After a Brief Hiatus, The Bulldozer Has Returned With His Crystal Ball

I hope I am welcome back after my brief disappearance.  Don't assume I have turned a blind eye to what is happening in the world of MMA.  There especially has been a lot of excitement in the UFC lately.

First off, I tried the new UFC game demo on PS3 and it blows my mind.  Talk about surpassing my expectations.  This will be better than that obscure Pride Fighting game on PS2.  If any of you have a PS3 account and want to "Unleash" on me, please let me know and I will add you as a friend to my account.

Second, Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin!  Hell yeah, now that is what I am talking about.  I'm totally pumped for that one.

Now down to business.  I was looking at my current rankings among UFC fighters (Updated rankings will be posted after UFC 98) and I saw some potentially lethal matchups that Joe Silva cannot possibly miss. 

Cheick Kongo vs. Gabriel Gonzaga

Considering that I expect Shane Carwin to take on the winner of Mir and Lesnar, this fight makes a lot of sense.  Now some people seem to think that Kongo deserves a title shot but that is garbage.  Kongo's biggest victory, besides possibly Cro Cop which took place eons ago, came against Antoni Hardonk. 

Hardonk is a decent fighter that is not considered a Top 10 heavyweight.  It is possible that Kongo could face Carwin and that would make a lot of sense, but if that was the case, then who would fight the winner of Mir and Lesnar?  For that reason, I feel that the top heavyweight that does not have a fight scheduled is Gonzaga.  Personally, I think Gonzaga would tear Kongo apart.  Hopefully we'll find out in the near future.

Mauricio Rua vs. Luis Cane

With just about every light-heavyweight booked for a fight and Rampage in line for the next title shot, I had to dig deep in order to find my 9th and 10th ranked fighters.  This would create a good matchup.  At UFC 97, I was impressed with Rua and how he bounced back so well after a pitiful fight against Coleman. 

On the other hand, Cane seemed slow and incapable of finishing his mediocre opponent.  The winner of this fight would become cemented as a contender in a deep division and the loser will continue to survive in LHW purgatory.  Both are good strikers, though Rua's kicks could prove to be the difference as they were against Liddell.

Nate Marquardt vs. Damien Maia

With Anderson Silva set to take on Forrest Griffin, this fight seems inevitable.  Even though I don't expect this fight to be a headliner, I would be surprised if it did not win fight of the night.  Each fighter had a very impressive finish in their last trip to the octagon.  If Marquardt can stay off the ground I expect him to win, but none of Maia's opponents have been able to achieve that feat.  Then again, none of Maia's opponents have been as good as Marquardt.  Expect the winner to face off against Anderson Silva if he returns to the middleweight division.  Otherwise, the victor will take on the winner of the Bisping and Henderson fight.  Either way, the middleweight division is about to get very exciting.

Thales Leites vs. Nate Quarry

These fighters are going in opposite directions but meeting at the seventh and eighth spots in their weight class.  I'm sure you've heard enough about Leites against Silva so I will spare you this time around.  Deep in the depths of the undercard of UFC 97, Nate Quarry gave Jason MacDonald quite a beatdown.  If this fight occurs, I wouldn't be surprised if the same fate awaits Leites.  Then again, a submission loss for Quarry wouldn't be a shock either.

Thanks for reading once again.  I'm off to play UFC Unleashed! 

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