| Rage In The Cage XV: UFC 81: Breaking Point Predictions Johnny "Wildfire" Rage |
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| "it will be my hips versus his biceps." |
| This weekend, the UFC returns to the Octagon with another Pay-Per-View. While the card isn’t filled with lots of big names, it is loaded with intriguing match-ups that make my life as an MMA predictions champion a little more difficult. Let's not waste any more time finding out who “Wildfire” is burning for. Main Event UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship Match-up: Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia (24-3) vs. Antonio Rodrigo "Big Nog" Nogueira (30-4-1) Consequences: Both men will look to gain a piece of the Heavyweight Title in this showdown. Randy Couture still holds the true title but isn’t going to fight anymore in the UFC because Fedor is fighting elsewhere. Tim Sylvia is looking to become only the second man to hold the Heavyweight strap three times. Big Nog is looking to get his first taste of UFC gold while adding to his collection of PRIDE Championship belts. A loss here for either of these men could set their career in a downward spiral. Breakdown: This is another match-up of great striker vs. great ground fighter. Tim Sylvia needs to keep this fight standing and work his jab game while controlling Nogueira’s takedowns. If Big Nog can get Sylvia down, Tim doesn't stand a great chance of winning. Nogueira showed his ability to take a punch in his last fight and he’s going to need that against the big strikes of Sylvia. Sylvia, however, is on a different level than Heath Herring and I think that as the rounds pile up, Sylvia will pull away from Nogueira and earn himself a decision victory and claim his 3rd Heavyweight Title. Prediction: Tim Sylvia by Unanimous Decision (50-47) Match-up: Frank Mir (10-3) vs. Brock “Next Big Thing” Lesnar (1-0) Consequences: This is a crucial match-up in the UFC Heavyweight Division. Brock Lesnar is a former WWE and NCAA wrestling champion. If Lesnar can win, he will be looking at fighting the winner of Kongo/Herring down the road. Frank Mir comes into this fight looking to capitalize on his win over Antoni Hardonk back in August. If Mir can win here, he could earn himself a title shot down the road. Breakdown: Going into this fight, we know what both fighters must do to win. Lesnar wants to smother Mir and pound him out. Mir wants to work his ground game and should be able to because he will allow Lesnar to take him down. Both fighters have questions with conditioning as Mir gasses out in later rounds and Lesnar isn’t proven, as his lone previous fight never got past the first couple minutes. Lesnar is going to be a great fighter one day but that day isn't today. His sloppy strikes from the top will allow Mir to grab an arm just like he did against Pete Williams. Prediction: Frank Mir 1st-Round Submission (Shoulder Lock) Match-up: Nate “The Great” Marquardt (25-7-2) vs. Jeremy Horn (79-16-5) Consequences: Jeremy Horn is a late replacement in this fight and will look to take full advantage of the opportunity. A win for Horn would mean his third victory in a row inside the Octagon and a possible shot at the winner of the Silva/Henderson fight in March. Nate Marquardt, on the other hand, is looking to get back into the victory column. His last fight was a title showdown with Anderson Silva and Nate was stopped in the 1st Round. A win for him means a possible showdown with a fighter the caliber of Chris Leben later in ‘08. Breakdown: Both fighters are ground specialists so this fight will really come down to the striking and Octagon control. Marquardt is a better striker and should exploit that in this fight. Horn can take a beating and still lock on a submission, so Nate must be prepared. In the end, I think that this fight will look much like Marquardt’s showdown with Dean Lister. Nate pounded Lister and earned an unanimous decision. Prediction: Nate Marquardt by Unanimous Decision (30-27) Match-up: Alan “The Talent” Belcher (12-4) vs. Ricardo Almeida (8-2) Consequences: Belcher has won two fights in a row inside the Octagon and looks to take full advantage of this upgrade in competition. A win here should put Belcher into the Top 10 in the 185 lb. Division. Ricardo Almeida returns to MMA for the first time in almost 4 years. He’s won six fights in a row and is looking to make waves in the UFC. Breakdown: Alan Belcher has shown that his knee strikes are deadly, as he busted up Kalib Starnes in his last fight. In this fight, however, he takes on a completely different type of opponent. Almeida is a high-energy Jiu-Jitsu fighter who will look for takedowns and submissions. Belcher needs to keep this fight standing and tire out Almeida. There’s always a chance that when Almeida shoots for a takedown, he could eat a knee and be knocked out. However, I think that Kendall Grove showed the way to beat Belcher: you must stay in his face and force his back into the Octagon fence. Almeida should be able to get Belcher down and work his sub-par ground game. Almeida could be a force in the Middleweight Division. Prediction: Ricardo Almeida by 1st Round Submission (Guillotine Choke) Undercard Fights Tyson Griffin over Gleison Tibau by Unanimous Decision Terry Martin over Marvin Eastman by 2nd Round KO/TKO Keita Nakamura over Rob Emerson by 2nd Round Submission Chris Lytle over Kyle Bradley by 1st Round Submission David Heath over Tim Boetsch by 2nd Round KO/TKO |
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