UFC 85’s event card has been making some changes recently, and some of the matchups are beginning to look good for the fans. Fresh off his win over Charles McCarthy at UFC 83, Michael Bisping is now rumored to be taking on Chris Leben at UFC 85 in a clash of middleweight talent. Other rumors are suggesting that James Irvin may be replacing Chuck Liddell on the card after Liddell suffered a hamstring injury. Irvin would be taking on TUF alum Rashad Evans in what is likely to be a main card matchup, not a main event.

Bisping vs. Leben

Joe Silva may in fact be putting Michael Bisping on the road to having his switch flipped off against Leben, but it’s definitely a nice step up in competition and a quicker road to the upper-echelon of talent. Leben isn’t great on the ground, but he’s deadly in the striking department. His cardio has improved significantly, and his chin seems to still be in great shape after his big win over Terry Martin in the third round of their war. With a win over gatekeeper Alessio Sakara, he’s earned his way into fighting some good mid-level talent. He’ll have to first stop a resurging Michael Bisping at 185 pounds.

I love this fight due to the styles that are matching up here. Bisping has some decent boxing skills along with what looks to be an improved Muay Thai standup game. He isn’t impressive on the ground, and only uses a ground and pound game when venturing into that part of the fight. Leben also presents a danger on his feet, but works from awkward angles to confuse opponents into eating the huge overhand. He has a fantastic sprawl, great cardio, and an iron chin. This should be a war.

Irvin vs. Evans

This fight is a sleeper that could suddenly erupt into a full blown war. Most fans would dismiss this fight due to Irvin’s recent losses and his injury proneness, and the overall boring style that Rashad Evans brings to the table. Other fans wonder why someone like Irvin continues to get fights in the UFC. Irvin has a simple formula for maintaining worth. Go out and produce the knockout highlight reel, and he does exactly that. Houston Alexander found out only :08 seconds into their bout at UFN 13.

Why is this fight interesting? It’ll answer a question I’ve been wondering about Rashad Evans for quite some time. Can he last 3 rounds with someone as explosive as James Irvin? Three rounds with a fighter who has made a career out of “tagging” his opponent’s chin with brutal flashes of power from his strikes. It’s going to be a test for Evans that we really haven’t seen before. Many of his past opponents had the potential, but none of them possessed the power that Irvin has in his hands and knees.

After the news this week that Mauricio "Shogun" Rua had re-injured his knee and had to pull out of his scheduled UFC 85 matchup with Chuck Liddell, the MMA community has been scheming as to who would replace Rua as a formidable opponent against Liddell. Unfortunately, the UFC has decided to use TUF alumni, Rashad Evans, to fill the gap.

From a pure business standpoint, this match makes sense. Rashad has had television exposure on both the Ultimate Fighter reality series and headlined UFC 78 alongside Michael Bisping, another TUF winner. We all know Chuck Liddell can sell a UFC by himself, so adding in Rashad to the mix could boost the numbers to a small degree. After all, both fighters should be well known to the casual fanbase.

As a hardcore mixed martial arts fan, I'm disappointed in the matchup. Rashad doesn't present a dangerous challenge for Chuck Liddell, and it wouldn't surprise me if the UFC uses a victory by Chuck Liddell as some sort of springboard to justify another title shot after Forrest Griffin battles Quinton "Rampage" Jackson later in the year. Does Liddell deserve a shot if he defeats Evans? Not in my opinion.

Before some of you give me the rundown as to why this matchup could be interesting, let me point out a few things. First and foremost, Rashad's wrestling game has been touted as being a problem for some fighters. His biggest problem has been implementing that wrestling game in many of his recent bouts against mid-echelon talent. Do you really think he can take down Chuck Liddell, a man who has been unbelievably tough to takedown for even better wrestlers and grapplers than Evans? Doubtful.

Secondly, Evans will have a huge disadvantage against Liddell's reach and striking ability.  Coupling that problem with the fact that Liddell is unbelievably tough to take down could present a very lopsided advantage for Liddell. For the hardcore fans out there wanting to see a the dream matchup of Shogun vs. Liddell, we'll now be treated to a matchup that really doesn't offer much. The UFC could potentially sell a good amount of pay-per-views with the two recognizable names though, and that may be the hard sell that the UFC is trying to shove down our throats.

A pure striker with uncanny takedown defense against a subpar MMA wrestler who has shown only glimmers of finishing ability. I'll take Liddell easily in this one.