This event’s “Sean Sheehan Vs” sees Sean taking on Cathal Pendred in a battle of UFC 172 fight picks.
Every UFC event Sean and his opponent will break down the reasoning behind their main card picks and will give quick picks for the undercard.
We start with the main event, Jon Jones vs Glover Teixeira
Jon Jones (c) vs. Glover Teixeira
In MMA it’s not often where a fighter has no chance of winning. This is one of those cases. Some may say Texeira has a punchers chance but against Jon Jones that’s barely worth pointing out. Jones has an almost ten inch reach advantage and is a master of keeping his opponents at his chosen distance. Jones is a better wrestler and has vicious elbow-filled ground and pound. Texeira is a good wrestler but isn’t on a level to get Jones down and use his Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt. Texeira’s only hope is to get on the inside of Jones and hurt him badly. I don’t see it happening. Jones will kick his legs, jab, get the takedown, cut Texeira and finish it.
Sheehan’s Pick: Jon Jones wins via TKO.
I think glover does pose some serious threats too Jones. But I think his biggest threat is his striking which Jones should be able to avoid using his massive reach. I think the way to beat Joes is by putting him on his back or by neutralising that reach (like Gus was able to do).
Glover’s reach isn’t big enough to do the latter and I don’t think his wrestling is as high level as it would need to be to put Jones on his back. So for those reasons, I’m going with Jones.
Pendred’s Pick: Jones via Tko in Rd 3
Phil Davis vs. Anthony Johnson
After an impressive stint in the world series of fighting Anthony Johnson returns to the UFC at light-heavyweight and has been immediately thrown to to wolves against long-time top-10 ranked Phil Davis. Johnson is all about power and athleticism. He throws hard with his feet and hands, looking for the knockout at all times. Davis, on the other hand, is a thinking man’s fighter. He uses his long frame to pick off opponents from the outside before slipping levels for takedowns. Davis is a division one national wrestling champion and has shown an ever improving ability to stick to a game plan. That ability to game plan should see him frustrate Johnson and take the win.
Sheehan’s Pick: Davis via decision.
I really rated Davis until the Rashad fight and he got completely out wrestled. I think he has improved greatly since and he still has massive wins over Gus & Machida which say a lot about his skills. I’m excited to see what Rumble can do in the UFC now that he has stopped trying to kid himself cutting insane amounts of weight and accepting he is a LHW.
Rumble has done really well as a LHW & HW so far, but that was outside the ufc. This is the real litmus test and I think he might just fall short on this one due to Davis having superior wrestling.
Pendred’s Pick: Davis by decision
Luke Rockhold vs. Tim Boetsch
With both men being strong wrestlers in this one, a stand-up battle is likely. Boetsch is a never-say-die fighter with power in both hands who is dangerous from the first minute until the last. Rockhold also has plenty of power and adds marvellous technique on top of it. Boetsch holds hope with his one punch ko power but other than that he won’t pose too much of a problem for Rockhold.
Sheehan’s Pick: Rockhold via decision.
I’ve been out to AKA a couple of times and I’ve trained with Rockhold. Bar Valasquez, Rockhold was the guy I was most impressed with. He’s a very big MW and he quality in all areas of the game and can finish from anywhere too. Boetsch hasn’t been overly impressive in recent times. He’s tough, but that won’t get him to the top I think Rockhold edges him in every range of the game and will stop him with kick to the body and finish on the ground or else just ko him outright.
Pendred’s Pick: Rockhold via TKO/KO in Rd 2
Jim Miller vs. Yancy Medeiros
In normal circumstances Jim Miller would be my pick in this fight. With Medeiros taking the fight on just a week’s notice that pick is made with even more certainty. Miller has strong wrestling and look for him to utilize it here.
Sheehan’s Pick: Miller via decision.
I really don’t know who to go for here. So I’m going to stay on the fence and say Miller by decision because of superior wrestling and greater UFC experience playing a factor. Having said that Meideros has only one loss on his record because of injury, and has shown some serious skills.
Pendred’s Pick: Miller by Decision
Max Holloway vs. Andre Fili
This is a tremendous fight to open the main card. Holloway has bounced back well since his defeat to Conor McGregor and has re-established himself as a genuine prospect. Speaking of prospects, Fili is one of the brightest in the featherweight division. The team alpha male fighter is strong in all areas and impressed on his short notice octagon debut against Jeremy Larsen late last year. Holloway is a strong kickboxer with a long reach which he puts to good use. Fili, though, is quick to get to the inside and has power when he gets there. That struggle for distance is where the fight will be won or lost.
Sheehan’s Pick: Fili wins via decision
Fili is another guy with only one loss on his record and it’s due to an injury. Both these guys are long rangey featherweights which should be interesting to see how they fair out. I think Fili has more power than Holloway which could be the deciding factor. I’m going to go with with Holloway because has more experience and has fought the better guys, he also proved he can take a shot in the McGregor fight, so I don’t think he will be too worried about Fili’s power.
Pendred’s Pick: Holloway by decision
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Sheehan’s undercard quick picks:
Joseph Benavidez beats Tim Elliott via tko/ko
Takanori Gomi beats Isaac Vallie-Flagg via tko/ko
Jessamyn Duke beats Bethe Correia via submission.
Danny Castillo beats Charlie Brenneman via tko/ko
Chris Beal beats Patrick Williams via decision.
Pendred’s undercard quick picks:
Joseph Benavidez beats Tim Elliott
Takanori Gomi beats Isaac Vallie-Flagg
Jessamyn Duke beats Bethe Correia
Charlie Brenneman beats Danny Castillo
Chris Beal beats Patrick Williams
Rules: Every correct pick made is equal to 1 point. If the competition ends in a draw then method of victory will be used to decide a winner
And for the Sean Sheehan bet of the week…
With a lot of strong favourites at UFC172, it’s not a vintage week for betting. My bet of the week, though, is Jon Jones to win in round two at 9/2. And if you like outsiders, Tim Boetsch at 11/2 is an absolutely crazy price.
With three team Alpha male fighters on the card (Fili, Benavidez and Castillo) you can treble your money if they all win and I think they will
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