This Saturday night in Las Vegas, UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz 2 will take place and overall the fight card looks very promising. Of course, the main even between Liddell and Ortiz has been anticipated ever since Tito’s return to the UFC was announced. Well, the waiting is over, and this Saturday night the fight happens.
Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz I really just hope that this fight makes it into at least the third round. As exciting as they may be, I’d really like to see one of these main event fights last more than 3 minutes. As far as the outcome, I’ve learned my lesson about betting against Chuck Liddell.
I do see this fight being a lot more evenly matched than the first time Liddell and Ortiz fought. Ortiz is ready and focused for this fight. This fight is the whole reason Tito returned to the UFC. If you watched the press conference video I posted a few days ago, you didn’t see the usual “press conference” Tito who is playing to the media and taking comical jabs at his opponent. You saw a focused Tito, who realizes how serious and important this fight is.
On the other hand, you have Chuck Liddell who is always ready to fight, no matter who the opponent is. Even more so now that it is Tito, Chuck knows of all the title defenses he has had in the past, this fight is the most important. A loss to Tito would mean several things: (1) Chuck would have to listen to Tito run his mouth about holding the belt for as long as it took Dana White and Joe Silva to setup Liddell vs. Ortiz III, (2) a loss to Tito would allow all the talk to resurface about Chuck poking Tito in the eye in the first fight and that is why he won, (3) some of Chuck’s “luster” and his dominating run would fade.
I see this being a great battle. Tito doesn’t like to get hit and will do all he can to take Chuck down. Chuck doesn’t like to stay down and gets up very easily and would love to lay Tito flat on the mat with an overhand right. Like I said, I just hope this makes it past the first round either way. Winner: Chuck Liddell
Andre Arlovski vs. Marcio Cruz This fight is actually a very compelling matchup and should be an excellent fight. Andre Arlovski is coming off two straight losses to Tim Sylvia and has virtually fallen off the map as far as popularity is concerned. For those fans who onced wondered what a Fedor vs. Arlovksi fight might turn out like, those thoughts have long since passed. Now is the time when we will see what type of fighter Andre Arlovski really is and how good of an MMA fighter he can be.
Marcio Cruz is still relatively new to the MMA game, but is well-known in the grappling world. Cruz’s last fight was at UFC 59 back in April where he lost a split decision to Jeff Monson. I think Cruz has an excellent chance of taking Arlovski down and handling him on the ground with his submission skills. Arlovski needs to come out strong and throw his punches early and often and make a strong statement in this fight. Winner: Marcio Cruz
Forrest Griffin vs. Keith Jardine Another great matchup and this could end up being the best fight of the night, depending on how the main event turns out. Forrest’s skills and talents are well known at this point and he is looked at as a solid competitor in the Light Heavyweight division. Keith Jardine is somewhat lesser known, but in my opinion, just as talented as Forrest Griffin. I think Jardine’s time spent with Greg Jackson is going to play a big part in this fight, and Jardine will give Griffin a much tougher fight than most people are expecting. Winner: Keith Jardine
Michael Bisping vs. Eric Schafer Michael Bisping is finally making his UFC debut after winning The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 back in July. Bisping will take his undefeated 11-0 record into the octagon when he meets submission specialist Eric Schafer. Bisping really is a very gifted and talented fighter, and will now get a chance to prove himself here in the US. Schafer needs to take Bisping down early and hope for a quick submission, or he could be in for a long night of punishment. Winner: Michael Bisping
Chris Leben vs. Jason MacDonald Chris Leben makes his first UFC Pay-Per-View appearance after fighting on the first 6 UFC Fight Night cards. Leben is still a good puncher, but many of his weaknesses were exposed during his loss to Anderson Silva; then again, Anderson Silva exposes many fighters weaknesses. Jason MacDonald is making his second appearance in the UFC after a dominating victory over Ed Herman at UFC Fight Night 7. MacDonald is an experience, well-gifted fighter and I think he is more than ready to fight and defeat Chris Leben. Winner: Jason MacDonald
Yushin Okami vs. Rory Singer Winner: Yushin Okami
Thiago Alves vs. Tony DeSouza Winner: Thiago Alves
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Carmelo Marrero Winner: Carmelo Marrero
Anthony Perosh vs. Christian Wellisch Winner: Christian Wellisch
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I agree with most of your perdictions except Cruz and Jardine. Arlovski is going to be looking to make his way back into title contention and will be very determined. He has the better stand up and is capable of handling himself on the ground. I think if he shows a dominant performance this fight he will be next in line for Crocop. That’s the fight I want to see, forget Tim and his belt because he has no chance of beating Crocop. Forrest in my opinion has better stand up and submissions than Keith. He also hac better cardio witch will probably come into play if the fight goes into the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Jardine being in Diego camp I’m sure has helped him tremendously but I don’t see him winning. His punches are to slow and cumbersome and I’ve never seen him show he has submission skills to compete with Griffin. Anyway this looks to be a good fight card and an entertaining weekend.
