The Ultimate Fighter: Nations Finale – Main Card Predictions

Previews

We’ve got two cards this week as the UFC is kicking off a new season of “The Ultimate Fighter” and putting on a big card on Fox that’ll shape the future of the heavyweight division. As always it’s time to predict the main card.

Dustin Poirier vs. Akira Corassani

Someone must really think highly of Akira Corassani … or else Poirier needed to keep busy and has been given a bone to chew on while waiting for a title eliminator opponent to get available. Either way on paper this is a fairly substantive mismatch in Poirier’s favor and I can’t see this being anything but. I like Corassani and he’s had a tremendous post TUF career when everything seemed to say he wouldn’t … but right now he’s bitten off more than he can chew.

I like Poirier to make another statement here, ala his fight with Brandao, as he lamps Corassani and moves into a title eliminator sometime this summer.

Prediction: Poirier

Chad Laprise vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier

Welcome to TUF: Nations striker vs. grappler! Aubin-Mercier has been tapping dudes since the start of his career and Laprise has a majority of his win via strikes. Both are undefeated but I like Aubin-Mercier in this. Both guys are natural lightweights fighting up, too, so after this I imagine both guys will wind up cutting down to 155 on a permanent basis ala Tony Ferguson and Ramsey Nijem. Look for Aubin-Mercier to get the choke, probably in the first.

Prediction: Aubin-Mercier

Sheldon Westcott vs. Elias Theodorou

Theodorou looks like the sort of fighter the UFC really would like to promote. A former male model and very talented fighter, he’s still young and his ceiling looks insanely high. Unfortunately Sheldon Westcott has looked like an absolute beast on the show, as well, but at the same time in TUF history guys who’ve looked like killers on the show have crapped the bed in the TUF Finale fight. Uriah Hall was deemed a Top 10 caliber fighter after his run … and he’s been fairly pedestrian in the UFC after losing to Kelvin Gastelum in what was supposed to be his big moment to shine.

Thus I’m going upset here and picking the handsome Canadian over the … less handsome Canadian.

Prediction – Theodorou

Patrick Cote vs. Kyle Noke

Cote, with a couple more wins, could potentially find himself in near uncharted territory in UFC history. He’s fought for the title in two weight classes (against Tito Ortiz at 205 and Anderson Silva at 185), something few (Off the top of my head: Randy Couture, Frankie Edgar, BJ Penn, Dan Henderson, Kenny Florian, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen) have done. If he can somehow get himself into a welterweight title shot he’d make history as the first to get three title shots in three divisions. While it’s probably not going to happen … it’s something that could, which makes it interesting.

Noke and Cote have both had an extensive time away from the cage due to TUF and injuries. I like Cote in this fight; no one on Noke’s team made I think Cote finishes him to make it Canada 3, Australia 0 in the overall scheme of things TUF (Australia vs. Canada).

Prediction – Cote

Michael Bisping vs. Tim Kennedy

This fight deserves to be headlining on Saturday, not today, but its five rounds and that’s good enough for me. Bisping’s coming back after some time off to let his retina heal and Kennedy is coming off of a lamping of Rafael Natal. Kennedy has been looking really good as of late, as well, so we could be in line for a terrific main event fight. I like Bisping as this fight reminds me a ton of Jacare/Kennedy in Strikeforce. That was a very good, but not great, fight and this fight should probably resemble it. Kennedy has looked good but I don’t think he’s got that elite gear to get the win and move into the Top 5.

Prediction – Bisping