Josh 'Kos' Koscheck
Paulo ThiagoJosh Koscheck will be looking to follow up his stunning knockout of Yoshiyuki Yoshida with another impressive win when he takes on Brazilian submission specialist & Jungle Fight veteran Paulo Thiago. Thiago will be making his very first appearance in the UFC after building up his 10-0 undefeated record in Brazilian MMA promotion Jungle Fight. Thus far into his short MMA career Thiago hasn’t really been tested and this fight against Josh Koscheck will be a good test to see just how good Paulo really is and just how legitimate his undefeated record really is.
Josh Koscheck was extremely impressive in his last fight against Yoshida and if he is to get himself back into title contention after losing to Thiago Alves he will need to beat Paulo Thiago decisively, a decision victory in this fight against an unknown like Paulo will do Koscheck’s title charge no favours. With Koscheck’s strong, well-documented background in collegiate wrestling, dating back to his years at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, where he won all 42 of his wrestling matches during his Junior season, and went on to become the NCAA Division I Champion in the 174 lb weight class as well as a four-time NCAA Division I All-American. I feel that Paulo will have a tough time in getting this fight to the ground, which is where his main strength lies. Add this to the fact that he may experience some first time Octagon nerves and Paulo could find himself out of his depth in this fight. The only way I can really see Paulo winning this fight is if Koscheck either makes a mistake or does not fully respect Thiago’s skills. If Koscheck can stay focused though then he should be able to control this fight with his wrestling and stand-up skills on his way to a KO victory.
My Prediction: Josh Koscheck via KO.
Demian Maia
Chael SonnenDemian Maia will look to continue his extremely impressive win streak and unbeaten record when he takes on WEC veteran & Team Quest fighter Chael Sonnen. Demian Maia made his professional MMA debut in December 2005 against Lukas Chlewicki, getting a submission victory in the first round via armbar. Since then Maia has built one of the most impressive records in the UFC’s Middleweight division with 10 victories and no losses including a perfect 4-0 record inside the octagon against some tough UFC veterans such as Jason MacDonald and Nate Quarry. Maia has also taken home Submission of the Night honours in 3 of his 4 UFC fights.
Chael Sonnen made his MMA debut in March 2002 against Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller winning via decision after two five minute rounds at HFP 1: Rumble On The Reservation. Thus far Chael has compiled an overall record of 23-9-1 with his latest victory being the biggest of his career to date, a unanimous decision over the previously undefeated WEC Middleweight champion Paulo Filho at WEC 36. Prior to the fight, Paulo Filho did not make weight (weighing in almost seven pounds over 185 weight limit) thus taking away the chance for Sonnen to capture Filho’s WEC Middleweight title.
With a lot of people now taking notice of Sonnen after his victory over Filho, he will want to prove that the win was no fluke and that he is ready to start putting together some victories to challenge for the UFC Middleweight championship. Maia is currently near the top of the Middleweight division and a win here will only strengthen his case for a fight against Anderson Silva. With his second degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu I feel that Maia should stick to the same game plan that has kept him undefeated in the UFC and that is to avoid the strikes early on and take the fight to the ground as soon as possible. If Maia gets this fight to the ground then I feel that his Jiu-jitsu will be too much for Sonnen and Demian will walk away with another submission victory. Sonnen’s best chance at winning this fight is if he can use his wrestling to keep Maia from taking him to the ground, if he can get Maia to stay standing then he’ll have a chance to try to out-strike the Brazilian. But keeping Maia from taking you down is much easier said than done.
My Prediction: Demian Maia via submission
Nate 'The Great' Marquardt
Wilson GouveiaNate Marquardt and Wilson Gouveia will face off in the second Middleweight bout of the night as they look to take another step closer to a potential fight with Anderson Silva. Marquardt began his professional mixed martial arts career in April 1999 against Mike Lee, who he defeated via submission in the second round. Marquardt is currently 30-8-2 in his MMA career with an impressive TKO victory over Martin Kampmann in his last fight at UFC 88 back in September 2008.
Fighting out of American Top Team, Wilson Gouveia made his MMA debut in November 2001 against Ray Casias, ending the fight in the first round with an armbar submission. Since then Gouveia has gone 12-5 in his career (5-2 in the UFC) with two wins in his last two fights in the UFC including a submission victory over Jason MacDonald.
After getting back on track following his loss to Goran Reljic, Wilson will need to make a statement in this fight and a win over Nate Marquardt will definitely push him right back up in the rankings. With a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and KO power in both hands, Wilson is a threat to anyone in the Middleweight division and if he is in condition for this fight then he will definitely make this a tough night for Nate. Marquardt on the other hand will also be looking to make a statement, after losing to Anderson Silva, he is determined to get another shot at the champion and after a controversial loss to Thales Leites he desperately needs to put Gouveia away in this fight. Like Gouveia, Nate is also well rounded with excellent submission skills and good striking; he is also one of the biggest Middleweights in the division and should enjoy a strength advantage over Wilson. Another positive for Nate is the fact that he trains out of Greg Jackson’s camp and Jackson is notorious for putting together excellent game plans for his fighters, as seen when Keith Jardine defeated Gouveia back in June 2006. If this fight goes to the ground then I think that there may be a stalemate as both fighters excel there, so in my opinion the winner of this fight will be decided by who has the better stand-up. With Nate’s excellent showing in his last fight I think that he’ll come out raring to go for this fight and will push the pace early, which may lead to Gouveia’s questionable cardio leaving him gassed in the later rounds as Nate takes a TKO victory.
My Prediction: Nate Marquardt via TKO.
