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Mirko Cro Cop (24-6-2) vs. Mustapha Al Turk (6-4-0)
Mirko Cro Cop returns to the UFC after a failed first run in 2007, that saw him lose two of his three fights inside the famed octagon. During his first UFC run, Mirko Cro Cop defeated Eddie Sanchez, while suffering two straight losses to Gabriel Gonzaga and Cheick Kongo. Before coming to the UFC, Mirko Cro Cop was a huge star in PRIDE, where he fought Wanderlei Silva, Kazushi Sakuraba, Heath Herring, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Ron Waterman, Kevin Randleman, Aleksander Emelianenko, Josh Barnett, Mark Coleman and Mark Hunt. Mirko Cro Cop will be looking to use his striking ability to win the fight, with eighteen victories coming by knockout. Mustapha Al Turk made his UFC at UFC 92 in a losing effort to Cheick Kongo, who defeated him by knockout in the opening round. Mustapha Al Turk was a longtime veteran of the Cage Rage promotion, where he holds a victory over UFC tournament winner Mark Kerr. Of his ten career fights, only one has gone past the opening round, which speaks to Mustapha Al Turks finishing abilities. Mustapha Al Turk will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with four wins coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Mirko Cro Cop
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
Spencer “The King†Fisher (22-4-0) vs. Caol “Uno Shoten†Uno (25-11-4)
Spencer Fisher is a fighter who is always on the verge of becoming a top contender in the UFC Lightweight Division, with victories over Thiago Alves, Aaron Riley, Matt Wiman, Dan Lauzon, Sam Stout, Jeremy Stephens and Shannon Gugerty, but losses to Sam Stout, Hermes France and Frankie Edgar have kept Spencer Fisher out of the top spot. The last three UFC fights for Spencer Fisher have all gone to the final round, which speaks to Spencer Fishers conditioning. Spencer Fisher is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with nineteen victories coming by way of submission and knockout. Caol Uno will be making his UFC return in this fight after a five plus year absence from the promotion, with his last fight happening in late 2003. During his first run in the UFC, Caol Uno defeated Fabiano Iha, Yves Edwards and Din Thomas, while falling short to Jens Pulver, BJ Penn and Hermes Franca. Since leaving the UFC, Caol Uno has primarily competed in the K-1 and DREAM promotions, where he fought the likes of Rich Clementi, Joachim Hansen, Gesias Cavalcante and Shinya Aoki. Caol Uno will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with thirteen career victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Caol Uno
UFC Welterweight Division Fight
“The Irish Hand Grenade†Marcus Davis (16-4-0) vs. “The Outlaw†Dan Hardy (21-6-0)
Marcus Davis is a longtime veteran of UFC competition and is constantly on the verge of becoming a top contender for the UFC Welterweight Title. Thus far in the UFC, Marcus Davis has defeated Forrest Petz, Shonie Carter, Pete Spratt, Jason Tan, Paul Taylor, Jess Liaudin, Paul Kelly and Chris Lytle, with UFC losses coming to Mike Swick and Melvin Guillard. The loss to Mike Swick at UFC 85 snapped an eleven fight winning streak for Marcus Davis, the streak lasted over two years. The year 2006 was easily the best year Marcus Davis has had in MMA, winning all seven of his fights that year. Marcus Davis will be looking to use his ground and pound skills to win the fight, with eight victories coming by submission. Dan Hardy is undefeated thus far in UFC competition, holding victories over Akihiro Gono and Rory Markham. Before coming to the UFC, Dan Hardy primarily competed in the United Kingdom, facing UFC veterans Forrest Petz, Yoshiyuki Yoshida and Chad Reiner. Dan Hardy will be riding a five fight winning streak into the fight against Marcus Davis, with his last loss coming a year and a half ago. Dan Hardy will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with eleven career victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Dan Hardy
UFC Welterweight Division Fight
Mike “Quick†Swick (13-2-0) vs. Ben “Killa B†Saunders (7-0-2)
Mike Swick is another fighter who is a few victories away from becoming a top contender in the UFC Welterweight Division. Thus far in his UFC run, Mike Swick has defeated Alex Schoenauer, Gideon Ray, Steve Vigneault, Joe Riggs, David Louiseau, Josh Burkman, Marcus Davis and Jonathan Goulet, with his lone loss coming to Yushin Okami. Mike Swick is also a veteran of the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, where he fought UFC veteran Chris Leben. This fight will mark the first time Mike Swick has competed in over six months, so conditioning could play a factor in the fight. Mike Swick will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with six prior victories coming by knockout. Ben Saunders is an undefeated fighter won his first three fights in UFC competition over Daniel Barrera, Ryan Thomas and Brandon Wolff. In an interesting career note, Ben Saunders first two professional MMA career fights ended in a draw, both fights occurred in the Absolute Fighting Championships promotion. Like Mike Swick, Ben Saunders is coming off a six month layoff in MMA competition, so conditioning could become a factor for him as well. Ben Saunders is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with six victories coming by knockout and submission.
