Preview of UFC 117

The UFC returns with their first Pay Per View in a month this Saturday and on paper, this card looks like it could be great with a few big fights including a title defense and two possible number one contender match ups.

UFC Middleweight Title Fight- Anderson "The Spider" Silva vs Chael Sonnen- The talking is over for both men but more importantly, for Chael Sonnen, it's time to back up what his mouths been saying for the last couple of months. These two can't stand one another and it's safe to say that this is a genuine grudge match. Chael Sonnen has been on a roll as of late with three victories in a row coming against the likes of Dan Miller, Yushin Okami and Nate Marquardt. Sonnen is a terrific wrestler who has been continuously evolving as a fighter, winning his fights with Miller and Okami on the feet. Chael should be able to get Anderson to the ground with little problems but this is not going to necessarily going to win him the fight. Despite being considered the best and most accurate striker in MMA, Anderson has a fantastic Jui Jitsu game under the Noguiera brothers and a fair amount of submission victories to his resume. One thing that may come in to play in this one, is that I see both men fighting with emotion and maybe veering off from their normal gameplans. I wouldn't be surprised to see Anderson to feel the fight out early, waiting for Chael to bring the fight to him. Silva can and may likely knock out Sonnen but I think Chael waits until the second or third round until he starts looking for the takedowns as he more then likely plans on Silva tiring himself out dancing around and avoiding Sonnen's clinch. Chael should be able to get the fight to the ground but I don't think he'll be able to do much when he's down there as Anderson should be able to lock up Chael in a triangle choke or armbar when Chael gets to aggressive on the mat. I hope I'm wrong here, but any way I look at this, Anderson is walking away with the victory. Props to guys Chael for hyping this fight as well as he has really made a name for himself at the expense of the Spider.

Prediction: Anderson "The Spider" Silva by submission

"Big Country" Roy Nelson vs Junior Dos Santos- This fight should be awesome! I have been looking forward to this fight probably more then any fight so far this year as both guys are a step away from challenging Brock Lesnar or Cain Velasquez in early 2011. Junior Dos Santos has looked darn near unstoppable in the UFC with finishes of Fabricio Werdum, Stefan Struve, Cro Cop, Gilbert Yvel and most recently, Gabriel Gonzaga. There's no question that JDS has faced some tough dudes and has had no easy fights thus far. What's most impressive with Dos Santos is that he's been able to finish all of those guys by knockout or tko, not bad when most of them are known for their striking as well. Roy Nelson doesn't necessarily look to be all that great visually but this guy has a fantastic set of tools all around. With a terrific Jui Jitsu game and fully aware of how to use his girth to his advantage, Nelson has won his two fights in the UFC, outside of the ultimate fighter house and has knockout finishes of Brendan Schaub and Stefan Struve. JDS is a step up from who Nelson has been facing lately but Nelson has been in there with top guys in the past and he's fully capable of hanging in there with JDS. Dos Santos hasn't faced anyone who has gotten him to the ground but Nelson has the ability to do it and possibly even finish the unproven on his back Junior. This is a fight that wouldn't surprise me to go either way but I think Nelson is able to keep it standing until JDS gets in close and get Junior to the ground and finish him early in the fight in his favorite crucifix position by either strikes or pulling off a submission due to an armbar. Should be a great fight regardless.

Prediction: Nelson by submission

Jon Fitch vs Thiago "Pitbull" Alves- This is a rematch of a fight from 2006 that Fitch was able to win due to an upkick. Both men have evolved as fighters and their only losses since this time were to GSP. Alves is a dangerous striker but hasn't fought in over a year and Fitch is a very active fighter taking a fight every few months. Fitch should be able to get Alves to the ground but keeping hi there is going to be a problem. Alves is not someone to count out but with injuries, health problems and inactivity he's got a lot stacked against him. This fight should more than likely go just like all most of Fitch's fights, with Jon getting his hand raised after 15 minutes.

