UFC 82 will be an event to remember, or a borefest of decisions, it’s hard to say what’s going to happen in many of the bouts on the card. Many fans are claiming some huge lopsided victories while many others are seeing decisions galore litter the event’s results as we head into Saturday night. Hopefully, we won’t see another Strikeforce at the Dome card. Here’s our picks for UFC 82.

Main Event: Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson
At Stake: UFC Middleweight Title

People are starting to call this a pick’em fight, and I’d have to agree. This is one of the toughest fights to mull over due to the stylistic matchup between the two, but also due to the historical dominance of both fighters.

Silva has simply crushed everything in his path. He made Rich Franklin into a rag doll, and simply used his Muay Thai skillset to strike with him, close the distance, clinch, and then set up massive head shots with his knees. That gameplan will have to change if he wants to defeat Dan Henderson.

Henderson’s strength in this fight will be his wrestling. Greco-Roman control will be the key to getting Silva to the floor where Henderson should be able to crush him, but there are problems. First and foremost, Henderson doesn’t exactly wrestle when he needs to. He likes to brawl and showed it at times against “Rampage” Jackson. Secondly, his wrestling isn’t as good as many make it out to be. Sure, he’s an Olympian, but he was sloppy in many of his PRIDE bouts when it came to controlling his opponent. He can’t let that happen against a surgeon like Silva. Nonetheless, he has two big powerful hands to fall back on if he’s in trouble. The potential for a knockout win from either fighter is very high.

I’ve battled with who to pick in this fight for days, and honestly, it doesn’t matter. They are very even in regards to how their skills compete with one another. A BJJ Black Belt with surgical Muay Thai striking against an Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler with heavy hands is a classic matchup that should provide a spectacular main event. Who will win?

I’m going to have to go with Anderson Silva. I was a supporter of the whole idea behind Henderson winning this fight. He has better wrestling; therefore he can get the takedown and pound on Silva. I understand that point. My only problem is that I can only see Henderson ending this fight in the standup, and Silva has reach, awesome power for having such big reach, and he is a surgeon on his feet with his strikes. He can wear down Henderson with punches, and then move in for the kill. People know Henderson can ward off the clinch, but can he do it while he’s wobbly… most fighters can’t. To sum it up, I’m taking Silva because I think he has more tools to end this fight.

Leland’s Prediction: Anderson Silva via TKO/KO, Round 2

The person who wins this fight is the person who can impose their will on their opponent. This is as close to a pick ‘em fight as there has been in recent events, but I like Henderson’s chances against Silva. Henderson has the advantage because of this reason: he can keep Silva guessing. Silva knows that Henderson can take him down, and I assure you, Dan will be using his feints a lot. Imagine dropping his head down and faking a takedown, but instead, he throws that huge overhand right. The thing that scares me about Henderson is that he tends to get into brawls. He abandons his wrestling and will choose to stand and trade instead. I don’t think he’ll make that mistake against Silva. I think Henderson will be able to impose his will and dominate Silva inside the clinch with his Greco-roman ability, and he’ll earn a stoppage via strikes late in the fight.

Joe's Prediction: Dan Henderson via TKO/KO, Round 3

Cheick Kongo vs. Heath Herring

This is another tough fight on the event’s card to predict. Herring has a career that spans a decade, and in that time, he’s managed to win 16 of his bouts by submission. Many fans don’t associate Herring with a submission game, but I think that’s exactly what he’ll be looking to do in this matchup.

Kongo will likely try to use his bread and butter, Muay Thai, to defeat Herring along the cage. It’s been working for him in his two most recent wins, but it hasn’t led him to a finishing win that we would come to expect from such a large and powerful fighter.

Both fighters have weaknesses and strengths, but I think Herring has the distinct advantage in this matchup. His ground skills will undoubtedly come into play, and even though he isn’t the best grappler on the planet, Kongo’s ground game looked non-existent even in the short stint that he was on the ground against Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic. It won’t be an easy task, and Kongo may very well prove that he’s trained hard for this fight, but I’ll go with Heath.

