On March 3rd, the UFC makes its debut in Columbus, Ohio with its patented hard-hitting cage fighting spectacle. It was inevitable for the former UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion, Randy Couture, to come back out of retirement. A man who has revolutionized the sport of MMA cannot kick the habit of competing in the place he loves most even if he is in his mid-40s. However, his comeback isn’t going to be a few stepping stones to the top in order to shake of the “cage-rust” and find his rhythm, but instead he is catapulted straight to the peak of the Heavyweight division taking on Tim “The Mainiac” Sylvia for the Heavyweight Championship Title.
Looking deeper on the card, two former UFC champions return to the ring after their title losses to march their way to the top once again with former Middleweight Champion, Rich Franklin, taking on Canadian prospect Jason MacDonald and former Welterweight Champion, Matt Hughes, taking on up-and-comer Chris Lytle.
Main Event – Tim Sylvia v. Randy Couture Fight Prediction
The young titan Tim “The Mainiac” Sylvia has been standing at the peak of the Heavyweight division with very few to legitimately challenge his throne. As the UFC has scrambled for viable international Heavyweights to grace their cage and make a run for the title, a good business-mind must conjure popularity in these fighters first in order for fans to buy their PPV if a Heavyweight title is to be headlined. Therefore, no Heavyweight Championship clash can be pushed forward without having these international fighters run the gauntlet of fighters in the division. In order to fill in this void, the master thinkers of the UFC have brought back Randy Couture, a former Heavyweight champion, to manifest a fantasy fight for UFC fans both hardcore and casual to enjoy.
As mentioned in previous fighter profiles on BuddyTV, for Tim Sylvia to come away with a win, he has got to work on some serious “sprawl’n’brawl”. Tim Sylvia, a six-foot, eight-inch, 263-lbs behemoth must utilize his size and strength if he wants to come away with a win over Randy. Sylvia’s ground game has always been suspect since Arlovski was able to get him there and Arlovski is no takedown artist. Randy Couture is simply the master of takedown, control, and “ground’n’pound”, therefore, Sylvia must train to sprawl hard, fast, and quickly get back up if he bites on a fake shot. This, in combination with using far reaching jabs, straight rights, and chopping kicks both to the legs and head, Sylvia will come away being the victor with a TKO win or decision over a battered Couture.
Randy “The Natural” Couture is one of the most decorated fighters to grace MMA. Despite all these decorations, it might not mean much if he hasn’t worked on being able to slip punches and attain the clinch for the takedown. Couture needs to refine this skill much like his teammate Dan Henderson who has made a living off of throwing an overhand right, taking the clinch, and implementing a textbook double-leg takedown. If Couture can utilize this winning combination against Sylvia, he will be merely 25 minutes away from taking the Heavyweight title for himself once again.
Prediction: The x-factor in this fight is Couture’s age and whether he can push his body to the limit like many young fighters. If Couture’s body hasn’t given in to age, Sylvia will have a much harder time to putting out the legend for good. However, all-in-all, Sylvia is constantly learning and growing as a fighter, and he may surprise many in the Heavyweight field since it no longer yields average fighters, but instead, the international elite. Therefore, this could spell an early night for Couture and Sylvia will hold on to his belt a little bit longer.
Semi Main Event 1 – Matt Hughes v. Chris Lytle Fight Prediction
After a long spree as champion, Matt Hughes returns to the Octagon as just another fighter fighting for three rounds instead of five. He will face the very tough and always game Chris Lytle despite losing to Matt Serra in his last outing. Both have a lot to gain while only Hughes has a lot to lose. Either way, this fight will be fireworks.
No matter how you slice it, Matt Hughes is simply one of the best to grace MMA as a sport. Despite losing to the best (Georges St. Pierre) the world has ever seen, Matt Hughes is still an elite fighter and nobody can question the effectiveness of Hughes’ wrestling technique, patented slams, and crushing ground’n’pound. Every now and then, fighters need their foundation shaken in order to reactivate the hunger to win, and this may be the hungriest Hughes we will see since his loss to Penn. All-in-all, Hughes just needs to implement his normal game and try not to fall under a spell of trying to stand with opponents like he did with GSP. If he sticks to his normal game plan, Hughes will have his hand raised once again.
If Chris Lytle comes with a game plan to neutralize Matt Hughes, Lytle will move up the Welterweight division by leaps and bounds. Even if Lytle is to lose, it would not mean the end of his UFC career, for the odds are strongly against him to win, and an upset or a close contest can only shine on Lytle’s future. Either way, Lytle must come out and fight a memorable fight and must not fight timid, but with everything he has. If he can bring those two combinations to the ring, he can possibly acquire a huge upset split decision that would only mean bigger opportunities and a shot at the title he was so close in getting.
