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Junior “Cigano†Dos Santos (9-1-0) vs. Gilbert “The Hurricane†Yvel (36-13-1)
Junior Dos Santos is currently undefeated in UFC competition, having already defeated Fabricio Werdum, Stefan Struve and Mirko Cro Cop in past fights. Junior Dos Santos started off his MMA career in impressive fashion, with a five fight undefeated streak that lasted over a year. Of his ten professional MMA fights, only one has gone past the first round for Junior Dos Santos, which speaks to the fighters finishing abilities. Junior Dos Santos is also a veteran of the XFC Brazil promotion, where he defeated Edson Silva and Joaquim Ferreira. Junior Dos Santos will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with six victories coming by knockout. Gilbert Yvel will be making his UFC debut in this fight, but he is a longtime veteran of the PRIDE organization. While in PRIDE, Gilbert Yvel had defeated Gary Goodridge and Akihiro Shoji, while suffering defeats to Kazayuki Fujita, Igor Vovchanchyn, Don Frye, Jeremy Horn, Ikuhisa Minowa and Roman Zentsov. Gilbert Yvel also competed in the final Affliction MMA event, losing to Josh Barnett by submission in the third round. Gilbert Yvel started off his MMA career in impressive fashion, with a nine fight undefeated streak that lasted over a year. Prior to entering the UFC at this event, Gilbert Yvel defeated former UFC Heavyweight Champion Pedro Rizzo at an Ultimate Chaos event this past June. Gilbert Yvel will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with thirty one victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Junior Dos Santos
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
Jim Miller (15-2-0) vs. Duane “Bang†Ludwig (19-9-0)
Jim Miller has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating David Baron, Matt Wiman, Mac Danzig and Steve Lopez, while suffering a lone defeat to Gray Maynard. Jim Miller also made a lone appearance in the International Fight League, where he defeated Bart Palaszewski by unanimous decision. Jim Miller started off his MMA career in impressive fashion, with a five fight undefeated streak that lasted over a year. Jim Miller is a veteran of the Reality Fighting promotion, where he defeated Eddie Fyvie, Kevin Roddy, Joseph Andujar and Mushin Corbbrey, while suffering a lone defeat to Frankie Edgar. Jim Miller will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with nine previous victories coming by submission. Duane Ludwig will be making his return to the UFC after a three year absence, where he lost to Jonathan Goulet at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 3. In his other UFC appearance, Duane Ludwig defeated Genki Sudo by unanimous decision at UFC 42 in April 2003. Duane Ludwig is a veteran of the Strikeforce promotion, where he defeated Tony Fryklund, Sam Morgan and Yves Edwards, while suffering defeats to Tyson Griffin, Josh Thomson, Paul Daley and Lyle Beerbohm. It has been less than a month since Duane Ludwig last competed in an MMA fight, so conditioning could be a factor in the fight. Duane Ludwig will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with ten victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Jim Miller
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
Joe “J-Lau†Lauzon (18-4-0) vs. Sam “Hands Of Stone†Stout (14-5-1)
Joe Lauzon has had a very successful run in the UFC, defeating Jens Pulver, Brandon Melendez, Jason Reinhardt, Kyle Bradley and Jeremy Stephens, while suffering a lone defeat to Kenny Florian. Before coming to the UFC at UFC 63, Joe Lauzon won a one night tournament in the World Fighting League, defeating Adam Comfort, Zane Baker and Douglas Brown. Joe Lauzon was a longtime veteran of the Combat Zone promotion, where he defeated Kyle Sprouse, Renat Myzabvekov, Mike Brown and Ryan Ciotoli. Joe Lauzon will be entering the fight on a two fight winning streak and hasn’t suffered a defeat in over a year. Joe Lauzon will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with fourteen victories coming by way of submission. Sam Stout has had an interesting run in the UFC, defeating Spencer Fisher, Per Eklund and Matt Wiman, while suffering defeats to Spencer Fisher, Kenny Florian, Rich Clementi and Terry Etim. Sam Stout is a longtime veteran of the TKO promotion, where he defeated Stephane Laliberte, Yves Jabouin, Steve Claveau, Dave Goulet, Joey Brown, Tyler Jackson, Donald Ouimet, Jay Estrada and Fabio Holanda and Martin Grandmont. Early in his MMA career, Sam Stout was on a nine fight winning streak that had lasted over two whole years. Sam Stout will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with eight victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Joe Lauzon
UFC Welterweight Division Fight
Dustin “McLovin†Hazelett (12-4-0) vs. Paul “Semtex†Daley (22-8-2)
Dustin Hazelett has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Diego Saraiva, Steven Lynch, Jonathan Goulet, Josh Burkman and Tamdan McCrory, while suffering defeats to Tony DeSouza and Josh Koscheck. Prior to entering the UFC in 2007, Dustin Hazelett had fought such UFC veterans as Chad Reiner and Junior Assuncao. Dustin Hazelett is also a veteran of the Extreme Challenge promotion, where he defeated Mike Cardosa, Victor Moreno and Chad Reiner. It has been well over a year since Dustin Hazelett last competed in an MMA fight, so ring rust can become a factor in the fight. Dustin Hazelett will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with nine victories coming by way of submission. Paul Daley made his UFC debut at UFC 103 in September 2009, where he defeated Martin Kampmann by TKO. Paul Daley is a longtime veteran of the Cage Rage promotion, where he defeated Xavier Foupa-Pokam, Jess Liaudin, Joey Van Wanrooij, Dave Strasser, Sol Gilbert, Ross Mason and Paul Jenkins, while suffering defeats to Jean Silva and Luiz Azeredo. Paul Daley also competed in the Elite XC promotion, defeating Duane Ludwig and Sam Morgan, while suffering a defeat to Jake Shields. Paul Daley will be entering the fight riding a three fight winning streak, which has lasted just under a full year. Paul Daley will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with seventeen victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Paul Daley
UFC Light Heavyweight Division Fight
Rashad “Sugar†Evans (13-1-1) vs. Thiago Silva (14-1-0)
Rashad Evans is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, who defeated Forrest Griffin at UFC 92 to win the championship. In his other UFC fights, Rashad Evans has defeated Brad Imes, Sam Hoger, Stephen Bonnar, Jason Lambert, Sean Salmon, Michael Bisping and Chuck Liddell, while suffering a lone defeat to Lyoto Machida. Until suffering the loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 98, Rashad Evans was riding a twelve fight undefeated streak that had lasted over five years. Prior to entering the UFC in late 2005, Rashad Evans had already defeated UFC veteran Hector Ramirez. Rashad Evans will be looking to use his ground and pound skills to win the fight, with five victories coming by knockout. Thiago Silva has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Houston Alexander, James Irvin, Tomasz Drwal, Antonio Mendes and Keith Jardine, while suffering defeats to Lyoto Machida. Prior to suffering the loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 94, Thiago Silva was on a thirteen fight undefeated streak that lasted over three years. Of his fifteen professional fights, only one of Thiago Silva’s fights have gone to a decision, which speaks to his finishing abilities. Thiago Silva is in the fight as a replacement for Quinton Jackson, who pulled out of the potential fight after having a short lived retirement. Thiago Silva will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with eleven victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Thiago Silva
(Note: I will be providing live coverage of UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva right here on PWInsiderXtra on Saturday January 2nd at 9pm EST.)
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
