UFC 133: Spike TV/PPV Predictions and Matches to Make for the Winners

UFC 133 is two days away, and right now, the UFC is simply hoping that everybody makes it to Philly and makes it through their match without another injury.

Already, the originally scheduled Main Event has twice been changed due to injuries suffered by Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and light heavyweight contender Phil Davis, the original co- Main Event between Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Rich Franklin was scrapped altogether after Nogueira suffered an injury and Franklin turned down a fight against the less- regarded Alexander Gustafsson, and lastly, a fight between Jorge Rivera and Alessio Sakara, two men who were originally scheduled to fight at UFC 118 last August in Boston, was changed after Sakara a torn ACL in training.

Here are the predictions for the Spike TV/PPV fights, and possible match-ups to make for the winners:

Spike TV Fight 1: Chad Mendes vs. Rani Yahya

Prediction: Mendes by Unanimous Decision

This could very well be the biggest test of Mendes' career. Yahya is a second-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and 14 of his 16 career wins have come by way of submission.

Even a fantastic wrestler like "Money" could have some problems. But, Mendes should be able to avoid Yahya's dangerous ground game and grind out a 29-28/30-27 victory.

Match to Make for Mendes: UFC Featherweight Champion

Mendes can be assured of one thing with a victory: The UFC Featherweight Title shot he had before champion Jose Aldo was held out of competition until October while recovering from various injuries. What won't be assured of is what champion Mendes will be facing.

Aldo (19-1) is scheduled to defend his championship against Kenny Florian (15-5) at UFC 136 in Houston. The winner of that fight will have their third (Aldo) or first (Florian) title defense against Mendes likely in March-April 2012, provided none of the fighters are set back by any major injuries

Spike TV Match 2: Alexander Gustafsson vs. Matt Hamill

Prediction: Gustafsson by Second-Round T/KO

Gustafsson has to have somewhat of a chip on his shoulder entering his bout with Hamill this Saturday. His original opponent, Vladimir Matyushenko, pulled out due to an injury.

Rich Franklin was then offered a fight against Gustafsson after his original opponent Rogerio Nogueira suffered an injury, but Franklin declined, stating that Gustafsson wasn't a big enough name for the former Middleweight Champion.

Gustafsson is 11-1 in his career, with 7 knockouts, 6 of those coming in the first round. Expect Gustafsson to do what he does best, but for it to take a little longer against Hamill.

Match to Make for Gustafsson: Phil Davis

This may seem to be a bit of a stretch to go from fighting on free TV to facing a guy who, before getting injured, was facing a former Light Heavyweight Champion for a chance to become the Number One Contender.

I think this would make for a very interesting re-match (the two men faced off at UFC 112 in April of 2010 where Davis handed Gustafsson the only loss of his career by submitting him late in the first round). Davis has fought 3 times since UFC 112, and has won all 3.

Saturday will be Gustafsson's third fight since 112, and a win would also make it 3 for 3 for him. But, a knockout Saturday would mark Gustafsson's third consecutive finish, while Davis has only finished one fight since beating Gustafsson, winning the other two by decision. The winner of a rematch could possibly be one fight away from a title shot.

PPV Match 1: Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Pyle

Prediction: MacDonald by Unanimous Decision

MacDonald is seven seconds away from being 12-0 in his career, and at just 22 years old, he's already put on three brilliant performances inside the octagon, including a dominant decision victory over Nate Diaz at UFC 129 in April.

This fight will be his PPV debut. Pyle has won three in a row, and four of his last five, looking to make some noise at 170, but the music should stop on Saturday.

Match to make for MacDonald: The Jake Shields/Jake Ellenberger loser.

Currently, Rory has some say as to why he should face a Top 10 opponent. Shields and Ellenberger have a little more say as to why they should face a Top 10 opponent.

Shields is one of the most decorated mixed martial artists to never wear UFC gold on the planet, a champion in two different weight classes across three different organizations, as well as the holder of a five-and-a-half year, 15-fight win streak that came to an end when Shields lost to Georges St-Pierre in a Welterweight Championship bout in April.

Ellenberger is currently on a four-fight win streak. His last loss came in his UFC debut back in September of 2009 when now-top welterweight contender Carlos Condit beat him by split decision.

Either man would bring a solid ground game (Wrestling for Ellenberger, jiu-jitsu for Shields) to the fight, something MacDonald has yet to see at such a high level in his career. A MacDonald- Shields/Ellenberger fight would be a welterweight war.

PPV Fight 2: Jorge Rivera vs. Constantinos Philippou

Prediction: Rivera by 2nd Round T/KO

Rivera is 19-8 in his career, with 13 of those victories coming by way of KO. Before facing Michael Bisping at UFC 127, Rivera had won three in a row, but had gone almost a year since his March 2010 victory over Nate Quarry.

