MAIN CARD

Forrest Griffin (16-6) vs. Tito Ortiz (15-6-1)

In a rematch three-and-a-half years in the making, Ortiz, one of the most recognizable and highest grossing faces in mixed martial arts history, makes his long awaited return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship to take on Griffin, a former light heavyweight champion and winner of the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter."

Ortiz, 34, is now injury-free and returns to the UFC after undergoing surgery on his back and making up with with his former promoter Dana White.

On the other hand, Griffin is at a pivotal crossroads in his career and desperately needs a win to offset his critics.

"It's probably good I only have six weeks to train because I'd kill myself," said Griffin in reference to his training camp. "I think I'm still going kill myself."

Their first meeting at UFC 59 in April 2006 saw Ortiz notch a split decision after a three-round back-and-forth battle. "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" exercised full control on Griffin in the opening round, landing a picture-perfect double-leg takedown and smashing him with ground and pound. The round, which was arguably a 10-8 affair, left Griffin with cuts under both eyes. Rounds two and three were much closer with Griffin using active combinations and kicks to the leg and body to keep the former standout collegiate wrestler at bay. Though he failed to do any significant damage to Ortiz, Griffin could have won the last two rounds, which is why the decision has been subject to some criticism. Judge Abe Belardo scored the fight 30-27 Ortiz, which made matters worse.

Under the 10-point must system, the fight should have been scored a draw with Ortiz winning the first round 10-8 and Griffin winning the latter rounds 10-9. However, the decision is acceptable in the sense that Ortiz actually damaged his opponent and tried to finish the fight. Under PRIDE rules, Ortiz was undoubtedly the victor.

The right man won. But the judges, one of which was unsurprisingly Cecil Peoples, were watching the wrong fight.

Ortiz, a powerful wrestler with a smothering ground assault topped off with underrated jiu-jitsu skills, has all the tools to beat Griffin again. It will be a matter of cage rust when he returns for the first time since dropping a unanimous decision to now-UFC light heavyweight torchbearer Lyoto Machida in May 2008. Since beating Griffin the first time, Ortiz went on to demolish Ken Shamrock twice in back-to-back fights before losing his second encounter with fellow UFC pioneer Chuck Liddell. Prior to facing Machida at UFC 84, Ortiz fought former titleholder Rashad Evans to a draw. Had Ortiz not been docked points for grabbing the cage, he would have been the first man to put a loss on Evans' record.

Now working his boxing game with Freddie Roach, Ortiz could shock a few people and become a top contender yet again in a division that has become flooded with world-class talent since his last run as champion. Ortiz, seemingly unstoppable between 2000 and 2002, aims to prove he's still good enough to hang with the Machidas, Ruas, Jacksons and Silvas of the division.

Should Griffin prevail on Saturday night, he too could find himself back in the limelight hunting for the UFC light heavyweight title. He was outclassed by Anderson Silva in his last fight, one that he refuses to watch to this day, and understandably so. Prior to getting demolished by the UFC middleweight kingpin in a 205-pound bout, Griffin lost his light heavyweight belt to Evans at UFC 92. In the Silva loss, Griffin was the victim of an awful stylistic matchup and "The Spider" capitalized with an immaculate performance. The hard-working Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt seemed to be on top of the world just months prior as he had racked up wins over Hector Ramirez, Mauricio Rua and Quinton Jackson.

However, those wins did not unfold without some controversy. His third-round submission win over former top-ranked light heavyweight "Shogun" was unbelievable, but Rua needed surgery and was clearly not in the best condition for his UFC debut. While Griffin earned the victory and showed that hard work does pay off, he would have a dandy of a time trying to repeat the feat of beating, let alone tapping, the former PRIDE Grand Prix champion should they ever have a rematch.

Then there was the Jackson fight. A close fight it was, but based on the power of his shots alone, Jackson should have won. It would not necessarily be fair to say he was "robbed" of his title. However, a unanimous decision attributed to effective leg kicks in a title fight of that magnitude left little doubt in my mind that judging in the sport still had a long way to go.