Leland’s Prediction: Heath Herring via submission, Round 2

In my eyes, this is Herring’s fight to lose. Herring doesn’t have great wrestling, but Kongo has a very weak takedown defense. It shouldn’t be a problem for Herring to get Kongo to the mat. From there, I think you’ll see a scramble where Herring catches Kongo in a choke, most likely the anaconda choke.

Joe's Prediction: Heath Herring via submission, Round 2   

The UFC has been hitting the news wire frequently as of late with fighters beginning to reveal their potential matchups for their upcoming fights. Some of them are quite interesting due to the influx of newer talent that the UFC seems to be bringing along. The future is always a concern, and it looks like the UFC is giving some guys a chance to make a splash in their careers. Let's take a look.

Josh Koscheck vs. Dustin Hazelett - UFC 82

This matchup is a bit deceptive. Most people see this fight as a one-sided affair with Koscheck's outstanding wrestling pedigree dominating an unknown Dustin Hazelett. The problem here is that most fans don't see Hazelett fight since he has been featured mainly on undercards.

Hazelett (10-3) has had some phenomenal performances as of late in the cage. He submitted Jonathan Goulet at UFN 11 in impressive fashion scoring an armbar victory in just 1:14 into the first round. He's currently on a three-fight win streak, and this is definitely a move in the right direction as his skills improve.

Koscheck will be looking to begin another ascension into the upper ranks, but Hazelett's jiu-jitsu could prove to be troublesome. Nonetheless, Koscheck's top control is good, and he could essentially make another run for the title.

David Heath vs. Tim Boetsch - UFC 81

After Heath's bout was scratched from UFC 81 due to an injured Thomas Drwal, the UFC put the light heavyweight back on the card and paired him up with newcomer Tim Boetsch (6-1).

Boetsch is primarily known for his 2007 IFL semifinal battle with "The Janitor" Vladmir Matyushenko. In his only career loss, Boetsch did show an ability to survive against the technically better Matyushenko. Many consider Vladmir to still be quality UFC material, and with Boetsch taking him the distance and being a fairly green fighter, he could improve dramatically in the coming months. He'll get his chance to make something happen against Heath.

Heath hasn't been exactly impressive in his last two fights. To be fair however, Renato Sobral is a world-class grappler and Lyoto Machida could very well be a dark horse candidate for the title. Boetsch isn't at their skill level, so it should be litmus test for Boetsch, and a gauge to see where Heath is at right now.

Diego Sanchez vs. David Bielkheden - UFC 82

Although I'm still holding out for news after this fight that Marcus Davis may fight Diego, Sanchez does need to fight another battle before that can potentially happen. The UFC seems to think so as well.

Diego will be matched up with David Bielkheden (12-5). This puts an end to the rumors that Diego would fight Roan Carneiro. It also marks another Swede making his debut in the UFC, a market that the UFC seems to be hitting hard now. Per Eklund, fellow Swede, was defeated by Sam Stout in a spirited effort at UFC 80 this last weekend.

Bielkheden holds a win over current UFC fighter Charles McCarthy although it was back in February of 2004. The most notable matchup on his record is taking on Mitsuhiro Ishida at PRIDE Bushido 13 in November of 2006, dropping a decision to the Japanese wrestler.

He should prove to be an able test for Sanchez even though his name isn't known in the casual fanbase. He's a BTT member, and will have good training partners to supplement his skillset training. With a well-rounded grappling game and some power at times, he could be an upset pick.

Back in September, Jon Fitch and Diego Sanchez squared off in what was coined as a battle to determine Sanchez's fate. Undefeated before running into a tough Josh Koscheck, Sanchez was looking to bounce back after a stagnant performance. He was aiming to prove all of his doubters wrong that his loss was the beginning of a slowdown in his success. Unfortunately for Sanchez, Jon Fitch was on his way up the ladder and was already being coined as a "world beater" by some MMA fans.

Fitch defeated Sanchez narrowly by split decision, but didn't exactly prove that he was overly better than Sanchez. Fitch's takedown defense was inpenetrable, and Sanchez was unable to do significant damage throughout the fight except for a close submission choke in the third round. A very big win for Jon Fitch, and a disappointing loss for Diego Sanchez who had now lost two straight.

Now the question became whether Diego would move down to Lightweight due to the roadblock he had run into in his previous two fights at Welterweight. That question was answered on Tuesday with a MySpace bulletin and confirmation from his management team. Sanchez has decided to remain in the Welterweight division of the UFC. This begs the question, is this a good or bad choice for Diego Sanchez?

Lightweight prospects?

One of the main detractors for a fighter to move down to the Lightweight division is the influx of talent and the quality of talent in the upper-echelon of the division. Think about the large amount of talent in that group. Excluding BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson due to their #1 and #2 status respectively, there is also Sean Sherk likely at #3, Frankie Edgar, Kenny Florian, Roger Huerta, Clay Guida, Tyson Griffin, Thiago Tavares, and even brawlers like Spencer Fisher, up-and-comers like Joe Lauzon, and veteran grapplers like Marcus Aurelio. That is an unbelievable amount of talent to sift through in order to get a shot near the top spots, and it's also a very tough talent pool to be successful in. Could this be a reason why Sanchez stayed away? It's a very good possibility.

With all of the events quickly coming in, I wasn't able to do a full evaluation of the main events on this card, but here is a quick preview of the UFC 76 Knockout event airing on Saturday night at 10 PM EST. Chuck Liddell will look to get back in the hunt for another title shot against Keith Jardine. "Shogun' Rua makes his UFC debut against Forrest Griffin. And in a very intriguing welterweight battle, we will see Jon Fitch take on Diego Sanchez. There are also some very compelling undercard matchups that include Thiago Tavares vs. Tyson Griffin, and Nakamura vs. Machida. As much as the co-main events may not deliver, the undercard battles could potentially deliver some fight of the night votes. Let's get into the breakdown. 

Main Event: Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Forrest Griffin

To hardcore MMA fans, "Shogun" Rua needs no introduction. For the casual MMA fan, here's the rundown. Rua is currently 16-2 in his MMA career, ranked #1 in the world at Light Heavyweight on multiple ranking sites, and has impressively knocked out current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton Jackson in brutal fashion at PRIDE Total Elimination 2005. Rua is considered by many to be one of the most dominant 205'ers in the world. He fights out of the Chute Boxe Academy in Brazil. He has received a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Nino Schembri and in Muay Thai from Rafael Cordeiro. This amounts simply that Rua's all around fighting game is amazing. He has unbelievably accurate strikes with great power. He has a very good ju-jitsu background to fall back on when pushes to the ground. He has some of the most devastating knee strikes in MMA. He also has been training in wrestling as well in order to counter it in the cage.

Forrest Griffin is currently 14-4 in his mixed martial arts career. He was the 1st season of Ultimate Fighter winner and defeated Stephan Bonnar in one of the most popular UFC bouts to date. His last bout was a win over Hector Ramirez at UFC 72: Victory via unanimous decision. Griffin is a Xtreme Couture fighter who specializes in ju-jitsu and boxing. He has a very mean ground and pound game and has surprisingly good standup skills. All around, Griffin isn't poor at one skill. He has some decent ground game, some decent striking, and is able to control his opponent in the clinch as well with some surprising power coming out of it, but can he really beat "Shogun" Rua?

