Cheick Kongo
Mostapha Al TurkFormer Cage Rage Heavyweight champion Mostapha Al Turk will be making his UFC debut when he takes on the always dangerous Cheick Kongo. During his time fighting for the Cage Rage promotion Al Turk complied an impressive record of 6-1 on his way to winning the heavyweight title and is 2-0 in his last two fights. Cheick Kongo will be looking to make a statement in this fight and an impressive win here could put him right up there in title contention in what is currently a relatively weak heavyweight division when compared to the other weight divisions in the UFC.
Kongo got back to winning ways in his last fight after losing to Heath Herring prior to that so he should be confident of keeping this momentum going in this fight. Cheick has some of the most dangerous stand-up in the heavyweight division and if he can finally sort out his ground game then he will be a real threat to the other fighters in the division. I don’t think Al Turk will want to trade with Kongo in this fight, the smartest strategy for him will be to take Kongo down as soon as he gets within range and then attempt to work for the submission. Unless Kongo has significantly improved his ground skills since his last fight then he could be in for some real trouble if he allows himself to get taken down by Mostapha , who is no joke when it comes to ground fighting. Kongo will want to utilize his kickboxing skills against Al Turk who I feel will have a significant disadvantage in this fight in the stand-up. Kongo was a kick boxer prior to signing for the UFC and anyone who has tried to trade with him has ended up losing. I believe that with Kongo’s experience and barring any mistakes he should be able to dictate the pace of this fight and methodically pick Mostapha apart on his feet while working towards the KO.
My Prediction: Cheick Kongo via KO
CB "The Doberman" Dollaway
Mike "The Master of Disaster" MassenzioCB Dollaway will be looking to carry on the momentum he gained from his last fight, a first round submission victory over Jesse Taylor, as he takes on Mike Massenzio. Mike will be making his 2nd appearance in the UFC after a victory against Drew McFedries in his debut bout. After a somewhat controversial loss to Amir Sadollah, ending his undefeated record, CB is now trying to make a name for himself in what is one of the most talent stacked divisions in the UFC.
Both of these fighters come from wrestling backgrounds but if I had to give the edge to one fighter in the grappling department it would have to be CB, who has been wrestling since the age of 5 and was also an All-American at Arizona State University. With the majority of his wins coming by way of submission, Mike’s best chance at winning this fight is by getting the fight to the ground where he could perhaps look to pull off a submission victory, which is easier said than done as CB is not too bad on the ground himself. CB’s strategy for this fight should be to keep it standing where he can use his superior striking to go for the KO, however if he’s not getting any luck in the stand-up I wouldn’t be surprised to see CB attempt to take Mike down and go for a submission himself, perhaps we could see another Peruvian Neck-Tie submission victory.
My Prediction: CB Dollaway via TKO
Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva
Quinton "Rampage" JacksonIn the first of the three main events of the evening Wanderlei Silva and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will face off for the 3rd time in their careers. In both the previous fights Wanderlei has come out on top with a TKO victory back in 2003 at PRIDE Final Conflict and a KO win in 2004 at PRIDE 28: High Octane. With this fight now taking place in the Octagon instead of the ring and with slightly different rules (no soccer kicks etc.) Rampage will be hoping that the outcome in this fight will be different. This will be Rampage’s first fight since his loss to Forrest Griffin and coming off of a loss is always going to be tough but when your next opponent is a guy who has KO’ed you twice before then it’s going to be even more problematic. Wanderlei on the other hand is starting to find his feet in the UFC, after going on a 3 fight losing streak he came back with a bang in his last fight by KO’ing Keith Jardine in the 1st round. He will now be coming into this fight full of confidence and the way that his previous fights with Rampage have ended will only enhance that confidence.
