My Predictions For UFC 98
May 21st, 2009 by Ben Moreno
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Years back when I first started regularly hosting UFC events at my house I got into many discussions with my dad about UFC taking over the spot light boxing has and such. My dad has always been a big boxing fan and one of this arguments was that boxing is better because you often see guys who go many fights without losing all the way to the top and fight for the title. He said you don’t see that in the UFC, or in MMA in general.
Well, the time has finally come. Rashad Evans is set to fight Lyoto Machida for the light heavy weight title on Saturday the 23rd. This will be the first time in UFC history that 2 undefeated guys will be fighting for a title.
Rashad vs. Machida
Rashad Evans is no doubt a tough dude. He has shown impressive victories over many good fighters but yet people still don’t seem to have faith in him like they should. He is an all around dangerous fighter and has proven his skills. However, Machida is a very unique fighter which so far has proven very difficult for many to overcome.
Machida seems to overwhelm his opponents with skill and aggression. He uses throws and Karate moves in the fight which most fighters rarely experience. He also is very agile and well rounded which makes him pretty much able to handle everything his opponents have to offer.
Rashad will need to be smart and try to get good quality shots if he expects to beat Machida. I think he can could put Machida away with one good punch or kick but they have to land solid. Rashad seems to be a good counter fighter and Machida seems to be an aggressive fighter. I won’t be surprised if Rashad catches him with a nice counter punch to put him away. If not Machida might just be too much and overwhelm him and beat him up. I think Rashad will have to beat him standing up and be the better striker. I don’t if he tries to take him down and beat him it will work. I say this because both of these fighters fought Tito Ortiz. Rashad was very well matched up against Tito on the ground but Machida just beat Tito up the whole fight.
Final Verdict
I like Machida a lot so I want him to win, but this fight really could go either way.
Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra
I think this fight might end up more exciting than the main event. Anytime you have so much tension between fighters it is always exciting.
Matt Serra is a very good jujitsu fighter, I have watched him in the past show some awesome skills on the ground. He only recently started focusing more on his standup skills.
Serra’s win over St. Pierre
His win over St. Peirre was very controversial to people but the truth is he punched him in the face and knocked him out. If you want to call it a lucky punch you can but it really isn’t. Everyone knows that punches are thrown with intent to hurt and if they land for whatever reason it still counts. We all know that St. Pierre is a better athlete and everyone really likes him, but he should have been more careful in that fight and he was lucky to have the opportunity to prove he was better.
Matt Hughes is a very tough wrestler and in his early career he was one of the most exciting fighters to watch as he picked up guys and walked around the ring with them, then slammed them. He has defintely become less effective against the current skill in the 185 lbs. division. What is interesting to me is that Matt Hughes usually doesn’t have “bad blood” with fighters and is pretty respectful about it. However, Serra has talked so much trash that he actually has Hughes pissed off. Hughes says the only way to shut him up is by hitting him in the mouth. Even his wife says she wants blood. I like this because it is going to make Matt Hughes very aggressive and we just may see a very exciting fight. I want the old Hughes back of body slamming dudes.
Final Verdict
I have always been a fan of Hughes so I would like to see him win. If Hughes tries to standup with Serra he might get knocked out. If he does what he does best and that is control him, keep him down, and pound him, he should come away with the victory.
I won’t comment on the rest of the fights on the card.
Tags: matt serra vs matt hughes, rashad evans vs lyoto machida, ufc 98
