UFC 174 emanates Saturday, June 14, 2014, from the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada. Last Word on Sports’ MMA Department brings to you their fight picks and analysis for the upcoming event.
Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson vs. Ali “The Puncher King” Bagautinov
Michael Hutchinson, Todd Parkinson, Daniel Richeson, Mark Modeski: Johnson
James Carlucci: Bagautinov
“With Renan Barao losing to T.J. Dillashaw, the underdog Ali Bagautniov will have a lot of people betting on him, hoping for a similar result. Unfortunately, they aren’t likely to see that result. Mighty Mouse show-cased his development as a fighter with a quick knockout of Joseph Benavidez in his last fight, and seeing how Benavidez has already cleaned out the rest of the division, it looks like Johnson has already defeated his toughest challenge, and will be set to face easier competition until a young up-and-comer tears through the flyweight division. Johnson might not want to stand with Bagautniov though, so a quick submission early in the fight would be the best route for Mighty Mouse to win. ” – Hutchinson
Rory “Ares” MacDonald vs. Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley
Carlucci, Richeson: Woodley
Hutchinson, Parkinson, Modeski: MacDonald
“This fight is coming in at even money, and it’s not hard to see why. MacDonald and Woodley are ranked #2 and #3 respectively in the welterweight division, and the winner of this fight should be the one getting the next title shot no matter what Dana White has said. As for the fight itself, Woodley is coming off of a win in which he looked sensational against perennial contender Carlos Condit before an injury stoppage, while MacDonald is coming off of a more pedestrian win against Demian Maia. Woodley has been on an upswing as of late, and I expect him to bring it to MacDonald who has been shown to wilt under pressure, a la the Robbie Lawler fight. Woodley drops MacDonald multiple times en route to a dominant decision victory.” – Carlucci
Ryan “Darth” Bader vs. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante
Carlucci, Hutchinson: Bader
Parkinson, Richeson, Modeski: Cavalcante
“These two guys have always been some of my favorites, and I’m not really sure why. “Feijao” has never seen a fight go to the judges, and although he is 1-1-1 in his last three fights he still has a slight advantage on the feet. Bader, it seems, just usually gets caught in the midst of winning a fight. He almost finished Tito Ortiz before being submitted, he almost finished Glover Teixeira until he was dropped. Those two fights could have made his career a tad more simple. In this bout I’m going with “Feijao” Calvalcante.” – Richeson
Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski vs. Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub
Carlucci, Richeson: Arlovski
Hutchinson, Parkinson, Modeski: Schaub
“With Arlovski vs. Schaub, Schaub will be the larger fighter that will be able to change levels easier and have the ground advantage. Arlovski will have the striking advantage, but Schaub will recognize that and will get enough takedowns to steal the unanimous decision victory because he will not be able to submit or (T)KO the former Sambo specialist on the ground.” – Parkinson
Ryan “Big Deal” Jimmo vs. Ovince “OSP” St. Preux
Carlucci, Parkinson, Richeson: St. Preux
Hutchinson, Modeski: Jimmo
“I expect this one to be about the most evenly matched fight [on the main card]. Jimmo will move in and out in his karate style striking, but St. Preux will be able to use his athletic ability to cut off Jimmo and will be able to stop him over time.” – Parkinson
Undercard Radar:
Hutchinson: “Yves Jabouin vs. Mike Easton. With T.J. Dillashaw as the new UFC Bantamweight Champion, the division has become more interesting. Although both fighters are a couple of fights away from a title fight, Mike Easton has shown that he can hang with the top of the division, losing decisions to both Dillashaw and Raphael Assuncao. Both of these guys like to stand and trade, so expect some quick flurries and a lot of action in this bantamweight tilt. ”
Parkinson: ” Yves Jabouin vs Mike Easton. These guys will go for blood and go for a high pace for a couple of rounds. Jabouin will be the faster fighter, but Easton will clip him in the 2nd round to end up ground and pounding his way to a 2nd round (T)KO victory. However, Feijao vs Bader will be the fight of the night.”
Richeson: “Danial Sarafian vs. Kiichi Kunimoto. Sarafian was on the Brazilian The Ultimate Fighter and made it to the finals, but had to pull out due to injury. He hasn’t exactly shown much past the first round as both of his losses are by decision, but make no mistake he is a fierce competitor and can bring in a great submission game and even some exciting attacks on the feet.”
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