Training camp opens up later this week for the Buffalo Bills in Pittsford, NY and with that in mind; I wanted to make some early predictions on the upcoming season.

1. The Bills will eclipse 400 points scored for the entire season.

They came close to that mark in 2004 scoring 395 points but they haven’t actually reached the 400 point plateau since 1998 when they had 400 exactly. Last season they scored 336 for the entire season which averaged out to an even 21 points per game. To reach 400 they will have to average 25 points per game. In my eyes they can easily accomplish this by scoring one touchdown per game in the red zone instead of settling for a Rian Lindell field goal.

Last season the Bills finished 7-9 and lost two games by a combined total of 6 points. If they were able to turn one red zone field goal into a red zone touchdown in each of those games, the Bills finish 9-7 and over .500 for the first time since 2004. This wouldn’t have resulted in a playoff berth last season, but it would be nice to finish above .500 once in a while and be in the discussion once the calendar rolls around to December. At the very least, if the Bills are scoring points and still losing, at least the games are more exciting to watch. The only thing worse than watching your team lose, is watching your team lose and scoring three points or less in the process.

The addition of wide receiver Terrell Owens should help improve the overall offense and specifically the red zone offense. Owens will help take the pressure off Lee Evans inside the 20 and will also be a very big target for some fade passes in the back of the end zone. The emergence of Fred Jackson last season as a legitimate NFL running back will be big for the Bills all season whether he is running the ball or catching it out of the backfield.

The Bills also plan on running the no-huddle offense more often this year. Whether it was because teams were relaxing or the no-huddle really worked for the Bills, it always seemed like late in the games when the offense ran it, they were far more successful than they were for the previous three quarters. If the no-huddle offense works as expected, scoring an extra four points a game should be no problem. When you consider that the Bills scored a total of six points in a two game stretch late last season and put a big fat zero on the scoreboard in week 16, it REALLY shouldn’t be a problem.

2. Despite missing the first three games due to suspension, Marshawn Lynch will set a career mark for rushing yards.

I’m sure at first glance; this prediction looks pretty risky (or stupid). However, I honestly feel that Lynch will have a career year rushing even after missing the first three games. In his first two seasons Lynch finished with 1115 and 1036 yards respectively. But when you consider that he has yet to play a full 16 games in his NFL career, it really isn’t that farfetched.

Much like my first prediction, the additions of Owens and the no-huddle offense should also help Lynch achieve this goal. In order for Lynch to have a career year in rushing yards, he simply has to have 1116 yards or more. Broken down over the maximum number of games, that is only 86 yards per game. Honestly, that should be no problem. And quite frankly, if he can’t average that many during his third season, the Bills have a problem on their hands.

The newly designed offensive line will have had five pre-season games and three regular season games to gel as a unit before Lynch even steps on the field when it counts. I see no reason why he shouldn’t hit the ground running and come out of the gates with some pretty big rushing numbers. He should also be fresh making his debut in week four which should provide an advantage as the season winds down as opposed to previous seasons where he appeared to lose some steam down the stretch. In those late season games at the Ralph when winds are swirling out of control, I’d rather have a healthy Marshawn Lynch pounding away at the defense rather than the first few weeks when Fred Jackson and Dominic Rhodes can easily fill in. Of course, I’d rather have him for all 16 games but apparently that is asking too much.

I’d also like to consider this final point. Lynch has been in Buffalo for two seasons and has had two fairly serious incidents which resulted in his three game suspension to start this season. Fans of the Bills and citizens of Buffalo obviously aren’t the biggest fans of Lynch right now. The way I see it, he is on his final chance with the organization and if he doesn’t produce this season, he may be wearing another uniform this time next year. Lynch has to prove himself to be a good citizen and also prove himself worthy on the field. He should be extra motivated to do this and it’s actually the biggest reason why I think it will be a career year for the Bills running back. I guess time will tell.

3. Aaron Schobel will finish with a double digit sack total for the first time since 2006 when he finished the season with 14.

