rooney8

I also heard somewhere that Stephan Bonnar was facing Sam Hoger

Predictions:

Arlovski
Franklin
Carter
Buentello
Serra
Diaz
Loiseau
Griffin
and, if it happens: Bonnar

sickboy

you think nate quarry will lose. i see this kid as a stud. even though we never got a chance to see him fight, he seems like a smart and bright fighter. he did beat whoever on the ufc ultimate finale.

guile

I think Tanner will beat Franklin. I really don't know who would have won the Shamrock vs Franklin fight if Shamrock hadn't fallen on that missed kick. Regardless, I think this will be the fight to watch in 53.

thakkus

I hope Evan Tanner knows he had better take Franklin down and fight from there. If he stands with Rich, I think Rich will knock him out.

What do you guys think?

Rahkus

Tanner can stand with Franklin if he's dirty boxing. If Tanner can grab the back of Franklin's neck and let those knees fly, the fight could end early. Both guys are going to be looking to take the other down. Whoever gets the takedowns is going to win the fight.

Franklin beat Tanner before but that was a long time ago. Tanner is the Champion for a reason.

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"Everyone's got a plan until they get hit in the mouth." - Forrest Griffin

LastExit34

- Andrei Arlovski vs Justin Eilers - UFC TITLE FIGHT
The obvious choice here is Arlovski with his quick and powerful hands, but don't be surprised if Justin shakes up the UFC heavyweight division even more with one punch. He has heavy heavy hands. I'm sure Dana is hoping Arlovski makes quick work of Justin. I'm going to go out on a limb and take Eilers by KO.

- Evan Tanner vs Rich Franklin - UFC TITLE FIGHT
I am probably going to catch a lot of crap for this, but I don't think Evan will be able to handle a guy like Rich. I don't see one aspect of the game that Evan is better than Rich at. I'll take Franklin in less than two rounds.

- Nathan Quarry vs Shonie Carter
I haven't seen much of Nate, but what I have seen, I like. I like his attitude and demeanor. I'll be rooting for Nate and hope that he has a prosperous future with the UFC.

- Paul Buentello vs Kevin Jordan
Paul's fast hands impressed me in his last fight and I expect more of the same.

- Matt Serra vs Karo Parisyan
The only time Karo has lost is when he was overpowered by guys like St. Pierre and Sherk. That won't happen this time. Karo by UD.

- Nick Diaz vs Koji Oishi
I don't get to see a lot of Pancrase so I will have to take Diaz here due to my lack of knowledge about Oishi.

- David Loiseau vs Charles McCarthy
I'll take McCarthy in a bit of an upset.

- Forrest Griffin vs Bill Mahood
I'll take Forrest based on his heart, but please watch out for Mahoods right hand.

On a side note, it appears that mmaweekly has added two fights to the rumors section for UFC 53. Bonnar vs Hoger and Couture vs Babalu. It will be interesting to see if these fights pan out.

LastExit34

There should be some kind of predictions contest. Winner gets some points or something. Maybe even some kind of pool where everyone buys in and winner takes all. Just an idea.

guile

That is a good idea Last_exit, and it is something we have been considering. I don't think we can have anything in concrete before UFC 53, but you can expect similar contests in the future.

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LastExit34

Sounds good. I look forward to it.

AikaImmortal

Arlovski
Tanner
Carter
Buentello
Serra
Oishi
Loiseau
Griffin
Carter

PghPens71