Affliction will have their second show this coming Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim. You’ve never heard of it? I’m not surprised because to put it nicely, their marketing sucks. It’s almost non-existent. Many of their fighters are UFC rejects, but they have fighters that can sell tickets if they market them the right way, fighters like Fedor Emelianenko. He is ranked by many experts as the the #1 HW in the world. Nobody knows who he is because Affliction is not marketing him properly. Last I heard, Affliction sold less than 2,000 tickets 2 weeks ago. That’s bad news for them, but good news for any hardcore MMA fans. More likely, they will either sell their tickets cheaper, or give it away for free come fight night. Seeing Fedor fight is like seeing Michael Jordan play for the bulls. This event will air on PPV, Jan. 24th at 6PM PT.

Enough ranting, here are my predictions.

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski – Should be an interesting fight. Fedor fights another ex-UFC champ. Andrei has good stand-up but does not have a good chin, and his ground game is questionable. Fedor has to throw bombs, and throw Arlovski to the ground. Once on the ground, Fedor can pretty much do what he wants.
Prediction: Fedor by Armbar.

Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel – Barnett, why are you fighting Yvel? You should be fighting Fedor. Yvel had 2 wins in his Pride career, he pretty much has no chance against Barnett. Barnett will probably stand with him for a couple of seconds, then take him down. While on the ground, Barnett will probably go for some kind of a leg submission.
Prediction: Barnett by Toe Hold.

Vitor Belfort vs. Matt Lindland – This fight looks decent on paper, but trust me, you WILL be disappointed. Vitor likes to quit when things don’t go his way. Lindland’s fights are always dependent on his opponent’s style. With Belfort, I think Lindland will retort to Lay n Pray.
Prediction: Lindland by JD

Renato “Babalu” Sobral vs. Thierry Sokoudjou – This fight I’m looking forward to. Both guys are former UFC fighters. Babalu was let go due to misconduct inside the Octagon when he refused to let go of a choke after the referee stepped in. In his defense, the other guy was talking a lot of smack. And Sokoudjou was let go for being a cardio failure. And here they are fighting for Affliction. If Babalu can survive the first round, then Sokodjou is in trouble. There should be a lot of stand-up in the first round. Babalu will mostly defend, and when the time is right, he will go for the take down.
Prediction: Babalu by RNC (please let go this time)

Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon – This should be a good light-weight match up. Both fighters are quick and like the stand-up game. This should be mostly a stand-up fight.
Prediction: Horodecki by KO

Paul Buentello vs. Kiril Sidelnikov (Baby Fedor) – First of all, what a dumb nickname. With that said, this should be an interesting match-up. Buentello is a striker with many KOs in his resume. Kiril is Fedor’s student. But, what does that really mean? nothing. I’ve never seen any of his fights, but this guy looks solid. Kiril will probably stand with Buentello, somebody will get KOd.
Prediction: Based on gut feeling, Kiril by KO

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