For the Main Event we have our Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida prediction page

Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra

•  For a detailed prediction of this fight visit our Hughes vs. Serra prediction page

Pats Prediction

• The long awaited grudge match is finally here.  I hope this fight is worth the wait, The feud started  between these two  awhile back and the fight never happened due to injuries.  From recent interviews it seems the hatred still lingers on and lets hope they bring it to the Octagon.  I like Serra in this fight, as he is a big underdog.  I see Serra submitting Hughes in the second round.

 - Hughes vs. Serra Odds 

Sean Sherk vs. Frank Edgar

• For a detailed prediction of this fight visit our Sherk vs. Edgar prediction page

Pats Prediction

• Frank “The Answer” Edgar is a very talented fighter, but I see Sherk’s Strength and superior wrestling making the difference in this fight. This will turn into another unanimous decision victory for Sherk as he will lay on top of Edgar for three rounds.

 -Sherk vs. Edgar Odds

Dan Miller vs. Chael Sonnen

• For a detailed prediction of this fight visit our Miller vs. Sonnen prediction page

Pats Prediction

• WEC’s Chael Sonnen will have a second try in the UFC taking on jiu jitsu ace Dan Miller. Sonnen has great power, takedown’s, and excellent wrestling.  The problem here is that he will most likely takedown Miller, but this will eventually play into Miller’s advantage because of his jiu jitsu.  Sonnen’s submission defense will once again get him in trouble and submitted via triangle choke in the second round. 

 -Miller vs. Sonnen Odds

Drew McFedries vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam

• For a detailed prediction of this fight visit our McFedries vs. Foupa Pokam prediction page.

Pats Prediction

• Why this fight is on the main card is beyond me.  I have McFedries via second round TKO.

 - McFedries vs. Foupa-Pokam Odds 

UFC 98 Preliminary Card Quick Picks

Sportsbook.com Odds

• Brock Larson over Chris Wilson via second round submission

• Pat Barry over Tim Hague via second round KO

• Kyle Bradley over Philipe Nover via unanimous decision

• Krysztof Soszynski over Andre Gusmao via third round submission

• Yoshiyuki Yoshida over Brandon Wolff via unanimous decision

• George Roop over Dave Kaplan via unanimous decision

Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida

The main event of the evening is a Light Heavyweight title matchup between two undefeated fighters in the form of champ “Sugar” Rashad Evans and challenger Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida. Full UFC 98 betting odds are now available. Both men have extremely odd styles, which means that this could either be a barn-burner or a painfully odd fight.

Machida, as you will no doubt hear Joe Rogan affirm upwards of 100 times, is a notoriously elusive fighter with awkward but extremely effective standup. His karate background gives his punches extremely odd angles of approach without sacrifing power and accuracy. His takedown defense is very good, but his jiu jitsu is excellent, making him a threat to finish from any position on the ground. Thusfar in his career, Machida has looked completely unbeatable. His chin is a question mark because of the simple fact that none of his opponents has ever really connected. He made Rich Franklin look nearly as bad as Anderson Silva did, and that was very early in his career.

The champion, Rashad Evans, is a little easier to figure out. A powerful wrestler with awesome athleticism, Evans has really come into his own as a striker, showing some disturbing punching power against Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin. The only notable hole in Rashad’s game is mental, as he has shown a distinct tendency toward both lethargy and showboating in previous fights. Even though Evans has the clear edge in knockout power, it would probably be a bad idea for him to stand with Machida, just because Machida has a distinct technical advantage, both in terms of punching and footwork.

To win this fight, Rashad Evans is going to have to do what Tito Ortiz failed spectacularly at, and that is to take Machida down and hold him there. Considering Machida’s fondness for backpedaling, as well as his dangerous submission attack from his back, that is going to be no easy task, and ultimately I think Evans will come up short. I see Machida utilizing his usual gameplan, dancing around on the outside, making Rashad pay for any aggression by sticking him quickly and then running out, and trying to keep the range long enough that Rashad has to telgraph his takedown attempts.

