UFC 76

UFC 76 is being held on September 22nd and will be available on Pay Per View. There are a couple of good fights on the card, but the highlight fight must be the UFC debut of Mauricio "Shogun" Rua who takes on Forrest Griffin. The other notable fight is Chuck Liddell vs Keith Jardine.

I'm going to start doing the UFC 76 Predictions today and will follow up with one or two more fights added each day this week.

Chuck Liddell vs Keith Jardine
It's hard to find a fighter in the light heavyweight division with better credentials than Chuck Liddell. Think about this, he's defeated the UFC heavyweight champion (Randy Couture) twice. He's defeated the long time UFC light heavyweight champion (Tito Ortiz) twice. He's defeated Ranalto Babalu Sobral twice.

Yes, Chuck has lost to Quinton Jackson twice, but hear me out. Look down the chain a bit and look at some of the fighters that Chuck has defeated and look at their accomplishments in MMA.

Tito defeated Wanderlei Silva
Babalu defeated Shogun
Randy defeated Gabrial Gonzaga, Vitor Belfor and Tito Ortiz

When you add that up, you can't help but put Chuck near the top of the 205lb food chain.

Keith Jardine is no slouch, but he doesn't have the resume that Chuck Liddell has. He defeated Forrest Griffen quite easily, but then got beaten by Houston Alexander in the same way.

UFC 76 Prediction : Chuck Liddell by KO.

Forrest Griffin vs Mauricio Rua
Forrest Griffin is the winner of season 1 of the Ultimate Fighter reality series. Big names Forrest has fought include Tito Ortiz, Keith Jardine and of course his career defining battles with Stephan Bonnar.

Forrest has a good all around game and faired well against Tito and Stephan. He was beaten decisively by Keith Jardine, however.

Mauricio Rua has been a dominant force in the Pride ring over the last few years. He has notched wins over little Nog, Kevin Randleman, Ricardo Arona, Alistair Overeem and of course current UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson.

The one thing that is sure about this fight is that it will be high intensity with neither fighter backing down. Both guys leave it all in the ring and both have cardio for miles. I think Shogun has the edge in previous competition and his dominance against other great fighters (like Rampage) gives him the edge here.

UFC 76 Prediction : Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

Diego Sanchez vs. Jon Fitch
This is one fight that I believe could go either way. Diego Sanchez has won all but one of his fights, but his performance against Josh Koscheck was very lacklustre. On the other hand Jon Fitch has won 13 in a row. Seriously, this one could go either way, but I think Fitch may win this one.

UFC 76 Prediction : Jon Fitch

Matt Wiman vs. Michihiro Omigawa
I've seen Wiman fight some toughter opponents and fair pretty well. Looking at Michihiro's record he has some wins, but mostly in smaller organizations. I'll take Wiman in this one.

UFC 76 Prediction : Matt Wiman

Kazuhiro Nakamura vs Lyoto Machida
This is a really good match up. You hae two guys who most UFC fans have no idea about, but combined they've defeated the likes of Rich Franklin, BJ Penn, Vernon White, Randleman, Leko and Bustamante. I'll give the edge in competition faced to Nakamura and the edge in success to Machida. I have to take Machida in this fight.

UFC 76 Prediction : Lyoto Machida

Tyson Griffin vs Thiago Tavares
I like both of these guys and they are both rising stars in the UFC, however I have to take Tyson Griffin in this fight. I think Griffin has faced the tougher competition in the past and even his one loss was a very close fight.

UFC 76 Prediction : Tyson Griffin

Justin McCully vs Christian Wellisch
Justin McCully is a big man, a very big man. In fact I think he should be fighting at 205 instead of heavyweight. That said, McCully has shown a lot of heart and talent in his fights so far. That said, he fights out of team punishment (Tito's camp) and I expect him to come into each fight in better shape than the last. His opposition (Wellisch) is a much larger man (if you eliminate body fat) and thus should be stronger, but stronger doesn't win fights, skill and heart does.

UFC 76 Prediction : Justin McCully

Diego Saraiva vs Jeremy Stephens
Diego Sraiva is coming off two losses in a row while Jeremy Stephens is coming off a win and an enthusiastic loss to Din Thomas. Stephens impressed me in that fight and I'm picking him to win.

UFC 76 Prediction : Jeremy Stephens

UFC 76 Predictions from http://www.ultimate-fighter.net

Chuck Liddell vs Keith Jardine
Prediction : KO victory by Chuck Liddell

Forrest Griffin vs Mauricio Rua
Prediction : Winner will be Mauricio Rua

Diego Sanchez vs Jon Fitch
Prediction : Jon Fitch

I'll have the rest of my UFC 76 Predictions as well as justification for the predictions above later in the week.

Two big fights have been officially announced by UFC.com, both fights will have a major impact on future title prospects in the UFC light heavyweight division:

Chuck Liddell vs Keith Jardine
and
Shogun Rua vs Forrest Griffin


First, let's talk about Chuck Liddell vs Keith Jardine
The UFC isn't giving either Chuck Liddell or Keith Jardine an easy road back to the top. With both fighters coming off losses this will be a good test. Jardine has looked impressive (except for his last fight) and so has Liddell (except for his last fight).

UFC 76 Prediction : Chuck Liddell's superior striking and experience will pay off in a TKO performance.

And now, for the moment that a lot of Pride fans have been waiting for, it's Shogun Rua vs Forrest Griffin. While I'm a little surprised at this matchup, you've gotta give the UFC matchmakers credit. This is a great fight and a tough one for both guys. Most people will say that Shogun will just run right over Griffin...and they might be right. However, lets keep in mind that stomps and soccer kicks to downed opponents are not allowed in the UFC and all the Chute box guys use those moves liberally. Still, given his record and level of competition you have to give the edge here to Shogun.

UFC 76 Prediction : Mauricio "Shogun" Rua