UFC 81
Written January 29, 2008 by Jack Jones
With the Super Bowl just a day way sports fans are gearing up for a great night of UFC action. On Saturday, February 2 Mandalay Bay Center in Las Vegas will hold UFC 81, Breaking Point. Two big time heavyweight fights are listed on the card with former WWE wrestler Brock Lesnar taking on former UFC champion Fran Mir, and Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira facing Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia for the Interim UFC Heavyweight Title.
First off lets take a look at the Lesnar vs. Mir fight. Lesnar comes in trying to prove to the world that he belongs in the UFC. Lesnar’s stint in the WWE might have fans thinking twice, but he is a four-time All-American and 2000 NCAA National Champion. He comes in unchallenged as a mixed martial arts fighter, but says he is ready to prove he can fight in the octagon. Mir is no easy task for Lesnar, though Lesnar is the bigger and stronger of the two, Mir has made a living beating those who are more powerful. Mir is a submission genius that can end a fight in no time if his opponent slips up, with his best work coming when he is on his back. So even though Lesnar might be able to win a fistfight, he has to be very careful if the fight moves to the ground. This fight could swing back and forth before one fighter is crowned the winner, and moves one step closer to a shot at the heavyweight title.
We are with the sports books on this one as they have Lesnar favored over Mir. While Mir has had great success defeating guys bigger than him, Lesnar is simply going to use his size to an advantage. Many people will probably underestimate him, but his background as a colligate wrestler will make him better than people think. We think that this will take away some of Mir’s great ability to submit his opponent. Lesnar could easily put an end to this fight early with a devastating knockout.
Brock Lesnar -135
Now lets take a look at the other heavyweight fight, Sylvia vs. Nogueira for the Interim UFC Heavyweight Title. This fight should have UFC fans counting down the days till these two beasts enter the ring. Both fighters would much rather keep the fight on their feet, and that should lead to some crowd-pleasing punches and kicks. Sylvia comes in with a 26-3 record, and a very impressive win in his last fight. Nogueira comes in with a record of 30-4-1, and a very fortunate win in his last fight. Nogueira was getting badly beat when his opponent let him get up instead of finishing him off. Both fighters are former heavyweight champions, although Nogueira is a former Pride Heavyweight Champion.
Even with Nogueira’s poor performance in his last fight we like him to come out victorious in this fight. While the majority of the fight will see both fighters exchanging blows, where we see the big advantage is on the ground. When the fight moves to the floor Nogueira is the far superior fighter. We also like Nogueira’s amazing ability to take big shots and recover quickly. So unless Nogueira is able to put down or submit Sylvia we see Nogueira winning by unanimous decision.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira -180