Thanks to everybody who entered our UFC on FX 8 fight-picking contest, brought to you by It’s Time! My 360° View of the UFC. Though nobody specifically predicted that Belfort vs. Rockhold would be decided by a spinning hook kick halfway through the first round, there were a bunch of CP fight-pickers who correctly guessed that Vitor Belfort would make short work of the the former Strikeforce champ. The two closest entries were…

fulltimekilla: Belfort via TKO at 3:12 of Round 1 (40 seconds away from actual time of stoppage)
kuckleup101.2: Belfort def. Rockhold via TKO, 3:31 of round 1 (59 seconds away from actual time of stoppage)

If your name has been called, please send your real names and mailing addresses to contest@cagepotato.com, and we’ll send out your autographed copies of Bruce Buffer’s new book right away. As for the rest of you, feel free to actually buy a copy of the book right here.

And hey, we also have some other contest business to discuss. Last week, we promised a t-shirt to the person who could come up with the best fake rule for Nick Diaz’s new MMA promotion. The competition was fast and furious, and after sifting through the entries, we’ve decided to hand out CagePotato t-shirts to three winners. They are…

(Buy it now at Amazon!)

This Saturday at UFC on FX 8, Vitor Belfort will welcome Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold to the Octagon for the first time, in front of a friendly crowd in Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil. Belfort is coming off of his second-round TKO of Michael Bisping at UFC on FX 7 (which also happened to take place in Brazil), while Rockhold hasn’t competed since last July, when he picked up his ninth-consecutive win against Tim Kennedy. At this point, you should start formulating your opinion about which of these guys will win, and how — because if you can predict the future, we’ll make it worth your while.

Yes, ladies and gents, it’s fight-picking time once again. Shoot us your prediction for the Belfort vs. Rockhold fight in the comments section of this post, and the two closest guesses will each score a copy of Bruce Buffer‘s new autobiography It’s Time! My 360° View of the UFC, autographed by the Buffman himself. (If you missed our review of the book yesterday, click here.) Your predictions should be arranged like this…

(Fill in the blank: When this happened, I nearly ___ my pants. / Photo via Getty Images)

In retrospect, all of you should have picked Ronda Rousey by first-round armbar. (Hindsight is 20/20, my friend.) After digging through the entries for last week’s UFC 157 fight-picking contest, we are proud to announce the winners. The envelope, please…

First place: Alan K, who guessed the armbar stoppage for Rousey within nine seconds (!), and got the judges’ scores exactly correct in the Machida vs. Henderson decision. Alan will receive the “Ronda Knows” and “Keep Calm and Break Arms” t-shirt package, courtesy of Fight Chix.

Second place: Brian001, who predicted a much earlier armbar stoppage for Rousey, but also predicted the judges’ scores perfectly for the co-main event. Brian will receive his choice of one of the aforementioned shirts.

Alan/Brian, please e-mail your full name, shirt size (including gender of choice), and address to contest@cagepotato.com, and we’ll get you hooked up ASAP. As for everybody else, there’s no law saying you can’t acquire these t-shirts the old-fashioned way. Visit FightChix.com, pick up a shirt or two, and show the world that you’re an enlightened human being who supports women pounding on each other. Thanks for playing, guys!

(Image courtesy of FightChix.com. Click for larger version.)

This Saturday marks the UFC’s first-ever women’s title fight between Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche, which headlines UFC 157 in Anaheim. In honor of this historic occasion, our friends at Fight Chix have hooked us up with a Rouseyriffic prize-package, featuring their Ronda Knows and Keep Calm and Break Arms t-shirts. Both are available in men’s and women’s styles, so whatever gender you claim to be, Fight Chix has you covered.

If you’d like to win these shirts, here’s what to do: Submit your prediction for the Rousey vs. Carmouche fight — as well as the Dan Henderson vs. Lyoto Machida co-main event — in the comments section. Your entry should look something like this:

(“HEY BRO I’M GONNA PLACE A SHIRT-ORDER ON MANTOUSA.COM WHAT ARE YOU ABOUT AN XXL YOU CAN GIVE ME CASH NEXT TIME I SEE YOU.” / Photo via Esther Lin @ MMAFighting.com)

Yes, there were indeed some brave souls who took the underdog in last week’s Overeem vs. Bigfoot fight-picking contest. Though nobody called the fight perfectly — i.e., Antonio Silva via KO early in the third round — jinx5128 and El Famous Burrito came closest, predicting a TKO win for Silva late in the second. Congrats guys, you’re both getting “Freak Fight” t-shirts from Manto! Please shoot your name, size, and mailing address to contest@cagepotato.com and we’ll get you hooked up ASAP. Thanks to everybody who played, and check out MantoUSA.com for the freakiest in MMA-related apparel.

