Dustin Hazelett vs. Paul Daley

This clash between Dustin Hazelett and Paul Daley is a classic pure striker vs. pure grappler showdown. Set to take place at UFC 108 in Las Vegas Nevada, this fight is sure to end with either a devastating knockout or an incredible submission. After all, Dustin Hazelett’s last 4 wins in the octagon have come by way of submission and the last 2 have won him the “submission of the night” bonus.

On the other end of the spectrum, Paul Daley’s last 11 victories have come via strikes. Paul Daley doesn’t go to decision very often and although he’s relatively unknown to the American audience, he’s been bouncing around from organization to organization and knocking dudes out left and right.

Paul Daley splits his time between Team Roughhouse (where he trains alongside welterweight standout, Dan Hardy) and Vos Gym, where he trains with some of the best heavyweight Muay Thai practitioners in the world. His training partner Gilbert Yvel also happens to be fighting on the same card so they’ll be looking to head back to Amsterdam with a pair of victories under their belt.

However, in order to get that victory, Paul Daley is going to have to fight off Dustin Hazelett’s takedown attempts. Dustin Hazelett was recently awarded his black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu from Jorge Gurgel so it’s no secret what his game plan in this fight will be; takedown, control and then submit. Hopefully Gurgel – who’s known to slug it out despite his superior skills on the ground – will instruct him to fight smart.

As for how this fight will likely play out, it’s pretty clear cut. If Hazelett gets Daley to the ground, which might be easier said then done considering that Daley has a wrestling background, then he’ll end up getting a submission victory and becoming 1 step closer to a title shot. If however, he gets clipped in the process of trying to get the fight to the ground, he’ll be waking up, confused about his whereabouts, and hearing the sounds of Daley giving his post-fight victory speech.

Junior Dos Santos vs. Gilbert Yvel

UFC 108 is stacked with knockout artists and this fight is no exception. Junior Dos Santos has been on a tear since he entered the UFC and shocked the world – well, he shocked the hardcore MMA enthusiasts who actually know about Fabricio Werdum’s background – when he knocked the former PRIDE star out cold in the very first round back at UFC 90.

During the broadcast (prior to the fight), they showed Dos Santos warming up on the pads in the locker room and although I had never heard of him, I was amazed at his hand speed. The dude was fast, and from what I could tell, he had a lot of power behind those punches as well so I instantly bet my buddy – who was watching the fights with me – 20 bucks against his 40 (2:1 odds) that Dos Santos was going to take it.

Since then, I’ve been betting on Dos Santos in each of his fights and I plan to do the same in this one. Gilbert Yvel, for those who haven’t seem him fight before, is certainly the more experienced of the two. He has over 50 fights under his belt, 31 of which have ended with a knockout – but what else would you expect from a guy nicked named “the hurricane” and training out of the “Vos Gym” alongside the likes of Ernesto Hoost, Remy Bonjasky, Antoni Hardonk and Paul Daley – who’s also on the card.

However, while Yvel is the more experienced of the two and there’s no question that he’s a vicious striker, what is to be questioned is his non-existent ground game. He’s great at what he does, and that’s swinging for the fences and putting people to sleep, but once the fight hit’s the ground, I have a feeling that he may be in some trouble.

Although we have yet to see what Junior Dos Santos can do on the ground, he trains out of black house with the Nogueira brothers and Anderson Silva – all 3 of which are black belts in BJJ – and he himself has his brown belt. So, on the off chance that this fight ends up on the ground, I’d have to give the edge to Junior Dos Santos strictly based on his grappling credentials – although we haven’t seen him place that knowledge into action yet.

As for who I think will come out on top, I’m going to have to go with my cut and put my money on Jumior Dos Santos. He’s far less experienced, but he’s been impressive thus far and hopefully, he’ll be smart enough to take the fight to the ground if he’s not getting the better of the exchanges on the feet. Either way though, this fight is sure to be fireworks as both fighters are known for their aggression and knockout power.

Thiago Silva vs. Rashad Evans

On January 2nd, after we’ve shaken off our hangovers from new years eve, we’ll get to watch a showdown between the two latest victims of Lyoto Machida. Rashad Evans will be looking to get back to his winning ways after he had his 14 fight unbeaten streak put to an abrupt end back in May.

Originally scheduled to face Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Rashad now finds himself up against Thiago Silva, who’s fresh off a devastating knockout victory over Keith Jardine. Keith Jardine is Rashad’s good friend and training partner so one can only assume that Rashad will have some additional incentive to avenge his friends loss.

In terms of how these guys match up, both have knockout power in both hands and both aren’t afraid to stand and bang. Mind you, Rashad tends to move around the octagon quite a bit and he waits until he sees an opening before he explodes.

Thiago Silva on the other hand seems to be a little more aggressive, which is most likely the result of the years he spent training with the chute boxe academy in Brazil before moving to American Top Team. And on the slim chance that this fight hits the ground, both fighters are well versed grapplers.

Rashad Evans has a base in wrestling as he wrestled for Michigan State University and while the 48-34 record that he amassed during that time isn’t overly impressive, he’s blended that wrestling base in with his overall style. I mean, if Rashad wants to take you down, there’s a pretty good chance that he’s going too – just re-watch his fight with Stephan Bonner.

As for whether or not he’d want to take Thiago Silva down however, now that’s a different story. Thiago Silva holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which is surprising to most people seeing as how he likes to keep the fight standing and knock his opponents out using his Muay Thai skills – about 80% of his opponents to be exact.

As for how this fight will play out, this one is tough to predict. Both fighters have only been defeated once, and both of those defeats were at the hands of Lyoto Machida. And a fighters first loss, especially if that loss was a devastating knockout, it’s always interesting to see how he will rebound from it.

For some, it’s the best thing that could possibly happen and it gives them newfound motivation to train harder and for others, that first loss triggers a depression, a downward spiral and the fighter is never the same. We’ve had the chance to see Thiago rebound from his loss when he absolutely destroyed Keith Jardine at UFC 102 back in August.

As for how Rashad will deal with the loss, that remains to be seen. Thiago is yet another tough test for him but then again, with the way the UFC has been cutting fighters, and with the light heavyweight division being as stacked as it is, there really isn’t any easy fights to give him.

With both of these fighters being as well rounded and hungry as they are, this is a really tough fight to call. I imagine that come fight time, the betting lines will be nearly even and if they’re not, I suggest that you put some money on the underdog because this one can easily go either way. This one is as close to a coin flip as it gets.