UFC 116 Preview and Predictions

Notable preliminary fight predictions:
Brendan The Hybrid” Schaub (5-1) vs. Chris “The Crowbar” Tuchscherer (18-2)
Prediction: Schuab by KO

Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove (11-7, 1 NC) vs. Goran Reljic (8-1)
Prediction: Reljic by Decision

Main Card Fight 1: Kurt “Batman” Pellegrino (21-4) vs. George “The Wizard Of Oz” Sotiropoulos (12-2)

Kurt Pellegrino – Age: 31 Height: 5′ 8″ (173 cm) Weight: 155 lbs. (70 kg)
George Sotiropoulos – Age: 32 Height: 5′ 10″ (178 cm) Weight: 155 lbs. (70 kg)

Pellegrino trained with BJJ legend Renzo Gracie and top ten fighter Ricardo Almeida. This would explain why almost 75% of his wins have come by submission. He is also coming off four very solid victories in a row. Being a two time runner-up at the New Jersey state high school wrestling championship shows that his ground game is very polished. Sotiropoulos is a black belt in BJJ under John Will and has won over 85% of his fights, which includes 7 submission victories. He has won 6 straight fights with his last one being a complete dominating performance over Joe Stevenson. Pellegrino will be a tough fight for Sotiropoulos, but not enough to stop his surge to the top.

Prediction: Sotiropoulos by Submission

Main Card Fight 2: Stephan “The American Psycho” Bonnar (14-7) vs. Krzysztof “The Polish Experiment” Soszynski (20-10-1)

Stephan Bonner – Age: 33 Height: 6′ 4″ (193 cm) Weight: 205 lbs. (93 kg)
Kryzysztof Soszynski – Age 32: Height: 6′ 1″ (185 cm) Weight: 205 lbs. (93 kg)

Stephan Bonner is a former Chicago Golden Gloves champ and is probably most famous for his run on The Ultimate Fighter 1 and his finale battle with Forrest Griffin, which was voted the greatest fight in UFC History. Bonner trains with team Extreme Couture in Las Vegas and has been rewarded a purple belt in BJJ by the late great Carlson Gracie. Bonner has dropped three fights in a row, with one of them coming by TKO doctor stoppage from a cut that came from an incidental headbutt from Soszynski in their most recent fight. Both fighters asked for a rematch after the fight so here we are. Soszynski trains at team Quest with Legend Dan Henderson and is looking for his fifth UFC victory. Soszynski has 16 early finishes with almost 85% of his wins not reaching the end of the third round. Both fighters are very well-rounded and their last match-up was a very close fight. I had Soszynski winning the last fight by a hair and I believe he will do the same July 3rd.

Prediction: Soszynski by Decision

Main Card Fight 3: Matt “The Immortal” Brown (13-8) vs. Chris “Lights Out” Lytle (38-17-4)

Matt Brown – Age: 29 Height: 6′ 0″ (183 cm) Weight: 170 lbs. (77 kg)
Chris Lytle – Age: 35 Height: 5′ 11″ (180 cm) Weight: 170 lbs. (77 kg)

Matt Brown made his UFC debut at The Ultimate Fighter 7 where he finally put on a show by knocking out Matt Arroyo. After losing to Dong Hyun Kim, Brown won three in a row but then he ran into highly ranked Ricardo Almeida. Brown has fought Lytle before in the United Fight League back in 2007, which he lost by guillotine choke in the second round. Brown is a blue belt in BJJ and a brown belt in Judo, but perhaps his strongest point is his Muay Thia Striking. Brown is a well-rounded fighter with 5 submission and 6 KO victories. In fact, Brown has finished all 11 of his MMA career wins before the final bell. Chris Lytle is a BJJ black belt and trains with the Integrated Fighting Academy. He has an astonishing 19 wins by submission and in his 17 losses he has only been finished early twice, making him one of the hardest guys to KO or submit in the MMA game. At 35 years old, Chris Lytle’s chance to become a UFC contender and get a title shot is slim to none but there is no quitting for him and he will fight every second. 75% of Matt Brown’s losses have come by submission and odds are it will happen again at UFC 116.

Prediction: Lytle by Submission

Co-Main Event: Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama (13-1, 2 NC) vs. Chris “The Crippler” Leben (21-6)

Yoshihiro Akiyama – Age: 34 Height: 5′ 10″ (178 cm) Weight: 185 lbs. (84 kg)
Chris Leben – Age: 29 Height: 5′ 11″ (180 cm) Weight: 185 lbs. (84kg)

Akiyama is a third degree black belt in Judo with 5 KO’s and 7 submission wins. His fights rarely go to decision and he holds notable wins over Melvin Manhoef, Denis Kang, and Alan Belcher. Akiyama has won multiple gold medals in Judo and won the Fight of the Night when he defeated Belcher at UFC 100 in his UFC debut. Chris Leben is called “The Crippler” for a reason. He is known for his incredible chin and KO power. He is one of the toughest fighters in all of MMA. He literally will not quit. If you get him in an arm bar, then he will let it snap before he taps. If you put him in a chokem he would rather go to sleep instead of admitting defeat. No one can finish this guy unless you put his lights out. He’s the original Ultimate Fighter bad boy and he means business. The only fighter to knock him out is the great Anderson Silva. He has finished over 75% of his wins early and is the proud owner of 12 KO’s. This fight is a tough one to call but both of these guys like to go toe-to-toe and that will be Akiyama’s downfall. If this fight ends up on the ground, then Akiyama would have a slight advantage but I doubt it will.

Prediction: Leben by KO

Main Event: (Heavyweight champion) #1 Brock Lesnar (4-1) vs. (Interim heavyweight champion) #2 Shane “The Engineer” Carwin (12-0) for the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship

Brock Lesnar – Age: 32 Height: 6′ 3″ (191 cm) Weight: 265 lbs. (120 kg)
Shane Carwin – Age: 35 Height: 6′ 2″ (188 cm) Weight: 265 lbs. (120 kg)

This is one of the biggest fights in UFC history. When these two mammoths collide, the Earth will probably shake. Lesnar has been out of action for almost a year now but if you think that’s going to slow the champ down, then you’re crazy. Brock has only fought 5 career MMA fights and has already beat two former UFC heavyweight champions. Lesnar is a NCAA wrestling heavyweight champion and a two-time All-American. He is the best wrestler to ever fight in the UFC and has compiled a 106-5 NCAA Division 1 wrestling record. Shane Carwin is no pushover himself. He is undefeated, with all his wins coming by KO or submission and none of them surviving the first round. Carwin has run through his opponents with the dynamite he carries in both hands. He can wrestle too. Carwin is a two-time runner up for the NCAA Division 2 national title. He holds huge wins over top fighters Frank Mir and Gabriel Gonzaga. If Lesnar can take this fight to the ground and keep it there, then you can put this one in the books. However, if Carwin can manage to stay on his feet then the KO win may be just a matter of time. Either way it goes one thing is for sure, this fight will be monumental.

Prediction: Lesnar by Decision