Coming off the heels of a lackluster UFC 45 Revolution show, the UFC attempts to regroup and reestablish itself as the number one mixed martial arts event in North America. UFC 46 at the Mandalay Bay Casino has some new names, intriguing match-ups, and two rematches from prior UFC events within this card. Headlining UFC 46 will be the new UFC poster boy and ageless wonder Randy Couture taking on Vitor “The Phemon” Belfort , which is sure to be one of the most anticipated rematches in recent memory. Each fight has it’s own implications, fighters positioning themselves for possible future title shots, while others are making their debut with hopes not to disappoint. Hopefully, UFC 46 will be exciting and action-packed, picking up where UFC 45, and the hype surrounding that event, had left off.

Wes “The Project” Sims vs. Frank Mir

Built as the rematch from UFC 43, there is obviously no bad blood lost between these two combatants. Frank Mir and Wes Sims will once again make the attempt to settle their differences in the octagon and see who really would have won their first fight. Sims publicly stated that he kicked Mir, and obviously breaking the rules, in retaliation for Mir eye gouging him during the fight. Rumor has it that Sims had to have eye surgery shortly after the first fight to correct a torn eyelid sustained in the fight. This rematch was originally intended for UFC 45, but Sims broke his arm in training and that left Mir with no opponent. Fast forward to the present and we now have the rematch that everyone has been waiting for.

Mir trains in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu under Ricardo Pires out of Las Vegas. He emerged onto the MMA scene when he submitted a previously unbeaten Brazilian Roberto Traven by armbar and the veteran Pete Williams by shoulder lock. Just as everyone thought he was the next heir of the Heavyweight title, he faced a very driven Ian Freeman at UFC 38 and was beaten soundly, unable to continue due to strikes. Mir has made it a point that the loss to Freeman was his coming of age and vowed that he would not let that happen again. Since the loss, he has reeled off wins against Tank Abbott (by toe hold) and the aforementioned DQ victory over Sims. Mir is determined to prove that he does belong in the upper echelon of the heavyweight division and intends to prove that with a sound victory over Sims at UFC 46.

Big Wes Sims hails out of Columbus Ohio and trains with Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman at the Hammer House. Sims is known for his incredible power and vicious power bombs that he has displayed in his previous MMA fights. Sims does have some wrestling and submission skills, and boasts two victories by submission on his record. Training with Coleman and Randleman, Sims will no doubt be fully prepared to know how to escape any type of submission that Mir can throw at him. Size and strength has caused problems for submission specialists in the past (see Sylvia/Rodriguez and McGee/Dantes), and this could prove to be true once again.

This is an interesting rematch that I am looking forward to seeing. I thought that Mir would have had his way in the first fight and was expecting a submission sometime into round 1. Although Mir did have Sims in danger at various times, he was unable to finish the big man. Sims stayed calm and weathered the storm very well and did not crack under the onslaught of Mir. If Sims had not lost his temper, it is possible that the first fight could have ended completely different than it did. I believe that size and power will play a key role in determining who will win this battle. I was impressed with how Sims was able to absorb the punishment in the first fight and I think he will be a little more conservative in the second fight, not rushing in and getting immediately getting taken down. If he can keep the fight standing and avoid having to go to the ground, I think Sims could finish the fight. If Mir can get Sims back down again like he did in the first fight, he should be able to successfully submit Sims. Sims will not submit easily and would probably suffer a broken arm or risk being choked completely out before tapping. I always predict one possible upset on each card and I am going to call my upset of the night with Sims defeating Mir by strikes midway through round 3.

BJ “The Prodigy” Penn vs. Matt Hughes

This match pits the “Pound for Pound” best fighter in the world in UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes against former top Lightweight contender BJ Penn. On paper, this fight is a complete mismatch. Hughes has fought and pounded numerous contenders in the welterweight division and has come out of each with barely a scratch on his face. He has defeated top-notch competition in Carlos Newton twice, Gil Castillo, Hayato Sakurai, Sean Sherk, and Frank Trigg, the who’s who list of the Welterweight division. Penn contended for the Lightweight championship and came close to submitting Jens Pulver, beat top contenders in Din Thomas, Matt Serra, Takanori Gomi, and recently fought Caol Uno to a draw in his last UFC appearance. Although Penn has defeated some tops names in the Lightweight division, it will be interesting to see if the move up in weight class will affect his abilities considering he will be fighting with almost twenty pounds more weight than he is used to fighting with.

