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)

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)

It's time once again for the UFC to grace our presence with another pay per view card. UFC 98 takes place this Saturday night in Las Vegas and features a rather lackluster card to be quite honest. Beyond the co-main events, not much of consequence is happening on this card other than a bunch of fomer Ultimate Fighter cast members doing battle on the undercard. The event is headlined by a Light Heavyweight title fight between champion Rashad Evans and top contender Lyoto Machida. Additionally, former welterweight champions Matt Serra and Matt Hughes will finally do battle after a long standing grudge. I'm going to take a look at those two fights, so let's get started with the Serra/Hughes fight.

Matt Hughes vs. Matt "The Terra" Serra

Matt Hughes has been in the business for a very long time now and is widely recognized as the most dominant welterweight champion in UFC history. The fight against Matt Serra will be his 21st inside the Octagon and all indications are that it will also be his last. Hughes is a lock for the Hall of Fame and with the announcement that 2 more members will be added the weekend of UFC 100, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Hughes is one of them. Hughes' record stands at 42-7 but with 3 losses in his last 4 fights, injury problems, and the fact that he is now 35 years old, retirement surely seemson the horizon. After losing his last bout with Thiago Alves and tearing both his MCL and PCL in the process, Hughes commented that he had one last fight in him, that being this one against Matt Serra.

The list of men Hughes has beaten is literally a who's who of the welterweight division and his losses didn't exactly come to slouches either. Dennis Hallman (2x), BJ Penn, and Georges St. Pierre (2x) are among the very few to have taken victories over Hughes. A 2 time champ who successfully defended his title on 7 different occasions, Hughes would like to walk away from the sport with one last win, particularly over Serra after their ongoing war of words during the past 2 years. The two were coaches on Season 6 of The Ultimate Fighter and constantly exchanged words and generally showed a great deal of dislike for one another. The scheduled fight after the season was supposed to take place in late 2007, but Serra was forced to withdraw due to a severe back injury. St. Pierre stepped in as a replacement and tapped out Hughes to win an interim title. Serra recovered from his injuries and then faced St. Pierre to unify the titles, also losing. Hughes took the fight with Alves and hurt his knee in the process, thus pushing this fight back nearly 17 months until now.

Matt Serra is certainly an interesting story if nothing else. Serra sports a career record of just 9-5, but has a UFC Welterweight Title reign on his resume. Making his debut back at UFC 31 in 2001, Serra lost to Shonie Carter via the now infamous spinning backfist that has graced highlight reels throughout the decade. Going 4-4 in the UFC, Serra disappeared after a loss to Karo Parisyan at UFC 53, but resurfaced as a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback. That season, the show was comprised of former UFC fighters who had left the organization for various reasons, with a title shot promised to the winner of each weight class. Serra would go on to win the welterweight division by beating Chris Lytle in the Finale.

In one of the most surprising moments in UFC history, Serra cashed in his title shot at UFC 69 and defeated Georges St. Pierre to take home the belt. Serra would later lose in a rematch however. Since his return to the Octagon, Serra has only had those 3 fights I just mentioned in a nearly 2.5 year time span. A herniated disc forced him out of a fight with Matt Hughes after their stint coaching on The Ultimate Fighters 6th season, but they will finally due battle this weekend. Serra made it well known that he was not a fan of Hughes in the least while they were both on the show, and words have been exchanged ever since. Besides the obvious victory over St. Pierre, Serra's only other significant UFC win came against Yves Edwards at UFC 33. In addition to the St. Pierre and Parisyan losses, Din Thomas and BJ Penn have also taken decision victories from Serra.

Common Opponents

As always, I like to look at any common opponents two fighters have in their past as a way to try and guage how they might fair against one another. In the case of Hughes and Serra, several of those exist. Serra originally fought as a lightweight in the UFC, but since returning has moved up to the 170 lb. weight class. These two have a combined 5 fights against Georges St. Pierre as well as matchups against Chris Lytle and BJ Penn in their past. Serra lost a unanimous decision to BJ Penn back at UFC 39 in 2002 while Hughes also lost his first bout with Penn at UFC 46. That loss, by way of rear naked choke, cost Hughes the end of his first title reign after 5 successful defenses and also ended his 13 fight win streak. Hughes would get his revenge however, defeating BJ Penn via TKO at UFC 63 to retain the title he regained after Penn vacated it by leaving the UFC. Serra defeated Chris Lytle in the finals of TUF 4, winning by a majority decision in what was a very close bout. Lytle's next fight would come against Hughes at UFC 68 where he lost by way of unanimous decision. Hughes had a definitively easier time against Lytle than did Serra.

