UFC 110 has one of the most stacked cards I’ve seen in a while. All the fights in the preliminaries and main card are worth watching.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Cain Velasquez
Headlining the event is the Nogueira vs. Velasquez bout. Both fighters are currently ranked near the top of the heavyweight division and a win for either of them would catapolt them to title contention. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is one of the most dangerous fighters in the division. He’s not just dangerous because he is one of the best grapplers in the sport, or that he’s fought almost all of the biggest names in the sport. It’s the fact that he can take a Rodney King beating and still come back to win. Nogueira is the Jason Voorhees of MMA you can’t count him out until the credits starts rolling. And on the other side of the cage is Cain Velasquez. He’s a very strong wrestler with a good chin. A product of American Kickboxing Academy (AKA), Velasquez has been crushing his opponents with his superior wrestling. The only hole in his game is his stand up, which Cheick Kongo was able to expose during their fight, but as long as he continue to train with AKA his stand up is only going to get better.
What does Nogueira have?
– Dangerous grappling
– Strong chin
– Tons of experience
What does Velasquez have?
– Superior wrestling
– Strong chin
– Physically strong
My Pick:
Cain Velasquez takes it. He will take the fight to Nogueira and use his wrestling ability to control the fight. The fight will go to the ground with Cain on top raining down elbows and punches. The only thing he has to worry about is getting sloppy and getting caught in a submission during a flurry or a takedown attempt. The last time Nog submitted anyone was when he fought Tim Sylivia in 2008 and before that it was Zuluzinho in 2006. Nogueira hasn’t shown he has KO power. With about 40 fights he’s only has 2 KO on his record, the rest were submission and decision wins, so a knock out win for Nogueira is unlikely.
Wanderlei Silva vs Michael Bisping
Like the little Tazmanian Devil in the cartoons Wanderlei Silva ferociously tore through his opponents when he fought in PrideFC. Nicknamed the Axe Murderer, Wanderlei was a name to be feared. He amasted a four year win streak only to have it broken by losing a split decision to Mark Hunt who out weighed more than 60 lbs. His move to the UFC hasn’t been successful compared to his days in Pride. Now, Wanderlei will be making his Middleweight debut against Britain’s Michael Bisping. Bisping, a TUF winner, has won several fights at 205, but after dropping one to fellow TUFer Rashad Evans he moved to Middleweight where he won a string of fights only to be put to unconciousness by the hands of Dan Henderson. His last fight against Denis Kang was impressive and his loss to Henderson is still lingering, but to really make everyone forget about that loss is to beat Wanderlei impressively.
What does Wanderlei have?
– Explosive aggression
– Dangerous Muay Thai clinch
– KO Power
What does Bisping have?
– Quick hands and feet
– Excellent ground and pound
– Good takedown and submission defense
My pick:
This is a very tough decision but after reviewing each of their previous fights my choice to win is Wanderlei. Wanderlei has managed his once ferocious frenzy to a controlled beat down. His fight with Rich Franklin showed that he can be a counter fighter as well as one that always pushes the fight. Bisping will have to knock him out otherwise this fight will go to the scorecards. And going all 3 rounds with the Axe Murderer is risking getting knocked out in the process or getting hurt really bad. Both of these fighters need to win if they wish to take one step closer to face the king of the division. Wanderlei’s career is more on the line as his record stands at 1-3 in the UFC since coming from Pride and moving to the Middleweight division is a smart move.
My Picks:
Joe Stevenson beats George Sotiropoulos
Ryan Bader beats Keith Jardine
Mirko Cro Cop beats Anthony Perosh
Elvis Sinosic beats Chris Haseman
Krzysztof Soszynski beats Stephan Bonnar
Chris Lytle beats Brian Foster
Goran Reljic beats CB Dollaway
James Te Huna beats Igor Pokrajac