Following the hangover from the Pride “Final Conflict” show, I have recouped just in time to prepare myself for the UFC 10th anniversary show on Nov. 21st. With the UFC attempting to compete with Pride’s most recent fight card, the 10th anniversary show was establishing itself as a premiere card with the likes of Sylvia, Mir, Hughes, Thomas, Tank, and even Pat Smith. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, many of the fights have been rescheduled, removed or altered, leaving behind a card that does not exactly live up to the hype of a 10th anniversary show. Having said that, there still are plenty of veterans and interesting match-ups, certainly making this card a worth while watch.

Matt Hughes vs. Frank “Twinkle Toes” Trigg

Headlining UFC 45 is a very interesting match between arguably the best welterweight in the world, in Matt Hughes, and an opponent who I believe could put the spark back in Matt’s training, the one and only Frank Trigg. Both competitors are your prototypical college experienced wrestlers that mainly utilize the ground and pound plan of attack for victory. Both work and train under exceptional teams (Hughes with Miletich Fighting Systems and Trigg with the R.A.W Team). Each even have the distinct pleasure of defeating fighters that had at one time defeated their respective opponents, (Trigg having defeated Dennis Hallman who defeated Hughes twice, and Hughes having defeated Hayato “Mach” Sakurai who K.O’d Trigg in Japan). Trigg has for some time now requested a fight in the cage against Hughes and, as luck has it, in his first UFC appearance, he will get his golden opportunity.

Stylistically, this fight has the makings of a Hughes vs. Sean Sherk match-up, whoever can get the other on the ground, will have the best chance of winning. I believe Trigg may have the slight edge in standup ability, but no one pounds and wears you down better than Hughes on the ground. Hughes did display improved standup in his title defense with Sherk and Gil Castillo. I see this fight going the same way as the other Hughes title defenses in the past, with Hughes controlling his opponent on the ground, while pounding away within the guard. Trigg can make the fight interesting if he can obtain the dominate top position and utilize his ground and pound tactics that has brought him much success to this point. Hughes did get submitted twice by Hallman earlier in his career so its not impossible to believe that Trigg could not submit him, but those submission skills have not yet been seen. Hughes has faced much better competition in the past and has too much experience in the cage, while Trigg will be making his UFC debut in a championship fight, which will not help his cause. In the end, I expect Hughes to be just too strong to be submitted, too experienced to be knocked out, he will eventually wear down Trigg in a slow and grueling fight until a referee stoppage midway through the 4th round.

David “Tank” Abbott vs. Wesley “Cabbage” Correira

3rd times a charm? It is a possibly this time around as David “Tank” Abbott gets one more, and most likely his last, comeback attempt against the perfect opponent for his style. Already behind the eight ball with a forgettable 0 and 2 record in his two most recent outings, this is a true “must win” battle for the man once feared by many in the Octagon. Wesley “Cabbage” Correira brings a standup game and a chin that should be just the right mix to test Tank and see if father time truly has passed him by. Does he or doesn’t he have the ability to hang with today’s cross-trained athletes?

This fight is one that I am quite interested in watching. It has a similar concept behind the matchmaking as the Pedro Rizzo Vs Tre Telligman fight. Set up strength versus strength, and sit back and watch the fireworks go off in the Octagon. I always thought that Tank had pretty decent wrestling skills, he does have some College Wrestling experience, and was truly surprised with his two most recent performances being quickly submitted. But as we know, good wrestling skills do not always equate to excellent submission defense. Zuffa tried to market Tank and his “600 pound jackhammer fists”, but two straight submission losses, (to Mir and Kimo) have stymied their efforts. Now Zuffa tries one last time and gives Tank what he has been wanting all along, someone that wants, and is willing, to fight standing up. Tank still believes that he can beat opponents that are willing to stand and brawl and Cabbage is more then happy to oblige.

Cabbage brings many intangibles that make this fight very interesting. In his previous two UFC appearances, he has had standup wars with Tim Sylvia and Sean Alvarez, and was 1 and 1. He took the bombs from Sylvia and if not for his corner throwing in the towel, would have kept fighting. Alvarez was a big, strong guy and still could not bring him down, he was ultimately pounded until the fight was stopped. Cabbage is tough as nails and is willing to trade with anyone. His iron chin, fighting style, and raising star status in the UFC made him a perfect opponent to make one last bull rush with the marketability of Tank Abbott.

