What’s next for the losers of UFC 160

Fights to make for the main card losers at UFC 160

by John Haigh @JohnBJayHaigh

After last weekends UFC 160 it set up a couple of matches with new number one contenders announced for both the lightweight and heavyweight divisions in the UFC. Today I will discuss what I think should be the next match ups for the losers on the main card. If you have any opinion on these be sure to comment at the bottom.

Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva

After what I thinks was a bit of a controversial stoppage in his title fight against Cain Velasquez I think he deserves a top opponent to have a chance to get back into title contention as soon as possible. A fight against the loser of the upcoming Big Nog vs. Werdum at UFC on Fuel TV 10 could do just that, both fighters have being kicking around the top of the heavyweight for years and both would be a good victory for Bigfoot to get on his record.

Mark Hunt

After his disappointing performance against the now number one contender Junior Dos Santos I’d like to see Hunt vs. Big Country. It was mentioned before the fights of UFC 160 and is sure to be a fight that will get the fans excited. If this fight is to take place it will mean Hunt having to wait a while though due to Nelson recently being scheduled to fight Stipe Miocic. Also, this may be good timing as Mark Hunt recently revealed on twitter that he broke his toe in the Junior Dos Santos fight.

Even a fight against Stipe Miocic I think would be a good match up. Miocic had been unbeaten until his fight against Stefan Struve who Hunt beat and broke his jaw. Hunt had been on a great run up the division with four straight victories before getting knocked out by Junior Dos Santos and a win for both fighters could leave them a couple of wins away from a title contention.

James Te Huna

This is the hardest one for me to pick an opponent for but after a lot of thought and studying I’d like to see a fight against Ryan Bader. Bader has got back to winning ways and holds some impressive victories over opponents like Rampage and little Nog. He was also unbeaten until he fought now champ Jon Jones. I think if Te Huna wants to make a big impact in the division a winner over Bader wouldn’t be a bad way to do it.

Gray Maynard

Maynard has been a bit hit and miss lately having come so close to the UFC lightweight title but drew the first attempt and lost the second against Frankie Edgar. Maynard had a perfect unbeaten record prior to his 2nd and 3rd fight with Edgar but has not been able to get back to his previous dominance since.
A fight against Matt Wiman could be a possibility, both have had ups and downs recently. Wiman has a few more loses than Maynard but has had 6 more fights and has fought some top opponents over the years. Both fighters were also on Team Penn on season 5 on The Ultimate Fighter. Both fighters also have lost to TJ Grant in the first round so this fight could be interesting.

K.J. Noons

I don’t think Noons next opponent or fight will be in the UFC, he’s lost four straight and five of his last six fights. With the UFC roster stacked at the moment I think the axe will fall again. It’s no secret that the UFC want to cut the amount of fighters under contract down to a more reasonable number and Noons may be one of the next ones to be released.

Forrest Griffin Retires from MMA

Forrest Griffin announces retirement

by Jack Broadey @J3ck_b

At the press conference after UFC 160 there was a little bit of a shock as Griffin announced his retirement. He has dealt with a lot of injuries lately but the announcement was still surprising and unexpected.It is however the correct move.

Forrest has nothing left to prove and will not fight for a title again. He realised he had to retire when he watched Silva v Stann according to the man himself. In his opinion if he could no longer put on a fight of that quality he had no business to continue fighting.

Griffin last fought at UFC 148 in July of last year defeating long term rival Tito Ortiz. Ortiz also retired after that battle. Griffin will be inducted into the UFC hall of fame. He helped make the sport go mainstream by appearing on the first season of 'The Ultimate Fighter.'

Griffin made it through to the finale and defeated Stephan Bonnar in the live finale in a fight that will go down in history as the fight that shaped the UFC into what it is today. Griffin went on to coach a season of 'TUF' himself fighting the opposing coach and UFC Light Heavyweight champion Rampage Jackson at the end of the season.

Griffin cemented his legacy defeating Rampage to become the Light Heavyweight UFC champion. Griffin retires at the right time with his health intact and will be given a job in the UFC back office. He deserves every success in his retirement and will be remembered as a great fighter who despite his limitations worked hard to get to the very top.

