UFC 211: Ultimate Fight Chat pit their wits against Brad Pickett

After a long three-week break, the UFC returns with its most talent filled card of the year. UFC 211 will take place at the American Airline Center in Dallas, Texas and we’ve teamed-up with one of the sport’s most respected blogs to preview the action. 

Yes, Ultimate Fight Chat are on hand to deliver the goods. And this time they’ve been pitting their wits against the legendary London fighter, Brad Pickett.

After the success of the inaugural ‘Writer versus the Fighter’ segment, former UFC bantamweight slugger ‘One Punch’ Pickett is attempting to gain redemption for the fighters.

Ultimate Fight Chat holds the upper hand after defeating Stevie Ray at UFC 210. And now the Chat is aiming to make things go from bad to worse for Spurs fan Pickett by dashing his title aspirations for the second time in a week.

Check out their predictions…

MAIN CARD

JUNIOR DOS SANTOS vs. STIPE MIOCIC

Champion Stipe Miocic comes into this fight on the back of a four-fight win streak, winning all but one by first round knockout.

Miocic silenced Brazil when putting Fabricio Werdum to the sword at UFC 198 to claim the belt and he has since tightened his grip on the prized possession with a follow up demolition of Alistair Overeem.

But if he is to continue his dominance he will need to overcome the last man to hand him a defeat inside the octagon.

Junior dos Santos is one of the heavyweight elite and a former champion who is aiming to win the belt for a second time.

JDS has fought and beat some of the best the division has to offer but since relinquishing his belt to Cain Velasquez at UFC 155, he has alternated between wins and losses.

‘Cigano’ last fought over a year ago when beating Ben Rothwell. Prior to that, he was defeated via TKO by Alistair Overeem. The manner in which he lost that fight means questions still remain over the sturdiness of his chin, something which Miocic will be sure to test.

When this pair originally met, they traded shots for five rounds with JDS getting the upper hand. We expect this time around things will go slightly differently. We don’t think Miocic will want to feel the power of JDS too often so he will be more aware of keeping his distance.

He will test the chin of Dos Santos and we’re sure if the knockout doesn’t come then he will have done enough by the end of the five rounds to claim it on the scorecards.

Ultimate Fight Chat: Stipe Miocic       Brad Pickett: Junior dos Santos 

JOANNA JEDRZEJCZYK vs. JESSICA ANDRADE

What else is there to say about Joanna Jedrzejczyk that hasn’t already been said? She has lightning quick hands, is dangerous in a clinch, has a gas tank that’ll last for days and her takedown defence has steadily improved.

Joanna is one of the best (if not the best) in women’s mixed martial arts. She’s faced the best the strawweight division has to offer but on Saturday she may face her stiffest test to date.

Jessica Andrade is a dangerous Brazilian with a solid all round game and despite being only 25-years-old she has assembled an impressive record of 16-5.

Andrade spent most of her career fighting at bantamweight with mixed success but since cutting down to the 115lbs division she has been on a tear.

Defeating notable challengers like Jessica Penne, Joanne Calderwood and most recently Angela Hill, to earn herself a title shot.

Andrade is a genuine threat to the champion’s title and undefeated record, if she can turn this into a scramble and take it to the floor she could put the champ in danger.

But Joanna Jedrzejczyk is at this level for a reason and I believe her greater work rate and volume of strikes will be enough to see her over the line.

Ultimate Fight Chat: Joanna Jedrzejczyk        Brad Pickett: Joanna Jedrzejczyk

DEMIAN MAIA vs. JORGE MASVIDAL

Demian Maia is quite possibly next in line for a shot at the welterweight belt but instead of standing idle, he has opted to take on vicious striker Jorge Masvidal.

Maia has been around the sport a long time, debuting back in 2001 and now at 39-years-old, the submission specialist is still at the top of his game.

While being a master of the ground game, the one weakness Demian Maia has shown throughout his career has always been on the feet and this could again be exposed against someone as deadly as Jorge Masvidal.

Jorge Masvidal’s popularity has hit new heights in recent times, particularly when recording consecutive TKO victories a month apart in December and January. ‘Gamebred’ is a former street fighter with a notorious striking skill.

He has showed vast improvements in his takedown defence; something he will have no doubt drilled throughout his training camp. A victory here for Masvidal would be massive and it could propel him into title contention.

This fight ultimately boils down to a striker versus a grappler and the deciding factor for picking a winner could lie with Masvidal’s much improved takedown defence.

If Maia can’t get him down, then the advantage swings toward Masvidal. Everything is pointing towards ‘Gamebred snatching a victory here – even Brad Pickett is adamant!

But we still maintain that Masvidal has never had to deal with as talented a grappler as Maia, therefore, we’re going with Maia to lock in a submission and bring a stuttering halt to the Masvidal hype train.

Ultimate Fight Chat: Demian Maia             Brad Pickett: Jorge Masvidal

FRANKIE EDGAR vs. YAIR RODRIGUEZ

This fight could be viewed as a cross roads bout for both of these fighters. Victory here for Yair Rodriguez would be his biggest scalp to date and continue his rapid rise, while a win for Edgar would show he is still relevant to the featherweight division and that he remains in the title frame.

Frankie Edgar is a former lightweight champion and a veteran of the sport. ‘The Answer’ is a cardio machine and constantly pushes the pace in a fight. Despite his small stature, he possesses incredible strength and quick strikes and along with his wrestling background, Edgar is a tough nut to crack.

In 27 pro fights, Edgar has never been stopped.

Since winning the Latin-America Ultimate Fighter, Yair Rodriguez has gone from strength to strength.

He is currently undefeated with the UFC going 6-0 and with a career record of 10-1. ‘El Pantera’ is well known for his spectacular kicks and he has a great awareness of controlling the distance, something he will deploy against the come forward Edgar.

This is a huge step up in competition for Yair Rodriguez; Frankie Edgar is an unbelievable athlete but I believe he may have the formula to overcome ‘The Answer’.

If Rodriguez initiates the same game plan Jose Aldo successfully used against Edgar – taking away his lead leg and most importantly stuffing the takedowns – then he can win this.

But if Edgar finds success with his wrestling then it could well be a long night for Rodriquez.

Ultimate Fight Chat: Yair Rodriguez            Brad Pickett: Frankie Edgar

BEST OF THE REST

Eddie Alvarez vs. Dustin Poirier

Poirier to win.

Chas Skelly vs. Jason Knight

Skelly to win.

Krzysztof Jotko vs. Dave Branch

Jotko to win.

Marco Polo Reyes vs. James Vick

Vick to win.

Jessica Aguilar vs. Cortney Casey

Aguilar to win.

Jared Gordon vs. Michel Quinones

Gordon to win.

Chase Sherman vs. Rashad Coulter

Sherman to win.

Gabriel Benitez vs. Enrique Barzola

Benitez to win.

Joachim Christensen vs. Gadzhimurad Antigulov

Antigulov to win.

BEST BETS:

The adventurous acca: all 13 Ultimate Fight Chat predictions in an accumulator is approximately 271/1!

Ultimate Fight Chat’s Main Card picks: Miocic, Jedrzejczyk, Maia, Rodriguez

Brad Pickett’s Main Card picks: Dos Santos, Jedrzejczyk, Masvidal, Edgar

Head to Ultimate Fight Chat for all the latest MMA news, previews and betting predictions. And follow @nedd12 and @One_Punch on Twitter! Plus, check out Brad’s brilliant ‘One Punch Podcast’. 

And click here for the latest UFC 211 odds.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing