Right, hello, here are my predictions for Sunday's... well Sunday here... UFC 97 card. On a related note, apparently Australian's may be getting UFC 100 on delay because Vic Darchynian decided he wanted to fight on that day... I will have words with this PPV provider. They actually put Andre Rieu on instead of UFC 91! But anyhoo... predictions!

Lettuce work  from the bottom up starting with fight numero uno.

Matt Wiman vs. Sam Stout

Good fight, if all goes according to plan I think we have Fight of the Night right here. Looking closer at the fighters, Wiman was looking better than anyone had ever expected him to look ever as he knocked Thiago Tavares up a notch...bam, but he ran into a road block in a superior grappler in Jim Miller. It didn't really help that Wiman got caught in a guillotine choke in the first few seconds that would have a made a lesser man tap. Stout on the other hand hasn't looked so hot recently as he was sort of robbed at UFC 83 and then decisioned by that cat I can't understand, Terry Etim at UFC 89. Stout's jiu jitsu has never really been tip top but I think Wiman's JJ works better when he's under fire, so I predict Wiman to continously score takedowns on Stout but not being able to secure anything worth breaking or choking for three rounds. Wiman via decision.

Ryo Chonan vs. TJ Grant

Grant's a purple belt under Jorge Gurgel and has submitted 12 out of 15 opponents but I'm not sure he'll be able to handle the resilience of Ryo Chonan. Chonan is far from the model of consistency but he's got enough to stifle people who aren't used to being stifled by veteran opponents. I have Chonan via decision after he frustrates the crap out of the UFC virgin.

Mark Bocek vs. David Bielkheden.

Bocek went ahead and did something I didn't think he was going to do at UFC 91... impress me. After hearing about his vaunted grappling skills he looked pretty close to impotent in the majority of his fights in the UFC. He was good in patches against Danzig and sure he defeated Doug Evans but this highly regarded Canadian black belt of his wasn't really setting off fireworks in my brain. His fight against Robinson saw him a lot more active though and he looked tight in submitting the BJJ black belt. Bielkheden on the other foot is good at stifling people with less than adequate wrestling and bottom games but against anyone else. Bocek via arm triangle choke in the 2nd round.

Eliot Marshall vs. Vinny Magalhaes

Dude, TUF just follows some guys like a bad smell. Surely there was another fight that could have been set up for either guys. Mike Ciesnolevi...wisz was a great opponent for Marshall but now we have Magalhaes. Provided Magalhaes has moved away from the origami teachings and no longer folds under pressure I think he control Marshall on his ground with his crazy high guard and possibly finish him. But this I doubt as I see Marshall's superior stand-up do naughty things to Magalhaes before Marshall finally finishes Vinny from half guard with punches in the second round. Marshall via TKO.

Ed Herman vs. David Loiseau

Welcome back David. Loiseau's fight with Charles MacCarthy was my introduction to MMA and so he will always have a place in one of my ventricles. However, I think Loiseau is still suffering from the immense beatdown Franklin gave him and even though he has looked good in patches recently it doesn't take much offense from the opposition to make him sad. Herman is in a do or die situation with the UFC axe looming above his head. Herman can win this if his takedowns are on song but otherwise his stand-up shouldn't be a match for Loiseau's sharp muay thai. Loiseau via decision.

Jason MacDonald vs. Nate Quarry

If MacDonald can;t get this fight to the ground, with him on top, then he's going to be in for a long night... or one he potentially can't remember. Quarry will have his dirty dirty way with him on the feet and MacDonald clearly does not respond well to being hit. I'm not sure how good MacDonald's wrestling actually is so I will take Quarry via TKO in round 2.

Denis Kang vs. Xavier Foupa Pokam

Yes well I've told myself I will never pick Kang to win a fight again as long as I live so I'm just going to go ahead and assume that he will find some way to lose this fight. Besides, Professor X is one of the coolest nickanmes ever... next to Girlfight monster. Professor X via KO in round 1.

MAIN CARD

Steve Cantwell vs. Luiz Cane

I think this fight is the best match-up on the whole card. It's a very even bout and I have absolutely no clue as to what's going to happen. Cantwell is as well rounded as they come, his striking is as good as his wrestling which is as good as his jiu jitsu. Cane has  some violent striking and I'm just going to go ahead and assume he has serviceable jiu jitsu and some lacklustre wrestling that mainly just includes an inside leg trip. I'm still not sure if Cane's strategy against Sokoudjou was to play the waiting game or if he was simply getting overwhelmed but if I assume the former then I think Cantwell can keep Cane backpedalling for the majority of the fight if he keeps pressing forward. But if you play with Brazilian matches you can get bitchslapped or something so I believe Cantwell's best chance would be to test out Cane's ground skills. I'll take Cantwell via decision but I am none too confident

Cheick Kongo vs. Antoni Hardonk

Leland Rolling had an interesting piece on Hardonk yesterday which highlighted Hardonk's focus on getting the other parts of his game up to snuff and how far he has come. Which is true to a degree as I no longer question his place in the UFC heavyweight division as I once did which is a sign he has evolved. However, the way I see this fight is that they are both similar fighters style wise and then I imagine how Kongo would have gone against Mike Wessel compared to Hardonk and all I can imagine is Wessel's mother not being able to recognize him after Kongo fought him where as Hardonk was struggling to stay ahead of the curve. I know that is probably MMAth or some sort of MMAth tangent butI just think Kongo is a superior fighter in every way and barring some serious mistakes on his part he should take this fight handidly. Kongo via TKO in round 1.

Brian Stann vs. K-Sos

Yeah I've spelt K-Sos' name so many times and every time I've needed to check the spelling so he will now forever be known as K-Sos. For this fight I simply see K-Sos's variety of attack on the feet being superior to the one combination we saw from Stann in his third fight with Cantwell. Provided K-Sos doesn't get clipped with something I see him dropping Stann with an accumulation of blows midfight. K-Sos via TKO in round 2.

Chuck Liddell vs. Shogun Rua

My argument favors Mike Rome's argument that he posed yesterday. Liddell's superior hands and wrestling will cancel out all of the weapon's Shogun needs to win this fight.  I also remember saying this before the Liddell/Evans fight but that was different in that Evans had not ever really showed us anything beforehand so there was that unknown, but with Shogun we know that his hands aren't that good its mainly the pace he keeps and clinch and kicks he uses to wreck bitches. Getting to the clinch has always been difficult with Chuck and the pace Shogun used to fight at just hasn't been there of late due to his balsa wood knees. A tired Shogun gets put away violently by Liddell I think. Liddell via KO early round 2.

Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites

I have a funny feeling about this fight, but I'm pretty sure its the easter eggs I had with the beer. Terrible combo. There's been much said about Leites' ground game but even if he does score a takedown its not like Silva is McFedries level jiu jitsu. Silva's jiu jitsu is about as serviceable as Martin Kampmann's and Leites had issues with that. Besides, the ground game won't even come into it as I think Silva has already decided that this fight will end early as a sign that the Cote fight was just him having a laugh. Silva via Leben like KO in like 40 seconds.

I'm going to bed.

Leites.