Tyson Griffin
Marcus 'Maximus' Aurelio
Tyson Griffin has earned a reputation of being an exciting fighter due to his last couple of fights in the UFC, which have all either won or were considered for the Fight of the Night award and hopefully this trend will continue as he takes on BJJ Practitioner Marcus Aurelio. Griffin needs a win in this fight to get himself back into contention for the UFC Lightweight title, after bursting onto the MMA scene and compiling a perfect winning record of 8-0 during his first 2 years as a pro Griffin then lost some of his momentum after losing a close split decision to Frankie Edgar. He’s recently got himself back on track with impressive wins over fellow lightweight contenders Clay Guida, Thiago Tavares & Gleison Tibau and will be looking to continue this streak with a win over tough Brazilian fighter Marcus Aurelio. Aurelio is coming into this fight full of confidence after an impressive 16 second submission victory over Ryan Roberts at UFC Fight Night 13, although coming into this fight too confident could prove to be a disastrous mistake as Tyson Griffin is a completely different level of fighter and will provide a real test for the BBJ black belt. Marcus has shown in the past that he is definitely capable of beating the top fighters his division, holding a submission victory over Takanori Gomi (who many consider to be the top lightweight in the world after BJ Penn). Marcus’s strategy in this fight should be to take Tyson down as soon as the opportunity presents itself, which is easier said than done with Griffin’s excellent wrestling ability, however if Aurelio can get the fight to the ground then he has a clear advantage and he’ll have an excellent chance at pulling out the victory. Tyson on the other hand will be looking to keep Marcus standing where he is obviously more comfortable and has a distinct advantage over Marcus due to his striking ability. I think this fight will rely on Aurelio finding a way to get this fight to the ground and if he fails to do so then I can see Griffin taking the win.
My Prediction: Tyson Griffin via unanimous decision
Josh 'Kos' Koscheck
Chris ‘Lights Out’ Lytle
Josh Koscheck looks to re-start his quest for the welterweight title and another shot at Georges St Pierre as he takes on UFC veteran Chris Lytle. Koscheck has had one fight since going to a decision against GSP, winning by TKO against Dustin Hazelett. Lytle has also had one fight since his last loss (which was a controversial stoppage against Thiago Alves) winning via KO 33 seconds into the 1st round against Kyle Bradley. With Koscheck’s improved striking it’ll be interesting to see whether he chooses to stay standing and exchange strikes with Lytle, who has several pro boxing fights under his belt (13-1), in this fight or whether Josh decides to use his main strength and take Lytle down to the ground, where he can use his superior wrestling skills to ground & pound Lytle. Even though Josh’s striking has improved immensely since his time on the ultimate fighter, I think it would be a mistake for him to exchange strikes as I’d still favor Lytle in the striking department whose experience would allow him to pick Josh apart with his punches. Josh also has a tendency to leave his chin out when striking and someone with Lytle’s level of experience will definitely look to take advantage of that. For Koscheck to win this fight I feel that his best option would be to take Lytle down & use his ground game to overwhelm Chris. Chris on the other hand will need to be on top of his game as he sprawls to avoid the takedown attempts while using his superior striking to take Koscheck out.
My Prediction : Josh Koscheck via TKO (Ground & Pound)
Joe 'Daddy' Stevenson
Gleison Tibau
Both of these fighters are coming into this fight looking to prove something to themselves and each other after having both lost their last matches. Stevenson is coming off of a submission defeat to UFC Lightweight champion BJ Penn, while Gleison lost a unanimous decision to Tyson Griffin. This should be an interesting match as both fighters have almost identical strengths, both relying on their wrestling & submission skills to dominate their opponents. This could very well result in both guys cancelling each other out as each fighter looks to take the advantage. This may result in the majority of the fight taking place on the feet as we get to see just who has the advantage in the striking department. This is a really tough fight to call as both fighters are so evenly matched, but if I had to give the edge to one fighter I’d give it to Gleison, who has a 3 inch reach advantage and is one of the biggest lightweights in the division, having previously fought at welterweight. I think Gleisons height & weight advantage could prove crucial in helping him to win this fight.
My Prediction: Gleison Tibau via unanimous decision
Patrick 'The Predator' Cote
Ricardo 'Big Dog' Almeida
Patrick 'The Predator' Cote is coming into this fight on a 4-fight win streak, knowing that another victory here will take him one step closer to a match against Middleweight champion Anderson 'The Spider' Silva. Ricardo 'Big Dog' Almeida however will be looking to improve on his 7 fight win streak and continue his slow rise back into the middleweight rankings after a 3 year absence from the sport. Although Almeida hasn’t had a pro fight in 3 years prior to his return at UFC 81, he has remained active in the sport by teaching jiu jitsu at his school and helping Renzo Gracie to train his fighters in the IFL. Cote’s biggest advantage in this fight is his striking which is why he will be looking to keep this fight on the feet as he knows that if Ricardo gets him down then it’s going to be extremely difficult for Cote to get back up and defend against Almeida’s excellent submission skills. With Cote possessing knockout power in both hands, Almeida knows that if he chooses to stand up with Cote there’s a good chance that he’ll end up getting KO’d. Therefore Almeida’s tactics in this fight will be to get Cote to the ground immediately and use his world class jiu jitsu skills to submit the Canadian fighter. Even though Almeida has only had one fight since his return from his 3 year absence I still think he’s got what it takes to pull out the victory in this fight, as long as he avoids Cote’s punches for the first minute or two of the fight, he should be able to start imposing his will on Patrick and end up getting the submission.
My Prediction: Ricardo Almeida via submission
Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson
Forrest Griffin
The main event of the evening sees UFC Light Heavyweight champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson take on the original Ultimate Fighter Forrest Griffin. This fight has been 7 months in the making and after all the hype we finally get to see these two fighters square off in the octagon. Rampage has been on an unstoppable roll since debuting in the UFC, knocking out Marvin Eastman in his debut before KO’ing UFC legend Chuck Liddell to win the title and then beating Pride veteran and former Pride Middleweight & Welterweight champion Dan Henderson. Forrest himself is coming off of the biggest win of his career to date, an impressive submission victory of Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua, who prior to his fight against Griffin was considered to be among the top 2 or 3 Light Heavyweights in the world by many fans after winning Pride’s Middleweight Grand Prix. A tournament in which Jackson himself fought in and lost to Rua. With Rampage possessing KO power in both hands and Forrest having a questionable chin, it would be extremely unwise for Forest to stand with Quinton early on in this fight, therefore I think that Forrest’s best chance at winning this fight is getting Rampage to the ground as soon as possible. This is the only area that I would consider Griffin to hold an advantage over Quinton as he has finished 7 of his 15 victories via submission. Rampage however will want to keep this fight standing where he can use his superior boxing skills to out-strike Griffin and possibly KO him, Griffin has shown in past fights that he is susceptible to getting dropped, as evidenced in his fight against Keith Jardine at UFC 66. I think this fight all rests on whether or not Rampage lets Forrest take him down, if he makes a mistake and allows the takedown then we could very well see an upset, however I personally think that Rampage will be able to resist the takedown attempts and will ultimately prove too much for Griffin in the stand-up battle.
My Prediction: Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson via KO
