UFC on Versus

Ladds has anyone double checked that this will be shown on ESPN? Im near sure it will but Im just making sure it isnt exclusive to "Versus"

Its strange to see Guida and the Janitor on the undercard I would have though one of them would be on the main card over Sakara vs Irvcan...

Anyway whats peoples thoughs on how the main card will play out? I think the two main fights are absolute Genious matchmaking, im really looking forward to them both.

Brandon Vera v Jon Jones - Vera hasnt fought a lot but he is more experienced and has no real weaknesses. His Wrestling/Striking/BJJ are all good. I expect this fight to be mostly fought on the feet and I wonder wether Bones Flashy striking will work against someone with technically sound Muay Thai like Vera. I think Bones is more Physical with a bigger reach than anyone in the UFC so thats always in his favor, Vera has looked really good battering Couture recently and I expect Bones to take a lot of punishment. The winner of this is on the way to a title shot for sure. But I think Bones workrate compared with Vera realative gun shy'ness will see Bones pick up a UD win.

Junior dos Santos v Gabriel Gonzaga - Yes I know im mad going for Gonzaga. He always seems to let me down in the big fights. For me it boils down to JDS has better hands and is quicker. Gonzaga has better Kicks and is bigger. But Gonzaga has size and BJJ on his side... Both are really powerfull guys I genuinley dont believe all this about JDS being stronger and hitting harder... look at Gonzaga in the buildup and see him level a few fighters with his hands. The winner of this is in the Title mix could either fight Nog, Cain or the loose of Mir vs Carwin. Ive Got Gonzaga to win this by Sub.

Cheick Kongo v Paul Buentello - Buentello will make such a fight out of this, he is always ready to take and trade shots. Kongo isnt the fighter or striker he gets hyped to be IMO but I think he has enough to outstrike Buentello. The headhunter may outbox him for a bit but Kongos more rounded striking extra strength and a big of GnP should see him to a win maby mid fight stoppage maby UD

I'm in france so i'll have to catch it online. They show it a week later over here but i can never wait that long!!

I agree with your assessment of Vera-Jones, but i have jones by TKO in the 2nd or 3rd. I haven't been so impressed with Vera lately, and i think Jones has much more killer instinct which will see him put Vera away. Wouldn't be too surprised if it's a UD for bones.

I have JDS winning the Gonzaga fight by TKO2, as i think altho Gonzaga is good on the feet, JDS is a step up in class. That said, i am not counting napao out, and would not be overly surprised if he won this. Sub would seem the obvious choice, but its hard as we know relatively little about JDS on the ground/off his back.

Agree again about the Buentello-Kongo fight, i think it will be a stand-up fight and kongo should have enough to put Buentello away. Again i think Kongo is a disappointing fighter who has not evolved and against any rounded fighter with decent take downs will come unstuck.

finally, i totally agree that the match making of these fights is great, and we should be in for some excellent fights on the night. This is reflectedin the fact that i've chosen almost no UDs on the predictor!!

JDS seems to throw mainly punches on the feet, I wonder if Gonzaga kicking like a mule is going to even up the standup though. I think Gonzaga is really at a crossroads here. A loss against JDS puts him as a gatekeeper, Its make or break for him. JDS is younger and I can see him being a success even if he looses.

I think Gonzaga vs Nog will be the fight we will see if he beats JDS, although I hear that Nog is calling for a Mir rematch. Personally I dont see why Nog should get a rematch with Mir. I love Nog but I dont think he diserves to fight top contenders till he wins again.

JDS vs Cain is a sure thing if JDS wins id say. Id be supprised to see anything else happen.

On UFC's Hw devision im looking forward to seeing Duffee in the mix, If Gonzaga looses I think he would make a great fight for Duffee... Maby a little too early for Duffee but I think they would match up well.

Sure Gonzagas kicks could have an effect on JDS, but he'll be doing all he can to check them/counter-punch them and overall i think he'll have enough to take out Gonzaga.

Agree that we'll see JDS-Cain if JDS wins. No point discussing who would win there until it's set up. There are 5-6 HWs who are pulling away from the rest in terms of quality, and this is the only fight that would make sense without a title shot and with Mir-Carwin set up, and presuming JDS wouldn't fight Nog!

sure, Duffee seems to be the next guy that may make it up towards those 6 or so guys, but i think it's too soon for him and he needs to prove himself against another guy before Gonzaga. not sure who thought. Does Duffee have a fight lined up just now? Someone like Herring would be a good test if he's ever coming back.

Good call mate, wasnt Duffee supposed to fight him? Herring has what it takes to hang with top top 10 heavys in UFC no problem. Again him vs Gonzaga wouldnt be a bad match. Or Maby Duffee vs Barry if he beats Crocop? UFC have quite a deep heavyweight devision now.

I have a feeling Herring is going to go to SF though... He seems to want to act and SF will give him a lot of freedome to do so. I think Herrings contract is up this year so he will be a free agent soon.

