UFC 96: Breakdown of One Big Card

UFC 96: Jackson vs. Jardine

Starting at the bottom of the card and working our way up, this fight card goes from interesting to a standout.

With fighters such as Matt Hamill, Kendall Grove, Brandon Vera, and Jason Day, this promises to be one huge night of fights.

Aaron Riley (27-10-1) vs. Shane Nelson (12-3-0)

In this undercard fight, there should be a rather interesting battle being raged. There are decent records on both sides, and no clear cut advantage for either fighter. However, the relative speed of Nelson should pose a challenge to Riley. In this fight, experience should prevail and Riley should edge out Nelson in a split decision.

Brandon Vera (9-3-0) vs. Michael Patt (15-3-0)

This undercard fight promises to be a one-sided affair.

Brandon Vera competes for his third time at 205 pounds, and his newly acquired speed is frightening. Couple that with his quick and powerful Muay Thai stand up and an ever-evolving grappling game, and Michael Patt will be defending a lot of action from Vera.  I do not see Pratt mounting a valid defense or offense. 

Tim Boetsch (8-2-0) vs. Jason Brilz (16-1-1)

The Hitman plans to strike again in this fight between two well-respected light heavyweights.

With Brilz's excellent ground-and-pound, Boetsch is in trouble if the fight ends up on the ground. With more experience in the spotlight, Brilz should be able to gauge Boetsch's timing and strategy. It should only be a matter of time before Brilz gets a knockdown and follows it with some furious strikes from the top.

Kendall Grove (11-5-0) vs. Jason Day (17-6-0)

In this battle, the gawky Hawaiian must be sharp enough to counter the more complete package of the Canadian. With a more aggressive style, Grove must be careful not to get caught with his chin out.

Day has seen his record become tarnished in recent fights, but this is a solid chance for him to reclaim his once respected MMA game.

Tamdan McCrory (11-2-0) vs. Ryan Madigan (5-0-0)

In this fight, two unbalanced but similar fighters head into battle. The "Barn Cat" McCrory will have the advantage due to his striking ability, which allows him to attack from odd angles and bypass most of his opponents' defenses.

Madigan will not go down without a fight, as the "Lion" looks to keep his undefeated professional record intact.

Gray Maynard (7-0-1) vs. Jim Miller (13-1-0)

With similar structures to their games, this fight is lining up to be a very measured battle.

Both fighters are strong wrestlers, therefore the ground aspect may appear to many newer viewers to be questionably exciting. However, there should be huge waves of action. Maynard's has a more refined stand-up game, and will probably gain the advantage over Miller in this lightweight contest.

Matt Hamill (7-2-0) vs. Mark Munoz (5-0-0)

Two totally opposite fighting styles will be mixing it up in this fight.

Hamill will be looking for takedowns, thus utilizing his devastating ground-and-pound skills.

To stop the "Hammer," Munoz will have to showcase his Muay Thai abilities. However, once Hamill works inside for a takedown, or if Munoz slips, control will fall into the hands of Hamill.

Pete Sell (8-5-0) vs. Matt Brown (11-7-0)

Both fighters come in looking good and each posses a strong skillset, but it's going to be all one-sided.

Matt Brown enters the fight lean and mean, with excellent conditioning and a powerful stand-up.

Pete Sell does not have enough defense to stop Brown from asserting himself.

Unless Sell can find some room to land his shots early, Brown will control the fight from start to finish.

Gabriel Gonzaga (10-3-0) vs. Shane Carwin (10-0-0)

Coming into this fight, Gonzaga looks to continue his winning streak, and Carwin looks to keep his record spotless.

Gonzaga looks as dangerous as ever.

With a strong stand-up, and an even more formidable ground attack, Carwin will have to use all of his acquired tricks to stay conscious in this fight.

Look for Carwin to try to take Gonzaga down early, hoping his initial attempts will help dictate a lot of the fight.