Written by Scott Swerbinsky

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The bad taste from UFC 130 a few weeks back is still in my mouth. That event had fights that should have made for a great card but turned into a total letdown. Tonight ,UFC 131 takes place and could erase the bad memories from two short weeks ago.

Injuries have plagued the sport of mixed martial arts a lot more than normal recently and UFC 131 is no different. Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos were supposed to fight in the main event after they were both coaches on The Ultimate Fighter reality show. Lesnar is now out and Shane Carwin step in for him to try to stop the freight train that is Junior Dos Santos.

 

The main event is a battle of two excellent strikers. Both Carwin and Dos Santos are known for knocking people out and tonight should be no different. Dos Santos is well versed in jui jitsu and Carwin has top notch wrestling skills but I don’t expect a lot of ground fighting this evening. Dana White has already announced that tonight’s winner will get a heavyweight title shot versus Cain Velasquez in their next fight.

 

There is pressure on both fighters and expect Dos Santos to come out on top. Carwin has changed his diet after falling short against Brock Lesnar in the past so it will be interesting to see how he performs with a focus on his stamina and quickness.  This fight alone should be better than the entire card from UFC 130.

Kenny Florian, a former contender at 155 pounds, will make his debut at 145 against very respected Diego Nunes. Florian, with a win will jump right into the title picture. I like Kenny’s game a lot he just hasn’t performed well against top notch competition.

Nunes also can jump to the top of the weight class with a victory. The lower weight classes always produces the better technical fights with a lot of speed and precision and I would expect nothing less in the matchup. Both guys are very well rounded with a lot on the line and also a lot to prove. This fight is my pick for “Fight of the Night.”

Demian Maia versus Mark Munoz is another fight that has peaked my interest. Maia is a wizard on the ground and has some of the best submission skills in the world. That being said, his standup game isn’t too feared. Although it has gotten better recently, Maia is on record saying he wants to go back to his grappling style, which in the past wasn’t the most crowd pleasing style.

Mark Munoz has a great wrestling background but he would be silly to try and get this fight to the ground. Munoz’s best chance is to strike and keep striking. As soon as this one hits the mat, Munoz will lose all advantage. His standup game has taken huge strides over the last year and a half and he is now a true mixed martial artist, not just a wrestler.

The first guy to make to make a mistake could have their lights turned out early. I like Munoz and the way he has evolved. Maia is so slick on the ground that it’s hard to pick against him in this one but I’m going to do it anyway. I think Munoz finds a way to pull this one out.

Full fight card:

MAIN CARD (pay-per-view)

Junior Dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin

Kenny Florian vs. Diego Nunes

Jon Olav Einemo vs. Dave Herman

Demian Maia vs. Mark Munoz

Donald Cerrone vs. Vagner Rocha

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)

Yves Edwards vs. Sam Stout

Jesse Bongfeldt vs. Chris Weidman

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

Mike Massenzio vs. Krzysztof Soszynski

James Head vs. Nick Ring

Dustin Poirier vs. Jason Young

Joey Beltran vs. Aaron Rosa

Darren Elkins vs. Michihiro Omigawa

UFC 131 has the chance to erase the bad memories from 130. It shouldn’t take much but you never know. I am looking forward to great night of mixed martial arts action and can’t wait to tune in.