PRELIMS

• Marcus Brimage defeated Maximo Blanco via Split Decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
  Dana White was not a happy man, sarcastically tweeting about the fight itself, and I’m sure he wasn’t pleased with Blanco’s flips and antics after the fight itself, either. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get his walking papers this week.
• Chris Clements defeated Keith Wisniewski via Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27).
• Mac Danzig defeated Efrain Escudero via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
  After the fight, Danzig told reporters he eventually wants to fight Nate Diaz. He noted he might need to rack up a few more wins before he gets there. Yep.
• Anthony Njokuani defeated John Makdessi via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  Fought at catchweight because Makdessi came in three pounds over and wasn’t able to drop at the weigh-ins. Njokuani, who’s on the larger end of 155, wasn’t happy to say the least.
• Matt Brown defeated Stephen Thompson via  Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-27, 30-27)
• Travis Browne defeated Chad Griggs via Submission (R1 2:29, arm-triangle choke) Browne receives UFC’s Submission of the Night bonus. Browne receives UFC’s Submission of the Night Bonus.

MAIN CARD

• Mark Bocek defeated John Alessio via  Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
• Eddie Yagin defeated Mark Hominick via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Yagin & Hominick receive UFC’s Fight of the Night Bonuses.
  Some thought Hominick got robbed here. I had it 29-28 Yagin by a narrow margin. You could make an argument the other way and I wouldn’t call you batshit crazy, but Yagin’s strikes the first two rounds were far more significant and he knocked Hominick down in each. Hominick had a Hell of a comeback in the third round, but he was way too tentative even while Yagin was on rubber legs with his hands drifting down, essentially letting Yagin walk away with the win.
• Michael McDonald defeated Miguel Torres via KO (R1 3:18, punches)
  Torres is only 31, but he’s much older in fight years and it’s starting to show.
• Ben Rothwell defeated Brendan Schaub via KO (R1 1:10, punches) Rothwell receives UFC’s Knockout of the Night bonus.
  Perfect performance by Rothwell, who is in the best shape of his life. Schaub came out like an animal. Where most would have panicked and succumbed to the onslaught, Rothwell stayed patient and waited for his opportunity to counter. And boy, did he ever. Poor Schaub has talent, but that boy cannot take a punch, likely as a result of his football days.
• Rory MacDonald defeated Che Mills via TKO (R2 2:20, punches)
  Nevermind the fact that this was in the main event: this was a strange fight to make in the first place. Putting a largely untested prospect whose career highlight so far is a KO win over Chris Cope in there against a legit Top 10 Welterweight borders on the absurd. MacDonald just completely dominated him from the moment the fight started, and as soon as it got to the ground Mills had absolutely nothing and couldn’t even hook the leg from sidemount. Rogan on commentary seemed insistent on telling us otherwise, all but saying that Mills was the most underrated guy to ever put on gloves. Clearly they’re positioning MacDonald for something. My speculation is that with November being the absolute earliest estimate for St. Pierre’s return, he’ll end up with a shot at Carlos Condit’s Interim Welterweight Championship.
• Jon Jones defeated Rashad Evans via Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45)
  What can I say that hasn’t already been written? I gave Evans the first round by the narrowest of margins, but from there it was all Jones. To the credit of both, Jones tried to finish but Evans wouldn’t allow it to happen. I was shocked to see people crap all over this fight. I thought both fighter did everything they could: Jones tried everything he could to put Evans away, but “Suga” wouldn’t allow it. Also, people forget that Evans is on the much smaller end of 205 and could (maybe should) be fighting at 185. Immediately after the event it was announced that Dan Henderson, who had been told some time ago that he could have a title shot at any weight class he wanted, would get the next shot at Jones. The Light Heavyweight Division in the UFC the last two years is the most competitive in its history, and Jones walked right through it and has all but cleaned out the top ten. Amazing.

Tomorrow night is the long-awaited showdown between former stablemates Jon Jones and Rashad Evans for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title. Will the phenom Jones continue his ascendance, or will Evans play spoiler?

If he did, it wouldn’t be the first time. Even when Evans knocked out Chuck Liddell with an overhand right to win his first title in what was considered a huge upset, we should have known better. Evans thrives on the insistence people have in underestimating his skills and intelligence. It may seem ludicrous to call the consensus #2 Light Heavyweight in the world underrated, but it’s apt. Sure, he got caught against Machida, but it literally happens to the best of them.

I’m picking Jones, but I wouldn’t call an Evans win an upset. Not even considering that due to various injuries, Evans has only fought three times in the last two years. Because I know better by now, and you should too.

The full card, and my picks for the main broadcast:

Preliminary card (streaming live via the UFC’s Facebook page)

• Featherweight bout: Marcus Brimage vs. Maximo Blanco
• Welterweight bout: Keith Wisniewski vs. Chris Clements

Preliminary card (airing FX)

• Lightweight bout: Mac Danzig vs. Efrain Escudero
• Lightweight bout: John Makdessi vs. Anthony Njokuani
• Welterweight bout: Matt Brown vs. Stephen Thompson
• Heavyweight bout: Travis Browne vs. Chad Griggs

MAIN CARD

• Lightweight bout: Mark Bocek vs. John Alessio
• Featherweight bout: Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin
• Bantamweight bout: Miguel Torres vs. Michael McDonald
• Heavyweight bout: Brendan Schaub vs. Ben Rothwell
• Welterweight bout: Rory MacDonald vs. Che Mills
• Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Jon Jones (c) vs. Rashad Evans

PICKS:

• Bocek over Alessio via Submission, R3. Alessio’s a bit of a wild card. He’s done well for himself the last few years, but Bocek’s been fighting a much higher level of competition in the UFC and WEC.
• Hominick over Yagin via TKO, R2. Both are finishers and this should be an aggressive, explosive encounter. A lot of people are writing off Yagin, but I think he’s going to give Hominick quite a bit of trouble.
• (Michael) McDonald over Torres by Unanimous Decision. I like Miguel, but I think his days of being at the top of the Bantamweight Division are over, at least for the time being. The competition hasn’t completely passed him by, but but this division’s only gotten stronger in the last three years. McDonald has looked great, so great that I’m picking him to win even though he shares a name with a Yacht Rocker.
• Schaub over Rothwell by Unanimous Decision. Rothwell is tough enough to survive Schaub’s onslaught, but doesn’t have the offensive tools to put him in any real danger. Barring bad cardio from Schaub, this is his fight to lose.
• (Rory) McDonald over Mills via TKO, R3. This or Homonick/Yagin is going to get Fight of the Night. Mills has a good game, but McDonald is quite possibly the most underrated guy at 170 (and the one who put Nate Diaz out of the division).
• Jones over Evans via TKO, R4. I’m having what you might call a premonition. I see Rashad keeping distance between himself and Jones in the first round and surprising him with a couple takedowns, grinding out a 10-9 on the judges’ scorecards. Then Jones will adjust and batter him the next three rounds, ending in either a stoppage early in the 4th or in Evans being unable to answer the bell. If anybody can beat Jones, it’s Evans. But the kid’s a monster. Case in point: if he wins this fight, he’ll have cleaned out the Light Heavyweight division in a manner of a couple years. Amazing.