On tap for your MMA action this weekend is the WCO event at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California. The card features a long list of MMA veterans that include Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Vernon White, Ricco Rodriguez, Joe Riggs, Wesley Correira, David Loiseau, Tiki Ghosn, and the "Smashing Machine" Mark Kerr. Although the event doesn't have the quality matchups that we've come to expect from some of the bigger promotions, it does have star power and young talent out of Southern California that we may see in bigger promotions down the road. Let's take a look.

Vernon "Tiger" White vs. Renato "Babulu" Sobral

Sobral makes his return once again to the cage for his second performance after his controversial Anaconda choke on David Heath at UFC 74 that resulted in his contract termination. He'll take on the veteran Vernon White in what could be a one-sided bout considering "Babalu" will most likely come into this fight with a huge chip on his shoulder and excellent Brazilian jiu-jitsu to back it up.

Sobral is a BJJ specialist and we should expect him to take this battle to the ground instantly. White has had a long career, but has compiled a losing record of 25-32-2 in that career. He has lost his last two fights to Marcelo Tigre and Mike Whitehead, both by TKO, after defeating Sam Hoger at an IFL event in April. This would make the assumption that he is fairly susceptible to strikes, but 13 of his losses are by submission. The fact is that Vernon White is susceptible from being defeated from any angle, and is usually overpowered when his opponent is great at any one skill.

With that said, Sobral is a world-class grappler with great skills on the ground. Vernon White doesn't have great defense against the submission. Combine those two thoughts and you have your prediction.

Leland's Prediction: Sobral via submission, Round 2

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Ricco Rodriguez vs. Mike Kyle

This is one of the more interesting fights on the card for a number of reasons. Rodriguez hasn't been the same in years due to his apparent cocaine addiction, but with his stint on Celebrity Rehab on VH1 and the quotes he's been floating around that claim he wants to eventually get down to 205 in weight, what can we really expect from Rodriguez? A re-energized fighting machine or the same old Ricco?

Mike Kyle, on the other hand, had his own problems. He was suspended indefinitely by the CSAC for kicking Brian Olsen in the head at WEC 20. This doesn't sound that bad, except for the fact that he repeatedly kicked him and had to be pulled off of Olson. Olson received such horrible injuries that it nearly ended his career.

Kyle still has a decent record regardless of his antics in the cage. He stands at 9-5-1, but has only fought mainly striking opponents. It'll be a test to see if Kyle can handle Ricco's ground skills. It'll also be equally intriguing to see if Ricco actually takes down Kyle to avoid his punches or stubbornly stand with Kyle.

Nonetheless, Ricco has both some good power and great submissions. If he doesn't get stubborn and puts Kyle to the floor, he should be able to end it by the second round. Don't count out Mike Kyle though, he has some significant power in his hands and could catch Ricco.

Leland's Prediction: Rodriguez via submission, Round 2

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Joe "Diesel" Riggs vs. Gustavo Machado

Another interesting matchup pits the very strong striking Joe Riggs against a tough submission grappler in Gustavo Machado. Riggs will be looking to extend his streak to three wins and maintain his dominance from his last two battles. This may be a bit tougher fight for Riggs.

Machado is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who has amazingly avoided the fate of many of BJJ fighters in MMA today. He has the ability to avoid the big blows, but this often causes him to squeak out decisions rather than finishing his opponents. He only has 2 submission wins out of his 13 wins overall, but nearly 70% of his wins are by decision. Without the ability to finish regularly, it's definitely a possibility that as the fight moves on, Riggs could catch him.

Riggs has been impressive lately. He hasn't fought absolutely crushing competition, but has demoralized his opponents in his last two fights with his raw power. The question is whether Machado can avoid Joe's punching power and still maintain some sort of gameplan to damage him. Either way, Riggs has the advantage with his striking, and his ability to last in a fight is uncanny. Riggs should pull this one out, and I will go with Round 1 due to Joe's recent flurry of domination.

Leland's Prediction: Joe "Diesel" Riggs via TKO/KO, Round 1

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Wesley "Cabbage" Correira vs. Jimmy "Titan" Ambriz

Wesley Correira, a former UFC heavyweight, will look to turn around a pitiful 6 losses in 7 fights against a "Titan" in Ambriz. Correira is most noteworthy for his ability to take unbelievable punishment, evident in many of his losses. He's hard to knock out completely, and seems to always have that survival factor that can eventually creep into the equation late in a fight. His main power will come from his standup. The undetermined factor in this fight is the shape Correira will be in.

