matthew GrizzleNewark, NJ– The UFC heads back to pay-per-view Saturday with two title fights headlining as both the welterweight (170 lbs) and interim heavyweight (206 to 265) titles will be up for grabs. Defending the crown at welterweight will be the top “pound for pound” ranked French Canadian Georges St. Pierre, 170, St. Isidore, Quebec, Canada taking on British contender Dan Hardy, 160, Nottingham, East Midlands, England.
IS ST. PIERRE THE BEST IN MMA?
St Pierre (19-2, 8 KOs, 5 SUBs) is the natural favorite and will probably show us why that is come fight time. Hardy (23-5, 11 KOs, 4 SUBs) is no slouch but I don’t see him offering up anything St. Pierre can’t handle or hasn’t seen. As long as St. Pierre maintains his focus and is free of any major injury, he should be able to put away the Brit, probably by Submission.
EX-CHAMP MIR NEEDS WIN TO REMATCH LESNAR
In the heavyweight division, former two time UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, 250, Las Vegas, NV will take on the undefeated wrecking machine that is Shane Carwin, 255, Denver, CO. Mir (13-4, 2 KOs, 8 SUBs) looked impressive in his last bout when he halted Cheick Kongo (15-6-1, 9 KOs, 3 SUBs) via submission just over a minute into the first round. Carwin also had an impressive short night his last time out when he knocked out Gabriel Gonzaga (11-5, 5 KOs, 6 SUBs) a few ticks past the one minute mark in the opening round.
KO KING HAS NEVER SEEN THE SECOND ROUND
Carwin has yet to make it out of the first round in his MMA career and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him stop Mir inside the first round come Saturday night. Carwin still hasn’t learned how to lose and as long as he doesn’t get too overzealous, he very well could pull out another impressive stoppage victory here.
OTHER TELEVISED BOUTS
Dropping down to the lightweight (155) division, Kurt Pellegrino, 155, New York City, NY will take on Fabricio Camoes, 155, Curitiba, Parana, Brazil. Pellegrino (14-4, 2 KOs, 9 SUBs) has the far greater experience inside the UFC and that should serve him well against Camoes (10-4-1, 2 KOs, 6 SUBs), who has yet to gain a UFC victory with only one fight inside the octagon, that being a draw to Caol Uno (25-12-5, 2 KOs, 13 SUBs). Look for Pellegrino to secure a submission for the win.
Jon Fitch 170, Fort Wayne, IN will be taking on late replacement Ben Saunders, 170, Orlando, FL. Fitch (21-3, 4 KOs, 5 SUBs) was originally scheduled to battle Thiago Alves (16-6, 10 KOs, 1 SUB) until an irregularity was detected on Alves’ prefight CAT scan. Now, Saunders (8-2, 1 KO, 6 SUBs) has an opportunity to knock off a top ranked welterweight and move up the ladder. Saunders presents a different kind of fight for Fitch than he was expecting with Alves which could make this match one that is up for grabs. However, I would have to think that Fitch will adapt quickly and milk out a decision.
Jim Miller, 155, Sparta, NJ taking on Mark Bocek 155, Toronto, Ontario, Canada in a lightweight bout. I like Miller (16-2, 2 KOs, 10 SUBs) in this one via decision over Bocek (8-2, 1 KO, 6 SUBs).
PRELIMS “FREE” ON SPIKE TV!
Be sure to catch the Prelims free on Spike TV before the PPV card which will feature Nate Diaz (11-5, 2 KOs, 8 SUBs) moving up in weight from lightweight (155) to welterweight (170) to take on Rory Markham, (16-5, 11 KOs, 5 SUBs) as well as Ricardo Almeida (11-3, 4 SUBs) moving down in weight from middleweight (185) to welterweight to face the always improving Matt Brown, (11-7, 6 KOs, 5 SUBs).