There is no doubt that Aaron Schobel has been on the decline since the aforementioned career year in 2006. Last year was an all-time low for the Bills defensive end as he finished with only one sack all season. Although to be fair, he only appeared in five games. He did however appear in all 16 games the prior season and still only finished with 6.5 sacks.

Part of this decline can probably be attributed to the fact that Chris Kelsay sucks and teams can simply double up on Schobel every single time he is on the field. Well, Kelsay is still on the team and still does suck, but the Bills number one draft pick Aaron Maybin should help alleviate that issue. Maybin was a force last season for Penn State finishing nine of the 13 games with at least one sack. Consider the fact that Kelsay has 17 sacks in 78 games and well, it’s fairly obvious. I should point out that Kelsay has approximately 248 celebrations on plays someone else made in those 78 games though. Now to be fair, college is a different game and there will be an adjustment period for Maybin. He might also play a different position resulting in both Kelsay and Maybin being on the field at the same time, so I don’t want to act like Maybin is just going to take over for Kelsay to start the season because that most likely isn’t the case. Honestly, I just wanted to rip on Chris Kelsay a little bit because he is my Maxim Afinogenov of the Buffalo Bills and this gave me the perfect excuse to do such a thing.

But back to the prediction at hand. I honestly feel that Aaron Schobel will finish the season with at least 10 sacks (or more). He should be completely healthy which obviously wasn’t the case last season. I also see him being extremely motivated to prove himself to the Bills and the fans after being on the decline for the previous two seasons. Because he was only healthy for five games last season, he didn’t get to play the full season with Marcus Stroud, which should also help his production. Plus we have no idea whether he was even healthy for those five games or if he was limited all the way through. Either way, I’m expecting a bounce back year from Schobel or I’ll be looking for him to pack his bags next off-season. And yes, I’m being highly optimistic with this prediction.

4. The Bills will finish .500 or better within the AFC East this season

After finishing with a shameful 0-6 record in the division last season, the Bills will finish 3-3 or better. The AFC East is not an easy division by any means when you consider the fact that New England finished 11-5 and missed the playoffs last season. Oh yeah, that Tom Brady fellow is back behind center this season. However, I’m still confident that the Bills can score at least three division wins this season. In fact, before last season the Bills didn’t finish below .500 in the division since the 2005 season and I like those odds.

Unlike last season when the Bills had to wait until Week 8 to face a division opponent, they will have faced all three division teams by Week 6 this season. They open the season on Monday night in Foxboro, which if it wasn’t for the fact that they are playing the Patriots, I’d be optimistic that their division record would get an early 1-0 jump. There is that optimistic side of me that says it’s opening night, Brady’s first meaningful game in a full calendar year, and the debut of T.O. and the new look offense so you never know what can happen. There is also that realistic side of me that says the Bills haven’t won a Sunday or Monday night game since 2001, the Bills are 2-16 against the Patriots since 2000, and Dick Jauron is still the coach so we can chalk up an early 0-1 record.

I feel compelled to mention that the Bills opened in Foxboro in 2006 and lost a close one 19-17. This was with J.P. Losman putting huge numbers like 164 yards passing and no touchdowns, while Willis McGahee led Buffalo with 70 yards rushing. The Bills also failed on a fourth down conversion late in the game while in obvious field goal range and had an interception return for a touchdown called back on a bogus penalty, so things could’ve easily swung Buffalo’s way in that game. Then again, this was the Patriots pre-Randy Moss and Wes Welker, so that should also be considered. Either way, I think the point of this paragraph was that just about anything can happen on opening day (including a 31-0 win over the Patriots).

The Dolphins are going to be a good team again, but they won’t be catching teams off-guard with the Wildcat offense, and I also think teams will be a little more prepared for them. I suspect they took everybody in the league by surprise last season coming off their dreadful 1-15 campaign in the prior season. I’m not trying to take away from their very good season, I’m just simply saying that most teams didn’t know what to expect with a new coaching staff and new QB running things. Now everybody has had a full off-season and will be better prepared for what the Dolphins will bring to the table. If the Dolphins use former West Virginia QB Pat White correctly, that surprise factor could still exist this season though. The Bills could’ve easily split with the Dolphins last season. The game down in Miami was fairly close and leaning towards Buffalo well into the second half before the Bills fell apart and dropped the game by nine.

