UFC 93 Preview

1/11/2009 | Posted by Scott Lunn

UFC 93 is set to take place at the O2 arena in Dublin, Ireland next Saturday, January 17th. As is typical of the UFC shows held in Europe, the card is spectacular by no means. The main event is an intriguing one however for long time MMA fans, as top Light Heavyweights face off when former Pride Middleweight (205 lbs.) and Welterweight (183 lbs.) champion, "Hollywood" Dan Henderson, faces the former UFC Middleweight (185 lbs.) champ, Rich "Ace" Franklin. At one point in time, these two were considered the top two fighters in the 185 lbs. weight division, but that was before the emergence of Anderson Silva as perhaps the best pound for pound fighter on the planet. Perhaps because of Silva's dominance in that weight class, both fighters have moved back to Light Heavyweight recently. The winner of this fight will coach the US team against the Michael Bisping lead UK team in the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.

In addition, UFC 93 brings us a long awaited rematch between Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Mark "The Hammer" Coleman. These two first fought in Pride Fighting Championships back in February of 2006. Coleman won that fight just :49 seconds into the first round, when Rua dislocated his elbow. This time, the fight moves into The Octagon and the UFC, where Coleman last fought 10 years ago. Rua has one fight under his belt in the UFC, a dissapointing loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 76 in September of 2007. A series of injuries has kept Rua out of the cage since that time.

The rest of the card features many names that aren't likely to be familiar to the casual MMA fan, but longtime observers will know fighters like Jeremy Horn and former cast member of The Ultimate Fighter, Chris "Lights Out" Lytle. While big names bring in big Pay Per View numbers, often times, lesser known fighters and newcomers provide the most exciting fights, so it's hard to discredit the undercard on this show. Let's take a look at the two main event matchups though.

Dan Henderson vs. Rich Franklin - Light Heavyweight Contest

Dan Henderson brings a 23-7 record into this fight and has fought a literal "Who's Who" of MMA. Wins over Renato Sobral and Vitor Belfort, along with splits against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Wanderlei Silva stand out when looking at his fight card. Upon rejoining the UFC in September of 2007, Henderson first fought then Light Heavyweight Champ, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, losing by decision after a 5 round battle. His next matchup was certainly no easier, battling Middleweight Champ Anderson "The Spida" Silva, where he was submitted by rear naked choke, late in the 2nd round. Henderson is known for being impossibly difficult to finish, having never suffered a KO or TKO loss in his career. His overhand right punch can be vicious and will end a fight quick, just ask Wanderlei Silva. A former Olympic wrestler, Henderson uses his ability to dictate where the fight goes, which often leads to some vicious ground and pound beatings for his opponents. All 23 of Henderson's victories have come by way of decision or TKO/KO.

Rich Franklin has a career mark of 24-3 as well as 1 no contest. Franklin is the former UFC Middleweight Champion, which he won by defeating Evan Tanner at UFC 53 in June, 2005. In addition to a 2nd win against the late Tanner, Franklin also has notable victories over Ken Shamrock, David Loiseau, and Yushin Okami. His 3 losses are nothing to be ashamed of, dropping fights to undefeated light heavyweight top contender, Lyoto Machida, as well as twice losing to Anderson Silva. All 3 losses came by way of TKO. Franklin has proven to be a versatile fighter, winning 13 fights by TKO/KO, as well as 7 by submission. Rich is a brown belt in jiu jitsu under Jorge Gurgel, but is known more for his striking ability.

Common Opponents

Often times, looking at common opponents can be a good way of breaking down a fight. For Henderson and Franklin, this means taking a look at the Anderson Silva fights. Franklin was the first to fight Silva, in fact, both his fights against the middleweight champ took place before Henderson faced him. Unfortunately for Franklin, not much can be taken from either of the two fights as Silva mostly had his way with him. The first of the two bouts saw Silva capture Franklin in the Muay Thai clinch and land knee after devastaing knee, destroying Franklin's nose in the process. Silva took Franklin's belt with a TKO victory at 2:59 in the first round. The rematch saw Franklin last a bit longer, and avoid the Thai clinch for awhile, but eventually, the result was the same. Silva won with a TKO by knees yet again. Henderson faired only slightly better, and actually looked fairly good in the first round of his bout with Silva. Henderson was able to take Silva to the ground and keep him there, landing the occassional strike along the way. However, Silva turned the tide in the second, with crisp striking. Again, Silva went to the Muay Thai clinch and punished Henderson with a knee. After sending him to the mat, Silva began to work his black belt Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills, eventually sinking in the rear naked choke, forcing Henderson to tap with just 8 seconds left in the round.

