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John “The Hitman†Hathaway (10-0-0) vs. Rick Story (7-2-0)
John Hathaway made his UFC debut at UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson, defeating Tom Egan by knockout in the first round. Before coming to the UFC, John Hathaway competed in the Cage Rage promotion, where he defeated Tarcio Santana, Charlie Barbosa, Tom Maguire and Marvin Arnold Bleau. John Hathaway is currently an undefeated fighter whose undefeated streak has lasted nearly three whole years. John Hathaway is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with eight victories coming by knockout and submission. Rick Story will be making his UFC debut in this fight, but he is a longtime veteran of the Elite Warriors Championship promotion. While in the Elite Warriors Championship promotion, Rick Story defeated Jake Paul, James Dodge, Ryan Healy and Brandon Melendez. This will be Rick Story’s first fight of 2009, but he went undefeated in 2008, winning all six of his fights that year. Rick Story is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with four victories coming by knockout and submission.
My Prediction: John Hathaway
UFC Heavyweight Division Fight
Denis “The Menace†Stojnic (5-2-0) vs. Stefan “Skyscraper†Struve (16-3-0)
Denis Stojnic made his UFC debut at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 17 in a losing effort to Cain Velasquez by TKO in the second round. That loss to Cain Velasquez snapped a two fight winning streak that included victories over Goce Sandovski and Hakim Gouram. Denis Stojnic started off his career on a three fight undefeated streak that lasted over a year and a half, with victories over Damir Mihajlovic, Ante Maljkovic and Dion Staring. Denis Stojnic will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with two previous victories coming by knockout. Stefan Struve made his UFC debut at UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson in a losing effort to Junior Dos Santos by TKO. Before coming to the UFC, Stefan Struve defeated two former UFC veterans in Colin Robinson and Mario Neto. The loss to Junior Dos Santos ended a five fight winning streak for Stefan Struve, a streak that lasted a little less than a year. Of his nineteen career fights, only three of them have gone past the first round, which speaks to Stefan Struve’s finishing abilities. Stefan Struve will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with twelve career victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Stefan Struve
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
Paul “Tellys†Kelly (7-1-1) vs. “The Crazy Cuban†Rolando Delgado (6-3-1)
Paul Kelly is a veteran of UFC competition with victories over Paul Taylor and Troy Mandaloniz, with a lone loss coming to Marcus Davis. Prior to suffering the loss to Marcus Davis, Paul Kelly was on a six fight undefeated streak that lasted over two years. Paul Kelly also fought once in the Cage Gladiators promotion, where he defeated Jordan James by TKO in the second. Paul Kelly will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with four wins coming by way of knockout. Rolando Delgado made his UFC debut at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale, defeating John Polakowski by submission. Before coming to the UFC, Rolando Delgado competed in the No Love Entertainment and Absolute Fighting Championships promotions. Early in his MMA career, Rolando Delgado fought and lost to UFC veteran Joe Jordan at a Tennessee Shooto event in 2003. Rolando Delgado will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with four prior career victories coming by submission.
My Prediction: Paul Kelly
UFC Welterweight Division Fight
Peter Sobotta (8-1-1) vs. “Relentless†Paul Taylor (9-4-1)
Peter Sobotta will be making his UFC debut in this fight, but he is a veteran of the Freestyle Fighting Championship and Free Fight Association Germany promotions. Out of his ten professional MMA fights, none of them has gone to a decision for Peter Sobotta, which speaks to his finishing abilities. Peter Sobotta is riding a four fight winning streak into this fight, having victories over Robin Dutry, Simon Fiess, Dominique Stetefeld and Kerim Abzailof. Peter Sobotta is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with all of his victories coming by knockout and submission. Paul Taylor has had an interesting run in the UFC, defeating Edilberto de Oliveira and Jess Liaudin, with losses coming to Marcus Davis, Paul Kelly and Chris Lytle. This fight will mark the first MMA fight for Paul Taylor in nearly a year, so conditioning could play a factor in the fight. Paul Taylor will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with five prior victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Paul Taylor
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
Dennis Siver (13-6-0) vs. Dale Hartt (6-1-0)
Dennis Siver is a longtime veteran of UFC competition, holding victories over Naoyuki Kotani and Nate Mohr, while falling in defeat to Jess Liaudin, Gray Maynard and Melvin Guillard. Dennis Siver is also a veteran of the Cage Warriors Fighting Championships, where he fought Jonas Ericcson, Adrian Degorski, Arni Isaksson and Jim Wallhead. Dennis Siver had a busy year in MMA in 2006, where he fought seven times and won five of those fights. Dennis Siver will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with seven victories coming by way of submission. Dale Hartt made his UFC debut at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 14 in a losing effort to Shannon Gugerty, but Dale Hartt got his first UFC win at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 16 by defeating Corey Hill. Before suffering the loss to Shannon Gugerty, Dale Hartt was on a five fight undefeated streak that lasted nearly four years. Of his seven professional fights, none of them has gone to a decision for Dale Hartt, which speaks to his finishing abilities. Dale Hartt will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with four wins coming by way of knockout.
My Prediction: Dale Hartt
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
Justin Buchholz (8-2-0) vs. Terry Etim(12-2-0)
Justin Buchholz made his UFC debut at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 12 in a losing effort to Matt Wiman, before gaining a victory over Corey Hill at UFC 86. Justin Buchholz is also a veteran of the Alaska Fighting Championship promotion, where he defeated Andy Garnard, Jimmy Gainey and Bo Underwood. Justin Buchholz also fought in the now defunct Elite XC promotion, where he gained a victory over Ikaika Choy-Fu. Justin Buchholz is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with seven victories coming by knockout or submission. Terry Etim is a longtime veteran of UFC competition, having defeated Matt Grice, Sam Stout and Brian Cobb, while suffering losses to Gleison Tibau and Rich Clementi. Prior to suffering the loss to Gleison Tibau at UFC 75, Terry Etim was on a ten fight undefeated streak that lasted nearly two years. Terry Etim will be entering the fight on a two fight winning streak with victories over the aforementioned Sam Stout and Brian Cobb. Terry Etim will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with nine victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Terry Etim
(Note: I will be doing live coverage of UFC 99: The Comeback on Saturday June 13th at 3PM EST. right here on PWInsiderXtra.com)
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
