Chase Beebe (12-5)
Chase Beebe should be physical enough to take Yoshiro Maeda down and keep him there. He might not do much damage from the top position, but it will be enough for the win. Even if Beebe doesn’t have an advantage on paper Karma will give him the victory in the end. So many terrible things have happened to the young man recently.
Pick = Chase Beebe

Katsuyori Shibata (3-6-1) vs. Tokimitsu Ishizawa (1-4-1)
Fan favorite Katsuyori Shibata is back to take one the guy who got a win over Ryan Gracie due to injury. It is easy to pick the guy who actually has real wins, even though he only has three.
Pick = Katsuyori Shibata

Alistair Overeem (29-11) vs. James Thompson (14-10)
I wonder if James Thompson thinks that FEG only uses him when they need someone to be knocked out. Alistair Overeem should have little trouble dealing with the exploding ear man.
Pick = Alistair Overeem

UFC 104 undercard
For main card picks please check the PROMMA.info staff picks
Yushin Okami (23-4) vs. Chael Sonnen (23-10-1)
Chael Sonnen will not be able to bully Yushin Okami around the cage. When the Team Quest veteran can’t bully he doesn’t win. Okami will be able to control the grappling game and take a decision victory. Will Okami ever get a title shot? I don’t think so.
Pick = Yushin Okami

Chase Gormley (6-0) vs. Stefan Struve (17-3)
Stefan Struve is not big enough or physical enough to compete with top level heavyweights. Chase Gormley will be able to grind Struve away with wrestling and finish in the later rounds.
Pick = Chase Gormley

Jorge Rivera (16-7) vs. Rob Kimmons (22-4)
Jorge Rivera is in the middle of a career resurgence, but there is a reason he thought about retiring. Rob Kimmons does have problems with strikers, but Rivera will not have the hand speed to catch him. Look for Kimmons to take the decision by winning the grappling game.
Pick = Rob Kimmons

Kyle Kingsbury (7-2) vs. Razak Al-Hassan (6-1)
Although he did not really show it on TUF, Kyle Kingsbury is a promising fighter. He is still relatively young, he is a good athlete and he is training at AKA. Razak Al-Hassan is a good opponent for him, because it gives him an opportunity to work on his complete game.
Pick = Kyle Kingsbury

Carolina Fight Promotions 2
Vinny Magalhaes (2-4) vs. Lance Evans (2-3)

These two fought for a chance to get on the eight season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” In that fight, Vinny Magalhaes hurt Rashad’s brother Lance Evans with a kick to the body. The outcome should be pretty much the same this time. Magalhaes has had trouble showing his great grappling in MMA, but here he takes on a wrestler without much power.
Pick = Vinny Magalhaes

Shogun Fights 1
James Jones (7-8) vs. Bryan Herring (1-2)

Fans in the Baltimore area love James “Binky” Jones. His manager told me he was a fight away from the UFC, but since he has lost two straight. They looked long and hard and found him someone he can beat.
Pick = James Jones

Cody Donovan (4-0) vs. Joe Stripling (1-0)
Cody Donovan has been training with Brendan Schaub for some time. He is an extremely physical wrestling with strong ground and pound. Expect him to easily take Stripling down and finish in the first round.
Pick = Cody Donovan

Joey Kirwan (1-2) vs. Dan Root (0-0)
After beating Marcus Foran in the UWC, it looked like Joey Kirwan had gotten his career on track. In his next fight he came up short against Mike Guerin in RIE. He will get back on track here against Dan Root.
Pick = Joey Kirwan

Extreme Beatdown 5
Elena Reid (3-0) vs. Masako Yoshida (16-14-5)

A lot of female professional boxers have come into MMA thinking that they were going to clean up. Instead a lot of them have gotten starched. Elena Reid is not one of those boxers. She proved she was a legitimate MMA fighter by absolutely melting Michelle Waterson in her last fight. Here Reid takes on a more experienced fighter, but it is not someone who is going to be able to take the punches.
Pick = Elena Reid

Richard Anderson Mann is an MMA journalist who makes his home in Chicago. He is a member of the Journalism Master’s degree program at Roosevelt University. Currently, he is a columnist for PROMMA.info and a news writer for adcombat.com. Richard can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Facebook at Facebook.com/RichardAndersonMann.

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