Timmy B's UFC 104 Predictions

This Saturday, we get to witness one of the most intriguing UFC events in recent history. With the game of hot potato being played by the previous two UFC Light Heavyweight Champions, Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans, we get to witness the seemingly untouchable Lyoto 'the Dragon' Machida defend his title against a very talented, and hopefully very game challenger Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua. The semi-main event hosts an important matchup as the winner will likely become the next contender for the UFC Heavyweight Championship in Cain Velasquez facing UFC newcomer 'Big' Ben Rothwell. First, I'll discuss the other main card fights, all of which have the possibility to be barnburners.

Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson (9-2) vs Yoshiyuki Yoshida (14-3)

Johnson is a huge welterweight, plain and simple. He's 6'2" and cuts a lot of weight to make the 171 lb limit. While this could mean bad things for his cardio, most of his fights are very short, which gets rid of that issue. Yoshida is a judo guy, which means a lot of stalling and trying to grind out a victory, a nice way to expose Johnson's one real weakness. However, Johnson is very well rounded, having very fast and very heavy hands as well as a solid wrestling and jiu-jitsu game. In reality, UFC is prepping him to be a future face of the company and at 25, he has the time and the talent to do so. I see this fight as another stepping stone for Johnson and don't be surprised to see the KO of the Night award coming from this fight. I'll take Johnson by round 1 KO.

Joe 'Daddy' Stevenson (30-10) vs Spencer Fisher (23-4)

While Fisher didn't look like a world beater in his boring unanimous decision victory over Caol Uno at UFC 99, he has shown in the past that he can deliver a very fast and exciting fight. He'll surely need to bring it against someone with the wide varray of skills that Stevenson brings to the table. Stevenson also has a wealth of knowledge in the octagon, as he's stepped in against most of the top names at 155. This is a tough one to call, but I'll take the combination of of Joe Daddy's skill, speed, and experience to deliver a 2nd round submission victory.

Josh Neer (25-8-1) vs Gleison Tibau (19-6)

Neer, being a replacement for the injured Sean Sherk, is someone that the UFC calls on to bring it inside the cage, but this time he may be a little overmatched against the BJJ black belt Tibau. This is a Fight of the Night contender, but I see Tibau's wresling and jiu-jitsu taking the decision.

Cain Velasquez (6-0) vs 'Big' Ben Rothwell (30-6)

Now here is a fight with a lot on the line and one that could go one of two ways. If Velasquez uses his collegiate level wrestling to take down Rothwell and ground and pound him, he'll likely take an easy win. Despite not being able to finish Check Kongo at UFC 99 using this strategy, coupled with Kongo's almost inept ability at defense from his back, I feel that Velasquez has a great advantage over Rothwell in this department. Velasquez is fighting with a large chip on his shoulder, considering he was originally supposed to face Shane Carwin for the number 1 contendership for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, and the company chose Carwin as the first challenger to Brock Lesnar. Now if this fight stays on its feet, we have the possibility for a very different fight and a much different outcome. Rothwell can use his cage experience and boxing to take out the undefeated heavyweight. However, he'll have to watch out for Velasquez's big right hand. This is probably the toughest fight to predict, but I'll guess that Velasquez stays undefeated and wins by 1st round KO.

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship

Lyoto 'the Dragon' Machida (15-0) vs Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua (18-3)

This could be one of the most intriguing fights in the UFC of the past few years. Before Rua came to the UFC, he was considered one of, if not the premiere Light Heavyweights in the sport. His dismantling at the hands of Forrest Griffin at UFC 76 took that thought out of a lot of peoples minds. Coupled with a year layoff due to a knee injury, followed by a lackluster performance against an old Mark Coleman, then a devastating KO to Chuck Liddell, hasn't done much to restore the aura he once had. A victory over the enigmatic fighting style of Machida would do just that, and silence many a critic in the process. However, beating Machida is much easier said than done as no fighter has really ever touched him since his debut at UFC 67. In fact, Machida hasn't even dropped a round on any judges scorecards in that time. Despite the last two Light Heavyweight champions dropping the belt in their first defense, I can't really see Machida losing the strap this soon or against this opponent, but if anyone in the UFC Light Heavyweight division has the talent to do so, its Rua. I'll take Machida by 2nd round KO.

I'm definately excited for this UFC PPV event and with a host a good matchups in the future, it looks like the UFC is only going to gain more momentum and fans in the future.