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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Tomorrow's UFC 112: Invincible card is packed with action, including two Title bouts with two of the best fighters in the world in B.J. Penn and Anderson Silva. With a fight between two legendary names in Matt Hughes and Renzo Gracie along with two solid bouts filling out the televised card, there should be plenty of excitement to go around in the open air Concert Arena in Abu Dhabi tomorrow. Let's take a look at what's on tap for the pay-per-view card!
Mark Munoz vs. Kendall Grove (Middleweight)
Mark Munoz is feeling much more comfortable in the middleweight division now after two fights at 185 lbs. He struggled with the cut a bit in his debut but still picked up the split decision against Nick Catone, and his last fight out against Ryan Jensen he made quick work of his opponent.
Grove, the season three winner of The Ultimate Fighter, has had quite the up and down career in the UFC thus far. He began with three straight wins in the Octagon before being stopped twice in a row in the first round. He rebounded with consecutive victories before dropping a decision to Ricardo Almeida. Then, most recently, he submitted Jake Rosholt with a triangle choke.
This is a solid middleweight matchup that both fighters absolutely can win. I favor Munoz here, as his power is impressive and his wrestling is very good as well. Grove is a good fighter, but I think he's getting knocked out tomorrow.
PREDICTION: Munoz via KO in the second round.
Terry Etim vs. Rafael Dos Anjos (Lightweight)
Terry Etim is a highly exciting fighter that's been held a bit under the radar despite a four fight winning streak in the UFC. But for as exciting as he can be, and as skilled as he's shown himself to be, he's running into a fighter that could be kryptonite to his style in Rafael Dos Anjos.
Dos Anjos is a BJJ black belt, and his level of takedown ability is something that Etim has struggled against in fights against Gleison Tibau and Rich Clementi.
That said, I still like Etim in this fight. His ground game is very slick and Dos Anjos won't be an overwhelming threat to him on the ground even when it goes there. Furthermore, I like Etim on his feet in this one as well. Dos Anjos can win if he can find a limb and submit Etim, but I think it more likely to be the other way around in this one and like Etim to take this fight.
PREDICTION: Etim via unanimous decision
Matt Hughes vs. Renzo Gracie (Welterweight)
Matt Hughes is well past his prime as a fighter, and he's openly contemplated retirement as recently as last year before a decent performance against Matt Serra got him back on the winning track. The former longtime Welterweight King recently signed a new contract extension with the UFC, and this is his chance to show he can continue on as a viable competitor.
Renzo is making his UFC debut at the age of 43 despite not having fought since February of 2007. He's a world class BJJ trainer, but with such a long layoff there's no reason to believe that he's necessarily going to be able to implement that in this fight. It might be worth a small bet just because he might be able to pull off a submission, but he's a major dog for a reason.
Hughes should be able to control this fight on the feet as well as in Renzo's guard, and what he needs to do to win this fight is simply avoid the submissions. He's not so far removed from being a Champion and being a world class fighter in his own right that this is a fight he can't win. There's always the chance of a Gracie submission, but in all honesty this is absolutely Hughes' fight to lose.
PREDICTION: Hughes via unanimous decision
B.J. Penn vs. Frankie Edgar (Lightweight Championship Bout)
B.J. Penn has lost only one fight in the lightweight division. That came in a majority decision in his first ever five round fight. In his fourth ever fight. Over eight years ago. That's just a little bit of domination in the 155 lb. division.
His combination of boxing ability and his amazing jiu jitsu pedigree make him one of the most exciting fighters to watch when he's in peak condition. The only times he's come up short have been when he's moved up in weight and been either out of shape or not in good enough shape to compete with his stronger and heavier opposition.
Frankie Edgar is an exciting fighter in his own right. While more than half of his career wins have come by decision, that doesn't mean they've been boring. His three "Fight of the Night" bonuses can attest to that. The problem Edgar faces is that he's simply outclassed by B.J. in every area that he excels.
His boxing is quick and crisp, and he used that to great effect against Hermes Franca, Sean Sherk and Matt Veach in his most recent three fight winning streak, following his only career loss to Gray Maynard in 2008. His stand up game, however, just doesn't match the boxing and striking ability of the Champ.
On the ground he stands even less of a chance, as Penn is one of the more brilliant submission fighters in the sport when he gets top control. Penn can simply win this fight in any way he sees fit, whereas Edgar needs to find a way to win at least three rounds and survive until the final buzzer. There's not a chance he finishes Penn, and I don't know that he can survive five rounds in this fight. He's simply overmatched in every area, but that's why these fights take place. He will be coming out to shock MMA fans everywhere, but there's likely going to be no surprises in this one.
PREDICTION: Penn via TKO in the third round
Anderson Silva vs. Demian Maia (Welterweight Championship Bout)
What needs to be said about Anderson "The Spider" Silva? He comes into this bout with ten straight victories in the UFC, already a record, and is going for his seventh TItle defense, which will also be a record should he be successful.
Demian Maia is getting a Title shot here by default, as Vitor Belfort came up injured and Chael Sonnen wasn't able to make the turnaround to take this fight, but he is certainly a more interesting opponent for Silva than either of his last two Middleweight Title challengers.
This won't in any way, shape or form be the same type of fight as the horrid UFC 97 fight Silva had with Thales Leites. Maia is much more aggressive, he's much more apt to attack Silva to get the takedown, and he's not going to resort to dropping to the ground to lure Silva there. Maia's going to try to take this fight to the ground, because that's the only place he can win this fight, and he'll do it or get knocked out trying.
For as much of a favorite as Silva is in this fight, Maia has the potential to make it extremely interesting and exciting if he's able to bring Silva to the fight and force the Champion to prove just how good he is on the ground as well. This really can be a highly exciting fight, but I can't see Maia actually pulling off the upset. It would be less shocking than Edgar beating B.J., but Silva is simply an amazing fighter in every aspect of the game, and he should be able to take Maia out in a five round fight.
PREDICTION: Silva via TKO in the second round.
BETTING CONTEST PICKS
Since I'm defending my betting contest Title once again, here are my betting picks for the event:
$100 on Renzo
$300 on Johnson
$300 on Story
$300 on Munoz
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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