In order to select a winner in this match, we must first analyze the strengths of each fighter. Everyone knows Hughes is the dominate wrestler out of Team Militech, who has improved his striking ability and vastly improving his submission game, displaying those improved skills when he submitted Trigg at UFC 45. He is very experienced and a long standing veteran of the UFC, making his 6th defense of the Welterweight title. Hughes will also have the luxury of having the only man to have beaten Penn, in Jens Pulver, in his corner. Penn, on the other hand, is almost the complete opposite. He has trained Jiu-jitsu under John Lewis and Andre Pederneiras in the past as well as cardmate Renato Verissimo, rumor has it that he has been training with bigger wrestlers to get in shape for this fight. Penn has displayed quick hands and good submissions and does have the ground game to possibly exploit and take advantage of a submission if one does become available. The only problem I see is that Penn will be stepping up in weight class and is challenging arguably the best “pound for pound” fighter in the world. Talk about trial by towering inferno. Will he have the abilities and stamina to take out Hughes, we will have to wait and see.

I always thought that it was going to take a superior striker or submissions artist to have any chance at beating Hughes. Penn has all of the tools to compete and become dominate in the lightweight division, but the welterweight division is a whole new ballgame. The only possible way I can see Penn winning this fight would be to catch Hughes early and often and hope to get an early knockdown. Hughes has proven he is willing to trade standing up, which against Penn, could lead to his downfall. Although I admire Penn with his guts and determination to move up in weight class, I just do not see any chance of him knocking out or submitting Hughes throughout this fight. This fight has two sure bets in it..1) Hughes will slam Penn sometime throughout the fight and 2) Hughes will win by referee stoppage, probably sometime in round 4.

Karo Parisyan vs. George St-Pierre

This fight matches up two young rising welterweight talents within the UFC ranks. It has been rumored that Parisyan has positioned himself at a possible title shot against Hughes, barring they both are victorious in their respective bouts. Standing in Parisyan’s way is TKO/UCC veteran George St-Pierre, who in his own right is undefeated and is a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu specialist. Both are potential superstars, making this fight the most interesting fight of the evening.

21-year-old Parisyan, a judo specialist, brings a wealth of experience and talent into this fight. He trains judo under legendary judo specialist Gene Lebell, and is currently ranked in the world in his weight class and is a potential Olympic hopeful. He had a very successful UFC debut, easily submitting veteran Dave Strasser in the first round. He is a master of utilizing his strength and leverage to keep opponents off balance, executing mind-blowing throws which has lead to numerous submission victories within different fighting organizations. He has a solid record of 10 and 2, with both losses coming to top welterweight fighter, Sean Sherk.

St-Pierre is an up and coming fighter out of Canada and is a veteran of the TKO organization where he is the reigning World Welterweight Champion. He is a hard-nosed wrestler, but trains mainly in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. He had an upset victory over UFC veteran Pete Spratt, submitting him with a rear naked choke, which earned him his shot on the UFC stage. He has numerous submission victories, but he also has a few victories by knockout, which proves that submissions aren’t his only weapon of attack. This will be St-Pierre’s UFC debut and he is intent on impressing.

I believe this fight will be the future of the UFC welterweight division. With Hughes cleaning out the division, the UFC now has some real talent that could potentially develop into quality challengers to Hughes’ title. Both are excellent grapplers and either could look to take the fight to the ground, where they will both be looking for submissions. In this fight, I think experience will be the key factor. Parisyan has fought in King of the Cage, Kage Kombat, and most importantly, the UFC. This fight will be a Jiu-jitsu’s fan’s dream, but I think both men are too experienced to be easily caught in a submission, and I see Parisyan taking the fight via unanimous decision.

Hermes Franca vs. Josh “The Punk” Thomson

In a lightweight bout, that could easily determine who gets a shot at the Lightweight title, rising star Hermes Franca takes on AKA’s Josh Thomson. This is a classic jiu-jitsu expert taking on a solid kick boxing wrestler. With these two contrasting styles, this fight is sure to be one of the most anticipated fights of the evening. Both fighters are coming off of impressive victories in their last UFC appearances and look to keep their winning ways alive. With the possible permanent departure of BJ Penn to the Welterweight division, this completely opens up the way for one of these two fighters to make their mark in the lightweight division.

Hermes Franca has skyrocketed since his first appearance in the UFC. Training out of the American Top Team in Florida, Franca has solidified himself as a top ten lightweight fighter in the world. Franca trains with other notable Top Team members Din Thomas, Edson Diniz, and Marcus Aureilo. He displayed unbelievable submission skills in his victory over MMA veteran Rich Crunkilton at UFC 42, and followed that by a KO victory over hugely favored Caol Uno at UFC 44. With each fight in the UFC, his confidence has grown leaps and bounds. He has already proven that he has impressive jiu-jitsu skills, and he is vastly improving his striking ability along the way. This combination can be lethal and could take Franca all the way to the top of the lightweight division.

