INJURY BREAKDOWN
Thiago Silva was expected to face Ovince St. Preux at this event, but pulled out for undisclosed reasons and the bout was rescheduled for UFC 171.
Deadly Russian striker Adlan Amagov was expected to fight Jason High at this event, but pulled out and was replaced by Beneil Dariush. High then pulled out of the bout after having appendicitis and was replaced by veteran Charlie Brenneman.
PREDICTIONS
LUKE ROCKHOLD VS COSTA PHILIPPOU
This is a really great middleweight matchup. Rockhold has a big advantage in a few areas: He's got a longer reach, he's taller, and he's a bit younger, generally considered to be in his prime. But Costa needs a win here bad. He was just beaten by Francis Carmont, a fight he had the tools to win. He needs to come out here with that killer instinct. Philippou's loss to Carmont was way worse than Rockhold's loss to Vitor. Costa has something to prove, and I think he'll go out there and get it done.
PREDICTION: Philippou via unanimous decision
BRAD TAVARES VS LORENZ LARKIN
Tough fight to pick. Tavares is definitely a live dog here, he's agressive but smart at the same time. Larkin is coming off a win over Chris Camozzi at Fight for the Troops 3 while Tavares is coming off a win over Bubba McDaniel. Neither of these guys have big KO power and I think this one will be contested mostly on the ground, and therefore this one, in my mind, comes down to who can defend the takedown better and take control when on the mat. I think Tavares has the wrestling to get it done in this one.
PREDICTION: Tavares via unanimous decision
TJ DILLASHAW VS MIKE EASTON
Easton is another guy on this card who really needs a win bad. He's coming off two straight losses to Rafael Assuncao and Brad Pickett. Dillashaw is coming off one loss to Rafael Assuncao, a fight many thought he did enough to win. Dillashaw has great power in his hands and has devastating knees, but Easton has shown his resiliency when taking hard shots. Tough to pick, but I'll go with Dillashaw here.
PREDICTION: Dillashaw via split decision
YOEL ROMERO VS DEREK BRUNSON
Both of these men are wrestling standouts, but Romero has shown his striking power before, especially in the Ronny Markes fight. Brunson would be wise to look for the takedown in this one, but needs to be careful in doing so as Romero has been known to land some brutal combinations to stagger his opponent and keep them from securing the takedown. Based on the striking x-factor, I like Romero in this one.
PREDICTION: Yoel Romero via 2nd round TKO
JOHN MORAGA VS DUSTIN ORTIZ
This fight is a mismatch in my mind. Moraga, coming off a title fight loss to Demetrious Johnson, is better everywhere, especially on the mat. Moraga has never been finished by strikes, something Ortiz favors heavily. I don't see any way Moraga doesn't win this fight, and I think he'll do it fairly quickly.
PREDICTION: Moraga via 1st round submission
COLE MILLER VS SAM SICILIA
The first fight on the main card here is a featherweight matchup between renowned grappler and jiu-jitsu black belt Cole Miller vs heavy-handed Sam Sicilia. If this fight goes to the ground, expect Miller to dominate. But if it stays standing, it plays right into Sicilia's strengths. Tough fight to pick, but I think Miller has the ability to take some shots and get the fight to the ground in order to get the victory. I'm expecting a war between these two though.
PREDICTION: Miller via split decision
UNDERCARD PREDICTIONS
Ramsey Nijem def. Justin Edwards
Elias Silverio def. Isaac Vallie-Flagg
Trevor Smith def. Brian Houston
Alptekin Ozkilic def. Louis Smolka
Vinc Pichel def. Garrett Whiteley
Charlie Brenneman def. Beneil Dariush
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