UFC 129 Prelims Predictions Part 1

Hello again fans and friends and welcome to another entry into my on-again off-again series “Prelims Predictions”. My normal “Picks and Predictions” post only covers the main/Pay-Per-View card, but with so many good fights happening on the preliminaries nowadays, and with so many of these fights now being available for free, every once in a while I take the time to give my thoughts on who I think will win these prelims. And with a special event like UFC 129 comes the special announcement that all seven preliminary fights will be available for watching. So I’m going to go ahead and give my thoughts on all seven, splitting them into two parts. First up we have the first four fights of the UFC 129 “Prelims LIVE” broadcast scheduled to air over the UFC’s Facebook page. Let’s dive right in.

Yves Jabouin vs. Pablo Garza: I think this fight will come down to two things: age and experience. Jabouin is more experienced and has almost double the amount of fights than his opponent, but Garza is younger and coming off of a more-impressive victory in his last fight. But I believe that that Jabouin will just be too tough of a test for Garza. Jabouin has stopped too many people, and I think this fight will end with Jabouin taking home a second-round TKO.

John Makdessi vs. Kyle Watson: Makdessi started his career by going 6-0 with six straight TKO’s, but his last two fights have both gone to a decision (both of which he won, though). Meanwhile, Watson is on a five-fight win-streak with four stoppages. However, the fact that Watson has been (T)KO’d on three separate occasions is a big problem: he may as well have painted a bullseye on his chin. Makdessi may be new to the sport, but something about him tells me that this will be the fight where he re-asserts his dominance as a striker. There’s a chance that Makdessi could win by Unanimous Decision, but I think this fight will end with John Makdessi picking up a first-round TKO.

Jason MacDonald vs. Ryan Jensen: Both men have their backs against the wall in this fight: MacDonald is returning after an extended hiatus due to injury and Jensen has lost two of his last three fights. Jensen’s pattern of losing one and then winning one has held steady since 2008, while MacDonald is an aging veteran whose performances can vary wildly: before his loss due to a freak injury, he had followed up a three-fight losing-streak with a three fight win-streak. Unfortunately for MacDonald, I think ring rust will play a significant factor in this fight. Ryan Jensen will win it by second-round submission.

Ivan Menjivar vs. Charlie Valencia: In this battle of veterans, I think both men’s immediate records tell an interesting tale. Valencia may have went 5-4 in the WEC, but he’s won three of his last four, and those four defeats in the WEC just happened to be against some of the WEC’s best Bantamweight fighters. Meanwhile, Menjivar has lost three of his last four. There’s a slight chance that either man could land a big punch and get the KO, but I think the odds are stacked in Valencia’s favor, and I’m predicting that he’ll win it by Unanimous Decision.

And that’s what I think, fans and friends. Stay tuned for the rest of “UFC 129 Prelims Predictions” as well as my normal “Picks and Predictions” post. But for now: any thoughts on what will happen in any of these particular fights?