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Brandon “The Truth†Vera (10-3-0) vs. “The Polish Experiment†Krzysztof Soszynski (18-8-1)
Brandon Vera is a fighter who has always been on the verge of being a top contender in the UFC, but for one reason or another, never made it to the top. Thus far in the UFC, Brandon Vera has defeated Fabiano Scherner, Justin Eilers, Assuerio Silva, Frank Mir, Reese Andy and Michael Patt, while suffering losses to Tim Sylvia, Fabricio Werdum and Keith Jardine. Brandon Vera has also spent time in World Extreme Cagefighting, defeating Andre Mussi and Mike Whitehead. Brandon Vera will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with seven wins coming by knockout. Krzysztof Soszynski has had an impressive run in the UFC, with victories over Shane Primm, Brian Stann and Andre Gusmao. Krzysztof Soszynski has also spent a lot of time in the International Fight League, having fought Ben Rothwell, Tom Howard, Devin Cole, Mike Whitehead, Dan Christison and Reese Andy. Krzysztof Soszynski got into the UFC following a run as a contestant on the UFC Ultimate Fighter 8, which was won by Ryan Bader and Efrain Escudero. Krzysztof Soszynski is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with fifteen victories coming by knockout and submission.
My Prediction: Krzysztof Soszynski
UFC Middleweight Division Fight
Nate “The Great†Marquardt (28-8-2) vs. Demian Maia (10-0-0)
Nate Marquardt was once the top contender to the UFC Middleweight Title, but lost his title opportunity to current UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva at UFC 77. Thus far in his UFC run, Nate Marquardt has defeated Ivan Salaverry, Joe Doerkson, Crafton Wallace, Dean Lister, Jeremy Horn, Martin Kampmann and Wilson Gouveia, while suffering defeats to Anderson Silva and Thales Leitas. Nate Marquardt also spent a lot of time in the Pancrase promotion, becoming a multiple time King Of Pancrase. Nate Marquardt will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with fifteen victories coming by way of submission. Demian Maia is an undefeated fighter, who has already won five fights in the UFC over Ryan Jensen, Ed Herman, Jason MacDonald, Nate Quarry and Chael Sonnen. Early in his career, Demian Maia won the Super Challenge 1 Tournament by defeating Vitelmo Kubis Bandeira, Gustavo Muchado and Fabio Nascimento. Before coming to the UFC, Demian Maia defeated UFC veteran Ryan Stout at Gracie Fighting Championships in 2007. Demian Maia will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with eight victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Demian Maia
UFC Middleweight Division Fight
Chris “The Crippler†Leben (18-6-0) vs. Jake Rosholt (5-1-0)
Chris Leben was a member of the cast from the original UFC Ultimate Fighter, which was won by Diego Sanchez and Forrest Griffin. Thus far in the UFC, Chris Leben has defeated Jason Thacker, Patrick Cote, Edwin Dewees, Jorge Rivera, Luigi Fioravanti, Jorge Santiago, Terry Martin and Alessio Sakara, while suffering losses to Anderson Silva, Jason MacDonald, Kalib Starnes and Michael Bisping. It has been nearly a year since Chris Leben last fought, due to a suspension after failing a drug test in October. Chris Leben will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with ten wins coming by knockout. Jake Rosholt made his UFC debut at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 17, losing to Dan Miller by submission after a guillotine choke. Jake Rosholt is a veteran of the Masters Of The Cage promotion, where he defeated Dusty Miller and Christopher Clark. Jake Rosholt also spent a little time in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, where he defeated Nissen Osterneck. The loss to Dan Miller at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 17 snapped a five fight undefeated streak for Jake Rosholt, which lasted over a year. Jake Rosholt will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with four victories coming by way of knockout.
My Prediction: Chris Leben
UFC Light Heavyweight Division Fight
Keith “The Dean Of Mean†Jardine (14-5-1) vs. Thiago Silva (13-1-0)
Keith Jardine made it to the UFC after a stint on the UFC Ultimate Fighter 2, which was won by both Rashad Evans and Joe Stevenson. Following his reality show run, Keith Jardine has defeated Kerry Schall, Mike Whitehead, Wilson Gouveia, Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell and Brandon Vera, while suffering defeats to Stephan Bonnar, Houston Alexander, Wanderlei Silva and Quinton Jackson. Before coming to the UFC, Keith Jardine spent time in other promotions like King Of The Cage and Pancrase. Keith Jardine will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with six victories coming by knockout. Thiago Silva was one fight away from a potential UFC Light Heavyweight Title opportunity, but a loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 94 halted everything. Before the loss to Lyoto Machida, Thiago Silva had defeated James Irvin, Tomasz Drwal, Houston Alexander and Antonio Mendes in UFC competition. The loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 94 snapped a thirteen fight undefeated streak for Thiago Silva, which had lasted over three years. In fact, of those fourteen fights in the career of Thiago Silva, only one of them had ended via decision, which speaks to his finishing abilities. Thiago Silva will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with ten wins coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Thiago Silva
UFC Heavyweight Division Fight
Randy “The Natural†Couture (16-9-0) vs. Antonio “Minotauro†Rodrigo Nogueira (31-5-1)
Randy Couture will be making history in this fight against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, as it will be Randy Couture’s first non-title UFC fight in over four years. Randy Couture is also the most decorated UFC champion in history, as a three time UFC Heavyweight Champion and two time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. While in the UFC, Randy Couture has defeated Tony Halme, Steven Graham, Vitor Belfort, Maurice Smith, Kevin Randleman, Pedro Rizzo, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Mike Van Arsdale, Tim Sylvia and Gabriel Gonzaga, while suffering losses to Josh Barnett, Ricco Rodriquez, Vitor Belfort, Chuck Liddell and Brock Lesnar. Randy Couture will be looking to use ground and pound to gain the victory, with seven wins coming by knockout. Despite only competing in three fights in the UFC, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is a former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion. Thus far in UFC competition, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has defeated Heath Herring and Tim Sylvia, while suffering a lone loss to Frank Mir. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is a longtime veteran of the PRIDE promotion, where he fought the likes of Gary Goodridge, Mark Coleman, Heath Herring, Bob Sapp, Semmy Schilt, Dan Henderson, Fedor Emelianenko, Ricco Rodriquez, Mirko Cro Cop, Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with twenty victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
(Note: I will be doing live coverage of UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira right here on PWInsiderXtra at 10pm EST.)
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
