I took a look back at some of the mixed martial arts fight predictions I have made over the year and I must say I really should have been in Vegas throwing down some big cash. I think my predictions track record speaks for itself.

It’s that time once again, free UFC! On Thursday, April 6th, the UFC will put on a full fight card free to the public. Well, that is if you have cable tv and receive the Spike channel. Ultimate Fight Night will take place in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock Hotel and from the looks of the line-up, it should be an entertaining night.

There’s not much in the way of A Class fighters on the card, but the match-ups should be fun and some of these talented fights could be on their ways to becoming A class fighters. The UFC has done a good job at taking fighters from the Ultimate Fighter tv show and given them opportunites to grow with the sport.

My Ultimate Fight Night Predictions:

I will not predict every fight as I am not familar with ALL of the fighters on the card. Most, but not all.

Stephan Bonnar vs. Keith Jardine
Jardine is the heavier fighter but hasn’t looked overly impressive in the UFC Heavyweight division. If he is allowed to fight at his listed weight of 220 he will have a distinct advantage. Bonnar is one of the most fun fighters to watch because he always put everything out there on the line, e.g. Bonner vs. Griffen. If Jardine has to come down in weight to Light Heavyweight, Bonner wins this easily.
Bonner by TKO

Rashad Evans Vs. Sam Hoger
Rashad (The Ultimate Fighter Heavyweight winner) is an extremely gifted athlete as well as a fighter. My biggest gripe with him is that he can also be a boring fighter who just fights to barely get the win. He is not an explosive fighter who tries to end fights but good enough to win. Hoger isn’t one of the most exciting fighters either. This could make for the most boring fight of the night. Rashad is quick and crafty and Hoger hasn’t shown anything too inspiring in the octagon.
Rashad by decision

Joe Stevenson Vs. Josh Neer
Joe Stevenson won the Ultimate Fighter competition and did so some what easily. He’s a very strong and quick fighter with great ground control. If he is in the same form as he was on the tv show, Neer could be in for a long night.
Stevenson by ground and pound

Chris Leben Vs. Luigi Fioravanti
The Crippler, Chris Leban. The guy you love to hate. I always pick this guy to lose, but he has shown me time and again to not bet against him. The guy has a head like a bowling ball and is savvy enough to no get caught in a submission. If Luigi tries to hang and bang, he’ll get the short end of the stick. I see Luigi bringing the fight to the ground with Leben on top. We’ll have to see what Luigi’s ground defense is like.
Leben by TKO

Luke Cummo Vs. Jason Von Flue
I think Cummo impressed the vast majority of Ultimate Fighter fans with his performances on the show. The guy is a nutjob, but surprising well rounded and intelligent in the ring. It must be all the meditating he does. Von Flue showed the heart of a lion during the same season and is no push over by any means. He had good hand, but so too does Luke “I am your father” Cummo. Von Flue is not a gound expert and will keep it on their feet. Luke will bring it to the mat only if he gets in trouble in the stand-up game. Cummo is too well rounded to be beat by a somewhat one dimensional fighter.
Cummo by decision

Josh Koscheck Vs. Ansar Chalangov
Everyone knows who Koscheck is and no one knows who Chalavgov is, including myself. I won’t predict a winner, but I’ll predict the activity in the ring. Josh is an incredible athlete, stong, and is always in tip top shape. He’ll probably stand with Ansar and if Ansar has any game whatsover standing, he’ll get the better of Josh. Josh will take it to the ground, reverting back to what he knows best, wrestling. He’ll control Ansar on the ground, unless Ansar is a submission expert, which I do not know. I’m not a fan of Josh as he does not represent the evolution of the sport or a complete mix martial artist. I hope he shows otherwise, but if he goes back to his bread and butter, I hope he loses and the UFC moves on to a more dynamic and versital fighter.

For the rest of the guys on the fight card, I either an not familar enough to make a decision on or I’m just not interested enough to care. I’ve left out a few fights, but the ones I called you can take to the bank, or better yet, the sportsbook.

Well, it’s that time again. Time for another installment of MMA predictions.

Last time out, I was 6 of 8 for predicting the outcome of the UFC 53 Heavy Hitters event.

Now it is time to lay down the prediction for the ongoing Pride FC Middleweight Tournament, Critical Countdown! There are some great match-ups here and some not so great, but almost every fight features at least one MMA “A” class fighter.

Without futher ado, Pride FC Middleweight Tournament, Critical Countdown predictions:

Current Pride FC Middleweight Champ, Wanderlei Silva vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
This will be a fun fight as Nakamura has proven that he can hang with the best of them. He doesn’t have what it takes to put away the Axe Murderer, but I think it will go past the first round as Nakamura is very crafty. Wanderlei will eventually corner Nakamura where Nakamura (due to his shortness) will be an easy target for Silva’s vicious knees.
Wanderlei Silva - KO -2nd Rd

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Ricardo Arona
A couple of years ago, this would have been a much better match up. Sak, who used the be the king, has long since passed the torch. Although he still has many tricks up his sleeve, I think the age and wear and tear has caught up with him and Arona is just too fast. Arona has trouble ending fights, so I’m taking him to win by decision in what could possibly be a somewhat boring fight.
Ricardo Arona - Decision