Enough of the analysis, the time has come for my prediction. There is absolutely no way this fight can go the distance. In all likelihood, Tank does not have the stamina he used to, and we all know he didn’t have much to start off with. Even though Tank loves to brawl, he has not had success with strong strikers, even in his prime. Scott Ferrozzo out muscled him, Vitor Belfort was too fast and drilled him, Maurice Smith kicked him into submission and Pedro Rizzo set him up with legs kicks before knocking him out with a straight right. Having said that, there is always the “punchers chance” and it is possible that Tank could pull out the victory. Against Correira. Cabbage showed holes in his defense that Sylvia exposed and Tank should be able to as well. The real question is, can Tank take the punishment to expose the holes before being knocked out? Sylvia was able to take the punishment and give it as well. Can Tank do the same? I doubt it. I think Cabbage is just too strong, too determined, and too young for Tank to seriously hurt and should K.O Tank late in round 1, but expect fireworks from Tank before going down with the ship.

Phil “The NY Bad Ass” Baroni vs. Evan Tanner

From Tough Man, to UFC fighter, Phil Baroni, finally back from pectoral surgery, steps back into the Octagon to face the always dangerous and skilled Evan Tanner. This is a classic match-up of two strong wrestlers who have had success with their striking within the Octagon. This contest has great importance to both competitors. If Baroni wins he could possibly face the winner of the Lindland/Vitale fight for a chance at the Middleweight championship. A win by Tanner, on the other hand, could propel Tanner up the ladder and position himself once again among the elite of the weight class after a misstep against Rich Franklin at Light heavyweight.

Phil Baroni’s cocky attitude, energy, and exciting ring presence have made him a fan favorite in the UFC. His lightening quick hands and superior strength reminded some of Vitor Belfort when he first emerged onto the MMA scene. Baroni first won a decision victory over Curtis Stout in his UFC debut, suffered a setback against Lindland, then made quick work of two different opponents in Dave Menne and Amar Suloev, blasting each into tomorrow with thunderous punches to where if you blinked, you missed it. He did struggle against Lindland and although both fights were very close, he did lose due to being controlled and pounded on the ground. Baroni’s game plan will be to keep the fight standing, a la Rich Franklin, and pick apart Tanner from the outside. Baroni does have some college wrestling in his arsenal and is willing to take it to the ground if need be. If Tanner tries to box with Baroni, it could be a long night for the former number 1 contender for the Light Heavyweight Championship and an end to his UFC career.

Evan Tanner was once considered a top fighter in the Light Heavyweight division. He reeled off numerous impressive KO or submission victories culminating in a title shot against former light heavyweight champion, Tito Ortiz. Tanner has awesome ground and pound abilities, when striking in the guard with elbows, as well as the ability to work well from the clinch eventually working inside with devastating knees. In his most recent outing against Rich Franklin, Tanner seemed sluggish, out of the fight, and he was badly outgunned. Will we see a repeat performance, of his disappointing outing against Franklin, or will we see a revitalized Evan Tanner? We will just have to wait and see.

The outcome of this fight all depends on who shows up ready to fight with a strong game plan. It will be interesting to see if Baroni’s pectoral surgery will affect his hand speed in any way, will Tanner attempt to turn this into a slugfest? I honestly believe that Tanner knows he cannot fight the same fight he did against Franklin and will not make the same mistake twice. Tanner will go for the take down and rely on the old ground and pound. I believe that he strikes harder and more effectively than Lindland and will follow the game plan of taking the fight to the ground and pounding out the victory. I’m going out on a limb and predicting the upset of the night with Tanner taking the unanimous decision victory over an enraged Baroni.

Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo vs. Ricco Rodriguez

Now that Tim Sylvia has been stripped of the UFC Heavyweight title, why not have some elimination bouts to set up some possible scenarios for the future UFC Heavyweight champ? In a Heavyweight showdown Pedro Rizzo takes on jiu Jitsu/ground and pound specialist Ricco Rodriguez. Both have much to prove to the public and the MMA community, and are coming off different types of performances. A win here could still catapult each back into the Heavyweight title picture despite recent inconsistent efforts.

Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo was at one time one of the most feared strikers in all of MMA. I still remember when he knocked out Tank Abbott in Brazil and thought to myself, this guy is for real. He followed up that performance with impressive wins over Dan Severn, Mark Coleman, and Josh Barnett. Recently, his performances have told a different story and Rizzo has suggested that he was seeing a sports psychologist to get over the mental block that was truly at the bottom of the problem. Truthfully, I did not see the urgency that Zuffa did by serving up Tre Telligman as bait to draw out the old Rizzo, which at times came close to backfiring. Honestly, losing to Couture twice was acceptable and two of his other loses were winnable ones. Gan McGee’s legs were almost ready to go before he landed his haymaker that changed the tone of the fight. The Vladimir Matyushenko fight was just Rizzo not engaging against a fighter that Arlovski proved cannot take a true heavyweight punch. Rizzo’s confidence should rise from the Telligman fight and I expect the fists to fly when he steps back into the ring.