TJ Grant defeats Gray Maynard to earn himself a lightweight title shot

TJ Grant becomes new lightweight number 1 contender

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

On Saturday night TJ Grant had a night to remember. He impressed everyone with his 1st round TKO win over Gray Maynard. Especially impressed was Mike Tyson who was watching on cage side. He was so impressed with Grant's performance that he overrode Joe Silva's decision to award Junior Dos Santos with KO of the night honours. Instead he managed to persuade the UFC brass to award it to Grant for his KO instead!

He was certainly impressive in a stand up battle he handled the always tough Maynard with ease. Like many of his previous fights Grant again came in as the underdog and he again proved many people wrong. He dropped Maynard in the 1st round with a sweet right hook overhand right combo. He poured it on Maynard with a flurry of punches and to Maynard's credit he managed to get to his feet, only to be put back down with a crunching knee to the face.

Grant made no mistake this time and didn't let up until the referee was forced to step in. This was a massive win and a massive performance for Grant and he took his chance impressively. Dana White wanted someone to come in and give him no choice but to give the winner a title shot. Grant certainly did that.

Grant is now the clear number 1 contender and will go on to face Lightweight champion Benson Henderson. The date of the fight is yet to be confirmed with one possible target date being the UFC on FOX Sports 1 show scheduled for August 17th in Boston.

UFC 160 Fighter vs Writer Picks Challenge - The Result

Kingdom MMA's Ben Heather defeats UFC fighter Luke Barnatt again in Kingdom MMA's picks challenge

At UFC 160 Luke Barnatt was out for revenge in the Kingdom MMA fighter vs writer challenge, after defeat in the inaugural challenge at UFC 159. It was that first event when our very own Ben Heather defeated UFC fighter Luke Barnatt 7-1 in points. Not long after this Luke tweeted Ben to say he wanted a rematch at UFC 160 and to make it a best out of three series. If needed the decider will be UFC 161.

This time the pair had to predict the fight outcomes from last nights UFC 160 which was headlined by Antonio Silva challenging Cain Velasquez for the UFC heavyweight championship. 

The stakes were upped as well as a wager was put on the best of three series. If Luke lost at UFC160 he will give Ben a signed t shirt, however if Ben lost at UFC 160 and UFC 161 he has to send a signed t shirt to Luke.

The Scoring

The scoring was the same as always, if you predict the correct winner of the fight you will get one point. If you predict the correct method of victory you will get a second point and if the fight ends in a stoppage and you predict the round as well you could earn a third bonus point. If the fight goes the distance you can only earn a maximum of two points.

So at UFC 160 the maximum either guy could score would be 15 points, if all fights ended in a finish. As it turned out we got four finishes and only one decision so for this event the maximum score was 14 points.

The Results:

Donald Cerrone vs. KJ Noons

Luke's Prediction: Cerrone by TKO Round 2

Ben's Prediction: Cerrone by Submission Round 2

Both men scored one point each for this for both predicting that Cerrone would win the fight.

So its 1-1 going in to the second fight.

Gray Maynard vs. TJ Grant 

Luke's Prediction: Maynard by Decision

Ben's Prediction: Maynard by Decision

Both men were incorrect in predicting that Maynard would win so no points won on this fight.

Still 1-1 going in to the third fight.

Glover Teixeira vs. James Te-Huna 

Luke's Prediction: James Te-Huna by Kiwi Beatdown!

Ben's Prediction: Teixeira by TKO Round 3

In this fight Ben managed to correctly predict that Teixeira would win the fight but didn't predict the correct outcome so scored one point.

Score 2-1 to Ben going in to the co main event.

Co Main Event: Junior Dos Santos vs Mark Hunt

Luke's Prediction: Dos Santos by TKO Round 2 

Ben's Prediction: Dos Santos by TKO Round 3

Both men correctly predicted that Dos Santos would win by TKO scoring two points each however, Ben predicted the correct round as well and in the process picked up a third bonus point.

Scores going in to the main event: Ben 5 points Luke 3 points.

Main Event: Cain Velasquez (c) vs. Antonio Silva

Luke's Prediction: Velasquez TKO Rounds 2/3

Ben's Prediction: Velasquez by TKO Round 2

Again both men correctly predicted that Cain Velasquez would win and how he would win but neither man got the correct round to pick up any bonus points so two points go to each man for the main event.

