It's time again for yet another UFC pay per view, this time it's UFC 99 taking place in Cologne, Germany. Just a reminder, since this card does take place in Germany, you can catch in on pay per view at both 3pm EST and again at 10pm EST on Saturday, June 13th. I've heard many say that this card isn't a particularly good one, but I'd have to disagree and say that the main card itself is one of the better ones we've seen in a while.

The main event between Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin promises to be full of action as both like to press forward. Cheick Kongo and Cain Velasquez has big implications in the heavyweight division. Mike Swick vs. Ben Saunders could move us towards the next contender at welterweight, while Marcus Davis and Dan Hardy's war of words and love of throwing bombs should make for another exciting fight. Finally, we have the UFC return of Mirko Cro Cop who has to have a good showing if he wants to stick around this time. For the sake of space and time, I'm only going to break down the two main event fights, but suffice it to say that I think this could be a very entertaining card heading into next month's blockbuster UFC 100.

Rich "Ace" Franklin vs. Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva - Catchweight: 195 lbs.

Both these fighters are heading in opposite directions as Franklin prepares to move back to the light heavyweight division, mostly because nobody wants to see him get killed by Anderson Silva again, while Wanderlei is heading down to 185 and the middleweight division. First, however, they're going to meet in the middle and fight at 195 lbs. This fight will doubtfully be boring, mostly because Silva is involved and he always presses the action. He's probably the most aggressive fighter in the world of MMA and has a tendency to either knockout his opponent or get knocked out. Franklin tends to be similar, but to a lesser degree. Both of them will certainly prefer to be on their feet however.

Rich Franklin brings a 24-4-1 record into this fight and most recently lost a very close split decision to Dan Henderson back at UFC 93. The fight was marred a bit by some accidental headbutts that opened up some nasty cuts on Franklin's head, as well as a late fight eye poke that Rich suffered. Overall, Rich has 4 losses, which include the one to Henderson, the two brutal KOs by Anderson Silva, and a long, long ago loss to Lyoto Machida, which suddenly doesn't look too bad either. Franklin lost a lot of his prestige after Silva destroyed him twice, but people forget that Rich was one of the best in the world heading into those fights. He beat Evan Tanner for a 2nd time at UFC 53 to capture the middleweight title and defended it twice before The Spider took it away. Franklin's wins are comprised of 13 by way of either KO or TKO and 9 via submission, though only one of those submission wins has come in the UFC. Only twice has Franklin gone to decision, winning the first two before the latest lost to Henderson.

Wanderlei Silva has a career mark of 32-9-1, with 1 No Contest, and has been on a clear slump over the last 3 years, going 1-4 in his last 5 fights. To be fair, those losses came at the hands of Mirko Cro Cop, Dan Henderson, Chuck Liddell, and Rampage Jackson, who are all elite level fighters. Losses earlier in his career also include Ricardo Arona, Mark Hunt, Tito Ortiz, and Vitor Belfort, again, all of which are well known fighters. Along the way, he's also beaten many top opponents, such as Arona, Rampage x2, Dan Henderson, and Sakuraba x2. Silva is a former Pride Middleweight (205 lbs) champ, which he defended 4 times, in addition to winning the 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix. However, his time in the UFC hasn't been such a success, thus far only beating Keith Jardine. His reputation as a ruthless striker who always presses the action makes him an opponent to always be feared, but he desperately needs a win at this point.

Common Opponents

I always like to take a look at any common opponents that two fighters have had before they do battle to try and gauge how they might fare against one another, and in this case, there is only one man that both have faced. Wanderlei Silva first beat Dan Henderson almost 9 years ago in December of 2000. Silva won a unanimous decision on that night, giving Henderson his first career loss. When the two would fight again, in February of 2007, it was for Silva's middleweight title. This time around Henderson knocked out Silva with a brutal left hook to become the first person to hold title's in 2 different weight classes in a major promotion. Franklin, as already mentioned, did battle with Henderson at UFC 93 in January of this year and lost a very close split decision. The first Silva/Henderson fight can kind of be thrown out in my opinion since it was nearly 9 years ago, and the later fight is much more indicative of where both fighters are at in their careers now. Franklin doesn't quite have the power of Henderson, but that's not to say he can't knock somebody out.