The Jets improved this off-season by ridding themselves of Brett Favre’s corpse at QB. Not to say a rookie QB is going to be an immediate improvement, but I view the release of Favre as addition by subtraction. Sorry, he isn’t the same QB that won a Super Bowl and League MVP. Regardless, the Jets will most likely start Mark Sanchez at QB and like most rookie quarterbacks, I expect there to be a learning curve and some early season struggles. I also don’t think the Jets are all they are cracked up to be and I think a season sweep isn’t out of the question by any means. In fact, I’m calling for it right now!

So basically, if they can sweep through the Jets, split the Fins, and try not to embarrass themselves against New England, 3-3 is an attainable goal and should be reached this season for the Bills.

5. The tight end position will once again become relevant for the Buffalo Bills.

For my final prediction, I see bigger and better things for the tight end position. More specifically, I see big things for fourth round pick Shawn Nelson. This is a fairly large leap of faith in terms of my prediction, but I think Nelson is going to be a huge steal for the Bills and will contribute substantially this season for the offense.

Before Chris Kelsay was the Afinogenov of the Bills, Robert Royal held the crown and did an admirable job of it. But like several other players, he has moved on and the Bills immediately improved upon his departure. I could’ve made this prediction right after his release, but I still wasn’t sure. However, I am very confident in Shawn Nelson. When doing a little pre-draft homework, Nelson was one of the players I had targeted for Buffalo long before the actual draft was to take place. When his name was still available in the fourth round, I watched anxiously as the other teams continued to pass on him and it was Buffalo’s turn. Unlike several times before, the Bills actually wasted no time in picking Nelson and addressing their needs. I was so proud. It was like watching your son or daughter ride their bike without training wheels for the first time.

Nelson strikes me as more of an offensive tight end than the traditional blocking tight ends that Buffalo has lined up with in previous seasons. Trent Edwards excelled at the dump off game last season, although most of the passes were directed at Lynch and Jackson. Now that he has an offensive threat at tight end, I expect many more of those short, effective passes to go Nelson’s way.

And this all leads back to the no-huddle offense, which the Bills are expected to run quite a bit this upcoming season. In years past, when a team runs the no-huddle offense a large amount of the time, the tight end is a huge part of that team. Just look at years past when the Bills successfully ran the no-huddle or even more recently when the Colts have run it. The production of those teams and the tight end position cannot be argued.

I’m setting the bar for Nelson at 40 receptions this season. At first glance it might not seem like a lot, but a Bills tight end hasn’t finished with 40 or more receptions in a season since Jay Riemersma accomplished the feat in 2001 with 53 receptions. Of course this entire prediction could go out the window if Nelson suffers an injury before the season even starts (knock on wood) or if he doesn’t come around like expected.

This is probably my most risky prediction of the five, but I feel good about it along with all the others. We’ll go ahead and re-visit this after the regular season wraps up and see how I did (although I’m sure I’ll be constantly reminded throughout the season).

What are your thoughts? Feel free to leave a comment below or shoot an e-mail my way. If it’s good enough I’ll good ahead and post it along with my response.

NHL free agency started on July 1st and it was much more active than I first thought. With the initial rush mostly over and most teams looking forward to training camp, I figured now would be a good time to review some of the moves that were made.

I’ll refrain from using the terms “winners” or “losers” right now because nobody will really know that until the season is played out. If someone were to write a winners and losers column a year ago, I’m sure the Red Wings would’ve been the winners for signing Marian Hossa and Pittsburgh the losers for letting him go…how did that work out again? So with that thinking in mind, I’m just going to give my two cents on some of the deals (and only some of the teams) that took place during draft day and during the signing period. We’ll just have to revisit this column after next season to see how accurate I was (or wasn’t).

