UFC 126 Card Preview and Predictions

Middleweight Championship bout: Anderson Silva (c) vs. Vitor Belfort - Via TKO in Round 3
Light Heavyweight bout: Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin - Via Unanimous Decision
Welterweight bout: Jake Ellenberger vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha
Light Heavyweight bout: Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader
Bantamweight bout: Miguel Torres vs. Antonio Banuelos
Preliminary card (Spike TV)
Lightweight bout: Donald Cerrone vs. Paul Kelly
Featherweight bout: Chad Mendes vs. Michihiro Omigawa
Preliminary card
Lightweight bout: Paul Taylor vs. Gabe Ruediger
Bantamweight bout: Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Demetrious Johnson
Light Heavyweight bout: Kyle Kingsbury vs. Ricardo Romero
Welterweight bout: Mike Pierce vs. Kenny Robertson

May as well do my thoughts/predictions here.



UFC 126 "SILVA VS. BELFORT", 2/5/2011 (PPV/Spike TV/ESPN-UK)
Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas NV

1. Welterweight bout: Mike Pierce vs. Kenny Robertson
2. Light Heavyweight bout: Kyle Kingsbury vs. Ricardo Romero
3. Bantamweight bout: Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Demetrious Johnson
4. Lightweight bout: Paul Taylor vs. Gabe Ruediger
5. Featherweight bout: Chad Mendes vs. Michihiro Omigawa
6. Lightweight bout: Donald Cerrone vs. Paul Kelly
7. Bantamweight bout: Miguel Torres vs. Antonio Banuelos
8. Light Heavyweight bout: Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader
9. Welterweight bout: Jake Ellenberger vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha
10. Light Heavyweight bout: Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin
11. Middleweight Championship: Anderson Silva (c) vs. Vitor Belfort

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First, let me say that I believe this is one of the most interesting cards UFC has put on in awhile. I have been waiting for Silva/Belfort since last April, and I am very excited for the co-main event and pretty much every fight here.

- Unlike a lot of fans that know him, I am actually excited to see Kid Yamamoto in the UFC. The guy is an amazing fighter. He's a smaller guy, and pretty much his whole career, he has fought guys in higher weight classes, so it was really a good thing UFC brought in the lighter weights so we can see Kid fight at his natural weight. Johnson is a pretty solid fighter with some great submission skills, as well as a dangerous guy in the standing clinch position. He hasn't shown me well-rounded enough skills in the standup department to think that he will last on the feet with Yamamoto. Unless Johnson can get this to the ground and end up on top position, it will be a short night for him. I'm hoping for a 1st round KO by Kid.

- Like I said before, I am rooting for Omigawa in this fight. It'll be his first fight back in the UFC since 2008, and he's riding a pretty good 5 fight win streak (even though we all know he won that fight against Kanehara). My only fear for him is Mendes just wrestleing him like he did to Vazquez (even though I thought Vazquez won, but whatever). I just hope Omigawa is taking this next shot at the UFC seriously and working on his takedown defense and his submission offense if he wants to win this. I'll be rooting for him, but don't be surprised if Mendes wins by decision.

- Don't get me wrong about Cerrone. I actually think he's a very good, well-rounded fighter, but I think he's a dirty guy. He's a tall, lanky, aggressive guy with very good kicks and knees. Paul Kelly is just another one of those guys at lightweight that is just VERY inconsistent. Needless to say, I expect this to be a good fight, but I also expect Cerrone to win this around the middle of the 2nd round. Expect Kelly to be cut after this fight. And, even though Cole Miller lost his last fight, I still would like to see Cerrone vs. Miller sometime after this fight. It'll just be interesting to hear the bullsh*t they start to talk.

- Miguel Torres vs. Antonio Banuelos is going to be another pretty fun fight, I think. Torres coming off those two losses to Bowles and Benevidez tried to change up his style a bit in the fight against Charlie Valencia, and it worked for him. I don't expect Torres to come out too aggressive. I think he'll fight smart and try to avoid Banuelos' takedowns, and even if he is taken down, I expect him to work for submissions off his back. Torres wins this by submission in the 3rd round.

- Jones vs. Bader is a pretty big ing fight for the Light Heavyweight division. Two guys coming off crazy wins and neither of them showing any signs of slowing down. Jones is a great fighter. He's a little sloppy and crazy, but he gets the job done due to his crazy 85 inch reach. I think that will be a prime factor in this fight. It'll be interesting to see what they try and do to eachother. Both of them are pretty good wrestlers, and both haven't really been seen working off their back in fights. The two things to look for here are Jones' reach advantage and Bader's takedowns. I think it's a great time to have these guys fight eachother and it will make either guy one more fight away from a title shot. I think Jones takes this by beating Bader's head in with elbows from the top.

- Jake Ellenberger vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha.... Can you say FILLER? Hahaha. I would of rather seen Kid Yamamoto's fight be on the main card than this. But, for real though... both guys are pretty okay fighters. Rocha is undefeated and he has most of his wins coming by submission, and Ellenberger is a pretty good striker, as we saw when he destroyed John Howard's face back in August. If Jake can keep this standing for long enough, I think he can earn a TKO victory in the first round, but if Rocha gets the takedown, watchout for submissions. I'm going for Ellenberger by TKO in the second.

