Paulo Thiago vs. Siyar Bahadurzada: This fight poses a lot of questions: is the hype behind Bahadurzada justified? Can Thiago place himself back in the mix at 170 pounds with a big victory? Will the first time jitters play any role in Siyar’s performance? Will Thiago struggle with the size of the Afghanistan native? So many questions, so little with which to formulate an educated guess, primarily due to the fact that Bahadurzada is still a relatively unknown commodity amongst North American fans.

What we have here is a classic clash of styles. While Thiago is certainly proficient with his strikes, the ground game is his specialty, and he’s got some nasty submission skills to prove it. Bahadurzada in contrast is as aggressive as they come, and tends to avoid the mat in favor of frenetic slugfests. He’s a powerful guy who can turn the lights off with a single punch, but he tends to neglect his defense when attacking relentlessly. The question comes down to whether or not Paulo can gauge Siyar’s aggression and time the takedown properly to take this into his realm.

Both men have fought some top notch opponents, but the edge must go to Paulo here, as he was welcomed to the UFC with a true baptism by fire, facing Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Mike Swick and Martin Kampmann in four of his first five octagon appearances. He’s had time to get comfortable inside the octagon and he’s not likely to be overwhelmed by Siyar. I see a few sketchy moments early for Thiago, but ultimately, he’ll overcome a series of wild haymakers to secure multiple takedowns en route to a unanimous decision nod.

Dennis Siver vs. Diego Nunes: I think most people expect Siver to make waves in his featherweight debut. He’s a massive man with a well-rounded attack, and the size advantage he should sport coming into this fight makes it a bit easier to conceive of a victory for the rugged German. However, I view Nunes as the technically superior fighter, and more tenacious of the two.

Nunes’s game is a bit too polished to be outclassed in any one single area, and his speed will pose some serious problems for Siver. We’ll see a handful of pretty spinning back kicks from Siver, but few will find their mark as Nunes is an extremely agile fighter who utilizes movement very well. To keep it short and sweet: Nunes catches Siver with a big punch in the third round, before pouncing for the submission victory.

DaMarques Johnson vs. John Maguire: There isn’t much on the line for either fighter here; both are light years from a title shot, and neither is likely to meet the chopping block upon defeat. Johnson is as about as inconsistent as a Northern California winter but he’s damn exciting to watch, and Maguire is still a relatively unproven fighter, despite an impressive 17-3 record.

Johnson has the home field advantage having fought for the promotion on seven different occasions, but it’s tough to predict which DaMarques shows up, the motivated monster, or the uninspired journeyman? Maguire is clearly the more consistent man, and he’ll likely prove it by picking up one of his finest wins on Saturday. I see this one unraveling in competitive fashion for two rounds, in which Johnson will land the more significant strikes, and Maguire will likely secure the more frequent takedowns. The final round of the fight will determine the winner, as “The One’s” gas tank proves to hold more fuel; John will snatch a submission early in round three to move his UFC mark to 2-0.