MMA Universe

BJ Penn vs. Diego Sanchez – Of all BJ Penn’s challengers as lightweight champion, I think Diego Sanchez has the greatest chance of taking the title.

I still think BJ wins this fight, but have to concede that this matchup will be the toughest test BJ has faced as title holder.

Sanchez has good striking power and quick hands that he should be able to put to good use against Penn. Penn has shown throughout his career that he has a chin made of granite and Diego probably knows he can’t look to knock BJ out.

Diego needs to put heavy pressure on BJ and attempt to land as many strikes as possible, both to the head and to the body, in an effort to wear the champion down.

While BJ Penn has improved his conditioning and cardio significantly in his past few fights, that area of his game is still his weakest and we saw GSP wear down Penn and force him to throw in the towel. While Diego is no where as big as GSP, he is a former welterweight and does carry a good amount of muscle.

I look for Penn to attack this fight with the same gameplan he used against Kenny Florian. Penn feels confident that he can stand and trade strikes with anybody, but I think BJ will look to take this fight to the ground sometime during the second round.

Sanchez is a strong wrestler, but BJ’s grappling skills are too good for Diego to defend. I see this fight ending by submission sometime in the third or fourth round.

Winner: BJ Penn

Frank Mir vs. Cheick Kongo – Frank Mir and Cheick Kongo are two heavyweight fighter’s that are almost a liability to the UFC, in my opinion. Both men are solid heavyweights, but neither is truly at the “top of his class” enough to become and remain the heavyweight champion for any period of time.

Kongo has a good striking and kicking game, but his ground game is still completely lacking even after 20 professional fights, including 10 in the UFC.

Frank Mir’s ground game is top notch, and he even has started to show some good signs of improvement on the feet in recent matches. Mir just has never been able to get over the hurdle and become a huge force in the division.

Personally, I’m pretty ambivalent about this matchup and don’t know what the winner really gains out of the matchup. A title shot probably isn’t on the line, and both men will undoubtedly remain with the promotion.

Look for Mir to test the hands early on, but wisen up and submit Kongo for the victory.

Winner: Frank Mir

Jon Fitch vs. Mike Pierce – The training camp for UFC 107 was something of a circus for Jon Fitch. Originally slated to fight Ricardo Almeida, Fitch had to switch to preparing for Thiago Alves when Almedia withdrew. The preparations for Alves were short-lived however, as Alves also pulled out leaving Fitch with a fight against Mike Pierce.

I don’t think the revolving door of opponent’s hurt Fitch’s preparations at all, however, and I don’t expect this fight to be much of a problem for Fitch. While Mike Pierce is a solid fighter and has some decent power in his hands, his matchup here with Fitch is more about finding a way to keep Fitch on the fight card rather than matching up two equal opponents.

Expect Fitch to have his way with Pierce on the ground and win via unanimous decision or submission.

Winner: Jon Fitch

Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida – Most MMA fans are looking forward to this lightweight matchup between Kenny Florian and Clay Guida almost as much as the night’s main event.

Both Florian and Guida consistently bring a high-energy gameplan into the Octagon and this fight could be an excellent battle.

Florian recently changed up his training camp and has moved away from Mark Dellegrotte as Sityodtong and it will be interesting to see if the change of scenery has improved Florian’s game at all.

Florian’s striking and Muay Thai game are better than Guida’s, simply because he is the far more accurate and technical striker. Guida should be able to out wrestle Florian on the mat, but Florian has the strong guard game. If Guida can avoid Florian’s guard he should be able to do some damage, but avoiding Florian’s guard isn’t an easy task.

I don’t really see either fighter look to take this fight to the ground however, and I fully expect to see a three round striking battle. If Guida can get in close and frustrate Florian with the clinch in the same way he did to Nate Diaz, then Guida will walk away the victor. If he can’t, look for Florian to win via decision.

Winner: Clay Guida

Paul Buentello vs. Stefan Struve – MMA heavyweight journeyman Paul Buentello gets another crack at the Octagon. Buentello is by no means a top prospec, but is more of a middle-of-the-pack type of heavyweight. Why the UFC chose to bring “The Headhunter” back into the fold, I’m not quite sure, but the matchup against Stefan Struve will prove an interesting one.

Buentello can still pack a solid punch, and should have the easy advantage on the feet if he can figure out a way to contend with Struve’s huge height advantage.

Struve holds the clear advantage on the ground and has a very good submission game for a man of his size. Stefan needs to use his reach advantage to kick and jab in an effort to keep Buentello at a distance. If Buentello is successful at getting in close and starts landing strikes, look for Struve to take the fight to the ground and attempt to work a submission.

I think Buentello is experienced enough and still has good enough power in his hands that he should be able to keep the fight on the feet and win this fight on points.

