Also headlining the event is a light heavy weight bout by 2 undefeated fighters, Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva, the winner of which will most likely be considered #1 contender for Rashad Evans light heavy weight belt.
The following is a preview of the main events of the night with a prediction of who will win each bout.
Georges St-Pierre(17 - 2) is considered by many as one of the best fighters in all of MMA. Sherdog currently ranks St-Pierre #2 in their top pound for pound fighters list, sandwiched between #1 Anderson Silva and #3 BJ Penn.
St-Pierre is a two time UFC welterweight champion having originally won the title in November 2006 at UFC 65 against Matt Hughes in a bout where St-Pierre dominated Hughes with punches that led to a TKO victory. Then Pierre would lose the belt to Matt Serra at UFC 69 only to crush Matt Serra at UFC 83 with knees to reclaim the title.
Pierre is a versatile fighter. He has excellent technical striking ability and a superb ground game. In this match up he will want to keep it standing unless he can get a guaranteed full mount position.
If Pierre is able to successfully defend his title Dana White has stated he will set up a catch weight bout between St-Pierre and Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva.
B.J. Penn(13 - 4 - 1) has an opportunity to make history in this bout. If he can win this fight he will be the first fighter in the UFC to hold titles in two different divisions at the same time.
Penn is a naturally gifted athlete who has dominated a majority of his opponents. His ground game is one of the best in the world, in fact he was the first non-Brazilian to win at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships black belt division.
In this match up Penn will need to force Pierre down to the mat into his area of expertise. This may prove difficult since Pierre has one of the best takedown defenses in MMA. However if shooting doesn't work Penn has a powerful right that can knock down the best opponents.
Prediction: Georges St-Pierre by TKO
Pierre is the better striker in the match up. Combine that with his amazing take down defense and we are going to have a battle where Penn will be throwing haymakers from the outside that Pierre will either dodge or counter.
Lyoto Machida (13 - 0) has been fighting since he was 4. He is the son of Shotokan karate master Yoshizo Machida and earned a black belt in karate by age 13. In his teens Lyoto began studying Sumo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu before adventuring off into the world.
His MMA career began in Japan fighting in K-1 where he met up with B.J. Penn who he defeated via a unanimous decision. Soon after that win Machida was signed to the UFC where he won 3 bouts by decision before defeating Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou by Submission (Arm Triangle Choke). He then faced former UFC light heavy weight champion Tito Ortiz and defeated him by unanimous decision.
A majority of Machida's win come by decision. This is because he is a technically sound fighter who fights very defensively. Machida prefers to strike and move avoiding taking any serious damage. He uses kicks more often than punches and his spinning back kick is said to have knocked down Frank Trigg a couple of times during their sparring sessions.
Thiago Silva (13 - 0) is a fighter who once trained at the Brazilian Chute Boxe Academy with fighters like Wanderlei Silva and Mauricio Rua. Now he trains at American Top Team.
His last 3 UFC bouts Silva has finished his opponents with punches on the ground. These include victories over Houston Alexander and Antonio Mendes.
In fact Silva has finished 10 of his bouts by TKO. He has a vicious ground and pound combined with his excellent Jiu-Jitsu and he's a scary opponent from the ground. Standing up he is a powerful striker who can launch powerful punches from every direction.
Prediction: Lyoto Machida by Unanimous Decision
Machida's defensive fight style will make it hard for Silva to be aggressive. Silva's ground game will be negated by Machida's takedown defense, which was able prevent Tito Ortiz's takedowns.
Stephan Bonnar(12 - 4) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter who received his purple belt from Carlson Gracie. He currently trains at Xtreme Couture.
Bonnar was a staple of UFC Fight Night facing many competitors and defeating the likes of Keith Jardine and James Irvin while losing to eventual light heavyweight champions Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans.
Bonnar is a ground fighter using his submission skills to win 7 of his matches. Yet his stand up game is continuously improving as he has began to incorporate Muay Thai and Boxing techniques. Bonnar should focus on using his stand up to deferat Jones as a ground game may prove to be unreliable.
