Watch Kalib Run Staff Predictions for UFC 125: Edgar vs Maynard

First PPV of the year, what a doozie. If my general apathy isn't apparent, let me state I'm not too interested in this card.    Don't be mistaken, I love MMA and watching it and would probably watch high school level MMA if it came on TV. This card, there's nothing that would compel me to buy it as the only fight I'm dying to see is the first fight of the night and won't be shown on TV. I'm not even betting on this card (a first in like a couple years) which means I can actually post fight predictions. I tend not to post predictions as almost sort of a good luck thing. I decided to round up the WKR staff to give their thoughts as well. 

Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard

S.C. Michaelson: Zzzzzzzz. Someone is getting lay and prayed or jabbed to death. Maynard beat Edgar up a couple years ago, I expect more of the same from Lay Praynard. I don't mean to be harsh. I actually like Gray, I thought he was great on the Countdown. Poor Frankie, I mean the guy beats BJ Penn twice and he's still the underdog. If the guy had some personality, he could parlay that into a compelling character that draws fans. C'est la vie. His title run won't extend past tonight. Gray Maynard

Staff. *ahem* STAFF!. Hello? Need some picks. Zak? St. Martin? Sub0, I mean Subotecki? Wait, is it "Subo" or Subzero"? I JUST realized it probably is Subzero. Interesting. I will soldier on.

Chris Leben vs Brian Stann

Me:  I think this fight will hinge on if Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman is in Chris Leben's corner according to the rumor I heard. If he is, I think that will motivate Leben to win and save his money so that he doesn't end up like Dog. Brian Stann is a Marine. He served his country. He also was the WEC LHW champion, but no one talks about that. The last fighter who's military background was heavily pushed was Tim Kennedy.........Kennedy and we saw how that worked out. This is Stann's first fight at 185 and frankly, I don't think it will be a great debut. it's hard to root for a two-time drunk driver, but then I realize I'm not rooting for him, I'm just predicting him. I'm actually rooting for Stann because a) i don't like drunk drivers and b) If Leben wins, he'll be rewarded with a big fight against Wand, Sonnen, or Bisping. Isn't it funny how the MW division is so interesting now when it was boring as fuck just a year ago? Chris Leben. 

Thiago Silva vs Brandon Vera 

Me- This comes down to did Brandon Vera "face his Mirs" and overcome his loss to Jon Jones. That, I don't know. His interview after the fight and even up to the press conference seem to suggest no. It was the main topic of conversation and his reasoning seemed to center around that he underestimated Jones rather than Jones just being really good. He's externalizing rather than internalizing. Despite that, Thiago Silva is not a pushover. Silva has only lost to Machida and Rashad. This is a tough tough fight for Vera. A fight I see him losing. Thiago Silva

Takanori Gomi vs Clay Guida

Me: OMG GOMI IS BACK! Well, that's what people said after he KO'd Tyson Griffin. Is Gomi "back"? We'll see. Clay Guida is a machine. He also looks like Dave Meltzer's son. Guida has the Japanese fighter's kryptonite - good wrestling. That will be the factor in this fight. Gomi isn't your typical Japanese fighter in that aspect. He has serviceable TDD. However, I'm going against the grain and I'm picking Clay Guida. 

Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim

Me: I love the Diaz brothers. I love the Korean Zombie even though I thought he was in the 145 lb weight class. I guess he's bulking up. I don't see him being able to beat Nate Diaz. Especially since Nate has recently competed at Middleweight. If it goes to the ground, I see Nate threatening with submissions or sweeps and getting out of danger. Nate Diaz. 

DING DING That chime means our time is running short. I'll give the wheel a final spin. I'll ask you to give me a prediction, you'll have 5 seconds to explain it. Vowels are worth nothing.

Phil Baroni vs Brad Tavares

Me: I'm going to break my rule right here.  I'm sorry, I must TAKE A STAND. As you know, a month or so ago, it was rumored that the UFC was going to run Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir 3. I was upset with that. I was on twitter and saw someone tweet about it. An idea hit me. Why not start a grassroots movement and get people to tweet Dana White and tell him "Halt, don't booketh that fight" and I'll be gotdamned it WORKED. So since then, people have decided to APE my idea and message Dana about EVERYTHING they disagree with. Why mention this? Because I'm a braggart. No, seriously because PHILBERT Baroni, when seeing the success of my campaign, begged people on Twitter to tweet Dana to get his fight shown on the prelims. And it WORKED. So now we're forced to watch Phil Baroni gas out after a round. Brad Tavares is my prediction, I can't even remember a Brad Tavares fight, but I predict Baroni gasses. 

Marcus Davis vs Jeremy Stephens

Me: Marcus Davis, who's as Irish as I am, will win. Not a fan of Jeremy "N*gga" Stephens. 

Dustin Poirier vs Josh Grispi

Me: Breaking my rule AGAIN. Remember how I wrote about how the 135 and 145 guys will have a hard time becoming stars and taken as seriously as the bigger fighters. HERE'S EVIDENCE #1. You have the #1 contender to the UFC 145 Title, his opponent gets injured and he goes from co-main all the way back to the prelims. Great show of faith there. I'm picking Josh Grispi. This seems to be a showcase fight for him. 

Mike Brown vs Diego Nunes

Me: EVIDENCE #2. You have the former WEC 145 champ and he's on the unaired prelims. Yet Phil Baroni can make it on TV. I mean I'm not picking on Baroni, I'm just saying. And you think the smaller guys will be taken seriously/pushed. This ain't no different than...Oh I'm not gonna say that. Mike Brown wins. 

Daniel Roberts vs Greg Soto

Me: Roberts is Black, I'm picking him. Daniel Roberts. Nah, I'm kidding. I mean i am picking Roberts, but mostly because of the 2 degrees of separation we have and the fact that he was giving Doomsday hell before the KO and he's performed great in his past two fights winning SOTN with a motherfucking Anaconda Choke in under a minute. 

Antonio McKee vs Jacob Volkmann

Me: Finally. Finally. Finally. A fight I care about. Finally Antonio McKee makes his Octagon debut. Whatever reason you believe he was not part of the UFC earlier, the fact of the matter is he is there now and even at the age of 40, he looks to make an impact. He's fighting Christmas who is a good grappler in his own right. McKee's credentials speak for themselves and many fighters in the industry vouch for his skills, but can he apply them on the big stage? In the entertain-first world of the UFC can he win and be exciting? He's provided plenty of smack-talk, but we'll see if he can back it up in the cage. I'm going with El Negro. Antonio McKee. 

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SBN coverage of UFC 125: Resolution