Written by Scott Swerbinsky

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It's a big night tonight for mixed martial arts fans, as UFC 75 takes place from London, and there's also an excellent card of local fighters duking it out downtown at The Dan Bobish Classic. Predictably, my cuz is all over this like a moustache on a female Stillers fan ... and previews both events for us today in his latest effort. Two mixed martial events in one night is always a good thing. Pro Karate Weekly will be holding the Dan Bobish Classic in downtown Cleveland and nothing can beat a live fight card. UFC 75 is also taking place but will air on tape delay in the US and will be held in London.

Both events have some must see fights and I can't for the cage door to close and for the bell to ring.

The main event at the Bobish Classic will feature "Smokin" Joe Heiland as he looks to keep a perfect mma in tact when he goes to battle with Jon Meyer. Heiland, a member of the StrongStyle Fight Team, is the NAAFS 2006 Fighter of the Year and one of the most respected fighters in our area. His ground game is top of the food chain and he loves to use his ground and pound. Meyer, a Walker Submission fighter, is also very well respected in the mma world and this fight has instant classic written all over it.
I look for Heiland to remain perfect in front of all his hometown fans.

Another must see fight on the card will be UFC veteran and former Ohio State wrestler Sean salmon taking on Jason "Wreckin Ball" Jones. Salmon just last weekend competed in an up and coming organization ran by Hall of Fame Boxing referree Richard Steele in Las Vegas. Salmon was defeated by a first round choke and looks to get back on the winning track. He is going to have his hands full with Jones tonight but the former Buckeye should be up to the task. I expect Salmon to pull off the win and impress the local fans in Cleveland.

The Dan Bobish Classic fight card is loaded with local talent and I can't wait to take in all of the action live and in person.

When it comes to mixed martial arts, it doesn't get any bigger or better than the UFC. Today, in London, the biggest fight in the history of the sport is going to take place. Champion vs Champion.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is the UFC Light Heavyweight champion. He earned the belt with a 1st round TKO over "The Iceman" Chuck Liddell. Jackson's opponent will be Pride's Light Heavyweight and Welterweight king Dan Henderson.

Jackson has been on top of the world since the victory over UFC poster boy Liddell. Rampage in 2-0 since entering the octagon. If he is to remain perfect, he is going to have to beat perhaps the pound for pound king of the sport.

Rampage style is brawling. He likes to slam people and work his ground and pound. His stand up skills are much improved and his submissions might be his only weakness. Henderson on the other hand is a phenominal wrestler and his standup is also very improved. Just ask Wanderlei Silva if he can strike. He knocked Silva out cold in their last battle in Pride title fight. I look for this fight to be a classic battle. It could possibly be the most evenly matched fight in UFC history.

I like Henderson to pull off the win with his ground game. If he can get Rampage to the ground, the fight should stay down and in my eyes that is how Henderson will want it. There is no quit in Jackson and he will put everything he has into this encounter. I just think Henderson is more well rounded.

Another battle that is going to take place will be Michael "The Count" Bisping taking on Matt "The Hammer" Hamill. These two fighter would have met in the finals of The Ultimate Fighter show if Hamill wouldn't have gotten injured. Now they finally meet and it should be a great matchup.

Both fighters enter undefeated. Bisping is a perfect 14-0 and 3-0 in the UFC and Hamill is 5-0 overall with two of those wins in the UFC. I expect this to be a brawl. Hamill is a great wrestler but also looks to throw bombs. Bisping has very heavy hands and I think his overall skill level is going to be too much in this one. I look for "The Count" to get his hand raised with the win coming by knockout.

Dan Bobish Classic full fight card:


"Smokin" Joe Heiland 8-0 (Strong Style) vs John Meyers 6-1 (Walker Submission)
195 lbs Sean Salmon 10-2 (Team Salmon) vs Jason "Wrecking Ball" Jones 8-2 (Bloody Buddy)
155 lbs - Torrance "The Tyrant" Taylor 4-3 (Rising Dragon) vs Mike Bogner 6-4 (Predator)
160 lbs - John Bailey 0-1 (Baileys MMA & Boxing) vs Leo Fowler 2-2 (Team Predator)
155 lbs - Zach Sutek 3-1 (Instigator Fight Team) vs John "The Cobra" Rohn 4-1 (Team Challenge)
205 lbs - Dominique Vanest 3-0 (Instigator Fight Team) vs Todd "TNT" Morgan 3-1 (Independent)

Preliminary Bouts
265 lbs - Stepe Miocic 1-0 (StrongStyle Fight Team) vs Seth Cole 2-1 (Wreckroom Athletics)
185 lbs - Silas Maynard 2-0 (StrongStyle Fight Team) vs Dustin Bloom 3-4 (Team AirGadFly)
155 lbs - Aaron Dugan 1-1 (North Eastern Pummeling Den) vs Joey Holt 0-1 (Baileys MMA & Boxing)
185 lbs - Ray Zellar 1-0 (Team Challenge) vs Okey Lawrence 2-1 (Team DNA)
185 lbs - Milan Wesley 3-1 (StrongStyle Fight Team) vs Steve Zornes 1-0 (Team JAD)
265 lbs - Scott Dennamen 0-0 (Strong Style) vs Raben Lee 0-2 (Independent)
175 lbs - Jeremy Matheny 0-0 (Pain Headquarters) vs Chris Bradley 1-0 (Indpendent)

UFC 75 full fight card:
PRIDE champion Dan Henderson vs. UFC champion Quinton Jackson (for both light heavyweight belts)
Marcus Davis vs. Paul Taylor (swing bout)
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Cheick Kongo
Michael Bisping vs. Matt Hamill
Houston Alexander vs. Alessio Sakara
UNDERCARD
Terry Etim vs. Gleison Tibau
Jess Liaudin vs. Anthony Torres
Tomasz Drwal vs. Thiago Silva
Dennis Siver vs. Naoyuki Kotani

What a great night for fight fans. I simply can't wait for all of this action. It's a true dream for any fan of the sport. Every fight that is going to take place has fight of the night potential. Watching them all and waiting for the fireworks is going to be FAN-tastic.