This one doesn’t look to be pretty, but I see Machida leaving with the belt after 25 grueling minutes. Grueling for the spectators, that is.

Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra

The semi main-event of the evening is one of the most hotly-anticipated grudge matches in UFC history between two former Welterweight champions in the form of Matt Hughes and Matt “The Terror” Serra. It is no secret to anyone that these two guys hate each other. Hughes thinks Serra is an overrated, foul-mouthed jerk who sets a bad example for children, and Serra thinks Hughes is a sanctimonious, rude, cocky asshole. While neither man is at the prime of his career, the sheer dislike they have for one another should help provide plenty of fireworks. It gears great for those UFC 98 odds and those whom are betting.

It would almost be pointless for me to sum up Matt Hughes’ legendary career. If you are reading this, then you know that Hughes dominated the 170 pound division for years, and is arguably the most dominant champion in UFC history. Recently, though, age has finally caught up with the legendary wrestler, and he has looked distinctly underwhelming in his last few outings. Still, even in the twilight of his career, Hughes’ wrestling is nothing to scoff at. His work ethic is unmatched, his cardio is amazing, and as this is quite possibly the last fight of his storied career, he has all the motivation in the world.

While Serra’s career has by no means reached the heights Hughes’ did, he is still an extremely formidable and underrated fighter. His standup is woefully underrated, as Georges St. Pierre found out the hard way, and very few men in the division, if any, can match his grappling prowess. And while his career may not be as close to ending as Hughes’ is, his burning hatred for his opponent should provide more than enough motivation for him to train like a mad man.

Personally, I think Serra is an extremely attractive underdog pick. The line on this fight is ridiculous, with Serra being listed as an underdog of +200 or more. Considering Hughes’ physical decline recently, and the fact that Serra has far superior standup and jiu jitsu, I like the chances of another huge Serra upset. Hughes certainly has it in him to dominate Serra from the top position, but he is going to have to get through Serra’s crisp boxing to secure a takedown, and avoid his amazing grappling once he gets it.

 I see Serra shocking the world for a second time, submitting Hughes in the second round and sending him into retirement on a down note.

Sean Sherk vs. Frank Edgar

The opening bout of the evening is a competitive Lightweight showdown between former champion Sean “The Muscle Shark” Sherk and always-exciting up and comer Frankie “The Answer” Edgar. Sherk, who lost his title after a controversial positive on a steroid test that was later partially overturned, went on to be smacked around in brutal fashion by current champion B.J. Penn, so he will no doubt be looking to prove that he is still part of the division’s upper crust at Edgar’s expense.

Edgar, a powerful wrestler with a constantly-improving jiu jitsu game, is probably best known for his extremely exciting contest with Tyson Griffin, in which he waited out a deep kneebar late in the fight in order to earn the Unanimous Decision and a Fight of the Night bonus. A well rounded fighter with good wrestling and submissions, Edgar has proven that he has what it takes to fight through adversity and come out with a win. Despite his stellar 9-1 record, though, the lone blemish might well prove disastrous for Edgar in his bout with Sherk. Against powerful wrestler Gray Maynard, Edgar had absolutely no answer for Maynard’s size and wrestling advantage, and was easily controlled on the ground for the vast majority of the fight.

As large and powerful as Maynard is, he is still like a diet version of Sean Sherk. A physical specimen who is huge for the Lightweight division, Sherk also has arguably the best wrestling at 155 pounds in he UFC. He is a nightmare matchup for Edgar, since their styles are very similar but Sherk is better at everything. He has better boxing, better cardio, better wrestling, a notable size advantage, is stronger, and has better cardio. Sean Sherk, to put it simply, is the kind of fighter Edgar might well evolve into a few years from now.Unfortunately for Edgar, this bout won’t be taking place in a few years, and in the present he has no answer for Sherk’s superiority.

I expect a recreation of the Maynard fight, with Sherk dominating Edgar with takedowns and top control en route to a lopsided unanimous decision.

