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UFC 102 Predictions: UFC 102 Picks, Predictions & Fight Previews

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Pro Fighting Fans is the home of UFC fans across the world and we now bring you the best place to find the latest UFC preview & predictions. UFC 101 has come and gone and we take a look at what we learned in our UFC 101 recap.

The next event for UFC will be UFC 102, held on August 29, 2009 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, and our UFC 102 predictions & preview are posted below for UFC fans across the globe to enjoy. Also be sure to check out our popular "A Fans' View from his Couch" column where UFC fan Greg Vorse gives us his take & picks for each major UFC fight, including UFC 102, UFC Fight Night 19, UFC 103 & more in the coming days and weeks and buy UFC tickets online here through Pro Fighting Fans!

For more UFC events to be held in 2009 and lists of which Mixed Martial Artists are schedule to fight, be sure to check out the future UFC event fight cards.

Just three weeks after the Ultimate Fighting Championship holds its first-ever event in Philadelphia, the world’s top mixed martial arts promotion will stage UFC 102 on Saturday, August 29 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. Featuring a main event between former UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture and former Pride fighter and former Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, the Pay Per View card will mark the end of the UFC’s heavyweight tournament that resulted in Brock Lesnar being declared the undisputed champion last month at UFC 100.

UFC 102 may be over three weeks away, but ProFighting-fans.com has you covered early, with predictions for each of the 11 scheduled match-ups.

Both Couture and Nogueira have a lot to prove in this senior circuit of the UFC heavyweight tournament, as the popular veterans find themselves in the loser’s bracket, an eventuality that was considered an unlikely scenario with the start of the unofficial tournament in November of last year when Brock Lesnar first challenged Couture for his belt.

In the co-featured bout of the evening, light heavyweight sluggers Thiago Silva and Keith Jardine will battle for a right to enter back into the title picture at 205lbs. With both fighters coming off of losses to top-five ranked opponents in their last bouts, the loser could see his stock plummet right out of the top ten.

Also on the card, Nate Marquardt and Damian Maia will go toe-to-toe in a contest at 185lbs in an intriguing style match-up that could see the winner get an eventual title shot sometime in 2010. Marquardt has only lost twice in the UFC, a first round TKO to reigning Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, and a controversial Split Decision loss to Thales Leites last year when Marquardt was docked two full points for infractions early on in the fight. His opponent will carry a perfect 10-0 record, five of which have come in the UFC, into the bout as well as one of the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu pedigrees in the promotion’s history.

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UFC 102 Predictions: Preliminary Card

Marcus Aurelio vs. Evan Dunham (155lbs)

After Matt Veach was forced out of his fight with Dunham (8-0 MMA) on the preliminary card of UFC 102, “The Kid” from Oregon drew an even tougher replacement in Brazilian ground ace Marcus Aurelio (18-7 MMA), a fighter who has never been finished and who boasts notable victories over Rich Clementi and Takanori Gomi. While he has seen it all inside the Octagon, don’t count Dunham out, as the Xtreme Couture-trained athlete attempts to become the first one to finish “Maximus” inside the distance. By the same token, don’t count on Aurelio going quietly.

Prediction: Marcus Aurelio over Evan Dunham by Split Decision

Nick Catone vs. Mark Munoz (185lbs)

With a combined total of three UFC bouts between them, and only one victory, this middleweight scrap between wrestlers Catone (7-1 MMA) and Munoz (5-1 MMA) could be a loser-leaves-town match. While Munoz has a slight edge in hype heading into his UFC career—much of which was tempered after his first round knockout at the feet of Matt Hamill—Catone has a slight edge in experience, both in and outside of the Octagon, and his finishing power could prove the difference in this one.

Prediction: Catone over Munoz by Submission (Choke) (Round 2)

Tim Hague vs. Todd Duffee (220-265lbs)

After coming from behind to submit powerful kick boxer Patt Barry at UFC 98 in May of this year, Hague (10-1 MMA) will take on another undefeated striker in Duffee (4-0 MMA). Duffee has only been past the first round once in his professional career to date, and he holds a TKO victory over former UFC fighter Assuerio Silva. Nevertheless, Hague’s well-rounded skill set and more substantial experience level will put him ahead on the ground.

Prediction: Hague over Duffee by Submission (Choke) (Round 1)

Justin McCully vs. Mike Russow (220-265lbs)

McCully (9-4-2 MMA) definitely has the edge in big-stage experience in this one, having competed for the UFC three times in the last two years, but he has been sub-par as a whole, with his biggest winning coming in his UFC debut against Antoni Hadonk in 2007. Russow (11-1, 1 NC MMA) may be new to the big stage, but his submission game should give him more than a chance at upsetting a slight favorite heading into this heavyweight showdown.

