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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief 2008 has been a great year for the UFC, and they're set to send it out with a bang with tonight's absolutely stacked UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 card. With two titles to be decided, a third fight in a brutal series coming to us, and some great under card action, this is looking to be another exciting offering from the UFC.
Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans: Light Heavyweight Title bout
Starting at the top of the card, the fight between Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans should be a very back and forth, explosive affair between two of the top fighters to ever come out of the Ultimate Fighter house. This will be the biggest test by far of Rashad's career, having come off of his last "biggest fight of his career" when he defeated Chuck Liddell in September. I think this fight goes into the late rounds, and that's where it's going to be decided.
This is Rashad's first title fight, and as such will be his first foray past the third round of a fight. He gets the nod in the power department coming into this fight, and his stand up is very solid, as evidenced by his sick overhand right knockout of Chuck Liddell. Rashad's also got very good wrestling skills, and he'll be putting all of that to use in this fight.
On the other side of the coin is the Champ, Forrest Griffin. The man is no slouch himself when it comes to the stand up game, and he's more than willing to duke it out round after round in a fight. He has been clipped and finished before, but the Champ has shown ways to bounce back and improve on any and all of his shortcomings. Griffin's biggest strengths coming into his first Title defense are his submission skills, his cardio, and his heart. He's going to stand toe-to-toe with Rashad in this fight, and if it goes to the ground he's going to be looking for a submission. Griffin can also take punishment, and the only way he's going to be stopped by Evans is if Rashad can catch him with a lucky shot that lands flush. Forrest's stand up isn't as deadly as Liddell's was coming into his with with Evans, but I'd argue that Forrest's is cleaner and he doesn't leave himself open as much to the counter, which is where Rashad was hurting Chuck in their fight at UFC 88.
When it comes down to the fight tonight, while Rashad's never tasted defeat, I think that's just what will happen in the fight with the Champ. Griffin's cardio is superior, and I see Rashad being unable to finish Griffin in the first three rounds; and once it gets to those final two rounds, Griffin's going to take advantage of a more worn down Evans and pick up a submission. I have this one going to Griffin by submission early in the fifth round.
Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira vs. Frank Mir: Interim Heavyweight Title bout
The next co-main event in our triumvirate tonight is the Interim Heavyweight Title Bout between the coaches from this season's Ultimate Fighter, Frank Mir taking on Antonio "Minotauro" Nogeuira. This should be another good fight, and will be Mir's shot to prove he's a viable top heavyweight.
Frank Mir loves one thing more than anything else in the world: Frank Mir. The next in line is fighting, and Mir has been on a campaign to convince everyone that he's taking this fight more seriously than any other in the past, and that he's training to defeat the man known as "Minotauro." While that all may be true, he's facing a fighter who not only has never been stopped in a fight, but also who overshadows his skills.
Mir's bread and butter is his submission game, and it's very much true that he's one of the top heavyweight Jiu Jitsu practitioners in the sport. The problem with that coming into this fight for the Interim Title is the fact that for as good as he is in that aspect of the game, his opponent is better. In order for Frank Mir to secure a rematch with the man he beat back in February, Brock Lesnar, he's going to have to do what no man has done, and that's finish Antonio Nogueira. He's going to have to secure a tko with strikes, because he will not submit Nogeuira. That means that tonight he's going to have to rely on his stand up game, which has been suspect and a definite question mark at times throughout his career, and he's going to have again do what no man has ever accomplished against Nogueira.
"Minotauro" is, simply put, the man. With his only losses coming by decision to Dan Henderson, Josh Barnett, and Fedor Emelianenko (twice), it is clear that he is a major force to be reckoned with. The man can take a beating like no other fighter in the sport and can still come back to catch his opponent in a submission after they've tired themselves out attempting to beat and bludgeon him all fight long. On top of his superior submission skills and his ability to survive, he can dole out the punishment as well. While he may take more than his fair share of shots during a fight, he can also lay on the punishment of his own, and that's where he's going to be at an advantage even further against Frank Mir in this fight.
For as good as Mir has looked at times in his career, Nogueira is simply on a different plane as a fighter. I honestly can't see Mir winning this one, and I think he may end up being the one submitted for the first time in his career. I've got this one for Nogueira via early fourth round submission.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva
The final headline fight of the card comes in the form of vengeance and hostility between two fighters who legit hate each other, and will be looking to tear the other apart: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva. Twice before in PRIDE, Jackson has been on the receiving end of some of the most vicious knockouts in the history of the sport. Silva beat him so badly with knees and other tools in that fight that it's still hard to watch the ending of their two encounters. Granted, their last fight happened four years ago and both of them are much different fighters, but the fact remains that Wanderlei has beaten up Jackson more than any other fighter in the sport has; twice.
Now, Jackson is stepping back into the Octagon in this fight following his much publicized "dehydration induced dementia" incident that occurred after he lost his Light Heavyweight Title to Forrest Griffin in July. With an impending court date and possible jail time still looming in the horizon for him, I continue to question the booking of this fight.
