UFC 100 Fight Card: Preview and Predictions

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will present UFC 100, on July 11, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. This has a chance to be the greatest UFC card in the history of the company as it will feature two championship bouts in the heavyweight and welterweight division, as well as a fight between the two coaches of The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom.

The first bout of the main card is a middleweight fight between Yoshihiro Akiyama and Alan Belcher. Belcher is a UFC veteran who has fought eight times in the company, compiling a record of 5-3 against tough opposition. He is on a two fight winning streak, beating Ed Herman by split decision and submitting Denis Kang in the second round. Akiyama will be making his UFC debut, having previously fought in K-1 HERO's and DREAM. Akiyama has a career MMA record of 12-1 with 5 wins by KO and 7 wins by submission. Not one of Akiyama's fights have gone the distance. Both fighters seem like submission experts with 12 combined submission wins. This fight is hard to choose because both are mostly unknown. Akiyama by second round submission.

The second fight is "Hollywood" Dan Henderson vs. Michael "The Count" Bisping in another middleweight bout. This match has a good chance to win Fight of the Night honors. It has been announced recently that the winner of the Bisping vs. Henderson fight will get a title shot against middleweight champion Anderson Silva. These two were selected as coaches on season 9 of the incredibly popular, The Ultimate Fighter. Henderson led Team USA while Bisping led Team UK. Henderson fought most of his career in Pride, winning the welterweight and middleweight championship, before arriving in the UFC two years ago. Henderson lost his first two fights to Quinton Jackson and Anderson Silva but is currently on a two-fight win streak, most recently winning a split decision against Rich Franklin. Henderson has a career MMA record of 24-7. Bisping got his big break when he was cast on The Ultimate Fighter 3. Bisping made the most of his chance, winning The Ultimate Fighter 3 Light Heavyweight contest by knocking out Josh Haynes in the finals. Bispinghas now fought eight times total in the UFC and has lost only one fight, a split decision against Rashad Evans. He is now on a three fight winning streak, most recently beating Chris Leben in the main event of UFC 89. He also has never been stopped in his MMA career. Bisping has never fought anyone with the experience that Henderson has, and that will be the deciding factor. Henderson by unanimous decision.

The third bout is a welterweight match-up between Jon Fitch and Paulo Thiago. Fitch has fought a total of ten times in the UFC and has lost only once, against elite fighter George St. Pierre. In that fight, Fitch showed tremendous heart, getting pummeled but refusing to quit. Fitch has wins over Brock Larson, Thiago Alves, and Diego Sanchez to name a few. All three of Fitch's submission wins have been by rear naked choke. Thiago is undefeated, 11-0 in his MMA career but has only fought one time previously in the UFC. He knocked out Josh Koscheck at UFC 95 in the first round, and won Knockout of the Night Honors. In that fight, Thiago wasn't impressive until he scored the knockout. Fitch has been a top-ranked welterweight for a long time, while Thiago is still a newcomer. Fitch will pull off the upset and hand Thiago his first professional loss. Fitch by unanimous decision.

The fourth match is a welterweight fight that puts the top pound-for-pound MMA fighter, Georges St-Pierre, against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter, Thiago Alves. St-Pierre will be making the fifth defense of his welterweight championship, making this a five-round bout. St-Pierre is a UFC veteran, having fought a total of 14 times in the UFC, starting at UFC 46. Just like boxing champion Lennox Lewis, St-Pierre has avenged the two losses in his career. Matt Hughes beat GSP at UFC 50 by submission, but GSP beat Hughes at UFC 65 and UFC 79. After losing his title against Matt Serra by knockout in the first round, in the biggest upset in UFC history, GSP retained the belt from Serra at UFC 83, dominating Serra and knocking him out with knees to the body. St. Pierre has wins over Matt Hughes (twice), B.J. Penn (twice), Frank Trigg, Matt Serra, Josh Koscheck, and Jon Fitch. Alves should be regarded as a UFC veteran himself, having fought eleven times in the UFC. Alves lost two of his first four fights in the UFC, but has since won seven in a row to earn a shot at the welterweight championship. Alves' last three opponents have been Karo Parisyan, Matt Hughes, and Josh Koscheck. Alves has been impressive in his most recent fights and has a reputation of one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC. GSP is in his prime right now and will come out victorious. St-Pierre by fourth round TKO.

The main event of the night is a rematch between Interim Champion Frank Mir and Champion Brock Lesnar. This match is for the undisputed Heavyweight Championship, meaning it is also scheduled for five rounds. In the first fight between Mir and Lesnar, Lesnar was overpowering Mir in the opening seconds, hurting and pounding Mir on the ground. Back on their feet, Lesnar hurt him with another right hand. Lesnar went to finish him but got caught in a kneebar and had to submit. Lesnar was impressive but Mir won by first round submission. When the two fought each other the first time, Lesnar had only one other MMA fight while Mir was a former UFC heavyweight champion. Lesnar was a WWE superstar for three years before he left wrestling to try to pursue a career in the NFL. After a failed stint, Lesnar focused his attention on MMA. After losing his first UFC fight against Mir at UFC 81, Lesnar bounced back with a dominating decision win over Heath Herring at UFC 87. Lesnar would get a heavyweight title shot, and made the most of it, knocking out legend Randy Couture in the second round and winning the Heavyweight Championship. Mir is a veteran in the octagon, fighting a total of 13 times in the UFC. Mir beat Tim Sylvia by submission at UFC 48, to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Mir would later be stripped of the title because of a motorcycle accident. Mir had his most impressive performance to date against Antonio Nogueira, at UFC 92, showing much improved striking, better conditioning, and was landing at will, until the referee stopped the fight in round two. With the victory, Mir became the Interim Champion. All three of Mir's losses have been by strikes in the first round. Mir holds a big advantage in experience, having fought eleven more matches than Lesnar and for six more years. Both fighters have improved since the first time they fought each other. Lesnar will be more cautious and will do his best to not take this fight to the ground. At stand-up, Lesnar holds the advantage, as was shown in the first fight. Lesnar by second round KO.