Fan Bias

Let’s get a couple of things out of the way early. As far as New Year’s Eve UFC events go, UFC 108 is a bit underwhelming, especially when compared to year end offerings from the promotion over the last few years. However, UFC 108 has also been a victim of bad luck, with a number of tantalizing matchups scrapped for a variety of reasons, and has still found a way to be intriguing.

No other promotion in the world could survive the hits this card has taken and still put on the compelling fights the UFC has managed to give us (either that or the Countdown hype machine has worked its magic on me.) So, with that in mind, here are my predictions for the PPV and Spike TV fights (don’t forget Spike TV is airing two preliminary fights live starting at 9 PM ET.)

Main Event: Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva

This is not the post-TUF 10 Rashad Evans bout Dana White was hoping for (clearly the Spike TV reality show was meant to build up to a contest against Quinton Jackson.) And, this is not the UFC 108 main event White had originally hoped for either.

Despite all this, Evans versus Thiago Silva is certainly a worthy main event fight that will probably propel the winner into light heavyweight title contention. Well, on second thought, that might be true if champ Lyoto Machida loses his rumored upcoming rematch against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. After all, does the UFC brass really believe fans want to see either Evans or Silva fight Machida again after both lost to him convincingly so recently?

Regardless, the fight at hand features two men who’ve only lost once each — to the same man, the aforementioned Machida. Evans did so to lose his belt earlier this year and Silva did so in Machida’s prior bout. Silva has since come back to previous form in destroying Evans campmate Keith Jardine. Evans himself was stellar as a TUF 10 coach. In other words, both men are back.

And, both like to put on a show standing up. And, both have formidable ground skills to complement their striking prowess, with Evans a D-1 collegiate wrestler and Silva a black belt practitioner of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

While I love what Evans brings to the table both as a fighter and as an ambassador for MMA, I believe Machida proved against him that an aggressive striking strategy by a fighter in his prime can handle Evans’ counter-striking and wrestling strengths. Silva is certainly aggressive on his feet and even if the fight goes to the ground, I believe he has the skills to match up well there too.

Pick: Silva by 2nd round TKO.

Paul Daley vs. Dustin Hazelett

Neither Paul Daley nor Dustin Hazelett can be considered welterweight title contenders because they are both one-dimensional. However, it just so happens that this bout presents fans with the classic style vs. style contrast — Daley throws bombs (or Semtex as his nickname would imply) while Hazelett has captured three submission of the night honors in the UFC on his way to becoming one of the more creative BJJ players in the sport.

While more casual UFC fans may see Daley’s debut UFC victory over elite fighter Martin Kampmann as a sign that the Brit is ready to make waves in the division owned by GSP, I’ll be much more impressed if Daley can overcome Hazelett tonight. That’s because Daley’s last two losses (both of which have come in the last 18 months) have come against superior BJJ players with limited stand-up skills in the form of Nick Thompson and Jake Shields.

In other words, if the fight remains standing, Hazelett’s corner should be concerned. However, if “Mcluvin” can get the fight to the ground, look for Daley to lose blood flow to his brain or have one of his appendages expertly twisted for a submission.

A win for either fighter does each a world of good. For Hazelett, it’s a high profile victory that he couldn’t capture against Josh Koscheck. For the large and solidly built Daley (who was unable to make weight for UFC 108), the victory proves that he can beat a fighter with extraordinary ground skills.

However, neither will be ready quite yet to fight the Jon Fitches or Thiago Alves — let alone GSP — of the UFC welterweight division.

Pick: Hazelett by first round submission

Junior Dos Santos vs. Gilbert Yvel

Since his Octagon debut KO of heralded Fabricio Werdum (who is now in line to fight Fedor Emelianenko in Strikeforce) Junior Dos Santos has been making waves in a rapidly evolving UFC heavyweight division that suddenly features a plethora of title contenders. Since the victory over Werdum, Dos Santos has defeated Stefan Struve and Mirko Cro Cop, both in convincing manner. Clearly, his forte is hurting people with his fists.

Gilbert Yvel, however, can be counted on to not be intimidated. While he’s making his UFC debut, the Dutchman has fought over 50 times in an MMA career that spans over a decade. He too prefers striking but in his last big fight, he was essentially submitted after three rounds of suffering the fists of top 5 heavyweight Josh Barnett in Affliction’s final event.

It’s always fun when the heavyweights bang and both of these equally sized big men will definitely bang at UFC 108. The victor should be considered a title contender even as the status of the UFC heavyweight belt currently remains in limbo.

Pick: Dos Santos by second round TKO

Quick Picks

Remaining scheduled PPV bouts

• Jim Miller over Duane Ludwig by second round submission
• Joe Lauzon over Sam Stout by unanimous decision

Spike TV televised bouts

• Martin Kampmann over Jacob Volkmann by unanimous decision
• Cole Miller over Dan Lauzon by third round submission