With Ultimate Fight Night 19 just wrapped and the new Ultimate Fighter season 10 underway, we head into a big weekend of sports.  MMA is one of the sports where we can all sigh with relief that don’t have seasons like most major sports do, while the 2nd week of the NFL is something to look forward to (or any week of the season for that matter) there is one other event that MMA fans can thank for: the return of Floyd Mayweather Jr.  Not MMA you say?  Of course not, but with his recent “unfriendly” comments coupled with boxing promoter Bob Arum’s analysis that MMA is for homosexuals and tattooed freaks, leave it to UFC Prez Dana White to counterprogram the Mayweather-Marquez fight.  The UFC started off a number of UFC Unleashed shows leading up to the aforementioned UFN 19 and season debut of TUF 10, only to end with a bang at UFC 103.  It doesn’t end there, Spike will show the UFC 103 prelims for FREE leading up to the PPV event!  Mr. White said it best, ” you can pay $5 less and watch 5 exciting fights than one snoozefest ” or something along that line.  But one of the biggest reasons to tune in for UFC 103 is the return of UFC veterans and former top contenders.  Without further adieu, let’s get it on!

Main Card (Televised)

Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort (18-8) v. Rich “Ace” Franklin (25-4)

It’s been a long and bumpy road, but MMA fans rejoice because it’s the return of The Phenom, Vitor Belfort.  Any and every hardcore fan knows what Belfort brings to the cage: speed, power, speed, explosiveness and more speed.  With the ability to end a fight with just one punch, Belfort poses a number of problems for Franklin.  Belfort has the faster and heavier hands as evident with his record, he is coming off a :37 1st round KO win over UFC alum Matt Lindland at Affliction.  On the flipside, Franklin has faced the stiffer competition and has proven he can hang with the heaviest of hitters in fights with Wanderlei Silva and Dan Henderson.  To most MMA noobs, Franklin is the favorite to win but any hardcore fan will tell you it won’t be that easy for Ace.  First, Belfort is the faster and heavier handed striker who also holds a black belt in BJJ.  Second, Belfort has struggled against aggresive wrestlers which Franklin is not.  Third, Belfort is riding a 4-fight win streak and looks to make a statement as contender for Anderson Silva’s MW belt.  A win for Belfort will no doubt catapult him high into the MW rankings (though this fight is at a catchweight of 195) that’ll give him a run for the title, a loss on the other hand will set him back very slightly and will probably be used to gauge who his next opponent will be.  If Franklin wins, expect a high profile fight with a LHW contender, but a loss on the other hand will set Ace back significantly knowing he cannot return to the MW division (as long as Silva’s there at least) and he may be labeled as LHW gatekeeper, maybe a fight with Randy Couture or Forrest Griffin is on the horizon?

Prediction: Belfort by KO/TKO in the 2nd Round

Mirko “Crocop” Filipovic (25-6-2) v. Junior “Cigano” dos Santos (8-1)

“Knockout of the Night” is written all over this one.  When you have two HWs that have no regard for ground fighting and prefer to take their opponent’s head off, you can expect fireworks.  Crocop is no stranger to the MMA world as he has some of the best highlight reel KO’s ever.  Cigano is somewhat of new face but has made his stamp in the UFC HW division with uppercuts from hell laying out top contender Fabricio Werdum and Stefan Struve at his most recent outing.  Crocop has proven to go the distance with the best fighters in the game while Cigano hasn’t tasted the 2nd round, so the gas tank of Cigano will definitely be questioned.  Not much fight analysis here except whoever lands the big punch/kick first will more than likely dictate the fight and win.  The winner will no doubt catapult themselves in line for that title shot.  My gut favors the Brazilian, but I always take experience into consideration first. 

Prediction: Crocrop by Head Kick from Heaven in the 2nd round

Josh Koscheck (12-4) v. Frank “Twinkle Toes” Trigg (19-6)

When you have two accomplished wrestlers matched up, you can expect a boxing match.  Kos is coming off a KO loss to Paulo Thiago while Trigg makes his return to the UFC riding a 4-fight win streak.  I was a bit torn between these two as they both have advantages in certain departments.  Trigg no doubt carries the experience factor as he has faced the who’s who of MMA while Kos is young, explosive and has one of the quickest takedown shots in MMA.  The outcome of this fight rests solely on Trigg’s ability to stuff the takedown.  If Trigg is able to sprawl and brawl throughout the fight, he can surely come out with a win and nice homecoming to the UFC.  I expect Trigg to outbox Kos for the first half of the fight, but later succumb to Kos takedowns in the latter.  It’ll be close and will go either way depending who sets the pace.

Prediction: KOS by Split Decision

Hermes Franca (19-7) v. Tyson Griffin (13-2)

Former LW title contender Hermes Franca makes his return to the UFC after a brief hiatus to take on forever contender Tyson Griffin.  Franca is a BJJ black belt who relies on his heavy right hand to end fights while his counterpart is a wrestler that prefers to box then ground and pound his opponents.  Since both fighters prefer to stand and bang, expect a stalemate on the feet with Griffin getting some takedowns to seal the deal.

Prediction: Griffin by Unanimous Decision (again)

Martin “Hitman” Kampmann (15-2) v. Paul “Semtex” Daley (21-8-2)

In what was supposed to determine WW Champ Georges St. Pierre’s next opponent, we are (un)fortunately treated to a tussle that won’t do much in terms of ranking except entertain.  British striker extradonaire Paul Daley steps in for the injured Mike Swick to make his UFC debut against the very dangerous Kampmann.  For anyone that’s seen Daley fight, the plan is simple…take Daley to the ground, beat him up a little bit and start attempting submissions.  This is exactly what we’ll see which is why it’s so unfortunate.  Fortunate for newer fans who have no idea who is Daley is, they’ll be treated to some fancy striking from Daley who’ll look for the KO finish but count on Kampmann to avoid the stand up game and take this fight to the ground where he’ll submit Daley with ease. 

Prediction: Kampmann by Submission in the 2nd round

Under Card (Prelims)

*Efrain Escudero (11-0) v. Cole Miller (15-3) – Miller by Submission 3rd round

*Drew Mcfedries (8-5) . Thomasz Drawl (16-2-1) – Drawl by Submission 3rd round

Jason Brilz (17-1-1) v. Elliot Marshall (7-1) – Brilz by Unanimous Decision

Igor Pokrajac (21-5) v. Vladimir Matsyushenko (22-4) – Matsyushenko by Unanimous Decision

Rob Emerson (9-7) v. Rafael Dos Anjos (11-4) – Dos Anjos by Submission 2nd round

Dan Miller (14-2) v. Steve Lopez (12-1) – Miller by KO/TKO 2nd round

Nik Lentz (16-3-1) v. Rafello Oliveira (9-1) – Oliveira by Submission 2nd round

Brian Foster (10-3) v. Rick Story (7-3) – Story by KO/TKO 2nd round

*will be shown live on Spike TV