(Buy one here for $24.50.)

(Image via MANTOUSA.com. Buy this shirt right here for $24.50.)

There’s nothing quite like a good freak show. And though the days of absurd weight-differentials and wrestling masks have gone out of fashion in modern MMA, this weekend’s UFC 156 main card fight between Alistair Overeem and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at least provides the kind of thrilling immensity that qualifies it for the freak-fight category.

In honor of this must-see matchup, MANTO USA has given us a pair of their charming “Freak Fight of the Night” t-shirts, which we’re going to award to the two CagePotato readers who can most closely predict the result of Overeem vs. Silva. Please toss your guesses into the comments section of this post, in the following format…

(Bruce Lee would be pleased with your performance, but sort of disappointed about how much of your life you spend on the Internet. Images via Lancaster/Roots of Fight)

Let’s have another round of applause for Cung Le, who gave China its first-ever epic UFC punch-face on Saturday, then followed it up by scaring the crap out of cutman Don House. Only a handful of you predicted that Cung would knock out Rich Franklin during last week’s fight-picking contest, and only two of you thought it would happen in the first round, and that it would net Le a Knockout of the Night bonus. They were…

- Blakethoria: Cung Le Defeats Rich Franklin via TKO @ 2:21 of round 1
KO of the night [Ed. note: The comments section of the fight-picking post is only displaying the most recent 25 comments for some reason, but believe me, it's there.]
- Sniffer-Piffits: Le def. Franklin via TKO @ 4:17 of RD 1, KO of the Night, bitch…..

Well, I don’t think the profanity was necessary, Sniffer, but nevertheless you and Blakethoria have won spiffy new Bruce Lee Movember t-shirts from LancasterLTD. Shoot your real names, sizes, and addresses to contest@cagepotato.com and we’ll get you hooked up soon. The rest of you should consider buying one of Lancaster’s Movember tees. A portion of all sales benefit the cause, y’know.

Speaking of which: How are your moustaches coming along, anyway? Post photos of your mo’ progress on our Facebook page, and there might be a $50 StubHub gift card in it for you. And thanks so much for your continued donations to the Mo’Tato Nation team page!

(Bruce Lee is “the father of mixed martial arts” — which more than qualifies him for a spot on the next UFC event poster. Video via LancasterLTD)

As we enter the first full week of Movember, your moustache-in-progress may be looking thin, patchy, and unattractive — more befitting a McPoyle than an alpha male. Stay strong and stick with it, because you have greatness in your future.

Thanks so much to the folks who have already contributed cash to our Movember team, the Mo’tato Nation; your money will help fund awareness efforts, research, and other critical support for men’s health issues. Last year, the Break and Friends network (which we’re a part of) raised over $40,000. If you want to help us smash that mark this year, please register and donate.

Onto the business at hand. Our good friends at Lancaster LTD — who are also celebrating Movember with a series of limited edition t-shirts — have pledged us a couple of their new Movember Bruce Lee tees for the Mo’tato Nation. To win one, simply guess the exact outcome of this Saturday’s main event fight between Rich Franklin and Cung Le at UFC on FUEL 6 in Macao, along with which bonus(es) the fight will earn, if any. Your entry should be in this format…

(Buy it here.)

On Saturday night at UFC 153, Anderson Silva TKO’d Stephan Bonnar with a knee to the solar plexus that briefly paralyzed him, followed by some punches on the ground. The fight was called at 4:40 of round 1, which means…TOPDOG, YOU ARE OUR WINNER. The Dog’s prediction of “Anderson Silva def. Stephan Bonner via TKO (strikes) @ :23 seconds left in Rd. 1” — though strange in its syntax — came closest to the fight’s actual result, which means he gets the Blacktalians t-shirt, as promised. So Topdog, please e-mail contest@cagepotato.com with your real name, address, and shirt size, and we’ll get it sent out ASAP. The rest of you can get the shirt the old-fashioned way. Props to Longo/Serra MMA and East Coast MMA Fight Shop for the hookup.