Ambriz had a great streak of wins early in his career, rattling off 8 straight wins from 2001 to early 2003. He ran into Josh Barnett, and things began to fall off from there. Against stiffer competition, Ambriz hasn't had much success.

One of the significant differences between the two fighters is that Ambriz possesses some wrestling skills and does seem to have more of a submission game than Correira. More recently however, Ambriz has used more of a ground and pound and striking game than anything else. He's also been fighting throughout the year whereas Correira has had a long layoff since March.

With Ambriz's slightly more aggressive style and ability to takedown larger opponents and pummel them, he will be my pick for this matchup. Correira has the chance to put a punch right on the money in this fight, but I believe Ambriz can avoid it and neutralize Correira with some ground and pound.

Leland's Prediction: Ambriz via TKO, Round 2

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David "The Crow" Loiseau vs. Leopoldo Serao

"The Crow" is looking to reclaim his former glory that came with his UFC reign. After defeating Evan Tanner at UFN 2, Loiseau managed to drop decisions to Rich Franklin, Mike Swick, and Joey Villasenor. All veteran fighters and all tough challenges for "The Crow". With a win over Freddie Espiricueta at UAFC in May, "The Crow" now looks to begin his ascension.

Serao is currently 11-6 with some good wins against lower level competition. He has ran into problems against the veteran combatants such as Assuerio Silva, Murilo Rua, and Jorge Santiago. His most recent fight resulted in a KO loss to a 12-9 Rob Wince.

Stylistically, Serao will be looking for the submission. In 11 wins, nearly all of them were finished by RNC or Guillotine. Loiseau is more of a striker than a ground guy. Nine of his 15 wins are by TKO/KO, and it is doubtful that he will want to roll with a Brazilian ground specialist. Look for Loiseau to throw the leather against Serao, who is very susceptible to the knockout. I'll go out on a limb and pick "The Crow" in the first round.

Leland's Prediction: Loiseau via TKO/KO, Round 1

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Quick Hits: Other Breakdowns

Tiki Ghosn vs. JJ Ambrose

Tiki Ghosn is sitting on a 4 fight losing streak, and I'm looking for it to continue on Saturday. JJ Ambrose hasn't fought the greatest competition out there, but he's an up-and-comer who did look impressive against the lower level competition that he did face. I can't say the same for Tiki. I'll pick Ambrose to increase his record to 9-1 over Ghosn.

Leland's Prediction: Ambrose via submission, Round 2

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Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Armando Sanchez

Karakhanyan is a jiu-jitsu fighter with some boxing skill sitting at 4-0-1 in his short career. He'll take on Sanchez who has some good submission skills, but also has some better standup than Georgi. Karakhanyan is a touted prospect as a guy to keep an eye on, and this will be another good test for him. I think Karakhanyan can use his better submission grappling to take out Sanchez.

Leland's Prediction: Karakhanyan via submission, Round 2

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Fabio Costa vs. Carlos Fuentes

Costa should increase his record to 4-0 with a win over Fuentes. Costa has been good in his first 3 fights, and definitely has shown some ground and pound skills alongside a submission game. It's too early to tell, but Costa may be the real deal.

Leland's Prediction: Costa vis TKO, Round 1

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Tony Sylvester vs. Cain Velasquez

According to many fans within the southern California MMA scene and guys training at AKA, Velasquez could be one of the next great heavyweight fighters. Good skills, great power, and a talented training camp should be enough to overcome a dangerous Tony Sylvester. This may be a limb pick, but I'll believe the hype.

Leland's Prediction: Velasquez via TKO, Round 2

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And Finally...

Mark "The Smashing Machine" Kerr vs. Kauai Kupihea

Mark Kerr may be overweight and over the hill, but he still holds his own in the wrestling aspect of MMA. Kerr should take the submission vulnerable Kupihea in the first round.

Leland's Prediction: Kerr via submission, Round 1

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Final Thoughts

Undoubtedly, some of these picks are stretches. I didn't even pick a decision, which should be considered a damn party foul, so I'm assuming I will be wrong because of a decision at some point during the fights. Nonetheless, there is some good young talent on this card to keep an eye on.

WCO will be streamed at RingsideJunkie.com, $4.95 in advance, $7.95 for day of event.