In terms of the total amount of mixed-martial arts talent on display, I'm not sure that there's ever been a better lineup than the one we have coming up at UFC 73: Stacked. Two of UFC's five champions are defending their titles, and those two title fights might not even be the most anticipated fights of the night. Here are the details:
When: Saturday, 10 p.m. ET
Where: Arco Arena, Sacramento
How: Pay-per-view, $39.95 (high definition is $49.95), or follow along with the FanHouse live blog.
Predictions after the jump.
UFC middleweight champion
Silva is one of the best strikers in mixed martial arts, has won all three of his fights since joining UFC and has won three of his last four fights with first-round knockouts. Marquardt tends to fight at a more deliberate pace; he's won three of his last four fights by unanimous decision.
Predicted winner: Silva
UFC lightweight champion
This is Sherk's first title defense since winning the lightweight belt in October; he suffered a shoulder injury in that fight. Franca, one of three Brazilians on the main card, has won eight straight fights, all by knockout or submission -- but he hasn't fought anyone as good as Sherk.
Predicted winner: Sherk
Ortiz is one of the most popular UFC fighters (his girlfriend, Jenna Jamison), is fairly popular among UFC fans, too) and is trying to recover from a loss to Chuck Liddell at UFC 66. Evans won The Ultimate Fighter 2 and is undefeated in his UFC career.
Predicted winner: Evans
Nogueira is a former PRIDE heavyweight champion making his UFC debut. Nogueira has beaten some big names in mixed martial arts, including Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Dan Henderson and Mark Coleman. He's also beaten Herring twice and should make it a third.
Predicted winner: Nogueira
Florian, a popular fighter since his appearance in the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, lost to Sherk in October but managed to submit Dokonjonosuke Mishima in his first fight back in April. Robinson is a fairly anonymous fighter making his UFC debut. How anonymous? UFC doesn't even have a picture of him on its web site.
Predicted winner: Florian
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