South Florida has its Blackzilians, and New York has its Blacktalians. The incredible t-shirt you see above is a collaboration between Longo/Serra MMA and East Coast MMA Fight Shop, and features the famous “Ray Longo as a younger, suprisingly handsome man” photo that the acclaimed trainer proudly hangs in his gym, and proudly uses as his twitter avatar. You can buy one of these shirts right here for $26.

Of course, we wouldn’t even mention this if we weren’t giving you a chance to win one for free. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s fight-picking time. And we’re going to keep it real simple this time. On Saturday night, Anderson Silva will meet Stephan Bonnar in the main event of UFC 153 in Rio. You’re going to tell us who will win and how. Your entry should be in this format:

(Wear it like a champion. Or at the very least, like a #1 contender.)

Y’know, it would have been helpful last week if we knew that Jung vs. Poirier was going to be a five-round fight. (Serves me right for trusting the word of a fly-by-night MMA fan-blog.) Though we got a wide variety of guesses in our TrauMMA/No Mas fight-picking contest, none of you guessed that the fight would go to the championship rounds, probably because you didn’t know that it was even a possibility.

Nevertheless, the two closest picks belonged to spidey811 (“Zombie def. Poirier via Anaconda Choke at 3:54 in Round 3 [Submission of the Night]“) and topdog (“Jung def Poirier via submission (RNC) @ 3:23 of rd 3 [Submission of the night]“) — who will both be getting the new Korean Zombie t-shirt from TrauMMA Combat Apparel.

Honorable mention goes to Freddyboiiiii, who predicted a second-round submission win for Jung, and correctly guessed that the fight would pick up the Submission of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses. That’s good enough for a CagePotato t-shirt, I think. If your name has been called, please send your real name, shirt size, and address to contest@cagepotato.com, and we’ll send out your prizes ASAP. Thanks again to TrauMMA for the hookup!

(Shirt image via TrauMMACombat.com)

In honor of Chan Sung Jung‘s upcoming fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC on FUEL 3 on Tuesday, TrauMMA Combat Apparel has released a brand-new “Korean Zombie” t-shirt that you can buy right here for $29.99. But we know that thirty bucks is hard to come by in this economy, so how ’bout we give you a chance to win one for free?

You know how this works: Submit your prediction for the Zombie vs. Poirier main event in the comments section below by Monday night at midnight ET, including the winner, method of victory, and time/round of stoppage (if applicable). No need to include judges’ scores if you’re predicting a decision, but for the purposes of a tie-breaker, please include which end-of-night bonus you think the fight will win, if you think it’ll be bonus-worthy. Your entry should look like this…

Jung def. Poirier via split-decision [Fight of the Night]
or
Poirier def. Jung via submission (triangle choke), 3:54 of round 2 [Submission of the Night]
or
Jung def. Poirier via TKO, 1:59 of round 3 [no bonus]

And there’s just one more twist…

(Click images for full-size versions.)

In honor of tomorrow’s release of our new favorite MMA documentary Fightville — look out for it in select theaters, video-on-demand, and iTunes digital download — we thought we’d give away some movie-related swag. We have in our possession three prize packages that include the official Fightville t-shirt produced by the geniuses at No Mas, as well as a Fightville movie poster signed by Dustin Poirier and Tim Credeur. To get it all, you’ll have to out-guess the competition in this weekend’s UFC 145 fight picking contest.

Along with the Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans main event, we’d like you to predict the results for two preliminary-card bouts: Travis Browne vs. Chad Griggs, and Mac Danzig vs. Efrain Escudero. Submit your predictions for all three fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:

(Buy it at Amazon right here.)

Another weekend of frantic MMA action is in the books, which means it’s time to give out our two signed copies of Gary Goodridge’s autobiography, Gatekeeper. In retrospect, all of you should have predicted that Ronda Rousey would beat Miesha Tate by first-round armbar. But the only person who guessed that Ronda would sink the Rondabar in round 1 and that Martin Kampmann would take out Thiago Alves in the third round was Fried Taco. Nobody else picked the fights close to perfect, so we’ll give the other book to metalmeshuggah, who predicted the Rousey armbar relatively close to the actual time of stoppage, and picked a respectable decision win for Kampmann.

