UFC Fight Night 20 Preview and Predictions

January 11, 2010 | Tim | Comments 0

UFN20

After UFC 108 and WEC 46, UFC Fight Night 20 has gotten a little lost in the shuffle. However, it features a main event that could help to determine B.J. Penn’s next challenger for his lightweight title, and also gives tough matchups to several guys the UFC has high hopes for.

Amir Sadollah vs. Brad Blackburn: The former winner of The Ultimate Fighter, Amir Sadollah is fresh off a solid victory over Phil Baroni at UFC 106. He’ll have a tough test in Brad Blackburn, who is 3-0 in his UFC career. Sadollah was an upset winner of The Ultimate Fighter season 7, considering he had no pro experience before the contest. He defeated the highly touted C.B. Dollaway in the finale, but dropped his next contest to Johny Hendricks in the first round at UFC 101. Sadollah rebounded to pummel Baroni over three rounds at UFC 106, winning a unanimous decision. He’s a Muay Thai specialist, though he doesn’t have true knockout power. His ground game is still relatively untested, though he did pull out some good submissions on the show and in the finale. Blackburn is 3-0 in his UFC career, and last defeated Edgar Garcia at The Ultimate Finale 9. His overall MMA record isn’t as impressive at 15-9. He has faced tough competition in his career, facing off against the likes of Jay Hieron, Rory Markham, Roger Huerta and Chris Wilson among others. Blackburn is the much more powerful striker in this contest, and is probably more technical as well. I think Blackburn is a solid (slight) upset pick here. Blackburn via unanimous decision.

Tom Lawlor vs. Aaron Simpson: Lawlor has made a name for himself for being quite a character, but his MMA game isn’t too shabby either. He is coming off an upset win over C.B. Dollaway at UFC 100, and is 2-0 in his young UFC career. Another contestant from The Ultimate Fighter, Lawlor mixes a solid wrestling base with decent submission skills, though his striking is still his weakness. Simpson has burst onto the MMA scene, winning his first six fights, two of them coming in the UFC. Simpson last defeated Ed Herman at UFC 102. Simpson was a two time All American wrestler while at Arizona State, and is very explosive. Despite starting his MMA career late (he’s 35 now) he shows a great deal of promise. I think he does the same things that Lawlor does, but he does them all better and with more explosion. Simpson should get another win here. Simpson via TKO in the 2nd.

Evan Dunham vs. Efrain Escudero: Escudero, yet another alumnus of The Ultimate Fighter, will try to run his UFC record to 3-0 and his MMA record to 14-0 as he takes on a tough Evan Dunham. Escudero knocked out a very tough Cole Miller at UFC 103. He has a strong wrestling base and good power in his striking as well. Dunham is a very similar fighter. Dunham is 9-0 in his MMA career and 2-0 in his UFC career. He beat Marcus Aurelio at UFC 102 via split-decision. He is a very good counter-puncher, but his wrestling is nowhere near as good as Escudero’s. Escudero is a threat standing and on the mat. He has more ways to win this fight than Dunham. Escudero via TKO in the 2nd.

Gray Maynard vs. Nate Diaz: Maynard is gunning for a shot at B.J. Penn’s lightweight title, and an impressive victory here over Diaz may get him that opportunity. He’s 8-0 in his MMA career, and 6-0 in his UFC career. Him and Diaz were both on The Ultimate Fighter season 5, and they met in the semifinals. Diaz got the victory with a guillotine in the 2nd round. Maynard is a former collegiate wrestler, and has improved his striking significantly in recent fights. Diaz is in a bit of a rut, dropping two of his past three fights. He defeated Melvin Guillard at UFC Fight Night 19 after dropping consecutive decisions to Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson. In those two contests, Diaz was taken down almost at will and was ineffective with his jiu jitsu from the bottom. Much like his brother Nick, Nate is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Cesar Gracie, but his striking isn’t as good as Nick’s. Maynard should have the advantage in this one. His wrestling is as good if not better than Guida and Stevenson, and his striking is better than both of them as well. Diaz is always dangerous from the bottom, but I think Maynard’s strength and wrestling abilities will keep him out of danger. Maynard could really use an exciting finish to bolster his title shot hopes, but I’m not sure he’ll be able to finish Diaz. However, a win is a win. Maynard via unanimous decision.

Preliminary Card Predictions:

Jay Silva over Chris Leben via TKO in the 2nd

Rick Story over Jesse Lennox via submission in the 3rd

Thiago Tavares over Nik Lentz via decision

Rory MacDonald over Michael Guymon via submission in the 2nd

Rafael do Anjos over Kyle Bradley via decision

Gerald Harris over John Salter via TKO in the 1st

Nick Catone over Jesse Forbes via decision

Popularity: 3% [?]

Share and Enjoy: