Renato Babalu summed it up in a few choice quotes over the weekend. He told PunchDrunkGamer.com in an interview recently that he "heard that Tito is not going to fight him anymore" when asked about Machida vs. Tito. Of course, many fans are taking Babalu's words lightly. After all, it isn't official as to whether the fight is off or not.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this matchup won't be happening for a couple of reasons. First, Tito Ortiz probably doesn't want to leave the UFC with a loss, and more importantly, I don't think he wants to leave the UFC. He's playing hardball, and with an impressive win over a mid-echelon fighter, he may be able to convince the UFC brass that he is worth the amount of money that he is asking for. It definitely depends on the kind of drawing power he can get in his next fight.

Secondly, Machida's style doesn't suit anyone in the division, and it certainly doesn't suit Ortiz. Ortiz's bread and butter has been his ground and pound tactics for most of his career. Back problems have hindered his performance in the past couple of years, but he has recently stated that the current time off should allow him to heal. Even if he's healthy, Machida is elusive, non-engaging, and a man of frustration to everyone. Ortiz likely wants an exciting fight that he can build up himself to draw big money, big buys, and bring him a large purse.

Don't be surprised if this fight doesn't happen.

An interesting tidbit from an interview with John Hackelman over at FightHype.com. When asked about Machida calling out Liddell, he had this to say:

"He's one of the least guys I want Chuck to fight. Not for his toughness or anything, its that his style is hardest to prepare for. I knew he would beat Sokoudjou. He was 2-1 underdog and so was chuck. Glover beat Soko before and I knew he was hype. He's #4 in the world, they had him 4 places before Chuck. My guy that KO'd him is not even in the top20. You know what Machida is like? he is so boring, like the Larry Holmes of MMA. He'll fucking beat everyone. Jimmy Young was like that too, Jimmy is the reason that Foreman retired and went to Jesus. (...) Machida is like Jimmy Young, he's a scary guy. Going to be a hard guy to beat"

This is a very interesting quote for a few reasons. First and foremost, it definitely hints at what many fans expected from a matchup between Liddell and Machida matchup... a nightmare for Liddell. Hackelman knows it, and most of the MMA community knows it. It's hard to prepare for Machida for the simple fact that he sits back and waits for the aggression from his opponent. He's elusive, and his main attack relies on straight counterattacks and range attacks. It may be a boring style for many fans of the sport, but it usually pays off later in the fight when his opponent becomes frustrated. It's interesting how his style and recent fights have begun to discourage even the men who train these fighters.

Another comment regarding Soukoudjou that I don't understand entirely. Glover isn't top 20, but Soukoudjou was fighting in only his 3rd MMA fight. The Glover fight really wasn't a tactical fight at all either. It was mostly Glover throwing huge bombs at will and hoping he'd land one, which he did. To be perfectly fair to Soukoudjou's ranking, that was a fight that could be chalked up to "anything can happen in MMA". Glover threw huge shots and caught Soukoudjou. Glover went nowhere, Soukoudjou went on to beat Arona and "Little Nog".

Lastly, and on a personal note, the "Machida is boring" routine is rather old. Not only did he defeat a heavy striking and very strong Soukoudjou, but he did so in impressive fashion. His counter punching has the precision of a cruise missile. If you actually watch the fight and watch Machida's brilliant countering, it's really a work of art. He throws with full force so quickly to counter a rush that his opponents are devastated by the incoming blows. Easily, Machida has become one of my favorite fighters, and I encourage other fans to check him out.

As for Hackelman, he's right. It is a bad matchup for Chuck. But guess what? He's on the way back to the top, so either way, Chuck should be weary that the fight is a possibility.

UFC 79: Nemesis has come and gone, and overall I’d say it was a pretty good event. If it hadn’t been for the lackluster Eddie Sanchez and Sao Palelei fight, the event would’ve been an entire success. The event drew the largest gate for any North American MMA show at $4.9 million, and I’m sure it was also a huge pay-per-view success.  After the event was over, I had a chance to reflect on 5 things I learned from the event.

GSP is the best welterweight in the world.

And, he may be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He absolutely demolished Matt Hughes, and is on entirely different level than any fighter at 170lbs. He has proved that he is the total package, and I really feel sorry for Matt Serra. St. Pierre was able to outwrestle the wrestler. We saw it before in his fight with Koscheck, but I figured Hughes would give him a little bit more credit. He didn’t. St. Pierre was obviously the stronger of the two, and he was able to utilize his entire skill set to beat Hughes. He used his striking to setup his takedowns, and then he used his ground-and-pound to set up the submission victory.

St. Pierre can and will be a superstar in this sport. He has an amazing set of skills, and he is working harder than ever to improve. His wrestling has come a long way, and as long as he keeps improving his stand-up, he will be a force to reckon with for many years to come.

However, he can be beat. As dynamic as a fighter as he is; there are some holes in his game. First, his stand-up needs some work. He tends to throw very straight one-two combinations down the middle. He doesn’t use many hooks or uppercuts, but his kicks are good when he uses them. Sometimes he gets lazy with his jab, and he’s open for a counter left hook.  Also, his jiu-jitsu isn’t what it could be. He almost submitted Koscheck with a kimura, which seems to be a go to move for him, and he choked out Frank Trigg with a rear naked choke (who hasn’t?).

The type of fighter that can beat St. Pierre is a fighter with a good wrestling base, or great takedown defense, a good submission game, and good striking. As of right now, I think there are only two welterweight fighters in the UFC that present this problem: Jon Fitch and B.J. Penn. Fitch is a former Division I wrestler with decent striking and a good ground game. It would be a great fight, but I think GSP would still take it. Although B.J. Penn’s next fight is at lightweight, he has made it very clear that he wants to step up to welterweight and hold both belts at the same time. B.J. Penn and GSP have already battled once at UFC 59: USA vs. Canada. Many people (including myself) feel that B.J. won this fight, but St. Pierre was awarded a narrow split-decision victory. B.J. has the style to present problems to almost anyone. He has unbelievable dexterity, and can avoid takedowns because of it. We all know about his slick jiu-jitsu, but he also has good striking and heavy hands. He also has the ability to take a shot. I’m hoping that we get to see this rematch in the very near future.

Matt Hughes should hang them up after one more fight.

The UFC reportedly offered Lyoto Machida a fight with Tito Ortiz for an upcoming UFC event in the early part of 2008. Ortiz has been on hiatus as he claimed injuries have set back his career and ability to fight effectively. He also has had offers to do television and accepted a role as a contestant on "Celebrity Apprentice". He's also a clothing mogul with his own line labeled as Punishment Athletics. It's safe to say that Tito Ortiz has other opportunities past mixed martial arts. Regardless, he is still a big draw in the UFC due to his exposure to the casual fanbase in America. He also has great marketing sense and is able to put forth quite an effort to create a lot of hype out of a fight that seemingly looks like a regular matchup between two fighters looking to move forward. 

The question is why would the UFC matchup a guy who is very marketable with a fighter who seemingly strolls through mid-echelon talent and frustrates nearly all of his opponents? There are a number of potential reasons.

The end of the year cards are here for the sport of mixed martial arts, and nearly all of them look to deliver fantastic action on paper. The UFC's Nemesis card, however, is the clear cut winner as far as providing the most anticipation for many fans. On Saturday night from Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, we'll find out who really is better... Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva or Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell. If that isn't enough for you to wag your tail next to your television, the rubber match between Georges "Rush" St. Pierre and Matt Hughes will also be featured. The winner will take on Matt Serra for the Welterweight title. Lastly, Rameau Sokoudjou will make his UFC debut against the elusive and frustrating karate tactics of Ryoto "Lyoto" Machida. Let's take a look at this historic fight card.

Main Event
Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva vs. Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell

The historic matchup of Silva and Liddell has been years in the making. Back when PRIDE was at the top of the food chain, both sides were already talking up a potential matchup of these two explosive strikers during PRIDE Final Conflict 2003. Liddell was stopped by the eventual UFC champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson after his preliminary round win against Alistair Overeem. That was the closest he had ever been to fighting Wanderlei Silva.

Now, Silva has made the journey to the UFC, and he is in nearly the same position as Liddell. Both fighters are coming off two losses that have stopped their progression as top light heavyweights in the world. Liddell was knocked out within the first flurry on his fight with Quinton Jackson at UFC 71 and lost a close split decision to Keith Jardine at UFC 76. Silva, on the other hand, hasn't been as active lately. He was knocked out by a fierce left hand from Dan Henderson in February of this year to lose his title, and was devastated by Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic at PRIDE Final Conflict Absolute in September of last year.

With that all said, this fight still produces anticipation of being a great war between two very explosive fighters. Both men are coming off two losses, and both men will have to contemplate continuing their careers if they end up losing this battle. It should be a fight that will produce a highlight reel knockout, and there is no doubt that this fight will end by a stoppage of some sort.

Prediction: Wanderlei Silva via second round KO

So many fans and other columnists have expressed the styles matchup as being in favor of Chuck Liddell, but there is other factors that should be considered. Wanderlei Silva is one of the strongest Light Heavyweight strikers in the business. He's overly aggressive and that has, at times, hurt him, but it has also been the pistons that run his engine. His power is unmatched, but he has had problems looping his punches in many of his fights. Look for his training at Xtreme Couture to remedy some of those problems.

I'm still going to take Wanderlei Silva for two reasons. First, Chuck may be a terrific counter puncher, but Silva does seem to capitalize on mistakes. His clinch is very strong, and it could be surprising if he happens to push Liddell much like Rampage did to him in PRIDE. Secondly, Silva's training looks to be solid, whereas Chuck still seems to train specifically in a one-dimensional manner. Striking is his bread and butter while grappling is his escape tactic. Silva has more tools combined with his striking, but whether or not he uses those other tactics is the question. I'm going out on a limb and picking Silva.

Georges "Rush" St. Pierre vs. Matt Hughes

After Matt Serra injured his back during his training for his matchup with Matt Hughes at UFC 79, St. Pierre swooped in to make this card even more exciting. It also completes the wishes of many fans to see the rubber match happen between the two fighters that was predicted by many to probably be happening in 2008. Instead, we'll get to see it on Saturday night, and it should be fairly exciting.

More...

In the past, I have been very critical that the UFC's middleweight division needs a kick in the ass. It seems that this statement hasn't been taken seriously by the UFC. The division is currently in a standstill due to the fact that Anderson Silva remains the undisputed middleweight champion and has no possible opponents that can challenge him for the title. Let's take a new look into the Middleweight possibilities or actually, the short list of possibilities.

UFC fails to convince Henderson

According to the UFC 78 Press Conference, it was said that Henderson is still not wanting to drop down to 185 lbs. to fight Anderson Silva. Is this a money issue? Is the UFC lowballing Henderson with a new deal? Fact of the matter is, the Middleweight division is by far one of the worst divisions in the UFC. It, in fact, is the least deep division in the promotion. What reason is there that Henderson wouldn't drop down to become the UFC champion at Middleweight?

The most obvious answer is that he would have to take on an ultra-dangerous Anderson Silva. Although Dan Henderson's Greco-Roman wrestling is a great counter for what Silva has to offer, Silva still possesses a black belt ju-jitsu ground game, a long reach and hard striking standup game, and has multiple tools to end fights. Henderson is a granite chin though. I imagine the fight has the potential to be a huge draw for many UFC fans. Does Henderson see that fight as a possible matchup that could hurt him? It's a possibility, but I think there are other motives.

I mentioned in my previous article that I felt Henderson was sticking to the Light Heavyweight Division because it garners bigger PPV draws, more money, and more prestige. Historically, the heavier weight classes bring bigger fights and draws. Could he simply want to fight through one of the best divisions in the world? I believe so. Henderson wants to fight the absolute best in the world, and the LHW division contains some of the greatest in the world. If he suffers another loss, he may take the money and drop to 185 to fight Silva in a card that I believe would definitely draw some huge numbers.

Unsigned talent goes elsewhere

Jason "Mayhem" Miller was one of the better prospects out there that could have at least made the division a bit more lively. He has some quality wins over Robbie Lawler and Denis Kang and sports an impressive 19-5 record. He has a fantastic submission game and decent standup, but more importantly to the UFC, he is a self-promoting machine. He has a large fanbase of MMA fans behind him who love his antics as seen during a few of the latest UFC events, a few great skit videos featuring Miller that include a spoof of the TapouT! reality show, and he loves to make grand entrances. I have no doubt that he would have gained more fans in the UFC and the extra exposure could have brought more fans into the sport or at least excitement in seeing him fight in the poor Middleweight division. Miller will fight Sean Salmon on the December 15th HDNet card.

Frank Trigg is another decent Middleweight at the end of his career, but nonetheless presents a fairly significant challenge to Anderson Silva because he has some very good wrestling skills. Barring a rear naked choke, Trigg could actually present a big problem for Silva. He has some decent power, but he doesn't have the range to stand with Silva. If Trigg went into the fight with a solid gameplan of putting Silva to the floor and was able to do that, it'd be a very interesting fight. He also presents problems to other fighters in the UFC, but his age is always a factor. This seems to be a case where White is still bitter over comments Trigg made during a few PRIDE broadcasts about the UFC. Trigg claims that he made them in regards to what PRIDE wanted him to say. Nonetheless, I'm still a fan of Frank Trigg for the mere fact that he will tell you exactly what he thinks. As Trigg mentioned in one of his most recent shows, "The UFC made me usable, Fox Sports made me famous, and my mouth made me infamous." Very true, Trigg's battle with Matt Hughes was a great battle, his gig on the PRIDE series put his face in front of millions, and his rants and pre-fight hype he generated made him infamous. For those reasons, Trigg should have been given a chance in the UFC. Trigg is now fighting Edwin Dewees on the December 15th HDNet card.

According to GracieMag.com, Ronaldo Jacare (7-1) didn't sign with the UFC, but has now decided to fight again in Jungle Fight a.k.a. MMA World League now. Why? This baffles me and I'm not sure if the UFC just lowballed him or what, but he will get absolutely no exposure in Jungle Fight and he will fight tomato cans until his name pops up later down the line again after he is sporting a ridiculous record. Kind of like Jason Reinhardt. Jacare is a Brazilian ju-jitsu black belt who placed second in the world at the ADCC championships in his weight class, only losing to Roger Gracie. He's ended every fight inside the first round. It's beyond me as to why he didn't sign with the UFC.

Well, then who the hell did they add?

Evan Tanner will make a new run back into the UFC... heh. One of the big points that people make about Evan Tanner is the fact that he self taught himself many of the techniques he used in the Octagon in his early days. Tanner sports a legendary 32-6 record and has fought nearly everyone. Baroni, Lawler, Terrell, Franklin, Sinosic, Ortiz, Minowa, Herring, Buentello, the list goes on. He hasn't fought since April of last year though. Why you might ask? Apparently Tanner had an excessive drinking problem that caused him to basically turn into a full blown alcoholic who roamed the country, randomly posting on his MySpace about his problems. Hit up Fightlinker for details.

This isn't an overwhelming good signing. Tanner is fairly old and may have a lot of ring rust due to such a long layoff. He also will have to battle through now coming off the alcohol and possibly have a very hard time doing so. Will we see a clean and sober Tanner who could begin another dominance run in the MW division? I doubt it, but people said the same thing about Randy Couture being too old to do much in the heavyweight division.

Existing talent

David Terrell (6-2) was the prospect that many were looking toward to bring some excitement to the division. Terrell never fights. He's basically permanently on the injured reserve list in the UFC because he seems to be the most injury prone athlete that I can remember besides Kerry Wood and Mark Prior of the Chicago Cubs. Terrell is a product of Cesar Gracie Ju-Jitsu Academy. It has produced fighters such as Nick and Nate Diaz and Jake Shields. Terrell is much of the same type of fighter with a great submission game on the ground. He would have presented some significant problems to the top tier of the Middleweight division. I wonder if we will actually ever see him fight in the UFC again.

Nate Marquardt was a fighter that was supposed to give Silva a challenge. He didn't, and I don't see him ever giving him a tough challenge. Okami is gone apparently because the UFC felt he was a boring fighter. Bad move by the UFC. Jason MacDonald can't even get through Franklin. Franklin has been destroyed twice by Silva in devastating fashion.

The Zuffa-owned WEC has Paulo Filho, who is a friend of Silva. Filho did state that he would fight Silva if he had to. I think the time is now that "you have to" pit these two great fighters against each other to help the UFC's MW division. Zuffa seems to want to pit both the organizations against each other. In the latest oddity, the WEC will go up against a UFC special on SpikeTV. WEC 31 has some unbelievable fights, but can it compete on Versus with the UFC on basic cable. The UFC will air a "Best of 2007" show at the same time. Very strange indeed.

Bisping, Evans, Henderson, and even Machida could drop down to Middleweight and make the division worth a damn, but it seems that they are content at sitting at Light Heavyweight for now. Machida has the best chance of making a splash in the LHW division so far since his style is unbelievably elusive, but I feel like he may get the White pinch for being boring. It is rumored that Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou could fight Machida on December 12th. Bisping and Evans winner may fight Tito Ortiz, so both could be locked into the division, or the loser may drop down. Henderson obviously is sticking to his guns and staying at Light Heavyweight. Will the UFC keep him out of fighting until he gets pissed enough to drop? I wouldn't put it past Dana White.

Final Thoughts

So, what can the UFC do since they've already allowed many of the natural middleweights to head to other organizations? Matt Lindland is available. Get over the little argument you have with him and just sign him. He is an opponent with a Greco-Roman background that could potentially counter Silva's strengths well. Matt Hughes has also talked about moving up to middleweight to take on Silva after he wins the Welterweight title. If Hughes can win his title back, look for that fight to happen as well. The most believable development in the division would be the fighters dropping down to the division. The loser of the Bisping vs. Evans fight could definitely make the cut to 185. Henderson is still on the line, but we could eventually see that happen. Machida is now fighting Soukodjou at UFC 79, and he still stands a very good chance at making waves at light heavyweight.

In the end, the UFC doesn't have a plethora of options at all. They will be banking on Hughes to win to increase his standing again. Lindland is still a non-option for Dana White. Henderson won't drop down and many of the other options have signed with other organizations or are existing fighters who are either injured or too far down the line to make an impact within the next year. Hopefully we will see some activity from the UFC into grabbing some talent out there. The upcoming TUF season will also feature Middleweights, so we could see a huge influx of talent.

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.