Well folks, it's that time once again. Time for me to give away all my vast knowledge for free. No need to thank me, rest assured you are very welcome. Well UFC 72: VICTORY comes to us live, or on tape delay who knows, from Belfast, Ireland this Saturday. Let's be honest with ourselves here; this is about as underwhelming of a card that the UFC is capable of putting on pay-per-view right now. But as anyone who watched Tuesday night's Ultimate Fight Night Live knows (and shame on those who didn't), sometimes the ugly duckling turns into a beautiful swan of a fight night. What this card lacks in star power, it should make up for with some surprisingly exciting action. Alright enough of the intro, let's analyze some fights!

1- Dustin Hazelett (8-3) vs. Stevie "Smiling Assassin" Lynch (4-0)

Hazelett likes to win by submission, and has only been submitted once and that was by Tony DeSouza, so no shame there. Lynch comes in undefeated, but also inexperienced. None of his fights have gone to a decision, so either he's fought completely overmatched opponents or he just likes to "bring it". I've never seen him fight so I can't verify which one it is, but I hope it's the latter. Hazelett has fought and beaten tough competition and with this being his third fight in the Octagon, he's practically a UFC veteran. I think Lynch will put up a good fight, but eventually the butterflies will catch up with him and he'll make a mistake. I'll take Hazelett by submission in round 2.

2- Ed "Short Fuse" Herman (12-5) vs. Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith (11-3)

Personally I really hope this one makes it to the air. Not because of it's major title implications, because it has less than none, but because both these guys will be looking to put on a show. Ed Herman finally picked up his first UFC victory at UFN 8 with a beautiful armbar submission over Chris Price. Herman might be safe even with a loss as this is probably his first fight of a new three fight contract. Still I think he'd sleep a little better with a win here. Scott Smith's went outside the UFC for his last fight, a first round TKO of Troy Miller. Apparently that was all Dana White needed to see, because "Hands of Steel" is back. Of his fourteen professional fights only one has gone to a decision and only two have even gone past the first round. Smith will look to keep this standing as that's where his advantage lies. Unfortunately for him, Herman is tough and determined and will get this fight to the ground where he'll look to pound and then submit. It'll be exciting while it lasts, but look for Ed Herman to win by submission late in round 1.

3- Colin "Big C" Robinson (7-2) vs. Eddie "the Manic Hispanic" Sanchez (6-1)

I don't know much about Robinson, but after a little research, I discovered that he wins by submission and TKO almost equally. Only one of his fights has gone to a decision, but I've never heard of any of his opponents either, so take that for what it's worth. The last time we saw Eddie Sanchez he was working on his cardio by running for his life from Mirko Filipovic. Can't blame him there. This will be his third fight in the UFC and as we know, contracts generally come as three fight deals. I'm not saying you won't see him again if he loses, but he probably doesn't want to take that chance. I'm thinking he'll come out with his guns blazing. This should be a slugfest with Sanchez eventually getting Robinson down to the ground and pounding out a TKO in the second round.

4- Marcus "the Celtic Warrior" Davis (11-3) vs. Jason Tan (4-1)

After a poor performance on The Ultimate Fighter, Marcus Davis beefed up and has been mowing down his opponents ever since. He's won eight fights in a row since his loss to Melvin Guillard at the TUF 2 Finale, including his last three in the UFC. He's become very well versed and is capable of winning this fight from anywhere. Jason Tan makes his UFC debut coming off his first pro loss in his last fight. I think this one is a concession to the Brits, as the UFC is trying to gain popularity overseas. Davis is being brought along slowly, but I don't see why. He's not young and he's proven he's ready for tougher competition. Look for him to dominate this fight from wherever he chooses. He'll eventually put an end to Tan's night by submission in round 2.

5- Tyson Griffin (8-1) vs. Clay "the Carpenter" Guida (21-7)

Our first fight of the main card is my preliminary pick for fight of the night. Both of these guys are exciting fighters who like to push the pace and use their strength advantage to control the fight. If anyone watched the Urijah Faber vs. Chance Farrar fight, that is what you should expect to see here. A lot of ground work and reversals, but exciting throughout. Both of these guys and go strong for three rounds, and the winner will take a big step up in the crowded lightweight division. Both of these guys are tough as nails, so I don't see either of them being finished. I'm taking Tyson Griffin to win a close, hard fought decision.

6- Jason "the Athlete" MacDonald (18-8) vs. Rory "Outburst" Singer (11-6)

The fact that Rory Singer made the main card of a UFC pay-per-view shows you just how thin this show is. No offense to Rory, I just don't feel he's at that level. Jason MacDonald is coming off a pretty rough pounding at the gloves of Rich Franklin, but he does own recent submission victories over Ed Herman and Chris Leben. While those are nice, he can't rest on his laurels for too long. Rory Singer is coming off a decision win over Matt Masterson at Wild Bill's Fight Night 8, which happens to be about fifteen minutes from where I live. Now that's what I call dropping down to the minors to pick up a win. Singer is still living off his little bit of fame from TUF, but a loss here could wipe that out for good. A win could mean he actually starts living off his skill as a fighter. Rory holds the slight edge on the feet, but MacDonalds ground game is fantastic. This won't be the most exciting fight of the night, but it should be decent. MacDonald by submission in round 3.

7- Forrest Griffin (13-4) vs. Hector "Sick Dog" Ramirez (6-2)

This is another strong contender for fight of the night. Griffin in coming off a devastating loss to Keith Jardine and needs a win here to have any chance of a title shot in the near future. He's improved by leaps and bounds since we first saw him on season 1 of TUF. He's said to be one of the hardest training guys in MMA. He's extremely likable and marketable, and the UFC wants him to get back on track. Hector Ramirez is a brawler, plain and simple. I'm not saying he's not talented, because he is, but he wants to come in and hit people, period. This is a good style match up for both fighters. Look for a slugfest. I can't see either fighter being stopped unless Griffin decides he wants to show off his ground game. I think he wants to stand. Griffin by decision.

8- Rich "Ace" Franklin (21-2) #3 Ranked MW vs. Yushin Okami (20-3) #8 Ranked MW 

Who would've thought after the acquisition of Pride and the influx of top-notch talent, that Yushin Okami would be main eventing a pay-per-view. I will say this though; this is a good match-up for him and if he wins, he'll be next in line for a title shot. I always thought Rich Franklin's biggest asset in the middleweight division was his strength. After seeing the smaller Anderson Silva manhandle him the way he did, I may have to reassess that. Franklin owns a decided advantage on the feet. He's very accurate and has good power to go with it. He'll be looking to pick Okami apart as he shoots in. Franklin also holds the edge in the submission game, but he's hoping not to use it because that would mean he's been taken down and is defending from his back. That's the last place he wants to be with Okami. The only chance Okami has in this fight is to take Franklin down and try to pound him out, but it's a pretty good chance that happens. I'm picking with my heart on this one. Franklin continues his march towards his rematch and stops Okami in the second round with a TKO.

Well there it is. UFC 72 in a nutshell, or in a preview article, whatever you want to call it. Feel free to email me with any disagreements or head over to the Forums where we're always waxing MMA.

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