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In the evening’s main event, UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson “The Spider†Silva (27-4-0) defends against Vitor “The Phenom†Belfort (19-8-0). Anderson Silva is arguably the pound for pound king in all of MMA, but is coming off a lackluster performance against Chael Sonnen. Vitor Belfort earned the title shot after defeating Rich Franklin at UFC 103, but hasn’t fought in over a year. This fight is going to be a striker’s duel and Anderson Silva will out strike his challenger on route to a victory.
In the co-main event, former champions face off as former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich “Ace†Franklin (28-5-0) takes on former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin (17-6-0). Rich Franklin has been impressive in recent UFC outings, defeating Chuck Liddell at UFC 115 in the final fight of Chuck Liddell’s MMA career. Forrest Griffin hasn’t fought in over a year as he is coming off a series of shoulder injuries, which required surgery. The long layoff by the former TUF champion gives Rich Franklin a huge advantage as he edges closer to a UFC Light Heavyweight Title opportunity.
A huge light heavyweight encounter takes place next as Jon “Bones†Jones (11-1-0) does battle with Ryan “Darth†Bader (12-0-0). Jon Jones has been on a huge roll lately in the UFC, defeating both Brandon Vera and Vladimir Matyushenko. Ryan Bader is a TUF champion who is coming off the biggest victory of his career, as he defeated Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 119. This is a bad fight for Ryan Bader, who will have a tough time stopping the unpredictable moves of Jon Jones, who will be victorious.
Welterweights will do battle next as Jake Ellenberger (22-5-0) does battle with the undefeated Carlos Eduardo “Ta Danado†Rocha (9-0-0). Jake Ellenberger has won two of three fights in the UFC, including a victory over top MMA veteran Mike Pyle. Carlos Eduardo Rocha made a successful UFC debut at UFC 122, defeating TUF alumni Kris McCray by submission. Carlos Eduardo Rocha does have good submission skills, but he will not be able to stop the ground game of Jake Ellenberger.
The evening will kick off with a bantamweight affair as Miguel Torres (38-3-0) takes on fellow WEC alumni Antonio Banuelos (18-6-0). Miguel Torres is a former WEC Bantamweight Champion and a victory at UFC 126 could earn him a title opportunity by the end of the year. Antonio Banuelos did win three of his last four in the WEC and did compete in the first ever fight on the lone WEC pay-per-view. While Antonio Banuelos is a tough competitor, he doesn’t have the ability to stop the striking skills of Miguel Torres.
You can contact David Tees at bigteesps3@yahoo.com
