These two fighters should make for a great matchup at UFC 118. Each of these fighters entered their last fight with undefeated records. Unfortunately each of these fighters suffered a defeat that set them back from their winning paths. This will be a great matchup to see who can bounce back from their last defeat and get back on the right track.

Soto, UFC betting odds favorite has a 7-1 career record, but he has never won a UFC matchup. This will be a big step for him if he can take home a victory. If he loses he may need to look to sharpen up his skills soon with some work outside of the highest level of competition in mixed martial arts.

Osipczak lost his last match, but he has found success in the UFC. Previous to this last fight he had won both of his UFC matches. He will be the favorite in this match because of his previous experience and successes at this level of mixed martial arts.

Last time Soto fought he was not able to display his skills as he was disqualified. He did an illegal kick and was not allowed to continue on against Matt Riddle. It will be important for him not to make any mistakes like that this time around.

The competitions will take place in Pasay City, Manila at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall. The event is being staged by the PCKEAM (Philippine Council of Kali Escrima Arnis Masters) and sponsored by Smart, Stix, and Harbour Centre.

On Friday, a nation open will take place with finals being held on Saturday morning. Winners of the Saturday finals will go onto fight foreign masters that afternoon. Sunday will be the stage of the last finals.

On top of the competition, there will also be exhibitions for spectators to watch and enjoy.

In December of 2009, the former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed a bill into law making arnis the official sport and martial arts of the Philippines. All schools in the Philippines now have to teach arnis.

The director of the tournament, Rey Dominguez says that he hopes this event (The World Arnis Open) will help bring popularity of the sport back to the Filipinos. In a newspaper article by The Philippine Star, Dominguez expressed his appreciation at finding sponsors who are willing to help them reintroduce the sport to their countrymen.

Against rising welterweight Paulo Thiago at UFC 106, last November, the three-time Div. I All-American wrestler for the University of Minnesota made a respectable Octagon debut. Though he lost a unanimous decision, at UFC 108 in January, the 29-year-old fighter back as a two-week late replacement was invited to face Martin Kampmann. By erroneously choosing to stand with Kampmann, Volkman led to his second straight defeat. He agreed not to repeat the same mistake again.

Jacob Volkmann said, “Right now I don’t have that choice. I’m 1-2 in the UFC and I know a loss could get me bumped out, so I gotta focus on the win. I don‘t have the luxury of standing there and trying to improve my standup. I need to get him to the ground and I need to win.”

At lightweight, the bout against Kelly will be Volkmann’s second one. Volkmann won via split decision, at UFC Fight Night 21 last March and he said he had little trouble making weight for his 155-pound debut against Ronys Torres.

Volkmann’s training partners have noted his superior physical strength, though since making the move down a division, he himself hasn’t noticed a substantial difference over his opponents. Volkmann said that his back-to-back losses have also been vital teaching tools and he is not to train longer hours to avoid the fear of growing complacency.

Volkmann said, “It made me think about what I needed to work on, especially with my standup, and that when I get a guy to the ground, I need to take control and hold onto him a little better.”

Rick Story has been enjoying a lot of success as of late. He has won three fights in a row and seems to be on track to find his way in the top level of his division. A win in this find could easily land him in the top 5 spots of the division. To this point in his career he has won 10 fights while only losing three.

Hazelett is on the way down as of late. He specifically ran into some problems in his last fight at UFC 108. He has generally seen success in his career, but in his last fight he was knocked out by Paul Daley. Daley even earned a “knockout of the night” award in doing so. He will need to do something to bounce back. It is clear that Hazelett’s strength isn’t stand up fighting but he will need to at least hold his own if he hopes to find his spot to get his opponent on the ground.

These fights have different styles, but it looks as though Rick Story will be the favorite in this matchup. Look for him to come in with the necessary momentum to win the fight.

The most intriguing part of the fight will be the performance of Matt Hughes. Hughes was a dominant fighter for ages and was one of the best fighters that the UFC had ever seen. In his career he has won a whopping 44 fights. His recent performance has been far lower than his general standard though and it is unclear where he will be at when this fight rolls around.

Almeida is 12-3 in his career and should provide solid competition for Hughes in the match. This fight will be an important one for Almeida. It is clear that Hughes will be geared up to prove that he is not over the hill. Almeida has the chance to basically knock the name of Matt Hughes out of the top level of the sport with a convincing win. A loss would spell trouble for Almeida though as it does not look good to lose to a declining former champion.