Just checked Gonzaga and JDS stats and JDS actually has and Inch iin height and reach on him. Gonzaga may not have that much of a size advantage. I wonder if he will be able to bully him around in the clintch? I expected Gonzaga to have the power advantage but im not sure now.... Like I said earlier great matchmaking!

Read an interview that both Vera and Bones said that they wanted to compete at heavyweight in the future. Vera said he didnt think he could effectivley fight between the weight classes but wanted to move to heavy after he achieved what he wanted at Lhw. Bones said that being so young he though that he would need to move up to heavy in the future. He is a big guy already at 205, id imagine he is cutting quite a bit of weight and is only 22 I think he said.... I really hope he wins this one, I think he has a really bright future in MMA. Seriously enjoyable to watch. Vera is a waste of tallent, he needs more agression about him.

No idea, i haven't heard anything of Herring for a while, since the Brock fight, it's just been that he's 'acting'. He's a good test for any HW though, would like to see him back but agree looks like he'll be off elsewhere, i seem to recall a few negative comments towards the UFc if i'm not wrong?

I think JDS is a couple inches taller and weighs about the same as Gonzaga, which means Gonzaga is a bit heavier built, but not necessarily able to bully JDS too much i wouldn't think.

Not sure about those two at HW with the size of some of those guys these days. I think it will become more and more difficult for smaller guys like them to step up to HW. Look at Randy, he is dwarfed by most HWs these days, and that's told in his last few fights a HW before he moved down. It's definately not impossible, but i just think it puts them at an instant disadvantage. I don't think Vera has what it takes to do it anyway. He has his hands full getting near a LHW title shot first! Bones could do it possibly, but not in the near future. I like Vera but i hope bones wins this as Vera has been stagnating a while and bones is the opposite, always improving and entertaining to watch.

Is this his first fight out of the Jackson camp too? It'll be interesting to see if his gameplan has evolved/changed since he's moved there.

good picks Ben but i see Beuntello beating Kongo by tko Kongo doesnt seem to have the best chin from watching past fights and Beuntello hits like a truck cant wait for this card though its going to be great

good picks Ben but i see Beuntello beating Kongo by tko Kongo doesnt seem to have the best chin from watching past fights and Beuntello hits like a truck cant wait for this card though its going to be great

Im not that impressed with Vera. He is good everywhere but isn't great anywhere, maybe he has some good Muay Thai cred out of MMA but so did Kit Cope and he is one of the worst fighters ever to enter MMA. Obviously Vera is a lot better than Cope and has no weakness but he has no clear strength. His wrestling? Ok, good enough to stop some takedowns but he won't control anyone for 15 minutes. BJJ? He has one submission win against Asuerio Silva who had his eye poked out and isn't that good to start with. His grappling can't be used as a weapon, only in defense. Striking is the strongest part of his game but he doesn't posses that much power and has struggled against weaker strikers like Jardine and Randy. His kicks are good though.

Jones is a more talented fighter, he is bigger, faster, a whole lot more athletic and a better overall grappler with his wrestling and Judo. His striking isn't at this point great, but he does posses some power and unpredicatability. Should he struggle in the striking department, he can get a takedown or a trip and GnP there. Vera should be good enough to avoid being finished but Jones will overwhelm him.

Everyone knows what im like with my favourite fighters and JDS is one of those.

Kongo should beat Buentello, this is a big step down after his last two opponents. Technichally the better striker, if Struve can get the better of the headhunter on the feet then Kongo should have no problems.

Looking forward to it TBH.

Jones vs Vera, have picked Jones to win by stoppage, not certain whether he's really mastered the art of pacing himself yet, so would be worried if it went much past the latter stages of the 2nd. Agree that both guys are a little on the small side to be competitive at HW.

JDS vs Gonzaga's probably the fight I'm most looking forward to on the card, really interesting match-up, sure to be fireworks.

Also looking forward to the Guida/Gurgety fight as well. Never really a dull moment when the Carpenter's involved.

I still fancy Kongo to beat Buentello, but it will be a tough one for Cheick, with regards to his chin though, he withstood some decent shots against Cain, and only has one stoppage loss on his record.

Countdown to verses card

http://www.megavideo.com/?v=3MEDH1HQ

I think Napao-JDS is a 50-50 fight.

yeah i am pretty much pumped for this card!

I think we will see JDS blow Gonzaga away in the first few minutes, there is no chance that Gonzaga could take Cigano's punches and keep coming...and that is what it will come down to.
I like Gonzaga as a fighter and JDS is STILL untested in alot of areas so i am not that confident.

Jones vs Vera is an example of good matchmaking in my opinion.
Vera is technically superb and his only real flaw is that he is not agressive enough. I think this will be a war and if Bones wins this against Vera on all cylinders the annoying hype will be justified.

I will be cheering for Vera and i have a feeling Jones will get humbled.



Buentello is a great striker, dont let his portly figure fool you...
he clearly outstruck a guy with 9 inches on him...and he outstruck OVEREEM!!! (well made him use his grappling anyway )

i think he is a better kickboxer than Kongo but when Kongo gets him in a situation for knees i think Kongo will win it.

either way i look forward to all of Paul Buentello's fights and will be cheering for him.