I already posted a column this week about WWE Unforgiven but just for fun I will be analyzing the main fight card and predicting the winners for UFC 88:Breakthrough, which will take place live on pay per view from The Phillips Arena in Atlanta, GA. As I said, I will be discussing just the main fight card because usually only one of the preliminary fights actually makes it to air. Now, let's get to the fights.

In the middle weight division, it will be Martin Kampmann Vs. Nate Marquardt. Kampmann has a really solid MMA record of 13-1 and will go into Saturday's fight being undefeated in the octagon. He is a really well rounded fighter with three of his four UFC wins being by submission but he is known for his knock power so this will be a really tough test for his opponent, Nate Marquardt. Marquardt is an MMA veteran with a record of 29-8 with only losses in the UFC. Those two losses are somewhat deceiving though because one loss was against Anderson Silva, who in my opinion is the best fighter pound for pound in the world today so there's no shame for Nate to lose to Silva. I watched the fight again recently and Nate actually holds his own against Silva during the first round until he was simply overwhelmed by the middle weight phenom. Nate's only another loss was a split decision so he has a fairly unblemished UFC record with wins over Ivan Salaverry, Dean Lister, and Jeremy Horn just to name a few. Nate's wins over Jeremy Horn is one that really sticks out on his MMA record because Horn has over a hundred MMA bouts worth of experience so for Nate to defeat someone like that is really an accomplishment. I'm not sure what to expect from this fight because both fighter here are known for their striking ability but yet have submission wins so it's tough to say where this fight will take place but because he is a more well rounded fighter and more experienced fighter, I would think Marquardt will have the advantage going into this fight. It's been shown time and time again that anything can happen in MMA but I'll pick Nate to get the win here.

From there, We'll say in the middle weight division as it will be Dan Henderson Vs. Rousimar Palhares in a fight where Henderson really needs a win to stay on the radar in the UFC. Henderson's record of 22-7 includes wins in UFC 17 tournament,which he won as well as wins in Pride. Something that needs to be said about Henderson is that it seems like most UFC fans don't realize exactly how good he really is because he has yet to win in the octagon. The guy lost to Anderson Silva(who is a machine right now) and to Rampage Jackson in the UFC but that is some elite competition right there. There's no shame in those losses and I think Henderson will reclaim some of his fame at UFC 88. Aside from his UFC career, Henderson was both the Light Heavy Weight and Middle Weight champion at the same time in Pride, which a truly amazing accomplishment. Henderson was also an Olympic wrestler so he really is a great athlete. His opponent however,Rousimar Palhares is looking to make a name for himself and planning on using Henderson's reputation to do so. Rousimar Palhares has a record of 8-1 that includes a win at UFC 81 against Ivan Salaverry using an armbar submission. This fight looks like it will be a ground battle and although Palhares had six submission wins on his record, I have to give the advantage to Henderson if the fight goes to the ground. I'll give the victory to Henderson here because I just don't see him losing three fights in a row.

Next up in the welter weight division is Karo Parisyan Vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida. This is a battle of Judo black belts and this fight will probably be won or lost in the clinch. Yoshiyuki Yoshida has fought primarily in Japan where he won the Cage Force Welter Weight tournament last year. He has a win over Ultimate Fighter series reality star,Jon Koppenhaver at UFC 84. Yoshida has a record of 10-2 has great ground skills to go along with his judo black belt. Karo Parisyan is looking to rebound from a loss to Thaigo Alves and Karo has yet to get a title shot against George St. Pierre so if Karo can build some momentum, a title shot could be in his future. Despite his loss, Karo is an experienced fighter with a record of 26-5 that includes win against Josh Burkman, Nick Diaz, and Matt Serra just to name a few. I'll predict the win for Karo here because he has more experience and he's proven himself in the past to be a fighter worthy of being considered a top name in the welter weight division. It would seem that Karo just needs to develop some consistency and if he can put together a few fights without a loss, a shot for the welter weight title could become a reality for Karo. That being said, after St. Pierre's five round destruction of Jon Fitch, who is a great fighter in his own right it seems like there's an open spot in the welter weight division for someone to step up and make a name for themselves.