It just seems that despite the fame surrounding Hughes that he will be the favorite to lose. He has not looked good at all in recent fights and will need to bounce back with a solid performance if he hopes to erase some of the question marks around him. Expect Hughes to

These two fighters have fought in the past and have been looking for a rematch for months and months. In the original matchup Thiago Alves fell to Jon Fitch. Since the fight there have been 3 different fights scheduled in attempts to get these two fighters together again but none of them have gone through. Assuming things work out this time the two fighters will finally take part in their rematch on the 4th attempt.

UFC betting star, Alves was once near the top of the sport. He was a top contender in the welterweight class and looked to have a shot at the belt. He has been very injury prone recently though and even needed to correct some brain issues. His health will be a big question as the two fighters square off in August.

Jon Fitch has all of the tools necessary to fight with anyone out there. He has put up long stretches without losing fights and when he is at his best he is one of the top fighters in the sport. Alves likewise has strung together long stretches of excellence in his career.

It is difficult to tell what will happen in this rematch after 3 years. These fighters have each grown and evolved a lot in their time since their last matchup.

Gerald Harris, MMA betting star, has been absolutely on fire as of late. He ended up losing to the winner of the show Amir Sadollah, even though he took part in TUF (The Ultimate Fighter) 7. Since losing that fight, he has been absolutely unbeatable. In his last 9 fights, he has brought home victories and he appears to have found a swagger that should help him out as he takes on Dave Branch.

For Branch, the experience of Harris could be a problem as this will be his debut in the UFC. As Branch has shown no signs of weakness to this point in his career, it is difficult to tell. Branch has yet to lose a fight in his professional MMA career and he has demonstrated an ability to end fights early. He has not allowed a fight to go all the way to decision, in his 6 career fights. By submission, he has ended three fights and three more fights by way of TKO.

For Branch, this will be a big fight. A victory over him will show the world that Harris is ready to step up on the big stage and he has been on fire. Meanwhile, people will be forced to look at him a little bit more seriously, if Harris can pull out his 10th consecutive victory.

One as the two fighters square off on July 3rd, this fight should be a good one.

In the UFC, Petruzelli, UFC betting blog star, had not fared well in the past. In the UFC, he struggled with his first few fights and kind of lost his place. He has really found his way lately though, winning his last 4 MMA fights and he is ready to join back up with the UFC once again. To this point in his career, he is 12-4 and appears to be more ready to take on the level of fighting that is present in the UFC than he was previously.

Against Petruzelli, Ricardo Romero will be making his UFC debut. a four-fight deal, signed by him will give him a chance to show what he is made of. To this point in his career, he has managed a 10-1 record. To win fights early, he has shown the ability, demonstrated by his victory in the first round over Silmar Rodrigo in November.

Petruzelli has shown that he can knock people out with his power and he is a powerful fighter. In a 14-second match in October of 2008, he knocked out Kimbo Slice. He also had a submission victory just 2 months ago in the first round.

In showing, what path these two fighters are on, this fight will go a long way, as they square off at UFC 116.

for their exciting styles and outcomes in their matches, both of these fighters are known. Lytle, in his fights, has been especially popular.

UFC betting star, Lytle is known for his ability to stick in during tough matches and he has had several “fight of the night” awards recently. While his losses were also against tough fighters, he has beat several good fighters recently. He is a competitor in every match that he participates.

Brown, in his stay in the UFC has been solid as well. Since being promoted to this level of fighting, he has gone 4-2 and has looked good in his events in the UFC.

This fight is actually a rematch of a previous fight, will be one of the storylines in this fight. These players squared off and had a good fight, while in the United Fight League. The previous fight ended in the 2nd round when Lytle managed to pull out the victory with a guillotine choke on Brown.

For this rematch, Brown should be ready and amped up. He will be anxious to show the world that he is a different fighter when he matched up against Lytle, than he was 3 years ago. Lytle will not be a pushover in this rematch. with everything that he has, you can expect him to come.

These two fighters have different paths in their past but will meet up with an opportunity to show everyone what they are about. UFC 116 odds favorite, Silva is an extremely experience mixed martial arts fighter. He has won 33 matches in his career while losing just 10.
These numbers are impressive, but it is important to note that he has only managed a record of 3-5 in his career in the UFC. This sort of success suggests that this level might be a bit overwhelming for him. To his credit, many of his losses have been to solid fighters, but it is difficult to overlook a 3-5 record.

Akiyama has not fought in a year and will return to the sport well rested and healthy. He has not lost a fight since March of 2005 and sports a 13-1 career record in mixed martial arts fights. His late fight earned a “Fight of the Night” award and his return to the UFC has been anticipated after his decision win over Avan Belcher last July.

Although Akiyama has an impressive career record, it is difficult to gauge where he is at with just one fight in the UFC. This fight should be a good barometer for what we can expect from him in the future.