Over the past two days, my esteemed colleagues Kyle Bratke and David Bray have given their stances on who will win 133 this weekend at Midlands.

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December 29-30 | 10:30 AM Eastern

While I have a great deal of respect for my very passionate co-workers, they are dead wrong. It won't be #1 Austin DeSanto who claims the Midlands 57 crown, nor will be it NCAA champion Seth Gross who emerges out of this weight class.

It will be Sebastian Rivera.

Why Austin DeSanto Will Win 133 | Why Seth Gross Takes 133

Seabass. Lubina. Whichever you prefer, he has embraced the nautical nickname, though Rivera is no fish. He's one of the best lightweights in this country, and has the resume to back it up.

Now with all three having won Midlands titles, his accolades alone might not be enough for you. But remember, this guy was a Super 32 champ coming into college, and has been an All-American twice already. He came entered the NCAA tournament last year as the 1 seed, finishing his season 30-2 with 19 bonus point victories.

Midlands 57 Previews: Lightweight | Middleweight | Upperweight

Now of course if I'm going to vouch for the Wildcat junior, I do have to acknowledge his losses. Bratke eagerly focused on the Stevan Micic match, when Rivera weighed in at 125 and wrestled the then #1 at 133; he'll have no such size disadvantage this time around. Then there is the semifinal loss to Jack Mueller, giving up five and a half minutes of riding time. An outlier.

But what about Rivera's outliers wins? Like how he twice beat Vitali Arujau at NCAAs, the same Vito that just beat 133lb national champ Nick Suriano. Then there is his consi semi win over Patrick Glory, when he gave up nine points to trail heading into the third period, but racked up seven points to close out the match.

But a major reason Seabass broke out in such a huge way last year were his two wins over Spencer Lee, the first of which happened at Midlands. Both times he faced Spencer he had to get out after starting the period on bottom, and both times he did. After that Midlands final last year he said he never felt in danger there once. Which means he can get away from Seth Gross, and he can definitely get escapes on Austin DeSanto.

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It was his quotes after the match I went back to when doing research for this column. He said he became more of a man last summer, and now has another year in a college weight room, adding man strength.

Rivera also said no one can stop him when his leg attacks are going, especially since he can score on both sides of the body. But perhaps the main reason I'm picking Rivera, going against the grain and taking the longest shot, the one least favored to win, is because of the belief he has in himself. From his post-finals interview about how sure he was going into that match:

Really confident. I dream about this sh*t. It keeps me up at night, losing to people. Just thinking about what that feeling is from. My family, I don’t want to lose, there’s a lot of pride in there… It’s just about knowing who you are and knowing where you come from.

Remember, this is a kid who grew up in his father's wrestling club in New Jersey, battling his way through one of the toughest states there is. He wasn't the same level of blue chip recruit that Gross or DeSanto was coming out, didn't have the same fanfare around him.

His idol is Frankie Edgar and he's going into MMA once his wrestling career is over. This is a man who's not afraid of a fight or a challenge, whether it comes in the octagon or on the wrestling mat.

Speaking of wrestling, Rivera needs to get that all important first takedown against Gross, put him in a hole early. Honestly his gameplan should look somewhat similar to how he beat Spencer at Midlands and how DeSanto beat Gross in the dual.

Midlands Schedule | Participating Teams

Now to be fair Gross is difficult to take down, but it's not impossible. Already this season DeSanto took him down three times, Taylor LaMont earned one, and Derek Spann snuck one in at the end. But most importantly, Allan Hart took Gross down twice, including the first one of the match. If Hart can take a 2-0 lead on Gross, don't tell me Rivera can't.

Then there's DeSanto, who will likely be waiting in the finals as your probably one seed. Yes, he's extremely difficult to deal with the first time you face him and has improved in all facets some coming to Iowa City. But Midlands isn't in Carver-Hawkeye, where both Nick Suriano and Gross had to pay the Carver tax. This is Northwestern's tournament, Seabass gets to sleep in his own bed and wrestle in his adopted city.

And don't forget, Sebastian Rivera's favorite part about wrestling is kicking people's butt.