It's been awhile since I did a preview, but in honor of the triple digit number (the 100th ppv was actually like 5 or 6 shows ago, but oh well), I figured it was time to do another one.
The UFC isn't holding back for the momentous occassion and even put together a fan expo which began today. Also if you order the PPV online via UFC.com, they will give all of the preliminary card fights to you for free.
MAIN CARD
Champ Brock Lesnar vs. interim champ Frank Mir (HW - Title Fight)
Champ Georges St. Pierre vs. Thiago Alves (WW - Title Fight)
Jon Fitch vs. Paulo Thiago - WW
Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson - MW (coaches from TUF)
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Alan Belcher - MW
PRELIMINARY CARD
Stephan Bonnar vs. Mark Coleman - LHW
Mac Danzig vs. Jim Miller - LW
Jon Jones vs. Jake O'Brien - LHW
C.B. Dollaway vs. Tom Lawlor - MW
Matt Grice vs. Shannon Gugerty - LW
T.J. Grant vs. Dong Hyun Kim - WW
PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS
Lesnar vs. Mir
Rematch of Lesnar's first fight in the UFC and started Mir's return to prominence. Lesnar got an early takedown and seemed to be pounding out a victory, but the fight was stood up due to some illegal shots by Lesnar to the back of Mir's head. On the restart, Lesnar again got a takedown, but it wasn't as clean and he ended up making a rookie mistake and Mir locked in a knee bar to earn the tap out. Since the fight Lesnar dominated Herring and when Couture came back the UFC needed an opponent and called on Lesnar who defeated Couture to win the title. When couture came back, Mir and Big Nog were set to fight for Big Nog's interim title, thus you have two champs. Mir looked the best he has ever looked against Big Nog, with strong crisp boxing and he still has the world class BJJ. Lesnar hits very hard, but he isn't nearly as technical as Mir, if this fight stays standing, I would give the edge to Mir. Mir is significantly better int he submission game, but Lesnar is a much better wrestler and he has a huge size advantage. Betting line is fairly close, which is where it should be.
Prediction: Lesnar TKO round 2
GSP vs. Alves
For the first time in GSP's career he will fight someone bigger and stronger than him. Alves is also younger and has a lot to prove. I believe this will be the best fight of the night and should go on for awhile. Alves has more punching power, but GSP is more technical. Overall Alves should have the advantage on the feet. GSP is perhaps the best MMA wrestler, but while he has great submission defense, he is not an aggressive submission fighter. Alves is a bjj blackbelt so he should have the theory in the submission game. Alves has rarely been on his back due to his power, but he has been known to make mistakes in the submission game. This is also Alves first title fight and he has had problems cutting weight in the past, so conditioning could come into effect especially if this goes into the championship rounds.
Prediction: GSP KO round 4
Fitch vs. Thiago
Fitch is a beast. his only UFC loss was to GSP and he does hold a win over Alves. Thiago shocked the mma world in his UFC debut when he knocked out Fitch's teammate Josh Koscheck. This fight should tell the world if Thiago is for real or if it was a fluke. Fitch should be able to get the fight to the ground and grind out a victory, but Thiago does hit hard and has a solid submission game.
Prediction: Fitch UD
Bisping vs. Henderson
The two coaches finally square off. Bisping has a very solid overall game, but doesn't truly excel at any one area. Henderson is an excellent wrestler (alternate to team USA years ago) and has perhaps the hardest punching right hand in MMA. Henderson isn't nearly as technical as Bisping and Bisping would probably hold the edge in the submission game. The winner likely gets a title shot so there is a lot of meaning in this fight, aside from the rivalry of coaching.
Prediction: Henderson KO round 2
Akiyama vs. Belcher
Sexyama making his long awaited UFC debut. He is however a major major star in Asia. The first Japanese star to fight in the UFC since Sakurai 5 years ago. Sexyama has a strong overall game and is a world class judoka. Belcher loves to strike and has a solid muay thai game. Belcher recently beat Dennis Kang so he won't be intimidated by the Japanese legend. Look for an exciting fight to kick off the PPV.
Prediction: Akiyama Sub round 2
PRELIMINARY CARD
Bonnar vs. Coleman
Interesting fight for both men. Coleman clearly on the tail end and he looked ok in his LHW debut against Shogun. Coleman is a far better wrestler and hits harder. bonnar doesn't have the power or the wrestler, but he is a savvy fighter that finds a way to win. The longer the fight goes the more it will favor Bonnar.
Prediction: Coleman KO round 1
Danzig vs. Miller
Danzig badly needs a win. If he loses again he may be the first TUF winner to be cut from the UFC. Miller is coming off a tough decision loss to Gray Maynard in which Maynard just took Miller down at will and held him there. Thankfully for Miller, Danzig is not a great wrestler. Danzig has been around for ever and has solid all around skills, but Miller just seems to be better at this point in their careers.
Prediction: Miller UD
Jones vs. O'Brien
Class striker (jones) verse wrestler (o'brien). Whichever fighter can dictate where the fight is fought will win. Jones has yet to fight a wrestler as good as O'Brien so it will be interesting to see if he has the takedown defense to keep it standing. O'Brien really hasn't had his chin tested so it will be interesting to see if he can take the Jones punches on his way to a takedown.
Prediction: O'Brien UD
Dollaway vs. Lawlor
Dollaway looks to continue beating fellow TUF fighters when he takes on Lawlor. This could be a boring fight as both like to wrestle, but usually in those fights the guys end up striking as the wrestling cancels the other out. Dollaway seems to be the better wrestler and should hold the edge striking.
Prediction: Dollaway KO round 1
Grice vs. Gugerty
the loser is probably going to be cut, so both men will be going for it. Grice is a wrestler and Gugerty is a submission guy so this could be a ground affair. Grice probably has the edge standing.
Prediction: Grice UD
Grant vs. Kim
Grant loves to strike, but does have a fair amount of victories via submission. However, his takedown defense is perhaps the weakest part of his game. That should favor Kim who is a great judoka. In their last fights, Grant got stronger as it went on and he eked out a split decision over Ryo Chonan. Kim however faded down the stretch and lost a decision to Karo Parisyan. The longer it goes it should favor Grant.
Prediction: Kim sub round 2
Topic: UFC 100 - Tomorrow Night (Read 2665 times)