UFC 148 Picks: Main Card Wrap-up

UFC 148 brings us a main-card consisting of 4 featherweights all vying for top 5 spot in the rankings. How will Chad Mendes rebound from his first official loss at the hands of featherweight champion Jose Aldo, and who comes out ahead in one of the more evenly matched fights on the card between Mike Easton and Ivan Menjivar.

UFC 148 Picks: Main Card Wrap-up

Featherweight Contender Scrap: Mike Easton vs. Ivan Menjivar

Two featherweights on the cusp of a title shot collide on the main card as Mike Easton squares off against the Canadian-Salvadoran, Ivan Menjivar in the upcoming UFC 148.

Easton’s hype took a recent hit due to his latest performance failing to validate his -400 pricetag over Jared Papazian.

In the Papazian fight, he showed vulnerability in the clinch at times and proved that his punching power may be a tad overrated. There were several instances where he was reversed and controlled against the cage, where he was eating entirely too many short elbows on the inside -- a strike that Ivan lands with particular efficiency, as was evident in his knockout victory over Charlie Valencia.

Though the striking was fairly even for all three rounds, Mike did appear to land the harder, cleaner strikes. He showcased an excellent counter left hook on the inside while also utilizing it to expertly cut the cage off anytime Jared attempted to circle away. In the third round was where he landed his finely tuned strike of the fight, as he connected with a beautifully executed step-back right cross, which I feel is a bit on of underutilized punch in his arsenal. The accuracy and delivery behind it probably impressed me more than anything else Mike landed in that fight.

For the most part in that fight his takedown attempts were ineffective, but he did show his ability to quickly time and snatch onto a strong body lock several times in the match.

Considering Ivan was taken down in both the first and second round against Nick Pace, I see potential for Easton to steal rounds with late takedowns and maybe even positionally dominate if he scores one early in the frame. Ivan even briefly gave up his back against Pace and has found himself in bad positions on the mat against inferior grapplers to Easton, who’s a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Lloyd Irvin. That said, I see any kind of grappling edge for Easton being mostly negated by a solid grappler himself in Menjivar. 

I see Ivan possessing several key striking advantages in this match-up.

First off, he definitely has the more accurate and stabilizing jab. He loves to initiate exchanges with his big overhand right and often doubles his right hook to the body and head.

Then there’s his more active and diverse kicking game that Easton has to worry about. Menjivar utilizes a strong push kick, accurate head kicks delivered from both legs, and some really nasty outside leg kicks. These rangier type kicks all have the potential to be the difference in a close round.

This is a match-up where I’d be content getting either guy as a small to medium sized underdog. However, I think the most likely scenario is Easton’s hype train continuously cranking out inflated prices until he officially takes a loss inside the UFC. So my official UFC pick is on whoever opens at +125 or higher, which I feel is slightly more likely to be Menjivar.

Possible play on Menjivar…..Future update once the line is released

Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie

Heading into his UFC 148 match against the previous number one featherweight contender, Cody McKenzie is expected to be the largest underdog on the entire UFC 148 Fight Card.

Prior to his most recent fight against Marcus LeVesseur, Cody had lost two straight and was clearly on his way to being cut from the UFC. 

However, after losing the majority of the first round, McKenzie was again able to survive the early onslaught and lock in his signature guillotine choke for the victory. It was a fight where Cody Mckenzie opened as a small favorite and ended up closing and cashing as +160 underdog. 

As one of Team Alpha Male’s most constantly drilled submissions, one of the more troubling issues for Cody in this fight is how renowned their fighters are for both their guillotine choke defense, and attempts. Also, you have to factor in the fact that Cody has to deal with trying lock it in on someone with a much shorter, stouter neck than he’s accustomed to.  

Considering there were several times where Mendes willingly entered the guard of a prominent grappler like Rani Yahya, I think we could see him look for the odd takedown  just to keep Cody off balance and possibly soften him up with some brief ground and pound.

I think it’s clear that the UFC is giving this particular fight to Chad solely for the purpose of rebuilding his confidence after suffering his first knockout against Jose Aldo at UFC 142. Look for Chad to safely grind out a methodical three round decision as he successfully reenters the featherweight title picture.