The Cody's UFC 93 Breakdown N Predictions

Rich Franklin Vs. Dan Henderson



Name: Rich Franklin
Height: 6' 1" (185 cm)
Weight: 205 (93 kg)
Record: 26-3-0
Nickname:"Ace"


Name: Dan Henderson
Height: 6' 1" (185 cm)
Weight: 185 (84 kg)
Record: 23-7-0
Nickname:"Hendo"

This is a fight that fans have been waiting for since the debut of Dan Henderson, these guys are the two of the best Middleweights in the world yet their fighting at 205 lbs which if you think about it is more interesting because without the weight cut and all that stuff we might see the best out of both fighters. Dan Henderson is excellent freestyle and greco roman wrestler who has heavy hands to go with it, his most famous fight everyone knows was the famous right hook knockout over Wanderlei Silva that gave him the PRIDE Middleweight (205 lbs) title. But Dan has not showed up in the UFC by far because he pretty much was dominated by Rampage Jackson because he tried to much to play Rampage's game and not do his game which is the wrestling and ground and pound, and against Anderson Silva he did what he needed to do in the first round but he came out in the 2nd round and just tried to be a striker and look what happen. Dan Henderson needs to go back to his roots and be the in your face wrestler that he was in PRIDE because if he comes out and tries to be a striker against Rich Franklin he will be picked a part. Rich Franklin in my opinion is one of the worlds best fighters he has excellent stand up skills and he has an excellent ground game, We seen him pick apart great fighters on the feet such as Evan Tanner (twice), Nate Quarry, David Losieau, Jason Macdonald, Yushin Okami, and Matt Hamill. And also against Travis Lutter and Yushin Okami we seen his impressive ground game, Yushin Okami had him mounted and looked like he was finished but he was able to escape and sweep a strong guy like Okami and then against Travis Lutter he was taken down and got put in an armbar and successfully escaped like a true ju-jitsu fighter. If it wasnt for Anderson Silva i truly believe Rich Franklin would be the best Middleweight in the world. But there is a suspect of Rich Franklin that could spell a weakness for him against Dan Henderson and that is his chin, He was dropped by Tanner who isnt a striker and he was dropped by Loiseau who was pretty much getting beat to death and there is no need to mention both fights against Anderson Silva. If Dan Henderson connects with Rich Franklin then it is likely it will be over like that but if Rich Franklin comes out and implements the same game plan as he did against Matt Hamill, Rich Franklin will win a clearcut decison because i dont see this fight being stopped i think Rich Franklin's impressive striking will keep Dan Henderson at bay and if Dan does get Franklin down it is not likely he is going to stop him but i guess we will just have to wait and see.
Prediction: Rich Franklin via Unanimous Decison



Mark Coleman Vs. Mauricio Rua


Name: Mark Coleman
Height: 6' 1" (185 cm)
Weight: 205 (93 kg)
Record: 15-8-0
Nickname:"The Hammer"


Name: Mauricio Rua
Height: 6' 1" (185 cm)
Weight: 205 (93 kg)
Record: 16-3-0
Nickname:"Shogun"

Now does anyone but me think this is a set up fight for Shogun to get back into the Light-Heavyweight mix? I think that is exactly what is happening here, At one point Mauricio Rua was considered the best Light-Heavyweight on the planet because his two losses, first one by Renato Sobral which Babalu didnt really do anything to him he just pretty much kept on the ground and avoided submissions the entire time and Mark Coleman broke his arm on a takedown, big whoop. Shogun in my opinion is like the Light-Heavyweight version of Anderson Silva except alot more aggressive, if he gets you in the clinch you are going to be barraged with knees and elbows and its not likely you are going to stay on your feet very long and if you go to the ground, does anyone remember his vicious hammerfist victory in PRIDE? That is what will happen or you get lucky enough to get submitted instead if you go to the ground with Shogun. Now Mark Coleman isnt no joke either i mean he is a divison 1 wrestler with excellent ground and pound and very heavy hands, if he comes out like "The Hammer" of old i think he stands a decent chance of winning, especially if the Shogun that fought Forrest Griffin comes out to fight because if that happens i think Coleman will just ground and pound a victory out of him because Mark Coleman's ground skills are alot more sufficent then Forrest's. I think Shogun needs to come out agressive and just be in Mark Coleman's face from bell to bell and not let up because i think Coleman will not be able to survive barrage i think he will eventually crumble if Mauricio Rua comes out like Shogun. As for Mark Coleman he has to go to the ground IMMEDIATLEY and try to nutralize Shogun's submisson game and make sure he doesnt let up on the ground and pound because if Shogun gets in rhythm and starts to get comfortable Mark Coleman will be an a whole lot of trouble so keep Shogun off balance and make him uncomfortable.
Prediction: Mauricio Rua via submission rd 2



