UFC 108: Thiago Silva vs. Rashad Evans and Paul Daley vs. Dustin Hazelett

UFC 108: JAN. 2, 2010
Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada

Main Bouts

Rashad Evans (13-1-1; No. 2 Light Heavyweight) vs. Thiago Silva (14-1; No. 9 Light Heavyweight)

Paul Daley (22-8-2; No. 6 Welterweight) vs. Dustin Hazelett (12-4)

Junior Dos Santos (10-1; No. 6 Heavyweight) vs. Gilbert Yvel (36-13-1)

Joe Lauzon (18-4) vs. Sam Stout (20-5-1)

Duane Ludwig (19-9) vs. Jim Miller (15-2)

SpikeTV Aired Bouts

Martin Kampmann (15-3; No. 8 Welterweight) vs. Jacob Volkmann (9-1)

Dan Lauzon (12-2) vs. Cole Miller (15-4)

Preliminary Bouts (Non-Televised)

Vladimir Matyushenko (23-4) vs. Steve Cantwell (7-3)

Mark Munoz (6-1) vs. Ryan Jensen (14-5)

Mike Pyle (19-6-1) vs. Jake Ellenberger (21-5)

Rafaello Oliveira (9-2) vs. John Gunderson (22-6)

Evans vs. Silva

Rashad Evans faces Thiago Silva in his first bout since suffering a devastating knockout loss to current champion Lyoto Machida. Silva is coming off a rather impressive performance over Evans' teammate, Keith Jardine.

Both fighters need this win to secure a No. 1 contender status once Machida and Shogun Rua rematch. Both fighters train at big time legit camps—Evans being stationed at Greg Jacksons MMA and Silva based out of American Top Team.  

Each fighter has his own disadvantages.  Evans probably isn't comfortable with Silva's strong style of jiu jitsu, is small for a light-heavyweight, and has a willingness to abandon his wrestling to strike. Silva must deal with a faster Evans and hasn't had alot of wrestling experience in dealing with strong wrestlers inside the Octagon.

The advantages for each fighter are simple: Evans excels at quickness striking while Silva is bigger and stronger.

To earn points, Evans needs to utilize his wrestling prowess and take Silva to mat in spurts. Evans should use his quickness striking to get in on Silva and set up the takedowns. At the very least, Evans should attempt a few shots to keep Silva guessing so that he can take advantage of the superior speed.

Silva, on the other hand, will utilize the same strategy as always—come forward and be aggressive. Silva will want to engage and turn this into a brawl of sorts with Evans in hopes of landing one of his power punches. He owns 11 TKOs as compared to Evans' five. Silva needs to use his size to his advantage in this bout.

Prediction: Silva by Submission

Daley vs. Hazelett

Paul Daley, otherwise known as Semtex, squares off against Brazilian jiu jitsu phenom Dustin Hazelett in the co-main event of the evening.

Daley steps into the Octagon fresh off a devastating knockout of Top 10 welterweight Martin Kampmann. Hazelett, on the other hand, steps into the bout on three weeks notice after Karo Parisyian dropped out of their fight a day before weigh-in. Hazelett is known for his highlight reel submissions, as he has nine wins by submission and three submission of the night honors under his belt.

This bout is a classic striker vs. jiu jitsu matchup. However, Daley no doubt wants to keep this fight standing so he can secure his TKO/KO. Hazelett wants this fight to hit the mat in hopes of tangling Daley into a pretzel. It will be a very short night if Daley can't keep this fight standing, or if Hazelett can't secure a takedown. Each fighter must impose their will on their competitor to win.

Hazelett will look to use his reach advantage by throwing kicks to neutralize Daley's power, and if Daley catches a kick, Hazelett will not mind one bit when the fight hits the mat.

Daley will want to throw straight punches down the pipe during Hazelett's kicks, and counter with his power right hand. Daley has a solid jab and piston right hand, which he will need to use to keep Hazelett from tying him up.

Prediction: Hazelett by Armbar or Triangle when Daley makes the mistake of following him to the ground after rocking Hazelett.

Other predictions are in bold above.