UFC 85: Breaking It Down

This article is my first article and I'm pretty happy to have joined Bleacher Report to give all the UFC fans out there my point of view on the next UFC event, UFC 85. I'll break down the main fights presented that night and give my predictions.

Fabricio Werdum vs. Brandon "The Truth" Vera.

Both heavyweight fighters have had a very good UFC showing since they first arrived in the company.

Werdum, even though he lost by unanimous decision, had a pretty impressive fight against former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski. In his last fight, he shocked everybody, beating top heavyweight fighter Gabriel Gonzaga.

On the other hand, Brandon Vera won his first four fights in the UFC before losing his last fight to Tim Sylvia.

This is a fight where the winner will move up the ladder and get closer to a title shot. The way I see it, Brandon Vera will probably out-strike Werdum, so it's in Fabricio's best interest to fight on the ground.

Prediction: My gut feeling tells me that Fabricio Werdum will win the fight, I think he will be able to take Vera to the ground and dominate, finishing the fight with a submission.

Thales Leites vs. Nathan Marquardt.

Here are two great middleweight fighters who have suffered only one loss in the UFC. Leites (3-1) and Marquardt (5-1) are looking to continue their winning ways.

Again like the fight before, it will be a striker (Marquardt) against a submission fighter (Leites) but in this fight. I think Nathan Marquardt is the better fighter and he would like a rematch against Anderson Silva, so a victory would be a good way to get up there.

Prediction: Nathan Marquardt will win the fight by TKO late in the fight.

Marcus Davis vs. Mike Swick

The Ultimate Fighter has welcomed some of the best fighters who have become some of the best and most popular in the UFC. Marcus Davis and Mike Swick are two of these men.

At UFC 85 Bedlam, these fighters will fight to find out who the better man is.  It would be an understatement to say that Marcus Davis is on one hell of a roll in the UFC. He has won his six of his last fights, and four of them ended in the first round.

Mike Swick is also no stranger to an impressive roll, winning five of his last six fights with four of them ending in round one as a middleweight.

Since dropping weight and moving to the welterweight division, Swick won his first fight against Josh Burkman. This is a tough fight to call because everybody knows that neither men will take the fight to the ground, it will be a slug fest and the man lucky enough to connect will win.

Prediction: If you tell me this fight will go to the ground, I will laugh in your face. Both fighters will stand and the fight will end by TKO or KO and I think Marcus Davis will taste defeat for the first time in a long time.

Main Event: Matt Hughes vs. Thiago Alves

This fight is very important for both welterwieghts, but it is even more important for Alves, who can make history at only 24 years old.

Alves won seven of his last nine fights in the UFC and a victory over Matt Hughes, a man many consider to be the best welterweight champion ever, would put him in title contention right away.

A victory for Matt Hughes would solidify his name in UFC history, but it's completely ridiculous to think that Matt Hughes would get a title shot after this fight.

With Georges St-Pierre as welterweight champion (a man who defeated Hughes twice), Matt Hughes would probably get beaten a third time, so a rematch is not exciting at all.

Prediction: If Thiago "The Pitbull" Alves wants to win this fight, he better train hard on takedown defense because if Matt Hughes is able to take him down when he wants, it will be a long night for Alves.

Thiago is a better stand-up fighter and I also think he is the future of that division so I predict a victory for Alves by Unanimous Decision.