This week’s Writer vs. Fighter features Cageside Press’ James Rees, and UFC heavyweight Roque Martinez making their picks for UFC Vegas 33.
It’s time for another battle for pick supremacy. We pit those who write about face punch with those who do the punching to see who knows more about what will go down at UFC Vegas 32. Here’s how each week has gone so far:
Joe McDonagh def. Randy Costa (3-2) – Fight Island 7
Doug Murray def. Bryan Barberena (2-1) – Fight Island 8
Shawn Bitter DRAW Mike Rodriguez (1-1) – UFC 257
Dalton Rosta def. Jay Anderson (7-2) – UFC Vegas 18
Austin Arnett def. Heath Harshman (2-1) – UFC 258
Sam Hughes def. Gumby Vreeland (3-0) – UFC Vegas 19
Mike McClory def. Orion Cosce (5-2) – UFC Vegas 20
Josh Evanoff def. Cortney Casey (2-1) – UFC 259
Aiemann Zahabi def. Alex Behunin (5-0) – UFC Vegas 21
Sergio Pineiro def. Kai Kamaka III (7-0) – UFC Vegas 22
Gabriel Gonzalez def. Vince Morales (7-4) – UFC 260
Jordan Leavitt def. Rodney James Edgar (4-2) – UFC Vegas 23
Ryan Fortune def. Rani Yahya (7-3) – UFC Vegas 24
Dakota Bush def. Dylan Bowker (6-5) – UFC 261
Bryson Hester def. Arlene Blencowe (3-0) – UFC Vegas 25
Nate Maness def. Justin Gibbons (4-3) – UFC Vegas 26
Gumby Vreeland def. Kyle Nelson (4-2) – UFC 262
Mike Lynch DRAW Christian Edwards (4-4) – UFC Vegas 27
Doug Murray DRAW Ramiz Brahimaj (6-6) – UFC Vegas 28
Joe McDonagh def. Domingo Pilarte (8-6) – UFC 263
Heath Harshman DRAW Steven Peterson (4-4) – UFC Vegas 29
Sergio Pinheiro def. Terrance McKinney (5-4) – UFC Vegas 30
Dave Tramonte def. Ike Villanueva (5-4) – UFC 264
Bryan Barberena def. Gabriel Gonzalez (8-5) – UFC Vegas 31
Carlos Mota def. Justin Gibbons (4-1) – UFC Vegas 32
Carlos Mota makes it two wins in a row for the fighters. The gap has begun to close with the win streak and the score is now 11-8. With still 5 months to go, the fighters have plenty of time to catch up to the pundits. It all starts with the picks at UFC Vegas 33 though.
Here’s how it works: both writer and fighter must pick the winner of the main event, co-main event, and featured main card bout. A correct pick will earn one point. Both must then pick a “lock” — the fighter they are most sure will win their fight — from the entire card. That’s two points. The “dog” comes next, and a correct underdog pick earns three points.
It’s that simple. Five picks: Main, co-main, and featured fight winners, lock, and underdog. To the winner go the spoils. Not actual spoils, but bragging rights anyway.
On this week’s edition, Cageside Press’ newest addition James Rees takes the helm for the writers. For the fighters, Roque Martinez will look to keep the ball rolling. Here’s how their picks look.
The picks for the top of the card are all pretty close. Both Martinez and Rees are liking Kyung Ho Kang to top the veteran Rani Yahya. They both also like Cheyanne Buys to get in the win column against Gloria de Paula. The main event is the only spot where these two have a difference. The UFC veteran will be taking the favorite Sean Strickland and the writer will be riding with Uriah Hall.
Of course, the top of the card isn’t the only place a winner can be crowned. There is quite a bit of difference in the locks and dogs as well. For a lock, Martinez is going with veteran Bryan Barberena, while Rees will ride with Orion Cosce. Martinez likes Jared Gooden on short notice to win as his dog. Meanwhile, Rees will hope another short notice replacement in Kai Kamaka gets the ‘W’.
May the best writer/fighter win! Check back here to see the results following the conclusion of UFC Vegas 33.