Prediction: Russow over McCully by Submission (Choke) (Round 1)

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Ed Herman vs. Aaron Simpson (185lbs)

While he has been largely inconsistent since earning a contract in a losing effort to Kendall Grove on Season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter, Ed Herman (15-7 MMA) has shown his worth in tough wins over Dave Menne, Scott Smith, Nick Thompson, Joe Doerksen, and most recently David Loiseau. Simpson (5-0 MMA), a late replacement for Wilson Gouveia and a wrestler out of Arizona will be looking to make a big splash in the middleweight division with a dominating performance over one of its grittiest fighters. Look for Simpson to come out on top—literally—with a late TKO of the always-tough “Short Fuse”.

Prediction: Aaron Simpson over Ed Herman by TKO (Punches) (Round 2)

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer (220-265lbs)

Tuchscherer (17-1, 1 NC MMA) certainly has an impressive record heading into his bout against former number one heavyweight contender Gabriel Gonzaga (10-4 MMA), but he has not battled against nearly the same level of opposition on his way to August 29. Look for Gonzaga to put his striking and grappling skills on full display once again against an opponent that should not be able to hang with him in a bout that is unlikely to answer many questions surrounding the popular Brazilian’s potential.

Prediction: Gonzaga over Tuchscherer by TKO (Round 2)

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Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (205lbs)

Vera (10-3 MMA) was once considered to be one of the most promising young heavyweight prospects in the world following his dismantling of a cage-wear Frank Mir in 2006, but he has struggled to maintain his footing in the light heavyweight division since moving down. Soszynski (18-8-1 MMA) has looked great in his last three fights for the promotion, and he boasts more professional experience, but Vera is still the safer bet in this one.

Prediction: Vera over Soszynski by TKO (Round 1)

Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt (185lbs)

Chris Leben (18-5 MMA) may always be most famous because of his 2006 destruction at the hands, feet, and knees of Anderson Silva in the latter’s UFC debut, but he is still a very solid middleweight contender, having dispatched notables Jorge Rivera, Terry Martin, Jorge Santiago, and Luigi Fioravanti in his UFC career. Jake Rosholt is a world-renowned wrestler, but he won’t be able to weather the steady striking storm Leben puts on him from the start of their three-round brawl.

Prediction: Leben over Rosholt by TKO (Round 3)

Nate Marquardt vs. Damian Maia (185lbs)

Marquardt (28-8-2 MMA) may be the most experienced middleweight on the UFC’s roster, and that includes notables such as champion Anderson Silva and top contender Dan Henderson. He has seen it all, and that level of experience will come in handy on August 29 when he takes on arguably the most dangerous up and coming middleweight in the world in Damian Maia (10-0 MMA), whose ground acumen has forced all five of his UFC opponents to tap or go to sleep thus far. Look for Marquardt to play a cautiously aggressive striking game with the dangerous Brazilian, eventually resulting in a solid shot that will send the fight to the ground, where one fighter will surely finish the other.

Prediction: Marquardt over Maia by TKO (Round 2)

Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva (205lbs)

In a battle between two hard-nosed light heavyweight strikers, the most experienced and battle-tested model is the safer bet. However, while Keith Jardine (14-5-1 MMA) has certainly proven his mettle, he has been knocked out on more than one occasion in the last few years, making the likelihood of it happening again a serious question mark. Thiago Silva (13-1 MMA) has only been defeated one time in his professional career, and that was to reigning Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida in January, but he has yet to prove himself against top-ten opposition, making his own position in said rankings another question mark. Look for Jardine to play this one smart, boxing and wrestling his way to a decision victory after three back and forth rounds.

Prediction: Jardine over Silva by Unanimous Decision

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UFC 102 Main Event: Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (220-265lbs)

This bout between two aging (in relative terms) and experienced heavyweight legends will answer all of the questions as to their futures in a division ripe with new and emerging talent. Even the winner of this fight will face scrutiny depending on whom he is matched against later this year or next year, as the age and damage factor will be brought up endlessly until eventual retirement. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is undoubtedly one of the pioneers in the heavyweight division, dating back ten years in his professional career, but the Brazilian fan favorite may have weathered his last string of terms in back-to-back-to-back wars with Heath Herring, Tim Sylvia, and Frank Mir respectively, the last of which he was finished in the second round for the first time in his career.

Now that Randy Couture knows the impossible is possible, he will do everything in his power to punish “Minotauro” early and often en route to a late stoppage or a decision victory. The former Olympic-level Greco-Roman wrestler is as savvy as they come in the fight game, so don’t count on any of Nogueira’s vintage come- from-behind submissions saving the day in this one.

Prediction: Couture over Nogueira by TKO (Round 3)

By Steven T. Kelliher
ProFighting-fans.com Senior Staff Writer

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