6 Main Card Predictions For UFC Fight Night: Bader vs. Saint Preux

3. Tim Boetsch vs. Brad Tavares

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdV_1F2o8tw Weight Class: Middleweight Tim Boetsch (17-7) has hit some hard times of late, and this is the fight that will determine whether he is still a contender in the middleweight division. Or even a gatekeeper. While he's not necessarily facing a cut with a loss, he's 1-3 in his last four, with losses to Luke Rockhold and Mark Munoz. The third of those losses came to Costas Philippou in a bout that saw Boetsch fighting through injury, so he likely gets a pass on that one, but he needs to right the ship here. His only win since a close split decision victory over Hector Lombard over two years ago in July 2012 was a split decision against C.B. Dollaway last October. What Boetsch needs to do here is win, and finish. He needs the sort of win he had against Yushin Okami back at UFC 144 (a come-from-behind TKO), only more one-sided. Unfortunately for Boetsch, he's fighting a guy who has never been finished in Brad Tavares (12-2). While anyone can be finished, I see this fight winding up in yet another split decision for Boetsch, and there's a good chance he's on the losing end of it. Tavares is coming off a loss of his own to Yoel Romero, but Romero is surging right now and looks fantastic.