Final Score:

After a very closely contested predictions battle in which between both competitors did very well with Ben predicting 4/5 fights correctly and Luke predicting 3/5 its time to announce the final scores.

Luke Barnatt correctly predicted three fight winners and on two of those he got the correct method as well. This led to him scoring a respectable 5 points.

However, Ben Heather manged to predict four fights correctly and like Luke he predicted the correct method in two of those fights as well. Ben also managed to predict the exact outcome of the JDS vs Hunt fight and in doing so picked up a bonus point. So in total Ben scored 7 points.

Ben Heather defeats Luke Barnatt 7-5.

This means that for the second event in a row Ben has beaten Luke in the Kingdom MMA Fighter vs Writer Challenge. It also now means that Ben will be awarded a signed T-Shirt from Luke for winning the wager that they put on the challenge.

We would all like to thank Luke again for providing us with his picks for this weekends fights and maybe next time he may come out on top.

UFC 160: Weigh in Results

Weigh in Results for UFC 160

by Ben Heather @benheather

Tomorrows UFC live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Nevada, is now set after the weigh ins have now made the fights official. The main event sees Cain Velasquez attempt to defend his UFC Heavyweight title against Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva and both men weighed in within the 265lbs limit to make the fight official.

In the co main event, we will witness another heavyweight battle and potential number one contender fight between Junior Dos Santos and Mark Hunt. Both men also weighed in under the 265lbs limit at the weigh ins, and they both know that a big win will move them a step closer to a potential title shot. If Mark Hunt wins it will be very hard to deny him his chance to fight for the UFC title which only a year or so ago would have sounded crazy.

Also on the main event, is another number one contenders fight this time in the UFC Lightweight division as Gray Maynard and TJ Grant will fight to see who will be the next contender to face Benson Henderson. Dana White announced after the UFC on FOX 7 event that the winner of this fight will get the next title shot.

All of the other fighters made weight when they stepped on to the scales, with the exception of Nurmagomedov who failed to make the weight by 2.5lbs for his fight against Abel Trujillo. According to Ariel Helwani via twitter announced that Khabib won't try to shed the extra weight, he will forfeit 10% of his purse to the Nevada state commission and 10% to Abel. Also Nah-Shon Burrell missed weight by 1lb for his fight against Stephen Thompson. I imagine Burrell will try and lose the extra pound.

Full list of results from today's weigh in can be found below.

Main Card - Live on ESPN at 3am Sunday 26th May 2013

Cain Velasquez (c) (240lbs) vs. Antonio Silva (263lbs)
Junior Dos Santos (239lbs) vs. Mark Hunt (264lbs)    
Glover Teixeira (205lbs) vs. James Te Huna (206lbs)
Gray Maynard (156lbs) vs. TJ Grant (155lbs)
Donald Cerrone (155lbs) vs. K.J. Noons (156lbs)   
Prelims - Live on ESPN at 1am Sunday 26th May 2013

Mike Pyle (170lbs) vs. Rick Story (169lbs)    
Dennis Bermudez (146lbs) vs. Max Holloway (145lbs)   
Colton Smith (170lbs) vs. Robert Whittaker (171lbs)   
Khabib Nurmagomedov (158.5lbs)** vs. Abel Trujillo (155lbs)

Facebook Prelims - Live on facebook

Stephen Thompson (170lbs) vs. Nah-Shon Burrell (172lbs)*   
Brian Bowles (135lbs) vs. George Roop (135lbs)   
Jeremy Stephens (146lbs) vs. Estevan Payan (145lbs)

*Burrell missed weight by 1lb
**Nurmagomedov missed weight by 2.5lbs

UFC 160 Competition - Can you beat Luke Barnatt

Kingdom MMA: UFC 160 Competition

At UFC 160 Kingdom MMA are doing another give away, this time the winner will win this UFC 131 Junior Dos Santos vs Shane Carwin Mini poster. The poster size is 8.5" x 11". Shane Carwin has recently retired and Junior Dos Santos is fighting in the co main event on Saturday night.

To be in with a chance of winning this prize you only need to follow these 3 quick and easy steps.

1) Follow us on twitter

2) Tweet your picks for the 5 main card fights in UFC 160 to Kingdom MMA with #KingdomMMA in your tweet. (ANY ENTRIES WITHOUT #KingdomMMA WILL NOT BE ENTERED INTO THE PRIZE DRAW)

3) Any person who can beat the number of correct picks that Luke Barnatt has predicted in our recent fighter vs writer article which can be seen here will be entered in to the prize draw. 

