UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin comes to you live this weekend, July 5, from Las Vegas, NV with one of the most anticipated fights of the year. While the UFC would have hoped for more “hatred” between Rampage and Forrest during The Ultimate Fighter, they will still get an incredible number of PPV buys and one hell of a fight. Season 7 of TUF had its finale about couple weeks back with Team Forrest fighter Amir Sadollah winning the lucrative contract. Will his coach win the Light Heavyweight Championship this weekend? You’ll have to tune in to find out.

This fight has two of the most popular fighters in the UFC, both considered to be class clowns. Rampage is widely considered to be the next star in the making (more face of the UFC, not that he isn’t already a star) and holds UFC’s most prized possession – the light heavyweight belt. He has defeated Dan Henderson and won the belt with a shocking first-round knock-out of Chuck Liddell. Griffin on the other hand, has slowly built his resume to this title fight by winning the first Ultimate Fighter contract and build his following after his bout with TUF runner-up Stephen Bonnar. (If you have a chance to watch that fight, try to. It is widely considered to be one of the best fights in UFC history because these two slugged it out for three solid rounds.) Griffin earned his shot by defeating Mauricio “Shogun” Rua by submission, who was considered the number one contender for Rampage at the time, and was the last person to defeat Jackson by a knockout.

Now on to some fight predictions …I expect to see something from Chris Murdico soon ... 

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (28-6 MMA, 3-0 UFC) vs. Forrest Griffin (15-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC)
Griffin enters this fight as a heavy underdog, 13-to-5 odds were the last I saw, but I think he will shock the MMA world this weekend by upsetting Jackson. Griffin is known to have an excellent chin and incredible conditioning. That was one of the keys to his win against Rua, just being able to outlast him and finish him when he knew he could keep going.

Jackson is the better standup fighter and has excellent counter-punching ability, seen by his knockout of Chuck Liddell. But he isn’t considered a top-notch ground fighter, which is where I see Forrest taking this fight. I think Forrest’s conditioning will lead to Jackson gassing and not being able to sustain the level he will need for the full five rounds.
Prediction: Griffin via decision

Patrick Côté (12-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) vs. Ricardo Almeida (9-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC)
This will be an interesting fight with a striker versus a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu artist. Apparently this fight will lead to a title fight in the middleweight division, which Anderson Silva completely owns. Depending on who gets the edge, to keep it standing or go to the ground will determine the winner. Almeida is on his second fight since returning from a four-year layoff and looked impressive in his re-debut, but his caliber of opponent was very suspect. I expect Almeida to get the fight to the ground and submit Cote with an armbar.
Prediction: Almeida via submission, 2^nd round

Joe Stevenson (28-8 MMA, 5-2 UFC) vs Gleison Tibau (15-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC)
Joe “Daddy” is coming off a loss to B.J. Penn and is now rebuilding his resume to challenge for the lightweight championship. Tibau lost to Tyson Griffin (also on the undercard) in his last bout, so neither fighter can afford to lose this fight. Tibau just isn’t in the same class as the elite lightweights and won’t present much of a challenge to Stevenson. “Daddy” has excellent jiu-jitsu and will prevail with his ground-and-pound.
Prediction: Stevenson via TKO, 2^nd round

Josh Koscheck (10-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) vs. Chris Lytle (25-15-5 MMA, 4-7 UFC)
This is a fight I’m looking forward to watching. Koscheck is still considered to be one of the top contenders in welterweight, even after his loss to Georges St. Pierre. Really, there is no shame in losing to GSP. Koscheck has an incredible wrestling and ground game. Koscheck has improved his striking and will be too much for Lytle. Lytle has 17 submission wins, but Koscheck wouldn’t submit to Dustin Hazelett, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu expert, in his last fight. Unfortunately for Lytle, this fight is just a bout to get Koscheck back in the picture for a title fight.
Prediction: Koscheck via TKO, 3^rd round

Tyson Griffin (11-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) vs. Marcus Aurelio (16-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC)
Griffin is coming of a loss to Gleison Tibau in February and matches up against PRIDE veteran Marcus Aurelio. Aurelio’s only loss in the UFC was his debut fight again Clay Guida via split decision. Griffin will want to get this fight to the ground to use his advantage in the ground-and-pound, but he’ll need to be worried about Aurelio’s BJJ submissions.
Prediction: Griffin via decision

That’s it for the main card. The preliminary card has fights with several TUF veterans. If the fights end early, I hope to see two of the lightweight fights: Jorge Gurgel vs. Cole Miller and Corey Hill vs. Justin Buchholz.

Gurgel is a local fighter and one that I want to see do well. He tends to play to his competition in fights he should win, which I expect in this one. Cole Miller shouldn’t be underestimated, as he was a solid competitor on TUF season 5. Plus Miller has a significant size advantage to use against Gurgel.

Corey Hill is a dynamic fighter for the lightweight division, standing at 6’4” tall. It’s simply amazing to see him make weight with that frame. He’s still learning the ropes to MMA, but his athleticism is incredible. 

UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin
Main card
Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin
Middleweight bout: Patrick Côté vs. Ricardo Almeida
Lightweight bout: Joe Stevenson vs Gleison Tibau
Welterweight bout: Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle
Lightweight bout: Tyson Griffin vs. Marcus Aurelio 

Preliminary card
Heavyweight Bout: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Justin McCully
Lightweight Bout: Jorge Gurgel vs. Cole Miller
Lightweight Bout: Melvin Guillard vs. Dennis Siver
Lightweight Bout: Corey Hill vs. Justin Buchholz