I debated the third person title. I promise my ego isn’t that big, even though I’m a prophet of MMA.
I’ll give some detail on the main card and some other interesting fights (though there aren’t very many).
Matt Hughes vs. Thiago Alves
The fight is going to the ground. Matt Hughes is too good a wrestler, and Alves’ recent failure to make weight has led me to question his conditioning. If people think that size is going to be an issue, Alves isn’t the first guy to come in over weight, hoping to bang with Matt Hughes. Those who remember, remember the fight with Joe Riggs, and those who remember, remember how it ended. I expect this to end similarly.
Matt Hughes by submission, round one
Michael Bisping vs. Jason Day
Bisping is supposed to win this fight, and I think he will. He’s being brought in as a way to get the British fans excited, and I think he’ll do that. He’ll probably beat Day in his bread and butter: the stand-up. There has been a lot of interesting talk about Bisping challenging Silva, and if he wins in the first round, I think that he’ll have a delusion of power and authority, fighting that high up on a card in a country where he’s treated like the greatest. If he does get his way, he’ll lose to Silva, but I think he wins at UFC 85.
Bisping by knockout/TKO, late round one or early round two
Marcus Davis vs. Mike Swick
Hard to say if Swick has the boxing chops to stand with Davis, who’s an accomplished boxer. I think he does, and I think he’ll come out aggressive. I thought about the possibility of a war between the two, but I think that that’s unlikely. I expect Swick to remind us that he’s a bigger, stronger fighter, because he feels he needs to make a showing now. Expect fireworks and there’s a good chance Davis could catch him, so be on guard. This is the one fight I’m not sure about calling, but I’m giving it to Swick.
Swick by TKO, round two
Nate Marquardt vs. Thales Leites
I don’t think that highly of Thales Leites. It’s not that I think he’s a bad fighter, it’s just that I don’t see him improving as much as I think he should. I’m taking Marquardt in this fight by Unanimous Decision. It might be exciting, but I don’t really think it will be.
Marquardt by Unanimous Decision
Brandon Vera vs. Fabricio Werdum
I think that Werdum is a very experienced fighter and has some good technical skills in the standup, but he’s not as good as Vera standing up. That said, I think he knows that, and I think that Vera knows that he’s not as good as Werdum on the ground. I’m going with Fabricio by submission in this fight because I think he can clinch up and take this fight to the ground and finish on the ground. If he can’t get Vera down, I think Vera will knock him out, but Werdum is physically a lot bigger and much smarter in terms of translating his jiu-jitsu to MMA than Fabiano Scherner is.
Werdum by submission, round two
Martin Kampmann vs. Jorge Rivera
Kampmann by asswhup. Need I say more?
Kampmann by TKO, round one
Matt Wiman vs. Thiago Tavares
Tavares is a great grappler. Wiman is not. I think that this fight will end up on the ground and Tavares will take it from there.
Tavares by submission, round two
Roan Carniero vs. Kevin Burns
This has the potential to be an interesting fight. Burns is a well rounded guy and Carniero’s a great fighter. I think that Roan will win this one, but I hope that Burns makes a good showing, because I think he has some good potential and the welterweight division is lacking versatile fighters.
Roan Carneiro by submission, late in the fight
Luiz Cane vs. Jason Lambert
I think that Lambert’s one of the more underrated guys at 205. He was beating Gouveia when he go caught, and besides that his only UFC loss is to Rashad Evans, another stocky fighter like Lambert. I think that Lambert is one of those fireplugs who presents problems for people who think that they can just dance around, and unfortunately I expect Cane to try and use that gameplan.
Lambert by groundnpound TKO or submission, round two
Paul Taylor vs. Jess Liaudin
I’m going to have to say that I think Paul Taylor can keep this fight standing, and that I think he can beat Liaudin on the feet, and I think he’s supposed to do that, and it will make the British fans happy.
Taylor by knockout, round one
Antoni Hardonk vs. Eddie Sanchez
This is probably the easiest pick of the night for me. Hardonk will decimate Sanchez standing up. He’ll wreck the Manic Hispanic with leg kicks and combinations and finish early and devastatingly. I actually hope we get to see it, because it will be a fun KO.
Hardonk by knockout, hella quick
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June 7th, 2008 at 2:22am
Davis vs. Swick - Mike Swick over Marcus Davis? I sure do hope you’re wrong. I’m expecting big things out of Davis in this fight. He is currently riding an 11 fight win streak and I have trouble picturing Swick being the one to break that. I am one of the few that have never been impressed by Swick. For me, the “Swickotine” does not exactly help the situation either. Maybe if he had coined the “Swickoplata” or the “Swickster” things may be different. Who am I kidding - no they wouldn’t.
June 7th, 2008 at 9:09pm
Yea… about that above… scratch that. Swick seems like a good pick to me.