On the heels of the minor leagues of MMA getting their day in the sun last Saturday, the UFC will have their second PPV in less than a month when they invade London, England this weekend. The card for UFC 84: Ill Will was pretty stacked and didn't disappoint. This weekend the card isn't nearly as stacked, in large part because of the injury suffered by Chuck Liddell. The main event was supposed to feature "The Iceman" versus Rashad Evans. Liddell suffered a knee injury while training so he had to back out. After a few different attempts to substitute another fighter for Liddell, no good matchups could be made for Evans, so he isn't on the card at all either.

In steps UFC legend, Matt Hughes. The last time we saw him he was being destroyed by, the now welterweight champ, Georges St-Pierre. Hughes agreed to step into the main event as a way to attempt to show that he's not washed up. His opponent will be Thiago Alves who is coming off a short time off from his last fight which took place back in April when he beat Karo Parysian. Alves is coming into this weekend with a five fight win streak.

Time for the predictions for this weekend.

Matt Hughes (43-6) vs. Thiago Alves (20-4)
This should be an interesting fight. It will be the wrestling of Hughes versus the striking and Jiu-Jitsu of Alves. Hughes is looking for a bounce back performance after having lost two of his last three fights (both of which were to GSP). Alves is 7-2 in his nine fights in the UFC and only one of those made it to the third round. Most of his wins come by the TKO. In order for Hughes to stay in this fight he is going to have to take Alves down and work him on the ground. He has to take the striking capability of Alves away. Alves is nowhere near as good as GSP so Hughes should have an easier time with him.
Prediction: Hughes by submission in the 2nd round

Michael Bisping (16-1) vs. Jason Day (17-5)
Bisping returns home this weekend, which wasn't such a good thing the last time he fought in front of his fellow Brits. The last time he fought in front of the hometown crowd he won a very controversial decision over Matt Hamill. Since then Bisping has suffered his first loss at the hands of Rashad Evans and then back in April he beat Charles McCarthy by TKO in the first round. Day has only had one fight in the UFC so far which came back in April when he shocked many by scoring a TKO victory in the first round over Alan Belcher. Depending on whether or not his win over Belcher was a fluke, this could turn out to be a good fight. Bisping could prove to be too strong for Day though, and his ability to adapt to any style could really help him as well.
Prediction: Bisping by TKO in the 2nd round

Marcus Davis (19-4) vs. Mike Swick (11-2)
Davis is coming into this weekend riding six fight winning streak. His last fight was back in January at UFC 80: Rapid Fire when he knocked out Jess Liaudin early in the first round. Davis has very strong boxing skills but he can pull a submission win out as well if the opportunity presents itself. Swick comes into the weekend having won his last fight back in January when he beat Josh Burkman by majority decision. He has good striking skills and is very fast. A loss by either of these guys would really hurt their chances of even getting into the welterweight title picture. This will be a good test for Swick as he's had a hard time beating the big names in the weight class with losses to Yushin Okami and Chris Leben as his two losses to date. Davis has won his last three three fights in the first round (two KOs and one submission) this could end up being a pretty quick fight.
Prediction: Davis by TKO in the 1st round

Thales Leites (12-1) vs. Nate Marquardt (29-7-1)
Leites will be looking to make a name for himself in the middleweight division this weekend. A win over Marquardt could move him into a shot at the title currently held by Anderson Silva. He hasn't fought since August when he beat Ryan Jensen by submission at UFC 74: Respect. Moving up the middleweight ladder isn't going to be easy as Marquardt is one of the best in the weight class. He's fought the best the division has to offer and won some and lost some. His last fight ended in a second round submission victory over Jeremy Horn back at UFC 81: Breaking Point. Marquardt is one of the most well-rounded fighters in the UFC, he just can't win the big one, which at this point that means beating Silva, something no other fighter seems to be able to do. Marquardt wants another crack at Silva, I'm sure, but a loss to Leites will make that very difficult anytime soon. This fight could possibly steal the show actually.
Prediction: Marquardt by Submission in the 2nd round

Brandon Vera (8-1) vs. Fabricio Werdum (10-3-1)
Vera was on the fast track to a heavyweight title shot and then he stepped into the Octagon against Tim Sylvia. After eight straight wins he ended up losing by unanimous decision to Sylvia back in October at UFC 77: Hostile Territory. Had he beat Sylvia, there was a good chance that he would have become the No. 1 contender to the heavyweight title. Vera will look to get back on track against Werdum this weekend who is coming off an upset win over Gabriel Gonzaga back in January. It was only Werdum's second fight in the UFC and Gonzaga was coming off a loss for the heavyweight title to Randy Couture. So he was looking to right his ship and instead lost to Werdum by TKO in the second round. Vera can end a fight quickly, four of his last six fights didn't get past the 2:40 mark in the first round. Vera likes to throw kicks, elbows and knees. Werdum is going to have to work his strength which is the ground game to neutralize Vera or this fight could be over quickly as well.
Prediction: Vera by TKO in the 2nd round

The event airs live on PPV at 3:00 PM this Saturday because it is in England. It will replay at the usually 10:00 PM spot for those that prefer to wait until the normal time. Just be sure to stay away from all the MMA/UFC websites if you want to avoid knowing the winners.

Overall Prediction Results: 62-37