How's it going Fight Fam?

As you know, UFC 225 is tomorrow (6/8/2018) and the UFC is definitely giving us a great card for Chicago. FIRST AND FOREMOST, I should introduce myself. My name is Paul Carlomagno (Founder/Owner of Fight Hound) and I will be teaming up with my friend Andrew McKeon for this one. The card for UFC 225 is as follows:

Main Card-

• Main Event: (C) Robert Whittaker v Yoel Romero II
• Co-Main: Rafael Dos Anjos v Colby Covington (For the Interim Belt)
• Holly Hom v Megan Anderson
• Andrei Arlovski v Tai Tuivasa
• Phil Brooks (CM Punk) v Mike Jackson

Preliminary Card-

• Alistair Overeem v Curtis Blaydes
• Claudia Gadelha v Carla Esparza
• Ricardo Lamas v Mirsad Bektic
• Rashad Coulter v Chris De La Rocha

UFC Fight Pass-

• Rashad Evans v Anthony Smith
• Joseph Benavidez v Sergio Pettis
• Clay Guida v Charles Oliveira
• Mike Santiago v Dan Ige

Picks and Prediction:

(C) Robert Whittaker v Yoel Romero II:

• Paul:   For this one, I am going with the 'Soldier of God', Yoel Romero. I am a HUGE fan of Romero and it would probably be bad luck if I picked against him lol. BUT from an objective standpoint, Romero is undeniably one of the greatest wrestlers to grace the octagon, if not the planet. Whittaker is no slouch and I expect his takedown defense to have vastly improved. But, Yoel is world class and if he can manage his gas tank and keep Whittaker down (or in the clinch), he can wear out Whittaker and potentially work his way to a UD and/or TKO.  Additionally, I enjoy the way Yoel is able to adapt to his opponents (the way he did Luke Rockhold), control the octagon, and utilize that leg kick. These are all tools that play into Romero's strong suit (Wrestling).
• Andrew: Unfortunately, Paul made his picks before the weigh-ins concluded today, so we may not even get to see this fight, but fingers crossed. I'm going to proceed as if Romero did make championship weight though, just to be fair. I too chose Yoel Romero to beat Robert Whittaker. As Paul mentioned, Romero is much more cerebral than we give him credit for, the way he was able to decipher opponents such as Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold and finish them quite convincingly. Really the only thing holding him back from being unbeatable has been his gas tank, which is important, don't get me wrong. I thought Whittaker would try and take it to Yoel a little harder than Rockhold did in the earlier rounds, but I found it hard to believe Yoel wouldn't blast him with something at some point, and finish him. As for now, this fight is obviously compromised, but in a perfect world, I'd go with Yoel.

Co-Main: Rafael Dos Anjos v Colby Covington (For the Interim Belt)

• Paul:  Up until today, I was thinking this is easily a victory for RDA. As much as I may dislike Colby's antics, I think I have to go with Colby Covington.  Call it destiny or what you may, but I think Colby has the X-Factor (the unmeasurable) in this fight. He is a young and durable 2-time All American PAC-10 Conference Champion. He reminds me of a more athletic and skilled Chael Sonnen. I HOPE I'M WRONG, but I think his wrestling prowess will be too much for RDA (like Khabib's was) and he will fight his way to a decision. (Still hoping I'm wrong though!)
• Andrew: I'm going to agree and disagree with Paul here. I think Colby Covington will win, and yes, I AM rooting for him. There's no doubt RDA is the superior striker, but Covington is stronger in the most important field of MMA, which is wrestling. I see Covington stealing at least three rounds simply by applying pressure to RDA against the cage, with some takedowns mixed in. No matter what Colby says, he doesn't want to stand with Dos Anjos, so even if he has to hump RDA's leg for three rounds, I think he'll do it. To say Covington's reputation is on the line in this fight is an understatement, so he'll be in RDA's face all night, grinding him out by any means necessary. He simply cannot lose after all the trash he talked. Plus, when I see the internet trolls all gang up on a guy simply trying to make a name for himself for hurting their wittle feewings, especially having done nothing illegal, I'll happily root for him. Plus Plus, who doesn't want to see the banter between him and Rogan post-fight?

Holly Holm v Megan Anderson

• Paul: I'm rolling with Megan Anderson for this fight.  Anderson may lack the experience Holm possesses, but she is only 28 years old and is riding a 4 fight win streak (all fights coming by way of TKO). She has phenomenal kickboxing and is only sharpening her iron with a talent in James Krause. While I like Holm, Anderson is the fighter I believe the UFC is rooting for. Should this be a close fight, I think judges will give Anderson the nod.
• Andrew: I'll also take Megan Anderson in this one. Skill for skill in the stand-up, I can't imagine these two being that far apart. However, simply due to the sheer size advantage in this one, I got to go with Anderson. I don't want to say this will be Cyborg-esque, but Anderson can probably stalk her for three rounds and definitely land the harder shots. Additionally, I agree with Paul that the UFC would be rooting for Anderson here, in case the judges are required to decide this bout.

Andrei Arlovski v Tai Tuivasa

• Paul: For this one, I am going with young and hungry Tai Tuivasa. As much as I love seeing "The Pitbull" rally up the fans and throwdown, it is pure nostalgia. Arlovski's days in the UFC are numbered as age and time have taken a toll on him. Arlovski is now punch drunk and within the first round, I expect the heavy-handed Tuivasa to put 'The Pitbull' down. 
• Andrew: I'll take Tai Tuivasa as well. I'm well aware Arlovski has been "hot" lately, but Tuivasa has been on fire. He's a lot younger, and I'm assuming much more durable than Andrei "Glass Chin" Arlovski. Tuivasa simply has not given any of his opponents any time to get settled or make any reads on him, he storms in like he's got nothing to lose and has merked people, pretty violently I might add. If you like to bet, this is my lock of the night, and I don't think we see the second round. One more win, and another shoey for Tuivasa.

Phil Brooks (CM Punk) v Mike Jackson

• Paul: I am rooting for CM Punk, but I am picking Mike Jackson as the man to get it done. Whil Mike Jackson has never won a fight in his life, he has more fights (as he has fought once as an amateur) and has been training far longer than CM Punk. At the end of the day, this fight has no bearing on the UFC rankings as neither fighter is projected to have a huge impact. Rather this is just a fight for the fans and hopefully, it goes well.
• Andrew: I'm gonna roll with CM Punk here, although I hope both men knock each other out simultaneously. I know this fight is merely here to raise the PPV numbers, but otherwise it's a disgrace for the UFC, plain and simple. This guys are less than amateurs; Mickey Gall exposed that pretty clearly in my opinion. Regardless, I think Punk is the better athlete and will wrestle his way to a decision win. Although, he may choose to stand with Jackson instead, because if he's like me and has seen Jackson's training footage, there's not much to worry about. Yes, I know CM Punk is no Rico Verhoeven either, but training with Duke Rufus, he's gotta be a better striker than Jackson. Word of warning, if you choose to watch either fighter's training footage, just make sure you're near a toilet; I nearly lost my turkey sandwich watching Jackson shadow-box yesterday.

Picks for the rest of UFC 225:

Paul: Overeem/Gadelha/Lamas/Coulter/Smith/Benavidez/Oliveira/Ige

Andrew: Blaydes/Gadelha/Lamas/Coulter/Smith/Benavidez/Guida/Ige

Conclusion:

UFC 225 is bound to be a barn burner and I am hyped! Agree or disagree Fight Fam? Who do y'all got?