ProMMAnow.com UFC 113 staff picks

Join us here at ProMMAnow.com Saturday evening, May 8, as “UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2” gets underway at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. As always, we will be providing live results and play-by-play commentary throughout the night, and we would love you to join in with your comments during the event and discuss the fights with other fans.

Most of the ProMMAnow.com staff (where’s Denny?) came together once again to give our predictions on the fights. Some of us have really been struggling with our picks lately and really need some wins. After all, we are keeping score, and at the end of the year ProMMAnow.com will award the staff member with the highest percentage of correct picks an all-expense paid vacation to Hawaii!

Okay… I lied. There’s no vacation, but we are keeping score and there might be a T-Shirt or something involved for the winner (yeah right). Anyway, check out our picks and let us know if you agree, disagree, and whose mind has turned to mush. Also, as with every UFC event, don’t forget to watch the UFC 113 press conferences and weigh-ins in our UFC Room.

Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

RICHARD MANN – Praise should be given to Shogun for realizing that his hands are perhaps the weakest part of his game. In the first fight, he did much better than most people thought because he stuck with his leg kicks and did not try to land with his hands. Not only did this allow him to score, but it also neutralized Machida’s dangerous counter game. With all that being said, I am sure that Machida and his Karate crew have watched the tape even more than I have. Lightning will not strike for Shogun twice, and Machida will keep his belt. Machida by decision.

BRIAN FURBY – Will the sequel live up to the original? I hope it surpasses it. Both guys are going coming in looking to make a statement after the last fight, and I think it is going to be this that gives Machida the edge. Machida is an excellent counter-striker, and his natural evasiveness causes him to be more selective with the strikes he throws, truly looking to capitalize on a good opening. In the first fight, Shogun was mostly effective at shutting this down and keeping Machida outside an effective range. However, in looking to finish this fight, I think Shogun is going to open himself up enough for Machida to truly make a tiny mistake and get a win out of it. Machida by TKO in Round 3.

JACK BRATCHER – This is a difficult one to call for me. My other two co-workers here believe Machida is going to get it. I have to tell you, I’m honestly leaning toward Shogun. Having Dana White tell him he thought he won the first fight was a big deal for Shogun, and it helped ease the loss. Shogun said the best thing White could have done for him was to give him this immediate rematch. I’m a big Machida fan, but the Machida we saw in that last bout… I don’t know who that was. Chances are Machida will either learn from that last fight and really come up with something new here, or Shogun will figure him out once again.It’s really hard to imagine anyone finishing Machida but he does have a tendency to drop his hands with that karate style. I could see him getting caught with something. I expect Shogun to target those legs again. This fight could go to the ground this time. I’m going to go with Shogun via decision.

Josh Koscheck vs. Paul Daley

RICHARD MANN – Look for this fight to mirror Josh Koscheck’s fight with Anthony Johnson. Koscheck will dip his toes into the stand up waters. When the opportunity presents itself, he will score a takedown and finish the fight by submission. Daley does have “one hitter quitter” power, but Koscheck should be able to stay out of his range. Go re-watch Daley’s fight against Nick Thompson and see how much he struggles with range. Koscheck by submission.

BRIAN FURBY – What would I like to see happen in this fight? I’d like to see Daley knock the blonde off Koscheck’s hair. And like Jack, Mike, and I discussed on The Cageside Beat, if Koscheck is dumb enough to stand with Daley it’s going to happen. Like I said on the show, I think it will start out that way, and I think after taking a few solid shots, Koscheck is going to want to go back to his bread and butter and shoot in, but at that point it will be too late and Daley will be moving up to the number one contender spot. Daley by TKO in round 2.

JACK BRATCHER – It’s hard to imagine an Englishman defeating a wrestler the caliber of Koscheck. Koscheck said he plans to stand with Daley and make a point, and his boxing has improved greatly, but Daley should still have the advantage standing. I’m not sure how this fight will end but I do see Koscheck winning. The winner has been promised a title shot against UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre and I think that is really going to motivate Koscheck who has been wanting that fight for a long time now. I could see Kos hurting Daley with a big shot and either finishing him off via TKO or submission somewhere in round two or three.

