HKM’s WEC 38 predictions

This event went under the radar considering Affliction: Day of Reckoning took place this weekend, and to be honest, their fight card was 100 times better than this one is.  Still, free MMA is great and the main event between current lightweight champ Jamie Varner and Donald Cerrone is going to be one awesome clash.  Also, Jens Pulver and Urijah Faber are having a rematch, the two fought back at WEC 34 for the featherweight title, and Faber walked away with a unanimous decision victory.  The first fight was very good, and I can only expect this one will be good too.  After the jump, you’ll find my predictions on just the Varner/Cerrone fight and the Pulver/Faber rematch.

Jamie Varner vs. Donald Cerrone:

If you’ve been following the WEC, you know that right now there isn’t a better matchup in the lightweight division than this bout.  Both of these two are world class up and coming fighters looking to seriously make their way into the top 10 rankings, and I think whomever wins this fight will seriously be on that list.  Jamie Varner, what can you possibly say about him other than the fact that he’s a beast.  The guy can strike, he can wrestle, and he can submit.  I gave him little-to-no chance in either his fight with Rob McCullough or Marcus Hicks, and he steamrolled through both of them in impressive fashion.  I’m not the biggest fan of the guy, I think he’s a big arrogant, but you can’t deny for one moment that he’s not deserving of wearing the WEC lightweight belt.

Donald Cerrone, with the exception of having great wrestling and being taller, is almost exactly the same as Varner when it comes to potential and ability.  He’s shown to not only pack a punch, but some great submission skills as well as a fast recovery time.  He got dropped a few times by Rob McCullough in their WEC 36 prelim bout, but Donald immediately bounced back up and kept on bringing it to “Razor”, and pulled out a unanimous decision.  He trains with one of the best camps in all of MMA, Jackson’s Submission Fighting, and will definitely be a force as he continues to compete in MMA.

When it comes to the fight,  I think that Varner’s going to be looking to get in close.  Donald is a traditional muay thai striker, and he’s coming into the fight with a big reach advantage.  Donald’s going to be looking to keep the distance with his kicks and punches, and fi he can do that, I see him pulling out a unanimous decision.  Varner’s got the wrestling advantage, but I don’t think that he’ll be able to do much when and if he gets it too the ground.  Donald’s height and effective use of the guard will I think prevent Varner from imposing his top position, and maybe even leave himself open to get submitted.  Either way, I see “The Cowboy” coming out on top…

Final Prediction: Donald Cerrone via unanimous decision

Jens Pulver vs. Urijah Faber II:

The first fight saw Faber walk away the winner, and I see this fight being just like that only I don’t expect it to go the distance.  Their first bout was a 5 round title fight, this time, there is no belt on the line thus it’s only 3 rounds.  Faber is trying to bounce back after getting KTFO courtesy of a dubmass move on his part and a well-timed punch thanks to Mike Brown at WEC 37.  Pulver is also trying to bounce back after getting quickly owned by the rapid-spaz that is Leonard Garcia, he’ currently on a two-fight losing streak, and has lost 4 of his last 5 bouts.  He’s definitely in a rough spot right now, another loss could easily see him either out of the WEC or completely out of MMA.  I don’t know if Jens’ head is in the game right now, his close friend Justin Eilers was recently murdered and knowing from personal experiences, the death of a loved one can and will affect you for a long time.  I think that it’d be great to see Jens’ come out and blast through Faber, but the odds aren’t looking like that and I think it’ll be another short night for the former UFC lightweight champion…

Final Prediction: Urijah Faber via TKO, round 2.

Remember, the event is FREE on Versus, and it’s starting at 9:30 p.m. ET.