My Prediction: Jon Fitch by unanimous decision

Ricardo Almeida vs Matt Hughes- Almeida is a Jui Jitsu black belt under Renzo Gracie, Hughes most recent victim and revenge is obviously on the mind of Ricardo in this one. Matt Hughes was one of the most dominant champions in UFC history but that was a few years ago and Matt hasn't looked the same since. Hughes has a record of 44-7 but has gone 3-3 in his last six outings. In those fights two were dominant, second round stoppages at the hands of GSP, two decision victories that could have gone either way to Chris Lytle and Matt Serra, a brutal tko loss to a knee and follow up punches to Thiago Alves and a tko finish of an out of shape and rusty Renzo Gracie. The days of Hughes beating down on everyone put in front of him are over and I don't think this fight can be won by a modern day Hughes. Almeida has had his fair share of fights where he's looked pretty bad but since moving down to welterweight, he's looked fairly impressive. Winning three fights in a row, Matt Hughes is a step up in competition from Matt Horwich, Kendall Grove and Matt Brown and to win this Almeida is going to have to get Hughes to the ground which he should be able to due by using the cage to his advantage in the clinch. Aleida doesn't have the best hands but he does have some serious power and often mixes it up with his takedowns making him fairly unpredictable. If Hughes plans on winning this one he's going to have to get Ricardo to the ground and use his ground and pound to look for a finish but with Almeida's Jui Jitsu, he may want to try and keep it standing and avoid any submission attempts. This one should be a close fight and I could easily see it going to a split decision. I think the chances of this one going the full 15 minutes are extremely high here.

Prediction: Almeida by decision

Clay "The Carpenter" Guida vs Rafael Dos Anjos- Both of these guys fight at a great pace and this could easily be Fight of the Night when all is said and done. Clay is one of the most fan friendly fighters out there and Dos Anjos has quietly been climbing the ranks of the lightweights. Dos Anjos has gone 3-0 in his last few outings following back to back losses in his early UFC fights. Robert Emerson, Kyle Bradley and Terry Etim are Raphael's most recent wins but Guida is another step up or two in competition from any of those guys. A common opponent here if Tyson Griffin who has beaten both men by decision although neither fight was a cake walk for him. If this fight stays standing, Guida should be able to pick apart Dos Anjos for three rounds but on the ground, Dos Anjos may pose some problems for Clay who has been submitted in the past. Tough fight to call here and it could go either way but I think Clay is able to keep it on the feet and gets his hand raised here.

Prediction: Guida by decision

In Other Fights

Todd "Bulldog" Brown vs Tim "The Barbarian" Boetsch- Prediction: Botsch by tko

"Killa B" Ben Saunders vs Dennis "Superman" Hallman- Prediction: Saunders by tko

Rick Story vs Dustin Hazelett- Prediction: Hazelett by decision

Charlie "The Spaniard" Brenneman vs Johny Hendricks- Prediction: Hendricks by decision

Stefan Struve vs Christian Morecraft- Prediction: Struve by submission

Rodney Wallace vs Phil Davis- Prediction: Davis by submission

Quick Results of UFC on Versus

Sunday nights UFC on the Versus network was a pretty good show overall. When the event was over, Tyson Griffin suffered a surprising knockout at the hands of Takanori Gomi, Jake Ellenberger climbed another step up in the welterweight division, Yushin Okami is ready to start knocking on Anderson Silva's door and Jon Jones almost murdered yet another opponent in quick fashion. For a non pay per view I was rather pleased with show and with there being no UFC for the last several weeks, it got me excited again for next weekend.

Takanori Gomi defeated Tyson Griffin by knockout at 1:04 of the first round

Jake Ellenberger defeated John "Doomsday" Howard by doctor’s stoppage due to a cut at 2:21 of the second round

Yushin Okami defeated Mark Munoz by Split Decision

John "Bones" Jones defeated Vladimir Matyushenko by tko at 1:52 of the first round

In Other Fights

Rob Kimons defeated Steve Steinbeiss by Unanimous Decision

Charles Oliviera submitted Darren Elkins at 0:41 of the first round to an armbar

Brian Stann submitted Mike Massenzio at 3:10 of the third round to triangle choke

Igor Pokrajac submitted James Irvin at 2:29 of the first round to a rear naked choke

