Bisping vs Kennedy and Bocek vs Dunham announced for TUF Nations Finale

Bisping and Kennedy finally set to meet in the Octagon

by Ben Heather @benheather

Michael Bisping will finally get the chance to shut up Tim Kennedy when then meet in a 5 round fight which will headline the TUF Nations Finale in April.

For as long as I can remember Tim Kennedy has been calling out Michael Bisping, it didn't matter on the circumstances, whether Bisping was injured or not or even whether Bisping already had a fight lined up. To be fair though, in that time so has pretty much every other middleweight fighter who is trying to make a name for themselves.

Now finally it seems set for the English middleweight contender to get his hands on Tim Kennedy and make him back up all the talk. As Bisping has said himself, a win in this fight will not do much as far as push him towards the title shot he so badly desires but it will finally give him the chance to end all of the abuse he has been receiving from Tim Kennedy. That being said though it would put Bisping on a two fight win streak and with some big match ups in the division already announced could leave him fighting in a number one contender fight later this year.

As far as Kennedy is concerned a win over Michael Bisping will be one of, if not the biggest win of his career. Kennedy joined UFC in 2013 and in his debut picked up a win over Roger Gracie in a lacklustre display. He then got the opportunity to headline the UFC Fight for the Troops 3 event where he was scheduled to face Lyoto Machida before he got pulled from that fight to step in for Bisping and fight Mark Munoz in Manchester. Kennedy then easily defeated Rafael Natal via KO in round 1, but the fight had lost the big name opponent to really push Kennedy up the rankings. Now he will get the shot he has been asking for.

The question that remains to be seen is: Has Tim Kennedy talked himself in to a fight that he can't win?? We will find out in April.

Also announced on the card for the TUF Nations Finale is a lightweight clash between two UFC veterans as Mark Bocek and Evan Dunham are set to battle it out in the Octagon.

Both fighters will be looking to get back to winning ways after losing their last fights. Dunham faced off against Donald Cerrone and saw the Cowboy return to the old form we all know he can bring when he submitted Dunham. Before that fight Dunham also lost to Dos Anjos so a win against Bocek will be crucial if he wants to continue in the UFC.

Bocek did not feature in the Octagon last year and like Dunham lost to Dos Anjos in his last appearance back in 2012.

The TUF Nations Finale takes place on April 16th and will be shown on Fox Sports 1 in the USA but as yet there is no word on whether this card will be available on BT Sports in the UK.

UFC on FX 8 Main Card Predictions

Kingdom MMA: UFC on FX 8 Main Card Predictions

by Chris Houten @KingdomMMAChris, Tommy Strong @Strong_tea and Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

On Saturday night we will see a middleweight battle with potential title implications as Vitor Belfort and Luke Rockhold fight in Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil.

A lot of the talk before this fight has been about Vitor fighting again outside the USA and using TRT, something which if he was to fight in the USA probably would not be approved. On top of this both Luke Rockhold and Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza make their UFC debuts and Chris Camozzi gets to test his skills against a top 10 ranked opponent for the first time, all in all it makes for an interesting night of fights.

Below you will find the predictions from some of the guys at Kingdom MMA for the main card.

Vitor Belfort (22-10) #2 MW vs Luke Rockhold (10-1) #5 MW

Jack: I see this being very similar to Belfort-Bisping. If it goes past the 1st round or 2nd Rockhold should take over and have the gas tank to win a comfortable decision. Can he stay away from the Vitor flurry though. I don't think he can. When Vitor lands he hurts you. When he hurts you he moves in for the kill.

Prediction: Belfort by TKO Round 2

Tommy: Just to say from the off, this event really isn't floating my boat! As I slap my face to keep myself awake, not just because of the lack of sleep from a new born child, but mostly due to the underwhelming card.

This is a massive step up for Luke, he hasn't fought anyone with the class of Belfort before. His last win was a decision win over Tim Kennedy, this will be like day and night in calibre of fighters. I was slightly amazed to see Luke being a slight favourite for this fight, I feel he has it all to do come Saturday night.

That being said, I written off a lot of ex-Strikeforce fighters before and they have made a massive impact in the UFC already. As much as i would like to see Belfort lose , I just don't see it. Belfort for me is better in pretty much every department, if Luke can keep it at range and wait for Belfort to tire he stands a chance, though that's easier said than done. Bisping tried the same tactics and ended up TKO'd.

