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Kendall “Da Spyder†Grove (11-6-0) vs. Mark “The Phillipine Wrecking Machine†Munoz (7-1-0)
Kendall Grove has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Ed Herman, Chris Price, Alan Belcher, Evan Tanner, Jason Day and Jake Rosholt, while suffering defeats to Patrick Cote, Jorge Rivera and Ricardo Almeida. Kendall Grove entered the UFC after winning the UFC Ultimate Fighter 3, which he won by defeating Ed Herman in the finals. Kendall Grove also spent some time in the Total Combat promotion, where he defeated Matt Hendricks and Matt Gidney. Prior to entering the UFC in mid-2006, Kendall Grove had competed against UFC veterans Hector Ramirez and Joe Riggs at other MMA events. Kendall Grove had never gone past the second round in MMA competition, until he fought Ed Herman at his UFC debut in 2006. Kendall Grove will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with seven victories coming by way of submission. Mark Munoz has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating both Nick Catone and Ryan Jensen, while suffering a lone defeat to Matt Hamill. Mark Munoz entered the UFC after a short run in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, where he defeated Chuck Grigsby and Ricardo Barros. Mark Munoz also spent some time in the Palace Fighting Championships promotion, where he defeated Austin Achorn and Tony Rubalcava. Mark Munoz started off his MMA career in impressive fashion, with a five fight undefeated streak that had lasted well over a year. Mark Munoz will be entering the fight riding a two fight winning streak, which has currently lasted over eight months. Mark Munoz will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with three victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Mark Munoz
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
Terry Etim (14-2-0) vs. Rafael Dos Anjos (13-4-0)
Terry Etim has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Matt Grice, Sam Stout, Brian Cobb, Justin Buchholz and Shannon Gugerty, while suffering defeats to Rich Clementi and Gleison Tibau. Terry Etim also competed in the Cage Carnage promotion, defeating Neil Barber, Aaron Blackwell and Kamel Nacer. Terry Etim started off his MMA career in impressive fashion, with a ten fight undefeated streak that had lasted over two years. Terry Etim also competed in the Cage Gladiators promotion, defeating Danny Van Bergen, Greg Loughran and Sami Berik. Terry Etim will be entering the fight riding a four fight winning streak, which has currently lasted over a year. Terry Etim will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with eleven victories coming by way of submission. Rafael Dos Anjos has had an interesting run in the UFC, defeating Robert Emerson and Kyle Bradley, while suffering defeats to Jeremy Stephens and Tyson Griffin. Rafael Dos Anjos also competed in the Fury FC promotion, defeating Danilo Cherman, Gabriel Veiga and Takafumi Otsuka. Rafael Dos Anjos also competed in the XFC MMA promotion, defeating both Thiago Meller and Mauricio Reis. Prior to competing against Jeremy Stephens at UFC 91 in late 2008, Rafael Dos Anjos had never had an MMA fight in North America. Rafael Dos Anjos will be entering the fight riding a two fight winning streak, which has currently lasted over seven months. Rafael Dos Anjos will be loo0king to put the fight on the ground, with six victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Rafael Dos Anjos
UFC Welterweight Division Fight
Matt Hughes (43-7-0) vs. Renzo Gracie (13-6-1)
Matt Hughes is easily one of the most successful fighters in UFC history, defeating Valerie Ignatov, Marcelo Aguiar, Carlos Newton, Hayato Sakurai, Carlos Newton, Gil Castillo, Sean Sherk, Frank Trigg, Renato Verissimo, Georges St. Pierre, Joe Riggs, Royce Gracie, BJ Penn, Chris Lytle and Matt Serra, while suffering defeats to Dennis Hallman, BJ Penn, Georges St. Pierre and Thiago Alves. In an interesting career note for Matt Hughes, it has been nearly nine years since Matt Hughes last fought outside of the UFC. In his time outside of the UFC, Matt Hughes had defeated top MMA veterans Joe Doerkson, Akihiro Gono, Dave Menne and Ryan Stout. It has been nearly a year since Matt Hughes last competed in an MMA fight, so cage rust can become a factor in the fight. Matt Hughes can become one of the few fighters who could defeat multiple Gracie Family members, as he defeated Royce Gracie at UFC 60. Matt Hughes will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with eighteen victories coming by way of submission. Renzo Gracie will be making his UFC debut in this fight, but he is a longtime veteran of the PRIDE promotion. While in PRIDE, Renzo Gracie defeated Sanae Kikuta, Alexander Otsuka and Michiyoshi Ohara, while suffering