UFC on FX 4 and UFC 147 picks from Kevin Iole, Maggie Hendricks and you

For a full weekend of fights, we have a full slate of picks. Check out picks for fights from Friday night's UFC on Fox 4 card and Saturday night's UFC 147, and thank you to everyone who submitted picks to Cagewriter's Facebook page.

UFC on FX 4

Kevin Iole: Maynard TKO3 Guida -- This should be a highly entertaining fight that has a chance to be a Fight of the Year. I expect Maynard to get Guida onto his back at some point and finish him with some good elbows.

Maggie Hendricks: Guida W5 Maynard -- Guida has the motor to neutralize Maynard and grind out a five-rounder.

Cagereader: Gray beats Clay TKO in the 3rd. Clay doesn't have the foot work needed to avoid the heavy hands of Gray. Meanwhile Gray will use his wrestling and size to power through any take down attempts Guida throws his way. -- Joe Merla

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Kevin Iole: Sam Stout TKO1 Spencer Fisher -- This is one of the most entertaining series in MMA history, but Stout is much improved. I think he catches Fisher and ends it in the first.

Maggie Hendricks: Sam Stout KO1 Spencer Fisher -- Since their last (very exciting) bout, Stout has steadily improved while Fisher's age has shown. This should be an easy win for him.

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Kevin Iole: Brian Ebersole W3 T.J. Waldburger -- Ebersole's experience the difference in a nip-and--tuck fight.

Maggie Hendricks: Brian Ebersole SUB1 T.J. Waldburger -- Ebersole and his sculptural body body hair will continue his winning streak, which currently sits at 10 wins in a row.

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Kevin Iole: Ross Pearson TKO2 Cub Swanson -- This is an important fight for Pearson, who is going to coach on TUF and needs to come in with a win. He hasn't won two in a row in more than two years, but I think he'll do it this time.

Maggie Hendricks: Ross Pearson W3 Cub Swanson -- Pearson's win over Junior Assuncao showed he was more comfortable at featherweight.

UFC 147

Kevin Iole: Rich Franklin TKO2 Wanderlei Silva -- Franklin got one legend when he knocked out Chuck Liddell and I think he does it in this fight to another legend. The issue here is there are great questions about both men. Franklin is fighting for the first time in 16 months after a major shoulder injury, but I think he has more left and finds a way to stop Silva in a fun fight.

Maggie Hendricks: Rich Franklin W3 Wanderlei Silva -- Though it's not the fight we were hoping for, it's still going to be fun to watch two legends face off. They'll both get bloody and bruised, but Franklin will come out the winner.

Cagereader: Franklin's tough chin, technical striking and solid footwork will lead him to out point Silva and win a decision ... again.  -- Daniel Christian

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Kevin Iole: Fabricio Werdum SUB2 Mike Russow -- Russow has been on a nice roll, but Werdum is on another level from the men he's been fighting. Werdum's striking edge will set him up for a submission, which he'll get in the second.

Maggie Hendricks: Mike Russow W3 Fabricio Werdum -- If Russow keeps the fight standing, he can land some good shots and keep his winning streak going.

Cagereader -- Werdum beats Russow because he's the best submission fighter in the UFC heavyweight division at present time. He has a number of unique weapons in his arsenal, including a superb attack off his back. I say a win here by Werdum sets up a match between him and Frank Mir, in a fight to determine who is the best pure BJJ expert among UFC heavyweights. -- Eric Holden

Related UFC news from Yahoo! Sports:

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-fx-4-ufc-147-picks-kevin-iole-174807967--mma.html

Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana 

Titan Fighting Championship 23: Fight For the Troops Preview - Titan 23

Titan Fighting Championship 23: Fight for the Troops LIVE from legendary Marshall Army Airfield on Fort Riley, Kansas. Former UFC standout Jorge "The Sandman" Santiago faces Justin Guthrie in the main event.

Source: http://mmalice.com/titan-23/titan-fighting-championship-23-fight-for-the-troops-preview-video_092bcba23.html

Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio 

Roy Nelson challenges Mike Russow to a win or leave (the heavyweight division) bout

In a heavyweight division of the UFC filled with fighters who are built like a Greek god, Roy Nelson and Mike Russow don't exactly fit the mold.  After watching Fabricio Werdum knock out Russow at UFC 147, Nelson was struck with matchmaking inspiration.

"I want Mike Russow and loser goes to 205 or becomes Dana White Rich. Let make it happen @danawhite," Nelson tweeted.

Both men appear to carry more body fat than most of their counterparts and look like they could cut down a weight class. They also both have recent losses to Werdum, as Nelson dropped a decision to him in February.

This isn't the first time Nelson has contemplated a drop down. In March, he said he would try to get to light heavyweight if he added 100,000 Facebook likes. However, he abandoned the plan when he was booked for the all-heavyweight main card at UFC 146.

A drop for Russow, who weighed in at 246 pounds for UFC 147, may be a bit more difficult than for Nelson. In addition to being a pro fighter, he is a full-time officer in the Chicago Police Department. He doesn't train full time, like Nelson does.

