UFC 133 Fight Card: Predicting Tito Ortiz vs. Rashad Evans and More from Philly

The UFC 133 fight card has been damaged by injury that has taken out a lot of fights. The main event—originally slated to be Rashad Evans versus Phil Davis—is now between Evans and another former UFC light heavyweight champion, Tito Ortiz.

Ortiz is going to be fighting for the second time in just over a month and is coming off of a big first round submission victory over Ryan Bader that helped give him his first win since October of 2006.

Rashad will most likely clinch the No. 1 contender spot with a win over Ortiz and end up facing either Jon Jones or Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, depending on the outcome at UFC 135. 

Also on the card is Yoshihiro Akiyama versus Vitor Belfort in what should be a great battle between the two fighters who are respectively two great strikers.

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Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Pyle

Welterweight bout

Rory MacDonald (11-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC)

Six wins by submission, four by knockout, one by decision

One loss by knockout

Mike Pyle (21-7-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC)

16 wins by submission, three by decision, two by knockout

Four losses by submission, two by knockout, one by decision

Breakdown: MacDonald is coming off of a huge unanimous decision victory over Nate Diaz at UFC 129. MacDonald came out and showed everyone the potential he has to become a future star in MMA.

Pyle is on a three-fight win streak in the UFC and is also the only man outside of Georges St-Pierre to beat Jon Fitch.

MacDonald has some great striking skills, and his six victories by submission speak volumes about his ground game. The sky is the limit for MacDonald, and he has a good test here for his ground game since Pyle is a very adept grappler.

MacDonald has looked good when faced with good competition—Carlos Condit and Nate Diaz—and I won't pick against the young Canadian up-and-comer.

Prediction: MacDonald by third round TKO

Jorge Rivera vs. Constantinos Philippou

Middleweight bout

Jorge Rivera (19-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC)

13 wins by knockout, four by decision, two by submission

Five losses by knockout, three by submission

Constantinos Philippou (7-2 [1 NC] MMA, 0-1 UFC)

Four wins by knockout, two by decision, one by submission

Two losses by decision

Breakdown: Rivera was originally slated to face Alessio Sakara, but now the striker will have to deal with Philippou.

Rivera is 39 years old and is coming off of a knockout loss to Michael Bisping. Philippou—to me—is borderline UFC talent.

Rivera should win this one handily in what could be one of the last fights of his career. Rivera has a lot to lose, and a loss could mark bad news for Rivera.

Philippou has never been finished and is part of the Serra-Longo Fight Team and has nothing to lose in this fight. Philippou is coming into a striker vs. striker matchup, and it will be interesting to see how this goes.

Prediction: Rivera by unanimous decision or third round TKO (I can't decide)

Dennis Hallman vs. Brian Ebersole

Welterweight bout

Dennis Hallman (43-13-2 [1 NC] MMA, 3-3 UFC)

38 wins by submission, six by decision, five by knockout, one by disqualification

Eight losses by decision, five by knockout

Brian Ebersole (47-14-1 [1 NC] MMA, 1-0 UFC)

20 wins by submission, 14 by decision, 13 by knockout

Nine losses by submission, five by decision

Breakdown: Here is a fight between two fighters who between them have a combined 122 fights. Ebersole is coming off of his first victory inside the UFC in his very long career. Ebersole beat Chris Lytle at UFC 127 by unanimous decision and earned "Fight of the Night" honors.

Dennis Hallman has won his last two fights since coming back to the UFC against Ben Saunders and Karo Pariysan.

Now Hallman is facing Ebersole in what should be an awesome fight between two longtime fighters. The fight will come down to Ebersole's crazy, out-of-nowhere striking against Hallman's wrestling and submission prowress.

Prediction: Ebersole by unanimous decision 

Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Vitor Belfort

Middleweight bout

Vitor Belfort (19-9 MMA, 8-5 UFC)

13 wins by knockout, four by decision, two by submission

Five losses by decision, three by knockout, one by submission

Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-3 [2 NC] MMA, 1-2 UFC)

Seven wins by submission, five by knockout, one by decision

One loss by decision, one by knockout, one by submission

Breakdown: What I'm expecting here is an all out war between these two great strikers. Akiyama has won "Fight of the Night" honors in all three of his UFC fights.

These two guys know how to throw and toss in their unwillingness to call it quits. They will push forward through the hailstorm of bombs being tossed by one another.

If I was going to pick which fight would win "Fight of the Night" for UFC 133, it would definitely be this one.

Prediction: Belfort by unanimous decision

Rashad Evans vs Tito Ortiz

Light heavyweight bout

Rashad Evans (15-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC)

Eight wins by decision, five by knockout, two by submission

One loss by knockout

Tito Ortiz (16-8-1 MMA, 15-8-1 UFC)

Eight wins by knockout, five by decision, three by submission

Four losses by decision, two by knockout, two by submission

Breakdown: This is a tough fight for Tito, as I think in all areas, Rashad has the edge at this point in their respective careers.

Rashad's gone away from Jackson's camp and now has been working in Florida. Rashad's striking is better and has improved since his last fight with Tito. 

The only person to ever knockout out Tito is Chuck Liddell. Frank Shamrock made him submit due to punches, but I think this all changes come Saturday night.

Tito will hang around until late in the fight, and Rashad will put Tito out early. As much as I hate to see a legend die this close to his redeeming victory, Rashad should have this one in hand.

Prediction: Evans by third round TKO