Nate Marquardt Vs. Anderson Silva
(Anderson Silva defeats Nathan Marquardt via technical knockout in round one)
This fight will be a good title fight for the middleweight class. Silva is very dominant with his strikes and control in the octagon. Nate is a seasoned veteran though and has won every fight in the UFC thus far. Nate said in a recent interview that he thought his stand up was better. He didn’t sound arrogant or of someone being smart, but he said it matter of factly. I hope he is as good as he is confident because he will need it against this KO monster with the last 5 out of 7 of Silva’s fights ending in a TKO/KO. Nate has been doing good lately, but most of his fights going to the judges which can be an indicator of a cautious strategy. This is going to be a tough one to call with Nate’s experience and Silva’s tough hands/knees. Unless Silva makes a mistake and gets submitted by Nate I think the champ will end up winning in the end by way of decision.
Alvin Robinson Vs. Kenny Florian
(Kenny Florian defeats Alvin Robinson via submission strikes)
I know there is a lot of talent on this card so a lot of good fighters will not be on the main card, but I can think of a few that should be in place of this match. Not that Kenny isn’t a killer but I think he is going to walk though Alvin probably with a first round submission.
Rashad Evans Vs. Tito Ortiz
(Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans fight to a draw)
I can’t wait for this one. Tito hasn’t really fought anybody or won in a good way for sometime now. He TKO’ed Ken Shamrock twice, a 43 year old and other than that he has either lost to Chuck or eked out split decisions with Forrest Griffin and Vito Belfort. I really think Rashad is going to make Tito pay for any trash talk he will bringing into the public the week before. You can also bet Tito will probably pull some sort of stunt at the weigh-ins. In my opinion these guys have similar fighting styles so it will be fun to see those styles clash together in the octagon. I am going to go with Rashad Evans in the third round by way of TKO.
Hermes Franca Vs. Sean Sherk
(Sean Sherk defeats Hermes Franca via unanimous decision)
This is going to be another awesome fight I think. Franca is a loose cannon in the Octagon and is a little sloppy. None of his opponents has been able to capitalize on any of his standing mistakes yet and Sherk probably won’t be able to do it since he isn’t the fastest on his feet. The George St.Pierre fight still haunts me with Sherk because he just seemed to let go once Pierre landed a few punches on his head. Franca is a sloppy bomb swinging for the fences striker so Sherk better go in like a dozer and scoop this guy up and try to keep it on the ground. Even though Franca is no slouch on the ground I think Sherk will take him down control some of the fight and Franca will probably bust loose and TKO Sherk with a little ground and pound in the second or third.
Heath Herring Vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
(Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira defeats Heath Herring via unanimous decision)
This will be another neat fight. Even though Heath hasn’t showed much in the showmanship category with his last few fights it will be cool to see two ex-PRIDE guys duke it out in the heavyweight class. If Herring trains hard and really wants it bad enough I think he will put on a great show and duke it out with Nogueira. I think there will be a little ground movement, but for the most part it should be a striking war going to the judges. After three round I believe it will end up like they did last time they fought with Nogueira the”Minotauro” getting the decision.
Mike Nickels Vs. Stephan Bonnar
(Stephan Bonnar defeats Mike Nickels via submission (rear naked choke) in round one)
This will probally be a 50/50 good striking with a ground war also between two good submission guys. Both of these guys are tough so I don’t think either of them will go down, but I think Bonnar will eventually overwelhm Nickels and get a submission after Mike makes a mistake. I will have to go with Bonnar going to war, but getting a submission on Mike in the second round.
Mark Bocek Vs. Frank Edgar
(Frank Edgar defeats Mark Bocek via technical knockout strikes in round one)
I think this fight is gonna be fast. These two are super fast fighters with lots of speed. Frank has gotten through the first time UFC jitters and has a very powerful ground game. Mark is also strong on the ground and has been cross training as of late at none other than the great, “Greg Jackson’s” in New Mexico. I hope nothing rubs off on him because I think Frank Edgar is going to catch Mark making an early and land a Guillotine ending this one early in round one.
