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UFC Welterweight Division Fight
Amir Sadollah (1-1-0) vs. “The New York Bad Ass†Phil Baroni (13-11-0)
Amir Sadollah entered the UFC in 2008 after winning the UFC Ultimate Fighter 7, where he defeated CB Dollaway in the finals. In his other UFC appearance, Amir Sadollah lost to Johny Hendricks by a disputed TKO at UFC 101 in August 2009. Amir Sadollah is the only fighter on tonight’s card that has fought in the UFC for all of his professional MMA fights. Amir Sadollah will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with all of his MMA victories coming by submission. Phil Baroni’s first run in the UFC was disappointing, defeating Curtis Stout, Dave Menne and Amar Suloev, while suffering defeats to Matt Lind land (twice), Evan Tanner (twice) and Pete Sell. Phil Baroni had also competed in the PRIDE promotion, defeating Ikuhisa Minowa, Ryo Chonnan and Yuki Kondo, while suffering losses to Ikuhisa Minowa and Kazou Mizaki. Phil Baroni most recently competed in the Strikeforce promotion, losing to both Frank Shamrock and Joe Riggs. Phil Baroni will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with nine victories coming by way of knockout.
My Prediction: Phil Baroni
UFC Light Heavyweight Division Fight
Luiz “Banha†Cane (10-1-0) vs. Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro†Nogueira (17-3-0)
Luiz Cane has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Jason Lambert, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Steve Cantwell, while suffering a defeat to James Irvin. Luiz Cane is also a veteran of the Mega Fights promotion, where he defeated Capataz Capataz and Wagner Ribeiro. The loss to James Irvin at UFC 79 snapped a seven fight undefeated streak for Luiz Cane, which lasted over a year. Luiz Cane started off his MMA career in auspicious fashion, with a no contest ended fight against Marcello Alfaya in 2005. Luiz Cane will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with eight victories coming by way of knockout. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is the brother of former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and will be making his UFC debut in this fight. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is a longtime veteran of the PRIDE promotion, where he fought top fighters like Guy Metzger, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Kazushi Sakuraba, Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson, Mauricio Rua and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira also went undefeated in the Affliction promotion, defeating both Edwin Dewees and Vladimir Matyushenko. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with ten victories coming by knockout and submission.
My Prediction: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
UFC Welterweight Division Fight
Josh “Kos†Koscheck (13-4-0) vs. Anthony “Rumble†Johnson (8-2-0)
Josh Koscheck has had a long run in the UFC, defeating Chris Sanford, Pete Spratt, Ansar Chalangov, Dave Menne, Jonathan Goulet, Jeff Joslin, Diego Sanchez, Dustin Hazelett, Chris Lytle, Yoshiyuki Yoshida and Frank Trigg, while suffering losses to Drew Fickett, Georges St. Pierre, Thiago Alves and Paulo Thiago. Prior to entering the UFC in 2005, Josh Koscheck had achieved a victory over UFC veteran Luke Cummo at a Ring Of Combat event. Josh Koscheck is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with eight victories coming by submission and knockout. Anthony Johnson has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Chad Reiner, Tommy Speer, Kevin Burns, Luigi Fioravanti and Yoshiyuki Yoshida, while suffering defeats to Rich Clementi and Kevin Burns. Anthony Johnson was also a veteran of the Rocky Mountain Nationals promotion, where he defeated Rich Moskowitz and Keith Wilson. Of his seven past appearances in the UFC, Anthony Johnson has seen none of his fights going to a decision, which speaks to his finishing abilities. Anthony Johnson will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with six victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Josh Koscheck
UFC Light Heavyweight Division Fight
“The Huntington Beach Bad Boy†Tito Ortiz (15-6-1) vs. Forrest Griffin (16-6-0)
Tito Ortiz will be making his UFC return after a year absence, where he last fought at UFC 84 in a losing effort to Lyoto Machida. In his long run in the UFC, Tito Ortiz defeated Wes Albritton, Jerry Bohlander, Guy Metzger, Wanderlei Silva, Yuki Kondo, Evan Tanner, Elvis Sinosic, Vladimir Matyushenko, Ken Shamrock, Patrick Cote, Vitor Belfort and Forrest Griffin. In their initial meeting, Tito Ortiz had defeated Forrest Griffin via split decision at UFC 59: Reality Check in 2006. It has been over three years since Tito Ortiz last won an MMA fight, with his last victory coming over the aforementioned Forrest Griffin. Tito Ortiz will be looking to use his ground and pound skills to win the fight, with eight victories coming by knockout. Forrest Griffin is the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, who has already defeated Stephan Bonnar, Bill Mahood, Elvis Sinosic, Hector Ramirez, Mauricio Rua and Quinton Jackson, while suffering defeats to Tito Ortiz, Keith Jardine, Rashad Evans and Anderson. Before coming to the UFC in 2005, Forrest Griffin had already fought MMA luminaries like Dan Severn, Jeff Monson, Chael Sonnen and Jeremy Horn. It has been over a year since Forrest Griffin won an MMA fight, last defeating Quinton Jackson at UFC 86. Forrest Griffin will be looking to use his underutilized ground game to win the fight, with seven victories coming by submission.
My Prediction: Tito Ortiz
(Note: I will be doing live coverage of UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin II on Saturday Night November 21st at 9pm EST., right here on PWIsiderXtra.)
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
