by Chris Asbrock

This fight card begins one of the biggest weeks and certainly the biggest weekend in the history of the UFC. If you are a fight fan, you certainly have to be excited for what you will experience Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, ending in UFC 194. This UFC Fight Night card has been named by some as the beautiful people card because it seems all of the pretty people have been booked for this particular show. Regardless of looks, this will certainly be a great card, which is headlined by Paige VanZant and Rose Namajunas. Lets take a look at the main card portion of this great fight card.

Thiago Santos (11-3) vs Elias Theodorou (11-0)

Elias Theodorou is undefeated in his short MMA career. The 27-year-old has finished seven of his fights, allowing only four to go the distance. Thiago Santos is a big striker who has won via the TKO/KO seven times in his MMA career. Santos on average absorbs 2.41 significant strikes per minute while Theodorou sits at 1.33 per minute. That could definitely come into play in this fight.With both men having some solid power, expect this fight to stay vertical with both men trying to end this fight early.

Chris’ Pick: Theodorou via TKO
Jin’s Pick: Santos

Sage Northcutt (6-0) vs Cody Pfister (12-4-1)

This fight peaks the interest in many due to the hype of Northcutt. The 19-year-old Texan has dominated in his six professional fights. Only one fight has made it past the first round. Northcutt is coming off a quick TKO win in his UFC debut in October. Can he keep rolling through his opponents or will Cody Pfister be the one to bring him back to reality. Pfister is coming off his first win in the UFC and will look to build on that. The numbers are skewed due to the short fight time for Northcutt, but he was able to land 22.11 significant strikes per minute. However, you can expect this fight to go to the ground with Northcutt being the aggressor. If this fight goes to the ground, Northcutt should be the victor.

Chris’ Pick: Northcutt via submission
Jin’s Pick: Northcutt

Michael Chiesa (12-2) vs Jim Miller (25-6)

This has the makings of being a solid fight if you like fights that go to the ground. With a combined three wins via TKO/KO, there is a solid chance this fight will not end in this fashion. Jim Miller has attempted more submissions (34) than any other fighter in UFC history. Miller is by far the superior wrestler than Michael Chiesa and will look to take this fight to the ground. Chiesa has won eight fights via submission but is the lesser of the two on the ground. Expect this fight to go to the ground but don’t look to see a finish on the ground.

Chris’ Pick: Miller via unanimous decision
Jin’s Pick: Chiesa

Paige VanZant (6-1) vs Rose Namajunas (3-2)

Paige VanZant is one of the most marketable fighters in the UFC right now. She has a great combination of good looks and a well-rounded fighting style. She has had the rocket attached to her back, to some fighters’ dismay, and has passed the tests tossed in front of her. Both her and Namajunas have suffered defeat at the hands of Tecia Torres while in Invicta. This is certainly a fight of the night candidate and you can expect both fighters to deliver solid strikes. VanZant averages 5.16 significant strikes per minute, while Namajunas averages 2.88 per minute. VanZant is a much more accurate striker and is an above average grappler. If this fight goes to the ground, look for VanZant to ground and pound.

Chris’ Pick: VanZant via split decision
Jin’s Pick: VanZant

Preliminary fights:

Kailin Curran (3-2) vs Emily Kagan (3-2)
Phillipe Nover (11-5-1) vs Zubaira Tukhugov (17-3)
Danny Roberts (11-1) vs Nathan Coy (14-5)
Andreas Stahl (9-1) vs Santiago Ponzinibbio (20-3)
Johnny Eduardo (27-9) vs Aljamain Sterling (11-0)
Kevin Casey (9-3) vs Antonio Carlos Jr. (5-1)
Omari Akhmedov (15-2) vs Sergio Moraes (9-2)
Tim Means (24-7-1) vs John Howard (23-11)

This has the makings of being a solid card and should have some exciting fights. I would say that you don’t want to miss this card because you should get your monies worth. The UFC is set up for the next couple of days and weeks with some solid fight cards and this is the card that gets the ball rolling as we head into 2016.

Chris Asbrock is a staff writer and analyst for FTI Sports and can be followed on Twitter  and