Alan's Quick Picks for UFC 102

Hey fight fans,

Sorry for the silence the past couple of weeks. It's been a busy time for us on this end. If you haven't checked out Jorge's picks for UFC 102 (this Saturday: UFC 102 - Couture v Nogueira), check them out here.

Here are my picks:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Main card:
- Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
This is a match we would have loved to see a few years ago. Though a little less significant now, it's still going to be a fun main event to watch. Hard for me to imagine Couture finishing off "Big Nog" in 3 rounds. Also, Nogueira seemed to have lost a step in his previous two bouts. I give the decision victory to "The Natural"

- Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva
Jardine is an enigma. Some fights he is able to come out with his unorthodox striking and befuddle opponents. Other times he looks completely outmatched and outclassed (see: v. Houston Alexander, v. Vanderlei Silva). Thiago Silva on the other hand has been the model of consistency who happened to run into the buzzsaw known as Lyoto Machida. Can't see Silva giving up much to Jardine. Yet at the same time I can imagine a scenario where Jardine may frustrate Silva to the point where he makes one little mistake and gets caught.

I may do better by flipping a coin but I'm going with my brain rather than my gut and saying Silva by TKO in the 2nd.

- Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia
I am VERY excited about this match-up! Presumably, the winner of this contest will be the next challenger to the Middleweight champion whether it be Anderson Silva or Dan Henderson (rumored for UFC 105). This is a HUGE step up in competition for Maia and I personally liked what I've seen from him and think he could take it to Marquardt.

Marquardt has done a decent job of working his way back into title contention but my bias will kick in here and I'd like to see someone new step up to try and take the middleweight championship. Nate "The Great" will always be in the upper echelon of the division but whether he is ready to be champion could be revealed in this fight.

I'm calling Maia by mild upset with a sub in the 1st.

- Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
Vera cannot afford to be lazy against a game opponent in Soszynski. Soszynski also cannot expect to pull off subs the way he has in many of his UFC bouts recently. Also, when Krzysztof has fought anyone that would qualify as a "step up" in competition, he has fallen short. I suspect that someone as talented and road-tested as Vera will give him fits. I give the edge to Vera and call it by TKO in the 1st round.

- Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt
Leben is back in action almost a year after his loss to Bisping in the UK at UFC 89. He had tested positive for steroids after that bout. It's hard for the casual fan to determine what kind of shape Leben will be in or even how his training has changed in this past year.

Rosholt is a dynamic wrestler who looked pretty good in his last bout in the WEC (despite getting beaten in the standup) vs Nissen Osterneck and looked very pedestrian against Dan Miller in his UFC debut back in February.

With both men looking to comeback from a tough loss (and presumably to avoid the dreaded roster cuts that may follow this bout for the loser), I expect Leben to step up and take control of this fight with constantly pushing the pace and being the aggressor he's been been in the past. He may be taken down by Rosholt but he is no slouch on the ground and his superior striking should be the edge needed to pull out the victory over Rosholt (TKO: 3rd round)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prelims:
- Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer
Like Jorge said, Gonzaga by any method he wants! lol... I'm calling Gonzaga via submission in the 2nd.

- Aaron Simpson vs. Ed Herman
Herman via armbar in round 1

- Justin McCully vs. Mike Russow
Russow by guillotine round 2

- Tim Hague vs. Todd Duffee
My regular anti-ATT pick: Tim Hague by striking (b/c ATT guys can't take a punch)

- Nick Catone vs. Mark Munoz
Catone by TKO Round 2 (Munoz needs to be more selective about how aggressive he is in the cage)

- Marcus Aurelio vs. Evan Dunham
Dunham by decision - possibly FotN (Aurelio is tougher than the average ATT guy but between Xtreme Couture and ATT I'll go with Couture every time)