UFC 100- My Undercard Predictions

UFC 100 certainly has its share of exciting main card fights as evidenced by the two title bouts and what can be considered a #1 contenders bout between middleweights Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson. The undercard has a some bouts that could have made a main card of any other pay-per-view and could bring some serious fireworks and excitement come fight night. Here are my thoughts on those six fights.

Mark Coleman vs. Stephan Bonnar- Light Heavyweights:

Let’s face it Mark Coleman is 44 years old and hasn’t won a fight in almost three and a half years and that win was because Shogun Rua fell awkwardly and broke his arm. In his last bout which ironically was a rematch against Rua, Coleman showed his age right from the get go. He gassed extremely early and if it wasn’t for Shogun being in poor shape himself, Coleman would never have made it out of the first round. He did show a lot heart but not much else. Bonnar is coming off a loss to the up and coming Jon Jones at UFC 94. He had not fought in over a year due to injury and the rust showed, that’s not to say that Jones didn’t throw him around like a rag doll because he certainly did. With that being said, Coleman has a clear advantage in wrestling while Bonnar has better stand-up, better submissions and much better cardio. Oh year he also has age on his side as he is twelve years younger than Coleman. I don’t believe Bonnar will finish The Hammer but he will outlast him. Stephan Bonnar via unanimous decision.

Mac Danzig vs. Jim Miller- Lightweights:

I have never been a fan of Danzig, I just don’t see him do anything that is all that special. He won The Ultimate Fighter but he was so much more experienced than the rest of the contestants. He is currently on a two fight losing streak having been man handled by Clay Guida and then choked out by Josh Neer. Another loss and he will more than likely be shown the door, becoming the first Ultimate Fighter winner to be cut by the organization. I like Miller who along with brother Dan is a stud wrestler from New Jersey. He was on a eight fight winning streak until he ran into Grey Maynard at UFC 96. He is 13-2 in his career with his other loss coming to Frankie Edgar, at least when he loses he gets defeated by the best. His stand-up is good and I don’t see him having too much trouble here. Danizg is tough to finish as he has only lost one fight by knockout and one by submission so I see this one going to the judges. Jim Miller via unanimous decision.

Jon Jones vs. Jake O’Brien- Light Heavyweights:

I don’ t believe you could have two fighters who are more opposite than these two. O’Brien is a boring wrestler content on doing just enough to eek out a win while Jones is a dynamic prospect who will throw everything but the kitchen sink at his opponents. When he was last seen in the octagon at UFC 94 Jones was throwing Bonnar around with a variety of suplexes and hitting him with spinning backfists and elbows that seemed to come out of nowhere. O’Brien made his transition down to 205lbs a successful one when he defeated Christian Wellisch on the same card. While O’Brien may be a bit more flexible at a lighter weight he does not possess the skills necessary to defeat a young stud like Jones. Jon Jones via unanimous decision.

Dong-Hyun Kim vs. T.J. Grant- Welterweights:

Unfortunately all I know about either man is what they have done inside the octagon, I do know that Grant is one hell of a submission fighter as he has 14 career victories with 12 of them coming by way of tapout. He made his octagon debut against Ryo Chonan at UFC 97 and came away with a split decision victory. Kim is currently 11-0 with a no decision which came in his bout against Karo Parisyan who was suspended shortly thereafter for having taken painkillers with no prescription. Kim is a tough Korean fighter who has knockout power in his hands, elbows and knees. He is a former training partner of UFC middleweight contender Yushin Okami and maybe a bit too much for the untested Grant. Kim via unanimous decision.

C.B. Dolloway vs. Tom Lawlor- Middleweights:

Here we have a match-up of two former collegiate wrestlers with Lawlor going to the University of Central Florida and Dolloway going to the University of Arizona where he wrestled alongside Ryan Bader and Cain Velasquez. I really have to give the edge to Dolloway here as I feel he has better all around skills than Lawlor. I think that with both fighters being wrestlers they will cancel wach other out in that area. Dolloway has knockout power and has under rated submission skills as evidenced by the Peruvian Neck Tie he used to finish off Jesse Taylor. I don’t see this one going the full three rounds. Dolloway via 2nd round TKO.

Matt Grice vs. Shannon Gugerty- Lightweights:

Grice came into the UFC undefeated and has since lost two of his three fights inside the octagon. Grice was a four time Oklahoma State wrestling champion and attended the University of Oklahoma. Unfortunately he suffered an auto accident and was forced to cut short his collegiate wrestling career. He holds a 9-2 career record with three wins by knockout, three by submission and three by decision. Gugerty is currently 11-3 and 1-1 in the UFC he has very good submissions as evidenced by his eight victories by tapout. Grice will obviously look to take the fight to the mat and he may find himself inside the spider’s web at that point. Gugerty via 2nd round submission.

One more day and UFC 100 will finally be upon us. I have been waiting for this day for months but it also signals just four short weeks until I attend UFC 101 in Philadelphia. This summer is going to be a good one for mixed martial arts fans and it doesn’t get any better than the card that we will see tomorrow. Enjoy!!