Tito 'The Huntington Beach Bad Boy' Ortiz vs. Ryan 'Darth' Bader
Tito Ortiz will be looking to get his first win since 2006 when he takes on Ryan Bader on Saturday night, however Bader will also be looking to get back to winning ways after suffering his first ever professional loss to Jon Jones at UFC 126. This will be a tough fight for Ortiz, but a win against Bader would definitely up his stock and get him back into the upper echelon of the division. The reason that this is a tough fight for Ortiz though is that his main strength is also one of Bader’s big strengths which is his wrestling, and with his injuries over the years Tito’s wrestling has slowly deteriorated which is leading me to believe that he will struggle to take Bader down in this fight. If this proves to be the case then we could see this turn into a striking match, which would favour Bader. If this fight had happened a few years ago while Ortiz was still in his prime then i’d go with ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ however after all of the injuries he’s sustained over the years I think his time has passed and the new generation of MMA stars are taking over. This is a difficult prediction for me to make as i’m a big fan of Ortiz, however i’m going to have to go with Bader in this one.My Prediction: Ryan Bader via decision.
Wanderlei 'The Axe Murderer' Silva vs. Chris 'The Crippler' Leben
In the co-main event of the evening Wanderlei Silva makes his long awaited return from surgery to take on Chris Leben in what should be a contender for Fight of the Night if either fighter’s past performances are anything to go by. Both of these guys love to stand & trade punches so i’m not expecting this fight to go the distance. Leben will be looking to make a statement in this fight after suffering a loss to Bryan Stann in January and he knows that a win over a legend like Wanderlei will get him back on the track in the middleweight division. Leben is known for his big KO power and iron chin, and he is not afraid to take a few shots if it means he has the opportunity to land some of his own, however this could be a risky strategy against someone like Wanderlei who also has KO power in his hands. This is a tough fight to predict due to Wanderlei’s inactivity, we’ve all seen how cage rust can affect fighters and it’s been well over a year since we last saw Silva in the Octagon. Will this lack of activity come back to haunt ‘The Axe Murderer’? I think this fight will be decided by whoever lands first, I expect to see both fighters come out aggressively and whoever makes the first mistake in the striking exchange will be made to pay. Even though Silva has been out for a while I think he will still be able to catch Leben and put him away within 2 rounds.My Prediction: Wanderlei Silva via TKO.
Dominick 'The Dominator' Cruz vs. 'The California Kid' Urijah Faber
In the main event of the evening Dominick Cruz will defend his UFC Bantamweight title and also look to avenge his only career loss when he takes on Urijah Faber. It’s been 4 years since Urijah managed to defeat Cruz at WEC 26 via guillotine choke and i’m sure both fighters will admit that they have evolved a lot during that time, so this fight should be totally different from their first encounter. Cruz has evolved into one of the most dominant fighters around today and is a staple in many people’s pound for pound rankings, Faber on the other hand has lost a bit of the momentum he had back in 2007, however he is now looking to make a statement in his new weight class. Faber is very well rounded and is just as comfortable trading strikes as he is taking the fight to the ground & working for a submission. Likewise Cruz has also become an extremely well rounded fighter; however in this match-up I would give a slight edge to Faber on the ground and a slight advantage to Cruz in the striking. Cruz has very unorthodox striking and his constant movement has the ability to frustrate his opponents. I think the result of this fight will depend on whether Faber is able to get Cruz down to the ground, if he can secure the takedown then I think he’ll be able to either get the submission or control the fight to get a decision. However if Cruz is able to stuff the takedown attempts and it becomes a battle of strikes then I think he’ll retain his title and avenge his previous loss.
My Prediction: Dominick Cruz via decision.
