I hope all of you guys had a great Christmas! This month ends with a bang with one of the greatest UFC cards in history. Will it be the best? I hope so, on paper, this event looks solid from beginning to end. I’m very excited about this event. Without further ado, here are my predictions:
Matt Hughes vs. Georges St-Pierre
This will be for the interim belt and the rubber match between the two fighters. Originally it was supposed to be Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra. But since Serra got injured a couple of weeks ago, St-Pierre stepped up to the plate. I see St-Pierre dominating from beginning to end. It seems like Hughes lost his fire after losing the belt to St. Pierre in their second match. Hughes will get knocked out in the second round again.
Winner: St-Pierre
Chuck Liddell vs Wanderlei Silva
The matchup everybody wanted last year finally happens. It has already lost its hype since both fighters are not champions anymore and are coming off 2 losses – Liddell to Rampage (ko) and Jardine (decision) – Silva to Crocop (ko) and Henderson (ko).
Silva left his original team, Chute Boxe. Moved to the U.S. and training with Randy Couture. Will that be enough to beat Liddell? I do not think so. For some reason, Silva always gets knocked out when he fights in America (Belfort, Henderson). While in Japan he has probably fought around 15 fights and only got knocked out once and that was to a heavyweight.
I don’t think this fight will live up to the hype. Both will be cautious since they have too much to lose. If Liddell starts throwing leg kicks and mixes things up, he should take it. But he didn’t do it against Jardine and paid for it. He became too predictable.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Silva surprises Liddell and goes for takedowns. His biggest asset? Training with Couture, who has beaten Liddell before. I hope his training is more than enough and won’t gas out like his former teammate, Shogun (also left Chute Boxe).
I think that the location of this fight will be the biggest factor. Liddell by third round ko.
Winner: Liddell
Lyoto Machida vs Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
This will be a very interesting match. Machida is undefeated in 11 fights and Sokoudjou has beaten top fighters. I believe in the Sokoudjou hype. He has knocked out Lil Nog and Arona, two top ten fighters in the light heavyweight division. What’s more impressive is that he knocked both of them out in the first round!
Machida seems boring because he is so damn technical. To his credit, he did try to finish Nakamura in their last fight. Machida is already battle tested while it seems like Sokoudjou’s last two wins were flukes. In the end, I choose experience over athleticism. Machida by decision.
Winner: Machida
Rich Clementi Vs. Melvin Guillard
I just want to watch this fight because of the trash talk. Guillard always talks a big game but hasn’t really proven himself. Clementi has an impressive record but in his last five fights, he has lost three. This should be a slugfest. Guillard should win by knockout.
Winner: Guillard
Soa Palelei Vs. Eddie Sanchez
I don’t even know who Palelei is so I’ll pick Sanchez. Sanchez has good stand up and should be able to knockout Palelei.
Winner: Sanchez
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