In every other major sport, which make no mistake about it Dana White wants to be in that group considered a "major sport," there are consequences and repercussions for one's actions "off the field." Last weekend Wes Welker of the NFL's New England Patriots was fined for making a snow angel in celebration, and yet here we are with an, in the case of the courts, unresolved issue following Rampage's rampage through the streets and he's fighting tonight. There's a big "lack of accountability for a top guy" feel to it, especially when you take into consideration Dana White's quickness to pull the trigger on Jesse Taylor because his actions had a "negative impact" on the UFC's image.
And in the case of Rampage himself, I continue to question where his head will be at both before, during, and after the fight tonight. Is it a case of being able to train to keep his mind off of the legal issues that await him? Is he stable enough to come into this fight and compete at his best? Should he lose, are we in for another incident like what happened in July? These are all legit questions that no amount of deflection and reassurance from Dana White and the UFC can come close to answering. We'll find out, I suppose, tonight and in the coming week, but it's still not a smart move to have this fight take place. That being said, it's still a major fight, and it is going forward, so we may as well enjoy it for what it is: a grudge match.
Wanderlei Silva hates Quinton Jackson; and the list of people that Wanderlei truly feels that way about is a short one. He's already laid the punishment on Rampage twice in his career, and you can be damn sure he's looking to do the same in this fight. While he didn't completely look like his old self in his decision loss to Chuck Liddell in their absolute war last December, he did seem to regain that spark in May when he tore through Keith Jardine in the first round. If he comes into this fight like he did against Jardine, he should be fine.
This one's coming down to where Jackson's head is, and how well either he's improved or how much Wanderlei's declined since their last meeting. I see Wanderlei doing much of what he was able to do to Jackson in Japan, and I suspect a similar ending to the fight tonight. I've got Silva via tko early in the third round.
C.B. Dollaway vs. Mike Massenzio
This one should be exciting, and although it's taking the place of some fights that could be argued deserve the spot, it should not disappoint. Both Dollaway and Massenzio have extensive wrestling backgrounds, and that means this fight is taking place in one spot: that's right, on the feet. This looks to be what is becoming a classic trend of two wrestlers facing off only to duke it out standing because they want to be exciting and they nearly cancel each other out on the ground.
Dollaway rebounded from consecutive losses to Amir Sadollah for the Ultimate Fighter season seven title to display some very good submission skills, ending Jesse Taylor's UFC run for good with a beautiful Peruvian neck tie. This fight with Massenzio, however, looks to be more of a stand up battle.
The two have met in competition before, where Dollaway pinned Massenzio in the JUCO national championship while the two were in college. Massenzio will be looking to get a measure of revenge in that fight, but I see Dollaway being able to dish out enough punishment to pick up a victory here. This should be a good one, but I've got Dollaway via decision.
Mustapha Al Turk vs. Cheick Kongo
Our final main fight of the night comes as Cheick Kongo welcomes Mustapha Al Turk to the UFC in a heavyweight bout. This being Al Turk's debut, I honestly haven't seen enough of him to gauge just what he can bring in this fight, but seeing as he's never faced anyone on Kongo's level, I don't see it being enough.
Cheick Kongo is a beast of a fighter who has power comparable to just about any heavyweight going. His problem has been his inability to adapt to the ground game to the level that the other fighters in the sport have, and as such he's been defeated by superior ground fighters. That being said, if anyone wants to sit and trade with him, the majority of the time Kongo's going to come out on top. I've got Al Turk succumbing to the power that comes from Cheick Kongo's right hand, and it will be a tko for Kongo in the second round.
The Undercard
-Yushin Okami and Dean Lister are set for what will most likely be a boring encounter. Plain and simple, neither has done anything to excite anyone about the prospect of seeing them fight again, and unless one of them pulls off something spectacular here, it's pretty easy to see that Okami will be too much for Lister and will eke out a decision. Okami via Decision.
-Reese Andy gets to fight in the UFC again, which is kind of surprising given his snore-worthy performance against Brandon Vera; and now he's taking on Matt Hamill who will be looking to rebound from his loss to Rich Franklin. Hamill's a better wrestler and a better striker, and he'll end this one early. Hamill via tko in round one.
-Ryo Chonan faces off against Brad Blackburn in a fight that could go any number of ways. You really never know what you're going to get out of either fighter in any of their fights, with both being as able to pull of a quick victory as win or lose a decision. This one could go either way, but I'll take Chonan catching Blackburn in a second round submission.
-Dan Evenson was beating badly by Cheick Kongo and will be facing off against a debuting fighter looking to make his left and right hands more well known than he is at this point in Pat Barry. I don't trust Evenson's chin and he'll go 0-2 in the UFC. Barry via second round tko.
-Mike Wessel is a last minute replacement coming in to face off against Antoni Hardonk, and I don't think he's going to be successful in his step in venture. Hardonk via first round tko.
So there's the card for you, be sure to stick with us throughout the day for our coverage of tonight's big event, and we'll have live round by round coverage updated throughout the show, along with fall out and post show goodness in the next week as well. Stick with us for all of the fight goodness to close out UFC's 2008 tonight, here on MMATorch.com!
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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