Ricco Rodriguez comes off a solid, but losing, performance against former Pride Heavyweight Champion Antonio Nogueira. Ricco utilizes his size and strength, coupled with his Jujitsu skills better than any other Heavyweight in the UFC. His bread and butter is to get opponents on the ground and utilize his size and striking ability to neutralize and KO or submit opponents. His only weakness is his ability, or inability, to take a punch a la Tim Sylvia. Truthfully, I think that punch and the follow up punches would have knocked out most Heavyweight fighters, with the exception of Cabbage. Rodriguez proved has is still a top contender in his most recent fight and looks to improve his record against a game Pedro Rizzo.

The outcome of this fight depends on two things. 1) Can Rizzo effectively stop the Rodriguez takedown efforts and 2) Can Rizzo effectively punish Rodriguez while standing up? Personally, I thought that Rizzo did a decent effort trying to avoid Matyushenko’s takedowns and that’s not an easy task. The difference between this fight and the Matyushenko fight is that Rizzo should and will engage knowing more than just a title shot in the future is on the line, his career in the UFC is as well. I think Rizzo will be taken down but will deliver enough punishment standing up to pull out a razor thin split decision over Rodriguez.

“Ruthless” Robbie Lawler vs. Chris Lytle

UFC 45 also marks the return of former welterweight contender and UFC golden boy Robbie Lawler. After successfully rehabbing a hip flexor injury sustained at the hands of Pete Spratt at UFC 42, Lawler makes his long awaited return back into the Octagon and hopefully back up the welterweight ranks. In his way, is newcomer Chris Lytle. Lytle, an experienced MMA fighter with a loss at UFC 28 against Ben Earwood, will attempt to play spoiler in the comeback trail of Lawler.

Robbie Lawler exploded onto the MMA scene back at UFC 37 with a decision victory in a war against a very tough Aaron Riley. Since then, he reeled off TKO victories over Tiki Ghosen and Steve Berger. His aggressive stand-up style (6 of 7 victories by KO) made him a crowd and Zuffa favorite. Some insiders believe Zuffa was hand-feeding Lawler opponents he knew Lawler would successfully defeat, thus increasing the crowd appeal and marketability of Lawler. That plan backfired when Lawler faced a very game and dangerous Pete Spratt, whose standup is one of the best in the business. Both traded bombs throughout the fight, until Lawler was injured. Will the hip flexor injury affect Lawler? It is a question that will be answered come Nov 21st.

Chris Lytle brings a not so impressive 12-9 record into the Octagon, but does propose an interesting challenge to Lawler. He has successfully gone the distance with some very good and experienced fighters losing decisions in both Dave Menne and Shonie Carter, He also had a split decision loss to Cesar Gracie black belt and UFC veteran Nick Diaz, proving he has the ability to fend off the ground game if need be. What makes him an interesting challenge is how he has faired against experienced strikers leading up to this fight. Lytle trains extensively in boxing and Muay Thai. He has a KO victory over shared opponent Aaron Riley, the same Riley that Lawler was not able to KO. He also traded with striker Laverne Clark to a decision victory where it seemed Clark who is a known boxer, did not want to trade. Lytle comes in as the underdog but faces an excellent opportunity facing a Robbie Lawler who is returning from not only a serious injury, but also the first loss of his MMA career.

This fight should be the most exciting of this UFC fight card. Everyone knows Lawler loves to strike and Lytle will be happy to trade with him. I see both these guys trading bombs throughout the first round and well into the second. Lytle’s heart will keep him in the fight, but I believe Lawler will be too hungry to get back on top to be beaten on Friday. Look for a very exciting fight, but Lawler should end the fight with strikes and a referee stoppage late into round 2.

Matt “The Law” Lindland vs. Falaniko “Niko” Vitale

A rematch of one of the strangest finishes ever in a MMA fight, Matt Lindland gets his chance for revenge against the man that landed on his head during a suplex, Niko Vitale. Lindland went into the first fight as a huge favorite and had problems with Vitale’s strength and take down defense. Lindland was having problems throughout the fight, leading up to the suplex attempt, which eventually led to his downfall. Lindland has not fought since that fight, while Vitale does have one KO victory since. “The Law” is a decorated silver medalist in Greco Roman Wrestling at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. His wrestling ability is second to none in this weight class and it is no secret that it is his bread and butter from the get go. Team Quest with whom he trains, is on a huge wining streak of late with Randy Couture defeating Chuck Liddell, and, Tito Ortiz while capturing the Light Heavyweight crown and Dan Henderson K.Oing, the man that beat Lindland, Murilo Bustamante. Training with a quality team like Team Quest, no doubt has benefited Lindland in his transition to MMA and he should be ready to go on Friday night against Vitale.