The deadline for picks to be submitted is 3am on 26th May as this is the time the UFC 160 main card will start. Any tweets recieved after this will not be entered in to the prize draw.

All entries who manage to predict more fights correct than Luke does, will go in to the hat. In the event that Luke predicts all the fights correct then we will submit any entries which have tied with him in to the prize draw? The prize draw will take place on Sunday night and someone at random will be picked to win the prize.

All that is left for the team to say is good luck and lets hope you can all beat Luke and get a shot at winning this brilliant prize.

UFC 160 Main Card Predictions

Kingdom MMA: UFC 160 Main Card Predictions

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

On Saturday night we will see the UFC heavyweight title on the line as Cain Velasquez will try and defend his title against Antonio Silva at UFC 160 in Las Vegas.

It's hard to forget the first fight between the pair as Cain left Silva a bloodied mess when he finished him in the first round after a very one sided fight. Can this rematch be any different? We will find out on Saturday night.

On top of that we have a number 1 contender fight in the lightweight division between Gray Maynard and TJ Grant and a potential number 1 contender fight between Junior Dos Santos and Mark Hunt. This is the fight a lot of fans have been talking about, can Mark Hunt go from the UFC offering to pay him out of his contract to number 1 contender. We will find out tomorrow night.

Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva

Jack: I will keep this one short as I think it's very easy to predict. Velasquez may not get Silva down as quickly as last time but he will find a way and pound Silva out eventually.

Prediction: Velasquez by TKO Round 1

Tommy: The UFC are trying to promote this fight, but failing to do so! Bigfoot was destroyed in their first fight inside a round. I just don't see anything changing this time around.
Silva is very lucky to be getting this title shot. He beat a one legged Travis Browne who was dominating until the injury. Then fought Overeem who took Silva too lightly and paid the price for it. I know I'm being harsh on Silva, but I just don't rate him at all. He will be found out again by Cain and I don't expect it to last two rounds.

Prediction: Velasquez by TKO Round 2

Chris: A lot of people have completely wrote Silva off due to the absolute battering he took in the first fight to the point where they don’t even want to see this fight, but I can see this one being a little bit more competitive than the last.

The facts are Big Foot lost the first fight due to a tactical error… leg kicks against a world class MMA wrestler, really Big Foot?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely not saying Big Foot is gonna shock the world and pull off another huge upset to go with his collection – Fedor and Overeem. All I’m saying is while he is still swinging those big Christmas Ham sized hands you never know, however it's more than likely Velasquez with his speed and ridiculous cardio who will try to push the pace and win the striking exchanges to the point where Big Foot can’t keep up.

Prediction: Velasquez

Junior dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt

Jack: This is quite intriguing as at least in my mind Hunt has the edge in terms of power. JDS likely has the technical edge as well as a huge speed advantage. He's also well versed in BJJ but as of yet has yet to show it in the UFC. I wonder if he feels he needs to take this fight to the floor. I think after he tasted a shot from Hunt he will attempt and succeed in getting the fight to the floor.

Prediction: Dos Santos by Submission Round 1

Tommy: A fight the fans have been calling for a while now. Its one that really interests me. JDS coming of the back of a beating by Cain will be looking to bounce back and show he's one of the best in the heavyweight division. Mark on the other hand is on a four win tear up and after his devastating knockout of Stefan Struve which resulted in leaving Struve with a broken jaw.

If JDS can keep Mark at range , using his superior boxing skills it could be a comfortable night for him, though if Mark can get close and land one of his bombs we could see an upset on the cards.

Prediction: Dos Santos by Unanimous Decision

Chris: I love the resurgence of Mark Hunt. Less than 3 years ago the guy was on a 6 fight losing streak and was actually being offer money by the UFC not to fight, now he is arguably one (Dangerous) fight away from a title shot.

Realistically Hunt has a punchers chance in this one, but as have so many before him. Sure Hunt has Knockout anyone with one punch, in fact he is so good doing it he even knows when to walk off before his opponent hits the mat, but that one punch (The overhand punch) is so predictable.
I like Dos Santos to use his hand speed and greater array of striking to beat Hunt to the punch, It also wouldn't surprise me if JDS puts Hunt way by countering the Overhand, with an uppercut.