Anaheim

- I like what Anaheim has done so far. Signing Saku Koivu to a modest one year deal to play with friend Teemu Selanne should work out well. Trading Chris Pronger away as he headed into the last year of his deal was a good move. They got a very good return from Philadelphia out of an expiring contract so instead of losing him for nothing or getting next to nothing for him at the trade deadline, they maximized their return during the off-season. Very nice. If I were the GM, my next move would be trying to move J.S. Giguere and his $6 million dollar cap hit, then sign Jonas Hiller to a long term extension.

Atlanta

- Unless the words “contraction” or “relocation” are involved, I highly doubt I’ll be excited about Atlanta hockey. They have a chance to lock up Ilya Kovalchuk as he heads into the final year of his deal, but realistically they should be looking at trading him and getting something for nothing. I’d be very surprised if he re-signs with the Thrashers. Granted he would be getting a big pay day, but one would think he would actually like to win at some point in his career (and play in front of more than 128 fans per night).

Buffalo

- I would’ve liked the Sabres to have been slightly more active, but I didn’t expect it. I hear a ton of bashing by hockey fans about how the Sabres are so cheap and they just let everyone go. I’d like to mention that the players they have let go (Briere, Drury, Campbell, McKee) all have busted with their new team, or they are very close to busting in Campbell’s case. It’s almost as if the Sabres knew these guys weren’t worth that much money and decided to bite the bullet. Sure they took their hits at the time, but they are looking pretty smart right now. I could sit here all afternoon and rattle off some of the dumb contracts that were handed out this summer. I’ll take a cheap team any day to a team throwing $4 million dollars down the drain per season to drag Nik Antropov on the ice and have him act like he gives a damn.

Now that I’m done ranting, I can talk about what the Sabres actually did do so far. One area they had to address was blue line toughness and they did just that by signing Steve Montador. I was highly in favor of this move before free agency started so I was quite pleased when they announced the deal. If they were to acquire another defenseman and move Henrik Tallinder and/or Toni Lydman I’d chalk this up as a successful off-season. That will be a tough sell though and I don’t see it happening. Re-signing Matt Ellis doesn’t exactly excite me either. There has to be another move made before the season starts.

Losing Jaroslav Spacek hurts on the offensive side, but I really could care less. I said prior to free agency that I would only want him staying in Buffalo if he took a pay cut and it was evident from the start he wouldn’t do that. After seeing what Montreal paid for him, I’m very happy the Sabres didn’t offer a similar deal. Sure they will have to replace his 45 points, but that is where players like Chris Butler and Andrej Sekera will come into play.

Regardless, they were only two points out of the playoffs and most likely missed out on those points when Ryan Miller was out. Miller will be back and he’ll have some more attitude protecting him this time around (or so I hope). If he stays healthy next season, I see post-season hockey in Buffalo’s future. Then again, Scott Gomez is now in their division so all bets are off.

Calgary

The time is finally upon us for the biggest event in UFC history. Now, I realize the UFC hypes half of it's events in that manner, but this time it's actually true. UFC 100 takes place this Saturday, July 11th, in Las Vegas, and features 3 fights that could be considered main event material for any average card. Two belts will be on the line and the #1 contender for a 3rd will be decided as well.

I'm going to take a look at those 3 big fights, breaking each one down and giving you my prediction of the outcome. First up is the middleweight battle of Ultimate Fighter coaches, Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping, with the winner getting the next shot at Anderson Silva's title. Next, we have a welterweight championship bout between top challenger Thiago Alves and 2 time defending champion, Georges St. Pierre. Finally, we'll take a look at the heavyweight championship showdown between Interim title holder Frank Mir, and the reigning champion, Brock Lesnar.

Dan "Hendo" Henderson vs. Michael "The Count" Bisping:

These two just finished up coaching the most recent season of The Ultimate Fighter, in a special US vs. UK edition, where the UK seemed to get the better of the action and Bisping certainly did the majority of the trash talking. As has become the tradition, the two coaches now face off in The Octagon, this time with a shot at the middleweight title on the line.

