A few weeks have passed and I still have the bad taste of UFC 109 in my mouth. That should all go away as UFC 110 takes place in Sydney, Australia in what has the makings of a very exciting night of mixed martial arts action.
There are a handful of fighters on this card that have a lot of questions surrounding them and that will typically lead to crowd pleasing and action packed fights. Let's take a look at some of the highlighted fights:
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez
The winner of this heavyweight fight will be right in line for a title shot in the next few months. Nogueira is the old legend that many people are writing off and think he has seen his better days. Velasquez is the new hungry lion that looks to be nearly unstoppable.
In my opinion, Cain Velasquez has the makings of a long time title holder. He gets better every time we see him in the cage and comes from a great wrestling background. If his standup gets better, watch out heavyweights.
Nogueira has been in with just about everyone and has looked good recently but not great as we were used to seeing him a few years back. There are a lot of miles on his body and I'm not too sure he can deal with the young up and coming sensation that is Cain Velasquez.
Michael Bisping vs. Wanderlei Silva
People either love Bisping or they hate him. I think he's good for the sport and a pretty nice fighter. He was put to sleep by Dan Henderson recently and needs to prove that he belongs in the top tier of fighters in the UFC. His last fight with Denis Kang proved to me he belongs near the top of the 185 pound weight class.
Silva is another legend in the fight game that seems to be wearing down from all of the battles over the years. He still brings that one punch knockout to the table and will have a huge experience factor against Bisping.
Don't look for this one to go to the ground. I expect a street fight with both fighters going for the knockout early and often. This should be a good one, don't blink once that octagon door closes.
Ryan Bader vs. Keith Jardine
Two fighters going in different direction here. Bader is a up and coming well rounded guy who takes a nice step up in class while Jardine wants to prove he belongs on pay per view main cards.
I'm a big fan of Ryan Bader. He has that "it" factor to me. He's another guy who always improving and gets better every time out. Look for him to take this fight to the ground and work his ground and pound. Bader will hold a big advantage in wrestling tonight.
Jardine is a tough gritty guy but isn't elite and I don't think ever will be an elite fighter. He has knockout power and a ton of heart, I just think Bader is climbing towards the top. This is a must win for Jardine in my opinion and I don't think he will get it done.
Full fight card:
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez
Michael Bisping vs. Wanderlei Silva
George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Stevenson
Ryan Bader vs. Keith Jardine
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Anthony Perosh
Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
Brian Foster vs. Chris Lytle
C.B. Dollaway vs. Goran Reljic
Igor Pokrajac vs. James Te Huna
The UFC has put together a very nice card for its first trip to Australia. Let's hope it goes better than UFC 109 did and we see some really entertaining, fast paced action this evening. I'm looking forward to it.