UFC 103 Predictions

UFC 103 takes place this evening, and it's looking likely to be another excellent night of fights. We've already seen a superb free event earlier in the week, with Ultimate Fight Night 9 being packed with exciting brawls, and I'm hoping to see even better fights at 103 tonight.

The main event on the card is a fight between UFC veteran and fan favourite, Rich 'Ace' Franklin and superb technical striker Vitor 'The Phenom' Belfort. Belfort lept onto the scene at the age of just 19 when he made his UFC debut. He went on to destroy a long list of fighters including guys like Tank Abbott, Wanderlei Silva, Gilbert Yvel, Heath Herring and Marvin Eastman. Belfort eventually set himself up for a fight with UFC Light Heavyweight champion Randy Couture. Belfort pulled off an unlikely victory, with the fight stopped due to a cut on Couture's eyelid. Despite winning this fight, Vitor was clearly suffering from the loss of his sister, who disappeared a few months before the fight with Couture.

The disappearance of his sister clearly left demons in Belfort's mind, and he did not look like the same Vitor Belfort after the victory over Couture. He lost the rematch with Couture, and then went on to lose his next 2 against Tito Ortiz and Alistair Overeem. Belfort eventually got his fighting spirit back, and managed to comeback with a vengeance in his 2 fights in Affliction, winning both fights via KO, with his win against Matt Lindland coming in just 37 seconds. He's now working real hard with Randy Couture at Xtreme Couture, and Randy seems incredibly positive about the work Vitor is doing, so I expect to see the best Vitor Belfort for many years.

Rich Franklin is coming off a very impressive decision victory over Wanderlei Silva and has been discussing how he hopes to set up a 'cinderella' story with a journey towards another title in the UFC. Franklin was due to face Dan Henderson at this event, but the fans were not keen on seeing another fight between those 2, given the fact their first fight was a pretty dull affair.

I expect Rich to come in a big favourite for this fight, but I'm seeing a Vitor Belfort victory by way of Knockout in the 2nd round.

I'll sum the rest of the card up fairly quickly. We'll start with the co-main event with Mirko Cro Cop taking on big Brazilian Junior Dos Santos. Cro Cop has recently returned to the UFC and pulled off a somewhat controversial victory over Mostapha Al-Turk. Dos Santos is one of the big young prospects in the UFC Heavyweight division. Dos Santos boasts a Mixed Martial Arts record of 8-1, and is unbeaten in his 2 fights in the UFC, with impressive first round knockouts of Fabricio Werdum and Stefan Struve. In this fight I'm backing the explosive power of Junior Dos Santos to come out on top, although I would not be at all surprised if we saw a big Knockout in favour of Filipovic. I see a Dos Santos victory however.

The next fight sees Welterweight contender Martin Kampmann take on English UFC Newboy, Paul 'Semtex' Daley. Kampmann was supposed to be taking on Mike Swick, in a fight that was touted as a Number One Contender battle. Swick unfortunately pulled out due to injury and Daley leapt in for his first UFC fight. Daley boasts an MMA record of 21-8-2, with the highlight of his career being a win against Mark Weir which led him to become Cage Rage Welterweight Champion. Kampmann has a 15-2 record, with a UFC record of 6-1. Kampmann started his UFC career at Middleweight and after a TKO loss against Nate Marquardt moved down to Welterweight and has won his last 2. If Daley keeps it standing and doesn't get Octagon jitters he could very well pull off a victory, even against a very good Muay Thai practioner in Kampmann, but if it goes to the ground I see Kampmann having the advantage, and can therefore see Kampmann pulling off a submission victory.

At UFC 103 we'll also see the return of MMA veteran Frank Trigg. Trigg has been out of the UFC since 2005 when he lost via submission against current Welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. He's on a 4 fight win streak outside the UFC and is looking to have 1 final crack at the UFC aged 37. His opponent is Ultimate Fighter veteran Josh Koscheck. Koscheck is a 14 fight UFC veteran himself, with solid wrestling skills and a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu. These 2 fighters have quite similar styles, and I see the conditioning and youth of Koscheck to allow him to come out on top, probably via decision.

The final fight on the main card is a Lightweight bout between Tyson Griffin and Hermes Franca. I see this fight going to a decision, and it could really go either way, but I'm again backing the youth in Tyson Griffin to allow him to pull of a victory, by split decision.