I'm not convinced, and I'm fairly certain that Rua's stint in the UFC will be much different than that of CroCop's. Rua is mainly a Muay Thai striker. He doesn't use his ju-jitsu unless he has to, and he loves to use the knees. Sure, he can't use those knee strikes on the ground, but he can up against the cage in a clinch. People always bring up how much he used headstomps and knees on the ground. It is insignificant. Head stomps were almost always finishing moves to an already beaten opponent. Knees on the ground has been replaced with elbows, something I think Shogun will definitely heavily implement into his ground game. He does, however, love to use a ground and pound style that gives him full extension to his punches. This was mostly a PRIDE attribute though. It will be very interesting to see how he incorporates the elbows into his game. I think with the cage wall, Shogun will take advantage of clinching and kneeing as much as he can to weaken Griffin. Shogun's kicking abilities are world class. He is able to pull of flying kicks and knees very quickly and the transition from standing to the kick is almost in a flash. Look for Shogun to incorporate those as well to keep range from Forrest.

To be honest, I don't see what Forrest can do other than aggressively come out strong and push Shogun to the ground or into a cage clinch and throw bombs. If he can do that, he may have a chance, but I think Shogun's versatility and standup game will suit well in the cage. Shogun wins this.

Prediction: "Shogun" Rua via 2nd round TKO/KO.

Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell vs. Keith 'The Dean of Mean" Jardine

I'm really going to cut this analysis short due to the lack of interest I have in this fight. Liddell has knockout power, great takedown defense, and a knack for finding angles to put a fist into his opponents face. What does Keith Jardine have? If someone can tell me, please do. He has some power, some okay boxing skills, but he won't take Chuck down and won't outstrike an elite striker like Chuck Liddell. I don't see any way that Jardine can beat Liddell except a puncher's chance in hell that he catches Liddell and Liddell's brain isn't healed from his last beating. Basically, that means it's a long shot. Long shots sometimes win though, Jardine can tell you that.

Prediction: Chuck Liddell, 1st round KO.

Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez vs. Jon Fitch 

17-1 Diego Sanchez vs. 14-2 Jon Fitch, a battle we are going to see. Sanchez is coming off his decision loss to Josh Koscheck at UFC 69 - Shootout. He had some very notable wins previous to that bout over Joe Riggs, Karo Parisyan, John Alessio, Nick Diaz, and Kenny Florian. Sanchez is currently training in California with Rob Garcia after his split with Greg Jackson in New Mexico. It has been reported that Sanchez has stated on a few occasions, most notably interviews with Sherdog.com, that the split was mainly due to the addition of Georges St. Pierre. Sanchez felt that since the gym had been formed by himself, Jackson, and Jardine, that they shouldn't bring in a high level fighter at his weight class. A clash began and ultimately caused Diego Sanchez to head to California. With all controversy aside, Sanchez is still regarded as a very good fighter, specializing in boxing, gaidojutsu - Greg Jackson's submission system. Gaidojutsu is primarily a combination of judo, wrestling, ju-jitsu, and kick boxing. This formula of skills has definitely molded Diego into the fighter he is today. Sanchez's style is very versatile. He can shoot in for a takedown, pound opponents out, submit them, or he can stand up and trade with fairly decent power in his punches. He has a very good defensive guard and is able to dirty box in the clinch fairly well. His intensity has been lacking as he was very defensive against Josh Koscheck. Look for Fitch to possibly push the pace to get Diego off balance.

Jon Fitch comes into this bout at 14-2, most notably beating Thiago Alves, Josh Burkman, and Shonie Carter. He holds a brown belt in Brazilian ju-jitsu from Dave Camarillo, and he primarily has a wrestling background as he was a 4 year letterman and team captain of the Purdue wrestling squad. He has also added kickboxing to his skillset as he has been training with the American Kickboxing Academy. He can attribute his success to the training that they have provided since he is undefeated since he's began work there. Fitch is somewhat aggressive in the Octagon at times, but utilizes his great wrestling background when in trouble. Fitch's great ground game can also be attributed to his strong physique. Taking on a very powerful Thiago Alves and basically powering out of submission attempts and takedowns, Fitch showed why he belongs in this current matchup with Diego Sanchez.

