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Ricardo “Cachorrao†Almeida (11-3-0) vs. Matt “The Immortal†Brown (11-7-0)
Ricardo Almeida has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Eugene Jackson, Rob Yundt, Matt Yundt and Kendall Grove, while suffering defeats to Matt Lindland, Andrei Seminov and Patrick Cote. Ricardo Almeida also had an undefeated run in the Pancrase promotion, defeating Osami Shibuya, Ikuhisa Minowa, Yuki Sasaki, Kazou Misaki and Nate Marquardt. In an interesting career note, Ricardo Almeida had two separate UFC runs in his MMA career, coming six years apart. Ricardo Almeida also made a few appearances in the PRIDE promotion, defeating Ryo Chonnan and Akira Shoji. Despite competing in professional MMA for over a decade, Ricardo Almeida has only fought in three MMA promotions, the UFC, PRIDE and Pancrase. Ricardo Almeida will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with four victories coming by way of submission. Matt Brown has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Matt Arroyo, Ryan Thomas, Pete Sell and James Wilks, while suffering a long loss to Dong Hyun Kim. Matt Brown was also a veteran of the Independent Event MMA promotion, defeating Ricardo Martinez and Brian King. Prior to entering the UFC in mid-2008, Matt Brown had already taken on MMA veterans Chris Lytle, Pete Spratt and Matt Arroyo. Matt Brown entered the UFC after a stint on the UFC Ultimate Fighter 7, which was won by Amir Saddollah. Matt Brown will be entering the fight riding a three fight winning streak, which has currently lasted over a year. Matt Brown is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with all of his victories coming by knockout and submission.
My Prediction: Ricardo Almeida
UFC Welterweight Division Fight
Nate Diaz (11-5-0) vs. Rory Markham (16-5-0)
Nate Diaz has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Manny Gamburyan, Junior Assuncao, Alvin Robinson, Kurt Pellegrino, Josh Neer and Melvin Guillard, while suffering defeats to Clay Guida, Joe Stevenson and Gray Maynard. Nate Diaz got into the UFC after winning the UFC Ultimate Fighter 5, where he defeated Manny Gamburyan in the finals. Nate Diaz also competed in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, defeating Alex Garcia, Gilbert Rael and Joe Hurley, while suffering a lone defeat to Hermes Franca. Nate Diaz is also the brother of former UFC star Nick Diaz, who is the current Strikeforce Welterweight Champion. Nate Diaz also fought once in the Strikeforce promotion, defeating Tony Juares by TKO in the opening round. Nate Diaz will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with eight victories coming by way of submission. Rory Markham has had an interesting run in the UFC, defeating Brodie Farber, while suffering a defeat to Dan Hardy. Rory Markham had a long run in the International Fight League, defeating Mike Pyle, Brad Blackburn, Marcelo Azevedo, Keith Wisniewski, Pat Healy and Chris Clements, while suffering defeats to Chris Clements and Brett Cooper. Rory Markham also holds a victory over Jason Guida, who is the brother of UFC veteran Clay Guida. It has been well over a year since Rory Markham last competed in an MMA fight, so cage rust can become a factor in the fight. Rory Markham also competed in the debut event for the Adrenaline MMA promotion, where he defeated Jay Ellis. Rory Markham will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with eleven victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Nate Diaz
(Note: I will be providing live coverage of UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy right here on PWInsiderXtra on Saturday Night March 27th at 9pm EST.)
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