Unquestionably, Griffin is still a viable threat in the division because he's good wherever the fight goes. Griffin's biggest advantage against most adversaries is his overwhelming size, although Ortiz is not lacking in size himself. Griffin walks around at over 220 pounds, which is extraordinarily large for a light heavyweight, but Ortiz too is one of the biggest and most powerful fighters in the division. Griffin will have a four-inch reach advantage. That could help, but he can encounter a dilemma.

Griffin simply doesn't have the power to knock his opponents out. He is a gifted athlete with a solid all-around MMA base, but his punching power is questionable. He is unlikely to stop Ortiz, a 22-fight veteran, with technical leg kicks. Ortiz has gone as far as calling out Griffin for his lack of power.

"He doesn't punch hard," Ortiz told Heavy.com. "He doesn't have much weight on his punches, I've come to realize that. He puts all his weight on his feet and he's a lot slower than before."

Ortiz blames a close fight the first time around on his limited physical ability to train.

"The last time I fought him, I was only at 60 per cent," he said. "My back was at its worst."

Moreover, Griffin was knocked out by Keith Jardine, a man lacking the power to stop anyone else in the UFC, which puts his chin into question.

Griffin cut his honeymoon short to prepare for the opportunity to right a wrong against Ortiz and to redeem himself after a loss to "The Spider" that some even call "embarrassing."

On the other side of the fence, Ortiz wants to stop Griffin, leaving no doubt of his superiority in the division. With a stoppage victory, he will be back in the top-10 and will prove he is still a main event superstar.

"I'm looking for the ref to pull me off because he's a bloody mess," said Ortiz.

While it would not surprise me one bit if Ortiz came out and stopped Griffin cold, I predict the 30-year-old Columbus, Ohio-native avenges the loss with a smart gameplan. He should force Ortiz to work and tire him out much like he did against Rua, all while avoiding a standing slugfest with the more powerful Ortiz. If he forces him to work hard enough, Ortiz's gas tank could be the deciding factor. Griffin must have a trick or two up his sleeve as Ortiz is a conditioning machine, and he's now healthy to boot. Griffin needs to use his reach and pick his shots effectively to succeed in the fight. But when it's all said and done, Ortiz was training to fight the fading legend Mark Coleman, not a workhorse like Griffin.

Verdict: Griffin via Decision

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Josh Koscheck (13-4) vs. Anthony Johnson (8-2)

Initially slated to fight UFC newcomer Mike Pierce in early 2010, Koscheck now finds himself fighting a more threatening opponent in Johnson.

Forced to book a co-main event on short notice when a potential Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin heavyweight title bout dissolved, the UFC wisely matched up two top welterweights for a bout with potential title implications down the road.

It will be interesting to see who will be in the corners of the two fighters as both men have trained at the American Kickboxing Academy under head instructor Javier Mendez.

Johnson likely trained for this fight working closely with unbeaten former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le and Strikeforce lightweight champ Josh Thomson, while Koscheck trained alongside Dave Camarilo and his fellow AKA brothers Jon Fitch and Mike Swick.

Koscheck has evolved as a fighter since his stint on "The Ultimate Fighter" Season One. He is no longer a one-trick pony that relies on his wrestling, but this could be detrimental against the explosive 25-year-old machine nicknamed "Rumble."

Lately, Koscheck has experienced success standing and trading with his opponents, but a five-inch reach advantage favouring Johnson will be a dangerous x-factor in this fight.

Koscheck was upset by unheralded UFC first-timer Paulo Thiago at UFC 95 in February after getting caught by an uppercut in the first round. He bounced back with an impressive first-round TKO of Frank Trigg at UFC 103 in September.

Despite wins over Trigg, Diego Sanchez and Dave Menne, Koscheck has looked vulnerable in losses against Georges St-Pierre and Thiago Alves.

Johnson, a San Shou practitioner, has yet to experience the same level of competition since joining the UFC in 2007. His first obstacle will be making weight, as he failed to do so in bouts against Rich Clementi and Yoshiyuki Yoshida.