Dan Miller vs. Chael Sonnen

In a make or break fight for his career, former WEC standout Chael Sonnen will look to avoid a second consecutive loss against jiu jitsu wiz Dan Miller, one half of the Famous Fighting Miller Brothers. Sonnen was embarassed by submission expert Demian Maia in his last bout, while Miller is currently enjoying a nine fight winning streak, including three wins in three tries inside the Octagon. In WEC, Sonnen was a big fish in a small pond, but if he can’t find a way to win in the big show, he might find himself back in regional promotions, so this is an extremely important fight for the future of his career.

There can be no denial that Sonnen’s wrestling is a force to be reckoned with. His ability to take an opponent down and stay on top is nearly unrivaled, especially in the Middleweight division. The difference between Sonnen and other powerful wrestlers such as Tito Ortiz or Randy Couture, though, is that Ortiz and Couture both have excellent submission defense, whereas Sonnen has absolutely none. This is a problem that has plagued him for a while. He will use his powerful wrestling to get the fight to the ground, control the fight for a while inside his opponent’s guard, and then pretty much stick his head directly into a triangle choke and lose the fight.

Miller is the kind of fighter who seems custom made to make Sonnen pay for his lack of submission defense. An extremely slick grappler who was earned 7 of his 11 wins by submission, Miller has only tasted defeat once, early in his career to wrestler Mike Massenzio by a razor-thin split decision. His wrestling is not that powerful, but he is very good at fighting from the bottom.  I see this fight playing out very similarly to Sonnen vs. Filho 1 and Sonnen vs. Maia. Sonnen should control the fight early with takedowns, but Miller is too good on the ground to not exploit Sonnen’s horrible submission defense.

Miller by Triangle Choke, round 2.

Drew McFedries vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam

In a fairly inexplicable Light Heavyweight bout, journeyman Drew McFedries will square off against late replacement Xavier Foupa-Pokam. Both men are primarily known for their standup fighting, with McFedries having good punching power and Foupa-Pokam possessing solid Muay Thai.

Why this fight is even on the main card is beyond me. McFedries has dropped four of his last six fights, and suffers from Crohn’s Disease, an intestinal disorder that by his own admission hampers his athletic ability greatly. He has mediocre boxing but can punch fairly hard. All told, McFedries’ best attribute is his toughness. Fighting despite having Crohn’s Disease is certainly commendable, but it doesn’t usually make for the best fights, especially considering that, on top of his physical issues, McFedries’ skills are severely underdeveloped.

As for his opponent, Foupa-Pokum’s record of 20-10 is especially underwhelming when you consider that every decent fighter he has ever faced beat him badly. All 20 of his wins are against, at best, middling opposition. He was pretty much brought in to UFC so that he could lose to the slumping Denis Kang, but managed to secure himself another check from Zuffa by taking this fight on short notice.   Both fighters should be commended for their bravery and toughness, but neither guy should be commended for their fighting ability.

McFedries by TKO in round 2? Sure.

Live on Friday May 15, 2009 on Showtime at 11:00 p.m. E.T.  ShoMMA and Strikeforce will be debuting the first of a new series labeled the Challenger series.  This series will feature up and coming MMA prospects. It will headline the undefeated Billy Evangelista (9-0) taking on BJ Penn fighter “Iron” Mike Aina (11-6-1) 

Billy Evangelista vs. Mike Aina

Sportsbook.com Odds

• Evangelista (-285)
• Aina             (+225)

Sarah Kaufman vs. Miesha Tate

Sportsbook.com Odds

• Kaufman (-500)
• Tate         (+300)

Lavar Johnson vs. Carl Seumanutafa

Sportsbook.com Odds

• Johnson          (-145)
• Seumanutafa (+115)

Anthony Ruiz vs. Aaron Rosa

Sportsbook.com Odds

• Ruiz  (-145)
• Rosa  (+115)

Bao Quach vs. Tito Jones

Sportsbook.com Odds

• Quach (-365)
• Jones  (+285)

Ben Holscher vs. Cody Canterbury

Sportsbook.com Odds

• Holscher       (-675)
• Canterbury  (+475)

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