For you to become the next Number One Contender for the MMATorch Prediction Championship, send in your picks for UFN, Swick v. Burkman, to be held Wednesday, January 23, to air on Spike TV. If you're able to correctly predict the most UFN fights, you'll earn a head-to-head championship match-up with your picks against our champion at UFC 81: Breaking Point on February 2, 2008.  

At UFC 80, MMA Torch Columnist Mike Jarsulic defended the title with a 4-5 record. Not his greatest performance perhaps, but enough to hold off the always-dangerous Tyson Kubas, who came in at 3-6. The new #1 contender is none other than your humble author who rebounded from a dismal UFC 79 to post a 6-3 record at UFC 80. The showdown will be a rematch from March 2007 when Jarsulic ended my first title run. Will it be a return to glory for yours truly? Can anything not named Streptococcus take down Jarsulic? We'll find out in a few short days.

Here's your chance to be next in line for a title opportunity at UFC 81: Breaking Point, where you'll go head-to-head with either myself or Jarsulic, on Super Bowl Saturday.

Below is the complete fight card for UFN - Swick v. Burkman. Please send in your predictions with the following format:

(Winner / Method of Victory / Ending Round)

PART A - Who wins?

PART B - How do they win? Methods of victory can be -- submission, KO/TKO, Unanimous/Majority/Split Decision, DQ.

PART C - What round do they win in? All fights will have 3 five-minute rounds.

Here’s a recent example of our Prediction Format for UFC 76.

UFN - Swick v. Burkman

1 - Justin Buchholz (8-1) vs. Matt "Handsome" Wiman (8-3)

2 - Joe Veres (5-2) vs. Corey Hill (1-0)

3 - Jeremy "L'il Heathen" Stephens (14-2) vs. Cole "Magrino" Miller (13-2)

4 - Dennis Siver (11-4) vs. Gray "The Bully" Maynard (4-0-1)

5 - Alberto Crane (8-1) vs. Kurt "Batman" Pellegrino (16-3)

6 - Michihiro Omigawa (4-5) vs. Thiago Tavares (16-1)

7 - Alvin "Kid" Robinson (10-2) vs. Nate Diaz (7-2)

8 - Patrick "Predator" Cote (12-4) vs. Drew McFedries (6-2)

9 - Mike "Quick" Swick (10-2) vs. Joshua "The  People's Warrior" Burkman (20-4)

Your UFN - Swick v. Burkman Predictions can be e-mailed to mailto:drscruf18@yahoo.com.

The new number one contender for the MMATorch Prediction Championship will be determined by who correctly predicts the most fights at UFN - Swick v. Burkman. The winning MMATorch reader or writer will compete head-to-head against our champion in predicting fights at UFC on Saturday, February 2. The championship match between MMATorch Prediction Champion Mike Jarsulic and #1 Contender Jerry Cattelane will be detailed in our Staff Predictions article before UFN - Swick v. Burkman. That is, God and internet willing.

To be eligible, you must submit at least Part A above. Part B and Part C are optional. In the event of a tie, the winners will be determined by who correctly predicts the most combined methods (Part B) and rounds of victory (Part C).  There are 2 tiebreaker points that can be earned per fight.  The methods and rounds of victory will be worth one point each for non-decision predictions.  For decision predictions, one point will be awarded for picking a decision and one point will be awarded for correctly picking unanimous, majority or split decision.  In the further event of a tie, a correct KO or TKO prediction will be awarded half a point.  

Please send in your predictions by 3:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, January 23. Entries can be resubmitted up until this time. Please make a note in your e-mail that your entry is a resubmission, which will void your original entry.

Remember -- you've got to play to win, so send in your predictions and show us why you deserve to reign supreme as the MMATorch Prediction Champion. It won't be an easy task securing a spot in the championship match, but once you're there, it'll be easier to stay on top. As the champion, you'll only have to compete with one other person. The rest of us, in the meantime, will be competing against each other to become the new number one contender for your title. Good luck all!

Your UFN - Swick v. Burkman Predictions can be e-mailed to DRSCRUF18@yahoo.com.