Jon Jones(7 - 0) is a strong rookie having only fought in MMA competetion 3 monthes prior to signing with the UFC. In his UFC debut Jones was able to defeat Andre Gusmao by unanimous decision.
Jones is a Iowa state high school wrestling champion and National Junior College wrestling champion. This gives him excellent takedown and take defensive skills that will be put to the test with a a great ground fighter like Bonnar.
Prediction: Jon Jones by TKO
The underdog has so much to prove this fight. After only one fight he is now on the main card on one of the biggest PPV events and he will definitely shine. He was able to defeat Jiu-Jitsu fighter Andre Gusmao and he will be able to defeat Stephan Bonnar.
Karo Parisyan(18 - 5) is a Judo practitioner and claims to be one of the first to use this form of martial arts successfully in the ring. For 13 years Parisyan trained in Hayastan Grappling System which combines forms of Judo, Sambo, catch wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, shoot wrestling, freestyle, Greco-Roman wrestling, and Muay Thai.
In the octagon he uses these skills to control his opponents and via unanimous decision.
Dong Hyun Kim(11 - 0 - 1) comes off a controversial split decision win against Matt Brown at UFC 88. The fans at attendance booed the decisions and Joe Rogan even commented saying he thought Brown had won the match.
Kim is a also a Judo practitioner who uses this skill to slowly breaking down an opponent and then taking advantages of the weakness he has made.
Prediction: Karo Parisyan by Submission
Parisyan Judo skills should negate Kim's and with the other arsenal at his disposal he should be able to hand Kim's first loss.
Nate Diaz(10 - 2) is the younger brother of UFC fighter Nick Diaz. Nate is well trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He studied under the famous Ceasar Gracie.
7 of this wins come by way of submission. Look for Diaz to try and get this match on the mat where he can work his magic the best.
Clay Guida(24 - 9) is a powerful wrestler with amazing stamina. His pursuit of his opponents have mad him a favorite to watch as he is looking to finish the bout
Prediction: Clay Guida by TKO
Guida will be able to prevent much of Diaz's takedown attempts and when the time comes he will secure top position for some heavy ground and pound.
That will be UFC 94 some great matches with a headlining bout that will probably be one of the best fights of the year.
Who do you favor in the Penn Pierre match up? Which fight will be the best of the night?
Aldo was quick with his striking, landing blows at every opportunity he got. He landed many unchecked kicks on Perez. Still Perez was doing excellent job throwing numerous hand combination that unfortunately mostly hit gloves. Near the end of the round Aldo started landing more shots making Perez's fave turn red, then Aldo landed a knee while Perez went for a body shot that sent Perez to mat. Aldo celebrated his win by running up into the audience.
Campbell walked into this match undefeated and started the match off strong. Within the minute he was able to slam Villefort but when it got on the ground Villefort was happy to take the match to the ground. He went for a knee bar that seemed locked on really tight but Campbell was able to pull away. On their feet Campbell landed another blow that sent Villefort to the mat but when Campbell punched he was ready and able to sweep Villefort using the kneebar as leverage. Once they stood the clinched and VIllefort used a Judo Hip Toss to send him to the ground. He mounted and than got Campbell back where he just kept punching Campbell till the ref called it.
Faber come out in top form. He was aggressive as soon as the bell rang and stood with Pulver exchanging blows. He landed a hook to the stomach of Pulver that took his breath away. Pulver began to buckle from the blow and Faber took the oppurtunity to keep swinging till Pulver fell to the ground. Urijah quickly locked in a choke and was able to finish the fight just like that.
Cerrone would seem to have the advantage since he was taller and had a reach advantage but that made no difference in Varner's eyes. Varner would fight within Cerrone's reach with no worries but what made the difference was that in every round Varner would score 1 or 2 take downs. From the top position he was able to land some blows but nothing that could really seal the fight. Finally it got to the 5th round and Cerrone felt the pressure knowing he was behind in the score cards. So he attacked viciously. Varner was on the ground getting up when Cerrone threw a knee that struck Cerrone in the eye leaving Cerrone unable to continue.