Prediction

Looking at their common fight, along with their careers as a whole, it seems as though Henderson's best bet would be to use his wrestling and take Franklin down and keep him there. Rich is much better on his feet than on the ground and will likely want to strike. Regardless of where the fight ends up, I like Henderson in this matchup. Franklin has good ability on his feet, but Henderson's rock hard head will make him tough to finish. Look for Henderson to keep Franklin on the ground for the majority of the fight and grind out a decision victory.

Mauricio Rua vs. Mark Coleman - Light Heavyweight Contest

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua has a career record of 16-3, and was widely regarded as the most dangerous light heavyweight in the world prior to his UFC debut. Rua has finished his opponent in all his victories, 13 coming by TKO/KO and 3 via submission. Amongst Rua's top wins are names such as Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, and 2 victories against Top K-1 Kickboxer Alistair Overeem. His 3 losses have come at the hands of Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Forrest Griffin, and his opponent in this fight, Mark Coleman. During his time in Pride, Shogun went 12-1, losing only to Coleman when he dislocated his elbow just :49 seconds into the bout. This lead to Rua being considered an immediate contender once Pride was bought out by the UFC in 2007. For his Octagon debut, Rua was matched up with Forrest Griffin and was an overwhelming favorite to win the match. Rua came into the fight as the much smaller fighter and seemed ill prepared, completely gassing early on in the fight. In the 2nd round, Griffin took complete control, and eventually took Rua's back, forcing the submission via rear naked choke with :15 seconds left in the round. Some believe that Rua was unable to train properly due to a knee injury leading up to the fight. He elected to undergo surgery on the knee afterwards, but unfortunately ruptured the same ACL while training for a scheduled match against Chuck Liddell at UFC 85. Once again needing surgery, Rua has been out of comission, and this will be his first fight back.

Mark "The Hammer" Coleman, at age 44, is a throwback to the earlier days of the UFC, last appearing in the promotion in 1999. Coleman is 15-8 in his career, holding wins over Don Frye twice as well as Dan "The Beast" Severn to win the first ever UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 12 in 1997. Coleman also won both the UFC 10 and 11 tournaments, leading to his title bout. Coleman has lost to an impressive list of heavyweights during his time in Pride, including Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and twice to Fedor Emelianenko. The UFC Hall of Famer was a National Champion wrestler at Ohio State University and placed 7th in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.

Common Opponents

Having fought at different weight classes for most of their careers, the two have no common opponents, but have of course, fought each other. Very early into the fight, Coleman went to take Rua down, and Rua landed awkwardly on his arm, dislocating his elbow. Coleman jumped on top of Rua and started drilling the injured Rua. As the reft stopped the fight, Shogun's brother had entered the ring and a bit of a melee ensued between both fighter's camps. Along the way, Coleman's corner man, Phil Baroni took down Wanderlei Silva, and Coleman stepped on Silva's throat. Bad blood clearly arouse between the two groups and they vowed to settle it sometime in the future. With the collapse of Pride and the UFC's subsequent buy out, the Octagon will be the place for the rematch.

Prediction

Coleman has a long history of terrible stamina in fights, having to finish his opponents quickly or else suffering badly as the fight goes on. Rua know faces similar questions after his UFC debut, and additionally has concerns of a surgically repaired knee. Mauricio is the much more dynamic fighter, and assuming he is in shape, should have his way with Coleman in my opinion. The Hammer will need to land a big blow early or take Rua down and pound him out in the first round to have much of a chance. Coleman is now 44 years old and hasn't fought in over 2 years. While Rua has had a similar lay off, he is also only 27. My prediction sees Rua win by TKO due to strikes in the 2nd.

Fight Card

Scheduled Pay Per View Fights:
Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Mark Coleman
Denis Kang vs. Alan Belcher
Rousimar Palhares vs. Jeremy Horn
Marcus Davis vs. Chris Lytle

Undercard Fights:
Martin Kampmann vs. Alexandre Barros
Ivan Serati vs. Thomasz Drwal
Tom Egan vs. John Hathaway
Nate Mohr vs. Denis Siver
Eric Schafer vs. Antonio Mendes

As a reminder, since the show is being held in Ireland, it's an early start time. 3pm EST is when the main card airs live on Pay Per View.
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