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UFC Heavyweight Division Fight
Dan “The Viking” Evensen (10-3-0) vs. Pat “HD” Barry (3-0-0)
Dan Evensen made his UFC this past August at UFC 87: Seek And Destroy, losing to Cheick Kongo by TKO in the opening round. Prior to competing in the UFC, Dan Evensen was a veteran of Gladiator Challenge and Bodog Fight, plus has fought UFC veteran Christian Wellisch. Prior to losing to Cheick Kongo at UFC 87, Dan Evensen was on a four fight win streak and even started off his career on a six fight undefeated streak. Dan Evensen will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with six career victories coming by knockout. Pat Barry is an undefeated fighter who has fought all three of his professional fights in the Combat USA promotion. Those three fights have been victories over Simon Diouf, John George and Mike Delaney, with all three coming in 2008. Pat Barry will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with all three prior wins coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Dan Evensen
UFC Welterweight Division Fight
Ryo “Piranha” Chonan (15-8-0) vs. Brad “Bad” Blackburn (12-9-1-1NC)
Ryo Chonan is a well traveled veteran of international mixed martial arts, competing in PRIDE, DEEP and Pancrase before coming to the UFC. Ryo Chonan has also fought top notch MMA competition like Hayato Sakurai, Anderson Silva, Ricardo Almeida, Carlos Newton, Roan Carneiro, Phil Baroni, Dan Henderson, Joey Villasenor, Paulo Filho and Karo Parisyan. Ryo Chonan is easily a victory or two away from moving into contention in the UFC Welterweight Division. Ryo Chonan will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with five victories coming by knockout. Brad Blackburn entered the UFC at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 14 in July 2008 after a good run in the International Fight League. During his time in the International Fight League, Brad Blackburn defeated Gustavo Muchado, Chris Wilson, Jay Hieron and Delson Heleno, while losing to Rory Markham and Mark Miller. In his UFC debut at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 14, Brad Blackburn defeated James Giboo by TKO in the second round. Brad Blackburn will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with seven career victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Ryo Chonan
UFC Light Heavyweight Division Fight
Matt “The Hammer” Hamill (4-2-0) vs. Reese “Riptide” Andy (7-2-0)
Matt Hamill is in a pivotal fight in his UFC career, because he has lost two prior fights to Rich Franklin and Michael Bisping in his opportunities to break into the upper echelon of the UFC Light Heavyweight Division. Besides suffering the two aforementioned losses to Rich Franklin and Michael Bisping, Matt Hamill has UFC victories over Jesse Forbes, Seth Petruzelli, Rex Holman and Tim Boetsch. Matt Hamill is only one of a few fighters who have fought every professional fight of their MMA career in the Ultimate Fight Championships. Matt Hamill will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with three previous victories coming by knockout. Reese Andy is a veteran of the International Fight League and made his UFC debut at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 14, losing to Brandon Vera. During his time in the International Fight League, Reese Andy defeated Mike Ciesnolevicz, Jamal Patterson, Justin Levens, Adam Maciejewski and Krzysztof Soszynski, while suffering his lone IFL loss to Aaron Stark. Reese Andy will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with two previous victories coming by submission.
My Prediction: Matt Hamill
UFC Heavyweight Division Fight
Antoni Hardonk (7-4-0) vs. Mike “The Juggernaut” Wessel (6-0-0)
When the mini-tournament between Brock Lesnar, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Frank Mir and Randy Couture ends, the UFC Heavyweight Division is going to be wide open and Antoni Hardonk could begin his climb in the division in this fight. Antoni Hardonk has had a decent run in the UFC thus far with victories over Sherman Pendergarst, Colin Robinson and Eddie Sanchez, while suffering losses to Justin McCully and Frank Mir. Prior to coming to the UFC in November 2006, Antoni Hardonk defeated UFC veteran Wes Simms at the Rumble On The Rock 6 event. Antoni Hardonk will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the advantage, with five prior victories coming by knockout. Mike Wessel is a late replacement in this fight, but is a veteran of the Art Or War and Subzero Fighting promotion, where he holds victories over Matt Thomas (twice), Patrick Castillo and Aaron Winterlee. Mike Wessel has already fought five times already in 2008, so his conditioning could become a factor in the fight. Mike Wessel will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with three previous victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Antoni Hardonk
UFC Middleweight Division Fight
Yushin “Thunder” Okami (22-4-0) vs. Dean “The Boogeyman” Lister (11-5-0)
Unofficially, this fight must be considered as a top contender fight in the UFC Middleweight Division, supposing Thales Leitas is next in line against UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Yushin Okami was originally scheduled to face Anderson Silva back in October at UFC 90 for a title opportunity, but a hand injury forced him to pull out of the fight. Yushin Okami became a top contender in the UFC Middleweight Division with victories over Alan Belcher, Kalib Starnes, Rory Singer, Mike Swick, Jason Macdonald and Evan Tanner, while suffering his lone UFC loss to Rich Franklin. In fact, Yushin Okami holds a victory over UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, whom he defeated at Rumble On The Rock 8 in January 2006. Yushin Okami will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with eight prior victories coming by knockout. Dean Lister is another fighter who has moved to the top of the UFC Middleweight Division with victories over Alessio Sakara, Yuki Sasaki, Jordan Radev and Jeremy Horn, while suffering his lone UFC loss to Nate Marquardt. Prior to competing in the UFC, Dean Lister was a veteran of both PRIDE and the King Of The Cage promotions. This fight, for Dean Lister, could finally be the proving point to whether or not he is a top fighter in the UFC Middleweight Division. Dean Lister will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with nine previous victories coming by submission.
My Prediction: Yushin Okami
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
