Ultimately these fights can propel these fighters careers into the championship spotlight with Bisping heavily rumoured for TUF 9 UK vs. US with Dan Henderson as the opposing coach with the winner of that meeting the demon in Anderson Silva. Jardine & Vera will look to impress as both have looked wobbly with Jardine coming off a devastating KO from Wanderlei Silva and Vera not inspiring anyone with his debut against Reese Andy in the division.
With 7 UK fighters on the card against admiral opponents there is set to be fireworks come Saturday at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England.
Here is a run through of the Main Card.
I’ll probably say this about all the fights but they have the potential to treat the fans with credit going to matchmaker Joe Silva.
Wolflair member Kelly has an impressive collection of training partners with everyone flocking to his gym and preparing for a man who has fought in the UK 5 times.
Davis came unstuck when he met Mike "Quick" Swick ending his 10 fight winning streak and has no easy task in Kelly. This looks like a stand up war with Davis comfortable as an ex boxer and Kelly no stranger to standing and banging it out as he did in his last outing with Paul Taylor.
The winner of this will be the guy who has the biggest heart and keeps his chin in avoiding the KO.
Big fan over Kelly and he looks to make another impact in the division and move into the bigger and better things.
Prediction: Kelly by TKO Round 2
A lot of the Americans bad mouthing this match up off which is very surprising as I give this one fight of the Night candidate. This is a make or break match for Taylor as he is 2-2, and does have fight of the night accolades to his credit but you need to win to be successful and Lytle poses a huge test for the hometown hero, Both man will be pretty even on the stand up, but when or if it reaches the ground it will be interesting to see Taylor’s ground game as the veteran Lytle is a comfortable all rounder.
Prediction: Lytle by Split decision
Gono/Hardy to meet the winner
Cane will look to take the scalp of Sokoudjou and enter to top crop of fighters in the light heavy weight division. Sokoudjou on the other hand will look to build from his debut loss to Machida and reconfirm his credibility as a title contender for Griffins belt.
Sokoudjou looks to work his Judoka style and his powerful hands against Cane and should make light work of Cane. No offence to Cane, but with a win over Jason Lambert and not an impressive victory, it could be a shock to the system when he steps into the octagon and meets the Team Quest student at a ripe age of 24.
Prediction: Sokoudjou by TKO Round 1
Hamill for the victor of this one.
Fighter needing consistency to resurrect his championship bid and a newcomer that needs to prove himself. Jardine has questions over his chin with two bad looking KO losses in his career and the bright side he holds a TKO win over the current champion Forrest Griffin and the Legend that is Chuck Liddell.
Vera has admitted weight issues affecting his performance in his debut at 205lbs and will look to make Jardine an example in his match.
The stand up battle could swing either way, but the edge to Jardine with his style of punches not disregarding Vera’s Muay Thai excellence in the clinch. The floor game is a draw with both guys at an advanced level with their Jiu-Jitsu.
Jardine to win with his strength and coming forward approach to dishearten Vera for the victory.
Prediction: Jardine by Submission Round 3
Rematch with Silva or Alexander
Main Event
The MMA world are very critical of Leben saying he has been lucky throughout his career because of his KO victories, but Bas Rutten states that if you throw a punch and its on the button how is it luck for example Petruzelli/Slice fight at the Elite XC event couple of weeks ago. Has Leben evolved into to this new MMA fighter on recent evidence, No! He still carries his heavy feet working for the big left to end it all granted his ground game is one of the most underrated in the business, but Leben ( apart from Anderson Silva) hasn’t met a accomplished strike who can move well and strike and Saturday could see the same result as the Anderson Silva fight for Leben.
For the middleweight division, Bisping is a breath of fresh air with no one holding a realistic chance of dethroning the champ (No offence Cote). Bisping looks a complete different fighter at his new home and with a solid performance and victory Saturday it could get Dana White thinking of putting the Brit in the frame of becoming the first British UFC champion.
If Bisping avoids giving the Birmingham crowd slugfest and fight the smart fight then it could be easy work for the Lancashire native, but he runs the risk of getting his chin tested if he stands and trades with Leben and could seriously dent his position in the division with a loss.
Prediction: Bisping by TKO Round 1
Henderson in TUF 9 Finale
Final Thoughts
Big night for UK fighters and a chance to shine, with Etim, Hardy and Wain looking to impress and keep their pay checks coming from the conquering company that is the UFC. Great card and a lot of potential shocks as always.
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