UFC 138: Leben vs. Munoz Bold Predictions

It’s fight week again which can only mean one thing, bold predictions time! UFC 138 is one of those cards that raise the eyebrows of fans for the wrong reasons. Sporting a card that will look better in person than on paper, the undercard will stream on Facebook while the main card will be shown via tape delay in the states on Spike TV.

The fight card isn’t going to jump out at you name wise but as we’ve all seen time and time again, when fans complain about a card they typically deliver. UFC 138 will hold the first ever five round non-title fight between middleweights Chris Leben and Mark Munoz.

Preliminary card (Facebook)

135 lbs.: Vaughan Lee will defeat Chris Cariaso by Submission

170 lbs.: Che Mills will defeat Chris Cope by Unanimous Decision

145 lbs.: Michihiro Omigawa will defeat Jason Young by Submission

265 lbs.: Philip De Fries will defeat Rob Broughton by Submission

170 lbs.: Justin Edwards will defeat John Maguire by Unanimous Decision

Main card (Spike TV)

205 lbs.: Cyrille Diabaté will defeat Anthony Perosh by 2^nd round TKO

• Diabate has the clear advantage standing and Perosh has the advantage on the ground, but the problem is Perosh sometimes struggles getting his opponent to the ground. Diabate will sprawl and brawl against the Australian, wearing him down before dropping him in the second round and cleaning things up on the ground.

155 lbs.: Terry Etim will defeat Eddie Faaloloto by Unanimous Decision

• Etim has been out of action a long time but was given a good matchup in Faaloloto who has lost his only two fights under the ZUFFA banner. With home field advantage behind him, Etim will out point his opponent en route to a 30-27 across the board win.

170 lbs.: Thiago Alves will defeat Papy Abedi by Split Decision

• When Alves came in one pound over weight I almost changed my pick in favor of the newcomer Adebi but I stuck with the UFC veteran. Alves needs this fight bad and must keep the fight standing to do so or he might find himself looking for a new place to fight. Alves will start out with a solid game plan that will slowly fade as his gas tank nears empty. Abedi will come on strong late and make the fight too close for comfort.

135 lbs: Renan Barão will defeat Brad Pickett by 2^nd rd Submission

• Pickett finally gets his UFC debut and in the UK as well, too bad he’s fighting a guy on an incredible 26 fight winning streak with one no contest mixed in. Barão has almost half his wins via submission and it’s hard to pick against a guy who hasn’t lost in over six years.

185 lbs.: Mark Muñoz will defeat Chris Leben by 3^rd rd. TKO

• Ok this fight is a coin flip and can end at any single moment. Both have knockout power but Leben can take a punch like a zombie and Munoz has shown a questionable chin. Munoz though has some nasty ground and pound that should come into play when Leben enters his typical zombie mode. If Munoz is still standing in the third round he’ll be able to take Leben down at will and should score the TKO victory here.

Tags: Anthony Perosh, brad Pickett, Che Mills, Chris Cariaso, Chris Cope, Chris Leben, Cyrille Diabate, Edward Faaloloto, Jason Young, John Maguire, Justin Edwards, Mark Munoz, Michihiro Omigawa, Mixed Martial Arts, MMA, Papy Abedi, Philip De Fries, Predictions, Renan Barao, Rob Broughton, Terry Etim, Thaigo Alves, UFC, UFC 138, UFC 138 Predictions, Vaughan Lee

Category: Events, Exclusive, MMA, Predictions, UFC