Alan Belcher Vs. Denis Kang



Name: Alan Belcher
Height: 6' 2" (188 cm)
Weight: 185 (84 kg)
Record: 12-4-0
Nickname:"The Talent"



Name: Denis Kang
Height: 5' 11" (180 cm)
Weight: 185 (84 kg)
Record: 31-10-1

Wow, who else is excited to see Denis Kang in the UFC? Denis Kang is my favorite Middleweight fighter this dude is a bad dude, he has been on a little slump but i think at UFC 93 is when he gets out of it and establishes his spot as one of the top Middleweights in the world. Denis Kang is extremely well rounded he can pick apart on the feet or pick you apart on the ground, in fact if you look at his wins he as almost as many submission wins as he does (T)KO wins. Denis is coming off a 48 second KO over Marvin Eastman and he looked like the Kang of old and thats why i am excited to see him, he has wins over Murilo "Ninja" Rua, Amar Suloev, Akihiro Gono, Mark Weir, and Andrei Semenov. Now his opponent Alan Belcher isnt a joke, he has wins over Ed Herman and Jorge Santiago he is a great striker and can pose a problem to Denis Kang if he comes out like "The Talent". I think what Alan Belcher needs to do is frustrate Denis Kang because in the past it has shown when things dont go Kang's way he gets frustrated and reckless and gets caught with something. So if Alan Belcher, i hate to say this uses a Kenny Florian tactic he could win because if he just sticks in move against Kang then that is going to frustrate him and make him swing like a wild man and leave himself open and get caught. But Denis Kang just needs to be Denis Kang he needs be in Belcher's face and pick him apart with jabs and hooks and his famous uppercut, or he can take him to the ground which is out of Alan Belchers comfort zone and submit him or pound the hell out of him. I dont think this is going to be a walk through for Denis Kang but this is a great fight to get him back to being the Denis Kang of old, i call fight of the night right here.
Prediction: Denis Kang via TKO rd 3





Jeremy Horn Vs. Rousimar Palhares



Name: Jeremy Horn
Height: 6' 2" (188 cm)
Weight: 185 (84 kg)
Record: 88-18-5





Name: Rousimar Palhares
Height: 5' 8" (173 cm)
Weight: 185 (84 kg)
Record: 17-2-0
Nickname:"Toquinho"

If they gave out an award for boring fight of the night, i think this fight would win it. Jeremy Horn is not the same Jeremy Horn of old i mean he seems that he lacks conditioning and he lets himself get caught in bad situations like i think he has been submitted twice in his last fights against Nate Marquardt and Dean Lister and last time i checked that was Jeremy Horn's game which is the submission game. Rousimar Palhares is a great submission artist i mean his submission over Ivan Salaverry was a thing of beauty i mean what of the best transitions i have seen, but i dont know about you guys i saw several oppurtunities for him to catch Dan Henderson and it just seemed like he was trying more to survive then win, and i dont think that is being a fighter. I do believe we will see a great ground game with transitions and positioning in the first few minutes of the fight but then I think it will slow down and become a stalemate. If the Palhares that fought Ivan Salaverry comes out and fights his game then he is going to dominate Jeremy Horn and end up catching him. I cant believe im saying this but I think Jeremy Horn needs to come out and try to be a striker and try to beat Rousimar Palhares on the feet, which is possible but not probable. But i'll say this it can either be really exciting or really boring you be the judge.
Prediction: Rousimar Palhares via submission rd 1



Marcus Davis Vs. Chris Lytle


Name: Marcus Davis
Height: 5' 10" (178 cm)
Weight: 170 (77 kg)
Record: 20-5-0
Nickname:"The Irish Hand Grenade"


Name: Chris Lytle
Height: 5' 11" (180 cm)
Weight: 170 (77 kg)
Record: 36-16-4
Nickname:"Lights Out"

Now i said that Denis Kang vs Alan Belcher would be fight of the night, but this fight could definently rival that. This is as close as to an even match up in the Welterweight division as you can get, Marcus Davis and Chris Lytle are both great boxers and have a excellent ground game. Chris Lytle has only been stopped in a fight twice and both of them where by cuts (Joe Riggs and Thiago Alves) he has never been knocked out or submitted and I think that makes him a great fighter, he has a great boxing record and he is well versed in brazilian ju jitsu and in the UFC we have seen the best of him and the worst of him. We have seen him not try to be the Chris Lytle that we know he can be against Karo Parisyan, Matt Serra, Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck which all resulted in losses but we have seen the best of him in his wins over Tiki Ghosn, Ronald Jhun, Kyle Bradley, and Paul Taylor and if that Chris Lytle comes out i feel bad for Marcus Davis. Marcus Davis is the same kind of fighter excellet boxing background and he has learned the submission game and we seen it in an excellent armbar over Paul Taylor after he got rocked with a head kick, but i think Marcus Davis' big weakness is the scar tissue he has on his face more importantly over his eyes and going into a fight against a guy like Chris Lytle that could be a HUGE factor against Marcus Davis. I think Chris Lytle needs to put the pressure on Marcus Davis, Mike Swick showed you the way not Chris Lytle just has to follow that path and I think he could win. Marcus Davis ironically needs to the do the same thing because everyone who has defeated Chris Lytle has put the pressure on him and that is exactly what Marcus needs to do, use his boxing to get inside on Chris Lytle and maybe on occasions take him the ground which will keep Lytle off balance because he wont know what Davis will do take him down or strike with him. All in all it will be a great fight.
Prediction: Marcus Davis via Unanimous Decison

