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By Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor Undercard:
Paul Kelly vs. Troy Mandaloniz- Kelly by TKO in the 3rd round
Per Eklund vs. Evan Dunham- Eklund by Decision
Mike Ciesnolevicz vs. Neil Grove- Grove by TKO in the 2nd round
Junior Dos Santos vs. Stefan Struve- Dos Santos by Decision
Terry Etim vs. Brian Cobb- Cobb by Submission in the 2nd round
Main Card:
Josh Koscheck vs. Paulo Thiago- This won't be an easy fight for Koscheck, Thiago is a black belt in BJJ. However, Koscheck should get the win as his wrestling will allow him to take Thiago down if he wants. Koscheck has shown more of a desire to keep his fights standing, though, so this fight should stay upright for a while. Everytime we've seen Koscheck he's looked better and better; he's just on a different level than Thiago.
Prediction- Koscheck by TKO in the 2nd round
Demian Maia vs. Chael Sonnen- Sonnen made waves the other week when he said that both he and Maia are better than Anderson Silva. Part of me is happy to hear stuff like that because you have to want to be the best in order to ever try to be the best. Sonnen went about it the wrong way, though, because you never say that yourself, you have someone else say it for you. About the fight, Maia is the much better fighter. I know Chael has a lot more experience but Maia's BJJ is outstanding. I think that once the fight goes to the ground that it's only a matter of time before Maia locks in a submission. I'll give Sonnen until the 2nd round but he might be able to avoid being submitted and take it to a decision. Either way, Maia keeps his win streak alive.
Prediction- Maia by Submission in the 2nd round
Nate Marquardt vs. Wilson Gouveia- Gouveia is good but they don't call Marquardt "The Great" for nothing. Marquardt's BJJ is among the best out there and he can submit you from anywhere. Gouveia is no pushover, though, so I would expect a chess match on the ground between these two. If Gouveia keeps the fight standing he has the edge because of his power. Marquardt has seen a lot in his career so he won't be surprised by whatever Gouveia throws at him. Marquardt's experience should see him through to a victory.
Prediction- Marquardt by Submission in the 3rd round
Dan Hardy vs. Rory Markham- This is my pick for Fight of the Night. I expect this fight to be a slugfest and to be exciting from bell to bell. I really like Hardy but I have to give the edge to Markham here. Both guys are good strikers but Markham has incredible power behind his punches. I think this will be a back and forth war until Markham is able to slip a punch through and rock Hardy.
Prediction- Markham by TKO in the 2nd round
Joe Stevenson vs. Diego Sanchez- Despite being a year younger Stevenson has 20 more fights than Diego. That experience should help Joe. Diego was overrated earlier in his UFC career. He was pushed as some sort of dominant fighter until he moved up to a higher level of competition and got beat by Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch in consecutive bouts. Stevenson hasn't fared much better against quality competition, losing to Kenny Florian and BJ Penn. Neither guy has a really impressive win on his resume, but that changes after this fight. The winner finally gets that big victory and moves one step closer to reaching the next level. This is an interesting fight of two fairly equal fighters. They match up well against each other in most areas. I think Stevenson will have a slight edge on the ground but both men are accomplished grapplers. This should be a very even fight and I give the nod to Stevenson.
Prediction- Stevenson by Decision
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