Although I'm looking forward to UFC 61 I have to wonder how long this pattern of rematches as main events can continue. Granted, the main event at UFC 60 wasn't a rematch, but prior to that we've had Arlovski vs. Sylvia 2 and Liddell vs. Couture 3. Looking forward, the next few events in the UFC PPV future are going to feature rematches for main events. Chuck Liddell will presumably return to the octagon in August to take on Ranato Sobral and in September Georges St. Pierre will get his much desired second crack at the UFC Welterweight Title against Matt Hughes. By the time these events are over, UFC fans will be looking for some new match-ups. Hopefully somewhere in there we'll get to see Rich Franklin defend his title against Anderson Silva. Here's my predictions for the July 8th card:
Hermes Franca vs. Joe Jordan
Hermes makes his long awaited return to the UFC along with the 155 pound division. While Joe Jordan is making his debut. Unfortunately for Joe, Hermes looks to be a better than ever and will put himself in the middle of the lightweight title mix. Jordan has experience against top competition but hasn't faired well. Look for Hermes to stop Joe early.
Franca by KO in Rd. 1
Gilbert Aldana vs. Cheick Kongo
Aldana is comming off of a brutal knockout loss to Paul Buentello back in February. Kongo makes his debut in the UFC but has one almost all of his fights by knockout. I was unimpressed with Aldana so I'm going with Kongo.
Kongo by KO in Rd. 2
Jeff Monson vs. Anthony Perosh
Monson is in the middle of a run that will likely land him a title shot against the winner of the Arlovski vs. Sylva fight. His grappling ability is world class but his stand up is a long way from being capable to capture the belt. Perosh is a BJJ blackbelt and has won almost all of his fights by submission. If Pe de Pano couldn't submit Monson, Perosh certainly won't.
Monson by decision
Drew Fickett vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Fickett was on a huge roll of beating guys named Josh before Josh Burkman choked him out at Ultimate Fight Night in January. Pellegrino's record looks good until you look closer. He's never faced anyone with the skills of Fickett. I don't expect Kurt to do well in this one.
Fickett by submission Rd. 1
Yves Edwards vs. Joe Stevenson
This is one of the more interesting fights on the card. Both fighters are coming off a loss in their last UFC outing. Yves got a win in Bushido afterwards though and that could be the difference here. Stevenson's confidence has to be a bit shaky at this point and that's not good when you're going in against one of the best lighweights on the planet. Joe could make a fight of this, but Yves will likely work to keep this standing and will get the better of Joe.
Edwards by decision
Josh Burkman vs. Josh Neer
Burkman is looking to get back on the winning track after a tough loss to Jon Fitch at the April UFN. Neer, meanwhile has been on a roll lately and is looking to further solidify his position as a welterweight contender. It will be interesting to see if his winning ways will eventually get him a shot at fellow Miletich teammate Matt Hughes in the future if Hughes gets by St. Pierre in September. Burkman has surprised people before but I don't like his odds here.
Neer by submission Rd. 2
Frank Mir vs. Dan Christison
Frank came back too early in his last fight against Pe de Pano and looked like a shadow of his former self. Hopefully the last four months have been enough to get him back into some reasonable shape. Frank must avoid Dan's attempts to control him on the ground. I'm being a fanboy here, but I think he will.
Mir by sub mission Rd. 1
Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock
I can't possibly see anything here that would give Ken a chance in this fight. Tito works harder, has more ability, better cardio, and is younger. Ken has never wised up to the fact that he needs to work with better partners in training. The dislike between these two won't play a factor when the fight starts. It's going to come down to Tito's huge skill advantage over Ken.
Ortiz by TKO Rd. 2
Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski
Despite what most say, I still believe this is a difficult fight to call. Nobody likes being the heavyweight champion more than Tim. Andrei says he wants the belt back badly but I don't think he wants to win as bad as Sylvia. Andrei clearly has the advantage in ability. The difference in the third installment of this rivalry will be Andrei's game plan. He's going to fight a much smarter fight this time by eliminating Sylvia's reach advantage. Look for Tim to spend some time on his back in this one.
Andrei by submission Rd. 2
This card looks great and will likely bring some excitement. Hopefull some of the undercard fights will establish some contenders and stars that we can look forward to seeing in some main events in the future. The way things are going we probably won't see a highly touted main event (that's not a rematch) in a UFC PPV this year.
Will
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