Niko Vitale is a hard nosed Jujitsu fighter out of Hawaii. He trains with Egan Inoue at Grappling Unlimited, and his jujitsu skills are very polished. Vitale has fashioned a 15-2 record, many by submission or KO, jumping within numerous organizations ranging from Superbrawl to Rage in the Cage. He was successful the first time he fought Lindland, positioning himself and utilizing his strength to get Lindland off of his usual takedown and control game plan and Vitale should know what to expect from Lindland in the rematch. He will attempt to keep the fight standing where Lindland has proven to be less effective, and go for a KO early or a submission as the fight goes on.

Lindland has a terrific corner and too much national and international wrestling experience to not have learned from the first fight. With Couture and Henderson in his corner, you know he will come out ready to go. I think Vitale will attempt to soften up Lindland standing up, while trying to avoid any types of takedowns until at least into round 2. There, Vitale will hope to utilize his jujitsu skills, like Bustamante did, and attempt to submit a tired Lindland. Lindland, on the other hand, will go with the game plan of getting the takedowns early, securing position and pounding Vitale throughout the entire fight like he did against Baroni in their second fight. Lindland was especially impressive learning from the first fight with Baroni and successfully coming back the second time with a more decisive victory. The real difference here, I believe, will be the corners and how they trained. Lindland is backed up by an awesome corner, Team quest will no doubt have him ready to successfully pull out this victory. I see Lindland getting the takedowns, securing position and pulling out the unanimous decision. Vitale will be very game and will test Lindland, but Lindland’s wrestling ability will once again pull him thorough this fight.

Nick Agallar vs. Yves Edwards

With Din Thomas going down with a hand injury, Nick Agallar steps up to face the ever-improving Yves Edwards. Undoubtedly a potential win against Thomas would have been more favorable towards Edwards climb up the lightweight ladder, but this fight is still a good match-up for Edwards. Agallar is a very well-rounded fighter with a solid record to boot. Agallar who is coming in on very short notice, with nothing to lose, and should create a very exciting to watch

.Nick Agallar is a freestyle fighter out of Wisconsin where he trains with UFC veteran Dave Strasser, and will step into the Octagon for the first time in his career. Stasser knows the importance of being successful in your first appearance and will have Agallar primed and ready to face Edwards who will be the toughest challenge of his career. Agallar is a very experienced fighter, fighting in various organizations such as Hook n Shoot and the Freestyle Fighting Championships. He has an impressive 10-2 record and has been on a roll as of late. He has a solid all-around game, loves to apply pressure on his opponents, and has the “keep coming” approach. All those factors look good on paper.

Yves Edwards is a Thug-jitsu expert, ( his own brand of Jiu Jitsu) , from Woodlands, TX. He has steadily improved his game throughout his career in the UFC and is now a top contender for the Lightweight Championship. He thoroughly destroyed Eddie Ruiz in his last time in the Octagon, but recently suffered a setback loss in the Shooto Organization. He has a strong standup with K.O power and submission victories to his record. A victory here could lead to down the road to another possible four man tournament format with Edwards, Thomas, Franca, and BJ Penn battling it out for the Lightweight championship.

Strasser will ensure that Agallar will be ready to go against Edwards in this fight. I think Agallar will try his hand at the standup with Edwards, but once hurt will try to take the fight to the ground. Although Agallar is a tough opponent, Edwards is in a completely different category and just has too much experience. He has improved at an alarmingly rapid pace, and every time he steps into the Octagon he looks like a new fighter. Edwards will punish a very game and tough Agallar standing up and on the ground, eventually leading to a unanimous decision victory.

Keith “Rock” Rockel vs. Chris Ligouri

In one of the preliminary bouts of the night, two local fighters battle it out in what will be the biggest showcase of both of their careers. Rockel and Ligouri are both coming off losses ( Rockel to Denis Kang, and Ligouri to Pete Sell respectively ) and are both looking to get back onto the winning track again. Rockel has appeared in the UFC before losing to heavy-handed veteran Eugene Jackson, a man not known for his ground game, by guillotine choke at UFC 35. Ligouri, on the other hand, has spent the bulk of his career in the amateur ranks, and is just 2-1 in professional MMA fights. This fight should be a solid battle between two local fighters with Rockel taking the contest by submission (probably armbar) in round 2..-MMARR-