UFC 58 Fight Picks!

UFC 58 USA vs Canada is finally here. In breaking news, Diego Sanchez will not be fighting in his bout against John Alessio. Diego got sick with the flu and reportedly dropped down to 162lbs. The doctors would not clear him to fight and there will be no last minute replacement. When healthy, the fighters will meet at a later PPV. Now, on to the card............

Rich "Ace" Franklin 21-1 vs David "The Crow" Loiseau 15-4: There is no doubt The Crow is a #1 contender who earned his title shot. The man has 5 wins in a row, his last dispatching former champ Evan Tanner. The Crow's elbows and speed are what to watch. He can cause cuts at any time and win the fight. Ace has won 7 fights in a row and has become a superstar in the sport. The man is always in phenomenal shape and throws some of the hardest, most accurate punches in the business. What people don't realize, is how good he is at submissions as well.
WINNER-Rich Franklin Ace will find a way to win this match up. If he's smart, he won't try to fight up close to the Crow, instead, keeping his distance and jabbing. Taking his time, he should find and opening in David's attack. If it goes to the ground, Rich will have the edge, but David is good at defending, and ground and pound (as he showed against Tanner). The Crow has a punchers chance, but I believe there aren't many at 185 who can hang with Rich Franklin's hands and smarts.

BJ "The Prodigy" Penn 10-2-1 vs George "Rush" St. Pierre 11-1: The winner of this Super Fight will become the #1 contender for Matt Hughes Welterweight Championship! I was surprised to see how many people believe GSP will pull the upset. BJ is amazing at everything he does. GSP is amazing at everything he does. This fight will be GREAT! This is really a pick-em fight between to uber-talented fighters.
WINNER-GSP I believe in the under dog. Rush is always in the best shape, while BJ sometimes comes in soft. BJ also has not fought since July of last year. Look for GSP to overpower BJ and get the win through decision.

Yves Edwards 28-9-1 vs Mark Hominick 9-4: The Lightweight division returns (FINALLY) to the UFC. Yves was the uncrowned champion for years before the weight class was eliminated. Hominick is a striker which is Yves favorite type to fight. Yves has the experience, submission skills edge, and better fists and feet. Thanks for showing up Mark.
WINNER-Yves Edwards Yves brings his "thug-jitsu" back to American soil with a big KO victory. It will be interesting to see if the UFC brings in any lightweights that can challenge this guy. Currently, I would just hand him the belt and get it over with.

Mike "Quick" Swick 7-1 vs Steve "Lionheart" Vigneault 11-5: The UFC continues to feed its Ultimate Fighter reality stars tomato cans. Both of these guys are strikers yes, but "Lionheart" (the king of unoriginal nicknames) has been KO'd in 2 of his last 3 fights. Swick is faster bla bla bla, he'll win.
WINNER-Quick earns (ha ha, earns) another quick KO for his resume. Give this guy a real opponent so we can see how good he is.

Sam "Hands Of Stone" Stout 8-1-1 vs Spencer "King" Fisher 16-1: Now what the hell? At the last second Kenflo pulls out, and Fisher steps in (making weight 3/3/06). I had Stout to win against Kenny, and I'll stay with that pick against Fisher. Fisher is a badass fighter from the Miletich system. But, how can he be ready to go on 3 days notice, and having to drop 20 lbs. If he wins, he is badass! I like both of these fighters much more than Florian. Glad he's out.
WINNER-Sam Stout Sam is the current TKO Lightweight champ and had much more time to prepare. However, he opponent is now much, much better. Could be a show stealer if Fisher has the stamina after the last second notice and dramatic weight loss. With proper time to train, I would've picked Fisher.

Nathan Marquardt 20-6-2 vs Joe Doerkson 32-8: Finally a decent Middleweight bout between two good fighters. Marquardt is a former Pancrase Champion (in company with Ken Shamrock, Bas Rutten, Yuki Kondo, ect.) who is either really good, or a little off his game. He bored everyone to sleep and escaped (barely) against Ivan Salavarry. Joe has more fights against better opponents and great submissions.
WINNER-Marquardt Nate needs to redeem himself after the Salavarry debacle. He has good hands, which we haven't even seen yet. You can't be a Pancrase champ without knowing submissions, though Joe is good with them as well. I just pray he has a chip on his shoulder after his poor debut and the whole steroid thing (which is another story). Nate gets the nod.

Jason "Punisher" Lambert 19-5 vs Rob "Maximus" MacDonald 3-0: This is a tough one. Jason is coming off great wins against Marvin Eastman and Travis Wiuff, two really good fighters. Jason impressed me a lot though he lost in the Ultimate Fighter Season 2. He has very little experience which worries me against the veteran fighter.
WINNER-Jason Lambert How can you pick the guy with only 3 fights? Coming off an injury and new to the sport, it would be a surprise win for Mac.

Tom Murphy 4-1 vs Iccho Larenas 3-1: Great, yet another injury, and another last second replacement fighter. OK lets see, Murphy is a puncher, Larenas is a puncher. This fight will stay on the feet and one guy will get KO'd.
WINNER-Larenas? Sure, why not. Both guys have a punchers chance. Iccho looks bigger. This fight still means nothing.

If it wasn't for the title fight and the GSP/Bj fight, nobody would watch this weak ass card. Fighters are dropping out left and right. This card is a mess. I actually expect more at Ultimate Fight Night April 6th on Spike TV.