Posts with the tag "Rameau Sokoudjou"

UFC 84 is already less than a week away. With the UFC cutting contracts left and right, don't be surprised to see the UFC cut any fighters that don't perform. Here are the under card fights for UFC 84:

Ivan Salaverry vs. Rousimar Palhares - Right off the bat, we have a seasoned veteran in Salaverry taking on a newcomer Palhares. Salaverry finds himself in desperate need of a victory to stay in the UFC. With his age and recent losing streak, the UFC needs a new reason to keep him on the roster. I expect Palhares to win this fight.

Rameau Sokoudjou vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura - With all the hype surrounding Sokoudjou, he better win this fight. His two consecutive losses have raised some concerns, but I expect him to finish Nakamura. With a loss, Nakamura is another fighter that may be on the way out of the UFC.

Rich Clementi vs. Terry Etim - Clementi continues to get "No Love" as he is once again on the under card. He is currently riding a three fight win streak with wins over Sam Stout and Melvin Guillard. Etim is good young talent, but this is an extremely tough matchup for him. Expect Clementi to overpower the younger Etim and win by submission.

Jon Koppenhaver vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida - Yosida by submission.

Jason Tan vs. Dong Hyun Kim - Tan buy TKO.

Christian Wellisch vs. Shane Carwin - Carwin by decision.

UFC 79 is this Saturday and was originally billed as a match up between the coaches from The Ultimate Fighter 7. With an injury to Matt Serra, George St-Pierre jumped at the opportunity to fight Matt Hughes in the main event. The other main event fight is a long time in the making, Chuck Liddell will fight Wanderlei Silva.

Liddell vs Silva is a long time in the making. Back when both owned their divisions in their respective organizations, a super fight couldn't be arranged between the two. With the demise of Pride, the UFC has signed Silva and finally arranged the fight. Both fighters are coming off of back-to-back losses. This fight will get one fight back into the mix and put the other a fight or two away from retirement.

Here are my predictions:

• Matt Hughes vs. Georges St-Pierre: With Hughes coming to the end of his career, he has trained harder than ever before. After a losing the title, St. Pierre is hungry to get his hands back on the title. I have been a Hughes fan for some time, but my gut tells me St-Pierre will win this one.
• Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva: The winner will be the fighter who lands the first big punch. I give Liddell the edge in this one.
• Lyoto Machida vs. Rameau Sokoudjou: Another light heavyweight fight featuring strikers. Sokoudjou is relatively inexperience with only 5 professional fights, still I expect him to make this a good fight. Machida wins via strikes.
• Rich Clementi vs. Melvin Guillard: Guillard makes any fight interesting with his unpredictable nature. I pick Guillard via early knockout.
• Soa Palelei vs. Eddie Sanchez: Since I don't know too much about either fighter, I will go on their nicknames. Palelei is the "The Hulk" and Sanchez is "The Manic Hispanic." I am going with the Hulk.