UFC 127 Fitch v. Penn Fight Predictions

UFC 127 Fight Predictions

Main Card

Chris Camozzi v. Kyle Noke

            Kyle Noke is hoping to make it three wins in a row as he fights Chris Camozzi in his homeland of Australia. While Camozzi has a very nice record at 14-3, he simply hasn’t impressed me the way Noke has. Noke has strong wrestling and a good ground game and I expect that to be the deciding factor in this fight. I have Kyle Noke winning this won by unanimous decision.

Chris Lytle v. Brian Ebersole

            Chris Lytle certainly appears to be the decisive favourite in this bout, but you can never count out journeyman and veteran of 62 MMA fights Brian Ebersole. Lytle has been on a tear lately, showcasing not only his reckless but entertaining run-and-gun mentally, but also some strong BJJ and game-planning. Ebersole is a very well-rounded fighter, but I think Lytle outclasses him in essentially every aspect of the fight. I expect Chris Lytle to get the unanimous decision victory.

George Sotiropoulos v. Dennis Siver 

            Much like Chris Lytle, Sotiropoulos has been dominating every opponent put in his way, as of late, and is hoping to use this fight to make him one of, if not the top contender once and for all. Dennis Siver is the type of fighter can end a fight with his explosive kick-boxing at any time, but I expect Sotiropoulos to fight intelligently enough to avoid putting himself in a dangerous position. I’m looking for Sotiropoulos avoid too much punishment on his feet and take the fight to the ground where he will get the submission victory.

Michael Bisping v. Jorge Rivera

            I think this fight is similar to the Soti-Siver fight in the sense that there is one favourite who is looking to put themselves in contention for the belt, but there’s a very dangerous striker standing in the way. Bisping has been on the fringe for far too long, and a win here could set up a fight for number one contender in the MW division. Rivera certainly has the ability to win this fight, but I don’t think that will be the outcome. Yes, Bisping has had trouble with strikers before (Henderson, W. Silva), but to compare Rivera to Henderson and Wanderlei would be a bit of a stretch. I expect Bisping to take the punishment Rivera gives him standing and take the fight to the ground en route to winning a TKO victory via ground and pound.

MAIN EVENT

            Jon Fitch is looking to get his title fight back by beating a legend of the sport, BJ Penn. Penn is coming off the `destruction` of Matt Hughes and is looking at making one last run for the WW belt. Now, the reason I put destruction in quotations is not because it wasn`t impressive, but because when I fight ends that quickly it doesn`t allow an opportunity to really see what the fighter is capable of. That`s especially important in this case because it was BJ Penn`s fight WW fight in a while. Yes, I was very impressed when BJ smashed Hughes into probable retirement, but I wasn`t able to see how some of the most important aspects of Penn`s game. It`s very likely that Fitch will get Penn onto his back at some point in the fight, and because Penn`s fight with Hughes ended so quickly I`m not sure how his cardio will hold up for 3 rounds of Fitch`s ground and pound and wrestling. The last time a BJ fought a natural welterweight wrestler, it did not end very well for him. For that reason, I think Fitch`s ground game is going to be what wins him this fight. If he can avoid getting submitted from BJ`s guard, he should be able to do what he does best and grind out a decision victory.