Saturday's UFC 85 has been a star-crossed event, with one injury after another (most notably to Chuck Liddell) derailing UFC's plans. But it's a testament to the depth of UFC's roster that they've still managed to cobble together a good show -- one that won't match UFC 84 for star power but will make for a great few hours of fights on Saturday afternoon.
Here are the details for Saturday's action:
What: UFC 85: Bedlam
Who: The main event features Matt Hughes taking on Thiago Alves in a battle of the ages. Appearing on the televised undercard are Michael Bisping vs. Jason Day, Mike Swick vs. Marcus Davis, Fabricio Werdum vs. Brandon Vera and Nathan Marquardt vs. Thales Leites.
When: Saturday, 3 p.m. ET
Where: O2 Arena, London
How: Pay-per-view, $44.95 ($54.95 in HD), or just follow along with my FanHouse live blog. Also be sure to catch my UFC 85 preview chat on Friday at 1 p.m. ET.
Predictions after the jump.
Matt Hughes vs. Thiago Alves
Hughes is being hyped as the greatest welterweight in history, although he's a little past his prime, and I'm not sure he was ever as good as UFC welterweight champion Georges St.-Pierre is now. Alves is on a six-fight winning streak and is one of the sport's bright young fighters. It would be great to see Alves win and establish himself as a legitimate threat to St-Pierre, but I don't see that happening.
Predicted winner: Hughes
Micheal Bisping vs. Jason Day
If it's UFC in England you can bet Bisping is on the card: The British Bisping is fighting for the third time in the motherland. Last time he fought in England he won a very controversial decision; this time I think he'll win legitimately.
Predicted winner: Bisping
Mike Swick vs. Marcus Davis
Davis is an up-and-comer who has gone 6-0 during his time in UFC. I think he's about to make it seven.
Predicted winner: Davis
Fabricio Werdum vs. Brandon Vera
When Dana White talks about Vera, his eyes light up. At age 30, Vera seems to have just scratched the surface of what he's capable of doing, and I think he's going to get a heavyweight title shot some time in 2009. Note: Both of these heavyweights would destroy Kimbo Slice.
Predicted winner: Vera
Nathan Marquardt vs. Thales Leites
Marquardt and Leites are both submission specialists, so if you like jiu jitsu, this is the fight for you. I think Marquardt applies a choke in the second round.
Predicted winner: Marquardt
More information:
Official web site
UFC 85 at Wikipedia
Betting odds
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