Rivera bashed Bisping several weeks before the fight, creating a pot of bad blood that boiled over during the fight when Bisping threw a big illegal knee to a downed Rivera. Bisping, went on to win, but the result was clearly not pretty.

Philippou is a UFC newcomer, his octagon debut coming in March, with a unanimous decision loss to Nick Catone at UFC 128. Before the loss, Phillippou has been 8-0 with 1 No Contest in his previous 9 fights.

Match to make for Rivera: Retirement

Shouldn't come as THAT much of a shocker. He's 39 years old, he's already talked about the possibility of retiring, and even with a win Saturday, it would be several more fights before Rivera is even mentioned as being in the Top 10.

PPV Fight 3: Dennis Hallman vs. Brian Ebersole

Prediction: Ebersole by Unanimous Decision 

Say what you want about Brian Ebersole, the guy is flat-out entertaining.

Whether you take the above picture, where Ebersole has shaved his body so that the remaining hair makes out a face, or his cartwheel kick knockouts, Ebersole knows how to put on a show, the MMA likes of which can only be compared to Jason "Mayhem" Miller, host of MTV's "Bully Beatdown," and one of the coaches for the 14th season of "The Ultimate Fighter."

Ebersole stepped in on two and a half weeks notice for an injured Carlos Condit at UFC 127, and defeated Chris Lytle by decision.

Hallman has been in and out of the UFC for the last decade, his most recent stint resulting in a two-fight win streak. Hallman is a submission specialist, but Ebersole should be smart enough to stay out of the way long enough to earn the win.

Match to Make for Ebersole: Dong Hyun-Kim

I like the idea of this fight more for the timing of it over anything else. Kim tried putting himself on the map by calling out Georges St-Pierre after defeating Nate Diaz at UFC 125 on New Year's Day, stating GSP as a hero and role model for himself as a mixed martial artist.

Kim then faced Carlos Condit at UFC 132, losing by way of a flying knee and punches in the 1st round. The loss was the 1st of Kim's career, and ended his UFC unbeaten streak at six (5 wins, 1 No Contest).

Kim will be looking for a relevant name as a bounce-back fight, and Ebersole could definitely be that name with a win Saturday.

PPV Co-Main Event: Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama

Prediction: Belfort by First-Round T/KO

Five months after it happened, Vitor Belfort is still picking up the few remaining pieces of his dignity that Anderson Silva front kicked everywhere at UFC 126 in February. Before the loss, Belfort has won five fights in a row, but waited over a year before fighting Silva.

Akiyama has put on nothing but brilliant performances, but come up with less spectacular results in his 3 UFC fights. He's won the Fight of the Night Bonus every time he's stepped inside the octagon, but gone 1-2 in those fights.

A knockout that Belfort has predicted for Saturday, could just send Akiyama out the door, and send Belfort back to the top of the 185-pound ladder.

Match to Make for Belfort: The Chael Sonnen/Brian Stann loser:

Top contenders Brian Stann and Chael Sonnen are currently scheduled to meet at UFC 136 in October , in what is widely rumored to be a No. 1 Contender's fight. The loser of that fight will still be a top 5-10 fighter looking for a top 5-10 opponent.

Whether it be Sonnen, who came within two minutes of shocking Anderson Silva for the Middleweight Championship last August before everything came crashing down on him, first in his MMA world, then in his real world, or Stann, who is 3-0 since dropping from light heavyweight to middleweight, Belfort will be in for a war.

PPV Card Main Event: Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz

Prediction and Match to make for the winner: Evans by First-Round T/KO and the Light Heavyweight Champion

This is my bold call of the evening. My instinct was to pick Evans by decision, but I think Evans is furious over everything that has gone on over the last 15 months, and Tito is still caught up in his moment from last month.

Since May 2010, Evans had had the rightful claim to being the No. 1 Contender at Light Heavyweight. He had a match with then-champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 128 in March. A knee injury forced Rashad out of the fight, and his then-teammate at Jackson's Submission Fighting Jon Jones ended up replacing him, and winning the Light Heavyweight Championship.

Evans stated he had left Jackson's camp in a post-fight interview with Jones and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan in the octagon that night. The Main Event for Saturday was scheduled to be their title match, but Jones was forced off the card after suffering a hand injury. He was then replaced with undefeated Phil Davis, but Davis was forced off the card with a knee injury.

After initially turning the fight down, Tito Ortiz, who was all but out of the UFC before a remarkable submission victory over Ryan Bader last month at UFC 132, was called upon to take the spot.

Meanwhile, Jones' title defense was changed to UFC 135 in September, where Jones will face fellow Evans rival Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, who Evans beat back in May of 2010 to earn his original shot against Rua. You think Evans doesn't have one, or 30, chips on his shoulders going into Saturday?