UFC 101 Declaration

UFC 101 is upon us tomorrow night and it seems like just yesterday we were taking in UFC 100. UFC 101 isset to take place in the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia and Dana White is proud of the fact of bringing big fights back to Philly. A decent under card is highglighted by a fantastic double main event. Let's take a look at the main event matchups.

Forrest Griffin vs. Anderson "The Spider" Silva (UFC Middleweight Champion)

This is a non-title bout as it is not in the middleweight class. Phenom middleweight Anderson Silva looking for a tougher challenge steps up to the 205 lbs. weight class to face former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin. Griffin, a fan favorite and the first winner of The Ultimate Fighter is in need of a win after relinquishing his belt to Rashad Evans and going through a shoulder surgery. Griffin will be the first to tell you that he's not the best fighter but he will fight anyone and give it his all. Forrest is my favorite fighter and I love the heart the guy shows. Anderson Silva is a devestating Muay-Thai artist who is a very precise striker. Silva has been untouched in his career with the UFC. In all of his fights the only round he's ever lost was round 1 to Dan Henderson. Henderson was able to take Silva down and punch on him for a round but was then choked out in the next round. Silva has cleaned out the Middleweight division and now looks for a challenge as he steps up a weight class. Griffin isn't being given much of a chance, and as usual is viewed as the underdog and Griffin likes it that way. This should be an interesting fight to see how the technical striking side of Silva mixes with the freestyle brawling of Griffin.

Prediction: My heart is telling me to go with Forrest but my head is telling me Anderson Silva TKO's Forrest in the 3rd round. I would love to be wrong on this and hope I am.

Kenny "Ken Flo" Florian Vs. "The Prodigy" BJ Penn (UFC Lightweight Champion)

I'm not really attached to either of these guys as a fan, but I like watching both fight and this should make for an exciting bout. This is a title fight between an accomplished wrestler/striker/and jiu-jitsu practicioner in Penn and a Muay-Thai/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter in Kenny Florian. Florian has been undefeated for the last 3 years laying waste to the lightweight division, while BJ Penn is coming off of a dominating defeat at the hands of GSP. Alot of thought is that BJ has been training harder than ever and will come back and continue to reign over the Lightweight Division. This has the makings to be fight of the year (Although I don't know how anything tops Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida). For the fight fans who like to see a technical battle with lots of slick transitions, this is your fight.

Prediction: Alot of people are saying Penn has the stuff to rebound from his loss to GSP and regain his hold on the lightweight Division but I'm calling Florian with a 4th round TKO.