With Rampage now training with the Wolfs Lair it’ll be interesting to see just what his tactics will be in this fight, he is obviously the better wrestler out of the two fighters and he has shown that he can take Wanderlei down if he chooses too. In my opinion this is where he will need to take the fight if he is to be successful, if he takes Silva down then he should be able to keep him there and work his way to a decision victory. Wanderlei’s strategy in this fight will be exactly the same as most of his fights; he is going to go in there and try to get Rampage to trade with him. This will be extremely dangerous for Quinton because even though his boxing skills are more technical, Wanderlei throws every punch with bad intentions and he’s not afraid to mix up his strikes, combining punches, kicks, elbows & knees. If this fight stays standing then either fighter has a realistic chance of scoring the KO, but as seen in their previous fights Rampage doesn’t seem to be able to handle Silva when he starts using his Muay Thai clinch, I’m sure this is an area that Jackson has been working on in training but there are not many fighters at 205 who can use the clinch as effectively as Silva. Anyone looking at the previous bouts between these two will probably be thinking that Silva will win this fight rather easily but I believe that writing Rampage off like that would be a mistake, this will be anything but an easy fight and although I do think that Wanderlei will win this fight I expect Rampage to make him work hard for the victory.
My Prediction: Wanderlei Silva via TKO
Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira
Frank MirIn the second main event of the night Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira takes on his rival coach from The Ultimate Fighter Season 8, Frank Mir for the UFC interim Heavyweight title. There’s a lot at stake in this fight as the winner will go on to face Brock Lesnar to decide just who is the undisputed champion of the heavyweight division. I believe that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is one of the best heavyweights in the world today (2nd only to Fedor Emelianenko), he has an overall MMA record of 31-4 avenging almost all of his losses. In fact the only fighter to beat him is Fedor Emelianenko and even in those 2 fights Fedor couldn’t finish Minotauro.
Frank Mir is 3-2 in the UFC since coming back from his motorcycle accident, with two wins coming in his last two fights including a submission victory over current champion Brock Lesnar. Prior to his accident Mir was one of the best heavyweights in the UFC but since returning he has lost his way somewhat, thankfully though he seems to be re-discovering his pre-accident form and is looking in the best shape of his career for this fight. With both fighters being so accomplished on the ground, both are BJJ black belts, I can see this fight going to a stalemate if either fighter initiates the takedown. Therefore I think that we’ll see most of the fight take place standing, which is an area where I feel that Nogueira has the advantage. He has been working on his boxing extensively for the last few years even going as far as to train in Cuba for a few months with the Cuban National Boxing team. As well as his boxing skills Nogueira also posesses an iron chin and has never been knocked out in his career. I think this fight will be an up-hill battle for Mir as everything that he excels at, Nogueira is just that little bit better. As a result I think that Frank’s only chance of winning this fight is if Nogueira makes a mistake and if that happens Mir will need to capitalize on it immediately. That being said I just can’t see Minotauro slipping in this fight and he should walk out with the victory and a future fight with Brock Lesnar.
My Prediction: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira via decision
Forrest Griffin
"Sugar" Rashad EvansThe final main event of the evening sees the UFC light heavyweight title on the line as Forrest Griffin makes his first defence of the title against the undefeated Rashad Evans. Forrest is coming into this fight off of the two biggest wins of his career to date, submitting Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua at UFC 76 and then winning a unanimous decision against Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson at UFC 86. Rashad will also be full of confidence coming into this fight after knocking out former light heavyweight champion and future Hall Of Famer Chuck Liddell at UFC 88.
Both fighters seem to improve every time we see them in the octagon and this fight should be no different, Rashad has improved his stand-up considerably since the ultimate fighter and he should have the edge in this area of the fight, his superior head movement and combinations should be enough to out-strike the champion should the fight stay standing. Rashad is also very explosive with his strikes and Forrest will need to be cautious in the early rounds when Evans is fresh. In terms of grappling again I’d have to give the edge to Rashad who is probably the better wrestler in this fight but I think if the fight goes into the later rounds Forrest should have no problems in taking Evans down. Forrest is a cardio machine and he will keep coming at Rashad for the full 25 minutes whereas Evans has shown suspect conditioning in previous fights. This is a really difficult fight to pick as both fighters have a very good chance at winning, if Rashad can avoid Forrest’s takedown attempts early on and get Griffin to stand with him then I could see him getting the KO in the early rounds. However the longer the fight goes on the more I think it will favor Forrest who will be able to force his will on Evans as they go into the later rounds. This fight really could go either way but I’m gonna go with Rashad via TKO in the early rounds.
My Prediction: Rashad Evans via TKO