Of Interest

One of the major stories leading into this fight is that Anderson Silva called up Rich Franklin and invited him to come train with him prior to this fight. The reason this is of interest is because Anderson was a former training partner of Wanderlei's back at the Chute Boxe Academy in Brazil. It seems as though Anderson is not pleased with Wanderlei moving down to his weight class and decided to try and help Franklin gameplan to beat him. This may or may not help of course, but one thing that comes quickly to mind for me is the clinch game. It was Anderson Silva's Muay Thai clinch that helped him so completely destroy Franklin when they fought. If Anderson was able to help Franklin learn how to properly defend it, it would be very advantageous as Wanderlei posesses the same ability to throw brutal knees and elbows from that position.

Prediction

This is a tough one to pick for me because both guys really need the win. Right now, I like Rich Franklin's skills a little more as Wanerlei has been on a clear downswing in ability as of late. I expect them to stand and exchange in the early going, and of course either one could get caught and have a short night, but I think Franklin's defense is much tighter and if he can fend off Silva's onslaught in the early going, he should be able to take over and dictate the pace and place the fight occurs at. I see Franklin catching a very tired Silva late in the fight and following it up with strikes for a TKO victory.

Cheick Kongo vs. Cain Velasquez

This fight was set up on very short notice, as Kongo stepped up to replace an ill Heath Herring. The change wasn't made until May 20th, so Kongo only gets about 3 weeks to prepare for this fight. Kongo is looking to cement his spot as the next contender to the UFC Heavyweight title, while a win for Velasquez would certainly throw his name into the mix as well.

Cheick Kongo is a 34 year old native of Paris, France and has one of the most imposing figures in all of MMA. At 6'4 and somewhere around 235 lbs., the man looks like a wall of muscle, ready to kick your head off at any moment. Kongo is very adept at both Muay Thai and Kickboxing, which leads to him being one of the top strikers in the heavyweight division of the UFC. His career record is 14-4-1 and he's 7-2 in the UFC. He doesn't have the most distinguished list of opponents, but he has beaten Mirko Cro Cop and his current 3 fight TKO win streak was capped off most recently by beating Antoni Hardonk at UFC 97. His losses include a rather embarassing effort against the man he's replacing, Heath Herring at UFC 82, as well as a loss to Carmelo Marrero at UFC 64. As mentioned, Kongo has won his last 3 fights, all via TKO, with only the Hardonk fight making it into the 2nd round. A win would likely cement his place as the next heavyweight to get a shot at the title, once Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir decide who owns it at UFC 100.

Cain Velasquez is one of the most promising young heavyweights in the world. He comes into this fight with an umblemished 5-0 record, having won every one of his fights by TKO due to punches. Velasquez is just 26 years old and trains with American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California. His background includes being a 2 time All American in wrestling while at Arizona State University. While Cain is a wrestler first and foremost, he has proven himself to be a powerful striker as well, as I mentioned, finishing all 5 of his pro fights via stoppages due to strikes. Virtually everybody speaks of this guy as being one of the most well rounded fighters in the division and the expectations for his career are sky high. He really hasn't fought anybody too notable as of yet and his last fight against Dennis Stojnic at Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens was his first to make it past the first round. This will be by far the biggest test of his career thus far and a win could catapult him right to the top of the UFC's heavyweight ranks.

Strategy

Since these guys have no common opponents, I'll take a look at the strategies likely to be employed in this fight. Kongo is a striker first and foremost and possesses pretty vicious Muay Thai skills for a guy his size. Kongo's glaring weakness early on in his UFC career was his ground game as he has been held down with relative ease on more than one occasion. It's clearly something he's worked on however as he was able to keep Mirko Cro Cop grounded and beat away on him for 3 rounds in their fight. Still, I think there is little doubt that Kongo would much prefer to stay on his feet in this fight and try and pick apart Velasquez with his superior striking skills.

Velasquez also has pretty solid striking and I get the feeling he'll want to test himself on his feet with Kongo in the early going. This might not be the smartest strategy, but it surely hasn't stopped guys in the past from trying it. Cain's best chance in my opinion is to use his dominant wrestling to get Kongo on the ground and keep him there. He should grind away on him with strikes from the top and work for a ground and pound stoppage. It's my opinion that Velasquez has the ability to dictate where this fight goes and that he should use that advantage, I'm just not so sure he will. He's clearly very confident in himself and as a young guy in the business, I won't be surprised at all if he trys to bang it out.

Prediction

As I just mentioned, the outcome of this fight is going to be determined by where it's fought. If Velasquez decides to make it a ground war, he should stay in control, while if it stays on the feet, I think Kongo is the better striker and will do more damage. Either way, I'm expecting this fight to go the distance and end up in a decision, so it's just a matter of where they fight. My guess is it mostly stays standing and Kongo outpoints Velasquez with cleaner, more damaging strikes.