Dan Henderson has a career mark of 24-7 coming into this fight and has fought some of the most talented fighters on the planet in both the middleweight and light heavyweight classes. He remains the only man to hold titles in two weight classes at the same time for a major organization, as he was both the 183 and 203 lb. champion when Pride closed up shop in 2007. The list of fighters that Henderson has defeated includes Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Murillo Bustamante x2, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva, and Rich Franklin. His losses have not come at the hands of slouches by any means either, as that list includes Wanderlei, both Nogueira brothers, Rampage Jackson, and Anderson Silva.

Henderson is a world class wrestler and a former US Olympian in both 1992 and 1996 in the discipline of Greco-Roman wrestling. He's also known for both having an incredibly durable chin, having never been knocked out, as well as big time punching power, particularly in his right hand. After a rough start in his return to the UFC, losing title matches to both Rampage Jackson and Anderson Silva in his first two fights, Henderson has gone 2-0 since with decision victories over Rousimar Palhares, and most recently Rich Frankliln at UFC 93 in January. Henderson seeks to gain another shot at Anderson Silva and the middleweight champion if he can win at UFC 100.

Michael Bisping is 19-1 in his professional MMA career, including a 7-1 record in the UFC. Bisping's record looks great on paper, however, the level of competition he has faced pales in comparison to that of Henderson. Like Dan, Bisping spent time in the light heavyweight division before dropping down to a more suitable weight class at 185 lbs. Bisping's wins include defeating Josh Haynes to with Season 3 of the Ultimate Fighter, as well as victories over journeyman Elvis Sinosic, Chris Leben, and a very controversial win over Matt Hamill at UFC 75. Hamill's lone loss came by way of a split decision loss to Rashad Evans in a rather unentertaining main event of UFC 78 in November of 2007.

In addition to the lack of talent Bisping has faced, he's also had a bit of a luxury in the fact that 4 of his past 6 fights have been on his home turf in England. 11 of his 17 wins have come by way of either KO or TKO, as Bisping's primary discipline is kickboxing. Michael Bisping is known for talking a whole lot of trash, and this fight has been no exception. Throughout The Ultimate Fighter show and in the time since, he's made sure to tell anyone who will listen that he is going to defeat Henderson, even going so far as to say that Henderson won't take him down in the fight.

Strategy:

Normally, this is the point where I'd break down any common opponents the two fighters have had in the past in an attempt to see how they might fare against one another. However, these two, despite a combined 51 fights, have never fought the same person. Again, this is a huge indicator of just how different the talent levels that each man has dealt with are. Bisping truly needs to win this fight to earn his spot as one of the top middleweights, because up to this point, he's pretty much had his fights gift wrapped for him as the UFC's UK poster boy.

Henderson has a huge advantage in the wrestling department, as I've already mentioned his credentials. He should be able to dictate where the fight takes place because of this, and if I were to guess, I'd say he'd prefer to keep it on the ground. Bisping is certainly the more technical striker of the two, but his power is not on the same level of Henderson. Henderson throws absolute bombs all the time, with every punch having the capability of knocking out his opponent. Feel free to ask Wanderlei Silva how his jaw felt when Henderson's left hook caught it at Pride 33. Bisping tends to wear his opponents out with a multitude of strikes, eventually finishing them off with a TKO win once they can't fight back. Henderson's jaw should hold up to this test much better than Bisping's past opposition. Neither man's conditioning should come into question, since this is only a 3 round fight, and both guys have gone the distance on several occassions.

Prediction:
Count me amongst those that are highly skeptical of just how good Michael Bisping really is. Between his level of opposition and frequent fights in his home area, he just hasn't proven too much to me. A win here could change that drastically however as there is no doubt that Henderson is one of the best the sport has had to offer in the past 5 years, coupled with the fact that this bout isn't taking place in England. I just don't see it happening though. Anything Bisping can throw at Henderson, Dan has seen before, while the opposite won't be true. Bisping has never dealt with a wrestler anywhere near Henderson's caliber, and he'll be at Dan's mercy in terms of where the fight takes place. In the end, I see Henderson continually wearing on Bisping in the clinch and on the ground, causing more damage along the way. I'm calling for Henderson to win via unanimous decision.