Martin Kampmann Vs. Alexandre Barros



Name: Martin Kampmann
Height: 6' 0" (183 cm)
Weight: 170 (77 kg)
Record: 13-2-0
Nickname:"The Hitman"


Name: Alexandre Barros
Height: 5' 9" (175 cm)
Weight: 170 (77 kg)
Record: 13-5-0
Nickname:"Baixinho"

Now everyone that thinks that Martin Kampmann is getting an easy first fight at 170 lbs i think you are sadly mistake. Alexandre Barros is a former training partner of Renato "Babalu" Sobral, he has fought great fighters such as Matt Hughes, Dave Strasser and Aaron Riley (all losses by Decison) and he has not lost in 4 years he is on a 9 fight winning streak. I have seen him fight before and he is like the Welterweight version of Renato Sobral so dont think that Kampmann has it easy because he certainly doesnt. Martin Kampmann is a well rounded fighter with great pin point striking and extensive ground game, up until his fight with Nate Marquardt he was undefeated in the UFC and decided to make his move to Welterweight. I think Martin Kampmann is going to have to ditch his tactic of taken his opponent apart little by little because he has to get off fast against this guy because Barros is the kind of guy that will be in your face from beginning to end and it is very hard to stop him because he is also well rounded. I think this fight goes to a decison because both fighters are hard to stop but it is a hard decison because they are evenly matched.
Prediction: Martin Kampmann via Unanimous Decison



Eric Schafer Vs. Antonio Mendes


Name: Eric Schafer
Height: 6' 3" (191 cm)
Weight: 205 (93 kg)
Record: 12-3-2
Nickname:"Red"



Name: Antonio Mendes
Height: 6' 3" (191 cm)
Weight: 205 (93 kg)
Record: 14-3-0
Nickname:"Samuray"

I dont have too much to say about this one I dont know much about Antonio Mendes except that he that he did take it to Thiago Silva in his UFC debut until he got taken down and controlled and that does pose a problem because that is Eric Schafer's game is to take you down and control you, i mean he was winning against Micheal Bisping until he got caught and he was in huge trouble against Houston Alexander until he got the takedown and controlled Alexander the rest of the round and caught him in a arm triangle. I think this will be a great fight Mendes wants to strike and Schafer wants to go the ground, its all a matter of who imposes their will.
Prediction: Eric Schafer via submission rd 1



Tomasz Drwal Vs. Ivan Serati



Name: Tomasz Drwal
Height: 6' 0" (183 cm)
Weight: 205 (93 kg)
Record: 14-2-0
Nickname:"Gorilla"


Name: Ivan Serati
Height: 6' 1" (185 cm)
Weight: 205 (93 kg)
Record: 10-2-0
Nickname:"Il Terribile"

This should be a great fight, those of you who dont know Ivan Serati he is what i call the better version of Alessio Sakara, he is a great Italian boxer very pin point accurate in his strikes and is very heavy handed majority of his wins have come by KO. But Tomasz Drwal was really in Thiago Silva's face in their fight and i think he had a chance to win if he kept up the pressure. So I think this is going to be a slugfest but if you stand up with Serati for too long then i think he will catch you because he has this excelletn ability to find a way to sneak in a punch between your defense. So maybe its time to see Drwal's ground game and see if he can take Serati out of his comfort zone and i think he can but i dont think he will try and take him down because obviously striking is his game (as far as i know) and he is going to want to stand and bang with him. I think this is one of those sleeper fights that could easily be fight or knockout of the night.
Prediction: Ivan Serati via TKO Rd 2


Tom Egan Vs. John Hathaway



Name: Tom Egan
Height: 5' 11" (180 cm)
Weight: 170 (77 kg)
Record: 4-0-0
Nickname:"The Tank"


Name: John Hathaway
Height: n/a
Weight: 170 (77 kg)
Record: 10-0-0
Nickname:"The Hitman"