Other Fights

As I mentioned in the opening, there are some other intriguing fights on the main card of this show, including Mike Swick (13-2) vs. Ben Saunders (7-0) in a battle of potential #1 contenders for the welterweight title. Marcus Davis (16-4) and Dan Hardy (21-6) have had an interesting war of words leading up to their fight, and both of those guys love to throw, so it should be explosive. Finally, Mirko Cro Cop (24-6-2, 1NC) makes his return to The Octagon in a virtual must win situation. He was given a one fight deal by Dana White to try and redeem his previous poor performance when he went 1-2 while in the UFC. He's gone 2-0 along with a no contest since leaving and returns to fight Mostapha Al-Turk (6-4) who was last seen getting destroyed by Cheick Kongo at UFC 92. Cro Cop seems to have fully recovered from some health problems centering around his knee and will hopefully be back in his previous form for this go round.

Full Fight Card

Main Card Fights:
Wanderlei Silva (32-9-1) vs. Rich Franklin (24-4)
Cain Velasquez (5-0) vs. Cheick Kongo (14-4-1)
Spencer Fisher (22-4) vs. Caol Uno (25-11-4)
Mike Swick (13-3) vs. Ben Saunders (8-1-2)
Marcus Davis (16-5) vs. Dan Hardy (21-6)
Mirko Cro Cop (24-6-2) vs. Mustapha Al-Turk (6-4)

Undercard Fights:
Terry Etim (12-2) vs. Justin Buchholz (8-2)
Dale Hartt (6-1) vs. Dennis Siver (13-6)
Stefan Struve (16-3) vs. Denis Stojnic (5-2)
Peter Sobotta (8-1) vs. Paul Taylor (9-5-1)
Paul Kelly (8-1) vs. Roli Delgado (6-5-1)

Sometimes it seems as though there is a UFC show every other week, but the gap between this upcoming pay per view and the last seems like it's the longest we've seen in quite some time. The UFC returns to Montreal for UFC 97 this Saturday night when perhaps the best pound for pound fighter in MMA returns to the Octagon when Anderson Silva faces off with Thales Leites. Additionally, the other big fight on the card includes Chuck Liddell taking on Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in a battle of two men that were once considered the most dangerous strikers at light heavyweight.

While there aren't any other elite level names on the card, Cheick Kongo returns to action, along with several fighters from the last season of The Ultimate Fighter. Also back in the Octagon after a very long absence is David "The Crow" Loiseau. I'm going to focus on breaking down the two main fights, starting with Liddell vs. Rua.

Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua - Light Heavyweight

Chuck Liddell sports a career record of 21-6 and is perhaps the most recognizeable face in all of MMA. Liddell is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champ, who successfully defended his title on 4 straight occassions, a record which Anderson Silva will attempt to break on this same card. Things have not been so great for Liddell as of late though, losing 3 of his last 4 fights, though to be fair, the competition has been stiff. He lost his title to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, was next defeated by top contender Keith Jardine, beat Wanderlei Silva in a highly publicized bout, then lost to now champion Rashad Evans. Liddell is now 39 years old and his carreer seems to be on a serious decline, but he's hoping to get some of his luster back in this fight.

Chuck is still regarded as one of the most dangerous knockout artists in the business and 14 of his 21 victories have come by way of KO/TKO. The list of who he has beaten is a who's who of the light heavyweight division including Randy Couture (2x), Tito Ortiz (2x), Renato Sobral (2x), Vitor Belfort, and of course Wanderlei as mentioned above. Liddell is definitely a striker first and foremost, but he also has a background in wrestling. He tends to use that background to keep fights standing rather than taking down opponents however. Liddell has no doubt lost some of his speed with age, and it seems to cost him his ability to stay out of the way of his opponent's strikes. He needs to be the first to land a true power shot or his chance at winning diminishes greatly.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua was at one time thought to be perhaps the most versatile and feared fighter at 205 lbs. However, a series of injuries and very unimpressive performances since he came to the UFC have left most questioning his abilities. Rua was quite dominant during his time in the Pride organization in Japan and great things were expected once he moved to the US based Ultimate Fighting Championship. Rua has a career record of 17-3, losing only to Renato Sobral, Mark Coleman, and Forrest Griffin in his carreer, none of whom are slouches. Like Liddell, he's beaten an impressive list of fighters in his young career as well. Rampage Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Kevin Randleman, and Mark Coleman in a recent rematch have all fallen at Shogun's hands.

