The highlight of the card is the light heavyweight title fight between two of the biggest names in all of mixed martial arts. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will look to keep his belt when he steps in with crowd favorite Forrest Griffin. This should be an action packed fight and a real crowd pleaser.
Rampage is expected to win and possesses the better talent. Griffin, however, might have the biggest heart in the game.
Jackson is 3-0 in the UFC and 27-6 overall. His last two wins were against Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson. It is known that he has some of the heaviest hands in the fight game. He can knock people out with both hands. His strength might be the difference tonight. If he can get Griffin down, the fight should stay on the octagon floor. Rampage also showed he can go five rounds, he did that in the victory over Henderson. When he's focused and in shape, Jackson is one of the best fighters in the world.
Forrest Griffin's style is very crowd pleasing. He loves to stand and throw everything at his opponent. He brings a 6-2 UFC record (15-4 overall) into the cage with him. In his last fight, he wasn't given a chance to win and all he did was submit Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. The training and effort that he puts in has been phenomenal as he tends to get more well rounded every time out. He wants to be the best and it shows.
From a talent standpoint, Jackson might have the edge in every category. Griffin has the will to win and a great chin to go along with it. I can't see any way that Griffin will win by knockout tonight. Rampage on the other hand might be able to put Forrest to sleep with either hand.
I have been predicting an upset for a few months now and I am not going to change. I like Forrest to pull it off. He has the "it" factor. Not that Rampage doesn't, I just think Forrest Griffin was meant to be champion. Look for him to pull off a submission or a decision.
The other fight being hyped up is Patrick Cote vs Ricardo Almeida. Cote has won three fights in a row but is best known as one of Georges St. Pierre's training partners. Almeida is slick on the ground but has never seen a striker like Cote. The winner of this match is next in line for Anderson Silva belt and that's straight from Dana White. I like Cote to make it four in a row.
The fight I expect to produce the post 4th of July fireworks is the battle between Josh Koscheck and Chris "Lights Out" Lytle. Josh Koscheck is a future champion and a guy I have enjoyed watching develop since he was on The Ultimate Fighter show. Lytle seems to always be in a brawl. I don't want to miss this one. Both guys are pretty well rounded and hungry for another UFC victory. Look for this be fight of the night.
Full fight card:
Champion Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin (for UFC light heavyweight belt)
Ricardo Almeida vs. Patrick Cote
Joe Stevenson vs. Gleison Tibau
Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle
Marcus Aurelio vs. Tyson Griffin
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Justin McCully
Jorge Gurgel vs. Cole Miller
Melvin Guillard vs. Dennis Siver
Justin Bucholz vs. Corey Hill
There are some pretty good fighters that will be stepping into the octagon tonight. The main event features two of the biggest names out there. The others are looking forward to getting to the level of both Rampage and Forrest. With the amount of talent on the card, I expect a great night of fights. There hasn't been that much hype surrounding UFC 86 but I have a feeling people will be talking about it when it's all said and done.