UFC Fight Night 34 takes place early Saturday morning in Singapore. It looks like the event starts at either 6 or 6:30am EST. UFC.com has conflicting times on their website but I am pretty sure it will start at 6. It is only available on UFC Fight Pass through their website. The Fight Pass is free until March 1st & after that it is $9.99 a month. It was hard to find information on a lot of these fighters because many of them are competing in the Octagon for the first time so I am not betting big. This write-up will definitely be short because the lines just became bettable & the early start time. I'm hoping it's an entertaining enough event to warrant me waking up at 3am to watch. I am looking to keep up the momentum after a good UFC 168 & a big December (+14.06 UNITS) including going 10-3-1 on dogs. 2013 was definitely a big year for me in MMA & 2014 will be even better.
5 ROUND MAIN EVENT
170LBS
"ACE" Hyun Gyu Lim (+175) OVER Tarec Saffiedine (-200)
Tarec Saffiedine was the final Strikeforce Welterweight Champion & many people feel that he has a bright future in the UFC but I am not one of them. I feel that he is nothing but an overrated point scorer that couldn't knockout a fly. Unlike most Asian fighters, Ace does not get robbed by the American judges because he does not leave it in the judges hands. He's an unorthodox striker with big power & is huge for the division. If the fight goes 5 rounds then Ace's cardio might come into question because of his size & aggressiveness but I don't see that being an issue. I look for Lim's aggression & power to be just too much for Saffiedine as Ace welcomes him to the UFC with a TKO inside the first 3 rounds. LOST!! Unanimous Decision for Saffiedine 49-46, 48-47, & 48-47. Very entertaining fight but Saffiedine definitely won. Lim showed big heart after barely being able to stand for the 2nd half of the fight. I had it 48-47 Saffiedine.
145LBS
Tatsuya "Crusher" Kawajiri (-165) OVER Sean Soriano (+145)
This is the UFC debut for both men but Kawajiri has deinitely fought & beat the much better competition. Soriano is 8-0 with 6 finishes inside the first 2 rounds & he won his last 2 fights in 5 round decisions. I honestly just don't think Soriano has much of a chance. The East to West travel should make him sluggish & he really hasn't fought anyone. Kawajiri holds a big edge in experience of 41 pro fights including 32 victories with 12 by TKO & 9 by submission. Crusher is 4-0 since moving to featherweight & look for him to simply outclass Soriano & easily take him down multiple times before winning by submission or TKO in the 2nd or 3rd round. This will be an entertaining fight but Tatsuya Kawajiri will show why there's so much hype around him leading into his UFC debut. WON!! 2nd round submission. Kawajiri dominated the fight. Ref didn't notice the tap so Soriano passed out.
170LBS
Luiz Dutra (-150) OVER Kichi Kunimoto (+130)
This is the UFC debut for both men but much like the Kawajiri fight, I feel that this fight is made to highlight the more talented fighter that has a chance to go far in the UFC. Dutra may be making his UFC professional debut but he was on the cast of TUF 2 Brazil before he got injured. I believe that Dutra is just too physical for Kunimoto & he should use his takedowns to set up some deadly ground & pound from from top control round after round in route to an easy decision victory. Kunimoto just isn't ready for UFC competition. LOST!! 1st round disqualification due to elbows to the back of the head. Dutra appeared to be taking over the round but got carried away & hit Kunimoto with illegal blows. Definitely the right call.
135LBS
Kyung Ho Kang (-300) OVER Shunichi Shimizu (+250)
Many people will look at Kang's 0-2 record inside the octagon & assume that he is a good fade but in my opinion he was the classic Asian fighter that should be 2-0 in the UFC except the judges robbed him in both decisions. Kang needs to take a page out of Lim's or even Stun Gun's (against Erick Silva) playbook & finish people so he can't get robbed anymore. Shimizu is not an impressive fighter & he holds the weirdest record I have ever seen at 28-8-10. How the hell do you get 10 draws??? You couldn't get 10 draws in UNO!! As long as Kang can avoid Shimizu's nasty arm bar then I look for him to dominate the fight in every aspect before finally finding an opening & finishing this fight via submission. WON!! 3rd round submission. Kang dominated this fight but he needed the finish in the 3rd due to 2 points being taken away in the 1st because of 2 12 to 6 elbows.
