Kenny “KenFlo” Florian vs Clay “The Carpenter” Guida

This battle of fast-paced lightweights is an interesting contrast in styles, as the technical skill of Florian meets the often wild brawling style employed by Guida. While Guida is rarely in a boring fight, his finishing ability is all but non-existent and his game plan of taking fighters down and holding them there has grown stale.

Guida can take Florian down all day, but that only plays into Florian’s game. As a very talented submission fighter, Florian will take advantage of any mistakes made by the sometimes wreckless Guida, which will lead to a one-way ticket for Guida back to the undercards.

Florian may never capture the UFC title that has eluded him on two occasions, but he is a step above Guida in every aspect. Short of Guida winning an uninspiring decision win via takedowns and uneventful ground control, this is Florian’s fight to win or lose. Guida will become overanxious and that will be all that Florian needs to secure the win.

Prediction:

Florian by Submission in round two.

Jon Fitch vs Mike Pierce

It’s not often that a fighter is in danger of being cut from the UFC after winning a fight, but Pierce finds himself in that very predicament after an extremely lacklustre “lay-and-pray” victory over Brock Larson at UFC Fight Night 19 in September. He will need to be at the top of his game against Fitch or it may be the end of his short run in the promotion.

Fitch is a top contender and former title challenger for a reason. His wrestling is top-notch and his submissions and ground control are also very good. It is highly unlikely that Pierce is going to be able to outwrestle Fitch and that will lead to Pierce rapidly tiring out and making critical mistakes.

Fitch will be all too happy to pounce on any opportunity that he sees and that is exactly what he will do. Pierce may stick around in the UFC if he manages to put on a decent showing, but this is a bad matchup for him. Unless he can catch Fitch with a big punch early on, Fitch will walk away with yet another win on his record.

Prediction:

Fitch by Submission in round two.

Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello vs Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve

Buentello was originally scheduled to face explosive knockout artist Todd Duffee on this card, but an injury to Duffee forced him out of the fight. Duffee will be cheering for Buentello in this matchup and the two, who share a lot of respect for one another, still intend to fight at some point down the line.

However, Buentello has no easy task in front of him when he meets the towering Struve, whose extremely long limbs provide him with both a sizable reach advantage and also with the ability to trap opponents in tricky submissions on the ground. Struve handed wrestling standout Chase Gormley his first loss at UFC 104 and will look to pick up another big win here.

Buentello needs to keep this fight on the feet. He has serious knockout power and is a very competent boxer. Struve has shown weakness in the standup department and Buentello knows this. He will look for the knockout early and often. If Struve can get this fight to the ground, Buentello is in trouble, but Buentello should be able to end it before it gets there.

Prediction:

Buentello by KO in round one.