Performify's Picks for UFC 93

Originally posted on MMAjunkie.com

Kampmann vs. Barros

Martin Kampmann (13-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) looks to rebound from a brutal first-round knockout at the hands of Nate Marquardt at UFC 88. The Danish Muay Thai specialist trains at Xtreme Couture.

Alexandre Barros is a Brazilian fighter under Gracie Barra with a 13-5 MMA record and is riding a nine-fight win streak. He holds a black belt in Muay Thai and blue belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu. However, Barros is being overrated here in my opinion thanks in no small part to a padded record developed against low- and mid-level Brazilian fighters and very little experience outside of Brazil. His nine-fight win streak includes a 20-month layoff from 2006 to mid-2008, the combined record of those opponents is 65-42, and nine of his past 13 fights have gone to decision. He's also lost all three times he's been outside of Brazil, which included a 2000 fight against Matt Hughes in which Barros submitted due to exhaustion.

Kampmann is dropping down to 170 pounds for this fight, and there's certainly a legitimate concern about his first fight cut down from middleweight. However, that is essentially the only real concern I have for this fight. Barros hasn't demonstrated anything of significance in his past fights; he does have decent Muay Thai skills, but Kampmann has a significant reach advantage (Barros is only 5-foot-9) and should be able to leverage that reach advantage to pick apart his opponent and secure a one-sided victory. I predict Kampmann wins by second round TKO in a one-sided fight.

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