Dan 'The Outlaw' Hardy
Rory MarkhamDan Hardy and Rory Markham will both be making their second appearances in the Octagon on Saturday night when they collide in what should prove to be an entertaining Welterweight bout. Dan Hardy is the current Cage Warriors light welterweight and welterweight champion and has a background in Tae Kwon Do and Thai Boxing as well as a Blue Belt in Brazilian Ju-Jitsu from Eddie Bravo. He made his professional MMA debut back in 2004 against Luke Doski, losing to a rear naked choke in the 2nd round, since then Hardy has managed to put together an impressive record of 20 wins 6 losses and 1 draw, he is currently on a 4-fight win streak and defeated PRIDE veteran Akihiro Gono in his UFC debut via split decision.
Rory Markham fights out of the Miletich Fighting Systems team, which has produced over 80 television and pay per view level athletes and 14 world champion in various organizations. Like Hardy, Rory also made his professional MMA debut in June 2004 defeating Jason Guida via armbar in the 2nd round, he has since gone on to compile a 16-4 professional record and is on a 2-fight win streak. His UFC debut saw him take on Brodie Farber at Ultimate Fight Night 14: Silva Vs. Irvin in a fight that proved to be one of his most notable victories to date. Markham ended the fight by landing a highlight reel head kick knockout which led to him earning the Knockout of the Night award.
With both of these fighters possessing impressive KO ratios, Markham has 11 of his 16 wins by KO while Hardy has ended 10 of his 20 wins by KO, I can see both men testing each other early on in this bout to see just who has the advantage in the striking department. After looking at their previous fights however, I feel that Markham will prove to be the more dangerous striker, with KO power in both his hands and feet I think that Hardy may get overwhelmed if he chooses to stand and trade with Rory. I think that Hardy’s best chance at winning this fight will be on the ground where he can use the rubber guard to set-up Markham for a submission, this won’t be easy however as Markham has never been submitted in his professional MMA career. Markham on the other hand will want to stand and trade with Hardy while looking to land one of his big strikes to end the night for the Englishman.
My Prediction: Rory Markham via KO.
Joe 'Daddy' Stevenson
Diego 'Nightmare' SanchezDiego Sanchez will be dropping down to the lightweight division for the first time on Saturday as he takes on Joe Stevenson in the main event of UFC 95. Diego wrestled for his high school in New Mexico before he started training MMA and then making his debut in 2002 for King of the Cage where he defeated Shannon Ritch via submission in the first round. Diego went 11-0 before he was chosen as a participant on the first season of the reality show, The Ultimate Fighter. He went on to win a contract with the UFC after defeating Kenny Florian, becoming the very first middleweight winner of the show. Shortly after, Sanchez dropped to the welterweight division, defeating Brian Gassaway, Nick Diaz, John Alessio, Karo Parisyan, and Joe Riggs improving his undefeated record to 17-0 before his fight against Josh Koscheck at UFC 69. This fight put an end to Diego’s perfect record after he was out-struck by Koscheck in a fight that took place virtually all on the feet. The day after the fight Sanchez had a hole in his thigh the "size of a coffee cup" and was diagnosed with a staph infection. In his next fight he lost a split decision to Jon Fitch at UFC 76 before finally getting back to winning ways against David Bielkheden at UFC 82 with a submission due to strikes. In his most recent bout, Sanchez stopped Luigi Fioravanti via TKO due to strikes in the third round at The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale.
Joe Stevenson made his MMA debut back in May 1999 at 16 years of age, defeating Joe Camacho via submission. He then went on to amass a record of 24-6-0 while capturing the 155 lb championship at King of the Cage as well as the 170lbs championship at Gladiator Challenge before getting chosen to participate on The Ultimate Fighter Season 2. On November 5, 2005 Stevenson defeated Luke Cummo by unanimous decision, winning The Ultimate Fighter 2 welterweight tournament. Joe then lost his first fight after The Ultimate Fighter to Josh Neer, prompting Joe to move down to the Lightweight division. After moving to Lightweight Joe went on a 4-0 win streak before challenging Lightweight champion BJ Penn for the undisputed championship. Just seconds into the first round, Penn knocked Stevenson down with a right uppercut. BJ then landed a devastating elbow to the head of Stevenson – opening up a serious cut. In the second round, Stevenson fought more aggressively but was still unable to stop Penn from securing a rear naked choke at 4:02 of the second round to end the fight. Since his loss to Penn Joe has defeated Gleison Tibau before losing to Kenny Florian at UFC 91 via rear naked choke.
Both Diego and Joe are excellent grapplers and early on in this fight I can see both fighters grappling for a dominant position which could result in both men nullifying each other’s takedown attempts. This could then lead to a battle of strikes, Joe Stevenson is known for his excellent jab however his reach in this fight may stop him from landing it as often as he would like. Also Diego has really improved his stand-up since the Ultimate Fighter and he may now have the edge over Stevenson in this area. If this fight does stay standing then I can see Diego edging a decision victory. This fight really is make or break for Joe Stevenson who could find himself getting released from his contract if he loses 2 fights in row decisively. The trouble for Joe in this fight is that he has shown a tendency to be overwhelmed by aggressive grapplers in previous fights and with Diego’s tenacity and offensive style Joe could find himself on the end of another loss. One advantage that Joe may possess in this fight is the fact that he has made the cut to 155 regularly now and will be well conditioned for this fight, Diego on the other will be cutting to 155 for the first time and this could end up affecting his conditioning, which is normally one of the strongest aspects of his game. After analyzing this fight unless Diego suffers badly from making the cut then I can see him taking this fight and making a statement to the other fighters in the Lightweight division.
My Prediction: Diego Sanchez via decision
