UFC 131 will go live, Saturday, June 11, from Roger's Arena in Vancouver, Canada and will be headlined by a heavyweight title-shot eliminator when Shane Carwin goes toe to toe with Team Blackhouse star Junior dos Santos.
The co-main event will feature Kenny Florian's debut at featherweight as he battles Nova Uniao standout Diego Nunes. With the performance, Florian will become the first fighter in UFC history to compete in four divisions, but he'll have his hands full with the once beaten WEC veteran.
Below you will find our main card picks for UFC 131 - Carwin vs. dos Santos. Tune in at 9pm EST, on UFC.tv or Pay-Per-View television to catch all the action live from Vancouver!
Donald Cerrone vs. Vagner Rocha
As Rocha has stated in recent interviews leading up to the contest, this match is really a no-win for "The Cowboy," as he takes on a promotion new comer with a fraction of the experience he has in the sport. Rocha has stopped four of his seven opponents by way of submission, and will pose a threat in that department; however, Cerrone owns twelve of his fourteen career victories by that same method and should have no problems neutralizing Rocha's ground attack while picking him apart with superior stand-up technique. Cerrone turned a corner in his rematch with Jamie Varner, proving to the mixed martial arts community that he is willing to develop perceived weaknesses in his game after out-wrestling the former champ en-route to a unanimous decision win. Cerrone will take this one as well, 3rd round TKO stoppage is the call.
Demian Maia vs. Mark Munoz
Demian Maia, a one-time title challenger, has the ability to submit any man when the fight hits the mat as demonstrated by his five fight winning streak that began with his promotion debut at UFC 77. Maia stopped all five opponents by way of submission, including notables Jason MacDonald and Chael Sonnen. Recently, the highly decorated Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blackbelt has worked diligently to improve his other skill-sets, with good results against the likes of Kendall Grove. "The Filipino Wrecking Machine" will prove too difficult a test however as this match-up simply does not stack up well for Maia. Munoz has big power in his hands, and without question is the more comfortable striker in the pocket. Coupled with his wrestling chops out of Oklahoma, which will dictate where this fight takes place, the pick here is Mark Munoz via KO victory or convincing unanimous decision.
Jon Olav Einemo vs. Dave Herman
In a battle of heavyweights making their promotion debuts, wrestler Dave Herman takes on ADCC world champion Jon Olav Einemo. 6'6" Einemo from Oslo, Norway is also a grappler of the highest order, but has not competed in mixed martial arts competition since his armbar submission victory over James Thompson in November of 2006. Boasting a record of 6-1 with five submission stoppages, Einemo trains out of the Golden Glory gym in the Netherlands, notorious for putting out top-level strikers. Ring-rust could very well be the deciding factor in this one, as "Pee-wee" has twenty-two professional fights on his resume with only two defeats and fourteen [T]KO victories in that span. I look for him to be the more comfortable standing, and although a stoppage might be hard to come by, the Bellator and Sengoku veteran will come out with a comfortable win on the judges cards.
Kenny Florian vs. Diego Nunes
Any time you go up against a
Nova Uniao fighter, you know you're in tough. The camp is without question at the pinnicle of fighter development in Brazil, and has traditionally been strongest in the lighter weight classes. Cue Diego Nunes, a 16-1-0 twenty-eight year old coming off three consecutive victories under the WEC banner, going 5-1 overall in the promotion. Nunes' last victory was perhaps his most impressive to date, topping former 145lbs champion Mike Thomas Brown via unanimous decision at
UFC 125 on January 1st. His opponent, Kenny Florian, is a man who needs no introduction when he steps into the octagon. Entering the UFC through the
Ultimate Fighter Season 1, losing the finals to Diego Sanchez at 185lbs, Florian will now compete in his fourth weight class, setting a promotion record in doing so. The 13-5-0 two-time lightweight title challenger has a tendency to show his best when his back is up against the wall; coming off a loss to Gray Maynard in his most recent performance, and re-inventing himself at featherweight, I expect that kind of display from Florian come Saturday night. Look for Florian to keep this fight standing, while executing a more diverse array of strikes. The call is "Kenflo" via unanimous decision nod.
Shane Carwin vs. Junior dos Santos
Another tough bout to call, the main-event at
UFC 131 is exactly the kind of fight that fans want to finish the evening. Both of these heavyweight contenders have made their names by knocking people out, and while the similarities appear to end there, that is the one trait that will make this fight a blockbuster from start to finish. dos Santos, being the younger, quicker man will look to utilize that advantage standing, while putting on a display with his slick combinations. Carwin's potential to end the fight with one punch cannot be ignored however, and the Brazilian star will have to be wary of this. The one tipping factor for myself heading into this contest, as I am a fan of both competitors, is that I can't help but feel dos Santos has been slightly 'spoon fed' his opponents so-to-speak. When looking back at his list of victims since joining the UFC, while impressive, there hasn't been one strong wrestler in the bunch and the strikers he has toppled are well beyond their prime years. Dropping twenty pounds of weight since his last appearance, I'm willing to bet the supposed 'cardio issues' Carwin was dubbed to have were little more than a fighter furiously punching himself out over four minutes, in a championship bout. Carwin took a valuable lesson away from that loss to Lesner, the only time he has ever been outside of the first round... to pick his shots more wisely when gaining a dominate position. Carwin will use his wrestling base and strength advantage to stifle dos Santos throughout the contest; "Cigano" will have his moments, and certainly threaten on the feet, but
the Grudge Training Center product will walk away with his hand raised.
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