UFC 97 Preview & Predictions

(Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

ANDERSON SILVA VS. THALES LEITES

Hey, look! It's another main event title defense for Anderson Silva against an inferior opponent!

How, exactly, did Thales Leites get this title shot? Because Nate Marquardt was docked too many points and lost a fight against Leites that he clearly won? That's like sneaking in the back door, isn't it? I mean, he's beaten Drew McFedries and Pete Sell, but neither of those guys are what I would call gatekeepers.

This fight is happening because there are no viable challengers for Silva's throne in the middleweight division. Nearly a year ago, I typed that exact same sentence while previewing Silva's foray into the light heavyweight division against James Irvin. It still holds true today; Silva has cleaned out the middleweight division so fully, so completely, that he's left without any marketable main event fights.

Well, that's not completely true. He could move to light heavyweight on a permanent basis, a division where I could name five ready-made superstar main events for him off the top of my head. For whatever reason, though, that isn't happening any time soon, so we're stuck seeing guys like Thales Leites elevated into a position they really shouldn't be in.

I'll stop ranting about the lack of credible challengers for Silva. 

There's one place Thales Leites excels, and that's on the ground. Anderson Silva is just as good as Thales Leites on the ground in terms of jiu-jitsu, and Silva outclasses him in every other area. We're going to see Silva show up and finish Leites in a no-nonsense manner, just like he should have done to Patrick Cote in late 2008.

PREDICTION: Anderson Silva by TKO (Round One)

CHUCK LIDDELL VS. MAURICIO SHOGUN RUA

I never thought we'd get to the point where Chuck Liddell is taking part in a loser leaves town match, but that's exactly what Chuck is up against in this fight against the former top-ranked light heavyweight in the world. Dana White has been quoted as saying that Chuck has to win this fight and win "like the old Chuck used to" in order for Dana to want to see him fight again, which basically means Chuck needs to finish Rua in order to continue his UFC career.

It's not like the UFC will release him and allow him to go to Affliction. But he'll be strongly pressured to retire and become a goodwill ambassador for the company, and even the concept of Chuck Liddell being forced into retirement would have seemed ludicrous two years ago. 

Yet, here we stand, with Chuck on the verge of a forced retirement if he's not able to finish Shogun Rua.

Shogun beat Mark Coleman in his last fight, but in a strange way, it was more like a defeat than an actual defeat would have been.

The fact that he couldn't finish an aging, one-dimensional grappler who exhausted his gas tank within the first 45 seconds of the fight did more harm than the victory did good, and as a result Shogun finds himself in the same position that Liddell currently occupies; he not only needs a win, but he needs a finish. 

If he can't finish Liddell, Rua will probably be the recipient of a one-way ticket back to Japan.

This is one of those "too little, too late" fights that would have been a dream fight two years ago. Two of the best strikers in the world, the two best light heavyweights in the world, going toe to toe and attempting to kill each other? Yes, please. In 2009 the fight doesn't mean even remotely as much, but it'll still be an interesting bout.

For the first time in recent memory, Chuck Liddell actually changed up his training methods. Instead of relying solely on The Pit, Liddell surrounded himself with folks from American Top Team. He'd been criticized as being too one-dimensional, and training with ATT was an attempt to change things up, to bring a fresh new perspective to Chuck's in-cage style. 

Will it work? Remains to be seen. We've never seen much of Chuck outside of the standard Chuck style, so I can't tell you how successful he's going to be. If the Shogun Rua from PRIDE shows up, then Chuck could be in for a very short night. But I've said "if the Shogun Rua from PRIDE shows up" twice now in the past year and a half, and you see where it's gotten me.

So while there's some bloom off the rose in this one, I'm still interested enough to be really intrigued by the matchup. I've grown tired of waiting on "the real Shogun" to show up, however, so I'm going to go with my gut and predict that Liddell finishes a listless (and nearly useless) Shogun and sends him straight into the arms of DREAM.

