Preview for UFC 150 Henderson vs. Edgar 2

By: Daniel Kendrick

‘The American Kid’ Justin Lawrence (4-0-0) vs. Max ‘Blessed’ Holloway (5-1-0)

Contrary to popular belief, lightning does indeed strike twice. Case in point: the rematch between UFC lightweight champion, Benson Henderson and Frankie Edgar. Following the closely contested throwdown at UFC 144, an immediate rematch was called for by bossman, Dana White. No arguments from this side. When was the last time you saw either of these guys in a snoozer? So here we are. I’d say get excited’, but I think these fellas’ll take care of the excitement end of things for us so let’s crack open a cold one, kick our feet up, & enjoy the show!

This is a card compiled mostly of the fast paced lower divisions, so what better way to start the party out than to have 2 lightning rods from the featherweight division get things goin’ for us? That’s what we’ve got in the opening bout between ‘The American Kid’ Justin Lawrence (4-0-0) vs. Max ‘Blessed’ Holloway (5-1-0). The former member of Dominique Cruz’s team on the Ultimate Fighter & Kempo black belt and Oahu, Hawaii native are both more accomplished strikers. Lawrence, on paper, is a bit more well rounded in the total game so Holloway will likely need to do everything he can to keep the fight standing, especially being that he’s only of white belt status in jiu jitsu. Both have just one win via KO, though there are few KO’s in the lighter weights by comparison to the larger ones so this’ll more than likely head to the scorecards, but it’ll be a fun ride for us on the way there.

Prediction: Lawrence by unanimous decision.

Yushin ‘Thunder’ Okami (27-7-0) vs. Buddy Roberts (12-2-0)

…and on it goes to the middleweight division with the always entertaining Yushin ‘Thunder’ Okami (27-7-0) vs. Buddy Roberts (12-2-0). Okami is looking to rebound following his losses to champion Anderson Silva & his last fight against Tim Boetsch. Going against a guy riding a 6 fight win streak won’t be an easy chore, but Okami has a world of experience both in & out of the cage, among those being international competition. Roberts is a well rounded guy as well, but from an experience standpoint, he’s gonna have all he wants, or doesn’t want, out of Okami whether it’s standing or on the ground.

Prediction: Okami by 2nd round TKO

Jake Shields (27-6-1) vs. Ed ‘Short Fuse’ Herman (20-7-0)

Going back to the basics is a simple lesson too often forgotten by athletes of every sport, but that’s just what Jake Shields (27-6-1) is doing by getting back to the middleweight division where he rode a stellar 15 fight win streak along with capturing the Strikeforce middleweight title. In trying to get back on his win streak, he’ll try his luck against Ed ‘Short Fuse’ Herman (20-7-0). He got a good start by taking out Japanese superstar ‘Sexyama’ (Yoshihiro Akiyama) at UFC 144. No secrets as to what Herman’s strategy is probably going to be: keep it standing. More often than not, it’s a death sentence to attempt beating Shields on the ground with his slew of submission grappling accolades. Sliding down a 15 foot razorblade into a barrel of alcohol would likely be more pleasurable. However, Shields standing game, though not terrible, is not where his comfort zone is, so Herman’s best option by far is to block the takedown attempts & try to put Shields lights out. In other words, the gameplan should be to ‘sprawl n brawl’ ala Chuck Liddell.

Prediction: Shields via 2nd round submission

Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone (18-4-0, 1 NC) vs. ‘The Young Assassin’ Melvin Guillard (47-11-3, 1 NC)

You don’t always have to dislike an opponent to try to cave their face in. Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and Melvin Guillard are old buddies & training partners from the highly regarded Greg Jackson Gym, but they’ll be on the opposite side of friendship for the time they spend in the cage tonight. This fight has KO of the Night potential written all over it as both guys prefer to keep it on the feet. Cerrone has the crisper standup of the two & also, the stronger ground game which is where he might actually be better served in this fight being as that Melvin has a strong chin & is not one of the more choice guys to trade shots with. The smart money on this would be on Cerrone, especially if he’s able to put Guillard on his back where ‘Cowboy’ is cerebrally dangerous.

 Prediction: Cerrone by 1st round submission

Main Event

Benson “Smooth’ Henderson (15-2-0) vs. Frankie ‘The Answer’ Edgar (14-2-1)

One good turn deserves another and the war that lightweight champ Ben ‘Smooth’ Henderson & Frankie ‘The Answer’ Edgar put on back at UFC 144 was definitely what you could call ‘good.’ As it often goes with Edgar’s blood & guts fights, this one called for an immediate rematch as many felt that Henderson really didn’t do enough to merit the decision, let alone take the title from the champion. If you’re hoping for an early finish, I’m gonna have to be the bearer of bad news…or good news depending on how you look at it. Both Edgar & Henderson are known for their knock down/drag out affairs and this should be no different. Edgar is incredibly hard to submit or KO. Being as that he’s never suffered either speaks for that. Henderson’s durability is equally impressive so this looks to be another battle of wills and attrition. ‘Smooth’ should have the slight edge in the standing battle. He used his tae kwon do black belt pedigree to kick Edgar quite a bit in the first fight which was effective in offsetting Edgar’s busy footwork. Henderson’s visible size advantage also paid off in being able to walk right through Edgar’s best punches. This is almost sure to go all 25 minutes & every bit of that time is gonna be entertaining, to say the least.

 Prediction: Henderson by unanimous decision.

 Free Prelims on FX

Featherweight Dennis ‘The Menace’ Bermudez (9-3-0) vs. Tommy ‘Wild Card’ Hayden (8-1-0)

Middleweight Jared ‘The Messenger’ Hammon (13-4-0) vs. Michael Kuiper (11-1-0)

Bantamweight Ken Stone (11-3-0) vs. Eric ‘Goyito’ Perez (11-4-0)

 Bantamweight Dustin ‘The Disciple’ Pague (11-7-0) vs. Chico ‘The King’ Camus (11-3-0)

Free Facebook Prelim Lightweight Nick ‘The Carney’ Lentz (23-5-2, 1 NC) vs. Eiji Mitsuoka (18-8-2)

Viewing UFC 150 can be seen on Dish Network, DirecTV, or COX communications Pay-per-View and the prelims can be viewed on FX. The first of the free prelims can be viewed on Facebook.

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