With Diego's last loss being a boring standup battle that really was never pushed, I'm looking for Fitch's great skills and power to overwhelm Sanchez. Sanchez has some great skills on his feet and on the ground, but I think it's Fitch's time to rise. He's been training very hard in all aspects of MMA, and he's been dominant against some more powerful guys. I think he's going to use his strength to pound on Diego and his cardio to outlast the fight. Fitch will win it by decision.

Prediction: Jon Fitch via unanimous decision.

Matt "Handsome" Wiman vs. Michihiro Omigawa

Matt Wiman, best known for his appearance on Ultimate Fighter Season 5, holds a record of 7-3, recently winning via TKO over Brian Geraghty at UFC - TUF 5 Finale. Before the show, he had a losing streak of two fights. He was knocked out by a flying knee from Spencer Fisher and lost a decision to Nick Agallar. He's proficient in Boxing, Muay Thai, Wrestling, and ju-jitsu, but is mainly known as a standup fighter who likes to revert to a ground and pound style when it applies. He has some decent ground tactics, and on more than one fight, passed guard and full mounted opponents.

Michihiro Omigawa is a DEEP Asian MMA veteran. He currently holds a 4-3 record with a three fight win streak coming into the Wiman bout. He has notable losses over Aaron Riley and Gesias Calvancanti. As was Nakamura, Omigawa is primarily a Judo fighter. Omigawa, much like Wiman, likes to take opponents to the ground and pound them. The only video I have really seen of Omigawa was the Jason Chambers fight at Icon Sport - Lawler vs. Niko 2. Omigawa showed some impressive ground and pound, but nearly got caught in a triangle choke. He was able to pass guard and mount Chambers though after the initial submission scare. After Chambers was able to neutralize the full mount, Omigawa nearly guillotine choked Chambers out, but the fight ended and Omigawa declared the winner by split decision.

I like Wiman in this fight. Omigawa's strikes were pretty weak, nothing amazing. He's susceptible to submission from the top as well. Wiman needs to come out and take a page from Calvancanti's book. He needs to strike aggressively from the start and pound Omigawa immediately. I'm looking for Wiman to come out hard, but don't count Omigawa out. I think this fight could go either way, but I'll go with Wiman based on the fact that DEEP fighters haven't faired well in the UFC, and Omigawa hasn't faired well against aggressive fighters who ground and pound.

Prediction: Matt Wiman via TKO, 1st round.

Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Ryoto "Lyoto" Machida

Another big fight for Machida, Kazuhiro Nakamura is considered by some to be a late ranked top 10 Light Heavyweight in the world. He currently holds an 11-6 record, mainly losing to only big name fighters such as Mauricio Rua, Josh Barnett, Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson, and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira twice. He's primarily a Judo fighter with some fairly decent hands and ground game. Most of his wins have come via decision, seven of them. He's not a guy with tremendous knockout power, but he has a standup style much like a pitbull. He ducks his head and basically runs at you with fists blazing. He likes to use leg kicks to set up standup runs, and has a likeness to use knees in his matches. Clinching with Nakamura is a bad idea since his judo is fairly good. He can simply use leg trips to reverse the hold to a position where he is on top.

Ryoto Machida is a Japanese-Brazilian MMA fighter, son of Shotokan karate master Yoshizo Machida. Machida is currently 10-0 with notable wins over Rich Franklin, B.J. Penn, and Stephan Bonnar. He currently trains out of Black House, along side UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva. His main skillset consists of Shotokan karate and Brazilian ju-jitsu. Machida relies on his kicking ability in fights, as well as a base of ju-jitsu and some decent wrestling techniques. Machida has a neutralizing guard and is able to use his ju-jitsu to create opportunities to escape the ground and pound. His main knock is his standup in his fists. He has decent power as evident in his knockout of Rich Franklin, but consistently shows poor striking ability. In his battle with BJ Penn, he showed some significantly poor looping strikes.