145LBS
Max Holloway (-220) OVER Will Chope (+190)
At 6'4" Will Chope is a massive featherweight. He is very good at using his long limbs to submit his opponents but he is just too slow & has terrible footwork for a striker like Holloway. Holloway hasn't had a great start to his UFC career but he has also faced very good competition in Dennis Bermudez & Conor Mcgregor. I look for Holloway to use his speed to land big shots & pick apart Chope before finishing him inside a round or 2. WON!! 2nd round TKO & Holloway looked great after the opening 2 minutes of the 1st round.
155LBS
Katsunori Kikuno (-190) OVER Quinn Mulhern (+170)
This is the 155 debut for Mulhern who looked pretty bad in his UFC debut against Rick Story. Mulhern is a decent grappler with 11 victories by submission but he is not very good on his feet & I don't think very much of his chin. Kikuno is making his UFC debut but he has fought very good competition & he did rock Eddie Alvarez early in their fight before he was submitted in the 2nd round. I think the West to East travel, 10 month layoff, & dropping down to lightweight by Mulhern will end up being too taxing on him as he wears down by the 2nd round. Kikuno will either dominate the final 2 rounds on the feet or he will pick up TKO victory in the 3rd round. Either way Kikuno walks out with an impressive victory. WON!! 30-27 on all cards. I had it 30-27 as well & Kikuno absolutely dominated the entire fight. I don't understand why Dana White will Mulhern a contract but not Ben Askren. They're both 1 trick ponies but Askren is much more dominant.
135lbs
Royston Wee (+155) OVER Dave Galera (-175)
This is a pretty ridiculous match-up between 2 men that don't deserve this opportunity. Wee is 2-0 & Galera is 5-0 with neither many facing real competition. I know that Wee's 2 victories were over win less opponents & he is off of a 25 month layoff but in this match-up between 2 good grapplers, I will take the more aggressive of the 2 in Wee. Yes Galera is good on his back but I trust Wee to avoid all submission attempts while in top control & find his opening to pick up the victory by 1st round submission. Wee is the first fighter born in Singapore to fight in the UFC & I expect him to send his crowd home happy with an impressive performance. Neither man should be favored so I will take the plus money. WON!! Unanimous decision 30-26 on all cards & I had it the same. Absolutely dominating performance by Wee!
155LBS
Mairbek Taisumov (-310) OVER Tae Hyun Bang (+260)
This is another fight featuring 2 men making their UFC debuts. Bang has faced the better competition but he hasn't really beaten them. Bang does have some big power led by a nasty right hand but he just isn't active enough. Bang allows his opponents to dictate the pace while waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Mairbek has finished 19 of his 20 victories & I look for him to really take the fight to Bang while continuously forcing the 2 to clinch & deliver some big elbows & knees before getting this fight to the ground & submitting Bang inside the first 2 rounds. WON!! Unanimous decision 30-27 on all cards & I had it the same. Another dominating performance by Taisumov.
135LBS
Dustin Kimura (-275) OVER Jon Delos Reyes (+235)
Dustin Kimura is coming off of the first loss of his career & I believe that Reyes is the perfect pick me up for him. Reyes is making his UFC debut & is coming off of a 16 month layoff. Reyes is a very aggressive grappler but he has very poor grappling defense. I think Kimura will have the advantage on the feet & will use his striking to hurt Reyes and submit him in the opening round. WON!! 2nd round submission victory after Reyes looked good & won the 1st round.
135lbs
Leandro Issa (-120) OVER Russell Doane (EV)
This is yet another bout between 2 fighters making their UFC debut. Doane is coming off of his biggest victory of his career & in result won the Interim Tachi Palace Fights Batamweight Championship. Doane definitely has all the natural tools to pull off the small upset but he has one of the worst fight IQ's that I have seen in a long time. Doane has big knockout power & could probably finish Issa if he decides to stand & trade but Doane tends to try to out grappler his opponents instead of keeping the fight where he is best at. Doane is not a good grappler! Issa will take advantage of Doane's willingness to go to the ground by getting top control & then submit him inside the distance. LOST!! 2nd round submission victory & Doane looked great the entire fight.
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Not a huge day but I did win a little bit & that's always better than a losing day! All around a pretty entertaining event but you could tell that the home crowd isn't use to having top level events. A lot of good UFC debuts!