UFC 88 Predictions

by Kelvin Hunt on Sep 2, 2008 9:32 AM EDT in News Comment 14 comments

Wow, another UFC PPV is upon us! This one is going to be very special to me in that this will the first time I attend a live UFC PPV event! My wife and newborn, along with my dad and brother will be making the 6-7 hour track down to Atlanta on Thursday night. That way we'll(me, my dad, and brother)be able to attend the autograph sessions, and hopefully get to network a little bit in hopes of adding more things to MMA4Real. I'm very excited about this card and some of the match ups make it difficult to predict, but below is my take on how I see things unfolding.

Nathan Marquardt vs. Martin Kampmann-I think this is a very good matchup. Marquardt is very well rounded as is Kampmann, but Marquardt should enjoy a strength advantage. I think this fight is basically a 'whoever imposes their will' type of fight. I'm going with experience and size...Marquardt via decision.

Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares-I see Henderson being able to use his wrestling ability to keep this fight standing. Palhares hasn't shown much standup ability, however, his submission skills are off the chain. Henderson has been subbed before, ironically with all 3 guys coming from the same camp...Nogueira brothers and Anderson Silva. Henderson by TKO in the 2nd.

Karo Parisyan vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida-This fight all comes down to Parisyan and his conditioning. After being KTFO on national TV by Thiago Alves...I think Karo will be in shape for this fight. However, his opponent is no slouch...and this fight is a make or break fight for Parisyan. I'm go with Karo via split decision.

Rich Franklin vs. Matt Hamill-I love this matchup and it should be a good one. Hamill has shown a propensity to want to stand and bang for the most part, even though he is a very good wrestler. He's shown a very good chin and gorilla strength. However, his cardio has been a little suspect in his last couple of fights. I see Franklin wearing him down and winning via TKO in the 3rd round.

Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans-The classic striker vs. wrestler and we all know Liddell murders wrestlers. However, I don't think it'll be as one sided as many people think. Evans brings a very good set of tools to the cage with him. If he has improved his cardio, I think he can present Liddell with some problems. However, Liddell is always only 1-2 punches away from a KO so I have to go with the traditional pick here. Liddell via TKO 3rd round.

As I mentioned before, I'll be going to UFC 88...so if you read this website it wold be cool to meet some of you guys. Also, if you plan on going to UFC 88 and have not made your hotel arrangements yet...you can help out MMA4Real by scheduling your reservations through the hotels combined link on the website. It costs you nothing and you may be able to find a better deal by comparing different rates and most of all you help me out :)

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Marquardt TKO
Henderson TKO
Yoshida Decision
Franklin Submission
Liddell TKO

I’ll be in Florida for the fight. I hope the hurricane doesnt mess up my Direct TV.

by El_Felix on Sep 2, 2008 9:47 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Liddell vs Rashad isn’t just a striker-wrestler matchup. Rashad can stand with Liddell…but if the fight goes to the ground, its all over for Chuck.

The MMA world is in for a big surprise. With all that talk about how Chuck thinks he deserves a title shot, I think he is getting a little ahead of himself. Evans in 3 for me. Unanimous decision.

I also disagree with your prediction of the Henderson-Palhares fight. I get the feeling that its going to be 3 straight losses for Dan.

The rest I agree with.

by Flyingknees on Sep 2, 2008 9:58 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Oh, don’t get it twisted…I’d LOVE to see Rashad win…and he does have adequate standup…the only reason I’m picking Liddell is because Rashad’s cardio has been suspect the last couple of fights.

If Hendo loses this fight…he needs to call it quits.

by Kelvin on Sep 2, 2008 10:00 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I dont think Henderson needs to retire if he loses again. You have to consider who his last two losse were to. Not exactly a bad couple of people to have loses to. Wandy lost three in a row (one of those losses being to Henderson) and he was able to get a win and seems to be on a comeback. I see him being more focused and having better cardio than he did in the Silva fight. Remember, he won the first round of that fight, but the dude just got tired. He should be able to bounce back this fight.

by El_Felix on Sep 2, 2008 10:44 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I am going the opposite on every fight besides the Liddell fight.

Nathan Marquardt vs. Martin Kampmann – This one I think Kampmann finds a way to pull it out.

Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares – As soon as this fight was announced it was a no hesitation pick for Palhares for me and I haven’t wavered since.

Karo Parisyan vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida – From the reports I don’t think Karo has had the best training camp plus I like what Yoshida brings. I’m going with Yoshida.

Rich Franklin vs. Matt Hamill – Matt Hamill just has this weird stand-up style. I think that will be enough to throw off Franklin standing up till it goes to the ground and Hamill’s superior wrestling takes over.

Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans – While Evans may have the advantage on the ground it’s very hard to keep Liddell on the ground. So I just don’t see Evans keeping this on the ground. Evans may have some stand-up but you can’t convince me at this point that it’s enough to beat Liddell. I’m going with Liddell.

by mattman73 on Sep 2, 2008 10:47 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Me saying he needs to retire is more to do with me not really liking Henderson that much as a fighter, and with the tools he has…he should be able to beat Palhares…hell with the MW division being kinda thin…they need all the legit fighters they can get…lol

by Kelvin on Sep 2, 2008 11:13 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

You don’t like Hendo? Thats kind of un-american man! J/K. I’ve met him a couple times in California and he signed a couple things for me. He’s pretty cool. And I agree with you about the MW division being thin. They definitely need to sign some good guys for that division.

by El_Felix on Sep 2, 2008 12:22 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I have nothing against him personally…I’m just not a fan of his style per se…but he’s very good at what he does.

by Kelvin on Sep 2, 2008 12:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

MacDonald sub 3rd
Boetsch KO 2nd
Chonan dec
Marquardt dec
Kim sub 2nd
Tavares dec
Henderson KO 3rd
Karo dec
Franklin KO 2nd
Liddell KO 3rd

by Jason on Sep 2, 2008 4:04 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Look at Jason with the FULL gammit of fights…haha.

by Kelvin on Sep 2, 2008 4:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

If your gonna do it, do it right my friend! still waiting on those rankings of yours!

by Jason on Sep 2, 2008 5:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Those picks are the worst I have ever made.

I got 3 fights right on the whole card.

Got every fight wrong on the picks I made here.

I knew I was going against the grain on most of them but I really felt they were all close fights before they started.

To all of you that made nice picks suck it…

I mean Congrats.

by mattman73 on Sep 7, 2008 3:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

7 out of 9 isnt to shabby! Wish more people would of predicted every fight!

by Jason on Sep 7, 2008 7:54 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I would just like to say that I OWNED…AND even the pick I got wrong…I pretty gave you all the correct reasons why the upset could happen….I’ll be giving my UFC 88 experience on tomorrow…I JUST got home…and it’s 11pm EST.

by Kelvin on Sep 7, 2008 11:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

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