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UFC 125 will take place on New Years Day in Las Vegas

Prelims:
Jacob Volkmann (11-2) vs Antonio McKee (25-3-2)
Daniel Roberts (11-1) vs Greg Soto (8-1)
Mike Brown (24-6) vs Diego Nunes (15-1)
Phil Baroni (13-12) vs Brad Tavares (6-0)
Josh Grispi (14-1) vs Dustin Poirier (8-1)
Marcus Davis (17-7) vs Jeremy Stephens (18-6)

Main:
Clay Guida (27-11) vs Takanori Gomi (32-6 [1])
Nate Diaz (13-5) vs Kim Dong-Hyun (13-0-1 [1])
Brandon Vera (11-5) vs Thiago Silva (14-2)
Chris Leben (25-6) vs Brian Stann (9-3)
Frankie Edgar (13-1) vs Gray Maynard (10-0 [1]) for the UFC Lightweight Title.

This card has had some injuries, Shane Carwin was to face Roy Nelson but a back injury scratched that. Then Jose Aldo was to face Josh Grispi but a back injury forced Aldo out.

Predictions:
Volkmann decision. McKee hasnt lost since 2003, but he hasnt been facing top flight competition, or for that matter anyone on Volkmann's level
Roberts 2nd Rnd Submission. Roberts is quietly moving his way up the ladder
Brown 1st Rnd Submission. Mike needs this if he ever wants his rematch with Jose Aldo
Tavares 2nd rnd Submission. Should be like every other Baroni fight, Phil will look good for a minute and a half then he'll gas and Tavares will take over
Grispi 1st rnd TKO. Josh is the #1 contender to Aldo and IMO is the only guy who has a chance to beat him
Stephans Unanimous Decision. If I'm right this will probably be Marcus Davis's last fight

Main:
Gomi 1st Rnd TKO. If Clay's gameplan is the usual he'll end up like Tyson Griffin
Diaz 3rd Rnd Sub. This is the most intriguing matchup on the card
Silva 2nd rnd submission. Should be back and forth, but I think Thiago catches Vera
Stann Decision. I'm going with my heart on this one. Should be a really good fight.
Maynard Decision. Gray is going to do one thing look for the takedown and grind it out, and I dont think Frankie is big enough to consistently stop him or submit him

Submission of the Night: Mike Brown
KO of the Night: Gomi
Fight of the Night: Stann/Leben

Prelims:
Antonio McKee (25-3-2)
Daniel Roberts (11-1)
Diego Nunes (15-1)
Brad Tavares (6-0)
Josh Grispi (14-1)
Jeremy Stephens (18-6)

Main:
Clay Guida (27-11)
Nate Diaz (13-5)
Thiago Silva (14-2)
Brian Stann (9-3)
Frankie Edgar (13-1)

Its a GOOD thing Grispi didnt fight Aldo, He woulda got beat worse then He did

Results:
Volkmann Split Decision
Roberts 1st Rnd Sub. Roberts may be on a 3 fight win streak but his stand up is keeping him miles away from making him a contender
Nunes Split Decision
Tavares 1st Rnd KO. Reminescent of Baroni's finish of Dave Menne years ago. Tavares also looked really out of shape.
Poirier Unanimous Decision. Extremely disappointed in Josh's performance. Maybe it had something to do with going from fighting for a title to fighting a relative unknown
Stephens 3rd Rnd KO

Main:
Guida 2nd Rnd Sub.
DHK Unanimous Decision. Don't know why the fans booed the decision DHK won the 1st 2 rounds easily
Silva Unanimous Decision. Vera's nose was smashed BAD
Stann 1st Rnd TKO. Brian becomes only the 2nd man to KO Leben and the other is Anderson Silva
Edgar and Maynard fought to a draw. So Edgar retains the title. I had it 48-46 for Gray but I think thats due to the fact I was rooting for him so I just gave him the 5th rnd. Surprisingly entertaining fight.

Overall I would give the card a solid B. The Guida/Gomi fight was pretty dull until the sub, DHK and Diaz talking trash during the fight was cool. Silva/Vera was disappointing except for the staredown at the end of rnd 1. Brian was AWESOME and the main event surpassed expectations.

