UFC 148 Predictions: A Fan's Guide to Fight Night

I had a problem.

For a stretch of more than a month in the late spring and early summer, I muddled through life without the benefit of a major MMA event. After the injuries and the tepid cable cards and the ill-timed United Nations conventions and the injuries and the injury layoffs and whatnot, I was wondering if it would ever happen again. 

I'm not going to sugarcoat it; I was in a dark place. I got a little anxious, dare I say, even desperate. Before I knew it, I was slapping down 50 bucks to watch Rony Bezerra and Godofredo Pepey. Happy to do it, too. It was like a bad dream. Like it was all happening to somebody else. 

But thanks to this Saturday, when UFC 148 goes down in fabulous Las Vegas, I will be a man reborn. 

The main event of UFC 148 features this guy, Chael Sonnen, right. He talks a lot of smack. And his favorite target is this other guy, the seemingly unbeatable and heretofore unflappable Anderson Silva. Their rematch for Silva's middleweight strap is the most anticipated bout of the evening. 

But I did some research and found that, oddly, there are other fights scheduled as well—11 in total, to be exact. How does the average viewer keep it all straight? How to know which bouts to watch, which ones to skip and which ones to skim? What if you want to lay down a few licorice whips on a certain guy?

This slideshow covers all the angles. Herein, the fight card is ranked from least exciting to most, along with viewing information, easily digestible info nuggets and a few predictions as the mood strikes.

11. Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie

Weight Class: Featherweight
See it on: Pay-per-view

Chad Mendes will be to Cody McKenzie what Jacob Volkmann was to Paul "Sassangle" Sass back at UFC 146. In other words, this will determine whether McKenzie and his modified guillotine choke—which has garnered him all but one of his 13 pro victories—is a thing of substance or of novelty.

I like McKenzie, who is making his featherweight debut. But I would put his chances in this bout at no chance. No chance at all for the McKenzietine. Mendes is a wrestler's wrestler, and he'll do what's necessary to get back on the winning side following a first-round TKO to division champ Jose Aldo. 

And you know what that means: 15 solid minutes of free time. Long enough for me to finally complete that online quiz that tells me which Game of Thrones character I would be. My money is on a tie between Tyrion Lannister and Jorah Mormont. But hey, we'll see what the quiz says. 

10. Rafaello Oliveira vs. Yoislandy Izquierdo

Weight Class: Lightweight
See it on: Facebook

These two fighters have 15 syllables between them. Without looking into it any further, I think I can definitively say that this is a new record for a non-Russian promotion.

Rafaello Oliveira (pictured) looked pretty good last October against Yves Edwards. That is, until the YouTube-worthy head kick that probably left him fighting for his place in the UFC.

Yoislandy Izquierdo hasn't lost in his MMA career. That is, unless you count his UFC debut in April.

Both men are well-rounded, but neither has shown much in the Octagon to this point. 

9. John Alessio vs. Shane Roller

Weight Class: Lightweight
See it on: FX

Mark Bocek wrestled his way to an easy win over John Alessio just a couple of months ago. Shane Roller is a decorated amateur wrestler.

Tab A into Slot B, right? Maybe not. Alessio is a dangerous fighter and highly respected veteran—his first UFC opponent was Pat Miletich, for gosh sake. 

But in my mind, the true test here is whether Roller is addicted to the knockout. My guess is he isn't crazy enough to forgo a gift-wrapped game plan to trade with Alessio. If I'm right, then Decisiontown, here we come.

8. Dong Hyun Kim vs. Demian Maia

Weight Class: Welterweight
See it on: Pay-per-view

Maia's bread and butter is his buttery smooth jiu-jitsu; Kim gets it done with judo. Maia goes for submissions, while Kim tends to rely more on position control. Both have made strides in the striking phase, though Kim appears substantially more advanced at the moment.

Either this will be a world-class grapple-fest, or the horizontal phases will cancel out and we'll see if Maia can fend off Kim's suddenly explosive stand-up assault.

7. Ivan Menjivar vs. Mike Easton

Weight Class: Bantamweight
See it on: Pay-per-view

Washington, D.C. native Easton is 2-0 in the UFC, beating both his Octagon opponents at their own respective games. Menjivar, though, is his stiffest test yet and a slight favorite on the odds-making boards.

Both men can bang, but I see this one playing out on the ground. And wait...what's that I hear? Off in the distance. Are those...upset alarms? Ring them, baby. Easton gets the upset and keeps his upward momentum going.

6. Melvin Guillard vs. Fabricio Camoes

Weight Class: Lightweight
See it on: FX

Melvin Guillard is the big-time slugger who can't hit the curve. Good on the UFC for not grooving him one down the middle.

Fabricio Camoes is a third-degree jiu-jitsu black belt looking for his first big UFC scalp. If Guillard isn't willing or able to advance his game, he'd still be a great fit for Bellator.

5. Constantinos Philippou vs. Riki Fukuda

Weight Class: Middleweight
See it on: FX

Philippou is the most underrated fighter at middleweight. Nothing wrong with Fukuda—he got ripped off against Nick Ring—but I don't think he can threaten the Matt Serra student.

Knockout of the Night, right here.

4. Cung Le vs. Patrick Cote

Weight Class: Middleweight
See it on: Pay-per-view

I hope those B-movie roles were worth it, because they sure took the starch out of Cung Le's MMA career.

At age 39, he's still dynamic, but also still searching for his first UFC win. Cote, who clawed his way back into the Octagon after being cut back in 2010, makes up for in power what he loses to Le in flash.

This could be a slugfest between two dangerous and hungry veterans. I think Cote will dirty it up enough to get the win.

But on the bright side for Le, he'll always have Dragon Eyes. As will we all. As...will...we...all.

3. Gleison Tibau vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov

Weight Class: Lightweight
See it on: FX

Excuse me, wait a second...I think I just vomited up a bunch of chicken necks. Which is strange because I've never eaten a chicken neck before. 

Wait. Nevermind. It wasn't chicken necks after all. I was just typing out the words "Khabib Nurmagomedov." 

This could be a great fight. Top prospect Nurmagomedovovogedov (pictured) is 17-0 as a pro and 1-0 in the UFC. He has never gone the distance.

Tibau is a well-rounded veteran for whom a win could, after ripping off five wins in his last six contests, prove he's ready to once again face a contender.  

In a nutshell: Both of these dudes are nasty and both are on a roll. Winner could move into the division's top echelon. This is my dark horse for Fight of the Night.

2. Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz

Weight Class: Light heavyweight
See it on: Pay-per-view

It's Tito Ortiz's final fight. Forrest Griffin has been mum regarding his own plans (even if Tito hasn't), but his heart and head have been notably absent from his recent cage engagements.

Either way, these are two veterans, Hall of Famers and celebrities of the sport. Neither is afraid to brawl. Both men appear to have lost their fastballs back in some well-provisioned green room somewhere, but that doesn't mean they can't still put on a show.

One way or another, Ortiz will find a way to make his final battle a memorable one, whether it means pounding Griffin down or going out on his shield.

1. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen

Weight Class: Middleweight (for UFC middleweight championship)
See it on: Pay-per-view

This is that big main event fight I was telling you about before.

Part of me is tempted to suspect that Sonnen will finish what he started so many moons ago. But as a pro-wrestling fan, Sonnen will also respect the wisdom in that old saw about being the man. And Silva is the man until someone proves he isn't.

Prediction: Silva, TKO, Round 2.

Scott Harris is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For unimportant but still interesting information on mixed martial arts and other things, follow him on Twitter @ScottHarrisMMA.