UFC 102 Fight Card: Preview and Predictions for Ultimate Fighting Championship

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will present UFC 102, on August 29, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. The fight card does not feature any championship bouts, but it does feature solid fights throughout the main card. The co-main event will be dangerous Keith Jardine against brazilian jiu-jitsu master Thiago Silva. The main event of UFC 102 will be the return of the legendary Randy Couture against top heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

The first bout on the main card is a light heavyweight bout between Krzysztof "The Polish Experiment" Soszynski and Brandon "The Truth" Vera. Soszynski replaces Matt Hamill, who had to pull out of the bout due to injury. Soszynski is a much more experienced opponent than Hamill would of been for Vera. Soszynski has fought only three times in the UFC, winning all three, but has more experience in other organizations, especially the IFL (International Fight League), fighting a total of seven times there. Soszynski is an improving fighter, who hasn't lost in his last six fights. Soszynski made his UFC debut at The Ultimate Finale 8, submitting Shane Primm in the second round. He next fought Brian Stann, submitting him in the first round. Both submission wins won "Submission of the Night Honors." In his most recent match, he knocked out Andre Gusmao. But Vera will be the toughest match of Soszynski's career. Vera got his MMA start in WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting, winning their heavyweight championship. Vera won his first four fights in the UFC, beating Frank Mir and Assuerio Silva, along the way. But Vera picked up back-to-back losses against Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum. After those two losses, Vera dropped down in weight and made his light heavyweight debut. He won his first fight at that weight category, before losing a split decision to Keith Jardine. Vera most recently defeated Mike Patt by TKO in the second round. Vera has fought the better competition, and has more power. Vera by unanimous decision.

The second match is a middleweight fight between Nate "The Great" Marquardt and Demian Maia. Marquardt is a very experienced veteran in the octagon and MMA, having 36 pro fights, and will have his tenth UFC fight at UFC 102. Marquardt made his name in the Pancrase organization, winning their middleweight title three times, and defended it many more. Marquardt has an impressive record of 7-2 in the UFC, with wins over Jeremy Horn, Martin Kampmann, and most recently Wilson Gouveia. His two losses have came against Anderson Silva and Thales Laites. Maia may be the second toughest opponent of Marquardt's career. Maia is a second degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Maia is undefeated in his mixed martial arts career and has a record of 10-0. He also has impressively won his five fights in the UFC, submitting all five of his opponents, three of them in the first round. Maia is a submission expert, with eight of his ten wins by submission. Maia has beaten some of the best UFC fighters in Ryan Jensen, Ed Herman, Jason MacDonald, Nate Quarry, and Chael Sonnen. Maia is a fight or two away, from a title shot. Maia will continue his string of submissions and dominating performances. Marquardt will make a valiant effort, but fall short. Maia is a fighter to look out for in the future. Maia by second round submission.

The third fight is a middleweight bout when Chris "The Crippler" Leben takes on Jake Rosholt. Leben is one of the most colorful and controversial fighters in UFC history. Leben got his start in the UFC as a cast member on the original Ultimate Fighter. He won his first five fights in the UFC, beating such guys as Patrick Cote, Edwin Dewees, and Jorge Rivera along the way. In his next fight, he would face Anderson Silva, and would be stopped in 49 seconds, because of knees. After knocking out Jorge Santiago in the second round, Leben would lose back-to-back fights for the first time in his career against Jason MacDonald and Kalib Starnes. But Leben rebounded nicely with two wins over limited opposition. Leben last fought against Michael Bisping, losing a hard-fought unanimous decision. Leben will be making his return to the octagon after serving a 9-month suspension for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. Rosholt won his first five MMA matches before getting a contract in the UFC earlier this year. In his first UFC fight, Rosholt was submitted in the first round by Dan Miller for his first professional MMA loss. He will have his second UFC match against Leben. Rosholt is the favorite in this match, but Leben will pull off the upset, and experience will be the major factor. Leben by second round KO.

The co-main event is a light heavyweight matchup between "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine and Thiago Silva. Jardine is another UFC veteran with ten fights in the octagon. Jardine is one of the few guys who has fought the best in the division with mixed results. He won his first two fights in the UFC before losing a decision to Stephan Bonnar. He earned the biggest win of his career, at the time, with a first round knock out over Forrest Griffin, but followed it up with a first round knock out loss to Houston Alexander. But shockingly, in his next fight, he defeated future hall-of-famer Chuck Liddell by split decision. But Jardine's stock would fall when he would be knocked out by Wanderlai Silva in 36 seconds. He has split his last two fights, with a split decision win against Brandon Vera, followed by a unanimous decision loss to Quinton Jackson. In his last six fights, Jardine has three wins and three losses. Thiago Silva, just like Jardine, is a puncher, who has ten knockouts in thirteen wins. Silva has fought five times in the octagon, beating James Irvin, Tomasz Drwal, Houston Alexander, and Antonio Mendes, before fighting Lyoto Machida. Both Silva and Machida were undefeated and 13-0 at the time of the fight. Machida would take Silva to the ground and knock him out cold with a single punch, giving him the first loss of his career. This will be Silva's first fight since the Machida loss. Silva will survive some shaky moments from Jardine and knock him out. Silva by second round KO.

The main event of the night is a heavyweight bout between Randy "The Natural" Couture and Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira. Couture is probably the biggest legend in UFC history. He has had a storied career and is still fighting strong for a 46-year-old. Couture got his start twelve years ago at UFC 13, winning the heavyweight tournament. His fight against Nogueira will be the 20th UFC fight of his career. Couture has won three UFC heavyweight belts, and two UFC light heavyweight belts in his illustrious career. He has beaten the likes of Vitor Belfort, Jeremy Horn, Kevin Randelman, Pedro Rizzo, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Tim Sylvia, and Gabriel Gonzaga. Couture lost his latest fight against the much bigger and more powerful Brock Lesnar, by second round TKO, and lost the UFC heavyweight title. Nogueira is also a great fighter, who made his MMA start, ten years ago. Nogueira, who is thirteen years younger than Couture, has fought most of his MMA career in other organizations, mostly in PRIDE and Rings. This will be only his fourth fight in the UFC, starting in late 2007. Nogueira has a current MMA record of 31 wins, with only five losses. He has fought the best in the heavyweight division, from Jeremy Horn, Dan Henderson, Gary Goodridge, Mark Coleman, Heath Herring, Bob Sapp, Fedor Emelianenko, to Mirko Cro Cop, Josh Barnett, and Ricco Rodriguez. Nogueira won his first two UFC fights against Heath Herring and Tim Sylvia. He submitted Sylvia in the third round to win the interim UFC heavyweight championship. But in his last UFC fight, Noguiera was stopped in the second round by underdog Frank Mir. This was the first time that Noguiera was stopped in his entire career. Both fighters are coming off knockout losses. Couture has the advantage in power and speed. Couture will shock the world again, and prove again that age is just a number. Couture by third round TKO.