The Enforcer wrote:Its a GOOD thing Grispi didnt fight Aldo, He woulda got beat worse then He did

It's a good thing no one is fighting Aldo right now cause they would all be beaten to pulps.

KO of the Night: Jeremy Stephens
Sub of the Night: Clay Guida
Fight of the Night Edgar/Maynard

Legend, What did you think of the Edgar/ Maynard Dec?

Prelims:
Jacob Volkmann (11-2) vs Antonio McKee (25-3-2)
Didn't see this fight obviously, but McKee still claims he's never been defeated because he was never hit and said he feels like he won the fight overall. Split decision, hard to tell if it was good or bad judging. Hopefully, McKee gets one more fight in the UFC since this fight was so close.

Josh Grispi (14-1) vs Dustin Poirier (8-1)
Showed exactly why Grispi had no business being in the cage with Aldo to begin with. However, that's more due to the fact that 145 is fairly thin, especially after Aldo tore through the only two legit contenders/champions in Brown and Faber. Grispi was really the only featherweight they could sell a title bout on. The division is still a ways away. With Aldo's recovery maybe they have time to build a new contender. Slim pickens.

Clay Guida (27-11) vs Takanori Gomi (32-6 [1])
Clay's movement completely baffled Gomi.

Nate Diaz (13-5) vs Kim Dong-Hyun (13-0-1 [1])
Fantastic fight. Kim faded in the third as per normal, but I had it 29-28 on my card as well.

Brandon Vera (11-5) vs Thiago Silva (14-2)
Another embarrassment for Vera. Silva looked huge entering the cage and the power was there in full force as he manhandled Brandon. Silva looked good.

Frankie Edgar (13-1) vs Gray Maynard (10-0 [1]) for the UFC Lightweight Title.
Amazing fight. 23 and 1/2 hours into the new year and already a legit fight of the year contender. The decision was accurate in my eyes.

My scorecard (Edgar/Maynard): 7-10, 10-9, 10-10, 10-9, 10-9 = 47-47

I think the first round was the perfect display of a 10-7, although Edgar's finish to the round almost gained him another point to finish 10-8. I can't complain with a 10-8 score though. I didn't really find 2, 4, or 5 close although many had five as a close round. Round three however was splitting hairs and when the bell sounded I was at a loss for who to give it to which is a perfect 10-10 round. Very happy that Dana is doing the rematch instead of Pettis. It also gives the opportunity to put Pettis in a #1 contender's bout against someone who is close, perhaps Evan Dunham if he defeats Melvin Gulliard in a couple weeks.

The Enforcer wrote:Legend, What did you think of the Edgar/ Maynard Dec?

My scoring was:
1st 10-8 Maynard
2nd 10-9 Edgar
3rd 10-9 Maynard
4th 10-9 Edgar
5th 10-9 Maynard
Total: 48-46 for Maynard.

With that said I don't think it was an atrocious decision the 3rd round was extremely close and could've gone either way so the 47-47 I thought was logical.

ACCBiggz wrote:Josh Grispi (14-1) vs Dustin Poirier (8-1)
Showed exactly why Grispi had no business being in the cage with Aldo to begin with. However, that's more due to the fact that 145 is fairly thin, especially after Aldo tore through the only two legit contenders/champions in Brown and Faber. Grispi was really the only featherweight they could sell a title bout on. The division is still a ways away. With Aldo's recovery maybe they have time to build a new contender. Slim pickens.

I agree 100% I'm a huge Grispi fan but I didn't feel he was ready quite for Aldo and this proved it. He's only 22 so he has time to improve.

The 145 class really has no #1 contender at the moment; the Hominick/Roop fight in a couple weeks will probably decide who it is but I don't feel either one will have any sort of success against Aldo (Well no one really has a chance except maybe Joe Warren whose in Bellator). Now with Faber moving to 135 and Brown and Grispi losing the weightclass seems pretty light at the top.

Not surprising, Phil Baroni has been released from the UFC