My Prediction: Mike Swick
UFC Heavyweight Division Fight
Cheick Kongo (14-4-1) vs. Cain Velasquez (5-0-0)
Cheick Kongo enters this fight as a replacement for Heath Herring, who was forced to pull out of this fight after suffering an injury. Cheick Kongo is a longtime veteran of UFC competition, already defeating Gilbert Aldana, Christian Wellisch, Assuerio Silva, Mirko Cro Cop, Dan Evensen, Mustapha Al Turk and Antoni Hardonk, with losses coming to Carmelo Marrera and Heath Herring. Cheick Kongo will be bringing in a three fight winning streak to this fight, with his last loss coming over a year ago at UFC 82. Cheick Kongo will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with nine previous victories coming by way of knockout. Cain Velasquez is an undefeated prospect in the UFC Heavyweight Division that already holds victories in the UFC over Brad Morris, Jake O’Brien and Denis Stojnic. Besides competing in the UFC, Cain Velasquez has also competed in promotions like Bodog Fight and Strikeforce. While in those two other promotions, Cain Velasquez defeated Jeremiah Constant and Jesse Fujayczyk. Out of his five professional fights, only one has gone past the opening round, which speaks to Cain Velasquez’s finishing abilities. Cain Velasquez will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victories, with all of his previous victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Cain Velasquez
UFC Catchweight Division Fight
Rich “Ace†Franklin (24-4-0) vs. “The Axe Murderer†Wanderlei Silva (32-9-1)
Rich Franklin is a former UFC Middleweight Champion, who recently moved up to the UFC Light Heavyweight Division after a second loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 77. The move to the UFC Light Heavyweight Division started off successfully at UFC 88 with a victory over Matt Hamill, while a loss to Dan Henderson at UFC 93 was a setback. During his run in the UFC Middleweight Division, Rich Franklin fought top fighters like Jorge Rivera, Evan Tanner, Ken Shamrock, Nate Quarry, David Louiseau, Anderson Silva, Jason MacDonald, Yushin Okami and Travis Lutter. Rich Franklin will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with thirteen previous victories coming by knockout. Wanderlei Silva’s latest run in the UFC has come with mixed results, as he holds a victory over Keith Jardine, while suffering losses to Chuck Liddell and Quinton Jackson. Wanderlei Silva had a long run in PRIDE before returning to the UFC, competing against Guy Metzger, Gilbert Yvel, Dan Henderson, Kazushi Sakuraba, Mirko Cro Cop, Quinton Jackson, Yuki Kondo, Mark Hunt and Ricardo Arona. During his initial run in the UFC, Wanderlei Silva fought Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz and Tony Paterra, winning one of those three fights. Wanderlei Silva will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with twenty three victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Rich Franklin
(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