Prediction: Dos Santos

Glover Teixeira vs. James Te-Huna

Jack: Both guys have proved they have great chins and are willing to stand and trade. Teixera's wrestling could be the key here as he can mix up his game to win rounds if he can't find the knockout blow.

Prediction: Teixera by Decision

Tommy: With a combined 43 fights between them, only 7 of their fights have gone to a decision. This fight really has me licking my lips! Glover has been in against better opposition than Te Huna and has a better all round game. Both are very durable and I fully expect an exciting fight.

I have a bad habit of writing off Te Huna , though Glover will be too strong for him and I can see Glover taking him down and submitting him later on in the fight.

Prediction: Teixera by Submission Round 2

Chris: All day I have been deciding whom I fancy in this one. I think Teixeira is the better MMA fighter; he has crisper, varied striking than Te Huna, and is better in the wrestling / jui-jitsu department.

What worries me about Teixeira is the brief moments in bouts where he loses discipline. He almost has that Amir Khan factor to he him where he needs to prove he is man enough to go toe-to-toe with his opponent, and if Te Huna can drag Teixeira into a dogfight, I think he can make him pay, the way Fabio Maldonado almost did.

That being said I can only judge the fight on skills alone, and Glover Teixera is the better fighter.

Prediction: Teixera

Gray Maynard vs. T.J. Grant

Jack: This is a great fight and will decide the next contender for Benson Henderson's lightweight crown.

Grant should have the edge in the standup game and will be looking to bully "the bully" and possibly look for the clinch to do some damage. Maynard's game has come on leaps and bounds but you would assume he will be looking for the takedown here. I think he gets it but can he keep Grant controlled for 3 rounds? Possibly not. This looks like a back and forth war and who wants it more?

Prediction: Maynard by Decision

Tommy: With the winner of this fight likely to fight Ben Henderson for the belt (still trying to figure out why) this fight could be very entertaining or very boring! Though its not often we see Maynard in a boring fight.

TJ will have an advantage on the ground, though getting Maynard there will be a different matter! Maynard with the better wrestling will dictate where the fight goes, so I can see this fight being a stand up fight.
If that's the case, I give a major advantage to Maynard to out strike TJ and work his way to a comfortable points win.

Prediction: Maynard by Unanimous Decision

Chris: In the build up to the Edgar vs Maynard fight, I was convinced Maynard was going to become The UFC Lightweight champion, and while he allowed Frankie back into the first fight, and ultimately lost the rematch, I'm still of the belief Maynard can hold UFC gold.

On paper Grant is the better fighter. He has considerable submission skills, and a proactive striking game, but I think Maynards wrestling pedigree will be too for Grant.

I like Maynard to control the fight, and untimely take a decision victory.

Prediction: Maynard by Decision

Donald Cerrone vs. K.J. Noons

Jack: Cerrone really is the better fighter pretty much everywhere. If he turns up in shape and ready to go I see no way he can lose this fight. He should dominate start to finish and he has the arsenal to stop Noons.

Prediction: Cerrone by Submission Round 2

Tommy: KJ Noons will be coming into this fight on the back of two losses and only having won one in his last 5 fight (outside of the UFC), he will be looking to stop the rot to keep his UFC career alive.
Cerrone on the other hand lost last time out in by 1st round TKO at the hands of Anthony Pettis. KJ will come into the fight as an underdog but I really like the match up for him here. I feel KJ will have enough to keep the fight standing and if he can will have the advantage.

I'm going against the odds here, and picking KJ to deliver a good performance and to beat Cerrone.

Prediction: KJ Noons by Unanimous Decision

Chris: This fight is basically Cerrone's to lose.

If he can keep his distant, mix up his striking, and not allow Noons to jab his way in he should take this one comfortable. From their I'd like to see Cerrone vs Pearson

Prediction: Cerrone

We will see if any of the guys can predict the results correct. Last week was a great week for the guys predictions as between the four guys who predict the fight results we went 49-3 with Tommy and Ben predicting all 13 fights correctly.

