UFC 132 Fight Card: Early Main Card Breakdown and Predictions

UFC 132 is set to take place on July 2, and this is shaping up to be one of the better cards in recent memory.

It is so good, that four of the fights on the preliminary card could very easily be main card fights.

The main event of the evening pits bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz in the first defense of his UFC title against the only man who holds a victory over him, former WEC Featherweight Champion, Urijah Faber.

The co-main event of the evening is a fight that has been in the making for nearly a year, as a legend of the sport, Wanderlei Silva, takes on hard hitting and iron-chinned Chris Leben.

In addition, Tito Ortiz fights for his job against an Ultimate Fighter winner, Ryan Bader, Carlos Condit takes on Dong Hyun Kim in what could very well become a No. 1 contender match, and Dennis Siver, fresh off an upset over George Sotiropoulos, takes on "Handsome" Matt Wiman.

So here is the breakdown and predictions for the main card.

Dennis Siver vs. Matt Wiman

To kick off the main card, Dennis Siver (18-7) takes on Matt Wiman (13-5) in a matchup to see who can continue to climb up the ladder in the crowded lightweight division.

In Siver's last fight, he took on jiu-jitsu ace, George Sotiropoulos. In a massive upset, Siver showed great takedown defense, and stuffed every takedown attempt, and kept the fight on the feet for 15 minutes. Siver is a German Kickboxing Champion. Sotiropoulos is known for his jiu-jitsu. Guess who took the unanimous decision victory.

In Wiman's last fight, he won a unanimous decision victory over Cole Miller. Wiman was able to take down and just impose his will upon Miller, and he looked pretty impressive doing it.

Wiman's strength is easily his wrestling. He will take his opponents down and do whatever he pleases.

Unfortunately for Wiman, Siver showed he has fantastic takedown defense.

Prediction: Dennis Siver via unanimous decision.

Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim

In the second fight of the main card, former WEC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit (26-5) takes on undefeated judoka, Dong Hyun Kim (14-0-1 [1 NC]) in a fight that could name the next No. 1 contender.

Condit comes into this fight after handing Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy the first knockout loss of his career. Before that, he TKO'd Rory MacDonald with only seven seconds left in a fight that he could have very well lost had it gone to decision. Condit is a very well rounded fighter, as he has 12 wins by (T)KO and 13 by submission.

Condit was taken down several times by Martin Kampmann, so going up against a judoka such as Kim may cause problems, but you can assume that Condit has been working his takedown defense.

Kim comes in after winning a unanimous decision victory over Nate Diaz to kick off the New Year at UFC 125. Kim has only finished one of his opponents in the UFC (Jason Tan, UFC 84) and that was in his debut. Since then he has four decision victories and one no contest.

Kim takes his opponents down and controls them with his judo, but he also has knockout power, as evidenced by his fights in DEEP (5 KOs).

This is a very even matchup.

Prediction: Carlos Condit via split decision.

Tito Ortiz vs. Ryan Bader

This fight features two fighters on the exact opposite ends of the spectrum.

Tito Ortiz (15-8-1) takes on Ryan Bader (12-1) in a light heavyweight matchup.

Tito is currently on a five fight winless streak (four losses and one draw) and is basically out of the UFC with a loss. He has lost three in a row (all decisions) to Matt Hamill, Forrest Griffin, and Lyoto Machida.

Tito was one of the most dominant champions in UFC history, and he would take you down, and just beat the living hell out of you. But he hasn't been the same Tito as of late.

On the other hand...

Ryan Bader is only 27 years old, and looks like he could still be a dominant force in the UFC yet. Bader was a D-1 wrestler at Arizona State University where he was teammates with current UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez.

In addition to his strong wrestling, Bader also has one punch knockout power, as evidenced by his win over Keith Jardine.

Tito is on his way out the door, and Bader is going to show him the way.

Prediction: Ryan Bader via Second round knockout.

Wanderlei Silva vs. Chris Leben

In the co-main event of the evening, we may very well see the fight of the year when Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1 [1 NC]) takes on Chris "The Crippler" Leben (25-7).

Wanderlei Silva makes his long awaited return to the Octagon after a 17 month absence, during which he had several injuries to deal with.

Everyone will know Wanderlei as a devastating striker, a proven finisher with killer instinct, and one of the scariest fighters in MMA. Unfortunately for fans, Wanderlei hasn't been the same since making his return to the UFC. He is 2-3, and looks to be another legend who is on their way out.

And nearly one year earlier, almost to the day, Chris Leben defeated Yoshihiro Akiyama after taking the fight on two weeks notice as a replacement for, guess who, Wanderlei Silva.

Leben has an iron chin, and he "hits like a freight train" and him and Wanderlei plan on having a war.

Unfortunately for Wanderlei, 17 months is a long time, and I think ring rust will be a big factor.

Prediction: Chris Leben via Second round TKO.

Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber

In the main event of the evening, for the UFC Bantamweight Championship, Dominick Cruz (17-1) takes on his rival, and the former poster boy and featherweight champion of the WEC, Urijah Faber (25-4).

Dominick Cruz is the current champion, and his only loss is to Urijah Faber. This will be Cruz's first defense of his title, and probably his toughest fight to date.

Cruz is known for his elusiveness and striking ability, but he is also a very strong wrestler.

Cruz and Faber have had quite the little feud going on, and you can expect Cruz will want to shut Faber up.

Urijah Faber is the former WEC featherweight champion and this will be his second fight in the UFC. In his last fight, he defeated Eddie Wineland via unanimous decision to become the No. 1 contender to Cruz's belt, and set up the rematch.

Faber is also a strong wrestler, and has great submissions.

These two first fought four years ago, and both have improved and evolved since then.

These two don't like each other, and they're going to want to rip the other's head off.

Prediction: Dominick Cruz via unanimous decision.