Prediction: Belfort by KO Round 2

Chris: Is Vitor Belfort the best middleweight in the world right now? No, Anderson Silva is, but at this point it's really hard to argue against Vitor at number 2.

In his last 4 fights be destroyed Akiyama, submitted a solid opponent in Rumble Johnson, knocked out a top 5 middleweight in Michael Bisping and came the closest anyone has come to beating Jon Jones.

His opponent Luke Rockhold is an athletic guy and as a fighter he is pretty good at everything. While he holds a win over a fighter with a similar style as Belfort in Jacare, Belfort represents Rockhold's biggest test to date, and to win this fight he will need to stick and move, avoid the big shots and berserker style Belfort employs, and drag Belfort in to the later rounds...... All that while not letting the nerves of being in the main event in his UFC debut, or the crowd get to him.

That being said i think it will all be a little too much for Rockhold, and I like Belfort here. I think the quality he has produced recently has been overshadowed by his TRT use in recent fights, and he ends this fight early, much to the pleasure of the crowd.... And god.

Prediction: Belfort by TKO Round 2

Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza (17-3-1) #8 MW vs Chris Camozzi (19-5)

Jack: This is a tough fight for Camozzi. Souza on paper is better wherever the fight goes. Look for Souza to make a name for himself and put himself into contention talks

Prediction: Souza by Submission Round 1

Tommy: Disappointed that Costa Philippou had to withdraw from the fight, this would've been a great match up with Souza. Now I feel its going to be a damp squid! Souza really impressed me with his win over Ed Herman back in January.

Camozzi isn't a fighter that impresses me and I thought he was lucky to get the decision win over Nick Ring in his last fight. Souza has excellent Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and vastly improved striking which will make it a bad night for Camozzi.

Prediction: Souza by Submission Round 3

Chris: I like to think a man is most dangerous when he has nothing to lose, which will be the case for Camozzi on Saturday night. He is fighting a BJJ legend in his homeland who is better in every department.

If Camozzi pulls off the upset fair play to him, and fair play to you if you get him at the general price of 9/2, but I see this one ending in an early night for Chris Camozzi.

Prediction: Souza by Submission Round 2

Rafael Dos Anjos (18-6) #10 LW vs Evan Dunham (14-3)

Tommy: I really like this match up, this could be FOTN. I'm really struggling to pick a winner in this fight. Both are very good fighters and I favour Rafael slightly especially if he can get the fight to the ground.
You know with Dunham, he will come to fight and it will take a good performance by Rafael to get the win.

I keep changing my mind over the outcome of this fight, but I will go with my head and and not my heart pick Dos Anjos to get a narrow win.

Prediction: Dos Anjos by Submission Round 3

Jack: Dunham is tough but he's a slow starter. Always picks it up and appears in exciting match ups. This should be no different. Dos Anjos is a gamer as well and I think he has enough about him to win at least 2 of the 3 rounds.

Prediction: Dos Anjos by Decision

Chris: Put your hands up if you don't this this will be fight of the night.... yeah, didn't think there would be any. As with every Evan Dunham fight this battle has war written all over it.

This fight is pretty much a pick em to be honest but I'm siding with Dos Anjos.

I have been impressed with the radical improvements he is making between fights, and I expect him to come out more aggressive (wouldn't you if you were fighting to the sound of 15k Brazilians chanting "Tu vai morrer") and keep Dunham on the back foot most of the fight.

Prediction: Dos Anjos by Unanimous Decision

Rafael Natal (15-4-1) vs Joao Zeferino (13-4)

Tommy: Zeferino (13-4) will be making his UFC debut this weekend and not knowing much (well anything) about him he's coming into the fight on the back off a 7 fight win streak, with 9 of his 13 of wins coming via submission.

Natal himself also has a impressive win percentage of submissions. 8 of his 15 wins coming via sub. So I expect we will have a stand up battle on our hands. In that case I'm picking Natal to get a stoppage with the knowledge I have on him.

Prediction: Natal by TKO Round 2

Jack: I don't know a whole deal about Zeferino. After a bit of research he has excellent BJJ. I haven't been impressed with Natal's ufc career to date. There could be a shock on the cards here.

Prediction: Zeferino by Submission Round 2

Chris: Like Jack I can't say I'm particularly blown away by Natal either, although I do think he is reasonably well rounded, and has the still set to stop take downs and avoid submission attempts from grappler Zeferino.

Prediction: Natal by Unanimous Decision