Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin
Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin are back at it again and this time it’s to finish what they started. Tito has been out of the cage for quite sometime. His last fast was in May of 2008 against the now Champion Lyoto Machida. For the past few years Tito’s back has been plaguing his ability to train properly, and now he’s all healed and is looking for a run at the title. Last time we saw Forrest he got clobbered by pound for pound king, Anderson Silva. Forrest is always evolving his game and always comes back stronger than before. It’s been about 3 and a half years since he fought Tito and Griffin as matured into as one of the top fighters in the division even holding the Light Heavyweight title for a short while.
When the fight was announced I had no doubt that Forrest would take this fight. But after seeing how in shape Tito is in. He looks great in the UFC Countdown and at the weigh ins. The big mystery is that is he really healed from his back surgery. I sat back and thought about Tito’s past fights and he has always been a dominating fighter that takes his opponent down at will and usually controls the fight right from the beginning. I believe if the Tito of old is back he will take this fight. If you look at it objectively, Forrest has been busy fighting top fighters and has been getting better and better. You’re only as good as you’re last fight and both of these guys are coming off losses, but in the end I see Forrest with his hands raised. As much as I like Tito Ortiz I would love to see him have another good run at the title and win it.
Josh Koscheck vs Anthony Johnson
I’m more excited about this fight than the main event. Both guys are from my hometown, San Jose, and it’s great to see the two of them representing in this event. Anthony Johnson has been making a name for himself by smashing his opponents with ease, but this time he’s facing one of the top guys in his weight division. Koscheck is a great wrestling with the ever improving standup. Koscheck might want to stick to his bread and butter and use his wrestling to nuetralized Johnson’s reach. I see Koscheck taking Johnson down and pinning him against the cage for some ground and pound, and as long as he sticks to that game plan he’ll get the win.
My Picks:
Forrest Griffin beats Tito Ortiz
Josh Koscheck beats Anthony Johnson
Paulo Thiago beats Jacob Volkmann
Luiz Cane beats Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Amir Sadollah beats Phil Baroni
Marcus Davis beats Ben Saunders
Jake Rosholt beats Kendall Grove
Brock Larson beats Brian Foster
Cao Uno beats Fabricio Camoes
George Sotiropoulos beats Jason Dent