Made a joke out of Fitch? You mean...in the DRAW?
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Penn fan, but you wanna talk about ring rust and coming in against a top contender? Dude has been out for 13+ months, left 1-3-1 in his last 5 (at LW no less), and he's coming back to WW to fight arguably the best up-and-comer in the UFC. Watch any of Rory's fights - he OBLITERATED Nate Diaz with his wrestling, he was 2-0 going into the 3rd against Condit before he got caught, and he dominated a large, possible prospect in Che Mills. I think his wrestling is far superior to that of Edgar, especially considering his size. He's going to ground-and-pound the hell out of a rusty Penn and out-cardio him to a 3-round UD most likely.
As Gustafsson/Hua - I'm a fan of Gustafsson here. I do like Hua, but I think his prime has passed (much like Rampage or Hughes). Gustafsson has showed considerable promise, winning 5 in a row and only losing once early in his UFC career to Phil Davis. He's the only LHW with a reach comparable to that of Jones and he's great at utilizing it. I see him picking Hua apart similar, but not to the severity, to Jones. Probably a UD win as well.
Hendo/Diaz - I'll admit - I hate the entire Stockton/Cesar Gracie camp. Both Diaz brothers and Shields (haven't seen enough of Melendez really) could die somewhere and I wouldn't be bothered at all. Having said that, I respect Nate a bit more than Nick given his tenure in the UFC. However, while his sub over Miller was impressive, I think he's being a bit overrated due to his demolition of Cerrone. Cerrone was a HUGE favorite in that fight, and yet got out there and stood flat-footed, no head movement, and hands down for the larger portion of that fight and literally LET Diaz hit him. I can't credit Diaz for a shitty performance by his opponent. I think if Hendo utilizes his wrestling like MacDonald did, it could be a pretty easy night for him as his cardio is nasty.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Penn fan, but you wanna talk about ring rust and coming in against a top contender? Dude has been out for 13+ months, left 1-3-1 in his last 5 (at LW no less), and he's coming back to WW to fight arguably the best up-and-comer in the UFC. Watch any of Rory's fights - he OBLITERATED Nate Diaz with his wrestling, he was 2-0 going into the 3rd against Condit before he got caught, and he dominated a large, possible prospect in Che Mills. I think his wrestling is far superior to that of Edgar, especially considering his size. He's going to ground-and-pound the hell out of a rusty Penn and out-cardio him to a 3-round UD most likely.
As Gustafsson/Hua - I'm a fan of Gustafsson here. I do like Hua, but I think his prime has passed (much like Rampage or Hughes). Gustafsson has showed considerable promise, winning 5 in a row and only losing once early in his UFC career to Phil Davis. He's the only LHW with a reach comparable to that of Jones and he's great at utilizing it. I see him picking Hua apart similar, but not to the severity, to Jones. Probably a UD win as well.
Hendo/Diaz - I'll admit - I hate the entire Stockton/Cesar Gracie camp. Both Diaz brothers and Shields (haven't seen enough of Melendez really) could die somewhere and I wouldn't be bothered at all. Having said that, I respect Nate a bit more than Nick given his tenure in the UFC. However, while his sub over Miller was impressive, I think he's being a bit overrated due to his demolition of Cerrone. Cerrone was a HUGE favorite in that fight, and yet got out there and stood flat-footed, no head movement, and hands down for the larger portion of that fight and literally LET Diaz hit him. I can't credit Diaz for a shitty performance by his opponent. I think if Hendo utilizes his wrestling like MacDonald did, it could be a pretty easy night for him as his cardio is nasty.