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
This should be a hell of a fight, maybe the toughest to call in the tourney. Both are at the top of their games and both are world class MMA fighters. Rua showed a lot last time out and comes in with youth and confidence on his side. Lil’ Nog won’t be intimidated as he has fought the best. If the battle is standing up, Shogun has the edge. On the ground, Nogueira. I think Mauricio when put on the ground will be crafty enough to bring it back on their feet. Noguerira is wont be submitted and it would probably take the likes of Wanderli to KO him. This one goes the distance.
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua - Decision

Igor Vovchanchyn vs. Alistair Overeem
Stiker vs striker in what could easily be the “funnest” fight of the night. Since dropping to the Middleweight division, Vovchanchyn has looked razor sharp. Alistar put up a good battle with Liddell, but Liddell’s style of being flatfooted favored Alistar (and his reach). Vovchanchyn will not be a stand still target as he stays active and is light on his feet. We have seen Igor get KO’d, so a striker like Alistair has a chance, a small chance. This one will not be left in the judges hands.
Igor Vovchanchyn - KO - 3rd Round

Additional Matches (Non-Tournament):

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Pawel Nastula
Mr. MMA vs. Mr. Judo. If you dont’ know about Nogueria, you don’t know your MMA. One of the most well rounded fighters in the biz who can beat you on your feet or on the ground. His hands are deadly, but he’s not afraid to exhange and over time can do some damage. Nastula is an amazing Judo player, stacked with titles. Unfortunately for him, he’s never fought mixed martial arts. He sure picked one hell of a tough opponent his first time out. If this wasn’t MMA, Pawel might have the edge, but this isn’t. Once Nogeria softens him up with strikes, Nastula will expose himself and Nog will catch him with a submission
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira - Submission - Round 2

Sergei Kharitonov vs. Pedro Rizzo
My, my, which Pedro will show up? Rizzo has KO’s some big boys, bigger than Kharitonov. But that was when Rizzo was at the top of his game. In recent years, he’s looked flatter than his belly, which isn’t saying much. Rizzo has the ability to knock anyone out with just one punch (maybe with the exception of Fujita) so never rule that out. I’ve been impressed so far with what I’ve seen from Kharitonov and think he is good for the sport as he shows a diverse skillset and he’s not afraid to trade blows. I think this will be a boring fight as Rizzo has shown time and time again that he doesn’t like to press the pace.
Sergei Kharitonov - Decision

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Ibragim Magomedov
Croatia vs. Russia…the battle of the Eastern Bloc. Mirko is one of the most exciting MMA fighters to watch, especially if you value the stand up game over the technical ground game. He has heavy fist and can KO anyone. Ibragim has a lot of experience in Russia winning a few tournaments, but I think he’s getting in over his head in his first Pride Fighting Championship fight. Unless Cro Cop doesn’t take this fight seriously, he’ll out class Ibragim and KO him…lights out!
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic - KO - 1st Round

Well, we are upon another Ultimate Fighting Championship event, UFC 53.

There are some interesting matchups, but overall the card is pretty flat as they are missing big name match ups. I mean using Justin Eilers as part of your headline? He’s a good fighter, but how many people know of him?

What will the results of this UFC be….on to the predictions:

Nick Diaz vs Koji Oishi
-Koji will avoid the KO and will go for the ground and pound in this fight with Diaz eaking out the decision.

David “The Crow” Loiseau vs Charles McCarthy
-Loiseau is too experienced for McCarthy. The Crow by KO with vicious elbows.

Nate Quarry vs Shonie Carter
-I like Nate and he seemed like a really stand up guy on The Ultimate Fighter television show, but Shonie Carter has way too much experience. I think this could be a war with the crafty vetren Carter winning via KO.

Matt Serra vs Karo Parisyan
-Both of these guys are ground fighters, not stand up. Logic would say that it will be decided on the ground, but strangely sometimes these kind of match-ups end up standing the entire time. Matt Serra is one of the boringest fighters in the UFC and I cannot understand why they keep bringing him back. His last three fights have all gone to decision. Technically he’s a good fighter, but if you can’t KO or submit you don’t belong in the UFC. I pray that Karo wins (probably a decisions as that is the kind of fight Serra brings). Karo via decision.

Forrest Griffin vs Bill Mahood
-I don’t know much about Mahood. I’m going with Forrest on this one. He’s proven what a tough fighter he is and I cannot imagine Mahood throwing him anything more than Stephen Bonner did. Griffin by KO.

Paul Buentello vs Kevin Jordan
-Buentello doesn’t look like the fittest athlete, but he has a pretty well versed game. From what I can tell, Jordan has been a couple of C and B class fighters but never anyone A calibur. Now Buentello isn’t A level, but he is on the cusp. Paul Buentello by submission.

Evan Tanner vs Rich Franklin
-Both fighters looks amazing last time out walking through both of their opponents. I think Franklin is better suited for light heavyweight as he looked to have trouble with Jorge Rivera when he fought middleweight. Evan Tanner is at the top of his game right now and will be out to avenge his early UFC loss to Franklin. Tanner by decision in what could be the fight of the night!

Andre Arlovski vs Justin Eilers
-Unless Andre stopped training about 3 months leading up to this fight, I don’t think he’ll have any problems. Arlovski has looked razor sharp in his last few outtings and I don’t seem him slowing down. The only questions here is KO or submission? Arlovski by submission.