Thiago "Pitbull" Alves (Challenger) vs. Georges "Rush" St. Pierre (Champion)- Welterweight Championship:

Georges St. Pierre's welterweight title is on the line as he faces off with fierce striker, Thiago Alves, who has certainly proved deserving of this shot. Many have viewed GSP as nearly unbeatable in this weight class as he has already dispatched of most of the division, but Alves is potentially his most dangerous opposition to date. This fight could very well boil down to who is able to dictate where the action takes places.

Thiago Alves is a 25 year old Brazilian, who fights out of the American Top Team camp in Coconut Creek, Florida. Alves sports a 16-3 record, including 10 wins via KO/TKO. Thiago has been in the UFC for nearly 4 years now and is 9-2 inside The Octagon, including 7 straight wins. His only UFC losses came in his debut against Spencer Fisher via triangle choke in November of 2005 and by way of TKO due to strikes at the hands of Jon Fitch in June of 06. His recent string of wins has been impressive though, tearing through Karo Parysian and Matt Hughes with TKO wins, then pounding Josh Koscheck relentlessly for 3 rounds en route to a unanimous decision.

Alves has punishing Muay Thai strikes, especially his knees, and often uses them to secure his victories. Only 5 of his fights have gone the distance, all 5 of which he won, and 4 of them by way of a unanimous decision. Thiago is absolutely huge for a guy who fights at 170 lbs., and while I'm not sure what weight he generally walks around at, he's probably the largest fighter to grace the welterweight division in the UFC. That should present an interesting dynamic as Georges St. Pierre is more often than not the larger, stronger fighter in his bouts, but it won't be the case this time around.

Georges St. Pierre fights out of Greg Jackson's Submission Fighting Camp in Albequerque, New Mexico, and at only 28 years old, he's already considered by most to be one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world. His career record is 18-2, including 8 wins by TKO/KO and 5 more by submission. His lone losses came to Matt Hughes, and the now notorious first title defense against Matt Serra. He's avenged both those losses (beating Hughes twice), as well as defeating Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Frank Trigg, Karo Parysian, and BJ Penn twice. The fight against Alves at UFC 100 will Be Georges' 15th inside The Octagon.

St. Pierre is widely recognized as one of the most diversely talented mixed martial artists fighting today. Initially, he relied mostly on his striking, including his background as a black belt in Kyokushin Karate, but has continually developed other aspects of his game, including a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and most recently an unprecedented ability as a wrestler. Despite not having any background in wrestling while developing as a fighter, St. Pierre is now thought to possess the most effective wrestling in MMA. He has recently shown the ability to dictate where a fight goes with such top level wrestlers as Matt Hughes, Josh Koshcheck, and Jon Fitch, both taking them down at will, as well as stuffing their takedown attempts. Most consider St. Pierre as the best pure athlete in the UFC, and it'll take his diverse abilities to be able to stop Alves in this fight.

Common Opponents:

Alves and St. Pierre actually have an extensive list of common opponents to draw analysis from. Each has fought Josh Koshcheck, Matt Hughes, Jon Fitch, and Karo Parysian at some point in the past. Alves has a record of 3-1 against the group, while St. Pierre is 5-1 against them. Taking a look at each competitor, both men beat Koscheck by unanimous decision, with both essentially dominanting him throughout the fight. Alves did it with strikes, while St. Pierre utilized his wrestling for the most part. St. Pierre beat Parysian by unanimous decision in his UFC debut back in January of 2004, while Alves stopped him early in the 2nd round with strikes in April of 08. Jon Fitch was able to get past Alves with a late 2nd round TKO in June of 06, while GSP dominated Fitch completely for 5 straight rounds in August of last year. Finally, Alves caught Hughes with a flying knee and finished him with strikes early in the 2nd round of their UFC 85 fight last June, while GSP has a more complicated past with him. St. Pierre's first career loss came by way of a Matt Hughes armbar with just one second left in the first round of their title fight at UFC 50 in October, 2004. GSP had been winning the round, but make a critical mistake and was caught by Hughes. The two fought again for the title at UFC 65 in November, 2006, and this time GSP caught Hughes with a head kick in the 2nd round and followed it up with punches to capture his first title. The rubber match in the series was for the interim welterweight title at UFC 79 and this time it was St. Pierre catching Hughes with the armbar at the end of Rd. 2 to capture his second title.