This is a battle that I think will go to decision fairly easily. Both fighters aren't exactly the most aggressive, but can show flurries of aggression. Nakamura has some very good clinch skills with his Judo, but Machida's karate has some impressive sweeps, ie. BJ Penn fight, 2nd round. Both fighters don't possess the knockout power to end this quickly. I think Machida's karate is highly underestimated in MMA. Many MMA fighters don't train in Karate, but many MMA skillsets branch off from it. Some of Machida's sweeps are very precise and unbelievably effective. Machida has also been said to be "elusive" in his stance. He's an unorthodox southpaw fighter. He sits back pressing kicks at his opponent until his opponent rushes him. A very intelligent fighter, I think Machida wins this by decision.

Prediction: Ryoto Machida, unanimous decision.

Tyson Griffin vs. Thiago Tavares

Quite possibly the match of the evening and hopefully shown on the Pay-Per-View portion of the broadcast, Griffin vs. Tavares is a classic striker vs. submission specialist fight. Tyson Griffin comes into this bout off a recent controversial win over Clay Guida. He has some other notable wins over Duane Ludwig and Urijah Faber, fairly impressive TKO wins. Griffin's main skill is his wrestling and striking. He's a very well conditioned fighter who likes to clinch with his opponent and punish them with strikes. Training with Xtreme Couture is only going to make him better, much better.

Thiago Tavares has been a wrecking ball in MMA in his career. He's currently undefeated with a 13-0 record. His last win was against Jason Black, and he absolutely dominated the Miletich fighter. Known for his fantastic ju-jitsu skills, Tavares has a great shoot that is fairly quick and hard to defend against. He's fairly quick and also has some very good defensive moves. Tavares currently trains with Brazilian Top Team, who houses fighters such as Paulo Filho, Murilo Bustamante, Vitor Belfort, and Ricardo Arona.

I don't see Tyson Griffin being able to control Tavares at all. Tavares was absolutely dominant against a wrestling/striking Jason Black. Black even had great takedown sprawls that Tavares simply squeezed past and took Black's back. Griffin's cardio is amazing, but it will be nullified if Tavares is able to submit him early. Tavares is also very able when it comes to defending against the striking, and I believe Tavares will get Griffin in a submission in the 2nd round.

Prediction: Thiago Tavares, 2nd round submission.

Diego "The Octopus" Saraiva vs. Jeremy Stephens

Saraiva comes into this bout with a 9-5-1 record, 8 wins by submission. There's no fooling around with this kid, he's going to the ground. He is 0-2 in the UFC, losing to Jorge Gurgel and Dustin Hazelett, both my unanimous decision. Diego has an extensive ju-jitsu resume, including a Nova Uniao Black Belt in ju-jitsu. He also holds various championships in Brazil and the U.S. To be noted, Diego did fight Hazelett on a week's notice and was still able to take Hazelett, also a seasoned grappler, to a decision. Look for Saraiva to go to his strength in this fight, his vast skillset in ju-jitsu.

Jeremy Stephens is coming in with a 9-2 record, his most recent battle being with Nick Walker at MCC 9 - Heatwave. His most notable bout was against Din Thomas at UFC 71 - Liddell vs. Jackson. A classic striker, he sports 7 of his 9 wins via (T)KO. According to his profile at UFC.com, he trains in ju-jitsu and Muay Thai, but is mostly a heavy hand hitter.

My gut tells me to pick Saraiva. The guy has some quick feet, very good leg kicks as most Brazilian ju-jitsu fighters are trained to do. He also has some impressive high kicks in previous smaller organizations fights that he has landed. His main strength is taking guys down when he's being rushed. I think Stephens is going to come out trying to knock him out quick, and I think we'll see Saraiva submit him, possibly early.

Prediction: Diego Saraiva, 2nd round submission.

