So last time my picks sucked. However, I still beat Kevin and picked the two big fights correctly so I’m not too disappointed.  Either way, It’s a new week and a new night of fights so I’m ready to make some picks.  Check out the beat down here

Antwain Britt vs Rafael “Feijao” Calvancante

This fight has the potential to be “Fight of the Night”.  Calvancante was a big up-and-coming prospect at one point but just has never broken out.  Both of these fighters like to bang and look for Britt to come out swinging early. However, Calvancante has a very well rounded game coming from the Team Nogueira camp and could definitely submit Britt pretty easily should the fight go to the ground.

My prediction: Rafael Calvancante defeats Antwain Britt via TKO in Round 2.

Roger Gracie vs Kevin Randleman

Why this fight is on the main card I’ll never understand.  Neither fighter is a contender or is even relevant for that matter. The breakdown is as follows: Randleman is a veteran who enjoyed a nice and exciting career in both the UFC and PRIDE organizations but over the past few years has battled injuries as well as the nastiest staph infection I’ve ever seen. He’s lost his last two fights and recently battled a smaller staph infection.  On the other hand you have Roger Gracie who is undefeated in just two pro fights against aging fighters. Randleman will want to stand and bang where as Gracie will want to get it to the ground.  At the end of the day, Randleman just doesn’t have what it takes anymore.

My prediction: Roger Gracie defeats Kevin Randleman via Sub. in Round 3.

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs Joey Villasenor

This is another fight that has potential to be great. Jacare is a submission beast and Villasenor is a gamer. Villasenor has been around for a long time and always comes prepared to battle. He has won his last four fights but the last one was almost a year ago. Jacare is coming off of a very impressive win over veteran Matt Linland.  He has only had one fight go past the first round so look for him to finish it early. The longer the fight goes, the better chance Villasenor has to pull it off.

My prediction: Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza defeats Joey Villasenor via Submission in Round 1

Andrei Arlovski vs Antonio Silva

After rifiling off five straight victories, Arlovski has lost his last two fights to Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers. He has taken almost a year off and has spent it with his boxing coach working on his striking. Silva also lost his last fight to heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum via decision last November.  I have never been very impressed with Silva and despite having a 13-2 record, none of them are over any contenders. While Arlovski also hasn’t been at his best, I believe he’s going to come back strong and take this one over Silva.

My prediction: Andrei Arlovski defeats Antonio Silva via TKO in Round 1

MAIN EVENT

“Heavyweight Champion” Alistair Overeem vs Brett Rogers

This matchup is really mind boggling considering that Brett Rogers lost his last fight and now is getting a title shot before the man that beat him last time, Fedor Emelianenko. Rogers’ last fight was the first professional loss of his career and will have a tough time trying to rebound against the champion Overeem. Since winning the Strikeforece Heavyweight title a year and a half ago, Overeem has never defended his title and has won 6 of his 7 fights with one no contest. All of those fights have been overseas. Overeem is a good striker and has great submission skills for a heavyweight with 60% of his wins coming by submission. Rogers is a hard hitting striker and still hasn’t been tested in any of his wins with only one of them being over a formitable opponent, and that was over Andrei Arlovski. Despite losing his last fight, Rogers is continuously improving and could become a very good heavyweight fighter. This fight however, won’t be the fight where he shows us that. He’s just too outmatched by the champion

My prediction: Alistair Overeem defeats Brett Rogers via submission in Round 2