UFC 88 Predictions

We’ll be going over 4 of the fights on the UFC 88 Breakthrough Fight Card and give a little insight to how the fights will go.

UFC 88: Dan Henderson vs Rousimar Palhares

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Dan Henderson in the Octagon.  Besides the two fights in the late 90’s, Dan Henderson has been unable to win in the Octagon.  Granted the two fights that Dan  had were against Rampage Jackson and Anderson Silva, arguably two of the best in their respective weight divisions.  Dan takes on Rousimar Palhares who’s the former Pride Middle and Welterweight champion.

Rousimar likes to win by way of submission and that seems to be Dan’s biggest way to lose.  Out of the 7 losses, Dan has lost 3 of his 7 fights by submission.  Rousimar has won  6 of his 8 fights by way of submission.  It’s obvious that Dan needs to keep this fight off the mat.  The longer it goes on the ground, the better chance Rousimar has.

I do think that Dan will make the fight go the distance.  I don’t think this fight will be entertaining or interesting.  Probably rather boring.

Prediction: Dan Henderson in Unanimous Decision

UFC 88: Karo Parisyan vs Yoshiyuki Yoshida

Karo trains under Greg Jackson alongside of George St. Pierre.  His notable wins are against Matt Serra and Chris Lytle.  He was considered the #1 contender before his loss against Diego Sanchez.  His most recent loss came from Thiago Alves in UFN 13.  While Karo’s fights in the beginning of his career almost all came from submissions, his recent fights that he’s won have mainly gone to decision.

Yoshida made his UFC debut against Jon Koppenhaver who recently changed his legal name to War Machine.  The majority of his wins have come by way of knock out.  He definitely poses a threat when standing up against Karo.

Karo will need to take this one to the ground to have his best chances of winning.  However, I don’t think Karo will be able to fight his game against Yoshida.  Yoshida is a rising star in the UFC and could set pace for his career with a win against Karo.

Prediction: Yoshida TKO Round 1

UFC 88: Rich Franklin vs Matt Hamill

Rich Franklin and Matt Hamill presents an exciting matchup.  Rich Franklin has only lost 3 fights and two of which were to the world’s best pound for pound fighter.  Rich has won the majority of his 23 wins by KO but just slightly higher than his submission count.

Matt Hamill isn’t to be taken lightly.  His 4 -1 record is very prestigious with his only loss coming by a split decision to Michael Bisping who is one of the toughest up and comers of the sport.  3 of 4 wins have come by way of KO.

Rich Franklin will need to strike his way to a win in this one against Hamill.

Prediction: Rich Franklin KO Round 2

UFC 88: Chuck Liddell vs Rashad Evans

The main event of UFC 88 is a showdown between one of the most exciting UFC fighters Chuck Liddell vs undefeated Rashad Evans.  Many are already counting out Rashad Evans out of this fight.

Chuck Liddell has had a recent rocky road.  With his most recent win over Wanderlei Silva it should have him on the right track.  Before that The Iceman had two losses to Rampage Jackson.  This will be Chuck’s first return to the Octagon for 2008.  Chuck has 21 wins with 14 by way of knock out.  It’s clear he will be looking to win this fight with a big punch.

Rashad Evans is on his road to stardom and Chuck Liddell looks to be the baracade at the end of the road.  Rashad Evans has an undefeated record in MMA of 13 – 0 – 1 with his draw from his fight against Tito Ortiz.  3 wins by submission and 3 wins by knockout with the rest coming to a decision.  His most recent notable win was against rising star Michael Bisping in a split decision.

Chuck is very explosive and Rashad won’t be looking to bang with Chuck.  It will be a question of whether Chuck will be able to work his stand up game against Rashad Evans.  Evans will be looking to take Chuck down and fight this fight on the ground.  This fight could go either way depending on whether Chuck is able to land his punch.

Prediction: Rashad Evans Split Decision

If you want to place bets on this event you can do so here.

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