defeats to Kazushi Sakuraba, Dan Henderson, Shungo Oyama and Carlos Newton. Renzo Gracie also competed in the International Fight League, defeating both Pat Miletech and Carlos Newton. Renzo Gracie has been competed in MMA for over eighteen years, with his debut fight coming against Luiz Augusto Alvaredo in January 1992. Renzo Gracie also competed in the debut event for Elite XC, defeating Frank Shamrock by disqualification. It has been over three years since Renzo Gracie last had an MMA fight, so cage rust can become a factor in the fight. Renzo Gracie will be entering the fight riding a three fight winning streak, which has last well over three years. Renzo Gracie will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with seven victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Matt Hughes
UFC Lightweight Title Fight
“The Prodigy†BJ Penn (15-5-1) (Champion) vs. Frankie “The Answer†Edgar (11-1-0)
BJ Penn has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Joey Gilbert, Din Thomas, Caol Uno, Paul Creighton, Matt Serra, Matt Hughes, Jens Pulver, Joe Stevenson, Sean Sherk, Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez, while suffering defeats to Jens Pulver, Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes. BJ Penn also spent some time in the K-1 MMA promotion, defeating Duane Ludwig and Renzo Gracie, while suffering a defeat to Lyoto Machida. BJ Penn also performed as a coach on the UFC Ultimate Fighter 5, coaching opposite of former rival Jens Pulver. BJ Penn also competed in the Rumble On The Rock promotion, defeating Takanori Gomi and Rodrigo Gracie. It has been over four years since BJ Penn last competed outside of the UFC, where he defeated Renzo Gracie at a K-1 MMA event. BJ Penn is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with twelve victories coming by knockout and submission. Frankie Edgar has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Tyson Griffin, Mark Bocek, Spencer Fisher, Hermes Franca, Sean Sherk and Matt Veach, while suffering a lone defeat to Gray Maynard. Frankie Edgar also competed in the Reality Fighting promotion, defeating Jim Miller and Deividas Taurosevicius. Frankie Edgar started off his MMA career in impressive fashion, with an eight fight undefeated streak that lasted over two years. Frankie Edgar will also be entering the fight riding a three fight winning streak, which has lasted over a year. Despite competing in the UFC for over three years, this fight will mark the first time Frankie Edgar has had an MMA fight outside of North America. Frankie Edgar will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with three victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: BJ Penn
UFC Middleweight Title Fight
Anderson “The Spider†Silva (25-4-0) (Champion) vs. Demian Maia (12-1-0)
Anderson Silva is currently undefeated in UFC competition, with victories over Chris Leben, Rich Franklin, Travis Lutter, Nate Marquardt, Dan Henderson, James Irvin, Patrick Cote, Thales Leitas and Forrest Griffin. Anderson Silva also had a run in the PRIDE promotion, defeating Alex Stiebling, Alexander Otsuka and Carlos Newton, while suffering defeats to Daiju Takase and Ryo Chonnan. Anderson Silva will be entering the fight riding an eleven fight winning streak, which has currently lasted well over three years. This fight will mark the first time in nearly a year that Anderson Silva has competed as a middleweight, with his last fight with Forrest Griffin happening at light heavyweight. The last loss suffered by Anderson Silva came to UFC veteran Yushin Okami at a Rumble On The Rock event in early 2006. Anderson Silva will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with fifteen victories coming by knockout. Demian Maia has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Ryan Jensen, Ed Herman, Jason MacDonald, Nate Quarry, Chael Sonnen and Dan Miller, while suffering a lone defeat to Nate Marquardt. Demian Maia also won the Super Challenge 1 Tournament by defeating Vitelmo Kubis Bandeira, Gustavo Muchado and Fabio Nascimento. Demian Maia enters this fight as a late replacement for Vitor Belfort, who was injured during his training camp for the fight. Demian Maia started off his MMA career in impressive fashion, with an eleven fight undefeated streak that had lasted nearly eight years. It has been a little over two months since Demian Maia last competed in an MMA fight, so conditioning could become a factor in the fight. Demian Maia will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with eight victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Anderson Silva
(Note: I will be providing live coverage of UFC 112: Invincible on Saturday Night April 10th at 10pm EST., right here on PWInsiderXtra.com)
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
