UFC 108 Preview and Predictions

January 02, 2010 | Tim | Comments 0

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UFC 108 has been hit extremely hard by injuries and fight cancellations. At one time or another, this card was rumored to have fighters such as Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin, Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez competing. The event lacks true “star power,” but cards like this often turn out to be among the best cards of the year.

Joe Lauzon vs. Sam Stout: Two lightweights with contrasting styles will battle it out in this fight. Lauzon is coming off knee surgery following his win over Jeremy Stephens at UFC Fight Night 17. In his UFC career, he is 5-1, with the only loss coming to Kenny Florian. He’s a solid all-around fighter with solid striking and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills. Stout is primarily known as a striker. He’s 3-4 in his UFC career, with wins over Spencer Fisher, Per Eklund and Matt Wiman. The win over Wiman came at UFC 97 in April. Stout was scheduled to return to face Phillipe Nover at UFC Fight Night 19, but Nover suffered a seizure prior to the bout and the fight was cancelled. I think that Lauzon can hold his own while the fight is standing, but will have the major advantage if the fight hits the ground. Should be a very entertaining fight, one of the candidates for fight of the night. Lauzon via submission in the 2nd.

Jim Miller vs. Duane Ludwig: Ludwig was a very late replacement for Sean Sherk, who himself was a replacement for Tyson Griffin. He’ll be making his return to the UFC after almost a four-year absence. His career record is 19-9, and he’s had a few good moments in his UFC career as well, most notably his first round knockout of Jonathan Goulet at UFC Fight Night 3. That knockout should have went down as the fastest in UFC history, but an error by the clock operator has the official time listed at 11 seconds instead of 5. Ludwig also holds a victory over Jens Pulver outside of the UFC, and has faced the likes of B.J. Penn, Takanori Gomi, Paul Daley, and Tyson Griffin in his career. Miller is a very solid fighter, boasting a 14-2 overall record, as well as a 4-1 record in the UFC. He most recently won a TKO victory over Steve Lopez at UFC 103, after Lopez was unable to continue after suffering a shoulder injury. Miller is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and comes from a wrestling background. His striking is decent, though I don’t expect him to spend much time trying to stand with Ludwig, who has the nickname “Bang” for a reason. Once Miller decides to turn this one into a ground war, the end will be near. Miller via TKO in the 1st.

Junior Dos Santos vs. Gilbert Yvel: Dos Santos will try and continue on his quest up the UFC’s heavyweight rankings as he takes on a dangerous opponent in Gilbert Yvel. Yvel has the reputation as one of the sport’s bad boys due to his past offenses including eye gouging and the assault of a referee during a fight. However, he’s a very dangerous striker and has a career 36-13 record. Yvel has wins over Pedro Rizzo and Cheick Kongo during his career, and has also faced guys such as Josh Barnett, Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva during his career. His Muay Thai skills are very good, and could give Dos Santos some problems. Dos Santos most recently defeated Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 103. That win improved his UFC record to an impressive 3-0 and his overall record to 9-1. He’s a very powerful striker as evidenced with his knockout over Fabricio Werdum at UFC 90, but he also possesses good ground skills, though he hasn’t needed them in the UFC thus far. I’m expecting the majority of this fight to take place on the feet. Yvel has a serious chance due to his striking background and punching power, but I think that Dos Santos will be patient and wait for his opportunities. Yvel isn’t a pushover on the ground either, but if the fight does go there, I expect Dos Santos to have the advantage. Yvel has only been to a decision five times in 51 career contests, so there’s a strong possibility this one ends before it gets to the judges. Dos Santos via TKO in the 2nd.

