Editor's Picks: UFC 121 - Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez

Editor-in-Chief Scott Dryden chimes in on Saturday's UFC 121 fights including the main event between Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez

On Saturday October 23 rd the long awaited battle between UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez will take place. Lesnar, a 280 pound freak of an athlete, is far more physically imposing than the smaller Velasquez, but his trainers think he conditioning and quickness will prevail. The Editor’s Picks:

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UFC 121 Picks:

Main Event UFC Heavyweight Title Fight: Lesnar vs. Cain is a fight more similar in styles than most people would think using the naked eye. Like Lesnar, Cain has a strong wrestling pedigree and is willing to put the fight on the ground. I spent some time in 2009 watching Cain train in person leaving very impressed with his movement, quickness and conditioning. I watched Cain dominate much bigger foes on the ground but make no mistake, they weren’t Brock Lesnar. No one on the planet matches Lesnar’s size and speed. Although Cain will be willing to stand or go to the ground with Lesnar, even with better technique, the American Kickboxing Prodigy will simply not have the size and strength to win. Brock Lesnar will retain his title via TKO due to strikes (ground and pound) in the 2nd round.

Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann vs. Jake Shields: The 17-3 Kampmann will take on Jake Shields in his much hyped UFC debut. The Hitman is a very good striker who has won two fights in a row. Shields is a well versed grappler who is coming off a victory over legend Dan Henderson and hasn’t lost since 2004. The classic striker vs. grappler will not result in an entertaining fight. Shields will get the takedowns and keep Kampmann off his feet. Shields will get the victory via a unanimous decision.

Diego Sanchez vs. Paulo Thiago: Diego Sanchez looks to bounce back from a surprising loss to John Hathaway. Thiago is coming off a tough loss to Martin Kampmann. This should be an entertaining fight with Sanchez grinding out a submission victory in the 3rd round.

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Matt Hamill vs. Tito Ortiz: An odd battle between two elite wrestlers who have a past together. Hamill, while on the 3 rd season of The Ultimate Fighter, was coached by the outspoken Oritz. Tito often spoke well of the gritty deaf wrestler. Now, Tito speaks of dominating his former protégé. Although both are wrestlers, Hamill has morphed into more of a striker than wrestler. Matt’s strength, health and youth will be the different. Hamill will get the victory via a decision.

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Brendan Schaub: Both heavyweights are very good strikers, which should make an exciting fight. Gonzaga hasn’t fought since March of this year where he was brutally stopped by the lethal Junior Dos Santos. Schaub is coming into the fight on a two fight winning streak where he stopped both Chase Gormley and Chris Tuchscherer in the 1st round. This is a tough fight to pick but I believe Gonzaga’s size and strength will be the difference. Gabriel gets the victory with a 2nd round TKO.

All of the action starts October 23rd at 10:00 PM ET on pay-per-view.

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Scott Dryden is the Editor-in-Chief of ProFighting-fans.com and a Sports Columnist for The Peoples Defender.