Ken Shamrock is looking to redeem himself after a lackluster appearance at UFC 40a fight where he was defeated soundly by Tito Ortiz. He will be in tough against a man that could be 30 pounds bigger then he is and we are not talking about flab here. Kimo is a heavily chiseled individual who has spent some time in K-1 of late. The word on the street is that Shamrock worked extensively on his hands and it could pay big dividends here as his takedown defense should be sharper then Kimo's takedowns. Kimo's size and strength could play against him in the later rounds, if it gets that far and down the stretch I feel Shamrock will have slightly better wind and find Kimo's chin in round 2, when Kimo's cardio is faltering.

Ken Shamrock vs. Kimo Leopaldo

Ken Shamrock is looking to redeem himself after a lackluster appearance at UFC 40a fight where he was defeated soundly by Tito Ortiz. He will be in tough against a man that could be 30 pounds bigger then he is and we are not talking about flab here. Kimo is a heavily chiseled individual who has spent some time in K-1 of late. The word on the street is that Shamrock worked extensively on his hands and it could pay big dividends here as his takedown defense should be sharper then Kimo’s takedowns. Kimo’s size and strength could play against him in the later rounds, if it gets that far and down the stretch I feel Shamrock will have slightly better wind and find Kimo’s chin in round 2, when Kimo’s cardio is faltering.

Phil Baroni vs. Evan Tanner

Baroni is an angry, angry man and he is not one to mask his frustrations. Three losses to Team Quest members is unbearable to him and one win here will go a long way in regaining some lost pride. He will need to work quickly however and I feel that if he doesn’t finish Tanner in the first round he will find himself in trouble in rounds 2 and 3. Baroni was rocking Tanner in the early goings of the first fight, many fights in the UFC have been stopped for less then Tanner took that night. In fact Tanner took less from Rich Franklin and that fight was stopped, and it could be more of the same this time around. Baroni will be a little more determined and find Tanner’s chin early and often. Baroni should win by KO in round one.

Matt Hughes vs. Renato Verissimo

Speaking of angry men, Hughes is another man that is very upset right now and it will drive him to be at his best. Few people in the world can be as consistently devastating as Matt Hughes can be and he should be back to his old self and his own particular brand of “ground and pain”. He will need to be on his toes however as Verissimo is a talented Jiu Jitsu practitioner who can end a fight with a submission at any time. Verissimo is talented but one knock against him has been his experience level which is much lower then that of Hughes. It could prove to be his undoing and it will cost him in the third round. TKO due to ref stoppage from strikes.

Tim Sylvia vs. Frank Mir

This fight will either end with a Submission or a KO, I am almost positive. The two talented fighters have taken very different paths on the road to this title fight. Tim Sylvia has gone through the much tougher fighters on rough to this, his second title shot and Mir’s road to the belt has been much easier. Sylvia’s most recent opponents, Ricco Rodriguez, Cabbage, and Gan McGee are heads and tails above Mir’s most recent foes of Wes Sims (twice), Tank Abbott and Ian Freeman whom Mir lost badly too. Mir will be fighting in the toughest fight of his life and if his heart is not much stronger then he has shown in the past, and his wind on par with that of Sylvia it could be a short night. Sylvia should be able to knock out the ground specialist in the first round after fending of a couple deep takedown attempts.

Dennis Hallman vs. Frank Trigg

Frank Trigg’s quick submission loss at the hands of Hughes was somewhat shocking and if he leaves himself open again Dennis Hallman will close the fight out even quicker then Hughes did. I believe that Trigg’s mistake was a aberration as opposed to the norm and this fight will be a competitive one. Both have a lot to gain from this fight as a rematch with Hughes to the winner is not out of the question. Hallman will redeem his controversial loss to Trigg and if Trigg wins he will have defeated the man that Hughes lost to twice and in a way redeem his loss. This fight should be a very active one as both of these fighters legitimately do NOT like each other. The venom in this fight alone should be one to remember and I feel Hallman will have a little better hands and be a little to slick on the ground for Trigg who will be game but fall short in the end.

Trevor Prangley vs. Curtis Stout

This fight will be dictated by the man who can keep the fight in their element. Trevor Prangley was one of the top wrestlers in his native land of South Africa, and while South Africa isn’t the strongest wrestling nation in the world, his wrestling should still be heads and tails above that of Stout’s. Prangley will control where the fight takes place and that should be enough for him to take the victory via decision over Stout who will look for the standing KO but wont be able to stay on his feet long enough for it to happen.

Georges St. Pierre vs. Jay Hieron

This will not be the walk in the park that some people have it out to be for St. Pierre, he will be in tough from bell to bell in a fight that could go either way. St Pierre does have more experience and has his first UFC fight under his belt, so the nerves should be less of a factor for him thein Hieron. Hieron is a game fighter and could surprise here, but St Pierre has a little more experience and I feel it will be enough for him to grind out a decision victory over Hieron in what could be a great fight if both fighters go for the gold.

Ivan Menjivar vs. Matt Serra

Matt Serra has a handful of UFC bouts under his belt already and that means a lot but he is considered by most to be one dimensional. However good you are at that one dimension it is tough to compete in today’s MMA market with only one strong tool in the MMA skillset. Menjivar is more well rounded and has more fights then Serra and has also faced some top competition, fighting the undefeated Jason Black, two weight classes up from where he usually fights, as well as fighting Vitor “Shaolin” Ribiero, taking the talented Brazilian to decision. Ivan should be able to block the takedowns and stay composed even if he finds himself on his back and score effectively from his feet when he gets there. He should win the unanimous decision after 3 rounds.