UFC on Versus: Vera vs. Jones Picks

I'm pretty excited for this card - lots of potential for great finishes, with the striker-heavy match ups.


Light Heavyweight Bout: Jon Jones vs. Brandon Vera
Johnny Bones is the UFC's fast rising star, while Vera was in a similar scenario, back when first got into the UFC in '05. If this were the Vera right after the Assuerio Silva and Frank Mir starchings, I'd probably give it to him. He showed a great combination of skilled, technical aggression and confidence when he first got into the UFC. Today, he's much more docile and gun shy against his opponents.
Jones, on the other hand, is the epitome of wild, youthful, aggression With the dynamic striking displayed in his previous fights, fans are excited at the prospect of what he'll try and pull off next. I like his unorthodox standup to stifle Vera on the feet, now allowing Brandon to find his range or counter strike effectively. The only area that worries me for Jones is on the ground, where "The Truth" holds a BJJ brown belt with master Lloyd Irvin.
Otherwise, Vera's experience won't be enough to withstand Jones' fresh and creative striking, coupled with his wrestling skills.

Heavyweight Bout: Junior dos Santos vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
Again, it's another ex-rising star, against the exciting and potential contender. And again, the ground is where this fight should be decided.
Gonzaga has shown more than enough in previous fights and in submission fighting accolades that he's the superior grappler. I don't doubt Cigano's BJJ skills, since he trains with Demian Maia and Minotauro, but when a fighter doesn't choose to utilize certain skills, I consider that more than a point of non-preference, but also as an issue in comfort with ones own skillset in that particular area.
Be that as it may, Dos Santos should be able to take this one by round 2, with a KO or TKO. He's got better footwork and standup, so all he needs to do is avoid the clinch and TD shots from Napao.

Heavyweight Bout: Cheick Kongo vs. Paul Buentello
More guys that like to put hands on their opponents, so another potential KO of the night here.
This one is going to start off slow and ramp up quickly. With Kongo getting tagged real bad in his last fight, I don't see him coming in to make it a short night and Buentello tends to try and pick up on his opponent's standup rhythm and patterns before going in for the kill.
This is a hard one to pick Buentello because he's got the height, reach and speed disadvantage. Barring "The Headhunter's" KO power and better footwork, Kongo's going to have make an assortment of pretty stupid mistake to lose this one.

Middleweight Bout: Alessio Sakara vs. James Irvin
This one is tricky to call.
Both guys have been on long layoffs, so it's hard to anticipate how each guy will react. I'm very surprised that some sports books have Irvin as the favorite, as he's had the much longer layoff (nearly 20 months), previously recovered from drug addiction and a drop to Middleweight.
Sakara, on the other hand, is on a 2-fight win streak. His chin can be a bit suspect at times, but I'm going to have to give the nod to him in this one.
It could also possibly be a boring 3 round stinker due to accumulated ring rust.