PREDICTION: Chuck Liddell by TKO (Round One)

BRIAN STANN VS. KRZYSZTOF SOSZYNSKI

Brian Stann has one of the best stories in all of mixed martial arts. The short version: Stann served in the United States Marine Corps and commanded a platoon during the Iraq War.

In November of 2005, Stann's platoon was ambushed by insurgents. Stann and his men held out for six days under heavy enemy fire, eventually calling in enough air and fire support to be rescued.

Stann was awarded the Silver Star, which is the third-highest award for bravery under fire given out by the United States government. He left active duty in May of 2008, but remains central to one of the most inspirational stories  of the Iraq War.

Stann is the former WEC Light Heavyweight champion, earning the title by beating Doug Marshall. He lost his first title defense to Steve Cantwell before moving to the UFC after the WEC's light heavyweight division was folded.

Krzysztof Soszynski has one of the toughest names to spell in any sport. He's a former professional wrestler and learned basic jiu-jitsu from the late Bad News Brown, a former pro wrestler who gained fame in the old Stampede promotion in Canada and in the World Wrestling Federation.

Soszynski trains with Dan Henderson at Team Quest and earned his way into the UFC after making it to the finale of season eight of The Ultimate Fighter.

Soszynski not only has an intimidating look, but he's a pretty good fighter as well. He's fought a decent level of competition since starting his career; Stann only has seven professional fights, and the talent he's faced off against is nowhere near the level of Soszynski.

Stann has displayed plenty of potential, but at this point in his career he's nowhere near the level of Soszynski, and I think that fact is going to shine through in his fight. I expect this one to be quick, and I expect Soszynski to finish it with a submission.

PREDICTION: Krzysztof Soszynski by submission (Round Two)

CHEICK KONGO VS. ANTONI HARDONK

This fight might be a good time to take a bathroom break or make a beer run, because it's going to be boring. There's a good chance Kongo could finish Hardonk, but it's all going to depend on which version of the Frenchman shows up. If the powerful striking version of Kongo shows up, Hardonk could go to sleep within a minute or two.

If the decision-prone version of Kongo that can't wrestle his way out of a paper bag steps in that cage, though, we're going to be sitting through fifteen minutes of two guys rolling around and not doing anything remotely effective.

Can you tell that I'm not enthused about this fight?  Because I'm not. 

PREDICTION: Cheick Kongo by decision

LUIZ CANE VS. STEVE CANTWELL

The most interesting thing about this fight is Cane's nickname: "Banha" means "lard" in Portugese. 

Cantwell was another victim of the WEC's decision to fold the light heavyweight division into the UFC. He defeated Razak Al-Hassan in his UFC debut, but he's up against a talented fighter in Luiz Cane in this match.

Cane's lone UFC loss came against James Irvin, and he only lost that fight because he threw an illegal knee while Irvin was down. Cane has defeated Soukoudjou and Jason Lambert during his UFC tenure, and beat fighters such as Andre Gustavo and Wagner Ribeiro during his time in Brazil.

Cantwell is a decent fighter, but he's overmatched in this one. I believe Cane is on his way to great things in the UFC, and Cantwell is standing in his way. 

PREDICTION: Luiz Cane by TKO (Round One)

ELIOT MARSHALL VS. VINICIUS MAGALHAES: Magalhaes by submission (Round Two)

DENIS KANG VS. XAVIER FOUPA-POKAM: Kang by TKO (Round One)

JASON MACDONALD VS. NATE QUARRY: Quarry by decision

DAVID LOISEAU VS. ED HERMAN: Herman by decision

MARK BOCEK VS. DAVID BIELKHEDEN: Bocek by submission

RYO CHONAN VS. TJ GRANT: Chonan by TKO (Round Two)

SAM STOUT VS. MATT WIMAN: Wiman by decision

Jeremy Botter is the Editor-In-Chief of Inside Fights, a blog title covering the mixed martial arts and boxing industries. He also serves as a contributor to the Houston Chronicle's mixed martial arts coverage.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?