His lone career defeats, a TKO against Kevin Burns resulting from an eye poke and a submission at the hands of Clementi, are a thing of the distant past.

Johnson's improvement since those losses is unmistakable, but fans have yet to see much of his ground game. If Koscheck sticks to wrestling and puts Johnson on his back, we could see an interesting dynamic and our first glimpse of Johnson on the ground.

If his recent fights are any indication, Koscheck will stand and trade with the enormous Johnson and end up getting brutally knocked out.

With a win over Koscheck, Johnson finally cracks the welterweight top-10 and could emerge as a compelling opponent for champion G.S.P., perhaps even more so than Dan Hardy.

Verdict: Johnson via KO, Round 1

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Amir Sadollah (1-1) vs. Phil Baroni (13-11)

"The New York Badass" returning to the UFC came as a shock to many people given that he was coming off losses to Frank Shamrock, Kala Hose, Joey Villasenor, Kazuo Misaki and "Minowaman" at middleweight, in addition to a recent unanimous decision setback against Joe Riggs at a Strikeforce event in June.

Prior to facing Riggs in a 170-pound bout, Baroni was 3-0 against local fighters after dropping down to welterweight. In the Riggs fight, Baroni showed notable improvements in his game, both with his striking and grappling. The much bigger Riggs, a UFC veteran himself, was able to control the fight en route to a decision victory. Even in defeat, Baroni proved he was a legitimate fighter at 170 pounds, which must have led to a call from UFC management offering to give the charismatic New Yorker another shot at achieving stardom.

We could see a resurgence of the feared and respected Baroni, the same man that knocked out Dave Menne at UFC 39 in 2002.

Sadollah, a Sambo black belt and Brazilian jiu-jitsu white belt, submitted journeyman C.B. Dollaway to win the seventh installment of "The Ultimate Fighter" in June 2008, only to succumb to strikes in less than 30 seconds in his last fight against WEC-turned-UFC fighter Johny Hendricks at UFC 101 in August.

Sadollah, a member of Xtreme Couture, has a vast repertoire of submissions, but Baroni will likely pressure and overpower him en route to a knockout victory. Baroni has suffered from a suspect gas tank in the past, so the longer the fight goes, the likelier it is that Baroni will be exhausted. This could leave him open to Sadollah's crafty submission offense.

Verdict: Baroni via TKO, Round 1

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Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (17-3) vs. Luis Cane (10-1)

The decision to showcase Nogueira to UFC fans for the first time against another highly touted prospect is not the most logical matchmaking, although this light heavyweight battle has fireworks written all over it.

One fighter will take a step back and the other will take a step forward in their respective UFC journeys.

A muay thai wrecking machine with a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Cane is a solid prospect with dangerous striking. Even though he is coming off wins over Steve Cantwell and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Cane has a lot to prove to live up to the top-10 billing many analysts have bestowed upon him. In his last fight against Cantwell at UFC 97 in April, Cane controlled the tempo but did little to stop the fight.

Following a training camp with the world-class MMA academy American Top Team, Cane is hungry for a win and eager to spoil Nogueira's UFC debut.

Cane beat Sokoudjou and Sokoudjou shockingly knocked out Nogueira back in PRIDE. Don't let this series of fights fool you into predicting a winner. Nogueira was caught in that particular fight and anyone who has followed Minotoro's career knows that he underestimated "The African Assassin" on that night, hence making it one of the biggest upsets in MMA history.

Nogueira's career exploits tell the whole story. A standout amateur boxer with a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Ricardo de la Riva, Minotoro trains at Black House MMA with his brother Rodrigo, light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida and middleweight champ Anderson Silva. He owns wins over the likes of Dan Henderson, Kazushi Sakuraba, Alistair Overeem (twice), Guy Mezger and Vladimir Matyushenko, making him an immediate threat to the light heavyweight belt if he dispatches Cane. His battle with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005, one that he lost by unanimous decision, was one of the most epic clashes in MMA history. A rematch with Rua under the UFC banner could be in his future, as are potential bouts against guys like Rashad Evans, Thiago Silva, Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Forrest Griffin and Keith Jardine.