Of course, the difficulty in dropping down would also give Russow more motivation to win the fight. Do you want to see this fight? Speak your mind in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/roy-nelson-challenges-mike-russow-win-leave-heavyweight-140125391--mma.html

Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana 

Don?t expect to see Alistair Overeem fight on the UFC?s New Year?s Eve card

Suspended UFC heavyweight Alistair Overeem tweeted on Monday he'll be back to fight in December.

I'll be fighting again in December and mark my words, I'll be back.. to get the belt, sooner rather later.

Per the terms of his suspension for having elevated testosterone levels, he could technically be available by the card the UFC traditionally holds near New Year's Eve. However, the UFC isn't known to book a fight with a still-suspended fighter with hopes that he would get a license for their fight.

Will they change things up to get Overeem on the big end-of-the-year card? Don't bet on it. UFC chairman Lorenzo Fertitta said he won't book Overeem until he has a license.

"That's speculation," Fertitta said in a text to ESPN.com. "It's in the NSAC's hands. (The UFC) can't be presumptuous."

Overeem isn't eligible to apply for a license until Dec. 27, and the card is expected to be on Dec. 29. They would have to take a huge risk to put him on such an important event when he wasn't able to get a license before. He burned them for UFC 146 and made the UFC scramble to completely reconfigure the card. It makes sense they don't want to go through it again.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/don-t-expect-see-alistair-overeem-fight-ufc-221227233--mma.html

Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen 

Martin Kampmann and Michael Chiesa?s victories and more: Photo gallery from TUF 15 finale

Check out pictures by Tracy Lee from Friday's "The Ultimate Fighter" season 15 finale. You'll see Martin Kampmann's bloody but victorious face, Michael Chiesa's celebration, and Al Iaquinta being out cold. To see more of Lee's work, follow her on Twitter.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/martin-kampmann-michael-chiesa-victories-more-photo-gallery-181822496.html

José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez

Ronaldo ?Jacare? Souza vs. Derek Brunson at Strikeforce: Rousey vs Kaufman

Former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Ronaldo Souza will step back into the cage on August 18 when he takes on Derek Brunson. The two were originally slated to meet on Strikeforce’s March offering, but licensing issues kept the Wilmington native off the card. After Brunson was denied a license, Jacare (15-3) instead faced Bristol Marunde in [...]

MMAFrenzy.com

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/29217/ronaldo-jacare-souza-vs-derek-brunson-at-strikeforce-rousey-vs-kaufman/

Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo 

A piece of wood from the pole Jon Jones? Bentley hit is on eBay

Jon Jones' DWI has piqued the interest of the MMA world, and one eBay seller decided to capitalize on that. A piece of wood from the telephone pole Jones hit with his Bentley is for sale on eBay.

The seller said in his listing:

Well, I've heard people sell & buy crazy things, so I'm going to test that theory now... This is a piece of  telephone pole wood that was knocked off when Jon Jones crashed into it w/ his Bentley on the corner of Grand Blvd & Helen St. in Binghamton on May 19th, 2012... It measures about 14 inches long & actually has a "crashed smell odor" to it... It is about an inch wide in the middle & then narrows out at the ends... One pic shows the wood piece & the other pic shows the actual pole which is cracked near the bottom & now supported by wood beams... This is a good conversation piece & definitely WAY more interesting than his last fight... Maybe you can get him to sign it someday, but you may need to use it as protection if he throws a flying elbow your way rather than an autograph.

Genuine "crashed smell odor!" And the seller is even making jokes about Jones' fight with Rashad Evans. That's pretty bold from someone who is trying to profit off of the UFC light heavyweight champ. Considering how Jones feels about being asked to sign replica belts, I'll bet that he wouldn't like signing this particular piece of "memorabilia."

Thanks to MMA Fighting.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/piece-wood-pole-jon-jones-bentley-hit-ebay-130942875.html

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz

Bellator adds Paul Daley, Shawn Bunch to its roster

While Bellator takes time off between fight seasons, they are keeping busy by adding fighters to their roster. Strikeforce and UFC veteran Paul Daley and Shawn Bunch, a wrestler with international experience, have both signed with the tournament-based promotion.

Daley's getting a fresh start in Bellator after stops in the UFC, Strikeforce and BAMMA. Though he was impressive in two wins in the UFC, his run there is most remembered for a cheap shot at Josh Koscheck after their fight was over and immediately losing his job afterwards. In Strikeforce, he had wins over Scott Smith and Trevor Prangley but lost to Nick Diaz, Tyron Woodley and Kazuo Misaki.

He will make his Bellator debut on July 20 and will fight in the welterweight tournament.

The Bunch signing is a risk for Bellator because he has never been in an MMA match. The two-time NCAA Division I All-American for Edinboro has been on the U.S. national team for five years and narrowly missed making the U.S. Olympic team earlier in June. He will train at American Kickboxing Academy, a camp that has proven successful at transitioning elite wrestlers to MMA.

MMA Fighting reports he has a multi-fight deal and will debut in Bellator's bantamweight tournament this fall.

What do you think of the Bellator signings? Speak your mind on Facebook or Twitter.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/bellator-adds-paul-daley-shawn-bunch-roster-115254355--mma.html

Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott