UFC 67 Picks by Greg Clark

Sorry for the delay, I had lots on my plate at work so without further adieu, here are my UFC 67 picks:

Anderson Silva 17-4-0 Vs. Travis Lutter 12-3-0
Middleweight Championship bout
*** Update: This is now a Non-Title Middleweight Championship event as Lutter Weighs in over the limit ***

Well, I can't say much more than my previous post that Travis Lutter will lose at UFC 67. I am excited to see The Spider fight again as I will be throwing my full support to the "new breed" of UFC fighter which is more exciting than the current crop of useless wrestling geeks.

Expect Lutter to try to shoot and Silva will meet the attack with his now famous knees or even, a stiff uppercut to quell the telegraphed attack. Expect Lutter to be lying on his back most of the fight to draw the Spider in to his own web. Attention Big John McCarthy: Please be quick to stand the lay and pray fighter back on his feet quickly this time. Thank you.

Prediction: Anderson "The Spider" Silva by knockout in the first round.

John Halverson 13-4-0 Vs. Roger Huerta 17-1-1
Lightweight bout

I'll be honest, I have not seen either of these fighters in action but it hasn't stopped me from digging into their past and learning their fight styles and fight records. Halverson is a natural welterweight (170Lbs) who has cut weight to lightweight (155Lbs) to fight Huerta in his UFC debut.

The problem with cutting weight before the fight is that the skin looses its elasticity and becomes more susceptible to cuts from the opponents strikes. This is a disadvantage for Halverson and something that will weigh heavily on his mind 'cause he doesn't want a medical stoppage due to a cut for his UFC debut fight.

Halverson has largely been in the minor leagues for his MMA career so the bright lights and vaulted PPV cameras will have a psychological effect and become the first obstacle for Halverson to defeat before he even steps in the ring. He is a stand up fighter with half of his wins coming from TKO.

Roger Huerta has also come up from the obscurity of the minor MMA leagues while having the chance to fight my personal favourite, Melvin Guillard to a No Contest in 2005. Melvin was supposed to fight at UFC 67 but was scratched from the fight card recently. Huerta has UFC experience when he debuted at UFC 63-Hughes Vs.Penn fighting Jason Dent (perfect name for a losing fighter) and winning a unanimous decision.

Huerta has experienced the bright lights and the circus-like atmosphere that the UFC PPV events deliver so this will give an advantage to Huerta as soon as the referee smacks his hands together to signal the fighters to fight. Roger Huerta has a wrestling style with solid submission ability and also, the power to deliver strikes that will rock his opponents as indicated by 7 of the 15 wins coming by way of TKO.

Prediction: Huerta by submission, most likely an armbar in the second round.

Mirko Cro Cop 21-4-2Vs. Eddie Sanchez 8-0-0
Heavyweight bout

When I visualize this fight, I can see Rocky Balboa in the first Rocky movie beating the hell out of a slab of beef hanging on a meat hook in the meat packers plant in Philly. Sanchez simply does not have the cage experience that Cro Cop has... not by a USA-Mexico border guard mile.

Cro Cop has devastating chopping leg kicks that would make the fighter's mother feel the pain. Expect Sanchez to try to get Cro Cop to the ground and watch Crop Cop work at the legs of Sanchez while he is laying on his back on the mat. If Sanchez forces Cro Cop to dive for a ground and pound then Sanchez has a slight chance at pulling off a submission victory over Cro Cop however, it's not bloody likely.

Prediction: Cro Cop by TKO after Sanchez verbally submits for mercy to the referee... I don't blame him, I would do the same thing.

Quinton Jackson 25-6-0 Vs. Marvin Eastman 13-6-1
Light Heavyweight bout

The rubber match between the born again Christian and the Corrections officer. Marvin "The Beastman" Eastman looks more like a bodybuilder than an MMA fighter. He served up Quinton's first MMA loss at King of the Cage way back in 2000 by way of decision.

Let's not forget that for all intents and purposes, Eastman was a man fighting a kid in Rampage as Quinton was only 21 at the time fighting against 30 year old Eastman.

Fast forward 7 years to today and now you have a 37 year old fighter who's highest level of fighting existed most recently in the WFA which, was recently bought out by the UFC along with all the fighters contracts and this is also the reason why Quinton Rampage Jackson is now the property of the UFC.

It's a smart match-up by the UFC with a grudge match type of storyline however, I don't expect this fight to deliver to the fans their thirst for blood and raw excitement that either fighter has the ability to bring, especially Jackson.

Jackson has much to lose in the UFC and the MMA world if the 28 year old fighter loses this match. The promise of a Chuck Liddell/Quinton Jackson rematch still lingers in the air and that is where the real cheddar exists for Rampage.

That's the dangling carrot that be fronts the former Memphis street brawler and Pride FC fan favourite so I hope he conquers his first test in his UFC debut against Eastman 'cause I want to see Rampage and Chuck fight one more time.

Prediction: Jackson by decision after 3 rounds. Expect each fighter especially Rampage throwing each other down to the mat with ferocity.

Patrick Cote 9-4-0 Vs. Scott Smith 12-2-0
Middleweight bout

Matt Sera started this chant at The Ultimate Fighter 3, "Cote, cot-eh cote-eh cot-eeeeeh, cooot-eeeeeeh, cooot-eeeeeh". Sera deserves a beating just for that and he will soon get his just deserts when he fights Georges St.Pierre (GSP) at UFC 69. Sorry, I digress.

I'm not impressed with Cote. I know he's Canadian and trains with David "The Crow" Louiseau and GSP out of Montreal, Canada but he has to be one of the slowest fighters that ever set a bare foot in the octagon.

Cote is a UFC veteran and a TUF4 Comebacker just the same as Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith is. Cote recently lost to Travis Lutter at the TUF4 finale otherwise, we would see Silva fighting Cote at UFC 67. See how ridiculous this is?

Scott Smith is an underdog in this fight. I was impressed with Smith's knockout power he administered to Pete "Drago" Sell at the TUF 4 finale. Although Smith looks like a crazed serial killer, he really does deliver at the end of his punches so Cote is best to keep a two-arms length away from Smith.

I don't know, I think the Comeback series was a real confidence booster to Smith and he has the tools to be successful with his re-energized MMA career and I just like his style of fighting which dominates the lay and pray style we are inundated with today.

Prediction: Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith by decision. Sorry Monsieur Cote, you're up against a fighter who is more intense and hungry than you are and THAT will win him the decision with the judges.

The following fights may not be broadcast at the UFC 67 PPV event:

Sam Hoger 6-2-0 Vs. Lyoto Machida 8-0-0
Light Heavyweight bout

Sam "The Alaskan Assassin" is back with a vengeance unfortunately, he is up against an undefeated fighter in Machida who was the first to KTFO Rich Franklin.

This is Machida's UFC debut however, he has an impressive past with beating UFC fighters like Rich, Stephan Bonnar, B.J. Penn and Vernon White. Is this enough to bring in to the ring and be successful against Sam Hoger?

Well, to be honest, hell ya! I was leaning toward Hoger over Machida for most of the week until I saw Hoger's lame ass website and now I want him to get a beating just for that. I do like Hoger however, he does not have the experience nor the exposure with an international fighting sensation like Ryoto "Lyoto" Machida.

Prediction: Machida by TKO in the second round.

Terry Martin 16-2-0 Vs. Jorge Rivera 14-5-0
Middleweight bout

Folks, I don't like Jorge Rivera but he has had some impressive losses against the likes of Chris Leben, Anderson Silva and Rich Franklin however, this doesn't mean that he is a better today as he should be... just think back a few days to Heath Herring's embarrassing UFC debut.

Terry Martin has lost to James "Flying knee highlight reel" Irvin and also Jason Lambert. Aside from those UFC veteran fighters, Martin has not faced a high calibre fighter and won. Although I am not a Rivera fan I am giving the nod to him because Martin's conditioning is suspect and this could go the full 3 rounds to decision.

Prediction: Jorge Rivera by unanimous decision. It is also important to note that Rivera beat David Louiseau by unanimous decision at UFC 44 at the time The Crow was spreading his wings in the UFC.... they've since been clipped.

Frankie Edgar 5-0-0 Vs. Tyson Griffin 8-0-0
Lightweight bout

I predict that someone is gonna lose their perfect MMA record. Safe bet huh? That's right, both fighters are undefeated and neither wants to add a 1 in their loss column at this event.

Tyson has fought and won in the UFC at UFC63-Hughes vs. Penn against David Lee by rear naked choke in the first round at 1:50. Quick and explosive fighter that is sure to impress again.

Frankie Edgar is an up and comer from New Jersey making his UFC debut and PPV debut. This is a disadvantage for Edgar as Griffin has already faced the thick atmosphere of excitement in the air and used bug spray to kill the butterflies before the fight.

Edgar just doesn't have the type of experience that Griffin has and for that reason, the Jersey native will lose.

Prediction: Tyson Griffin by TKO in the second round. It is important to note that Tyson beat Urijah Faber who was highlighted in the first episode of CNBC's Warrior Nation. Faber is an accomplished MMA fighter with an MMA record of 17-1 who got caught by a straight right-hand punch which was stopped by referee Herb Dean and still remains Urijah's only loss to date.

That's about it for now... Good luck and good night (Lutter)!

Hey, I forgot about Diego Saraieva Vs. Dustin Hazelett... why? Because they were easy lightweights to forget.

Prediction: Saraieva - because I said so :)