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Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida is an amazing technical striker. But what most people miss is that he's schooled quite well in all forms of combat, from wrestling to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. . . read more here
Cain Velasquez (6-0) vs. Ben Rothwell (30-6)
What Rothwell brings to the table: Rothwell is a big, strong fighter that hits like a runaway truck. His 17 victories by way of (T)KO reinforce this. However, he's also an adept wrestler (all Miletich Fighting Systems competitors are) that has more in the line of submissions than people tend to give him credit for. Oh yeah, and he's won 14 of his last 15, with the only loss coming at the hands of Andrei Arlovski by way of a third round KO.
In the end, Rothwell is a much better fighter than people tend to give him credit for.
What Cain Velasquez brings to the table: How about great wrestling? We're talking about a guy with the ability to take almost anyone down to the canvas. What's more, he has the cardio to keep them there. In his last fight against Cheick Kongo, we also found out that Velasquez has a jaw.
Of course, his inability to stop Kongo despite landing a rare amount of strikes on him has left the masses questioning his power. But no one questions that he's an up and coming force in the UFC heavyweight division.
Cain Velasquez vs. Ben Rothwell UFC 104 Prediction: This is a very tough call. Rothwell is not an easy guy to take down, and Velasquez might be smart to try and make this a ground war. Can Rothwell stop Velasquez's takedowns? Not often enough. In the end, expect a tough fight where Rothwell connects with a few big punches, but Velasquez manages to ground and pound his way to victory.
Cain Velasquez wins via unanimous decision.
More UFC 104 Predictions
Gleison Tibau (29-6) vs. Josh Neer (25-8-1): Tibau is the better ground fighter. Expect him to use this to pull out a ground and pound decision.
Gleison Tibau wins by way of a decision.
Joe Stevenson (35-10) vs. Spencer Fisher (24-4): Fisher is the better striker. But Stevenson's size coupled with his ground skills should make him the better man in this one.
Joe Stevenson wins by way of a decision.
Anthony Johnson (7-2) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (11-3): Yoshida is a very well-rounded fighter that is tough in every way. But Anthony Johnson has the kind of athleticism and power on his feet that could make him special.
Anthony Johnson wins by third round TKO.
Yushin Okami (24-4) vs. Chael Sonnen (24-10-1): This is a tough one to call. Sonnen will have difficulty taking this one to the ground against a physically powerful opponent, and guess is that Okami has the better striking skills. Even when they do go to the ground, Sonnen may find himself in submissions danger. A close one, but...
Yushin Okami wins by way of a decision.
Jorge Rivera (16-7) vs. Rob Kimmons (22-4): Got a feeling about Kimmons here.
Rob Kimmons wins by way of a second round submission.
Antoni Hardonk (8-5) vs. Patrick Barry (4-1): This could end up being a great stand up battle. Then again, Hardonk's ground game is stronger than Barry's, and he may end up using that to his advantage.
Antoni Hardonk wins by way of second round TKO.
Ryan Bader (10-0) vs. Eric Schafer (13-3-2): Bader is an awesome wrestler with tons of power. Schafer is excellent off of his back, but so was Vinny Magalhaes, whom Bader stopped in the TUF 8 Finale.
Ryan Bader wins by second round TKO.
Kyle Kingsbury (7-2-1) vs. Razak Al Hassan (7-1): Neither guy has participated in enough big shows to know much about them.
Razak Al Hassan wins by way of second round submission.
Stefan Struve (21-3) vs. Chase Gormley (6-0) : Let's go with an upset.
Chase Gormley wins by way of a decision.