Fighter vs Writer - UFC 160 Main Card Picks Challenge - Heather vs Barnatt The Rematch

UFC Fighter Luke Barnatt out for revenge in Kingdom MMA's picks challenge

At UFC 159 we published the inaugural Kingdom MMA fighter vs writer challenge. For this first event Ben Heather from Kingdom MMA defeated UFC fighter Luke Barnatt.

The pair had to predict the fight outcomes from the UFC 159 which was headlined by Chael Sonnen challenging Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight championship. On that night our own Ben Heather defeated Luke Barnatt by a points margin of 7-1. Not long after this Luke tweeted Ben to say he wanted a rematch at UFC 160 and to make it a best out of three series. If needed the decider will be UFC 161.

The stakes have also been upped as a wager has now been placed on the challenge as if Luke loses he will give Ben a signed t shirt, however if Ben loses in the next two events he has to send a signed t shirt to Luke. As you can see from the picture below of the two of them I am not too sure what Luke could do with one of Ben's t shirts but that's the wager.

The Scoring

The scoring will be the same as last time, if you predict the correct winner of the fight you will get one point. If you predict the correct method of victory you will get a second point and if the fight ends in a stoppage and you predict the round as well you could earn a third bonus point. If the fight goes the distance you can only earn a maximum of two points.

The predictions:

Main Event: Cain Velasquez (c) vs. Antonio Silva

Luke: Cain will murder Big Foot.... with classic high pace cardio warfare, the pace will be to high and Cain will take the win in rounds 2 or 3 via Ground and Pound.

Prediction: Valasquez TKO Rounds 2/3

Ben: I also think that Cain will give Bigfoot another beating on Saturday night, he destroyed him in the first fight, then destroyed JDS at no point do I see this even being competitive.

Prediction: Valasquez by TKO Round 2

Co Main Event: Junior Dos Santos vs Mark Hunt

Luke: This fight has definitely got to be a fan favourite on the card... giving Mark Hunt the chance to be taken extremely seriously, because although the man has been break jaws and knocking people out left right and centre, people still don't see him as a genuine threat, but the truth is you stand in front of Hunt... you'll be getting helped up off the canvas and thinking... what happened?

But JDS is a huge test for the man and I can't really see him landing that monster KO punch, so I have to give this one to JDS via 2nd round Finish.. although my heart wants Hunt to win... my head says JDS.   

Prediction: Dos Santos by TKO Round 2 

Ben: I agree with Luke, I would love more than anything from this event to see Mark Hunt land one more monster punch and KO JDS to hopefully line up a title shot with the winner of the main event but I can't see it happening. Only one main has given JDS a beating and he is now the champ and before that fight nobody predicted it to go the way it did.

JDS is a beast with some of the best boxing in all of MMA and I see him using this to his advantage and keeping Hunt on the outside before finishing the fight late on.

Prediction: Dos Santos by TKO Round 3

Glover Teixeira vs. James Te-Huna 

Luke: Last I saw of Te-Huna he was making an unbelievable come back against a flexible bald man... so I can't doubt the man!

Prediction: James Te-Huna by Kiwi Beatdown!

Ben: Firstly I would like to thank Te Huna for giving all the UK fans possibly the best entrance to the cage I have ever seen and definitely that I have ever seen live!! He showed great heart in the fight with Jimmo as I spoke to Jimmo after the fight and he was convinced he knocked him out three times in the first round before Te Huna came back to win the fight in the last two rounds.

However I think Glover is a harder puncher than Jimmo and if Te Huna does the same again he will be put to sleep and wake up looking at the lights above the octagon. I can't bet against Teixeira in this and I also think he will finish Te Huna.

Prediction: Teixeira by TKO Round 3

Gray Maynard vs. TJ Grant 

Luke: I don't have a huge opinion on this one... I'm just going for Maynard via Decision! 

Prediction: Maynard by Decision

Ben: I also agree with Luke that Maynard will win this fight, the only person to trouble Maynard has been Edgar and I don't think TJ Grant is on that level. I think Maynard wins and then goes on to fight Benson Henderson for the lightweight title.

Prediction: Maynard by Decision

Donald Cerrone vs. KJ Noons

Luke: The Cowboy has a lot to prove after being dismantled by Tony in infatic fashion... so I can imagine the man will come out fast and hard. KJ survives the first and gets TKO'ed in the 2nd...
 
