UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy Fight Previews

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Two championships will be on the line when the UFC lands in Newark, NJ this Saturday night. UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy will feature highly ranked pound-for-pounder Georges St. Pierre as he puts his welterweight title on the line against hard-hitting British sensation Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy.

Also, after Brock Lesnar's illness kept him from defending the heavyweight hardware, an interim championship is once again being created. Former champion Frank Mir will step into the cage against powerhouse Shane Carwin. The main card action will air live on pay per view and two undercard matchups have been selected to be shown for free on Spike TV preceding the event.

Live on Spike TV:

Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Brown

When Ricardo Almeida traded in his Pancrase title for retirement in 2004 he was widely considered the top middleweight fighter in the world. After a few years of focusing on his jiu-jitsu school in Hamilton, NJ he returned to fighting in top form at UFC 81 with a guillotine choke win over Rob Yundt. He dropped a split-decision to Patrick Cote at UFC 86 and although he made no excuses for the loss, it was reported that he was battling an injury and an illness during that fight. He's back on a two fight winning streak now and ready to make his debut at 170lbs. against a very tough opponent.

There was a point in Matt Brown's career where money problems almost forced him out of fighting. Fortunately, he was selected as a contestant for The Ultimate Fighter reality TV show and although he lost to eventual show winner Amir Sadollah, he proved that he belonged in the sport and has been fighting with the UFC ever since. He's now 4-1 with the promotion and as an interesting side note, Brown stated on a radio show that he'd like to fight Renzo Gracie but has instead drawn Almeida, a long time Gracie student.

Rory Markham vs. Nate Diaz

Rory Markham has been knocking people out for a long time. He began full-contact competition at age thirteen and won fights against grown men, some with devastating head kicks. He's been training with Pat Miletich for about 5 years now and still has a knack for finishing fights. None of his 16 career wins have gone the distance, scoring 11 (T)KOs and 5 submissions.

After moderate success in the UFC's lightweight division, Nate Diaz has elected to take his talents up to welterweight. In his last four fights, he's 1-4, but check this out; 2 of those losses came by close split decisions, 2 were fight of the night, and his lone victory was submission of the night. Diaz has been known to get involved in some pre-fight talking, some weigh-in confrontations, and some in-cage antics, but love him or hate him, he's never boring.

Pay-Per-View Main Card:

Mark Bocek vs. Jim Miller

This is a fight without a bonafide superstar, but a prime candidate for Fight of the Night honors. Bocek is a highly decorated grapplng champion as well as a black belt in Kempo Karate. Now a veteran of six UFC fights, Bocek is ready to step up in competition with an opponent like Miller. Over the course of his 8-2 career (4-2 UFC) he's won six of those fights by submission, five by rear naked choke. It's no mystery as to why he calls it his favorite finish.

Jim Miller is one of the more under-rated fighters in all of MMA. The New Jersey-born fighter is 16-2 in his career with losses only to two of the highest ranked fighters in the division. He dropped one to Gray Maynard at UFC 96 and lost to Frankie Edgar for the Reality Fighting lightweight championship in a war that some witnesses called "the best fight that most people will never see." An accomplished high school and collegiate wrestler, he's adapted a strong jiu-jitsu game to his repetoire and has ten submissions wins to show for it.

Jon Fitch vs. Ben Saunders

Fitch was originally slated for a rematch with Thiago Alves on this card until a CAT scan found an irregularity in Alves' brain just three days before fight day. Saunders volunteered to step in and it should make for a pretty good fight. Saunders, an American Top Team product, is 8-1 in his pro career. His lone blemish coming at the hands of Fitch's teammate at American Kickboxing Academy, Mike Swick. His most recent and notable victory to date was a first-round KO over Marcus Davis at UFC 106.

Fitch wins fights. He's 21-3 overall and 11-1 in the UFC, losing only to Georges St. Pierre. He feels as though he's improved greatly since that loss and a win over Saunders just might put him in line for another opportunity. The former captain of the Purdue University wrestling team is a black belt in Guerilla Jiu-Jitsu, an art that combines jiu-jitsu and judo and is geared toward MMA. Formerly a light-heavyweight, the 6'1" Fitch has the size and the striking to go with these skills, making him one of the top welterweights in the world.

Kurt Pellegrino vs. Fabricio Camoes

Pellegrino is another fighter who will be enjoying a home field advantage. He was a wrestling standout at Point Pleasant High School in the very competitive Shore Region of New Jersey and is now 14-4 as a pro and 6-3 in the UFC. He has a reputation for toughness, accentuated by a 2008 fight against Alberto Crane where one of his teeth was knocked out and through his lip. He not only continued to fight but went on to win by TKO and took home a Fight of the Night bonus for his troubles.

Camoes made his UFC debut last November and fought Caol Uno to a draw. He's a 2nd degree black belt in jiu-jitsu under Royler Gracie, but currently trains in San Diego with Diego Sanchez and Rani Yahya. Now 10-4-1 in his career, he's amassed 6 wins by submission, the same number as his counterpart Pellegrino, so fans might expect quite a chess match if this fight hits the floor.

Co-Main Event: Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin

This fight will be for the UFC interim heavyweight championship which is beaing created because of an illness that has kept champion Brock Lesnar from fighting since July. That fight, a second-round TKO over Mir, has been Mir's motivation for building muscle mass and working on his wrestling. Already a jiu-jitsu black belt, Mir's striking has been impressive of late, scoring a TKO win over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and a guillotine choke over Cheick Kongo that was set up by a great left hand. Mir is 13-4 (11-4 UFC) and would love nothing more than to get this win and earn another shot at Brock Lesnar, who's scheduled to return to action this summer.

Mir might need every bit of muscle mass and wrestling that he can gain to beat Carwin. This guy has been man-handling opponents in an unprecedented manner. Not only is he undefeated at 11-0 but no fighter has even made it to the half way point of the first round. He has serious power in his punches, proven by six (T)KO wins, but is also skilled in submissions, finishing the other five fights in that manner. Carwin was originally scheduled to take on Lesnar for the belt back in November before the champ's illness, so he hopes to secure this win for a shot at the real gold.

Main Event- Georges St. Pierre vs. Dan Hardy

To say St. Pierre is on top of his game would be like saying fire is hot. He's currently riding a six-fight winning streak and has completely dismantled everyone in his path lately. His most recent victory was five round beating of Thiago Alves at the historic UFC 100 in a fight that saw the welterweight champ barely get tagged. He seems to be without weakness right now but his strongest technique is his ability to take people down at will and feed them a steady diet of vicious elbows. Look for more of this against Hardy, who's strength is mainly in his striking.

The last time St. Pierre tasted defeat was due to a big right hand delivered my Matt Serra almost three years ago. Dan Hardy punches harder than Matt Serra. Landing a huge power punch is not only his best chance at winning this fight but most people agree that it's his only chance. Don't tell that to "The Outlaw" though. He's as confident as any fighter in the business and has the momentum of a seven-fight winning streak on his side. The 27-year-old Team Rough House fighter is the first English fighter to get a title shot in the UFC, and he's not going to concede anything to anybody with an entire country supporting him.