So, to sum up, my predictions are:

Rich Franklin vs Vitor Belfort
Mirko Cro Cop vs Junior Dos Santos
Martin Kampmann vs Paul Daley
Josh Koscheck vs Frank Trigg
Tyson Griffin vs Hermes Franca

Ricardo Arona Eyes Machida and UFC Glory

Former PRIDE star and PRIDE Middleweight Tournament runner-up in 2005 Ricardo Arona has signalled his intentions in the build up to his first MMA fight since a loss to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou 2 years ago. Arona hasn't fought since that fight, which took place at PRIDE 34, and is set for a comeback on the 12th of September against UFC veteran Marvin Eastman. In an interview with Sherdog.com Arona stated the following:

"Of course, I would love to fight in the UFC, because it's for sure the best event, but I'm also studying some other proposals. I'm waiting calmly for my time. I'm ready to do my best in the ring or in the cage... [Lyoto Machida is] defending Brazil well in the MMA world, and I respect him a lot, but if I get into the UFC and have to fight Lyoto, I'd go to win. He's a great champion, but if I'm well-trained, I know my potential; I can beat anyone."

These are positive comments from Arona, as it seems as if he's looking to break into the US MMA scene. There are sure to be organisations willing to take him on, and there are a whole heap of fights for him, most notably in the UFC and Strikeforce. Arona pulled off some more than impressive victories whilst in PRIDE, beating Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Alistair Overeem and others, so presuming Arona gets past Eastman, 2010 could be a very good year for Ricardo Arona, and having watched a great deal of him from his time in PRIDE, I would more than welcome a UFC deal.

Arona has a very good resumé, having only lost on 5 occassions. Before his 2007 loss to Sokoudjou his list of losses was a who's who of PRIDE stars, with career losses to Fedor Emelianenko, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, Mauricio Rua and Wanderlei Silva; and come Saturday he'll be hoping that Eastman is not the 6th man to defeat him. I look forward to seeing where Ricardo Arona goes in the 2nd half of his MMA career.

Dan Manley

MMA Fighter Ross Clifton Dies Aged 32

16 Fight Veteran and Super Heavyweight Ross 'The Grizzly' Clifton has unfortunately died aged just 32, according to a report from MMAWeekly.com.

Clifton was found dead in his home by his wife, having apparently suffered a Heart Attack. Clifton is perhaps best known for his WarGods/Ken Shamrock Productions: Valentine's Eve Massacre fight against Ken Shamrock. It's thought that Clifton's wife found him on the Friday morning, having left him watching TV on their recliner the night before.

"He was a jovial teddy bear inside of a grizzly’s body," Cal Worsham, Clifton's ex trainer and UFC Veteran told MMAWeekly on Saturday. "He was just so funny and such a character in the way you’d never expect from a giant of a man like that. He’s absolutely going to be missed."

A real tragedy to lose someone so young, and my thoughts go out to Clifton's family and friends.


Link to original article

Swick Injured- Daley steps in to take on Kampmann

The highly anticipated UFC 103 fight between Mike Swick and Martin Kampmann to determine the Number 1 contender for Georges St-Pierre's Welterweight title has come into some problems. Swick reported earlier this week on his Twitter account that he is unable to compete at the event:


@OfficialSwick: I am out of UFC 103. It sucks and I am sorry guys...

This 'tweet' was soon followed by another, explaining the injury:

@OfficialSwick: I got foot swept while sparring this week and lost my legs. Landed on back of my head and neck and suffered a pretty bad concussion.

It's bad news for Swick, and bad news for the UFC, as it was looking like it was going to be a very, very interesting fight between 2 very good and exciting Welterweight contenders.

It's thought that UFC newboy Paul 'Semtex' Daley has stepped up to take on Kampmann in the event that's set to take place in Dallas, TX on the 19th of September. Whether the fight will determine who's next in line for a shot at St-Pierre is yet to be confirmed. I could see a fight between Mike Swick and Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson taking place, with the winner taking on the winner of Kampmann-Daley to find the #1 contender; although other rumoured opponents for Swick include former Weltwerweight champion Matt Hughes.

Paul Daley is a Muay-Thai fighter with a MMA record of 31 fights, 21 wins, 8 losses and 2 draws. His most notable career achievement came in 2007 when he defeated Mike Weir to win the Cage Rage Welterweight Championship and his currently on a very good run with an 8-2 record in his last 10 professional bouts. Daley's opponent, Martin Kampmann is also a Muay Thai fighter, and has a MMA record of 17 fights, 15 wins and 2 losses. Kampmann is a 7 fight veteran of the UFC, with his only defeat coming to Middleweight contender Nate Marquardt. He has notable wins over the likes of Thales Leites, Carlos Condit, Alexandre Barros, Drew McFederies and Jorge Rivera.

Dan Manley

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Dan