The UFC is returning to England once again and that means we get a solid fight card for free on Spike. Don’t forget to record it and start watching an hour late so you can skip past the ridiculous number of annoying commercials.
Anyway, I just thought I’d throw up my quick predictions for the event before the weekend…
Michael Bisping vs Chris Leben
Bisping has been on a bit of a tear since moving down to Middleweight. He’s looked a lot sharper and I think he has a lot of potential in this division. On the other hand, Leben has been rolling around in the second tier of this division for longer than he probably would like. He’s moved out to Hawaii now and is supposedly taking training and fighting a lot more seriously. If the pictures of his ripped new physique are any indication of his new work ethic, Bisping may be in for a tougher fight than most would expect.
Although Leben has knockout power in his hands, I haven’t yet seen the results of his new training and I have not been impressed by his gameplan and fight strategy in the past. Bisping on the other hand plays his fights pretty smart and I am going to go with a win for Bisping by decision.
Keith Jardine vs Brandon Vera
Both of these guys are some of the most talented in their division, trying to rebound from uneven performance in their recent fights. Jardine has been on an impressive win, brutal loss roller coaster. Vera on the other hand was slow and lacked the exciting, aggressive fighting style in his first fight at Light Heavyweight with Reese Andy.
This one is pretty tough to call. Both guys have a pretty good striking game, although Jardine’s strikes are a bit more unorthodox. However for me, the difference in calling the fight is Jardine’s chin is suspect. We have not seen Vera knocked out like Jardine has been a few times. Therefore, I will go with Brandon Vera to win this one.
Rameau Sokoudjou vs Luis Cane
Admittedly I haven’t seen much of Luis Cane but the hype on this guy is pretty high right now. Sokoudjou seemed to signal tremendous potential following his quick knockout wins over Ricardo Arona and Antonio Nogueira but he hasn’t had great showings since then. I’d like to see him get back on track in this fight with a win but I’m not sure if he has the discipline to do it. Winner: Luis Cane
Paul Taylor vs Chris Lytle
Lytle is a solid gatekeeper in the Welterweight division. He’s never been able to beat the absolute cream of the crop at 170 but he typically does quite well against anyone else. I expect to see more of the same here, although it should be an exciting fight. Winner: Chris Lytle
There are a bunch more fights on the card and hopefully they will be exciting and quick, so we get a chance to see a number of the undercard fights as well. I’d like to see Akihiro Gono do well; I want more Japanese fighters to succeed in the UFC and hopefully build a bridge to a UFC show in Japan one day (pipe dream, I know).
Enjoy the free show on Spike TV in the US and I’ll see you after the fights.
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