The fights against GSP perhaps tell the best story, since each fighter has dealt with him multiple times. Hughes first fought him for a vacant welterweight title at UFC 50, ultimately winning by armbar with just 1 second remaining in the first round. St. Pierre held the upper hand through the first round, but made a simple mistake which Hughes was a quick to capitalize on. The two would battle again at UFC 65, this time St. Pierre taking away Hughes' title via TKO in the 2nd round. St. Pierre would turn around and face Serra in his next fight at UFC 69 for his first title defense. Serra earned the shot via his TUF 4 victory and shocked the world by catching St. Pierre with some punches in the first and finishing him via TKO. The win was very surprising as GSP was considered the best in the weight class by far at that point and Serra wasn't expected to give him a challenge. It seemed as though St. Pierre underestimated the opposition and came in unprepared, costing him the belt. When Serra was unable to defend the title vs. Hughes due to injury, GSP filled in and defeated Hughes for an interim title via a submission win at UFC 79. Serra and St. Pierre would then meet again to unify the belts at UFC 83 in St. Pierre's hometown of Montreal. GSP easily put away Serra in the rematch, winning via TKO in the 2nd round.

When it comes to common opponents, Serra sports a record of 2-3, while Hughes went 3-3, however I'd say that Hughes had the more significant and more impressive victories in those matchups.

Predictions

I'd like to think I'm not biased in analyzing this fight, simply because I quite honestly don't care for either fighter in the least. That being said, Hughes is undeniably one of the UFC's all time best and through his lengthy career has really only lost to elite level opposition. Serra on the other hand has had a very mundane career, highlighted only by a title win, which many would call a fluke. They say anybody can win a title, but you're not a champion until you defend it, and Serra was never able to do that. If it weren't for that title win, Serra would likely have been dismissed from the UFC for a second time by now.

In terms of abilities, Serra has the advantage in jiu jitsu as a black belt under Renzo Gracie, and perhaps a small advantage in terms of punching power on the feet. Hughes is a vastly superior wrestler and probably has the better all around striking at this point. Serra likes to throw bombs from in close and try to catch his opponent, while Hughes doesn't swing for the fences, but stays in the face of his opposition, looking for an opportunity to take them to the mat and work the ground and pound that he's become famous for. Hughes' losses have all come by way of a finish, he's never lost a decision. Serra on the other hand has only finished 2 of his UFC fights, winning the rest via decision. This tells me Serra is not an aggressive fighter, and I don't think that strategy will hold up against Hughes.

Hughes wants to go out of the UFC on top of his game, and will look to take Serra to the mat at the first chance and pound away on him. Serra is very good from his back at working for submissions, but I expect Hughes to defend well and not give him much of an opening. I'd be surprised if this fight ended in any manner other than a TKO victory for Hughes. I think they'll take their time feeling each other out in the first, so I say it goes to the 2nd, but Hughes walks away with one last win.

"Sugar" Rashad Evans (UFC Light Heavyweight Champion) vs. Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida

The main event for UFC 98 features the first every title match between two undefeated fighters. Rashad Evans enters this fight at 13-0-1, fresh off a TKO victory over Forrest Griffin to capture the Light Heavyweight Title at UFC 92 in December. Evans was originally expected to fight Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 100 after Jackson defeated Keith Jardine at UFC 96, however the Frank Mir/Brock Lesnar title fight had to be moved from this card back to UFC 100 due to injuries. Since Jackson had surgery of his own, he was unable to fight at UFC 98 and Lyoto Machida was given the opportunity instead, though Rampage is expected to face the winner in an upcoming show.

Evans has yet to taste defeat as a professional, which includes 9 fights in the UFC, the first of which was a victory for The Ultimate Fighter 2's title in the heavyweight division. Evans promptly moved to his more natural weight class of 205 lbs. and has had great success since. Amongst the wins he has amassed, fighters such as Stephan Bonnar, Michael Bisping, and a shocking knockout of Chuck Liddell are included on the list. The lone blemish on Evans' record comes in the form of a draw against former Light Heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz at UFC 73. A close fight throughout, Ortiz was penalized a point for grabbing the fence multiple times, which ultimately lead to the scorecards resulting in a draw.

Evans was often criticized early in his career for not finishing fights, instead electing to use his wrestling skills to hold down his opponents and earn decision victories. He has changed that opinion in recent fights however as 4 of his last 6 fights ended in KO (3) or TKO (1) victories. Amongst those were a highlight reel head kick KO of Sean Salmon as well as a huge right hand to the jaw of Chuck Liddell, both of which won Knockout of the Night awards for Evans. With this fight, Evans attempts to do what nobody else has been able to as of late, defend the Light Heavyweight title. The previous two champs have each lost in their first defense, as the ultra competitive division continues to shuffle around.

