This may come as a surprise to some, especially those who limit their MMA consumption to the UFC. However for those those more in touch with the larger mixed martial arts community won’t find Eddie Alvarez too surprising of a pick.

The facts: After losing his Welterweight Bodog title to Josh “The Goat” Thompson in ‘07, he dropped down to Lightweight and has won four straight victories in ‘08. The W’s are good, but in the process, he’s KO’d Ross Ebanez (2nd Rd - Bodog), Andre Amade (1st Rd - Dream 1), and Tatsuya Kawajiri (1st Rd - Dream 5) and then won a decision in an all out war and Fight of the Year Runner-Up with Joachim Hansen (Dream 3) to eventually become the Dream Lightweight Tournament Champion. He was scheduled to fight Nick Diaz with EliteXC’s Novemeber show before going bankrupt demonstrating that Eddie will fight anybody, any place, at any time. It’s unfortunate that the Dream organization receives very little coverage in the states and little is really known of this guy and his opponents. Eddie has earned MMA Punch’s 2008 Fighter of the Year.

A demo of his brutal KO abilities

Disagree with the selection? Leave a comment and make sure to back up your selection!

UFC 90 is showcasing the best Pound-4-Pound fighter in the world with their Middleweight title bout  of Anderson “The Spider” Silva  (22-4)against contender Patrick “The Predator” Cote (13-4).  This match up is a prime example of why the UFC should coerce the “The Spider” to move up to the Light-Heavy Weight division.  He has virtually cleared out the entire division and now has a match up with Cote who is only 4 - 4 in the octagon.  In the Light-Heavyweight Division there are countless mega-fights that can happen maximizing Silva’s remaining stay in the fight game.  I very much enjoy watching Silva fight, but against an opponent who is clearly a few steps down from him, is not much motivation to pay $44.95 to see the event.  There are other notable fights on the card, so here we go…

Fight #1 - Silva vs. Cote
The Predator is in deep trouble if he decides to stand and trade with Silva.  Unless he gets on his bike and gives his best Lance Armstrong impression, this fight will be very short and painful.  Silva by KO in the 1st.

Fight #2 - Koshcheck (11-2) vs. Alves (15-3)
I think that Tiago Alves has the formula to beat the hybrid wrestling profiles (via Matt Hughes) by “Brawl-n-Sprawl” tactics and though Josh is a better strike than Hughes, there is too much of an advantage on their feet for Alves.

Bisping (17-1) vs. Leben (18-4)
Michael “The Count” Bisping was never a serious contender as a Light-Heavyweight and after a loss to Rashad Evans (which was clearly his best performance at that weight) decided to put down the doughnuts to become a middleweight.  His two performances against CPT Miserable and Mr. Doomsday we’re much more impressive demonstrating good hand speed, foot work, and increased power.
With these improvements, he’s going to need all of these skills to dispatch of the hard headed and big bombing UFC veteran Chris Leben.  Leben is clearly a brawler and wants to entice “The Count” in trading punches in the center of the Octagon, but I think Bisping will stick to a discipline game plan of scoring points through “in-n-out” jabbing and possible take downs.  My forecast will be Bisping in a workman like decision, because Leben is FAR too tough to knockout.

Jardine (13-5-1) vs. Vera (9-2)
This fight is going to be very fun!  Both guys are looking for a win and more importantly, to win BIG!  This has all the makings of both fighters standing right in front of each other and letting it all hang out.  Both have demonstrated knockout power and have the attitudes to back it up.  I believe the technical standup of Vera will be edge to this fight.  Vera will pick apart the unorthodox Jardine and finish the fight in the 2nd round by TKO.

MMA Punch contributor Jonny T.

Fight #1 - Ninja Rua vs. Benji Radach
Ninja Rua is coming off of a brutal KO of Robbie Lawler and is trying to move back into a title shot against the former IFL star Benji Radach. In this situation, Radach will dominate with the “Brawl and Sprawl” technique that has become so popular with wrestlers that have developed good hands. Rua has improved his stand up, but it clearly is not his main offensive weapon. His main goal is to take the fight to ground and apply his Jiu-Jitsu. Radach will grind out a win by keeping the fight on their feet and out scoring Rua. Radach by decision.

Fight #2 - Jake Shields vs. Paul Daley
Shields has been on a tear as of late and in my opinion is one of the top 5 welterweights in the world. Daley is out gunned on his feet and on the ground. Shields will take the fight to the ground and will quickly mount and submit the out classed Daley. Shields in the 1st by submission.

Fight #3 - Gina Carano vs. Kobald-Gavin
This will be a fun fight. Carano is obviously the attraction here, but Kobald is 16-2 with a laundry list of submission and KOs. Kobald will test Carano on the ground and will test her Xtreme Couture influence. Carano is a tough, explosive, and gritty fighter that will eventually weather the ground attack of Kobald and will overwhelm Kobald in the later rounds. Carano by TKO late in the 2nd.