Many people favour Cane's standup to that of Nogueira's, but they could be giving Minotoro too little credit. With some of the slickest submissions in MMA and more dangerous boxing than his older brother, Nogueira will probably throw everything but the kitchen sink at the less-experienced Cane. After a close fight that is expected to take place both standing and on the ground, Nogueira leaves with the unanimous decision nod.

Verdict: Nogueira via Decision

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Karo Parisyan (18-5) vs. Dustin Hazelett (12-4)

Parisyan's long awaited return to the UFC should be a tough test for the Judo black belt as he's matched up against a Jorge Gurgel BJJ black belt in Hazelett.

Parisyan was suspended after testing positive for three banned painkillers following a win over Dong-Hyun Kim at UFC 94 in January.

Eight of Hazelett's 12 career wins have been submissions. He is coming off back-to-back "Submission of the Night" bonuses with armbars of Josh Burkman and Tamdan McCrory, both of whom have since been released from their UFC deals.

Parisyan, meanwhile, has never been submitted in 24 career bouts with losses only to top fighters like Thiago Alves, Diego Sanchez, Georges St-Pierre and Sean Sherk. His career victims include Ryo Chonan, Nick Thompson, Matt Serra, Chris Lytle, Nick Diaz and Shonie Carter.

Hazelett's suave submissions are capable of finishing an opponent on any given night, but he is unlikely to handle "The Heat" on Saturday night.

Hazelett will take some chances against Parisyan, as he always does, and could find himself being controlled as a result. Both possess notable weaknesses in their standup game, which is where most of the fight will likely take place. Parisyan will avoid engaging Hazelett on the ground, but will have an easy time putting him there with Judo throws.

In what could be a show-stealer, I have to give the edge to Parisyan. After all, he's the only man to defeat the South Korean "Stun Gun" Kim, even if that fight has since been ruled a no-contest.

It will come down to the judges and Parisyan's experience and notoriety could help determine the outcome.

Verdict: Parisyan via Decision

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SPIKE TV PRELIMINARY CARD

Ben Saunders (7-1-2) vs. Marcus Davis (16-5)

In the first of two preliminary bouts airing live on Spike TV prior to the pay-per-view, Saunders, a product of American Top Team, takes on "The Irish Hand Grenade."

Saunders, a well-rounded welterweight with lots of power, is looking to rebound from his first professional loss, a second-round technical knockout at the hands of Mike Swick at UFC 99 in June.

Davis, an Irish-American southpaw training under the wing of Jorge Gurgel and Mark DellaGrotte at Team Sityodtong, is coming off a split decision loss to now-#1 contender Dan Hardy at UFC 99 in June. Throughout his UFC run, he's defeated Paul Taylor, Paul Kelly, Chris Lytle and Shonie Carter while dropping bouts to Hardy, Mike Swick and Melvin Guillard.

For Saunders, it's an opportunity to prove he deserves big fights in the welterweight division.

For Davis, it's a chance to rebound after a disappointing loss that could have propelled him to title contention.

Davis, a vastly superior boxer, should be able to stop Saunders and rack up his 17th win.

Verdict: Davis via TKO, Round 2

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Kendall Grove (10-6) vs. Jake Rosholt (6-1)

Rosholt, a former NCAA Division I wrestling champion, should have his way with "The Spider" when the two butt heads on Spike TV.

Grove, who trains at B.J. Penn's MMA in Hawaii, impressively won the third season of "The Ultimate Fighter," earning a unanimous nod over Ed Herman in the finals. He has since defeated the likes of Jason Day, Evan Tanner and Alan Belcher while struggling in losses to Jorge Rivera, Patrick Cote and Ricardo Almeida.

Grove has decent wrestling, muay thai and BJJ, which helped him hang with Almeida at UFC 101 in a bout that he ultimately lost by decision.

