Mark Weir (Pictures) (15-9) has recently come out of a four-fight losing streak by stopping Sol Gilbert (Pictures) at CR 12. Having looked fragile and under-confident in previous losses, Weir looked aggressive, focused and strong in his bout with Gilbert. If this is the fighter who shows up on Saturday then Sasaki, a short, blown up welterweight, should be little trouble.

Weir is a striker by trade but he’s no slouch on the ground. Although his takedown defense is poor, his ground skills are usually sufficient to allow him to survive long enough to regain his feet.

Sasaki (3-6-3) is extremely tough but he’s not good enough to take out Weir. In his last outing, at CR 12, the U-File fighter showed that he possesses decent ground skills, but he also showed that he’s quite easy to hit. On that occasion Alex Reid (Pictures) managed to cut him (under controversial circumstances) en route to a doctor’s stoppage.

I think Reid was lucky and I don’t think Weir’s going to finish Sasaki, but I do think he’ll dominate him and take a victory via a one-sided decision.