Let's go over the card, starting from the main event, and predict who will come out on top.
Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans
Griffin(16 - 4) will be defending the light heavyweight belt for the first time after wining a decision over Quinton Jackson at UFC 86.
Griffin has come a long way since winning The Ultimate Fighter light heavyweight division in 2005. Since then he steadily climbed the ladder beating opponents Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and narrowly losing against Tito Ortiz.
Griffin is a fan favorite because of his fighting spirit. He often goes into the ring as the major underdog only to take his opponents the distance.
Evans(16 - 0 - 1) has yet to lose a match up. His latest victory was against Chuck Liddel which he won via a stunning knock out in the 2nd round that is sure to make highlight reels for decades to come.
look at the way his neck bent.
Evans is a really well rounded fighter with great take down defense and excellent movement around the ring. His agile nature in the ring makes it hard for him to get caught in take downs or strikes.
A major concern for Evans will be his conditioning. Since he has never been in a championship match it's hard to say if he can truly last 5 rounds in the ring without slowing down in the later rounds.
My pick: Rashad Evans by decision
Evans is too quick for Griffin. He'll easily be able to move away from any dangerous situations Griffin and can throw a powerful counter punch when he can catch Griffin off guard.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Vs. Frank Mir
Nogueria (31 - 4 - 1) is the current UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion. He is one of the best Jiu Jitsu practitioners in MMA. 19 of his previous wins were by submission including victories over opponents Jeff Barnet, Heath Herring, Tim Sylvia, and Dan Henderson.
He is also one of the few opponents to really challenge Fedor Emelianenko, forcing their 2 fights to go to decisions which Fedor would win. Many argue that if one of these bouts could have gone beyond the normal round limits Nogueira could have pulled away with the victory.
What seperates Nogueira from other Jiu Jitsu practitioners is his threshold of pain. Nogueria is famous for taking a pounding from his opponents till the match goes his way, the ground, and then it is moments before Nogueira pulls off a submission.
Mir (11 - 3) held the UFC Heavyweight title after defeating Tim Sylvia back in 2004 at UFC 48. Unfortunately Mir was in a horrible motorcycle accident that took him out of the MMA world for 2 years.
Mir returned a different man in 2006. He was no longer as agile and quick as before and it hurt him in a couple of matches he should have won. Still in last match against Brock Lesnar, he was able to pull of a knee bar after being dropped by a heavy right delivered by Lesna. Mir has said he feels better than ever before since the accident and finally nears being a 100%.
Mir is also a Jiu Jitsu practitioner but his ground game is no where near the level of Nogueira. Mir will have to use his Jiu Jitsu skills to avoid take downs and keep the match off the mat. If Mir can keep himself off the ground and force Nogueira into a 5 round stand up match he can win the decision.
My pick: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by submission
Nogueira is too good at the ground for Mir and can take too much of a pounding on his feet. Mir won't be able to knock Nogueira out and when the oppurtunity for a take down presents Nogueira, Mir will soon be tapping to whichever submission Nogueira uses from his arsenal.
CB Dollaway Vs. Mike Massenzio
Dollaway (7 - 1) is the runner up of The Ultimate Fighter 7 losing to Amir Sadollah via an armbar in the finale.
In his next and most recent fight Dollaway was able to secure a Peruvian Necktie against Jesse Tyler in the first round, being the first person in the UFC to successfully pull off this maneuver.
Dollaway definitely has a good ground game with his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Collegiate Wrestling background. Yet a majority of his fights end with him winning by knock outs.
Massenzio (11 - 2) has fought only once before in the UFC against Drew McFedries. Before that he was in the IFL, Ring of Combat, and Reality Fighting.
6 of his victories come in the way of submission while the majority of the rest are decision wins.
Basically Massenzio is a great ground fighter.
My pick: Mike Massenzio by submission
This match up should be pretty close. However Massenzio has a great ground game and pushes the matches to the floor so either wins via submission or by decision.
Wanderlei Silva Vs. Quinton Jackson
This will be the third time these 2 have met in the ring. The 2 previous times were in pride where Silva made a highlight reel from his TKO victories over Jackson.
Silva (32 - 8 - 1) comes off a spectacular first round KO victory over Keith Jardine at UFC 84.
While his career in the UFC has only recently begun again he has been in contention for the light heavyweight belt as soon as he came in. This is due because of his astounding career in PRIDE. Silva held the PRIDE Middleweight title for 6 years before losing it to Dan Henderson in 2007 shortly before PRIDE died.
What makes Wanderlei "the Axe Murderer" Silva such a dominant force in the ring is his killer Muay Thai. 22 of his victories are by Knock Outs. Expect Silva to use his Thai clinch and try to finish Jackson off with knees like he has before.
Jackson (28 - 7) has not fought since he lost his light heavyweight title to Forest Griffin at UFC 86 by a decision that caused much uproar in the MMA community. There are many people, including I, who thought the match should have been called a draw.
So now Jackson is fighting to become the number 1 contender for the belt and to do this he will have to win against the man who has stopped him twice before.
Jackson has power and speed. His brawler fighting style makes him hard to predict but in this bout trying to stand up against a technical striker like Silva may end up hurting him. Jackson has to get Silva on the ground and try to out wrestle him for a dominant position.
My pick: Wanderlei Silva by decision
Wanderlei is just a type of fighter that Jackson can not over come. His previous losses will hurt his spirit and he will not be able to get passed Silva's superior striking ability. I doubt this match will end with knees to Jackson's face but I can not see Jackson winning this match.
Cheick Kongo Vs. Mustapha Al-Turk
Kongo (12[22] - 4 - 1) is one of the best up and coming heavyweights in the UFC. He is still climbing the ladder but will soon find himself in contention for the title if he continues to dominate like he does.
Kongo most famously took Mirko "Cro Crop" Filipovic the distance. He went 3 rounds with the former PRIDE heavyweight contender and ended winning the bout via unanimous decision.
Kongo has size and power that challenges many of his competitors but what makes Kongo such a threat is his speed and agility. He moves quickly when attempting take down or in throwing counter punches.
Al-Turk (6 - 3) was the last heavyweight champion of Cage Rage before the company went out of business.
He is notorious for his ground and pound, winning all 6 of his bouts in this fashion.
In this match up Al-turk will have to take Kongo down to win. He has a solid ground game but the speed of Kongo may present a challenge for him.
My pick: Cheick Kongo by KO
This match can go either way. If it stays up Kongo will take it. If it goes down to the mat Al-turk will take it. I favor Kongo because of his great stand up game and I don't think Al-turk will have an easy time getting Kongo to the ground.
There you go. Those are my predicitons of how UFC 92 will go. Do you agree or disagree?
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