Christian Wellisch vs. Scott Junk

Wellisch is currently 1-1 in the UFC and 7-3 overall in his MMA career. Many fans will probably recall his brutal knockout loss to Cheick Kongo at UFC 62. He currently trains out of the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California with notable fighters Paul Buentello, Josh Thomson, Mike Swick, Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, and Bobby Southworth. Wellisch is really known for using his size to punish opponents. He also has some ju-jitsu skills as he claims on the UFC website profile that he has won a Gracie Ju-jitsu Open and US ju-jitsu Open. He also has some wrestling experience from college. Overall, a decent ju-jitsu/wrester/striker.

Scott Junk is currently 6-1 in his MMA career, debuting in the UFC at this event. He's on a six fight win streak, recently winning via corner stoppage against Jimmy Ambriz at MFC 12 - High Stakes. Junk's primary skillset involves some decent boxing along with using his large size as leverage for his power. He has knockout power, and according to Scott Junk's official website, he's trained in Gracie Ju-jitsu and Shoot fighting. Junk's size is a question, as he normally comes in weighing the maximum of 265 lbs.

This is somewhat an interesting test for Wellisch. He's coming off a huge layoff, and he's been overwhelmed by bigger opponents in the past, but he has also beaten bigger opponents in the past. I'm going to have to definitely go with Wellisch in this fight. I've seen Junk fight in K-1, and it was not pretty. He has some very horrible decision making skills in those fights, one being that he tried to kick someone when he had 265 lbs. behind it. Yeah, if it lands, it hurts, but usually you sacrifice quickness when you weigh that much. Junk missed and got knocked out with a direct shot to the temple. I doubt that the ju-jitsu will come into play here, and Wellisch is training with some pretty damn good wrestlers and strikers.

Prediction: Christian Wellisch, 1st round TKO

Rich Clementi vs. Anthony Johnson

Anthony Johnson is a fairly new fighter to the MMA scene. He has a fresh 4-0 record, knocking out Chad Reiner at UFC Fight Night 10 via knockout at only :13 seconds into the first round. Since many people really don't know much about Anthony Johnson, here's a little education. In an interview with OnTheMat.com, Johnson revealed that he currently trains with 8th degree black belt legend, Rigan Machado. He also trains in Muay Thai boxing as well as his base MMA skills in classic boxing. In his fight with Chad Reiner, Johnson showed some great striking ability in fending off a rush from Reiner and catching him during his flurry. Other than that, we can't gauge Johnson's skills in the UFC since his only fight was over in a flash. It is assumed that he has some type of decent ground game with Machado's training. He also seemed to be very powerful, which adds to both his ground and standup games.

Rich Clementi is a veteran MMA fighter with a 25-12-1 record. He was featured on the Ultimate Fighter 4, in which he was knocked out by Shonie Carter in one of the preliminary bouts. In his illustrious career, Clementi has never really defeated any notable fighters to date. He's had runs against Marcus Aurelio, Din Thomas, Caol Uno, and Pete Spratt, losing all of those fights. Clementi is currently 2-2 in the UFC and is looking to pick up another win. His last fight was against Kyle Gibbons at IFO: Wiuff vs. Salmon in which he won via submission in the 1st round. Clementi is mainly a strong striker with a decent wrestling background. I haven't been too impressive with Clementi's wrestling. He has, however, never been knocked out, and he has managed to take a good number of his losses to decisions. But can he deal with Johnson's power? That's the big question, and also, if Clementi takes this fight to the ground, will Johnson have a ju-jitsu game to enable him to be dangerous on the ground? I think so. Rigan Machado is hailed as an unbelievable instructor, and Johnson's power supplementing that ground game will only add to the versatility of his MMA skills. On an added note, Clementi is normally a 155 lb. fighter. This may be a bit more than he can chew at 170.

Prediction: Anthony Johnson, 1st round TKO.

Sources include Wikipedia.org, Sherdog.com Fight Finder, MMAJunkie.com for news bits, all other sources are referenced in article.