UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Leites will air on July 18, 2015 in Glasgow, Scotland.
#9 MICHAEL “THE COUNT” BISPING (26-7-0) vs #10 THALES LEITES (25-4-0)
This is a five round main event in the middleweight division. This fight contains two middleweights that are literally on the same level of the leader board that are wanting to make a statement of who deserves which spot in the rankings. Bisping brings jiu-jitsu and striking to this fight that have shown to be very effective inside the octagon to where most of his victories have come from knockouts making his striking that much more deadly. Leites brings jiu-jitsu, grappling and ground game to this fight that has lead him to many submission victories making him a true ground warrior that strives to make his opponents submit. This fight is an odd match up as you have a striker going up against a grappler, which makes this fight seem like it will not be that interesting and by looking at all the aspects of this fight it seems that Bisping’s striking will get the best of Leites since I do not believe he will be able to stand up with those kind of blows. However, Leites contains a much greater style of ground game and submission skills, which could be just the key he needs to defeat Bisping if he were able to bring the fight down to the ground. My prediction: Bisping wins via knockout in Round 3.
ROSS “THE REAL DEAL” PEARSON (19-8-0, 1NC) VS. EVAN DUNHAM (15-6-0)
This is a three round fight in the lightweight division. In this fight are two lightweights that have had an up and down career and are planning to climb back up the mountain and continue to improve in order to one day see a title shot in their long careers. Pearson brings boxing, jiu-jitsu, judo, taekwondo and wrestling giving him a great combination of striking, takedowns and grappling skills that have helped him evolve into a better athlete. Dunham brings jiu-jitsu, wrestling and striking that have also been a great factor in his fights that have helped him become successful in all three methods of victory. Now, both fighters contain almost the same skills, but Pearson contains more striking that has helped him win many of his fights by knockout, which makes me wonder if Dunham actually can stand the strikes of Pearson. It seems that Pearson may take this fight with ease, though if Dunham were to turn the fight more into a ground game then he might actually stand a chance since Pearson is a fighter that really does not rely much on submission victories. My prediction: Pearson wins via knockout in Round 2.
JOSEPH “IRISH” DUFFY (13-1-0) vs IVAN JORGE (26-4-0)
This is a three round fight in the lightweight division. In this fight are two fighters that are relatively new to the UFC that have much to prove before they find themselves facing much higher opponents and possibly receiving a title shot in their careers. Duffy brings taekwondo, jiu-jitsu and great striking to this fight that have not only given him an impressive record of 13-1, but also being only one of two fighters that have defeated the current Interim Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor. Jorge brings jiu-jitsu, luta livre and great takedown defense that have all proven to be very effective especially with his submission attempts leading to half of his twenty-six victories by submission. Now this fight seems like it will be interesting to watch since it contains two grapplers, so it will basically be a battle of who contains the better submission style of fighting. Though submissions are not the only thing that can be used to win fights and with Duffy’s striking, I believe he will be able to rock Jorge to the point that he will hurt him and be able to take him to the ground and wear him down to exhaustion. However, Jorge contains more submission victories in his career so by having more technique in submission attempts he just might be able to outsmart Duffy and possibly lure him into a submission battle picking up a win and showing everyone why Brazilians are the best at submission battles. My prediction: Duffy wins via submission in Round 1.