Dustin Hazelett vs. Paul Daley: Another striker vs. grappler fight here between the powerful Daley and the Jiu Jitsu wizard Hazelett. Hazelett is coming off knee surgery to repair a torn ACL. He was scheduled to face Karo Parisyan at UFC 106, but was left without an opponent when Parisyan pulled out at the last minute. When Carlos Condit was injured and unable to face Daley, the UFC slid Hazelett into the fight. Hazelett is 5-2 in his UFC career, with wins over Josh Burkman and Tamdan McCrory in his last two contests. Hazelett also faced Josh Koscheck back at UFC 82, rocking him early before losing in the 2nd round. He’s a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Jorge Gurgel, and uses his skills very fluidly in the cage. His height and reach help his striking, though at only 23 years of age, he hasn’t fulfilled his potential in that department yet. His striking isn’t awful, but definitely isn’t the strength of his game. Meanwhile, Daley is one of the most dangerous striker’s in the UFC’s welterweight division. He made his UFC debut back in September, defeating Martin Kampmann in the first round at UFC 103. He trains alongside UFC welterweight contender Dan Hardy at Team Rough House in England, and the fight camp has really helped him elevate his game. No longer is Daley a pushover on the ground. He has learned some pretty decent takedown defense, and his overall strength helps him on the ground as well. He obviously wants to keep the fight standing against Hazelett, but won’t be completely clueless if the fight does hit the ground. Ring rust will probably be a factor for Hazelett, but once he gets in the cage and gets loose, he should settle back down. If he can utilize just enough striking to set up a takedown, he can beat Daley. The key is to not get into too many exchanges, because with Daley’s power and skill, he’ll eventually catch him. Who’s strength is better, Daley’s striking or Hazelett’s jiu jitsu? I’m going with Hazelett’s jiu jitsu. Hazelett via submission in the 2nd.

Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva: The night’s main event features two hard-hitting light heavyweights. Both fighters lost to Lyoto Machida, Silva at UFC 94 and Evans at UFC 98. Both fighters have only that one loss on their record. Silva last fought at UFC 102, beating Evans’ teammate Keith Jardine by brutal first-round TKO. Evans hasn’t fought since losing to Machida at UFC 98, and was instead featured as a coach for the 10th season of The Ultimate Fighter. A win over Silva here will likely get Evans a shot at the returning Quinton “Rampage” Jackson sometime around March or April of this year. I have long been a doubter of Silva’s, though the Jardine fight did impress me. Overall, Silva is 14-1 in his MMA career with 11 wins via TKO or KO, though he struggled some against some of his competition early in his UFC career, and he really shouldn’t have. He’s got good power in his hands and also has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, though we haven’t seen much ground work from him in his UFC career. Silva hasn’t really faced someone who posed a takedown threat like Evans does, even if Evans doesn’t use his wrestling as much as he used to. The former UFC light heavyweight champion, Evans has transitioned from a wrestler to a fighter who likes to stand and strike first and foremost. His KO win over Chuck Liddell at UFC 88 showed people that he definitely has the power to finish fights, and his patient approach in his win over Forrest Griffin at UFC 92 showed that he could stick to a gameplan and wait for an opportunity. He loves to counter punch, usually letting his opponents throw the first shot before he responds with some of his own. Liddell eventually got fed up waiting for Evans to come forward and paid for it with a huge right hook. His footwork isn’t good. His bouncing makes it look like he is light on his feet and has good footwork, but in reality, he finds himself in poor positions many times. However, he has a pretty solid chin and also possesses good quickness and athletic ability. His ground and pound is also very strong. Can Silva win this fight? Definitely. I just don’t think he will. I think that Evans is the better fighter, plain and simple. Throw in the fact that he trains with Greg Jackson and he should have the advantage here. I know that Jardine is also a Jackson fighter, but he doesn’t possess the skillset that Evans does. Evans via TKO in the 2nd.

Preliminary Card Predictions:

Rafaello Oliveira over John Gunderson via decision

Jake Ellenberger over Mike Pyle via TKO in the 2nd

Mark Munoz over Ryan Jensen via decision

Cole Miller over Dan Lauzon via submission in the 2nd

Martin Kampmann over Jacob Volkmann via TKO in the 1st

Picture courtesy of www.combatlifestyle.com

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