Fight #4 - Andre Arlovski vs. Roy Nelson
Andre Arlovski is used to seeing much more athletic heavyweights in the UFC and although Nelson is a tough and durable fighter, Arlovski’s hands and feet are too fast and too quick for Nelson to close the space. This will leave Nelson exposed to Arlovski’s standup game and this one won’t make it out of the 1st round. Arlovski by TKO late in the 1st.

Fight #5 - Ken Shamrock vs. Kimbo Slice
This is a fight that I wish wouldn’t happen. As a nostalgic MMA fan , I have great memories of our sport’s pioneers and want to see them as trail blazers of a growing super-sport. I hate the fact that Elite XC is using Shamrock’s star power to boost ratings of their free-falling company and at the same time using him as a sacrificial lamb to Kimbo Slice in order to boost his KO record. This fight has the possibility of not only knocking out the MMA legend, but has a good risk of hurting Shamrock in a devastating fashion. If Ken can close the space quickly and take the fight to the ground, then he greatly increases his chances to close the fight with a submission. He needs to end this fight FAST! Don’t dick around with any “ground-n-pound” or feeling him out on their feet, because Kimbo hits far too hard to leave at risk. I see Shamrock tying up with Slice and being unsuccessful in his takedown attempts leaving him with no alternative to stay in the pocket attempting to trade punches. This will result in a very ugly KO leaving images of Ken battered and beaten. This scenario will parallel the Ali vs Holmes fight, leaving the MMA community asking why Shamrock hasn’t moved on with his professional career. We as fans and as critics only wish that he would branch out into other faucets of the MMA business instead of becoming the Roberto Duran of MMA. My money is on Kimbo, but I’ll be cheering for Shamrock and will happily eat crow if Shamrock pulls the upset off and I hope he does it with a beautiful leg lock (via heel hook, ankle lock, knee bar, etc.).

MMA Punch contributor Jon Terrazas

Nate Diaz vs. Josh Neer

Josh Neer is a tough Militech Fighter with good hands and a solid ground game. He has submitted some very dangerous fighters in Joe Stevenson and Melvin Guillard. Unfortunately, has been decisioned by the bigger breed of fighters such as Josh Burkman. This has ultimately led to sliding down into the Lightweight division where BJ Penn is king (if he can stay away from the buffet). Unfortunately for Josh, Nick Diaz has paved the way for younger brother Nate (submitting Josh by Kimura in the 3rd back in ‘06), with using a good stand up game to force the fight to go to the ground. Here is where the Diaz brothers’ shine and will commence to put on a submission clinic. Nate will be too much for Josh ont he ground and has proved it with his submissions over Alvin Robinson, Kurt Pelligrino, Gray Maynard, and Corey Hill. Nate Diaz by submission in the 3rd (Nate’s a slow starter).

Mac Danzig vs. Clay Guida

Mac Danzig has shown a lot of poise and full arsenal with good hands, good wrestling, and solid submissions. The only thing in question has been the quality of opponents that he’s put down. On the other side of the cage is guy who always puts on a show and has no problem taking the fight to the opposition and brawling it out. If your not a believer, just ask Roger Huerta. Guida has good hands and solid wrestling, but most important, he embraces thewarrior spirit. If there’s a fight, he’s in the middle of it, making a war out of it and letting it all hang out. I see Guida by decision because he’ll be too much for Danzig. Danzig will have enough skills to go the distance, but Guida will be just too much for the TUF winner.

Houston Alexander vs. Eric Schafer

Houston Alexander is going to obliterate Eric Schafer. This fight is going to be short and violent with Alexander pounding out the back of Schafer’s head. Houston is coming off of two loses and is desperately looking to revive his career and get MMA fans buzzing about his power and viciousness in thwarting up and comers. Schafer’s wrestling skills are not good enough to take Alexander down to the ground, leaving the fight on it’s feet. This is a recipe for disaster for Schafer. Houston Alexander by KO in the 1st.

I’ve been having difficulty getting into this year’s Olympic Boxing events. I have officially been jaded by mixed martial arts no doubt. So my question today is, would MMA make for a legitimate replacement to Boxing in the Olympic? The pro is that as oldie Goldie from the UFC will tell you 100 times a PPV, MMA is the fastest growing sport in the world. The con is that it may not yet be ready for the world’s stage. Let’s admit, mixed martial arts doesn’t have the traditional roots as other Olympic contact sports such as Judo, Karate, or Boxing.

The second question. If MMA was an Olympic sport this time around in China, how would the USA stack up?

Please add a comment and share your thoughts fellow MMA fans!