UFC 113 Preview

Tonight is yet another UFC PPV with the Main Event featuring a rematch for the Light Heavyweight Championship between Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Champion Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida. I'm going to provide yet another preview/prediction post for tonight's UFC card.

Lightweights: Sam Stout vs. Jeremy Stephens - I think Stephens was in one of the Ultimate Fighter seasons which is the only excuse I could give for this fight making it to the televised portion of this PPV. Sam Stout has taken one good stand up battle with Spencer Fisher and turned it into about three or four televised bouts which I don't understand. This fight will end in the first and both guys will stand up with one another and I won't give a damn about it regardless.

Winner: Stout by 1st Round TKO (Strikes)

Middleweights: Alan Belcher vs. Patrick Cote - Belcher is known for thinking that he is a lot better at MMA than he actually is and using his Muay Thai to annihilate his opponent's legs during fights. He also wears traditional Muay Thai shorts which have a slit on both sides and thus shows off WAY TOO MUCH of Belcher's upper thighs during fights. These facts usually take away from the fact that he really does have talent and is one very controversial decision at UFC 100 away from entering this fight with a four fight win streak. Cote, on the other hand, has taken his Ultimate Fighter Finals appearance and cashed it in for a Championship shot that he underwhelmed in. His October 2008 fight with Anderson Silva was boring and the only interesting thing in the fight was that Cote tore his ACL on a kick in the fight which is why he hasn't fought since. I think Cote shows some cage rust and Belcher puts his name in the discussion for a possible title shot after another win.

Winner: Belcher by 2nd Round TKO (Strikes)

Heavyweights: Matt Mitrione vs. Kimbo Slice - These 2 men don't like each other. These 2 men were prominent characters in The Ultimate Fighter Season 10. These 2 men totally want to hurt each other. These details are supposed to make me believe as a fan that this fight is PPV viable. I don't buy it. The beauty of Slice is that if you put him on free TV then the Ad dollars come in and people will watch the fight without a doubt. But if you throw Slice in a grudge match with some reality show villain in Mitrione on PPV, then you're asking too much of the people and they will save their money. This is not a PPV caliber match and these men will not engage in a toe to toe battle, but rather there will be a lot of sloppy scrambles and lack of conditioning. In the end, the popular fighter will win a controversial decision, whether or not he deserves it.

Winner: Slice by Split Decision

Welterweights: Josh Koscheck vs. Paul Daley - This fight is a believable grudge match that I can not wait to see. Koscheck has great wrestling ability, but he has an even greater chip on his shoulder. Koscheck understands what the fans want and he is constantly trying to prove that his stand up game is elite. Koscheck will not take this fight to the ground more than once or twice but he will be throwing bombs the entire time. Daley understands how to sell a fight and how to use the immortal skill of shit-talking to get under his opponent's skin. Through his outlandish statements, Daley has riled Koscheck up to the point where I believe that Koscheck wants to legitimately hurt Daley and vice versa. There will be blood in this fight and if Koscheck fights an intelligent fight, then he can possibly garner a future championship rematch with Georges St. Pierre.

Winner: Koscheck by Unanimous Decision (29-28)

Light Heavyweight Championship: Challenger Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Champion Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida - The first fight was marred in controversy and a lack of action. Machida was legitimately taken out of his game by Rua who used an effective and slightly yawn-inducing leg and body kick strategy. Machida suffered enough damage that his conditioning was taken away from him due to the fact that his ribs had suffered such a vicious attack from Rua's shins. Rua really did win their first fight, and he will not win the second. When a challenger comes up with a great plan to defeat a champion, they face the conundrum of whether to try the same strategy in the rematch or do they go a different way and risk what has already worked before? I don't know if Rua is going to handle this conundrum well and Machida has more than enough talent and inspiration to dominate this fight. I feel like "The Dragon" will be unleashed and a career-defining performance is coming tonight.

Winner: Machida by dominant 3rd Round TKO (Strikes)