Mixed Martial B0nes

We’ve gone through the undercard of UFC79 so now it’s time to see what the main card holds for us. We have the two obvious fights in Liddell v. Silva and Hughes v. GSP but there are others fighting on Saturday that have put themselves on the line for us.

This figures to be a great group of various battles. Where they start and how they end will be as unique as the men stepping into the octagon. OK, let’s cut the deck and deal out some of these aces!

• Soa Palelei vs. Eddie Sanchez will most likely be a short bout as Palelei hasn’t fought a live match in over three years. Sanchez has mixed it up with the likes of Cro Cop and Colin Robinson this year. The interesting thing about this match is the size of the two fighters: 265 lbs. At this weight, look for someone’s (sorry Soa!) eyes to roll to the back of their head at the end of the match.
• Rich Clementi vs. Melvin Guillard will most likely be the most tension filled one of the night. Each of these guys hate every one of the 155 lbs. of the other. This will be a classic standup (Melvin) vs submission (Rich) fight. Someone’s going to get decked and I’m thinking Guillard will be the one to go down.
• Lyoto Machida vs. Rameau Sokoudjou is a match featuring a wildman(Sokoudjou) against a veteran(Machida). Sokoudjou has become one the most exciting 205 pounders in the UFC in a very short time. Machida has fought at this level for a long time and will pull out the stops to confuse Sokoudjou. Having seen Sokoudjou in action makes me think he will come out on top for this one.
• Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva… OMFG!! This is the match that everyone is paying $40 on PPV for. What more can be said about this matchup other than, “Shut up and fight!” Liddell the standup/ground and pounder will have as much as he can take in Silva. I am a Chuck fan. I have Chuck teeshirts. Chuck is on my Tivo favorites… wait for it… wait for it… BUT I somehow think this will end badly for him. Silva has a pedigree a step above Liddell. I’m crossing my fingers for the Iceman but the AxeMurderer has so much game that he may end Chuck’s reign in the UFC at the top.
• Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre is one heck of a substitution for Hughes vs. Serra. They have both fought each other and they both have wins against each other. The winner faces Matt Serra for the Welterweight Title. This is just the “Interim” title fight. I have mixed feelings about this fight as the real bout was supposed to be Serra vs. Hughes. If Hughes lays an egg, the title shot will go to GSP. If GSP wins the title, TUF fans get the shaft. Any way, this is a premium match up and to predict this one is a toss up. I’ll go with Hughes. Somehow I think he will submit GSP and preserve his title shot. As a Newbie and a TUF fan I’m really hoping for this!

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