The next fight on the card is the most intriguing fight of the night in my opinion because you have former middle weight champion, Rich "Ace" Franklin moving up to 205 to challenge Matt "The Hammer" Hamil. Dana White said it best during the "UFC 88 countdown show," when he described Franklin as "the best middle weight in the world that can't beat Anderson Silva." I mean really after two losses to Silva what else can Franklin really do in the middle weight division? There's really no other place for him to go except to 205 but how will Franklin handle his bigger opponents? Franklin was always considered big for 185 but it just seems like Franklin will have trouble dealing with the size of a Liddel, Wanderli, or in this case Hamil. Don't get me wrong here, Franklin is an elite fighter with great conditioning as well as being extremely well rounded and I wouldn't be surprised at all if he had success at 205 but with a division that is so stacked in some ways Franklin has to prove himself all over again in the light heavy weight division. As for Hamil, he has all the potential in the world and would be a major star if it wouldn't have been for injuries limiting how often he has fought in the octagon so far but this fight could help Hamil make a mark in the 205 division. Hamil is an Olympic level wrestler and has great power in his hands, which he shows in his last fight against Tim Boetsch. Obviously, Franklin will have the experience advantage with a record of 25- 3 but the argument could be made that Hamil should be undefeated. Hamil's only loss was in September of last year when he lost a VERY conterversal decision to Micheal Bisping in Bisping's home country of England. I have to say, I think Hamil won the fight and the only reason Bisping was given the decision is because the event was in England so while technically Hamil has one loss on his record, he hasn't definitively lost so far in his MMA career. It's really tough to pick a winner here and this is more of a guess then a solid prediction but I will pick Hamil to get in the win in what would have to be considered at least a mild upset. The reason I picked (guessed) Hamil is because I think Hamil will be able to out power Franklin but I would expect this one to go all three rounds with Hamil winning the decision. Either way this will be a really great and a really entertaining fight.

The main event could really define the future of the light heavy weight division as well as the future of Chuck Liddel. After Liddel lost the Light Heavy Weight title to Rampage Jack in May of last year many people questioned his focus and the time he had left in the sport. Liddel would fight Keith Jardine just three months later and it was clear that Liddel had not recovered from the loss to Jackson as he was more or less dominated by Jardine for three rounds and would lose a unanimous decision. Just three months after that Liddel would step into the octagon to fight Pride legend, Wanderli Silva. The fight was epic and while Liddel won the decision, there wasn't a loser in this fight. Liddel proved he still had what it takes to be a force in the UFC and Silva won over the UFC fans as he displayed alot of heart during the fight. The story for the fight this Saturday is from my prospective, either Liddel will reclaim his spot as a top contender for the light heavy weight title or Rashad Evans will make himself a star. I have to say this about Evans, for being undefeated in his MMA career it seems like he's been under the radar so to speak in the UFC. It could be a combination of him not getting the same publicity as some of the other fighters at 205 and that he hasn't fought for ten months. Another factor could be that besides the Tito fight, which went to a conterversal draw, Evans hasn't had too many other high profile fights. I think some people are underestimating Rashad in some respects and this will be a much tougher fight for Liddel then most people expect. That being said, I have to give this fight to Liddel for a few different reasons, which I will discuss. Evans is known for his grappling and wrestling, which could lead him to attempt a take down but Liddel has some of the best take down defense in all of MMA so I think this fight will be more of a stand up fight, which favors Liddel. Liddel can use his sprawl ability to keep this a stand up fight and it wouldn't be wise for Evans to try to trade punches with Liddel. I expect Liddel to out strike Evans, which is why I think Liddel will get the victory but as I said I think this will be a much tougher fight for Liddel then most people expect. It will be interesting to see where the 205 division goes in the next few months because with Franklin now in the division, it adds yet another great fighter to an already stacked division.

That's it for this column but I hope you have enjoyed reading it and thank you for taking the time to read it.
Thanks
Dr. Wrestling
If you have comments or questions e mail me drwrestlingallpro@yahoo.com

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