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UFC Heavyweight Division Fight

“The Hungarian Nightmare” Christian Wellisch (9-2-0) vs. Shane Carwin (8-0-0)

 

Christian Wellisch is a UFC fighter who could be a win or two away from becoming a potential contender to the UFC Interim Heavyweight Title, already winning two of three UFC fights. The last UFC appearance for Christian Wellisch occurred at UFC 76, where he defeated Scott Junk by submission. Christian Wellisch is a fighter who has trained at the American Kickboxing Academy and won The Gracie Open. Shane Carwin is making his octagon debut at UFC 84 and bring the eight fight undefeated streak along with him. Shane Carwin is a former Ring Of Fire Heavyweight Champion, also a former NCAA Division II National Heavyweight Champion. This fight could be pretty even if it goes to the ground, but the standing war will go to Christian Wellisch, who already has a knockout victory in the UFC.

 

My Prediction: Christian Wellisch

 

UFC Welterweight Division Fight

Jason Tan (5-1-0) vs. Dong “Stun Gun” Hyun Kim (9-0-1)

 

In his one previous UFC appearance, Jason Tan was on the wrong end of a highlight reel knockout to rising welterweight star Marcus Davis at UFC 72. Despite the one loss, Jason Tan does have excellent conditioning and the ability to finish a fight while standing or on the ground. Dong Hyun Kim is bringing a world class judo game to the octagon on his UFC debut, along with some catch wrestling and jiu-jitsu. Although Dong Hyun Kim is undefeated in MMA, the always present “octagon shock” could become a factor for the UFC newcomer. Dong Hyun Kim will want to ground the striker Jason Tan and use his jiu-jitsu to achieve victory in his UFC debut.

 

My Prediction: Dong Hyun Kim

 

UFC Welterweight Division Fight

Jon Koppenhaver (6-1-0) vs. Yoshiyuki “Zenko” Yoshida (9-2-0)

 

In his UFC debut at the UFC Ultimate Fighter Finale, Jon Koppenhaver defeated Jared Rollins in what many consider to be one of the best UFC fights of 2007. Jon Koppenhaver has been trained in jiu-jitsu by accomplished jiu-jitsu practitioner Baret Yoshida and he currently holds a purple belt. In an interesting turn of events, Jon Koppenhaver was able to meet his upcoming opponent, Yoshiyuki Yoshida, in Japan this past April. In continuing with the streak of UFC debuts, Yoshiyuki Yoshida is going to make his UFC debut at UFC 84. Yoshiyuki Yoshida currently trains along top MMA stars Hidehiko Yoshida, Ryo Chonnan, Shungo Oyama and Ryan Bow. Yoshiyuki Yoshida is an accomplished judo fighter by winning the 2002 National Judo Corporate Team Championship and was a triple crown winner in national high school judo.

 

My Prediction: Yoshiyuki Yoshida

 

UFC Lightweight Division Fight

Rich “No Love” Clementi (39-12-1) vs. Terry Etim (10-1-0)

 

Since returning to the UFC as a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter, Rich Clement has won four of six fights and is on a three fight win streak. The big factor heading into this fight is the conditioning of Rich Clementi, who just fought last month at UFC 83 defeating Sam Stout. This is a potentially big fight for Rich Clementi, who can transition his fourth straight UFC victory to put himself in title contention. Terry Etim started making a name for himself in the UFC during the UFC’s recent expansion into the UK, where he fought Matt Grice at UFC 70 and Gleison Tibau at UFC 75. Terry Etim has the potential to become a top lightweight fighter in the UFC, already holding the Cage Gladiators Lightweight Title. Terry Etim may want to keep the fight standing because Rich Clementi’s ground game is superior to that of Terry Etim’s.

 

My Prediction: Rich Clementi

 

UFC Light Heavyweight Division Fight

“The African Assassin” Rameau Sokoudjou (4-2-0) vs. Kazuhiro “Kaz” Nakamura (11-7-0)

 

At UFC 79, Rameau Sokoudjou was a highly touted fighter who was expected to roll over Lyoto Machida, but the unexpected occurred and Lyoto Machida choked out Rameau Sokoudjou. Now going from the main card to the preliminary card, Rameau Sokoudjou must be out to prove that the hype can be backed up and the loss was a fluke. Rameau Sokoudjou is a US Open Judo Champion and is becoming one of the most feared strikers currently in MMA. Kazuhiro Nakamura and Rameau Sokoudjou both have lost to a common opponent in the aforementioned Lyoto Machida. Kazuhiro Nakamura is very similar to Karo Parisyan with the use of judo and unorthodox takedowns to defeat his opponents. Kazuhiro Nakamura must ground the very dominant striker in Rameau Sokoudjou if he wants any chance to attain victory.

 

My Prediction: Rameau Sokoudjou

 

UFC Middleweight Division Fight

Ivan Salaverry (12-5-1) vs. Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares (16-1-0)

 

In the early days between the UFC and Spike TV, Ivan Salaverry was one of the most pushed fighters on TV and headlined the first Ultimate Fight Night. That night, Ivan Salaverry lost a very boring fight to Nate Marquardt, then left the UFC for nearly two years. After his absence, Ivan Salaverry returned to the UFC at UFC 71 and lost to Terry Martin by knockout in the first round. Despite his lack of UFC success, Ivan Salaverry has held middleweight titles in the Hook-N-Shoot and International Fight Challenge. Making his UFC debut, Rousimar Palhares enters the octagon already winning the Fury Middleweight Grand Prix. Rousimar Palhares does train with the Brazilian Top Team and must use his submission skills to gain victory over Ivan Salaverry.

 

My Prediction: Ivan Salaverry