Bobby Green took the fight with 30 hours notice and fought hard to try to take the victory. He pressed the action the entire round swinging wildly, kicking constantly, and stuffing every takedown attempt Lauzon threw at him. However Green's aggressive and reckless nature cost him. He landed 3 low blows costing him a point, but more importantly giving Lauzon time to regroup. Near the end of round Lauzon quit trying to strike and went for submissions. He went for a triangle that Green popped out of, went for a heel hook the Green slipped away, but Lauzon got Green's back and was able to secure a rear naked choke that made Green tap.
Buentello used a jab combination beautifully to keep, "Baby Fedor", Sidelnikov at bay. Buentello constantly threw a left jab that helped set up some beautiful right hooks and uppercuts that would have ended most opponents. Sidelnikov was able to take most of the hits and still kept pressing Buentello but there was little he could do to really win this match. By round 3 the jabs had finished Sidelnikov, they had landed one time too many, and Kirill kept spitting out his mouthpiece till the doctor called it.
Sobral didn't try to strike too much against Sokoudjou instead he went for takedowns. In the 1st Round Sokoudjou was able to stuff most Sobral's attempts and was even able to use his Judo to counter takedown. In the 2nd round Sobral was more sucessful with his takedowns and had Sokoudjou on his back for quite awhile and he ground and pounded to tire him out till he was able to get the choke locked.
Lindland pressed the action and Belfort simply moved around the cage till Lindland went in with a right hook that Belfort counter quickly with a left hook that sent Lindland to the ground. Belfort kept striking him while he was on the ground and one of the punches sent Lindland to sleep.
Barnett took down Yvel every chance he had. In the 1st Round Yvel was taking down close to 2 minutes in. Barnett tried to get a Kimura but was unable to so instead he passed Yvel's guard and rained down punches from the full mount. However he was not able to finish him in the 1st as Yvel kept moving his head preventing him from taking any huge hits. The rest of the rounds were pretty much the same thing. Credit to Yvel for taking so many strikes from Barnett's mount and even throwing some strikes from his back. However in the 3rd all the strikes were too much and Yvel had to tap out.
This turned out to be a great stand up battle between two amazing boxers. Lytle was the aggressor of this match, for the most part, pressing the action with huge haymakers and amazing flurries. Davis played a lovely technical game throw jabs to keep Lytle at bay and using an impressive clinch game to deliver knees against Lytle. What really one Davis the match was his kicks. He constantly attacked Lytle's right side, so that by the 3rd Lytle was winded and had dropped his hands in order to defend his side.
Kang was dominating this match up. He was able to take down Belcher at every turn tried numerous submission attempts but was never able to finish Belcher. In the 2nd round Kang shot in and Belcher was able to stuff it by getting hooks around Kang's neck. He tightened his grip and sealed off the Guillotine Choke and Kang tapped just as he hit the ground.
Palhares dominated this match up. He kept Horn on the ground in a variety of position. He was never able to mount a significant offense though, his ground and pound wasn't as damaging and Horn was able to stuff all the submission attempts. Still Palhares looked impressive as he succeeded at almost every take down attempt he made even lifting Horn and slamming him.
This fight was just. Argh. Ok much respect is due to Coleman who was impressive. He secured numerous take downs was able to land good punches against a younger quicker opponent. Rua looked pitiful. Even though he won the bout, Coleman was exhausted at the end of the 1st. In the 2nd his mouth was wide open as he struggle to breath and his hands were down by the waste. But somehow Rua wasn't able to finish him, instead Coleman kept taking Rua down. Then for some odd reason Rua lost his breath and he couldn't keep his hands up. Rua was finally able to get the KO but my god it was pitiful.
Franklin did the exact opposite he needed to do in this match up. Instead of avoiding the clinch he constantly got caught in Henderson's clinch game. This gave Henderson the opportunity for take downs that succeeded and led to some powerful ground and pound. In the third round Franklin got on track was able to strike beautifully however the effort was too late.