Standing in Franca’s way is another rising star of the lightweight division in Frank Shamrock protégé Josh Thomson. Thomson trains out of the American Kickboxing Academy. He sports a very impressive record, but most of his fights have come against lower level competition. Thomson was supposed to make his UFC debut at both UFC 41 and UFC 42, but due to injuries, was unable to participate. He finally made his long awaited debut at UFC 44 KO’ing submission expert and crafty veteran Gerald Strebendt. Thomson is a hard nosed fighter that combines raw power with his striking ability and has proven he can knockout opponents at any time from anywhere.

I think this fight will be the most exciting of the night to watch. Franca will attempt every submission in the book, as Strebendt did in his match against Thomson. Thomson will look to expose Franca’s untested chin while attempting once again to avoid submission after submission attempt. I think that Franca is the top fighter in this weight class at the moment and is vastly improving with each outing. Thomson also has a bright future in the UFC, but I do not see him knocking out Franca and will eventually get taken down. There, I believe that Franca will eventually catch Thomson in a submission, probably a triangle choke, sometime in round 2.

In a rematch from UFC 15, Randy Couture attempts the UFC three peat, by beating the top three Light Heavyweight challengers the UFC has to offer. Couture has arguably taken over the title of best Light Heavyweight in the world, and once again defends his title against the return of one of the most celebrated fighters in UFC history in Vitor Belfort. These two fighters have met before, but things are much different this time around. Belfort is no longer the unbeatable “Phenom”, destined to be UFC Heavyweight champion, while Couture is no longer the relatively unknown wrestler with no chance to beat a superior striker. Oh, how times and the UFC have changed dramatically. Who would have thought that Couture would peak 7 years later and dominate the UFC Light Heavyweight division, taking down both Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz in the same year? Belfort, on the other hand, fought very well against Liddell, in a losing by decision, and had a very impressive victory over the very credible Marvin Eastman at UFC 43. Belfort seems to be back in old form and attempts to win the UFC championship that he was prematurely “destined to win” 7 years ago. This rematch is sure to live up to the hype and I for one, cannot wait to see what happens.

Although I always believe anyone can beat anyone on any given night, it’s hard to bet against Couture. This guy has proven more to me in one year than anyone else ever could, and at age 40 none the less. Couture won the striking battle against Belfort once before and has proven that he can compete and beat both striker and wrestler. He is the master of analyzing his opponents and creating as well as executing the perfect game plan for victory. This time around, things could be different. Belfort is a striker, but more importantly, he is an accomplished jiu-jitsu practitioner, a black belt no less. Couture has had problems with submission artist’s in the past, being submitted three different times, twice by opponents that are not even close to the same calibre as Belfort on the ground. It will be very interesting to see if Couture attempts to out strike the striker once again, like he did 7 years ago, or will he rely on his bread and butter ground and pound skills that has brought him much success the past few years. Couture will have to control the stand up game, while also attempting to negate any takedown attempts, as he has not fared well on his back. He should attempt to stay away from submissions, which seem to be the only kink in his armor. Belfort, on the other hand, should try to stand up with Couture, I believe he is the superior striker with much quicker hand speed. Belfort has ended fights in the blink of an eye and Couture must be careful not to get caught early in the machine-gun barrage that Belfort can bring. Couture must be wary and defend any submission attempts as Belfort can and will attempt every submission in the book if he gets the chance. In the end, I believe that Couture is just too smart and tough and will be prepared for anything that Belfort has to offer. Couture will pull out the unanimous decision victory and once again stake his claim as the best Light Heavyweight in the world.

Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera vs. Lee Murray

In a battle between two very experienced strikers, Jorge Rivera takes on UFC newcomer Lee Murray. This fight looks to be a very solid match up between two very similar styles. Both fighters bring in very similar records and both pack powerful punches that that have knocked out various opponents in their pasts. Rivera does have the edge in UFC experience, but with Murray, that may not be a huge advantage. In a stacked division that does not have a true champion, a victory by either man could be a huge stepping-stone to a possible future middleweight title shot.

London based fighter Lee Murray is coming off two of the biggest victories of his career. He possesses devastating punching power and has proven that by beating veterans Amir Rahavardi and KO’ing iron chinned Jose “Pele” Landi-Jons. Murray is a very confident fighter and always predicts that he will win each and every fight by KO. Murray does train out of an excellent camp, training boxing with Terry Coulter, ground with UFC veteran Remco Pardoel in Holland, and Pat Miletich in the US. Murray is a tough fighter, but is better known in the mixed martial arts world as the man that is rumoured to have fought Tito Ortiz outside a club after UFC 38. That incident was some time ago, and after a few successful fights inside the ring, Murray now finds himself with the golden opportunity to fight in the UFC.

