The MMA Digest

In his blog, Jason MacDonald gives his take on who will win this Saturday night at UFC 81:

One of the fighters on the card, Marvin Eastman, is a guy I actually lost to in 2005 at light-heavyweight, but now, like me, he’s fighting at middleweight.

He was one of the first big-name guys that I had a chance to face. Like my fight with Rich Franklin, afterward I lost to him I wasn’t as overwhelmed. Going in to the fight, I was a bit intimidated by his record. But I lost a close decision and I remember thinking it could go either way. That was my first realization that I belonged at that level.

I would love the opportunity to fight Eastman at some point and avenge that loss now that he’s come in to this division. He was never a big 205-pounder. He’s muscular, but not big. I think he realized there was a better future for him at 205.

But I’m going to pick Terry Martin in that fight. I think he will take him down and grind out a victory.

On to the rest of my picks for Saturday night:

Lesnar vs. Mir: Lesnar by TKO. I think Frank has always run out of gas in his fights. As a wrestler, Brock will be well conditioned and be able to withstand the onslaught of submissions and grind out a win.

Nogueira vs. Sylvia: Nogueira by submission. I think Tim has shown he’s a bit susceptible to submissions. And Nog is crafty on the ground.

Almeida vs. Yundt: I originally liked Belcher in this fight but after he was forced to pull out, I have to go with Almeida as I don’t know anything about Yundt. It’s a pretty tall task to fight Almeida if you’re a relative newcomer. At one point Almeida was making a run for the title.

Marquardt vs. Horn: I’m going with Marquardt. Nate’s shown he’s one of the best in the world at this weight. He was able to beat Dean Lister, a fighter who is comparable to Horn.

Griffin vs. Tibau: Griffin. He’s a good all-around fighter. He’ll be able to weather the submissions.

Lytle vs. Bradley: Lytle. I like him, he’s been around a long time and seen a lot of tough guys.

Nakamura vs. Emerson. Nakamura. I haven’t seen much of Emerson.

Heath vs. Boetsch: Heath. He always comes game and ready to fight. He’ll be past the whole Babalu incident and be right on track.

Bonus picks: Friday night’s Hardcore Championship Fighting event in Calgary, which features Nogueira’s twin brother Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” also known as “Little Nog” taking on Canadian Todd Gouwenberg.

I’m picking Little Nog. And I like Jason Day to upset David Loiseau.