UFC Fight Night 12: Swick vs. Burkman Predictions

Alright, it is offically 2:18 p.m. on the east coast, so right now, UFC Ultimate Fight 12 is about six hours and 42 minutes away. Therefore, I decided to steal this idea from MMAMania himself and leave my picks right here on the blog so that you all can make fun of me when I do terrible.

Of course, if you want to leave your picks. Please do. I just want to say real fast, good job “PW” over on the MMAmania.com site with his picks.

Now, we are going with the NC-17 picks:

Josh Burkman vs. Mike Swick

I think a lot of people are discounting Josh Burkman in this fight and are buying into Mike Swick. I know Mike Swick is a heck of a fighter standing up, and I know he is possibly one of the fastest hands in the 170-pound division. But, Josh Burkman is a well rounded fighter — he is fine on the ground and standing. Josh Burkman is no slouch whatsoever.

This fight has all the indications of a possible fight of the night. Josh Burkman is going to need to come in shape more than ever because at UFC 77 he gassed terribly, and if he was fighting someone of Swick’s caliber, I do believe Burkman would of been down for the count. But I think Burkman will be in shape and that this fight will be exciting.

My prediction: Josh Burkman via technical knockout (strikes) in round two

Patrick Cote vs. Drew McFedries

Can you say Pete Sell vs. Nate Quarry or Terry Martin vs. Chris Leben?

This fight has all indications that it is going to be a warzone when it comes to fists flying and bodies dropping. I think the victory against Kendall Grove has made Patrick Cote very confident and he is now taking the game of MMA more serious. As seen in the Grove fight, Cote has rocks in his hands, and if he connects, you will drop. He also did it to Tito Ortiz, but could not finish the fight.

Drew McFedries, on the other hand, is coming back from a terrible staph infection that could of possibly ended his fighting career altogether. When Drew McFedries steps inside the Octagon, he swings for the fences, but he tends to get very, very sloppy. Drew gasses himself out very quickly because he always throws everything into his punches. I think him and Cote will go in there banging, and Drew will get tired and Cote will take him down and work from the mount. But if Drew lands one good shot, you can call it over — he has perhaps the heaviest hands in the UFC today.

My prediction: Patrick Cote via technical knockout (strikes) in round two

Thiago Tavares vs. Michihiro Omigawa

To tell you the truth, I think a lot of people are underestimating Omigawa. This fight will be better than what people think. Tavares is one of the best up and coming fighters the UFC has to offer. Most people think this is a gimme fight.

I disagree.

Omigawa actually is a very game opponent for Tavares. And Tavares might be overlooking his opponent, which would be a big mistake. But even overlooking him, I think Tavares comes up on top.

My prediction: Thiago Tavares via unanimous decision

Alvin Robinson vs. Nate Diaz

I have not bought into the Nate Diaz hype. I do believe Nate Diaz is good, but he is not great. I do believe that the UFC is overhyping Nate Diaz, and a lot of people are buying into his last name, rather than his fighting skills. Nate Diaz is not his brother, he does not have as good standout as Nick, and his submissions look sloppier than Nick’s as well. I think Nate still has a lot to learn in MMA and I think he could be great given time. I think Alvin Robinson, might be the most overlooked UFC lightweight fighter. I think Alvin has very decent stand-up and he has fantastic submissions, and submission defense. Now that he has 2 fights inside the octagon against 2 very game competitors (KenFlo and Jorge Gurgel) I think Alvin Robinson has a lot of Confidence, while Nate Diaz has a lot of cockiness. I think this fight will be a ground game chess battle, and I think Alvin Robinson’s wrestling abilities and submission defense will prove dominant over Nate Diaz ground game.

My prediction: Alvin Robinson via split decision

To be honest, I do think some of the best fights are on the undercard. I really want to see Kurt Pellegrino take on Alberto Crane because “Batman” will more than likely be out for blood after his loss against Joe Daddy.

The Cole Miller/Jeremy Stephens fight is going to be the fight of the night. Both of these fighters are going to go out there and lay it out on the line. It will be a very energetic fight and a chess match when it hits the ground.

Put simply, Jeremy Stephens is very underrated and Cole Miller might be the third best thing to come out of the TUF 5 season.

Also, Matt Wiman vs. Justin Buchholz is going to be a very exciting fight. Both of these fighters want to prove themselves in this fight, and both want to get their names out there. I give the edge to Wiman because he has dealt with the Octagon and the crowd more than Buchholz.

But if Justin connects, Matt might be out.

Do not forget, though, the always exciting Gray Maynard is in action, as well as the official debut of Corey Hill inside the Octagon since his stint off TUF 5.

I give this card a nine out of 10.

So lets see how I do on the main card. Can I go 4 for 4? Or Will I just be another laughing stock?