I can give you to much information on this fight because i know nothing about Tom Egan, i couldnt even find information on him exept that he is fighting at UFC 93. And all i know about John Hathaway is that he is a great striker who has only been to decison twice. So i cant give to much info on this fight but maybe Mortis The Virus can find information on Tom Egan and give you a better breakdown on this fight. The only thing i can say is that i think Egan is going to want to take this fight to the ground and neutralize Hathaways striking because i heard it was excellent.
Prediction: John Hathaway via TKO Rd 1



Dennis Siver Vs. Nate Mohr


Name: Dennis Siver
Height: 5' 7" (170 cm)
Weight: 155 (70 kg)
Record: 12-6-0



Name: Nate Mohr
Height: 5' 9" (175 cm)
Weight: 155 (70 kg)
Record: 8-5-0

They got rid of Sokodjou and Werdum but keep these guys because If i am not mistaken these guys have lossed twice in the UFC already maybe this is a loser leaves UFC fight. Nate Mohr excellent grappler doesnt mind being on his back and Dennis Siver a powerful wrestler with great ground n pound so this will be a ground battle unless Dennis Siver is smart enough to know about the submissions of Mohr and strike with him where he would clearly would have the advantage.
Prediction: Dennis Siver via Unanimous Decison

i'm new around here so maybe this is obvious,
do you write for someone?
thats a great breakdown, even if i don't agree you made good points, it flowed well, structured well.
if you dont already you should.

i'll get off your sack now .....sorry

No dude i dont write for anyone, and its cool if you have a diffrence in opinion shoot shout it out man i mean thats what a forum is all about "opinions" on diffrent things, i aint going to go all postal if you tell me well i disagree with this is this, you might have a point about something that i missed never know. But thanks for the compliment i dont know if i am that good to where i should write for someone but i try though

cool. i wish i had the time for this too.

here are my biggest difference:

franklin is broken down poorly to me considering the level in which you make franklin's ground game elevated. hendo has the advantage both on the ground AND standing. always bet on KO power with granite chin against a glass jaw. just look at leben/sakara, and they are much further apart skill-wise. i even bet in a submission match, henderson would take it. hendo all day unless he just doesn't push the pace like rampage against forrest.

also, watch this thomasz drawl video before you put him as the lesser striker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfsXCkZXbcM

Yes, heavy hands fair well against glass jaws but Rich Franklin's ground game submission wise is much better than Dan Henderson's, here is why. Take a look at Jorge Gurgel and Dustin Hazelett, there ground game is impressive right? Well those are training partners of Rich Franklin and training with Rich for that long I think his ground game is just as good, if Travis Lutter got Dan Henderson to the ground (not likely cause of his wrestling) and trapped him in that armbar i would bet that Dan would be finished, same diffrence with Yushin Okami if he had him mounted it would of been over. The reason i say that is because in Henderson's first fight against Wanderlei Silva he was mounted and couldnt do anything he just got pounded until the round ended, and Yushin Okami's mount is much more impressive then Silva's. And Rich Franklin is clearly the more dominant striker, im not saying he cant get caught because he can, but its not likely he will be finished i mean not even Anderson Silva finished Franklin in one punch and Dan Henderson isnt Anderson Silva. Dan Henderson has better ground control and wrestling but the submission game goes to Franklin without a doubt, dont be surprised to see Henderson be submitted by Franklin because i honestly dont see a diffrence in styles between Matt Hamill and Dan Henderson and Franklin almost caught Hamill in an armbar.

I'm going for rich.he'll be coming in with a good plan like all his fights.If dan does connect with his left punch rich will go down but Im sure he will be ready for that.

henderson has been jits training far longer than hammil. okami appeared to have the better ground game than franklin. gurgel is over-hyped on the ground. but i hear ya. dan is too controling on the ground for franklin to think anything more than "defend and wait to scramble to feet."

Great breakdown! You pretty much picked all the ones that I was going to pick, lol... some with different outcomes, though.

Unfortunately, I think Rich is going to pull out a UD against Dan as well.. though, I would like to see him finish Dan.

Which ones do you see being a diffrent outcome? It was tough for me to pick, i think this will be the hardest fight card to determine the outcome in my opinion, so maybe you can help me out before i make my official picks with the Lights Out Show challenge.

After double checking.. I'm going to go with everything you picked... except for, I'm picking Tomaz Drwal over Ivan via TKO in the 2nd round.

yeah that was one of the hard ones for me, because Drwal did impress me in his fight against Thiago Silva and all i really know about Ivan Serati is that like i said he is a better version of Alessio Sakara. You could be right but i have to go with Serati i dont think Drwal's chin will hold up

Great breakdown Cody.
I agree that picking winners for this UFC is really difficult. A lot of close matchups and a few fighters I don't know much about at all. As well as my picks on the blog I have another list where I've flipped a coin for the outcomes. I'm gonna see if my fight pick skills are any better then an untrained chimp pointing at cutout pictures.