UFC Fight Night takes place Sep-17-2008 8PM ET/PT at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. You can see this fight card live on Spike TV for free.
With so many talented well known fighters fighting unknowns, this is one of the harder fight cards to predict. The Ultimate Fighter premieres afterward with Team Noguiera vs Team Mir.
Nate Diaz vs Josh Neer
Ok, before I start, let it be known I’m a Diaz brothers fan. I became a fan of Nick before his KO over Robbie Lawler. I just took to his style of fighting. So with that said, I am biased.
Moreover, I think Josh Neer presents a serious threat to Nate Diaz. One look at the Melvin Guilard fight shows how tough Neer is. Josh is almost like that zombie fighter I always reference when talking about the fighter that just keeps coming forward. Diaz is a counter puncher and will likely be backing up a lot in this fight waiting to catch a submission. If this goes the distance, I can see Neer winning due to his zombie style if the fight goes to the judges. This fight is probably a betting avoid, but because Diaz likes to catch opponents and likes to counter, and because Neer at times is that zombie fighter, I think he is going to walk into something and therefore I’ll pick Nate Diaz.
Clay Guida vs Mac Danzig
Another tough fight to predict. Both of these fighters will go bell to bell and look to finish constantly. Both are very experienced and both have many fights under their belt. I would say that Guida has fought the better competition if you compared their opponents. The fact that Guida has never been knocked out, their competition is fairly similar with a slight edge to Guida, I think that Guida will have that slight edge and I’m picking him.
Ed Herman vs Alan Belcher
Ed Herman is a tough wrestler who likes to ground and pound opponents. Alan Belcher is primarily standup guy who likes to beat opponents up on his feet and then finish them off on the ground. The funny thing is Herman has done really well against this type of opponent and has done really poor against better ground guys. Since Belcher is a standup fighter first, I’m picking Herman.
Joe Lauzon vs Kyle Bradley
I don’t know kyle Bradley at all, but I do know his manager ironically. He is supposed to be good, but I can only go with what I know and that is that Joe Lauzon is very good. I’m picking Joe Lauzon in the dark.
Houston Alexander vs Eric Schafer
The question will be whether Eric Schafer can get Houston on his back and just TKO him. The obvious thing Schafer has to look out for are Houston’s hands. The guy is like the Hulk and throws massive bombs to match his physique. If Schafer can grind it out a little more past the first, maybe second round, then with enough wearing down, Schafer can win. However, Schafer is going to have to avoid getting hit and every hit has KO attached to it. I’m picking Alexander.
Alessio Sakara vs Joe Vedepo
I don’t know Joe Vedepo, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they set Alessio up with an opponent that he can look good against. I’ll pick Sakara in the dark.