Rosholt, an Xtreme Couture and Team TakeDown member, is one of the best wrestlers in the middleweight division. After a 5-0 run, which included a victory over Nissen Osterneck at WEC 36: Faber vs. Brown last November, Rosholt was brought into the UFC for a step up in competition. Despite training with Marc Laimon, Rosholt got caught in a guillotine choke by Dan Miller in his debut, but bounced back with a tremendous performance against Chris Leben at UFC 102 in August. Rosholt submitted Leben with a third-round arm triangle in a bout that surely surprised a lot of people.

The four-time All-American possesses lots of power and he should overwhelm Grove by taking him down throughout the contest and utilizing his sublime wrestling. I expect Grove to survive the onslaught, but he could also be stopped if he underestimates Rosholt's standup game.

Verdict: Rosholt via Decision

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UNAIRED PRELIMINARY CARD

Paulo Thiago (11-1) vs. Jacob Volkmann (9-0)

Thiago, who is ranked in the welterweight top-10, has black belts in both Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Judo. A member of Brazil's elite special police force, Thiago shocked the world by knocking out Josh Koscheck in his UFC debut back in February. He went on to lose a decision to Koscheck's training partner Jon Fitch at UFC 100, but he proved that he wasn't a one-hit wonder by going the distance with the second best 170-pound fighter in the world. Volkmann, a member of Minnesota Martial Arts, was impressive in tapping out Kevin Knabjian with a Brabo choke in the Bellator Fighting Championships. He makes his octagon debut at 9-0, but Thiago has all the tools to put a loss on his perfect record. Thiago could have some trouble trying to submit Volkmann, a BJJ fighter himself, but he should be able to control the fight en route to a decision.

Verdict: Thiago via Decision

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Brock Larson (29-3) vs. Brian Foster (12-4)

Larson, a former WEC welterweight title contender, needs to rebound from a surprising loss to unheralded newcomer Mike Pierce in September. The well-rounded Minnesota-native holds career wins over Mike Pyle, Carlo Prater, John Alessio, Erik Apple and DaMarques Johnson. Foster, a product of Matt Hughes' HIT Squad, is a tough freestyle wrestler who is winless in his UFC campaign. After winning three in a row, he was submitted by Ricky Story in his September UFC debut. Expect Larson, who utilizes the Guerilla Jiu Jitsu style implemented by Dave Camarilo, to rebound with a submission win.

Verdict: Larson via Submission, Round 1

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Caol Uno (25-12-4) vs. Fabricio Camoes (10-4)

Uno is one of the early Japanese pioneers of mixed martial arts. After disappointing losses to Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto, Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante, Andre "Dida" Amade and Shinya Aoki in Japan, Uno returned to the UFC, only to drop a unanimous decision in a close fight with Spencer Fisher in June. A renowned submission stylist and Abu Dhabi Combat Club runner-up, Uno has been known to take his opponents' limbs home with him in victory. Not this time, though. Camoes, a BJJ black belt under Royler Gracie, has excellent muay thai skills and would probably prefer to stand and trade with the man known to fans as "Uno Shoten." But Uno possesses top-notch wrestling credentials in addition to his ground game, plus he is now training with Freddie Roach. Uno will surely throw some obstacles the way of the UFC newcomer and when it's all said and done, I expect Uno to emerge victorious. But not without a challenge.

Verdict: Uno via Decision

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George Sotiropoulos (12-2) vs. Jason Dent (28-9)

Sotiropolous, a BJJ black belt under John Will, left UFC fans wanting to see more after passing George Roop's guard with ease and tapping him out with a kimura at UFC 101. The Australian lightweight hopes to extend his winning streak to five against Dent, a submission virtuoso in his own right. Dent returned to the UFC with a first-round submission win over Cameron Dollar after going 0-2 in bouts with Gleison Tibau and Roger Huerta during his first run with the organization. Sotiropolous is bigger and stronger of the two combatants and we can expect him to grind out a decision win. However, if this fight remains standing, it's any man's ball game.

Verdict: Sotiropolous via Decision

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