UFC 153 Breakdown

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar - non-title light-heavyweight fight-

Silva has every advantage in this fight; he hits harder, is faster and is better on the ground. One interesting thing of note is that Bonnar is a former Golden Gloves boxer, I don't think that will matter much in this fight but it will be intriguing to see how effective his boxing can be against Silva.

Silva via KO round 1

Dave Herman vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira-

This fight is one that has a lot of question marks around it. On paper Bog Nog should have big advantage here but he has been off for 10 months after Mir broke his arm. You have to wonder if age, a traumatic injury and time away will effect a fighter that has been through the amount of wars that Nog has. I think the power puncher Herman catches him early and puts away Nogueira.

Herman via Ko round 1

Fabio Maldonado vs. Glover Teixeira-

This fight is merely a question of how will Teixeira will win and how long it will take him. Tex holds a distinct advantage everywhere in this fight and Maldonado will see his short stint with the UFC come to a close as Teixeira taps him in the first round.

Teixeira via Sub round 1

Jon Fitch vs. Erick Silva-

Silva is an explosive fighter and I would love to see him win here to set up some intriguing matches at the top of this division but unfortunately it will not happen. Fitch will fight a normal fitch fight and take silva down an control him in route to a dec victory.

Fitch via Dec

Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado-

The fact that Prado looked competitive in the 90 secs of the previous fight will have some people siding with Prado but that just means better odds for the smart money. Davis will use his far superior wrestling to take Prado down and eventually lock in a choke that will end Prado's night.

Davis via Sub round 2

Demian Maia vs. Rick Story-

This is a fight that I am not really sure what to make of and one that can truly go either way depending on how the fight plays out. Im leaning towards Maia based off the fact that this fight will likely go to the mat at some point and Maia holds a big advantage there.

Maia via Dec

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX, 8 p.m. ET)

Rony "Jason" Mariano Bezerra vs. Sam Sicilia-

This is a fight of two fighters that are true up and comers. Both fighters have sure fire ways to end this fight with Sicilia's coming in stand up and Rony's coming via submission. I think Sicilia's wrestling is good enough to keep the fight standing and he scores the TKO in round 1.

Sicilia TKO round 1

Gleison Tibau vs. Francisco Trinaldo-

Tibau has a big time strength advantage and will be able to out-muscle Trinaldo in the clinch, this will be the deciding factor in this fight as Tibau will be able to execute his game plan better.

Tibau via Dec

Diego Brandao vs. Joey Gambino-

Diego will come out firing from the opening bell and catch Gambino early to score a quick KO victory.

Brandao via KO round 1

Renee Forte vs. Sergio Moraes-

This should be a good fight as Moraes holds a big advantage on the ground and Forte has a solid stand up game. Forte should do enough on his feet to earn a decision victory.

Forte via Dec

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 7 p.m. ET)

Chris Camozzi vs. Luiz Cane-

Cane has been off his game lately but I think fighting in front of his home crowd in Brazil should be all the motivation he needs to get things back on track. 

Cane via TKO round 2

Reza Madadi vs. Cristiano Marcello-

In this fight between 2 great grapplers I will lean towards who I think is the better of the 2 and pick Marcello to win via sub in round 2

Marcello Sub round 2

UFC on FX 5 breakdown

MAIN CARD (FX, 8 p.m. ET)

Travis Browne vs. Antonio Silva-

If silva can get this fight down to the ground he has a good chance to end it there. However I think the Browne's speed and cardio will pull this fight into deeper waters and he will end up finishing this fight in the 4th.

Browne via TKO round 4

Jake Ellenberger vs. Jay Hieron-

In this fight my mind is saying go with Ellenberger but my heart is saying go with Hieron. I am going to have to side with Hieron to pull the upset here. Hieron has looked to be in great form here and is hungry to finally get to the top, I think he pulls out the dec victory

Hieron via Dec

John Dodson vs. Jussier Formiga-

This should be fight of the night and can really go either way. I am a big fan of both fighters and do not really feel that either holds a big advantage here. Dodson is the faster of the fighters but his scrappy style will make it easier for da silva (jussier) to get it to the ground. I will go with jussier da silva to pull out the close decision victory here in a fight that can go either way.

jussier da silva via dec

Josh Neer vs. Justin Edwards-

This should be a war from the start with both men swinging for the fences from the opening bell. The problem with that for Edwards is that he is not as good with his punches as Neer is. Neer will connect early and put Edwards to sleep.

Neer via KO round 1

PRELIMINARY CARD (FUEL TV, 5 p.m. ET)

Yves Edwards vs. Jeremy Stephens-

Stephens has taking his striking game to a new level lately and that will give him the edge in this fight as he lands a big punch in round 2 to earn the victory.

Stephens via TKO round 2

Danny Castillo vs. Michael Johnson-

I like Castillo better as a fighter in this fight but it is a bad match up for him. Johnson should be able to keep the fight standing and use his speed to out point Castillo to earn the dec victory

Johnson via Dec

Dennis Hallman vs. Thiago Tavares-

This is an interesting fight because both men are highly skilled on the ground. If the fight stays standing it will sway in the direction of Tavares but if it goes to the ground its anyones guess who holds the advantage. I personally hope to see a great grappling match here but I feel Tavares will be able to land enough to out point Hallman before it gets to the ground.

Tavares via Dec

Shane Roller vs. Jacob Volkmann-

This is an interesting fight between 2 high level wrestlers. All signs in this fight are pointing to Roller winning it; he was the better college wrestler, he has the better stand-up but for some reason I think Volkmann will end up getting the decision victory. It should be a close one but Volkmann always seems to end up on the right side of scrambles.

Volkmann via Dec

Diego Nunes vs. Bart Palaszewski-

Nunes should take this fight to the ground from the start and not even mix it up with Bart on his feet. If he does this it will be a boring grind it out fight but will ultimately earn Nunes the dec victory. If Bart has his way it will be an exciting slugfest and Bart should be able to win. I have to side with Nunes fighting the smarter fight and winning in a snoozefest.

Nunes via Dec

Phil Harris vs. Darren Uyenoyama-

I have to preface this fight by saying that I do not know much about Phil Harris so I can only go off his record and what I know about Uyenoyama. I think Uyenoyama will use his great wrestling skills to get this fight to the ground and grind out a dec victory.

Uyenoyama via dec

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 4 p.m. ET)

Marcus LeVesseur vs. Carlo Prater-

Prater has struggled lately with aggressive power punchers and he will be facing another one here. LeVesseur should pour the pace on from the start and not allow Prater to get comfortable. If he does this he should be able to finish him off late in round 1.

LeVesseur via TKO round 1

Mike Pierce vs. Aaron Simpson-

I am a big fan of both of these fighters an hate to pick either one over the other. Being that they are very similar fighters I think Simpson will pull out a dec victory here because Pierce has problems facing wrestlers that are as good or better than himself.

Simpson via Dec