- Griffin vs. Franklin will be the fight of the night. Both guys are very similar to eachother. Both guys have great jiu-jitsu and good standup. I'm not quite sure that Forrest has the power Franklin does, but Forrest doesn't have an ounce of quit in him... unless you're Anderson Silva. I think this fight actually will stay on the feet for 80% of the time and will be a slugfest. Eventually I think both guys will catch eachother and it may go to the ground from there, but both guys know how to get up to their feet fairly quickly. I can't tell you how excited for this fight I am. Franklin wins this one by unanimous decision due to him being a bit more technical on the feet.

- Vitor Belfort is finally getting what he has "deserved". Now, I don't hate Vitor himself, I just hate the UFC for having some sort of weird love for him when he hasn't done TOO MUCH to earn a title shot. Vitor is a hell of a fighter, and he's a very dangerous fighter if guys make mistakes on the feet. The problem is that he's fighting Anderson Silva, one of the best strikers in MMA right now. I don't think Vitor's speed will be an issue here. Anderson has insane footwork and head movement and will counter strike whenever Vitor becomes predictable. After watching the Sonnen fight again, I think Belfort can learn a lot from him. Vitor is indeed a real Gracie Jiu-Jitsu black belt and does have a black belt in Judo as well. I think deep down, Vitor knows his striking won't get him too far if the fight goes into the later rounds. The first round will be a feeling out process for both guys. Strikes will be thrown, and some will land, but I don't think it will end that quickly. Vitor's best chance is to use takedowns and techniques on the ground to try and wear down Silva in order to get a finish. I wish Vitor the best of luck, he's a great fighter and does deserve credit for who he has beaten, but he's fighting Anderson now, who is coming off a tough fight and who has learned a lot from that. Anderson will be more prepared for the possible takedown attempts and will be more than prepared on the feet. One other issue is Vitor's weight. It's been awhile since he has last fight, and that wasn't even at Middleweight. He struggled to make the 195lb limit against Franklin, but I'm sure he will have that under control and be a bit more prepared. Anderson wins by TKO in the 3rd round.

Don't forget, Cerrone/Kelly and Mendes/Omigawa will be on Spike TV one hour before the PPV starts. Glad to see more prelims on Spike starting now.

Griffin is good, but I think Franklin is very underrated. Like I also said, Franklin has a huge technical advantage. Forrest seems to come through with certain 1-2 combos followed by head kicks or leg kicks, but Franklin seems to move a bit more fluidly when he strikes with right hand. It'll be a fun fight for sure, but Franklin has the edge.

This card is stacked and one I'm pumped for.

Hope to (and expect) to see Bones pick up the victory. I definitely think we're seeing the guy who will be the face of MMA in 5 years or so and someone who will go on a warpath to get there. Don't get me wrong Bader is a very good fighter I just think Bones is that good.

Franklin/Griffin should be a whole lot of fun as well (as should the whole card) and I expect nothing else but a war.

Very pumped for this card though.

Well I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks Belfort doesn't totally "deserve" this title shot... He's a great fighter - but he only has Middleweight wins over the likes of Terry Martin and Matt Lindland... then he beat Rich Franklin at 195lbs in his first fight back in the UFC, and he gets a shot at the MW title? Personally I'd rather see Okami, Sonnen, W.Silva, or Bisping fighting Anderson.

After the Sonnen fight, I think Silva will be looking to make a statement and will go after Belfort from the get-go. Silva's a great striker and very elusive - if Belfort stands and trades blows with him, it could be an early night. Also, Belfort won't have fought for about 17 months come fight-night - and you wonder how that might play into things... fighting Anderson Silva, you need all your reflexes/skills to be at their best. Silva by TKO round 1.

Franklin has some amazing set ups. His punches are crisp and it's all down to the fact he is a maths teacher. His angles are perfect, An MMA fan in my school who is a Maths teacher was explaining all of this to me. Fantastic stand up by Franklin, his torque it to be noticed too. Just a little of it to set up the angle perfectly.

I'm sure you'll get picked apart for going against WF's MMA version of Chris Jericho(lol) but I agree. It's a fight where I wouldn't be surprised by anything. A 1 minute (T)KO by Belfort, a 1st Round sub by Silva, a split decision...typical I usually can at least form an educated guess but on this one I haven't got a clue. I really wanna see Belfort do it, then again I really wanna see GSP/Silva. Torn.

I am a fan of "The Spider", but I think every fighter has their day to lose. I believe Anderson's day is rapidly approaching and it will be at the hands of Vitor Belfort.

Anderson did not look impressive in his last fight with Sonnen. He was getting pummeled for nearly 5 rounds until he pulled off that "hail mary" triangle and subbed Sonnen out.

I just re-watched that fight last night and I still can't believe Sonnen almost had Anderson beat in the 1st round. I've never seen Anderson on such wobbly legs as he was in that fight.

When you take Vitor's punching speed into consideration and look back at Anderson's fight with Sonnen, epecially the 1st round in general, you've got to think that Anderson could be in serious trouble.

I mean, if Sonnen could put "The Spider" on serious wobbly legs within 90 seconds, then I'm pretty damn sure Belfort can do the same and possibly worse, as I've said before.

I believe Belfort is the ONE guy to bring Silva's unbeaten UFC streak to an end. Will he though?? We'll just have to wait and see and I for one, cannot wait. It'll be fireworks.

I honestly think Vitor won't stand for too long. He will try to fight as close-range as possible. Problem with that is I think Anderson will get a hold of a muay thai clinch and knee his face.