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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
UFC 106 comes to us on Saturday night from Las Vegas, Nevada, where Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz face off in a light heavyweight clash in the night's main event. As Karo Parisyan dropped out of his bout with Dustin Hazelett just days before the event, earning himself a declaration of banishment from the UFC by UFC President Dana White, the night has just ten fights on the card. Only three are not guaranteed to be broadcast on either Spike or pay-per-view, and there is where we start our fight break down:
Preliminary Card
George Sotiropolous vs. Jason Dent: George Sotiropolous is a very promising lightweight coming into only his second bout at 155. After spending over a year on the sidelines from 08-09, he made a highly impressive return to the Octagon against George Roop in August. Jason Dent is trying to make the most of a second chance in the UFC after an unsuccessful two fight stint in '06 and '07. With both fighters coming out of The Ultimate Fighter, it is Sotiropolous who is far more well rounded and will continue to make an impression on the UFC brass with a second round submission.
Caol Uno vs. Fabricio Camoes: Fabricio Camoes comes into his UFC debut with three straight victories in 2008 and 2009. His win streak in all goes seven fights back, though he missed all of 2007 before posting first round stoppages in three separate bouts on Showtime cards under the EliteXC and Strikeforce banners. Caol Uno will again be looking for his first UFC victory since 2002 after dropping a close decision to Spencer Fisher in his return this past June. This should be a highly competitive and entertaining lightweight bout, and the story may be whether Camoes' can show off his submission skills against a fighter that hasn't been submitted since 1997. This one should be fun to watch, but I'll pull for Uno to pick up the decision victory.
Brock Larson vs. Brian Foster: Larson's loss in September to the debuting Mike Pierce was nothing short of shocking for a fighter many, including myself, have touted as one of the most perpetually underrated welterweights in the game. The surprise decision doesn't entirely derail his attempt to get to UFC main card status, however, and he'll have a chance for a much better outcome against Brian Foster on Saturday. Foster put in one hell of a gutsy performance in a loss of his own to Rick Story, also in September, but he's got a monumental task ahead of him in Larson. This one is Larson's all the way, and the Minnesotan gets back on track with a first round submission.
Spike TV Preliminary Card
Kendall Grove vs. Jake Rosholt: Jake Rosholt started to show more of the promise that being the most decorated NCAA Division I wrestler brings you when he submitted Chris Leben in August, but he's still got a long way to go as an MMA fighter. Kendall Grove has been one of the least successful Ultimate Fighter winners thus far in the UFC, and has been on the chopping block in the UFC's middleweight division at some points throughout his tenure. After losing to Ricardo Almeida at UFC 101, Grove is in need of a victory once again. That fight may have been a glimpse of how Rosholt can be successful, as Almeida was able to grapple and smother Grove for enough of the three round bout to take the decision. Grove's going to need to find a way to stay on his feet, where his superior striking can take over, or find a way to catch Rosholt with a submission, as the wrestling of Rosholt is obviously his strong point. Rosholt's starting to show some signs that he's catching on and picking things up in this sport, but I'll give this one to Grove with a third round TKO.
Ben Saunders vs. Marcus Davis: Ben Saunders is looking to rebound after his first career loss to Mike Swick in September, and Marcus Davis wants to get back to his winning ways as well following his loss to Dan Hardy in June. This one should be Davis' return to his crowd pleasing slug fest style, though it may not be his best course of action against the brutal knees and hands of Saunders. This one may be a blast for three rounds or it could end quickly, but however this goes down I see Saunders coming out with his hand raised. I'll give him the TKO in the second.
Main Pay-Per-View Card
Paulo Thiago vs. Jacob Volkmann: Paulo Thiago got tossed into the deep end following his shocking debut against Josh Koscheck, holding his own against Jon Fitch in a three round decision loss at UFC 100. Volkmann enters his UFC debut undefeated at 9-0, with his largest exposure coming earlier this year at Bellator 6. Of the Minnesotan's nine wins, six have come by way of submission, and he'll find by far his toughest opponent in Thiago on Saturday night. With both fighters excelling in the ground game, conventional wisdom suggests we may see a stand up battle in this one. This is tough to call, but I'll give Thiago the benefit of the doubt after his fights with Fitch and Koscheck and he'll take a hard fought decision.
Amir Sadollah vs. Phil Baroni: We've got the return of "The New York Badass" to the UFC, and after last being seen losing to Joe Riggs in Strikeforce Phil Baroni will be looking to make this one a triumphant return. Sadollah finally made his Octagon debut in August after a series of illnesses and injuries kept him out of action over a year, though it was a quick night for the wrong reasons for Sadollah as Johny Hendricks took him out. Baroni's shot in this one is to hit hard, hit often and finish Sadollah in the opening round of the bout. If it goes past there, Sadollah is crafty and can pull submissions out of his ass; and with Baroni not having the biggest gas tank this sport has ever seen Sadollah would be the late round pick. I'll take Sadollah to get the late second round submission victory.
Luiz Cane vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: "Lil Nog" makes his UFC debut against hard striking light heavyweight Luiz Cane on Saturday, and we've got a hell of a light heavyweight bout on our hands in this one. Cane has lost just one bout in his career, and that was by DQ, while Nogueira comes into this debut fight on a five fight win streak. Both fighters are highly capable of stopping the other in this one, but I'm giving the nod to Cane in what should be a very good fight. Cane by decision.
Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson: Someone's getting knocked out here. That's all there is to it, unless Koscheck decides to actually go back to utilizing his wrestling in this bout. Johnson first has to make weight just weeks after he failed to at UFC 104 last month, and then it's down to which of these very hard hitting fighters can connect with the right shot first. Koscheck is nearing the verge of his first Title shot, and he needs to win this fight to stay on that track. For Johnson, a victory over an arguably top five welterweight helps catapult him up the ladder as well. But despite how impressive Johnson's been on his UFC run so far, I like Koscheck in this one with a second round TKO.
Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz: It's Tito's return to action for the first time in eighteen months, and Forrest's chance at redemption after two TKO losses straight, not to mention the follow up sprint out of the arena after the loss to Anderson Silva in August. This is two former Champions facing off for the first time in three years, with both likely very different fighters than they were at that time. We all know the story of that first bout, but the story of this one will be how rusty Ortiz is, along with how well he has recovered from his back surgery. Forrest is highly capable of winning this fight, make no doubt about that. There will be those that write him off after the KO losses to Silva and Rashad Evans, but Tito doesn't have the striking and knockout ability that those two possess, and he's not going to outstrike Forrest in this fight. Quite the contrary, actually, as Forrest should be the one to outstrike Tito in this fight with kicks and punches while he's on his feet. That right there is the key phrase for the entire fight: "while he's on his feet." If Tito can keep this fight looking like the first round of their first encounter then this could be a great return for "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy," but I don't think he'll be able to keep Forrest down for three rounds. I've gone back and forth on this one for the last three weeks in terms of who I see taking this one, and two days out I've settled on Griffin to win this one. I'd like to say he'll get his first TKO since defeating Elvis Sinosic, but he'll outstrike Tito on his way to a unanimous decision victory to avoid three straight losses.
This should be a highly entertaining night of fights, with a chance between Spike and the pay-per-view card to see all ten fights. For all four hours of action on television, make sure to stick with us here for live round by round updates on all of the fights!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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