Lyoto Machida has stepped into his own as of late and is finally being recognized as a top contender in the 205 lb. division. "The Dragon" sports an undefeated record of 14-0 including all 6 of his UFC fights. Amongst those he's defeated are Stephan Bonnar, Rich Franklin, BJ Penn, Tito Ortiz, and Thiago Silva. As one of the few fighters who have successfully transitioned the art of Karate into MMA, his style has often come under fire in the past. Machida is known for constantly moving away from opponents in his fights, but many fail to realize he also strikes very successfully when he does move in. In fact, Machida has never even lost a round on a scorecard during his time in the UFC. While he may not be the flashiest fighter out there, his style has certainly proven an effective one.

His early career victories over notable names are interesting ones. He defeated Bonnar via TKO due to a stoppage caused by a cut. Rich Franklin lost via TKO as well, that one due to a head kick followed by punches. The BJ Penn fight is an interesting one, as it was an open weight contest. Machida weighed 215 lbs. for the fight while Penn was just 187 lbs. Machida took the unanimous decision in that matchup. Since coming to the UFC, Lyoto has 4 unanimous decision victories, including a very one sided battle against Tito Ortiz, which sent Ortiz packing from the UFC. Machida was impressive with an anaconda choke over Sokoudjou at UFC 79, but even more impressive in winning Knockout of the Night honors with his KO via punch of Thiago Alves with one second left in the first round at UFC 94.

Common Opponents

Surprisingly, Evans and Machida already have 3 common opponents in their relatively young careers. Machida fought Stephan Bonnar in Brazil back in 2003, winning due to stoppage caused by a cut as I mentioned earlier, while Evans battled Bonnar at UFC Fight Night 5 in 2006, winning by way of majority decision. In April, 2006, Evans was victorious over Sam Hoger via split decision in his 2nd UFC fight. Machida faced Hoger in his Octagon debut at UFC 67 in February of '07. The most recent opponent the two have in common is also the most high profile name of the bunch. Evans battled Tito Ortiz to a draw as I mentioned above at UFC 73 in July of 2007, while Machida easily outpointed Ortiz en route to a unanimous decision in Ortiz' last UFC fight at UFC 84 in May of '08.

Machida's victories over similar competition were much more decisive than those of Rashad Evans, but this is one of those cases where it's hard to make a case that it matters heading into their fight. Evans has developed a great deal since most of those fights took place, earning his place as one of the UFC's elite and as a champion. While Machida has also improved, he was probably at a higher level of ability at the time of his fights to begin with.

Predictions

I've been thinking about this fight all week and I've really struggled to come to a conclusion thus far. Both have been criticized heavily in the past for not having exciting fights and being content with picking up decision victories. However, both have also begun to prove they can finish fights as of late, Evans in particular with several dominant knockouts in recent fights. Both men excel at striking, wich Machida being very tactical and picking his opposition apart with kicks and punches. Evans tends to just let his hands go, throwing punches with a nice flow and possessing deceptive power.

Evans is a wrestler by nature and has the ability to dictate where the fight goes because of that, often defaulting back to his wrestling skills if nothing else is working for him. Machida has some background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as he trains with the Black House camp in Rio, alongside Anderson Silva and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Both fighters like to counter strike and capitalize on the mistakes of their opponents, which means we could be in for a very boring fight. I expect a lot of cautious exchanges of striking, which over the course of a 5 round title fight will likely seem pretty dull. I'm going with a unanimous decision victory for Machida, with a lot of boos from those in attendance along the way. Hopefully, their new found knockout power will prove me wrong though and we'll see one of them finish off the other.

Full Fight Card:

Main Card Fights:
-Rashad Evans (16-0-1) vs. Lyoto Machida (14-0)
-Matt Hughes (42-7) vs. Matt Serra (11-5)
-Dan Miller (11-1) vs. Chael Sonnen (21-10-1)
-Sean Sherk (33-3-1) vs. Frankie Edgar (9-1)
-Drew McFedries (7-5) vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam (20-10)

Under Card Fights:
-Brock Larson (25-2) vs. Chris Wilson (14-5)
-Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-3) vs. Brandon Wolff (7-3)
-Tim Hague (9-1) vs. Patrick Barry (4-0)
-Phillipe Nover (7-1) vs. Kyle Bradley (13-6)
-Andre Gusmao (5-1) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (17-8-1)
-George Roop (10-5) vs. David Kaplan (3-3)

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)

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.