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Marcus “Maximus†Aurelio (18-7-0) vs. Evan Dunham (8-0-0)
Marcus Aurelio returns to the UFC after a ten month absence, where he gained victories over Chris Ligouri and Joey Gorczynski in that time span. During his first UFC run, Marcus Aurelio defeated Luke Caudillo and Ryan Roberts, while suffering losses to Clay Guida, Tyson Griffin and Hermes Franca. Marcus Aurelio also had a run in the PRIDE promotion, where he fought the likes of Dokonjonosuke Mishima, Takanori Gomi and Mitsuhiro Ishida. Marcus Aurelio will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with eleven victories coming by submission. Evan Dunham is an undefeated fighter who made his UFC debut at UFC 95, where he defeated Per Eklund by TKO. Evan Dunham has also spent time in the Gladiator Challenge and Palace Fighting Championships promotions, where he defeated Gabriel Martinez and Dustin Akbari. Evan Dunham is bringing in an eight fight undefeated streak into the fight, which has lasted thus far a little over two years. Evan Dunham will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with five prior victories coming by submission.
My Prediction: Marcus Aurelio
UFC Middleweight Division Fight
Nick Catone (6-1-0) vs. Mark “The Philippine Wrecking Machine†Munoz (5-1-0)
Nick Catone has fought twice before in the UFC, defeating Derek Downey at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 17 and losing to Tim Creduer at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 18. Before coming to the UFC, Nick Catone primarily competed in the Ring Of Combat promotion, where he defeated Dan Whalen, Ben Knight, Mitch Whitesel and Eric Tavares. In his professional MMA debut, Nick Catone defeated UFC veteran John Howard by unanimous decision in June 2007. Nick Catone is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with five victories coming by knockout and submission. Mark Munoz made his UFC debut at UFC 96 in a losing effort to Matt Hamill, whom defeated him by knockout. Before coming to the UFC, Mark Munoz competed in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, where he defeated Chuck Grigsby and Ricardo Barros. Mark Munoz also spent some time in the Palace Fighting Championships promotion, where he defeated Austin Achorn and Tony Rubalcava. Mark Munoz will be looking to use his ground and pound skills to gain the victory, with three wins coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Mark Munoz
UFC Heavyweight Division Fight
Tim “The Thrashing Machine†Hague (10-1-0) vs. Todd Duffee (4-0-0)
Tim Hague made his UFC debut at UFC 98, where he defeated Patrick Barry by submission in the fights opening round. Before coming to the UFC, Tim Hague primarily fought in the King Of The Cage promotion, where eight of his eleven fights occurred in. While in King Of The Cage, Tim Hague defeated Eric Macdonald, Jessie Jones, Kared Kilkenny, Ruben Villareal, Adriano Bernardo, Jeff Lundburg and Sherman Pendergarst. Tim Hague is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with eight victories coming by knockout and submission. Despite only competing in four professional fights, Todd Duffee has achieved a victory over former UFC fighter Assuerio Silva. The other three victories in Todd Duffee’s career came over Mike Walbright, Mark Haniger and Josh Bennett. Of his four professional fights, Todd Duffee only had one go past the opening round, which speaks to his finishing abilities. Todd Duffee will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with all of his victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Tim Hague
UFC Heavyweight Division Fight
Justin “The Insane One†McCully (9-4-2) vs. Mike Russow (11-1-0)
Justin McCully is on the verge of becoming a heavyweight contender in the UFC, having defeated Antoni Hardonk and Eddie Sanchez, while suffering a lone loss to Gabriel Gonzaga. Early in his MMA career, Justin McCully fought UFC veterans Mario Neto and the late former UFC Middleweight Champion Evan Tanner. Justin McCully also spent time overseas in the Pancrase promotion, making it to the second round of the Pancrase 1998 Neo-Blood Tournament. Justin McCully will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with five victories coming by way of submission. Mike Russow will be making his UFC debut in this fight, but he does have experience in top promotions like PRIDE, Adrenaline MMA and Yarennoka. While competing in PRIDE and Yarennoka, Mike Russow fought Roman Zentsov and Sergei Kharitonov. Of his two victories in the Adrenaline MMA promotion, Mike Russow defeated Jason Guida, the brother of UFC veteran Clay Guida. Mike Russow will be entering this fight on a seven fight winning streak, that has currently lasted over two years. Mike Russow will be looking to pt the fight on the ground, with eight victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Justin McCully
UFC Heavyweight Division Fight
Gabriel “Napao†Gonzaga (10-4-0) vs. Chris “The Crowbar†Tuchscherer (17-1-0)
Gabriel Gonzaga has had a long run in the UFC, having defeated Kevin Jordan, Fabiano Scherner, Carmello Marrera, Mirko Cro Cop, Justin McCully and Josh Hendricks, while suffering losses to Randy Couture, Fabricio Werdum and Shane Carwin. In fact, Gabriel Gonzaga became the top contender to the UFC Heavyweight Title, but lost to then UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture at UFC 74. Early in his MMA career, Gabriel Gonzaga defeated UFC veteran Brandon Lee Hinkle at Meca 9 in 2003. Gabriel Gonzaga is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with all ten victories coming by knockout and submission. Chris Tuchscherer will be making his UFC debut in this fight, but he is a veteran of the YAMMA Pit Fighting and Sovereign Nations MMA promotions. While in YAMMA Pit Fighting, Chris Tuchscherer made it to the finals of the YAMMA Heavyweight Tournament, before losing to Travis Wiuff in the finals. Despite this fight marking his UFC debut, Chris Tuchscherer fought top MMA veterans like Jason Miller, Krzysztof Soszynski, Josh Hendricks, Travis Wiuff and Brandon Lee Hinkle. Chris Tuchscherer is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with thirteen career victories coming by knockout and submission.
My Prediction: Gabriel Gonzaga
UFC Middleweight Division Fight
Ed “Short Fuse†Herman (15-7-0) vs. Aaron “A-Train†Simpson (5-0-0)
Ed Herman entered the UFC after becoming a finalist on the UFC Ultimate Fighter 3, where he lost to Kendall Grove in the finals. While in the UFC, Ed Herman defeated Chris Price, Scott Smith, Joe Doerkson and David Louiseau, while suffering losses to Kendall Grove, Jason MacDonald, Damien Maia and Alan Belcher. In his two fights prior to entering the UFC in 2006, Ed Herman defeated UFC veterans Nick Thompson and Dave Menne. Ed Herman will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with nine prior victories coming by knockout and submission. Aaron Simpson is an undefeated fighter who made his UFC debut at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 18, defeating Tim McKenzie by TKO. Aaron Simpson also spent some time in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, where he defeated Dave Avellan at WEC 36. Of his five professional fights, Aaron Simpson has only had one fight go past the opening round, which speaks to his finishing abilities. Aaron Simpson will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with all of his career victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Ed Herman
(Note: I will be doing live coverage of UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira on Saturday August 29th at 10pm EST. on PWInsiderXtra.)
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
