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Rob “The Saint†Emerson (9-7-0) vs. Rafael Dos Anjos (11-4-0)
Rob Emerson started of his career in interesting fashion at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale, when he fought Gray Maynard to a no contest after both men got knocked out after a takedown. Since that fight, Rob Emerson has gone onto defeat Keita Nakamura and Manny Gamburyan, while losing to Kurt Pellegrino. Rob Emerson also had an interesting professional MMA debut, losing to former UFC Lightweight Champion Jens Pulver in June 2002. Rob Emerson is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with five victories coming by knockout and submission. Rafael Dos Anjos has had an unflattering run thus far in the UFC, with losses to Jeremy Stephens and Tyson Griffin. The two fights in the UFC for Rafael Dos Anjos where the only two times he fought in North America, the rest of his MMA fights occurred primarily in Brazil. Before suffering the two losses in the UFC, Rafael Dos Anjos was on a nine fight winning streak that lasted nearly two years. Rafael Dos Anjos will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with six victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Rafael Dos Anjos
UFC Light Heavyweight Division Fight
Vladimir “The Janitor†Matyushenko (22-4-0) vs. Igor Pokrajac (21-5-0)
Vladimir Matyushenko previously had a run in the UFC, attaining victories over Yuki Kondo, Travis Wiuff and Pedro Rizzo, while suffering losses to Tito Ortiz and Andrei Arlovski. Vladimir Matyushenko also had a dominating run in the International Fight League, where he was the IFL Light Heavyweight Champion before the promotion shut down. While in the International Fight League, Vladimir Matyushenko defeated Dwayne Compton, Justin Levens, Aaron Stark, Tim Boetsch, Alex Schoenauer and Jamal Patterson. Vladimir Matyushenko is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with twenty two victories coming by knockout and submission. Not only is Igor Pokrajac making his UFC debut in this fight, but he is making his North American MMA debut as well. Igor Pokrajac will be entering the fight on a nine fight winning steak that has lasted nearly three whole years. Early in his career, Igor Pokrajac won the Durata World Grand Prix 1 by defeating Pavel Botka, Matthias Riccio and Andre Castro. Igor Pokrajac will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with eleven victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Vladimir Matyushenko
UFC Light Heavyweight Division Fight
Eliot “The Fire†Marshall (7-1-0) vs. Jason “Hitman†Brilz (17-1-1)
Eliot Marshall has gone undefeated thus far in his UFC, with victories gained over Jules Bruchez and Vinny Magalhaes. Before making his debut in the UFC, Eliot Marshall had only competed in one other MMA promotion, Ring Of Fire. While in Ring Of Fire, Eliot Marshall defeated Jarrett Kelton, Mike Altman, Dan Green, Damir Mihajlovic and Marcus Sursa, while suffering a lone defeat to Rob MacDonald. Of his eight career fights, Eliot Marshall has only seen one go to a decision, which speaks to his finishing abilities. Eliot Marshall will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with five victories coming by way of submission. Like his opponent Eliot Marshall, Jason Brilz has gone undefeated thus far in his UFC run, with victories over Brad Morris and Tim Boetsch. Jason Brilz also holds victories over UFC veterans Michael Patt, Justin Eilers, Jason MacDonald and Alex Schoenauer. Jason Brilz will be riding a thirteen fight winning streak into this fight, which has lasted over seven years. In fact, his unanimous decision victory over Tim Boetsch at UFC 96 marked the first time since 2003 that a Jason Brilz fight went all three rounds. Jason Brilz will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with nine prior victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Jason Brilz
UFC Welterweight Division Fight
Rick “The Horror†Story (7-3-0) vs. Brian Foster (12-3-0)
Rick Story made his UFC debut at UFC 99 in June 2009, where he suffered a loss to John Hathaway by unanimous decision. Before entering the UFC in 2009, Rick Story had gained a victory over UFC veteran Jake Ellenberger at Sport Fight 23 in 2008. The loss to John Hathaway at UFC 99 snapped a six fight winning streak for Rick Story, which lasted nearly a year. The year 2008 was the best for Rick Story’s MMA career, as he went undefeated in six total fights that year. Rick Story is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with four victories coming by knockout and submission. Brian Foster will be making his UFC debut in this fight, but he is a veteran of the Masters Of The Cage promotion. While in the Masters Of The Cage promotion, Brian Foster defeated Deric Davis, Jeff Davis and Steve Carl, while suffering losses to Jeff Davis and Anthony Waldburger. Brian Foster will be entering the fight on a three fight winning streak, that includes victories over Nathan Coy, Mike Jackson and Kyle Baker. Brian Foster is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with twelve victories coming by knockout and submission.
My Prediction: Brian Foster
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
Rafaello “Tractor†Oliveira (9-1-0) vs. Nik “The Carnie†Lentz (16-3-1)
Rafaello Oliveira will be making his UFC debut in this fight, but has already fought UFC veteran Lyle Beerbohm, who defeated him by TKO. Rafaello Oliveira has experience competing in other top notch MMA promotions like Elite XC and Xtreme Fighting Championships. Rafaello Oliveira started off his professional MMA career in impressive fashion, with a six fight undefeated streak that had lasted well over three years. Rafaello Oliveira is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with six victories coming by knockout and submission. Nik Lentz will also be making his UFC debut in this fight, but has already fought UFC veterans Drew Fickett, Sheron Leggett and Kyle Jensen. Nik Lentz is a longtime veteran of the EFX MMA promotion, where he holds victories over Derek Abram, Kenneth Allan, Chris Powers, Carey Vanier, Vern Jefferson, Duran Barlow and Gabe Wallbridge, while suffering a lone loss to Brian Green. Nik Lentz is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with twelve victories coming by knockout and submission.
My Prediction: Nik Lentz
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
Jim Miller (14-2-0) vs. Steve Lopez (12-1-0)
Jim Miller has had a successful run in the UFC thus far, with victories over David Baron, Matt Wiman and Mac Danzig, while suffering a lone loss to Gray Maynard. Jim Miller also had a lone appearance in the International Fight League, defeating Bart Palaszewski by unanimous decision. Also before entering the UFC in 2008, Jim Miller had fought UFC veteran Frankie Edgar at Reality Fighting 14. Jim Miller is also a veteran of the Reality Fighting promotion, winning four of his five fights in the promotion. Jim Miller will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with nine victories coming by way of submission. Steve Lopez will be making his UFC debut in this fight, but he will be entering the fight on a four fight winning streak. Steve Lopez also started off his MMA career in impressive fashion, with a nine fight undefeated streak that lasted nearly two years. This fight against Jim Miller at UFC 103 will mark the first time Steve Lopez has competed in over a year, so conditioning could play a factor in the fight. Steve Lopez is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with eight victories coming by knockout and submission.
My Prediction: Jim Miller
(Note: I will be doing live coverage of UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort on PWInsiderXtra.com on Saturday September 19th at 9pm EST.)
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
