UFC Fight Night – Preliminary Fight Picks

UFC fans have been starving for a new event to hit the airwaves. It seems like its been forever since the last fight night between Joe Lauzon and Jeremy Stephens, especially casual fans who don’t have the money these days to spring for pay-per-view contests.

Wednesday night’s UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann has a very distinct Ultimate Fighter feel to it as many well-known alumni of the show will battle it out to keep the momentum going in a positive direction in their young careers. With such spirited competitors, UFC Fight Nights often bring some of the best UFC action and some of the most memorable fights around to the table.

The most anticipated preliminary fight for Wednesday’s 8 p.m. ET Spike TV Fight Night might be Gleison Tibau vs. Jeremy Stephens. This is a classic jiu-jitsu vs. striker matchup. Efrain Escudero was supposed to fight in place of Tibau but got hurt leading up to this one.

Tibau is a great all-around ground fighter and a savvier fighter than Stephens. While Stephens is exciting and possesses knockout power and always looks to put on a show, Tibau is a little better at this stage and should take this one. This will be an interesting test to see if Stephens has matured since his fight with Joe Lauzon or not.

Another interesting bout is Tim Credeur vs. Nick Catone. Catone was supposed to take on former TUF winner Amir Sadollah but Sadollah is still sidelined with injuries. Credeur came off of the same season as Sadollah but didn’t quite make the finals, but he still has the jiu-jitsu skills and moxie to pull of a win against Catone.

Ricardo Almedia is one of the better jiu-jitsu specialists in the MMA world, but Matt Horwich is the kind of scrappy fighter who can make life difficult for him. Almeida should pull this one out but in a three-round fight against the underdog Horwich, a UFC Fight Night shocker could possibly unfold. Keep an eye on this one if it is indeed shown on Spike TV.

Rounding out the interesting UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann preliminary fights is a return to the Octagon by Brock Larson, an aggressive, powerful wrestler whose only loss in the past 13 fights was to headliner Carlos Condit in the WEC. He also has taken Jon Fitch to decision in his career, losing on points. Larson should make short work of Jesse Sanders in what should be an entertaining night for UFC fans.