By Lance LeVan
UFC Fight Night 46 is being held in Dublin, Ireland on Saturday, July 19. The top three (3) fights on this card look to be very action-packed and could move fighters up in the rankings. Unlike previous weeks, I do not think that any of these fighters have anything to worry about from the standpoint of being cut from the UFC if they lose. But with Dana White…you never can tell. So, if I were going to offer any of these guys two pieces of advice…it would be “bring the noise” from the starting bell until the referee stops the fight…and make damn sure that you make your weight.
(#13) Conor “The Notorious” McGregor (14-2-0) vs. Diego “DB” Brandao (22-9-0)
This is a five round featherweight fight that is going to be action-packed. McGregor will be fighting in his hometown this weekend, which should provide him with some “home field advantage”. He is also riding a 10-fight win streak, which never hurts. He is a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ)…but has won 86% of his fights by KO/TKO. Brandao is a black belt in BJJ and even though McGregor throws almost double the amount of punches per minute, Brandao is much more accurate on landing them. Brandao is coming off a loss back in December 2013, so he will be looking to get things back on track. McGregor winning this fight in dominating fashion might push him up in the rankings. If Brandao were to dominate this fight and win fight of the night, it might put him in the top 20 of the featherweights…but first, he’ll need to make weight (which he didn’t do in his last fight). Even though I usually choose the wrestler/BJJ fighters to win…I think that McGregor just has too many things in his favor for him not to win this fight. My prediction: McGregor wins by TKO in the 1st round.
(#13) Gunnar “Gunni” Nelson (12-0-1) vs. Zak Cummings (17-3-0)
This is a three round welterweight fight. Nelson is a BJJ black belt under Renzo Gracie. He has competed at the highest levels of BJJ. Not to mention that he is riding a huge winning streak (12). Cummings is a brown belt in BJJ and is also riding a nice winning streak (5). Nelson has finished 92% of his fights by KO/TKO or submission and Cummings has finished 77% by KO/TKO or submission. I have a sneaky feeling that this is going to be an action-packed fight. It doesn’t appear that either of these fighters is the kind that will stall or wait for the judges decision. They both want to finish the fight. I think this fight will either be “Fight of the Night” or “Submission of the Night”. I have to go with the stats and the pedigree on this fight. I think the training Nelson has with Renzo and his HIGH percentage of finishes gives him the edge in this battle. My prediction: Nelson wins via submission in the 2nd round.
(#10) Brad “One Punch” Pickett (25-8-0) vs. (#3) Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall (12-4-1)
This is a flyweight fight that promises a lot of action. Pickett is a purple belt in BJJ and is trained as a boxer. McCall is a wrestler and also a purple belt in BJJ. This should be an extremely entertaining and fast fight from start to finish. There are going to be LOTS of punches and submission attempts in this fight. As usual…if the wrestler can get in close enough (without getting KTFO), he should be able to take Pickett down and work the ground-and-pound. If the boxer is good enough, he can keep McCall at arms length and work the jab and hook to the body. For those of you who know me…I usually land on the side of the wrestlers and this time is no different. I think McCall’s wrestling will be the difference here. And a convincing win could put him in line for a title shot in the near future. My prediction: McCall wins via TKO in the 3rd.
Disagree with me about the UFC Fight Night 46 matches? Let me know via Twitter @BlitzWeekly and we’ll see who has better picks the night of the fights.