I know Arlovksi is going to be determined and looking to return to his “former glory” but I think sometimes that can work against a fighter. Too much pressure is put upon themself and it can backfire.
OH COME ON PEOPLE ANDREI IS DEF. GONNA TAKE THIS ONE … CRUZ DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH TIME PUT IN TO TAKE ARLOVSKI.. I MEAN ARLOVSKI STOMPED VLADIMIR MATYUSHENKO WHO IS A MILLION TIMES BETTER THAN CRUZ WHEN IT COMES TO THE GROUND … SHOULD BE A FUN ONE TO WATCH… QUICK KO
wow! your going out on a limb picking cruz Dr J. I cant go against my boy arlovski, people look down on him because of his losses to Sylvia. Personally i think that says more about Sylvia than it does about Arlovski. Tim is a tough guy man! so is Arlovski, i believe he will destroy Cruz.
Forrest vs Jardine will be an interesting fight to see, in my opinion they are about even in their skills. This fight will be decided by whos the tougher guy and who wants it more. Personally i think Forrest will come out on top this time.
Bisping my boy from Cyprus, ofcourse he gon win hehe betta axe somebody.
I dont really like chris leben, I hope he gets his azz handed to him.
Chuck-Tito we examined it a thousand times in other threads lol. If tito can take him down in the center of the octagon, and not against the fence, he might win. Otherwise, chuck will dominate the standup and get back to his feet if hes near the fence. Though it will be nice to see how titos growth and determination matchs up against the most devastating fighter in the UFC.
to all MMA junkies!
MERRY XMAS! AND A HAPPY NEWYEAR!
I knew picking Cruz would “stir up the pot” but that’s not why I did it. I really think Cruz has a very legitimate shot at beating Arlovski, and if Arlovski doesn’t show up with his “A” game, he could have his third loss in a row handed to him.
i think arlovski almost always brings his a game and if he wasnt getting scared of getting knocked out again by tim sylvia he would have the belt right now the truth is arlovski is the only glimmer of hope i see in the heavyweight divison that the ufc has before the pride guys take over he trains like a animal and is a animal in the cage and i dont think we should count him out just yet
I’m not counting Arlovski out…
I’m just not picking him to win this fight.
[...] MMA HQ: UFC 66 Preview [...]
Well it looks like Tyson won’t be fighting anyone anytime soon. He was arrested this morning in Arizona leaving a night club and found with a couple of bags of cocaine. He is facing some serious felonies that will probably end any chance of him making a come back. Oh well I didn’t like the idea of Pride putting on boxing matches anyway.
Arlovski had a bad string.. he got confident so he got caught in the first fight, then he got injured in round 1 of the second so he basically went into survival mode, I think it should have been a draw. If he doesn’t get injured again, I think he will pull it off. As far as Tyson goes, he was the greatest of the 80’s regardless of his lack of character. The world doesn’t care about boxing anymore, it’s a dying horse and MMA is where it’s at, and Tyson would get crushed by anyone his weight in mma. He is becoming a headline joke much like Michael Jackson ….
Sorry people. I got to take Tito and “the pitbull” in this UFC. Looks like I’m going against the writer of this wonderful tribute to MMA. LET THE PUNISHMENT BEGIN!! (I hope)
lol, ok so Tyson was found with blow.. its not really hurting his reputation any more than it already is. I dont think it came as much of a surprise to anyone, and he didnt lose that much face, cuz he doesnt have much left, hes gonna have to kill someone to make any real impact. Like OJ. Tysons done, hes been done for a while..
ITS FIGHT NIGHT!!!!! im up early like its xmas morning hehe cant wait to see this!! Good luck Tito!! your gonna need it…