Prediction: As much as I love to see upsets shake up any division in MMA, I just don’t see Lytle coming away with a win unless he miraculously finds a strategy to give him the advantage in this fight. I am not trying to berate Chris Lytle, but Matt Hughes is just too good, and quite honestly, Hughes will make an exclamation mark that he is one of the best while using Lytle’s body to make that point.
Semi Main Event 2 – Rich Franklin v. Jason MacDonald Fight Prediction
The former Middleweight Champion makes another run for the title as he takes on up-and-comer Jason MacDonald. Rich “Ace” Franklin finds himself in the same situation as Matt Hughes where he needs a win to not only rebuild confidence but continue to stay in title contention. Jason MacDonald hopes to derail such hopes for “Ace” after coming off wins over the very game TUF representatives Ed Herman and Chris Leben. This fight will truly sculpt the future of the Middleweight division.
Rich Franklin is a great fighter despite being absolutely tooled by “The Spider” Silva. He’s crushed a laundry list of notable opponents including Ken Shamrock, Jorge Rivera, Evan Tanner, Nathan Quarry, and David Loiseau. Much like training partner Tim Sylvia, “Ace” Franklin needs to work on his “sprawl’n’brawl” to keep away the ground savvy MacDonald and press his superior stand-up game. Furthermore, if Franklin is put in the clinch, his strength will become a huge asset in being able to rotate his opponent back to the cage if he finds himself backed to it and fire a barrage of vicious knees. With a cool head and “business-as-usual” demeanor, Franklin will find himself on the winning side once again.
In his last two outings, Jason MacDonald showed the MMA world that he’s got some pretty submissions. However, he’s going to need more than just pretty submission to stop the “Ace”. MacDonald showed that he could take hits but let’s be honest, Franklin hits harder and more accurate than Chris Leben. Therefore, MacDonald has got to work on his getting his shots crisper and more technical so he can get Franklin on the ground and implement the ground game that he favors so highly. Furthermore, MacDonald also needs to fortify his slipping drills in order to try and slip Franklin’s punches so MacDonald can get “Ace” into the clinch and eventually into the ground.
Prediction: MacDonald is a great fighter, but his fight against Chris Leben looked a little too sloppy to give an elite fighter like “Ace” Franklin legitimate trouble. Franklin will simply expose the weaknesses that MacDonald has in taking too many shots in order to try to get one dominant position. The hits that he will take from Franklin will be way too much for MacDonald to take and therefore Franklin will come away with the TKO or KO win in this fight.
Jason Lambert v. Renato Sobral
Renato Sobral made a tear through the Light Heavyweight division until he faced Chuck Liddell for the Light Heavyweight Title where he was simply beat senseless. Sobral will once again try to make a run for the title where a win over Lambert might put him in line to fight a Tito Ortiz or Quinton Jackson in the near future. Jason Lambert on the other hand lost his last fight to Rashad Evans and needs a big win here to legitimately stay in the UFC, and having a name like Renato Sobral under his belt will let everyone in the UFC know that he’s a legitimate Light Heavyweight contender.
Jason Lambert is a rare all-around mixed martial artist that despite losing to Rashad Evans, has won over names like Terry Martin and Travis Wiuff. However, for Jason Lambert to come away with a win in this fight he has to simply keep this game on the feet. There is no way for Lambert to win this fight on the ground against a submission master like Renato Sobral and like the aforementioned fighters “sprawl’n’brawl” is the key. With such a game plan, Lambert might get the upset and make a statement in the Light Heavyweight division.
Renato Sobral has a highlight reel full of submissions with over 30 fights to his name. His ground game and submission mastery has made victims of Mike Van Arsdale, Trevor Prangley, and one of the top Light Heavyweights in the world (next to Chuck Liddell) “Shogun” Rua. Sobral is synonymous with “tap or snap” and can manifest a submission quickly from nearly any position on the ground whether it be off his back or in top position. Renato Sobral is submission wizadry.
Prediction: Sobral will win by submission. He’s just too good on the ground and his wrestling is quite legitimate as well, therefore, getting Lambert on the ground shouldn’t be a problem. However, when it comes to fighting, there is always a puncher’s chance, and Lambert certainly has the heavy hands to pull it off. Yet, I would put my money on Sobral.
- Bardia Mehrabian BuddyTV Staff Columnist