If you’re a winner, please e-mail contest@cagepotato.com with your name and address, and we’ll send you your copy of Gatekeeper ASAP. Thanks so much to Gary Goodridge for making this possible! Be sure to follow him on Facebook at bigdaddyfightteam.

(HAVE I EVER TOLD YOU ABOUT THE TIME I ACCIDENTALLY DRANK TOM ERIKSON’S SWEAT? I HAVE? WELL F*CK YOU THEN!!)

In December, our dear friend Gary Goodridge released an autobiography called Gatekeeper. Co-written by CagePotato contributor Mark Dorsey, the book is an honest and eye-opening account of Goodridge’s hard-knock upbringing, his early career triumphs in arm-wrestling and MMA, his career decline, and everything in between. It’s a must-read for any hardcore fight fan, and we’ve got two copies to give away, signed by Big Daddy himself.

To earn one, you’ll have to dominate our latest test of fight-picking skill. This weekend gives us two notable MMA events: UFC on FX 2: Alves vs. Kampmann on Friday and Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey on Saturday. Submit your predictions for both main events in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:

Our good buddies at Victory Belt are about to release The Grappler’s Manifesto: The Guide to Strangling, Torquing, & Bludgeoning Your Way to Victory in The Cage [Ed. note: My God this title], in which some of the world’s greatest grappling instructors and MMA fighters — including Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Greg Jackson, Dave Camarillo, Randy Couture, and Neil Melanson — share their secrets for winning fights on the ground. Compiled by writer/trainer Lance Freimuth, the 272-page tome is packed with never-before-published techniques, and we’d like to give a copy to a lucky CagePotato reader in a test of fight-picking expertise.

This Saturday at UFC 140, Jon Jones will attempt to make his second light-heavyweight title defense against ex-champ Lyoto Machida. Plus, Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira rematch in the heavyweight division, and Tito Ortiz returns to action against Big Nog’s slightly-smaller twin. Submit your predictions for these three fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:

Well, we didn’t have a correct answer for the UFC on Fox Fight-Picking Contest, but we had several close ones.

Unfortunately we only have one prize, so the closest answer gets “Heart,” the cool MMA-themed comic-book mini-series by writer Blair Butler and artist Kevin Mellon.

Last Wednesday marked the official debut of Heart, a comic-book miniseries by writer Blair Butler and artist Kevin Mellon that follows an aimless office drone’s quest to discover his life’s purpose through MMA. I read the first issue last weekend and thought it was a great story, and another positive representation of the sport in entertainment culture. (See also: Warrior, Tiki Ghosn’s appearance on Blind Date.) So pick it up on your next trip to the comic shop, okay?

The four-issue series will be released monthly through February — and we can hook one of you up with the whole thing. To get it, you’ll have to accurately predict the results of UFC on FOX‘s featured fight this Saturday (heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez vs. #1 contender Junior Dos Santos), as well as the lightweight clash between Clay Guida and Ben Henderson that will be closing out the Facebook prelims. Submit your predictions for these two fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:

(Images via BJJHQ and ZPR on Facebook.)

Between the widely held beliefs that BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz would end in a stoppage, Matt Mitrione would outstrike Cheick Kongo, and Mirko Cro Cop still had some old Cro Cop left in him, none of you were 100% correct with your UFC 137 predictions in last week’s fight-picking contest. The closest entry belonged to commenter J. Spaceman, who got all three winners right, predicted the scorecard of Diaz/Penn within one point, and also guessed a TKO win for Roy Nelson. For his efforts, he wins this Gameness Premium Cage Rashguard courtesy of our good buddies at BJJHQ.com! (Spaceman, e-mail contest@cagepotato.com with your name, address, and size, and we’ll get it sent out to you. Please wear it responsibility.)

And since he was one of the first ten entries to correctly pick Diaz/Kongo/Nelson, J. Spaceman also wins a copy of Break Media’s new ‘Zombie Parkour Runner’ iPhone game, perfect for sitting on the couch waiting for your girlfriend to finish putting her Halloween costume together. The other winners of Zombie Parkour Runner are: aaron530, Viva Hate, Ani703, TheJedi, FrontKick Dentist, SmellMyTriangle, PERPATRAITOR, jinx5128, and heavy. If your name has been called, please e-mail contest@cagepotato.com with your real name and screen name, with ‘ZPR’ in the subject line, and we’ll shoot you a download code. Thanks to everybody who played!

