UFC Fight Night - Thompson vs. Hendricks - 2 picks

A bunch of interesting fights here, perhaps lacking in the fireworks department but it should be fun nonetheless. Here's my thoughts on some of the fights. A few of these I'm still iffy about but just airing out some thoughts for the time being.

  • Hendricks vs. Thompson--If I was picking the fight straight up, I'd probably lean toward Hendricks. Can't deny the competition he's been able to put away, and the two losses he's suffered since the Story fight have been close decisions that he arguably won. At the same time, I can't hate Thompson's fairly heavy underdog odds. The relationship between Thompson and his father, as seen within the Ellenberger fight, was proven to be highly synergistic, which is a huge X factor in my opinion. We've seen it with Mighty Mouse/Hume and Dillashaw/Ludwig, full trust in a competent coach means a lot. Hendricks, although talking of a finish in a lot of his pre-fight spiels, hasn't knocked anyone out since 2012 or submitted anyone since 2008. We've seen Hendricks deal with elite strikers, no doubt, but we've also seen high level competition freeze in front of an unorthodox karate guy that they underestimated. Hendricks also probably feels the need to cement his place in the division after the weight cutting issues, which could lead to desperation. Either way, there's value to be had here.

  • Nelson vs. Rosholt--I consider myself a fan of the sport, but as a fan of also being entertained, I don't like Rosholt. Despite this, he has a gameplan that minimises risk and that's pretty huge, especially in the heavyweight division. He's been knocked out before but the margin for error in the heavyweight division is so slim, and I can only assume he's accounted for that against Nelson. As for Nelson, we've seen the repercussions of fighters having one foot out the door before their career ends and he's had talks about getting into standup comedy. Rogan's usually quick to remind us of Nelson's BJJ blackbelt, which could backfire for Rosholt, but his grappling prowess is rarely flaunted. If I put money down, I'll put half a unit on Rosholt and if he gets knocked out I'll consider that my entertainment tax for the entire card.

  • OSP vs. Cavalcante--OSP should take this. He's in limbo at the moment because he's too athletically gifted to be matched up against the division's middle echelon for too long, but can't seem to hang with the light heavyweight elite. Cavalcante has used banned substances in the past, and although he hasn't looked good regardless, who knows if he's been using up until now. If he has, USADA will ensure that we see a clean Cavalcante, which isn't good when he's going against OSP.

  • Benavidez vs. Makovsky--Benavidez may never win a title, but being with Olivi makes him champion enough in my eyes. Regardless, his skills are solid. Makovksky has seemingly had a hard time dealing with the big names of the division, and with Dodson moving up, Benavidez is the biggest name that isn't Might Mouse. I guess it's worth noting that Benavidez has been training at Musclepharm alongside Dillashaw. I don't think it's a horrible decision.

I'm not thinking about putting money down on the other two main card fights. I have some opinions on the undercard but nothing really concrete.

Although, I'd also put money on Gall. I feel like I'm putting a tinfoil hat on, but every fighter Dana finds on that show gets a favourable matchup for their first fight. He's fighting a guy that's supposedly 0-1. The spliced up fight footage they showed on the episode did nothing for me, they didn't show the opponent amounting any offence. Why he had a following was never explained, I have no way to gauge his skills, and really, I'm just going off of history and the fact that a win coupled with Gall's pre-fight hype will make for a perfect CM Punk debut.

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