September 18, 2009, at 3:09 am
Tyson Griffin v. Hermes Franca
This isn’t going to be all that much of a fight. Griffin has emerged as one of the top fighters in the 155 division. He’s likely right outside the top five, and this win should getting him some talk about getting a top-3 opponent. He’s 6-2 in the UFC with wins over Clay Guida, Marcus Aurelio, and Gleison Tibau. Griffin is a bit small for 155, but he possess some excellent tools with which to work. He has some really nice wrestling, and pretty solid standup as well. Add the fact that he trains with a pretty solid team in Xtreme Couture and you have the recipe for one hell of a fighter.
I’ve always thought that Franca was one of the more overrated 155ers. This BJJ Black Belt is 5-2 in the UFC, but doesn’t have any real great wins under his belt. His best win is probably over Nate Diaz. He’s pretty good on the ground and has some decent standup, but nothing about him really jumps off the page.
As long as Griffin can stay out of a submission, expect him to ground and pound his way to a win.
Prediction: Griffin via Unanimous Decision
Josh Koscheck v. Frank Trigg
If there is one fight on this card that isn’t getting enough attention, it’s probably this one. The return of Frank Trigg is not being pushed as the storyline that it should be. Trigg was a mainstay in the early days of the UFC and now is back after burning and then rebuilding his bridges with Dana White. Trigg is a well balanced fighter that was 2-3 in his previous UFC stint, but all of those losses came to Matt Hughes (2) and Georges St. Pierre. Those are pretty much “quality” losses.
He’ll be going against Josh Koscheck, who is coming off a loss of his own to Paulo Thiago. After fighting three times in six months, Koscheck took eight months off before getting back into the ring on Saturday. We all know the deal with Koscheck. He is a world class wrestler who has ever improving standup due to his training at the American Kickboxing Academy. He’s 10-4 in the UFC, which is a damn good mark.
Koscheck does just about everything Trigg does better than Trigg does it.
Prediction: Koscheck via Unanimous Decision
Martin Kampmann v. Paul Daley
Ugh. This fight was so much better when Kampmann and Mike Swick. Swick sustained a concussion late in his training and is unable to fight. Instead, we get Paul Daley who is an IFL veteran making his UFC debut. Daley is of british decent and is a muay thai striker by nature. Daley’s last fight was supposed to be against Long Island’s own Jay Hieron, but was scrapped when Affliction folded.
Kampmann’s last fight was his trademark win by split decision over Carlos Condit. While I am a reasonable man, there is no way that anyone will ever convince me that Kampmann actually won that fight. He is 6-1 in the UFC with wins over Jorge Rivera, Thales Leites and Drew McFedries. He is also a a striker, which means that we will see these two guys slug it out on the feet for most of the fight.
It’s really a shame this fight doesn’t include Swick.
Prediction: Kampmann via TKO
Mirko Cro Cop v. Junior Dos Santos
This fight has become a point of contention between Jason and I. Jason keeps insisting that the “real Cro Cop” is coming back, and I think that he’s nuts. For those who are uninitiated, Cro Cop is one of living legends of this sport. When he was in Pride, he was the most feard Striker in the world and he had head kicks that could sick large ships. However, since coming over to the UFC, he looks old and slow, and nothing like the Mirko of old. His fighting style is to remain on his feet at all costs until he can find a way to employ a devastating striking game on his opponent.
As for Dos Santos, he is a legitimate heavyweight prospect out of the Nogueira’s camp in Brazil. Don’t assume that this means that he is a ground fighter; He ain’t. Dos Santos is 2-0 in the UFC with both wins coming by KO in less than 30 seconds. He has already said that he plans to outbox the Croation, and I think that he will be able to do just that.
The Legend of Cro Cop dies Saturday night.
Prediction: Dos Santos via KO
Rich Franklin v Vitor Belfort @ Catchweight (195 lbs.)
I love the Rich Franklin weight class. It’s like they don’t ant him anywhere near Machida or Silva and that’s why they don’t let him fight in either of the two weight classes he belongs in. Instead, we are going to keep getting these super fights between Ace and a big name opponent that doesn’t quite fit into his weight category.
As for the Franklin the fighter, He’s just great. Primarily known for his stand-up, Franklin is 10-3 with a list of victims that looks like an MMA hall of fame. In fact, if it wasn’t for Anderson Silva being so damn awesome, I’m a strong believer that Franklin would still be the champ at 185.
As for Belfort, he is making his UFC return after a long time away. Belfort came up as a phenom (explaining his nickname, The Phenom) in the UFC’s early days and tore through the competition on his way to become the UFC light heavyweight champ. Then in 2004 his sister was kidnapped and never found. As his life skidded out of control, so did his career and soon he was out of the UFC after losses to Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz.
As sad as it sounds, Vitor’s career didn’t get back on track until after he found out that his sister was dead. Since August 2007, he’s 4-0 and his most recent win came over veterean Matt Lindland. In the ring, Vitor possess some of the fastest hands in MMA and some sick power to go along with it. Franklin has a tendency to lower his hands and if he does, he’ll be facing barrages from Belfort.
I’ve gone back and forth on this fight alot. I want to pick Franklin because I feel like this is an upset that he can do, but I just feel like Belfort’s hands might be way too fast for Rich.
Prediction: Belfort via TKO
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