Entering UFC 44 as a relatively unknown, Jorge Rivera is coming off easily the biggest win of his career, getting the decision victory over TKO champion and another UFC veteran David Loiseau. Rivera brings in a solid record and was once the Hook N Shoot Light Heavyweight Champion. He trains with Team Elite where he builds upon his experience in boxing and wrestling as well as Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai. He is a very tough and exciting Massachusetts fighter who looks for the knockout at all times when fighting inside the ring.

The similar styles between these two fighters will make for a very exciting fight. Both are willing and hoping to keep the fight standing. In this fight, Murray will be looking to land the big right hand, that he believes no 185 pound fighter can withstand. Rivera, on the other hand, will be looking to test Murray’s chin as well with his stand up ability. If the fight goes to the ground, I believe that Murray will have the slight edge, he does have three victories by submission. I see this fight being a stand up war where Rivera will have to keep his hands up, or risk facing the same outcome as Pele. I think Rivera will wear down Murray, similar to how he wore down Losieau, and will pull out a narrow decision victory.

Carlos “The Ronin” Newton vs. Renato “Charuto” Verissimo

Top welterweight fighter and former UFC welterweight champion, Carlos Newton, once again returns to the Octagon to face UFC rookie Renato Verissimo out of Hilo, Hawaii. Newton is looking to again establish himself as a top welterweight contender in the UFC, while Verissimo looks to make his splash by defeating one of the most popular fighters in the history of the UFC. Both have similar styles as they both favor the ground game. This fight can truly be considered MMA veteran against MMA newbie. Newton is a 5-time UFC participant and 7 time Pride veteran. Verissimo will have his work cut out for him when he steps onto the big stage against one of the best ground fighters in mixed martial arts today.

Canadian Carlos Newton made his first appearance at UFC 17 and rose to the top of the ranks of the Welterweight division by submitting legendary Pat Miletich at UFC 31. Since then, he has tasted success fighting in various organizations beating the likes of Pele, Renzo Gracie, and in his most recent UFC performance, submitting Pete Spratt. With a record of 12 and 6, his record could seem deceiving. He lost twice to undisputed UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes, lost by submission to Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba in an unbelievable grappling match, and lost by KO to Anderson Silva. Newton is legendary with his ground skills and is highly respected throughout the world with his jiu-jitsu skills. He radiates confidence and brings to each fight 100 percent effort and determination. With another possible victory in the UFC, Newton could position himself into some very interesting fights with such notable names as Frank Trigg and possibly Robbie Lawler.

Brazilian Jiu-jitsu specialist Renato Verissimo will be making his debut at UFC 46. Being a relative unknown, Zuffa is attempting to bring in new blood into a weight class that Hughes has single handily cleaned out. Verissimo is a developing young talent that is coming off the biggest victory of his career, a KO victory over highly regarded Gil Castillo. He trains out of Hawaii with welterweight contender BJ Penn. Knowing that Verissimo has nothing to lose and everything to gain, he will be ready and willing to take on a top a calibre fighter in Newton.

Even though I believe that Verissimo will be a worthy challenger, he just is not at the same level as Newton is at this time. Newton has more experience in bigger fights and has fought all over the world in front of thousands of people. This will be Verissimo’s first appearance in the UFC, and it will be interesting to see how he handles fighting on the big stage. I cannot foresee Newton having too much trouble with Verissimo and should be able to take him down and control him when he gets him there. Newton is the master of setting one up for submission and although Verissimo, will put up a valiant effort, he will get submitted by Newton sometime into round 2.

Matt Serra vs. Jeff Curran

In a fight that is to be considered a must win, UFC veteran Matt Serra takes on Hook N Shoot and WFA veteran Jeff Curran. Serra, who makes his 6th appearance in the Octagon, hopes to get back on the winning ways again in the UFC after suffering two straight defeats in his most recent appearances. Standing in his way is a young fighter in Curran who hopes to make the most out of his first UFC appearance and knock off the veteran Serra at UFC 46.

Curran will actually be the 4th opponent for Serra in the past few months. Serra was originally scheduled to fight Javier Vasquez, then Gerald Strebendt, then Ivan Menjivar, and finally Curran. It’s amazing that the UFC was even able to put this fight together considering how many fighters they went through. This fight will lay down the path for one of these fighters in the UFC. Serra must win this fight, lose and all future opportunities to fight in the UFC will be gone. Curran has the opportunity to be the spoiler on a national stage and make himself a reckoning force within the lightweight division.

This fight should be pretty exciting as both fighters are very similar. Both train in jiu-jitsu and both have been working on their stand-up game. I believe that Serra will come into this fight fully prepared, knowing that his UFC future is on the line. Curran will be looking to capitalize on his opportunity and will be as hungry as ever. I see this fight being a chess match with the more experienced fighter getting the upper hand. I think that Serra’s UFC experience and Curran’s lack there of will play a big factor in this fight and I see Serra pulling out the split decision victory over a very game Curran.