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Jesse “The Ox†Lennox (10-1-0) vs. Danillo “Indio†Villefort (9-2-0)
Jesse Lennox comes to the UFC following the elimination of the WEC Welterweight Division, where he defeated Blas Avena in his lone WEC appearance at WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone. Jesse Lennox is a longtime veteran of the Mainstream MMA promotion, where he defeated Andy Sanders, Mike Hueser, Darin Brudigan and Ryan Thomas. Jesse Lennox also made one appearance in the now defunct International Fight League, where he lost to Emyr Bussade by submission. Jesse Lennox is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with all ten victories coming by knockout and submission. Much like Jesse Lennox, Danillo Villefort comes to the UFC after the abolishing of the WEC Welterweight Division, with a lone victory in the WEC over Mike Campbell. Danillo Villefort also fought once before in the International Fight League, where he defeated Mike Massenzio by submission. Danillo Villefort will be entering the fight on a five fight winning streak that has currently lasted over two years. Danillo Villefort will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with five victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Danillo Villefort
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
George Sotiropoulos (9-2-0) vs. George Roop (9-4-0)
George Sotiropoulos entered the UFC as a cast member on the UFC Ultimate Fighter 6 and has since defeated Billy Miles and Roman Mitichyan in his UFC run. George Sotiropoulos competed overseas in promotions like Shooto and Spirit MC before coming to the UFC, once fighting top Japanese fighter Shinya Aoki at a 2006 Shooto event. George Sotiropoulos also fought Elite XC veteran Kyle Noke, winning once and losing once at Warriors Realm events. George Sotiropoulos will be looking to put the fight on the ground with five previous victories coming by submission. Like George Sotiropoulos, George Roop got into the UFC following a stint on the UFC Ultimate Fighter 8, then lost in his UFC debut to Shane Nelson at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale before defeating Dave Kaplan at UFC 98. George Roop is a longtime veteran of the Rage In The Cage promotion, where he won six of nine appearances in the promotion. George Roop will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with four previous victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: George Sotiropoulos
UFC Welterweight Division Fight
Matthew Riddle (2-0-0) vs. Dan Cramer (1-0-0)
Matthew Riddle has fought all of his fights thus far in his career in the UFC, where he fought twice in under a year. In his UFC debut, Matthew Riddle defeated Dante Rivera by split decision at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale and then he defeated Steve Bruno at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 17. Matthew Riddle will be looking to use his wrestling skills to attain victory, despite winning his previous two fights by decision. Dan Cramer made his professional MMA debut and UFC debut at the same event at UFC 84, defeating Matt Arroyo by split decision. Dan Cramer will also be looking to use his wrestling skills to gain victory, with his lone victory coming by decision.
My Prediction: Matthew Riddle
UFC Middleweight Division Fight
Thales Leites (14-2-0) vs. Alessio “Legionarius†Sakara (13-7-0)
Thales Leites joins Jon Fitch as the only two fighters in the modern UFC era that fought in title match on one UFC card and fought in the preliminary card in their next UFC appearance. Thus far in his UFC run, Thales Leites holds victories over Pete Sell, Floyd Sword, Ryan Jensen, Nate Marquardt and Drew McFedries, while suffering losses to Martin Kampmann and Anderson Silva. Before coming to the UFC, Thales Leitas gained victories over MMA luminaries like Ronald Jhun and Jason Guida. Thales Leites will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with nine victories coming by way of submission. Alessio Sakara has had an interesting run in the UFC, with victories over Elvis Sinosic, Victor Valimaki, James Lee and Joe Vedepo, while suffering losses to Dean Lister, Drew McFedries, Houston Alexander and Chris Leben. Before coming to the UFC, Alessio Sakara lost to former UFC fighter Assuerio Silva at the Jungle Fight 3 event in 2004. While in the UFC, Alessio Sakara has yet to win two fights in a row, despite competing in the promotion for more than three years. Alessio Sakara will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with eight victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Alessio Sakara
UFC Welterweight Division Fight
Tamdan “The Barn Cat†McCrory (11-2-0) vs. John “Doomsday†Howard (11-4-0)
Tamdan McCrory has had a decent run in the UFC thus far with victories over Pete Spratt, Luke Cummo and Ryan Madigan, with losses coming to Akihiro Gono and Dustin Hazelett. Before losing to Akihiro Gono at UFC 78, Tamdan McCrory was on a nine fight undefeated streak that had lasted a little over two years. Before coming to the UFC, Tamdan McCrory competed in the Cage Fury Fighting Championships, where he defeated Mike Littlefield, Anthony D’Angelo and Nuki Shakir. Tamdan McCrory is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with ten victories coming by knockout and submission. John Howard made his debut at UFC 94: St. Pierre vs. Penn II, where he defeated Chris Wilson by split decision. Before coming to the UFC in 2009, John Howard fought UFC veterans Dan Miller and Nick Catone at Ring Of Combat and Cage Fury Fighting Championships events. John Howard also appeared in the International Fight League and defeated Nick Calandrino by TKO in that lone appearance. John Howard will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with six prior victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Tamdan McCrory
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
Shane “Sugar†Nelson (12-3-0) vs. Aaron Riley (27-11-1)
This fight is a rematch from UFC 96: Jackson vs. Jardine, following a controversial referee stoppage that lead to Shane Nelson defeating Aaron Riley. Shane Nelson is currently undefeated in UFC competition with victories over the aforementioned Aaron Riley and George Roop. Shane Nelson also holds two victories over Elite XC veteran Kaleo Kwan, with those two victories coming three years apart. Shane Nelson is currently riding an eight fight winning streak that has lasted well over three full years thus far. Shane Nelson is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with five victories coming by knockout and submission. Aaron Riley is a longtime veteran of UFC competition, having fought Robbie Lawler, Spencer Fisher, Jorge Gurgel and Shane Nelson in UFC competition. Aaron Riley also made a single appearance in the International Fight League, losing to top prospect Ryan Schultz. The controversial loss to Shane Nelson at UFC 96 by TKO ended a four fight streak for Aaron Riley that saw all of those fights end by decision. Aaron Riley will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with thirteen victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Aaron Riley
(Note: I will be doing live coverage of UFC 101: Declaration right here on PWInsiderXtra.com at 10pm EST. on Saturday August 8th.)
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
