UFC 99: Echo calls it

We’re almost to the century mark for UFC and boy howdy has the sport come a long way. (I now say “boy howdy,” fyi.) I’ll reminisce more about the evolution of UFC and the sport of MMA in general next month when the 100th event occurs, but for now, we’re talking UFC 99: The Comeback.

Mirko Cro Cop’s trouncing of relative newcomer Mostapha Al Turk is set to kick things off. Likely to be one of the least exciting fights of the night, I predict Cro Cop will steamroll Al Turk in short order. I’m fairly certain the point of this bout is to help the Croatian build up a little confidence and help ease him back into the UFC. Then again, if he’s fighting like he was a year or so ago, he could get his head caved in again.

Spencer Fisher is fun to watch, but I don’t know enough about Caol Uno to make any real predictions. Should be a fun fight to watch.

Marcus Davis and Dan Hardy, however, are two equally matched fighters with nearly identical records. I’m hoping for some real fireworks here. Davis can toss some hurting bombs. And if anybody is in need of a face wrecking, it’s a mohawked guy nicknamed “The Outlaw”. Just sayin.

Once again, I know too little about Ben Saunders to know if he’s going to stand a chance against Mike Swick, but his undefeated record is likely to be tarnished after Saturday night. Swick don’t mess around.

Then we get to the fight that has me scratching my head the most. Cain Velasquez is young and strong, but he’s unproven. Cheick Kongo, on the other hand, is a freaking powerhouse. Velasquez is an accomplished wrestler, but I feel comfortable saying it’s extremely hard to bring out the grapple game once Kongo has ripped off both your arms and begun beating you about the head with the bloody ends.

The big fight of the night has me a bit anxious. I love both Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva, so I want to see both of them win. Likewise, I don’t like seeing either of them lose. Silva has a brutal standup game and can deliver devastating strikes, but Franklin is scrappy and has no problem shoving his knee through the back of your head. As long as it’s a battle, I’ll be comfortable with this fight going either way. Franklin wants to prove he’s still one of the best and Silva could use a win right now. My heart says Franklin is going to wow, but my head says Silva is going to catch the former high school teacher with a vicious slew of blows and send him to beddy-bye land. (And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you hedge your bets.)

To see how it all turns out, be sure to tune in this Saturday as the broadcast will be live at noon (Fighting out of Germany) and repeat at the normal time of 7 p.m. For more info, drop by ufc.com.