by Chris Asbrock

The UFC has certainly had an interesting 2016 so far and this card certainly is a major part of that. Originally scheduled to be a pay-per-view broadcast, UFC 196, it was moved to a network event after the main event suffered numerous setbacks. The original main event was to feature a Heavyweight Championship rematch between Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez. Less than two weeks ago, Velasquez suffered a back injury and had to pull out of the fight.

The card was thought to be saved when Stipe Miocic stated he would step in and fight Werdum for the title. That did not seem to sit well with the champion as he too decided to pull out of the fight with an injury. The scrapping of the heavyweight title main event, meant the fight between Johny Hendricks and Stephen Thompson would move into the headliner spot.

Even with this card being doomed, things will certainly pay off for the UFC as just a bit ago, Mickey Gall defeated Mike Jackson via submission. The win for Gall tonight, means that he will now move on to face CM Punk, most likely at UFC 199. Gall called out Punk after his most recent fight, causing Dana White to sign Gall with the promise of facing Punk if he defeated Jackson.

The stage is set for a good night of fights so lets take a look at our fight picks.

Mike Pyle (26-11-1) vs Sean Spencer (12-4)

Chris’ Pick: Pyle
Jin’s Pick: Spencer

Misha Cirkunov (10-2) vs Alex Nicholson (6-1)

Chris’ Pick: Cirkunov
Jin’s Pick: Cirkunov

Joseph Benavidez (23-4) vs Zach Makovsky (19-6)

Chris’ Pick: Benavidez
Jin’s Pick: Benavidez

Ovince Saint Preux (18-7) vs Rafael Feijao (12-6)

Chris’ Pick: OSP
Jin’s Pick: OSP

Roy Nelson (21-12) vs Jared Rosholt (14-2)

Chris’ Pick: Nelson
Jin’s Pick: Rosholt

Johny Hendricks (17-3) vs Stephen Thompson (11-1)

Chris’ Pick: Hendricks
Jin’s Pick: Hendricks

Preliminary fights:

Artem Lobov (12-11-1) vs Alex White (10-2)
Mickey Gall (1-0) vs Mike Jackson (0-0)
Noad Lahat (9-1) vs Diego Rivas (6-0)
Justin Scoggins (10-2) vs Ray Borg (9-1)
Derrick Lewis (13-4) vs Damian Grabowski (20-2)
Josh Burkman (28-12) vs K.J. Noons (12-7)

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