Rua is significantly younger than Liddell at just 27, but injuries have definitely taken their toll. A dislocated elbow and a twice ruptured ACL likely have a lot to do with Rua's problems as of late, as do the different rules employed by the UFC as compared to Pride. Kicks and knees to the head of a downed opponent are not allowed within the UFC, and that was a method of victory utilized multiple times by Rua. The biggest criticism of Rua so far in his time in the UFC has been his cardio conditioning. In both of his fights he has clearly run of gas in the early going and looked nothing short of slow and lathargic late in the fight. Liddell is not particularly noted for his great conditioning, but if Rua has nothing left late in this fight, Liddell has the ability to pick him apart with his strikes.

Common Opponents

I always like to take a look at common opponents to try and guage how two fighters might do against one another, and Liddell and Rua have many in common. In fact, 4 men have fought both fighters during the course of their career. Renato Sobral, Quinton Jackson, Alistair Overeem, and Kevin Randleman appear on both men's fight cards, with mostly success for both parties. Overeem was beaten once by Liddell and twice by Rua, all coming via KO/TKO due to strikes. Randleman was knocked out by Liddell in 2001 and submitted to a Rua kneebar 5 years later. Liddell beat Sobral twice, both by way of strikes, while Rua's first career loss was at the hands of a guillotine by Sobral in just his 5th fight. Rua beat Rampage Jackson in the first round of Pride's 2005 Middleweight (205 lb.) Grand Prix on his way to winning the tournament. Rua dominated Jackson throughout the first 5 minutes of the fight before getting the TKO win with soccer kicks. On the other hand, Liddell's personal kryptonite comes in the form of Rampage. First losing to Jackson in the 2003 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix when his corner through in the towel in the 2nd round to stop a beating. The much anticipated rematch came in the UFC in 2007, when Rampage KO'd Liddell quickly to win the Light Heavyweight belt.

Looking simply at these common opponents, Rua would seem to have the advantage. He lost to Sobral, but it was so early in his career, it can almost be forgotten. On the other hand, he handled Jackson with ease while Liddell had no answer for Rampage on 2 separate occassions, 4 years apart. Of course, fighting each other is completely different than having fought the same opposition, so perhaps the fights against Jackson aren't so relevant. This is why they fight though right?

Prediction

This fight was originally scheduled to take place over a year ago, but injuries to both fighters put them on separate paths until this weekend. 2 or 3 years ago, this would have been one of the most important fights in MMA history, but due to the recent poor performances by both parties, this fight is now more about sticking around in the UFC limelight. Rua is the more versatile of the fighters, possessing a black belt in BJJ in addition to his obvious striking abilities, but his complete lack of conditioning in the past 2 fights is obviously cause for concern. He's got 12 years on Liddell, but you wouldn't know that by watching his UFC matches. Liddell is the heavier hitter of the two and likely can control where the fight goes with his wrestling ability, which likely means they'll stay on their feet.

As far as we know, Rua comes into this fight injury free and better have his cardio where it needs to be. If he doesn't, Liddell is going to pick him apart with punches and eventually land one that puts the lights out. Rua is aggressive by nature, while Liddell likes to hang back and counter strike whenever possible. Chuck's speed is a concern now though, so if he can't maintain quick defense, Rua can hit enough shots to put him down, and I don't like Liddell's chances on the ground. It's probably an upset, but I think Rua finally shows some flashes of what made him famous and takes the fight to Chuck. Liddell just isn't what he used to be and maybe this fight will finally get him to retire while he still has some of his dignity remaining. I'll take Rua via TKO in the 2nd round.

Anderson "The Spider" Silva vs. Thales Leites - UFC Middleweight Championship

To anybody that pays any attention to Mixed Martial Arts, Anderson Silva needs no introduction. He has established himself as perhaps the best pound for pound fighter on the planet and is attempting to defend his title for the 5th time, a feat which has never been done in UFC history. Silva has a career record of 23-4, with 9 consecutive victories, 8 of which are in the UFC. The native of Curitiba, Brazil's 4 losses are a bit misleading even. He lost his first professional fight via split decision back in 2000, and his next loss came by way of a triangle choke while in Pride in 2003. Ryo Chonan defeated Silva for a third time with perhaps the most insane submission in MMA history, as he caught him with a flying scissor heel hook at Pride Shockwave on New Year's eve of 2004 that has to be seen to be believed (video below). Finally his last loss came at the hands of the UFC's Yushin Okami due to a disqualification for a kick (which knocked Okami out) that was deemed illegal. Okami was on his knees at the time, while Silva was flat on his back, and Silva had dominated the fight up until that point.