Sam Stout vs. Jeremy Stephens

RICHARD MANN – Jeremy Stephens wins fights when he is able to explode and land flurries on his opponents. I still don’t think Sam Stout has a bright future in the UFC, but his technical striking game will give him an advantage. If he uses distance and angles like he did in the Lauzon fight, he should have no trouble taking a decision over Stephens. Stout by decision.

BRIAN FURBY -Yet another banger on the card. Two tough guys with KO power. Unfortunately for Stephens, I think he’s outclassed in this fight and Stout will use his better overall game to frustrate Stephens en route to an exciting decision win. Sam Stout wins by unanimous decision.

JACK BRATCHER – Stout is coming off an impressive domination of Joe Lauzon in his last fight. Coincidentally, Lauzon submitted Stephens early last year. Of course, MMA math is a false concept and although Stout definitely has the tools to win, I’m going to go with Stephens. Stout is a decision machine, whereas if he stands with Stephens, I expect Stephens to finish him via TKO. Stephens hits damn hard and I think somewhere he’s going to catch Stout and end it.

Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson vs. Matt Mitrione

RICHARD MANN – My head hurts, and I blame Jack Bratcher for making me pick this fight. Mitrione has shown that he has heavy hands. Mr. Slice, on the other hand, has shown that he has trouble taking a punch. Even if Mitrione can’t land the big shot, he should be athletic enough to dominate Slice by clinching and pushing him into the cage. It worked for James Thompson who isn’t a super grappler. Mitrione by TKO.

BRIAN FURBY – Once we get down to this fight, the question is no longer who is going to win, but how many KO of the Night bonuses will the UFC hand out that night? Ferguson looks to build on the hype and Mitrione fights for more recognition to show that he’s not just a meathead. Well, he is just a meathead but I think he’ll get some more recognition out of this fight nonetheless. Unlike the Houston Alexander vs. Kimbo fight that didn’t really turn out like anyone thought it would, I think we’re going to see more straight up toe-to-toe action out of this card with two guys looking to knock the other one’s head off. Period. But again, I think the power of Kimbo is going to fall prey to a slightly better overall game of Mitrione. Mitrione wins via TKO in Round 2.

JACK BRATCHER – The problem with me waiting to do my picks after reading the other guys’ picks is I always root for the underdog. Now both of them have picked Mitrione and that makes me want to take Kimbo. I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Kimbo. I like to see him evolving and doing well, and he is in a great camp. From all accounts, including Dr. Rhadi Ferguson, who has been working with Kimbo for this fight (read what he says about him in his blog), the guy takes his MMA training serious. Dr. Ferguson called for Kimbo to win via second round submission. That’s interesting because Kimbo himself has been talking lately about the possibility of a submission. Having said all that, I’m going with Mitrione via first round knockout. (chuckle)

Patrick Cote vs. Alan Belcher

RICHARD MANN – Normally I would go with Patrick Cote. He has the heavier hands, and fighters who stand in the pocket with Alan Belcher give him a lot of trouble. However, Cote suffered a pretty serious injury and this will be his first fight back. A recent study about the statistical deficiencies of NFL players coming off the same injury is on my mind. Belcher by decision.

BRIAN FURBY – I think this is the Cinderella fight on the card, and it will be an excellent way to start off the pay-per-view broadcast. It has been over a year since Cote injured his knee against Anderson Silva and he wants to rebound to show fans that he was down but not out. Belcher looks to show people that he’s not been relegated to the role of a sort of gatekeeper for the middleweight division. Cote will clearly have the home crowd advantage, but I think that the crowd’s energy will only fuel Belcher more as these two work for a Fight of the Night performance. Belcher wins by Split Decision.

JACK BRATCHER – Belcher’s striking has been looking better and better. Actually, his whole game seems to be evolving and it’s great to see after being relegated to a gatekeeper type status. Regardless of the official result, Belcher did not really lose to Akiyama. As my cohorts have pointed out, Cote is also coming back after an injury, although he will have that home crowd advantage. All the speculation will be useless once Belcher starts pounding Cote with those tree trunks he calls legs. Belcher will pound on Cote for three rounds and Cote should be able to dance around enough to survive. Belcher by decision.