Dana White has done it again. With all of the hype around the first Affliction PPV, the UFC president decided to put together a UFC fight night on five weeks notice, an effort to discourage fans from purchasing the upcoming Affliction: Banned PPV.

For being on free TV and assembled in such a short period of time, the card is pretty good. Here are my predictions and analysis for Ultimate Fight Night 14.

Main Card Bouts:
-Anderson Silva vs. James Irvin
-Brandon Vera vs. Reese Andy
-Frankie Edgar vs. Hermes Franca
-Jake O’Brien vs. Cain Velasquez
-Anthony Johnson vs. Kevin Burns
-Jesse Taylor vs. C.B. Dollaway

Middleweights
Jesse Taylor vs. C.B. Dollaway

When Jesse Taylor was unceremoniously booted from the The Ultimate Fighter 7 finale, Dana White said that maybe one day Taylor would get another shot in the UFC, provided he cleaned up his act. I don’t think anyone anticipated Taylor’s return this quickly, but it makes sense. Dana White needed some recognizeable names to put on a last minute card, and there was little chance Taylor would say no to his second shot in the big leagues. CB Dollaway is also eager to get back into the cage after losing back to back fights to Amir Sadollah fights in nearly identical fashion.

Breaking it down: Two good wrestlers with pretty bad stand up. Jesse is bigger, stronger, and has better ground and pound. I hope I am wrong, but I think this fight will be pretty boring. I see the fight staying on the ground for most of the time, and Jesse Getting the better of Dollaway with hammer fists and submission attempts.

Prediction: Jesse Taylor – Unanimous Decision

Welterweights
Anthony Johnson vs. Kevin Burns

It’s hard for me to call this one because I have never seen Kevin Burns fight. I’m looking at his record and I see he has 6 wins, 4 submissions and 2 TKO’s. I like a guy who finishes all of his fights. He defeated Roan Carneiro in his UFC debut, choking him out with a triangle. I know he was a pretty big underdog in that fight.

Anthony Johnson is a complete beast of a welterweight. The guy hits extremely hard and moves really fast. He did lose to Rich Clementi by submission, a smaller submission fighter, so he has some holes in his game. My gut is telling me to go with Burns, but without seeing him fight, I have to go with Johnson.

If you were looking to make some cash on any one underdog on this card, though, It mind not be a bad idea to throw some money on Burns.

Prediction: Anthony Johnson TKO Round 2

Heavyweights
Jake O’Brien vs. Cain Velasquez

This should be a pretty decent heavyweight fight. Both of these guys are stand up fighters. Jake O’Brien is coming off of a loss to Andrei Arlovski, the first of his career. He was riding a 10 fight win streak up until that point, and finished 8 of those fights by TKO. Velasquez is an American Kickboxing Academy fighter who has won all 3 of his fights by TKO.

I think experience will play the biggest role here, and that edge goes to O’Brien.

Prediction: Jake O’Brien KO/TKO Round 2

Lightweights
Frankie Edgar vs. Hermes Franca

This should be a pretty good fight. Classic wrestler versus BJJ practitioner, with the difference being that Franca also has some decent stand up.

I used to think that Edgar was unstoppable, until Gray Maynard defeated him in his last fight. Edgar has never really impressed me; he uses the classic lay and pray techniques that most wrestlers use, but he is pretty good at keeping his opponent on the ground and eeking out decision victories.

Hermes Franca is a slick submission specialist. He is coming off of a loss to Sean Sherk, where Sherk used much of the same technique that Edgar will try to utilize. Sherk is bigger, faster, and stronger then Edgar, so I don’t think that Franca will be overwhelmed in that department. Franca even managed to land some solid knees to the head of Sean Sherk when he was shooting in to take Franca down. Those knees would have knocked anyone else out, but Sherk has a head made of concrete.

Hermes is coming off of a long layoff. He tested positive for steroids in the fight with Sean Sherk and the CSAC suspended him for a year.

Under normal circumstances I’d be giving this fight to Hermes, but since Edgar has been the more active fighter in the past year, I will be giving him the edge.

Prediction: Frankie Edgar Unanimous Decision Round 3

Light Heavyweights
Brandon Vera vs. Reese Andy

Brandon Vera will be cutting down to light heavyweight for the first time in his career. Many have criticized Vera for not cutting down sooner, but Vera has never really been dominated by any heavyweight in the UFC; he has not had a lot of incentive to cut down. I am eager to see what Vera can do at 205.

Reese Andy is an IFL veteran who has a solid record, but has never faced anyone the caliber of Brandon Vera. At 205, Vera will be quicker and more elusive then he normally is, so I expect him to take this fight pretty easily.

Prediction: Brandon Vera TKO/KO Round 1

Light Heavyweight
Anderson Silva vs. James Irvin

The number one middleweight in the world today, and arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the sport, Anderson Silva is jumping up to 205 to test his overwhelming Muay Thai skills in a bigger, stronger division.

The UFC isn’t going to make the transition into light heavyweight easy for Spider Silva. James “The Sandman” Irvin has stepped up to show Silva how things are done in the land of 205 pound fighters.

Sandman is strong and hits hard – 10 of his 14 wins come by way of knockout. This guy is a go’er, backs down from no fight, and is pretty entertaining to watch.

But I don’t care if Spider Silva is fighting Yokozuna, Hong Man Choi, and Hercules in a 3 on 1 handicap MMA fight. I’m sticking with Silva until the bitter, bloody end.

The guy is unstoppable. His punch combinations are so fluent. He moves so well in that octagon and is relentless in his pursuit. Silva does not throw 2 or 3 punch combinations. If he catches you and knows you are hurt, he does not stop punching or kicking until you are a bloody mess on the octagon canvas. He hits you from so many unexpected angles. Every punch and kick he throws counts for something, and he lands such a large percentage of his punches.

On top of all of that, Anderson Silva is a BJJ blackbelt.

I am not really concerned about the strength factor that he may give up jumping to 205. Silva fought in Pride’s “middleweight” division, but the weight limit over there was 205 pounds. There was no 185lbs. division in Pride, so Anderson Silva has proved he can hang with bigger, stronger opponents. I believe that Anderson will remain elusive, and pick his angles and shots wisely. He will hurt the Irvin, and will eventually send the Sandman to la la land.

Prediction: Anderson Silva KO/TKO Round 2