You asked for it and you got it, UFC 100 is here on Saturday July 11. The UFC is putting on their historic event with the most star studded cards in company history. On the line will be the Welter Weight and Heavy Weight Championships and bragging rights for The Ultimate Fighter Coaches Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson. This card will be one for the ages with literally three main events. I will give you my predictions on how the evening will go and feel free to let me know if you disagree
Main Card
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs Alan Belcher
What a fight to start off the night, there has been a lot of buzz around this fight with Akiyama making his UFC debut on such a big event. Akiyama was a stand out overseas and has some big wins over top opponents. Belcher on the other hand is a hype killer but has been somewhat inconsistent during his UFC run. In his last outing he faced highly touted Canadian fighter Denis Kang and ended the fight with a great guillotine after losing most of the fight. Both guys like to stand up and trade but Akiyama has amazing judo to go with his stand up skills which should nullify the clinch work of Belcher. With an impressive win from either guy could put them close to the top of the division and one fight away from a possible title shot. My prediction is: Akiyama by Unanimous Decision Rd 3
John Fitch vs Paulo Thiago
This is a grudge match for Fitch and should be rather close if looking at it on paper but I am not. Fitch posses great wrestling with decent stand up and Thiago posses great jiu-jitsu with decent stand up that he showed in the Koscheck fight. In my personal opinion Paulo Thiago is going to get wrecked in this fight, when he fought Fitch’s teammate Josh Koscheck, Koscheck forgot that he was a wrestler and used primarily his stand up skills which got him knocked the hell out. Fitch won’t make the same mistake he will use his stand up to set up his takedowns and grind out a victory. I see no way that Thiago should get a win here unless he catches Fitch with another bomb. My prediction John Fitch TKO Victory RD 2
Dan Henderson vs Michael Bisping
This is fight that I think is going to be an extremely one sided affair. Henderson and Bisping spent the last couple months opposite each other on the reality TV show The Ultimate Fighter. Bisping took that opportunity to use his trash talk to try and get a rise out of Henderson but was never successful. What he did do was make a lot of people want to see Henderson beat him around the cage for fifteen minutes. Bisping of late has shown that he could possibly be a force at MW but I don’t think its going to come against a seasoned vet like Henderson. Henderson will be able to dictate the pace of this fight with his explosive power on his feet and his superb wrestling ability. Henderson is always at his best when he can mix up his strikes and takedowns and put some good ground and pound on his opponents. I don’t see Bisping being able to handle the power of Henderson’s hands and will try to get this fight to the floor where Dan will also reign supreme. My prediction: Henderson TKO RD 1
GSP vs Thiago Alves
This is going to be the toughest test to date for welter weight champ GSP. Thiago has amazing stand up skills and as of late has shown he has great takedown defense as well. Coming off two devastating stoppages in his last two fights he is looking to add GSP to his collection of top ten welter weight he has picked off. GSP is one of those fighters that only comes around once in a great while. He is constantly evolving as a fighter and since teaming up with Greg Jackson has shown the ability to find the weaknesses in his opponents that can be exploited. GSP utterly dismantled his rival BJ Penn in his last outing by using BJ’s strengths against him. This fight is one that I am most excited for because it could easily have the most fireworks out of all the fights on the main card. If Alves can keep this fight on the feet he could easily walk home the new welter weight champion of the world but don’t think GSP isn’t going down without a fight. Takedowns will be the key to this fight for both guys. If GSP can take Alves down early and often this will be his fight but if Alves can keep it standing it could possibly be a short night for GSP. My prediction: GSP TKO RD 4
Main Event
Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir
This is going to be an epic showdown of two true heavy weights. Mir could complete his return to the top of the HW division of he can get past Lesnar and Lesnar can solidify the fact that he is a top level MMA fighter and avenge a previous defeat from his record. The questions is can Mir get another submission on the relatively inexperienced Lesnar or will he use his newly tuned stand up skills? On the other hand will Lesnar risk getting caught in another submission by taking this fight to the mat or will he try to unload his punching power standing up. These questions will be answered Saturday night. In my opinion Lesnar’s overall size and athletic ability are going to be too much for Mir to handle. Lesnar will eventually catch Mir with one of those huge right hands and Brock will not let him get up once he has Mir in trouble. My prediction: Lesnar TKO Rd 2
UFC post goes up tomorrow and will be left up all day for UFC 100 in Vegas. We’ll give you the run down of baseball from today and then all UFC, all day. Tonight, you should not be at home. Go out, have some drinks. If you’re married, take the wife out. It’s summer and you should enjoy the night. We’re headed out for dinner right after we write this. If you’re staying in, here’s what on the tube tonight:
It’s Friday. There’s people on summer hours. So, this is probably the last post we do before POI, The Skyline and then your UFC 100 preview. But, it’s a long one. So sit back and strap it down. Your MLB Power Rankings heading into the All-Star Break.
