UFC Live: Sanchez v. Kampmann Fight Predictions

            UFC Live: Sanchez v. Kampmann takes place on March 3rd 2011 in Louisville, Kentucky. The first event to be hosted in Kentucky, Sanchez v. Kampmann is also the first UFC event to be shown in 3D on selected cable outlets. With a card featuring names such as Brian Bowles, Rousimar Palhares, Diego Sanchez and Martin Kampmann, this UFC card is perhaps the most stacked card to be aired on Versus yet.

Main Card

Brian Bowles v. Damaico Page

            Brian Bowles, former WEC Bantamweight Champion is looking at getting back to his winning ways at the expense of Damaico Page. Bowles was unbeaten before losing to Dominick Cruz via an injury, and has all the tools to beat Page. Bowles is both a strong wrestler and boxer, so Page will have trouble no matter where this fight goes. I expect Bowles to win this one the same way he did the last time these two met, via submission.

Alessio Sakara v. Chris Weidman

            This is an intriguing fight as it pits a UFC veteran against a fighter who is relatively new to the sport. Weidman may not have the resume or experience of Sakara, but he certainly has the wrestling prowess to make this a competitive fight. While Sakara certainly has the advantage standing, I don’t believe he will be able to cope with Weidman’s wrestling. I expect Weidman to drag Sakara to the ground where he will ground and pound his way to a unanimous decision victory.

Mark Munoz v. C.B Dollaway

            This is a great fight as two strong wrestlers go head to head in what will likely end up being a very technical battle. Overall, I believe Dollaway is the stronger fighter and if he can avoid Munoz’s takedown and ground and pound he should be able to walk away with the win. Munoz is quite dangerous on his feet as well, but I give Dollaway the advantage in both the striking and the submission game. I don’t think we’re going to see a finish in this fight as both of these fighters are very tough competitors, so I’ll give C.B Dollaway the unanimous decision victory.

 Diego Sanchez v. Martin Kampmann

            This is a tough fight to call as both are capable of winning this fight on any given day. Diego might have a slight edge in the stand-up, but Kampmann has a strong kickboxing background and is no joke on his feet. If Diego is going to win this fight, he is going to have to fight dirty, utilizing the cage as much as possible to avoid Kampmann’s explosiveness. Kampmann also has strong Mauy Thai, so he should try and clinch with Diego and batter him that way. I don’t expect the fight to go to the ground often, but if it does, it will likely be at Sanchez’s doing. If Sanchez does get Kampmann on his back, the results could be devastating as Diego has deadly elbows and ground and pound. That would be Diego’s route to victory so I’m expecting Sanchez to get the win in this fight, likely via TKO.