So what can we learn from all that? Well, we know both of them faired pretty well, but I think the slight edge has to go to St. Pierre, as most of his fights were against those guys when they were on top of their game. Not to mention a few of those were title fights in his case as well. Clearly both of them fair well against wrestlers for the most part however.

Prediction:

It's no secret that I'm a huge GSP fan, but this fight has me more worried than any of his I can recall in the past. Alves is no joke and will give St. Pierre a huge test. Both possess tremendous striking ability, but the edge goes to Alves, mostly because he has more finishing power than GSP does. St. Pierre is an incredible wrestler, but so far Alves, while not known for wrestling at all, has been able to neutralize some of the best wrestlers in the weight class, though St. Pierre did the same. The question will be whether or not Alves can use his massive size and strength to keep GSP from dragging him down like he's done to so many others. St. Pierre's best bet is to try and smother Alves on the ground, much like he did recently to BJ Penn. Ground him and frustrate him, neutralizing his striking ability. Easier said than done of course, but I think St. Pierre is one of the few who can manage it. The longer this fight goes, it has to favor GSP, as he's been in many 5 round fights, while Alves has rarely gone the distance in 3 rounders. Also, Alves has to make a huge weight cut which could suck his energy too. My prediction is that St. Pierre finds a way to avoid Alves' strikes early on and stays out of danger, ground and pounding his way to a TKO victory in the 4th round.

Frank Mir (Interim Champion) vs. Brock Lesnar (Champion) - Heavyweight Championship:

The main event for the evening is a rematch between Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar, but this time the UFC Heavyweight title is on the line. Mir was able to defeat Lesnar in Brock's first UFC fight via submission, but took plenty of damage in a short period of time before doing so. The rematch should be an interesting one, with neither man lacking confidence, and both coming in with a belt around their waist.

Frank Mir is 12-3 in his career and is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion as well as the current Interim Heavyweight Champ. 13 of his 15 fights have taken place within the confines of The Octagon, going all the way back to UFC 34 in November of 2001 for his debut. His losses aren't exactly all that impressive, as they came at the hands of Ian Freeman, Marcio Cruz, and Brandon Vera. On the other hand, he has some impressive wins under his belt, including breaking Tim Sylvia's arm with an armbar to win his first UFC title, Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera for the interim title most recently, and of course beating Lesnar the first time. Mir has certainly had his ups and downs during his career, going from being one of the most promising up and comers to virtually disappearing and then having a lackluster initial comeback. One thing is for sure though, he's one of the best submission experts the heavyweight division has ever seen.

After Mir won the title from Sylvia back at UFC 48 in June of 2004, he was in a serious motorcycle accident that shattered his leg. It was nearly 2 years later when he made his way back after battling problems with alcohol, prescription medications, and depression, and it was a very dissapointing return at that. Mir went 1-2 and looked like a shadow of his former self, including 2 quick first round TKO losses. As the story goes, his wife lit a fire under his ass, threatening to leave him if he didn't pull himself together, and beginning with his fight against Antoni Hardonk in 2007, we've seen the resurgenge of Frank Mir. He tapped out Hardonk early in the 1st round at UFC 74, then did the same against Lesnar at UFC 81, and finally, became the first man to stop Minotauro Nogueira with a TKO in the 2nd roudn to win at UFC 92. Mir seems to be back on top of his game, but hopefully he's prepared for a different Brock Lesnar the 2nd time around.

