WE ARE BACK! Holy shit it feels like a fucking eternity since we had our last card but that will make this all the sweeter. I am not one to lie. This isn’t the prettiest card out there. In fact it’s pretty rough, almost like the UFC feels no desire to reward its fans after a long break with anything too sexy. I am not a hater, but when Cynthia Cavillo is dominating the pre fight headlines the card to follow probably isn’t too deep. But at the end of the day, we get to treat ourselves to some violence on a nice Saturday night.  

With a huge heavyweight clash as the main event, we can only hope that this will be a night full a finishes, and unders. The skyscraper has come out of retirement to probably give us a lackluster performance against Rothwell. Cavillo is fat, Ladd isn’t fat. Ricky Simon’s hair is as glorious as ever but he still got daddyd by Urijah Faber. Thiago Alves may be in his retirement fight. That is pretty it for story lines on this one but maybe we can find some diamonds in the rough to win some money.

Let’s get down to it, here are my picks for this evening:

Main Card

Alistair Overeem vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik Heavyweight Bout

This is such an awesome fight and barely feels like a late replacement. I hope Walt Harris is able to make it back to normal after the horrible events that transpired and he deserves a fight with either of these guys when he is ready. That being said, this is the perfect fight for both of these guys. Alistair has the opportunity to show he still belongs at the top and can work his way to another title shot. Jair has the chance to show that he is at that next level and can make the jump into top 5 competition. Ngannou might have a challenger for the hardest punch in MMA. Jair has KOd two people with a jab. A JAB. That is fucking outrageous. I usually like to go with experience in these fights but I just can’t this time. Jair has absolutely massacred his past opponents and I think Overeem’s weak chin will show in this bout.

Jairzinho Rozenstruik by 1st Round TKO -126 1 unit

Marina Rodriguez vs Cynthia Calvillo Strawweight Bout

I don’t have much to say about this fight. Cynthia Calvillo has jumped up to my least favorite female fighter though. A place originally held for Nicco Montano is now taken after Calvillo talked a mountain of shit about Nunes saying that she was ready for a title shot with her to become the baddest woman on the planet, then proceeds to miss weight. It is so unprofessional when a fighter misses weight, let alone by 5 pounds. She must have known she was not close to her mark yet proceeded to talk shit this whole week. Fuck that broad, lets ride with Marina.

Marina Rodriguez by Decision -138 1 unit

Stefan Struve vs Ben Rothwell Heavyweight Bout

Like absolutely no one was asking for, we have Struve vs Rothwell. I am not sure how this fight isn’t on a prelim but here we are. Struve had a perfect retirement fight. Got knocked down early but weathered the storm and managed to secure a submission victory in the second. Now for really no reason he has decided to come back against Rothwell who is coming off of a 3 fight skid (he took a 3 year break between the 1st and 2nd loss due to a USADA suspension). Rothwell has been on the wrong side of 2 close decision losses. I think today his luck finally turns and he gets the W here against the Skyskraper. He is the better fighter and is way hungrier to get out of this funk.

Ben Rothwell 2nd Round TKO -158 2 units

Aspen Ladd vs Yana Kunitskaya Bantamweight Bout

It is so so so hard to give a shit about women’s bantamweight and featherweight fights. I try oh so hard but I just do not care. Amanda Nunes is destroying these girls and the talent pool is very shallow. Ladd was the wunderkin that was supposed to come in and change everything but she didn’t. She got smacked by GDR in her last bout with a scary weight cut to boot. Yana is on a 2 fight winning streak in the UFC after having lost a featherweight title shot against Cyborg that happened for no reason. I am riding with Yana here. I like that she’s the underdog and I still think Aspen’s weight cut is too much and might hurt her cardio.

Yana Kunitskaya by Decision +144 1 unit

Cody Stamann vs Song Yadong Bantamweight Bout

This fight is kind of a cool matchup. Song Yadong was supposed to fight Alejandro Perez back in March but was pulled for an undisclosed reason. Stamann filled in and beat him via unanimous decision. Yadong then fought Perez in July and KOd him into next year. Now they are matched up against each other in a bout of destiny. I like Yadong a lot, and think he will be a force in this weight class for years to come, but there is absolutely no reason he should be -230. Stamann is extremely talented and has only lost to Aljo in the last 5 years. I’m riding with Cody on this one.

Cody Stamann by Decision +184 1 unit

Rob Font vs Ricky Simon Bantamweight Bout

I love Ricky’s hair but I am so out on this guy. He made me pick against Urijah and got absolutely destroyed by him. It made me sick to my stomach and I may not ever recover. Rob Font is the better fighter anyone so no ragrets in picking him for this one.

Rob Font by Decision -148 2 units

Prelims

Thiago Alves vs Tim Means Welterweight Bout

This may be Thiago’s last fight ever in the octagon. He has lost 3 of his last 4 in pretty unimpressive fashion. But lucky for him, Tim Means has done the same! This is just a fight that has no reason to be a featured prelim. These guys don’t have anything left in the tank and I think it will end up being painful to watch. That being said, let’s just ride the underdog because it’s fun. Thiago it is.

Thiago Alves by Decision +215 1 unit 

Billy Quarantillo vs Jacob Kilburn Featherweight Bout

Billy Quarantillo by 2nd Round TKO -340 2 units

Bryce Mitchell vs Matt Sayles Featherweight Bout

Bryce Mitchell by Decision -104 1 unit

Joe Solecki vs Matt Wiman Lightweight Bout

Joe Solecki by 3rd Round Submission -370 3 units

Early Prelims

Vima Jandiroba vs Mallory Martin Strawweight Bout

Mallory Martin by Decision +230 1 unit

Makhmud Muradov vs Trevor Smith Middleweight Bout

Makhmud Muradov by 2nd Round TKO -460 3 units

That is it for the evening folks. A few heavy favorites in the beginning of this fight night if you want to be a bridge jumper, but in my humble opinion, it is far more fun to ride the dogs. Don’t have any tasty unders or overs to ride with at the moment, stay tuned incase we tweet anything out. This should be a fun night of fights, just try not to look for any little numbers next to anyone’s names, only the numbers in your bank account. When you are sitting on your couch, or in a bar, or however you prefer to watch fights and think to yourself “wow these are a bunch of nobodies, is the Combate Americas?” just remember what it was like all those weeks with no cards. With that being said, I leave you to your own decisions. May luck be your lady tonight.