Semi-related: If you’re particularly proud of your Halloween costume this year, post a photo of yourself on our Facebook wall. We always like seeing what you crazy bastards are up to.

(Images via BJJHQ and ZPR.)

Update: My apologies — Penn vs. Diaz is a three-rounder, not a five-rounder as I originally implied. Please re-submit your predictions if necessary.

Halloween weekend is coming up, and we have a bag full of treats to give out to all the neighborhood kids in the Potato Nation. You’re damn right it’s fight-picking time.

To win, you’ll have to correctly predict the results of the top three fights on the UFC 137 card: BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz, Cheick Kongo vs. Matt Mitrione, and Mirko Cro Cop vs. Roy Nelson. Submit your predictions for the fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. The most accurate prediction wins this Gameness Premium Cage Rash Guard (retail value: $35), courtesy of our friends at BJJHQ.com.

And as an added bonus, the first ten entries that get all three fight-winners right will score a free download of Break Media’s new iPhone game, Zombie Parkour Runner (retail value: $0.99). The 11th correct entry will get an apple with a razor in it. Hey, it happens.

Your fight-picking entry must be in this format:

Last week’s fight-picking contest took in over 120 entries — or about six, when you filter out all the entries that predicted Edgar vs. Maynard and Sonnen vs. Stann would both go to decision, and that Jose Aldo would knock out Kenny Florian. Since none of that happened, it kind of made our jobs easier.

Of the commenters who picked all three winners correctly, first-place accolades go to commenter smackemyakem, who predicted that Edgar would finish Maynard by fourth-round TKO. Well done, buddy. Second place goes to Yuri4980 who also called a TKO win for Edgar, plus a decision victory for Aldo. Sabourcc and Cro Cop Glory Days round out the winners’ circle by being at least somewhat correct on the victory-method for one of their picks. Congrats guys, you’re all getting copies of UFC Encyclopedia by Thomas Gerbasi. E-mail contest@cagepotato.com with your name and mailing address to claim your prize. Thanks to everybody who played!

If you still haven’t made it out out to the multiplex to see The Greatest MMA Movie Ever Filmed™, today might be your lucky day. Lionsgate just hooked us up with a box of Warrior-related goodies — free movie passes, Warrior t-shirts, and a copy of The Men of Warrior photo-book — and we’re going to unload it all in a Fight-Picking Fire Sale.

This Saturday, UFC Fight Night 25: Shields vs. Ellemberger goes down in New Orleans, featuring Jake Shields‘s battle against surging contender Jake Ellenberger, and Court McGee‘s return against South Korean middleweight prospect Dongi Yang. Submit your predictions for these two fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:

(Props: MMAHQ)

We were pleased to see that over 100 of you conquered our captcha system and submitted entries in last week’s UFC 134 fight-picking contest with MMAHQ.com. In retrospect, I guess it wasn’t that hard to figure out that both Anderson Silva and Mauricio Rua would win by knockout. But most of you thought Silva would finish Okami faster than Shogun would finish Griffin, which wasn’t the case. The closest picks were made by Potato Nation rookie “hroobarb,” who put it down like this:

- Anderson Silva def. Yushin Okami via KO, 2:00 of round 2 (four seconds off actual time of stoppage)
- Mauricio Rua def. Forrest Griffin via TKO 3:34 of round 1 (1:41 off actual time of stoppage)

hroobarb, please send your real name and current address to contest@cagepotato.com and we’ll send you those Everlast Pro Competition MMA Gloves ASAP. Thanks to everybody who played, and please visit MMAHQ.com for daily deals on MMA gear and apparel!

(Everlast Pro Competition MMA Gloves — perfect for wearing around the neighborhood while demanding that strangers get in your guard. / Image via MMAHQ.com)

Know what we haven’t had in a long time? A good ol’ fight-picking contest. Our new friends at MMAHQ.com have pledged us a pair of four-ounce Everlast MMA gloves (see above), and we’re going to award them to one lucky CagePotato reader in a test of predictive skill.