Winner: Paul Buentello

Alan Belcher vs. Wilson Gouveia – Winner: Wilson Guiveia
Matt Wiman vs. Shane Nelson – Winner: Matt Wiman
Johny Hendricks vs. Ricardo Funch – Winner: Johny Hendricks
Rousimar Palhares vs. Lucio Linhares – Winner: Rousimar Palhares
DeMarques Johnson vs. Edgar Garcia – Winner: DeMarques Johnson
Kevin Burns vs. TJ Grant – Winner: Kevin Burns

Towering up-and-coming heavyweight Stefan Struve (18-3) has officially taken over for the injured Todd Duffee in a bid to throw hands with Paul Buentello (27-10) at UFC 107: “Penn vs. Sanchez” from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., on Dec. 12.

Buentello was last seen using Kiril Sidelnikov’s face as a human punching bag for almost three full rounds at Affliction 2: “Day of Reckoning” earlier this year. “The Headhunter” went on to eventually score a late third round technical knockout over the Russian Sambo specialist, who later tested positive for having banned substances in his system after the contest.

The win was Buentello’s second straight under the Affliction banner — he outpointed last minute replacement Gary Goodridge on the judges scorecards to earn a unanimous decision victory in the promotion’s inaugural show in 2008.

He was originally scheduled to face Gilbert Yvel (after Tim Sylvia got clowned by Ray Mercer) at the Aug.1 “Trilogy” event, but the promotion closed up shop after headliner Josh Barnett got popped for steroids.

His contract was one of many picked from the rubble by Zuffa following Affliction’s demise and his experience inside the Octagon (and out) makes him an immediate factor in this division.

In fact, over his past 13 fights, Buentello has only dropped two contests — one was for a shot at Andrei Arlovski’s UFC heavyweight title back at UFC 55 and the other was at the hands of Alistair Overeem for Strikeforce in November 2007.

But don’t expect the surging Hollander to be impressed by any of that.

The 20-year-old Struve recently signed a four-fight contract with the organization, earning his opportunity to compete on the biggest stage in mixed martial arts with an impressive five-fight win streak in 2008 — all of which came via submission.

Unfortunately, he received a rude welcome from the surging Junior dos Santos, who clobbered “The Skyscraper” into a first round TKO loss at UFC 95. The talented striker quickly rebounded at UFC 99 and refused to let a grisly facial cut stop him from submitting the venerable Denis Stojnic via rear naked choke.

Struve made it-back-to-back wins after disposing of Chase Gormley via first round submission just last month at UFC 104: “Machida vs. Shogun,” and could make a name for himself in the 265-pound weight class by spoiling Buentello’s return.

UFC 107 will feature a main event between lightweight division champion, BJ Penn, defending his title against number one division contender, Diego Sanchez, as well as a heavyweight showdown between former champion Frank Mir and Cheick Kongo.

In addition, a lightweight attraction between stars Kenny Florian and Clay Guida was recently shifted to the card to compensate for the loss of the light heavyweight showdown between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans.

For more on the developing UFC 107 fight card and rumors click here.

Another one bites the dust.

Undefeated heavyweight powerhouse Todd Duffee has sustained an undisclosed injury, scrapping his upcoming bout against Paul Buentello (27-10) at UFC 107: “Penn vs. Sanchez” from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., on Dec. 12, according to Sherdog.com.

Mike Russow and Stefan Struve are currently the front runners to replace the American Top Team-trained specimen; however, no official announcement regarding Duffee’s injury or potential replacement has been made at this time.

Nonetheless, Duffee is clearly disappointed, saying “[withdrawing] was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make.”

Duffee made his UFC debut at the “Couture vs. Nogueira” pay-per-view back on Aug. 29. The 23-year-old pushed his perfect record to 5-0 with a record-setting seven-second annihilation of Tim Hague.

Prior to that, the Duffee scored an impressive second round technical knockout over Brazilian roadblock, Assuerio Silva, at Jungle Fight 11 last September. The hulking University of Georgia student has ended all five of his professional fights by way of (technical) knockout.

Duffee joins his teammate, Thiago Alves, as well as Brock Lesnar, Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, Mark Coleman, Ricardo Almeida, Kurt Pellegrino and Dong Hyun Kim, among others, to get bit by the injury bug.

UFC 107 will feature a main event between lightweight division champion, BJ Penn, defending his title against number one division contender, Diego Sanchez, as well as a heavyweight showdown between former champion Frank Mir and Cheick Kongo.

In addition, a lightweight attraction between stars Kenny Florian and Clay Guida was recently shifted to the card to compensate for the loss of the light heavyweight showdown between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans.

For more on the developing UFC 107 fight card and rumors click here.