Melendez vs Henderson- I have gone back and forth on this one. History doesn't look good for Gil. We have already seen Nick, Nate and Jake fail in their title fights and Gil is the last hope for that camp. I don't know the overall record but when the UFC Champion is attempting to unify a title they usually get the job done. Not only that it will be almost exactly 11 months since Gil's last fight. While on the flip side Bendo is coming off a dominating win over Nate.
Still I think Gil has the better standup and good enough TDD to score in this fight. I think Bendo will try to pressure him and where him down and take advantage of the layoff and possible UFC jitters. I think eventually Gil finds his groove though and this fight will go the cards and it will be very close. At the end of the fight I think Gil is able to stay on his feet and land the better shots and win a very close decision.
Cormier vs Mir- I think this is a total nightmare matchup for Mir. I don't give a shit which camp he is in, nothing is going to change the fact that DC will decide where this fight takes place. Anytime he wants the takedown he will get it and Mir doesn't have a prayer of getting DC down and he damn sure can't keep him there if he does. DC will dump Mir anytime he wants, if Mir lands a good shot he will be on his back in no time. I think eventually DC lands one of his power shots and Mir crumbles. DC follows up with some GnP and it's a lopsided TKO win, probably in the 1st round. Potentially Frank Mir's last fight.
Diaz vs Thompson- This should be a high paced, high pressure fight. I think Nate is just too much for Thompson to handle on the feet but he is tough and will be very hard to put away. I can see Thompson getting Nate down and scoring and even winning a round. But I think Nate will be too much for him late in the fight and I think Josh will be in survival mode when the fight ends. I have Nate winning 2 rounds convincingly and taking the UD.
might add more later.