Since debuting in the UFC, Silva has not lost and in fact, has dominated virtually every fight he's been in. He destroyed Rich Franklin to win the Middlweight Title and again in the subsequent rematch. He's also submitted Dan Henderson and jiu-jitsu specialist Travis Lutter along the way, showing his versatility. Simply put, Silva is the most devastating striker in the game right now, showing pin point accuracy as well as the power needed to knock out his opposition. Add to that his black belt in BJJ earned from the Nogueira brothers and you have a walking weapon on your hand. Silva has even begun to bounce back and forth between the 185 and 205 lb. weight classes due to a lack of competition.

Thales Leites debuted in the UFC in 2006 and after dropping his first fight, he has reeled off 5 straight wins. His overall record stands at 14-1, with the lone loss coming by way of a unanimous decision loss to Martin Kampann at The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale. 8 of the 14 wins Leites has earned have come by way of submissions, which would be why he is known as a BJJ specialist. Leites hasn't fought much in the way of elite competition so far in his young career, but does hold victories over UFC regulars Pete Sell, Drew McFedries, and Nate Marquardt.

Common Opponents

Anderson Silva and Thales Leites do have one opponent in common, that being the aforementioned Nate Marquardt. Both fighters hold victories over the common opponent, but how they got those wins are extremely different. In his first title defense (the Lutter bout was non-title due to Lutter not making weight), Silva finished off Marquardt in the first round like he has so many others, earning the TKO win due to punches with just 10 seconds left in the round. Leites beat Nate via split decision, but only due to multiple penalties on Marquardt's side of things. Marquardt lost a point in both the 2nd and 3rd rounds due to illegal strikes and still had enough points to win on at least one judge's scorecard. Without the penalties, Marquardt surely would have won the match.

Prediction

Since this is a title fight, it's scheduled for 5 rounds. Even though Silva has been in plenty of championship bouts, he has never come close to going that deep into a fight. In fact, his last fight against Patrick Cote was the first time Silva had gone past the 2nd round in the UFC. Speaking of the Cote fight, Silva's behavior was odd at best in that match as he danced around endlessly, seemingly showboating rather than attempting to win. The fight was ended very early in the 3rd round as Cote had suffered an injury and was unable to continue. Silva apologized for his behavior afterwards and said he was trying to put on a show, but that wouldn't happen again in the future. Essentially I think he was bored with destroying everybody and wanted to try something new.

Leites is going to be overwhelmed in so many ways in this fight, it could get ugly very quickly. This will be the first time Leites has fought in the main event of a pay per view, his first title fight, and his first fight against an opponent with any real name value at all. Leites is a competent striker but is not even close to the level that Silva possesses, so his only real prayer is to take this one to the ground. Even there, it's not safe as Silva has demonstrated his BJJ abilities in the past and he's at least as good, if not better than Leites in that area as well. I really don't think this fight ever makes it that far though as Silva is just going to pick the kid apart with his strikes like everybody else. Look for some huge knees and a few punches to crumple Leites in the first and Silva will finish him with a TKO win.

The last time the UFC went to Montreal, the crowd as absolutely amazing and it was one of the loudest fight cards I've ever seen. Of course, hometown hero Georges St. Pierre was in the main even that night and that probably had something to do with it, but I expect another hot crowd this Saturday. UFC 97 is only available on Pay Per View and begins at 10pm EST on Saturday, 4/18.

Full Fight Card:
Main Card Bouts:
Anderson Silva (23-4) vs. Thales Leites (14-1)
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (17-3) vs. Chuck Liddell (21-6)
Luiz Cane (9-1) vs. Steve Cantwell (7-1)
Cheick Kongo (13-4-1) vs. Antoni Hardonk (8-4)
Brian Stann (6-1) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (16-8-1)

Preliminary Bouts:
Nathan Quarry (10-3) vs. Jason MacDonald (21-11)
Denis Kang (31-11-1) vs. Xavier Fouka-Pokum (20-9)
David Loiseau (18-8) vs. Ed Herman (16-7)
T.J. Grant (13-2) vs. Ryo Chonan (15-9)
Mark Bocek (6-2) vs. David Bielkheden (13-6)
Matt Wiman (11-5) vs. Sam Stout (13-5-1)
Eliot Marshall (7-3) vs. Vinny Magalhaes (6-4)