Matt Riddle defeated Demarques Johnson at 4:29 of the second round by tko

Jacob Volkmann defeated Paul Kelly by Unanimous Decision

Upcoming Events

WEC 50 from Las Vegas, Nevada- August 18th, 2010

Bantamweight Championship Fight- Dominic Cruz vs Joe Benavidez

Anthony Pettis vs Shane Roller

Bart "Bartimus" Palazewski vs Zachary Micklewright

Brad "One Punch" Picket vs Scott Jorgenson

Dave Jansen vs Ricardo Lamas

Cub Swanson vs Chad Mendes

Javier "Showtime" Vazquez vs Mackens Semerzier

Fredson Paixao vs Brian Caraway

Anthony Njokuani vs Maciej "Irokez" Jewtuszko

Dustin Poirier vs Danny Castillo

Strikeforce: Houston from Houston, Texas- August 21st, 2010

Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal vs Rafael Cavalcante

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs Tim Kennedy

KJ Noons vs Jorge Gurgel

Antonio "Big Foot" Silva vs Sergei Kharitonov

Bobby Lashley vs Chad "The Gravedigger" Griggs

UFC 118 from Boston, Mass.- August 28th, 2010

UFC Lightweight Title Fight- Frank "The Answer" Edgar vs BJ Penn

Kenny "Ken Flo"Florian vs Gray Maynard

James Toney vs "The Natural" Randy Couture

Nate "The Great" Marquardt vs Roussimar Palhares

Joe "J-Lau" Lauzon vs Terry Etim

Marcus Davis vs Nate Diaz

Demian Maia vs Mario Miranda

Alessio Sakara vs Jorge "El Conquistador" Rivera

Amilcar Alves vs Mike Pierce

Andre Winner vs Nick "The Carnie" Lentz

Greg Soto vs Nick Osipczak

Phil "New York Badass" Baroni vs John Salter

Shark Fights 13 from Amarillo, Texas- September 11th, 2010

"The Dean of Mean"Keith Jardine vs Trevor Prangley

Rameau Thierry "The African Assassin" Sokoudjou vs Houston Alexander

Drew "The Massacre" McFedries vs Joey "Dreasmasher" Villasenor

Karen Darabedyan vs Marcus "The Wrecking Ball" Hicks

Douglas Evans vs Ronnie Mann

Aaron Rosa vs Dave "Pee Wee" Herman

Eric "Bighead" Davila vs Pete "Secret Weapon" Spratt

Fight Night- September 15th, 2010

Gleison Tibau vs Jim Miller

Alan "The Talent" Belcher vs Demian Maia

Cole Miller vs Ross Pearson

Mac Danzig vs Matt Wiman

Tomasz Drwal vs Nick Catone

Kyle Kingsbury vs Jared Hamman

Efrain Escudero vs John Gunderson

David "Daudi" Mitchell vs Anthony "TJ" Waldburger

Rich Attonito vs Rafael "Sapo" Natal

UFC 119- From Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana- September 25th, 2010

Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira vs Frank Mir

Ryan Bader vs Antonio "Lil Nog" Nogueira

Matt "The Terror" Serra vs Chris "Light's Out" Lytle

Jeremy "Lil Heathen" Stevens vs Melvin "The Young Assassin" Guillard

Joey "The Mexicutioner" Beltran vs Matt Mittrione

CB Dollaway vs Joe Doerkson

TJ Grant vs Julio Paulino

Evan Dunham vs Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk

Mark Hunt vs Sean McCorkle

Aaron Riley vs Pat "Awesomely Awesome" Audinwood

Waylon Lowe vs Steve Lopez

WEC 51 from Colorado- September 30th, 2010

Jose Aldo vs Manny Gamburyan

"The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung vs George Roop

Leonard "Bad Boy" Garcia vs Mark "The Machine" Hominick

Miguel Torres vs Charlie Valencia

Donald "The Cowboy" Cerrone vs Jamie "The Worm" Varner

Chris Horodecki vs Ed Ratcliff

Chad "Savage" George vs Antonio Banuelos

UFC 120- From The UK- October 16th, 2010

Michael "The Count" Bisping vs Yoshiro "Sexyama" Akiyama

Carlos Condit vs Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy

Cheick Kongo vs Travis Browne

John Hathaway vs Mike "Quicksand" Pyle

Alexander "The Mauler" Gustafsson vs Cyrille "Snake" Diabate

Claude Patrick vs James Wilks

Rob Broughton vs Vinicus "Spartan" Kappke

Curt Warburton vs Spencer "The King" Fisher

James McSweeney vs Tom Blackledge

Steve Cantwell vs Stanislav Nedkov

UFC 121- From The Honda Center in Anaheim, California- October 23rd, 2010

UFC Heavyweight Championship- Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez

Matt Hammill vs Tito Ortiz

Jake Shields vs Martin "Hitman" Kampmann

Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez vs Paulo Thiago

Gabriel Gonzaga vs Brendan Schaub

Patrick "The Predator" Cote vs "Filthy" Tom Lawlor

Jon Madsen vs Todd Duffee

Sam "Hands of Stone" Stout vs Paul Taylor

Court "The Crusher" McGee vs Ryan Jensen

Chris Camozzi vs Dongi Yang

Daniel Roberts vs Michael "The Joker" Guymon

That's all for this week as I'll be back later this month with a look at UFC 118.