Brock Lesnar is a newcomer to the world of MMA, but his short career has included making quite a splash thus far. Lesnar is only 3-1, but already lays claim to the title of UFC Heavyweight Champion. His debut at UFC 81 in February of 2008 saw him take the fight to Frank Mir in a big way in the early going, rocking him with a right hand and pounding away at him on the ground. However, he got a little over anxious being in the semi-main event spotlight his first time out and got caught by the submission wizard with a kneebar. He returned at UFC 87 last August to take on MMA veteran Heath Herring. Lesnar rushed Herring out of the gate with a massive right hand that sent Herring sprawling to the mat. From there, it was 3 long rounds of Lesnar holding Herring on the ground and just pounding away on him, picking up the easy unanimous decision. Brock would then head to UFC 91 to face the legend, Randy Couture for the title. A great many people thought Lesnar was far from deserving of a chance at the title so quickly, but he certainly made the most of it. Rocking Couture with his fists, and eventually pounding away at him on the ground until he picked up the TKO win 3 minutes into the 2nd round, Lesnard walked out with the belt around his waist.

Lesnar has been a very polarizing figure thus far in the UFC. He had a built in fan base from his days in the WWE, and he also carried some of his brash showmanship along with him, which made many despise him. As already stated, many think he's been pushed too quickly, too soon, but he's grabbed the ball and ran with it thus far. He has legit credentials as a former NCAA wrestling champion, and if ever there were somebody deserving of the label of "freak", it's Lesnar. The man is absolutely massive, but possesses some explosive quickness and agility along with that size, making him nearly impossble to control. His fist look like large hams, and have proven themselves capable of massive damage in a short amount of time.

Strategy:

With them having already fought each other once, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what each wants to do here. While Mir has made claims of having the better stand up ability, I don't think he really wants to stand right in front of Lesnar in the least. Mir certainly showed much improved stand up striking against Nogueira, but Brock's head is a brick wall, and I don't think Mir could knock him out with a free shot to the chin 9 times out of 10. Lesnar on the other hand, could certainly end Mir's night with just one punch. Lesnar will also own a nearly 50 lb. weight advantage come fight time too. He cuts down to the limit of 285, but will probably fight closer to 300. Mir usually weighs in around 250 lbs. Lesnar is going to be tempted to go back to his instinct like he did in the first fight and take Mir down the first chance he gets, but this of course could be a tricky proposition. He has surely worked his submission defense greatly since the first go round, but he still runs the risk of Mir catching him while on the ground. On the other hand, holding people down and wearing them out is what Lesnar does best. He might be better off to try and stick to the feet and attempt to land a power shot instead.

Prediction:

Lots of questions marks presenst themself in this fight. Will Mir be focused and in shape like the last few fights, or will he revert to the old unmotivated, quick to gas Frank Mir? Has Brock improved his defense enough to keep Mir at bay and not have to worry about getting submitted while on the ground? Can Frank Mir endure an enslaught of Lesnar fists if he gets caught with a punch and knocked down? Ultimately, I think we'll see a much improved Lesnar from their first fight. He's had plenty of time to work on his skills and there is no question the determination is there. The man had money from pro wrestling, he's in the UFC because he's a competitor and legitimately likes to beat the hell out of people. Mir on the other hand, isn't likely to have improved significantly beyond what we've seen before and I seriously question his motivation level. I see Lesnar avoiding the submissions and pounding Mir on the ground much like the first go round, this time managing to get the TKO win when Mir can't take any more of a beating. Lesnar by TKO in the 2nd.

Full Card:

Pay Per View Fights:
Frank Mir (12-3) vs. Brock Lesnar (3-1)
Georges St. Pierre (18-2) vs. Thiago Alves (15-3)
Jon Fitch (18-3) vs. Paulo Thiago (11-0)
Dan Henderson (24-7) vs. Michael Bisping (18-1)
Yoshihiro Akiyama (12-1) vs. Alan Belcher (14-5)

Preliminary Bouts:
Mark Coleman (15-9) vs. Stephan Bonnar (13-5)
Mac Danzig (21-6-1) vs. Jim Miller (13-2)
Jon Jones (8-0) vs. Jake O'Brien (11-2)
Dong-Hyun Kim (11-0-1) vs. T.J. Grant (14-2)
C.B. Dollaway (11-2) vs. Tom Lawlor (6-2)
Matt Grice (9-2) vs. Shannon Gugerty (11-3)