This Saturday, UFC 134 goes down at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, featuring Anderson Silva‘s latest title defense against Yushin Okami and the light-heavyweight rematch between former champs Mauricio Rua and Forrest Griffin. Submit your predictions for these two fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:

(Props: Anchor Bay Entertainment)

Judging from the entries in last week’s fight-picking contest, there are a whole lot of heartbroken Pat Barry fans in the house today. Out of 114 predictions, only one person thought that Cheick Kongo would win by first-round knockout. That person was ‘Me likey‘, who thought it would happen at the 4:10 mark; the actual time of stoppage was 2:39. Obviously, we’re just going to pretend that Marquardt vs. Story wasn’t part of this contest — just as both of those guys will be trying to forget that this awful weekend ever happened, we’re guessing. (Hey Rick, remember when you were on this list? Sucks, bro.)

So, Me likey, hit us up at contest@cagepotato.com with your real name and address and we’ll send you that Royce Gracie Blu-ray disc as soon as we get a chance. Thanks to everybody who played…

How ’bout we keep this fight-picking train rolling, eh? I’ve just come into the possession of a Blu-ray copy of UFC Ultimate Royce Gracie — which hit stores last month — and I figured one of you jokers might wants it. Hit us with the synopsis, Amazon:

This comprehensive Blu-ray collection captures the jiu-jitsu master at his best with nearly six hours of content, including interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and of course, his classic fights against Ken Shamrock, Kimo Leopoldo, and Kazushi Sakuraba.

But you can’t win if you don’t play. This Sunday night, UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story goes down at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, featuring Marquardt’s debut at 170 and a heavyweight clash between Pat Barry and Cheick Kongo. Submit your predictions for these two fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:

(Book cover via Victory Belt)

Out of nearly 100 entries in last week’s fight-picking contest, only one reader had the foresight to suggest that Alistair Overeem would dominate Fabricio Werdum but not finish him. That man was Potato Nation Hall of Famer Viva Hate. His predictions were:

- Alistair Overeem def. Fabricio Werdum by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27 — two scores correct)
- Josh Barnett def. Brett Rogers by TKO, 2:58 of round 2 (winner/round correct)

VH, please send your current address to contest@cagepotato.com and we’ll send you a copy of Anderson Silva’s MMA Instruction Manual: The Muay Thai Clinch, Takedowns, Takedown Defense, and Ground Fighting.

Honorable mention goes out to…

Our friends at Victory Belt just hooked us up with a copy of Anderson Silva‘s new book, a semi-autobiographical collection of short fiction titled Ghosts of the Favela. Just kidding. The book’s actually called MMA Instruction Manual: The Muay Thai Clinch, Takedowns, Takedown Defense, and Ground Fighting. A follow-up to Silva’s guide to striking, it focuses on the other aspects of hand-to-hand combat that have made the Spider so dangerous in the cage. And you can have it, as long as you can predict the future.

This Saturday night, Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum goes down in Dallas, featuring two more bouts from the promotion’s heavyweight grand prix: Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum, and Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers. Submit your predictions for these two fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:

(Did we say “safer than boxing”? We meant “usually safer than knife-fighting.” Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly)

Congrats to CagePotato commenter “PELF” for making the most accurate prediction in last week’s fight-picking contest. His predictions were:

- Junior Dos Santos def. Shane Carwin via unanimous decision (29-28 x 2, 30-27 – one score correct)
- Kenny Florian def. Diego Nunes via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3 – one score correct)

Just one other commenter (“Fedor Penn”) predicted unanimous decisions for both Dos Santos and Florian, and the margin of victory couldn’t have been closer; PELF’s inspired decision to toss in a 30-27 for JDS clinched the win. So, PELF, if you’re reading this, send your name and address to contest@cagepotato.com and we’ll hook you up with a $50 credit to MMAOutlet.com. Everybody else, come back on Thursday for a chance to win something totally different in a Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum pick-off…

(Three points, down the drain. Photo courtesy of MMA Weekly.)

Due to a string of minor upsets at the TUF 9 Finale, we got murdered in the latest round of our fight-picking contest. (It doesn’t matter that we’re ineligible to win the Lyoto Machida DVD set; it still hurts.) Ben F. went from hero to zero, earning just six points on Saturday night to add to his still-respectable two-event total of 29. Ben G. did only slightly better this weekend, adding 10 points and ending up with a total of 25.

If you overcame the odds and racked up impressive scores for UFC 99 and the TUF 9 Finale, let us know your sum total in the comments section below. We’ll be verifying the top scores soon and announcing the first winner in a couple days. No worries if you crashed and burned this time; you’ll have another chance to win by predicting the outcome of UFC 100. Many thanks to everyone who played!