Prediction: Cerrone by TKO Round 2

Ben: I also think Cerrone will want to remind the world just how good he is and in his last fight he certainly didn't do that. I rate Cerrone very highly and think with a couple of wins he can be right back up at the top of the division and maybe we could see him fight for the title at some point in the next 12 months.

Prediction: Cerrone by Submission Round 2

So that's our predictions for this fights, we will be live tweeting on Saturday night as always and we will keep you all informed as to how the challenge is going with latest scores throughout the main card.

Thanks again to Luke for providing us with his picks for this weekends fights and it just leaves me to say.... May the best man win.... again!!

Mark Hunt vs JDS is on!!

Mark Hunt cleared to fight

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

The UFC 160 heavyweight double header is on. Silva-Velasquez is all set for the main event for the heavyweight championship. In the co main event of the evening Junior Dos Santos is set to meet Mark Hunt where the winner will likely get the next shot at the title.

The match up finally got the green light today as there was some confusion whether the fight could happen at all. The UFC even went as far as getting Roy Nelsen's paperwork all in order so he could be on standby. The issue came when Hunt tried to fly into Las Vegas last week to begin his preparations. He was stopped from flying into the country due to a previous incident following an arrest outside a Vegas nightclub in 2002.

Hunt was due to fly out to Vegas over a week ago now. The issue seem to have arisen due to Hunt getting a new passport. When he received the new passport he had problems acquiring a new work visa as the old visa he was using had not been transferred to his new passport. This is where the 2002 incident held up things.

Hunt is now in Vegas but you would have to question whether the delay has affected his preparations. Hunt has fought recently in the US and struggled with the preparation admitting he didn't fly out early enough to adjust for previous fights with Sean McCorkle and Ben Rothwell.

This time he has little under a week to acclimatize and prepare for what is the biggest fight of his life. The main thing is he is in Vegas and he may get the chance to fight for a world title now with a win. His destiny is now back in his own hands.

Gunnar Nelson injured, Replaced by Rick Story at ufc 160

Rick Story steps in after Gunnar Nelson forced out with injury

by John Haigh @JohnBjayHaigh

Iceland’s Gunnar Nelson has been force out of his fight with Mike Pyle at UFC 160 due to an undisclosed injury.
It was announced late on Tuesday night that Rick Story had been lined up to step in for the injured Nelson.
Rick Story (15-6 MMA) has been on a rough ride of late going 2-3 in his last five fights but was back to winning ways in his last fight against Quinn Mulhern at UFC 158 in Montreal last month. He’ll be looking to win back to back fights for the first time in 2 years.

His opponent Mike Pyle (24-8-1) has been on quite an opposite run of form, coming off the back of a three fight winning streak and will look to make it four.
This will be Pyle’s first fight of 2013 having not fought since his TKO victory over James Head last December at TUF 16 Finale.

Pyle had been looking at a victory over the undefeated Nelson as a way to get back into the UFC welterweight title picture.

Dana White again KO's #RallyForMarkHunt

Mark Hunt will not replace Alistair Overeem against Junior Dos Santos

Less than a day after Mark Hunt announced he was "down" to fight Junior Dos Santos and the #RallyForMarkHunt started its second round, Dana White has knocked it out.

According to Dana White's official twitter account Mark Hunt turned down the fight with Junior Dos Santos at UFC 160. Mark Hunt is yet to comment since this has been announced.

It now it looks like the original matchup of Alistair Overeem vs Junior Dos Santos will happen and be rescheduled for later this year once Alistair Overeem has recovered from his injury. This is the fight that many thought would be the next fight for the UFC Heavyweight title before both men lost in their last fights and now hope a big win will put them back in to the title picture.

UFC 160: Velasquez vs Silva 2 (Fight Card)

UFC160:Velasquez vs Silva 2
Date: May 26, 2013 00:00 GMT
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada

The UFC kicks off Memorial Day Weekend with a bang featuring a Heavyweight title fight between Cain Velazquez and Antonio Silva.

Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva - For The UFC Heavyweight Title
Junior dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt
James Te Huna vs. Glover Teixeira
T.J. Grant vs. Gray Maynard
Donald Cerrone vs. KJ Noons
Gunnar Nelson vs. Mike Pyle
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Abel Trujillo
Amir Sadollah vs. Stephen Thompson
Colton Smith vs. Robert Whittaker
Estevan Payan vs. Jeremy Stephens