UFC Fight Night 29: Maia vs. Shields Bold Predictions

The UFC is making their monthly trip to Brazil this week for tomorrows UFC Fight Night 29: Maia vs. Shields. The entire card will air live on FOX Sports 1, but will still be broken up into a four fight preliminary card and a six fight main card.

The night’s main event is one of those fights that look very intriguing on paper but will likely end the night in boring fashion. Luckily for them the fights in Brazil and they appreciate the grappling game much better than the US fans. Welterweight submission specialists Demian Maia and Jake Shields battle it out for Jiu-Jitsu supremacy, and for Maia a potential title fight.

The UFC Fight Night 29 co-main event will also be contested in the welterweight division as Erick Silva looks to score a big win in front of his countrymen when he faces Dong Hyun Kim. Both are players in the welterweight division that is still trying to crack the champion’s code. Yet another welterweight bout on the main card will see Rousimar Palhares make his debut at the weight class when he takes on Mike Pierce.

Rounding out the UFC Fight Night 29 main card will be two light heavyweight bouts plus one bantamweight fight.

At last month’s UFC 165 I went 8-5 with the predictions that brought the overall totals for the year to 187-95 (66%). Like always, the Brazil cards are tough to predict for a variety of reasons and at UFC Fight Night 29 we have 10 more bouts to predict. Here they are:

Erick Silva

Main Card:

170 lbs.: Demian Maia vs. Jake Shields – Demian Maia

170 lbs.: Dong Hyun Kim vs. Erick Silva – Erick Silva

205 lbs.: Matt Hamill vs. Thiago Silva – Thiago Silva

205 lbs.: Joey Beltran vs. Fabio Maldonado – Fabio Maldonado

170 lbs.: Rousimar Palhares vs. Mike Pierce – Mike Pierce

135 lbs.: Raphael Assuncao vs. T.J. Dillashaw – T.J. Dillashaw

Preliminary Card:

170 lbs.: Igor Araujo vs. Ildemar Alcantara – Igor Araujo

170 lbs.: Yan Cabral vs. David Mitchell – Yan Cabral 

125 lbs.: Chris Cariaso vs. Iliarde Santos – Iliarde Santos

155 lbs.: Alan Patrick vs. Garett Whiteley – Alan Patrick

UFC Fight Night 29 will take place at the Jose Correa Arena in Barueri, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Coverage begins at 2pm PT / 5pm ET for the prelims and 4pm PT / 7pm ET for the main card.