UFC 137: Diaz and Penn to prove who's best

The UFC comes back to Las Vegas for UFC 137 on Sunday morning Australian time. In this article I am going to highlight the three main fights and my favourite match up of the card.

There is a lot of hype around the card, especially at the weigh-ins yesterday when Nick Diaz lived up to his name and acted like a brawler and not a fighter, when facing off against BJ Penn.

Diaz faced up against Penn, got on the inside and went for a mini headbutt to spur things up. No one is really sure who instigated the outburst, but history would say it is Diaz, being Diaz and this is one of the reasons why Dana White was reluctant to poach him from Strikeforce before the acquisition.

In this main event, I predict the reach of Nick Diaz to be too much for Penn, and although he is the outsider I believe this will go to the decision and his cardio will prove to much for Penn.

Matt ‘Meathead’ Mitrione is looking to continue his unbeaten record when he faces the UFC veteren Cheick Kongo, the toughest test of his career so far.

Kongo is a seasoned striker and has proved he can stand up with the best. In this fight, I predict it to be a stand-up war with Mitrione getting the KO in the opening rounds.

My favourite fight of the card will definitely be Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone versus Dennis Siver. The two elite strikers have gone through some of the best fighters in the UFC on their path to this fight.

Siver has defeated George Sotiropolos and Matt Wiman with his superior striking and takedown defense while Cerrone has defeated the likes of Charles Oliviera and Jamie Varner, making him nearly unstoppable in the WEC.

The reason I like this fight is that it will be a stand-up war and a fight that will really enter the winner into the LW contender list.

The other fight that will be a draw card is Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson versus Mirko Cro Cop.

It is fair to say that Cro Cop has been nothing but disappointing since entering the UFC and has never lived up to the hype of a former Pride Gran Prix champion.

Cro Cop has come out and pretty much stated that if he does not win this fight he will be hanging up the gloves.

Nelson, on the other hand is a gifted fighter that has always let himself down with his work ethic and training. This time we will see Nelson 2.0 as he has undertaken a rigorous training camp and has changed his diet.

We couldn’t see the loss in weight during the weigh-ins as he weighed in wearing a fat suit but it is likely that he won’t have the round belly we are used to seeing and that he will be much quicker on the feet.

This is going to be a fight where I am predicting a Nelson to KO Cro Cop in the first round, history has shown that Cro Cop has a glass jaw and that Nelson has heavy hands.

How to watch:

Facebook Prelims: 8:50AM EST
One HD Prelim Card: 11AM AEST
Main Event Main Card: 12PM EST