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UFC 118: Edgard vs. Penn 2 preview and predictions

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Durham MMA Examiner

The UFC is set to hit Boston, Massachusetts for the first time Saturday with a stacked pay-per-view card, and a couple fights broadcast on SpikeTV.  With that, it's once again time to make some predictions.

Champ Frankie Edgar vs. BJ Penn - UFC Lightweight Championship:
Edgar fought the perfect fight in Abu Dhabi at UFC 112 and just edged Penn on the judges scorecards, while Penn didn't perform up to his best and many people still thought he won the fight.  This time Penn will better know what to expect from Edgar, and is likely more motivated to win than last time, so I think we will see the outcome most people expected last time, which is for Penn to finish Edgar early, and I'm going with a third round submission.

Randy Couture vs. James Toney:
This is a bout that is being billed in the MMA world as MMA vs. Boxing, but the boxing world cares very little about.  Since Toney is an accomplished boxer, he has good striking, but how effective it will be in MMA is yet to be seen.  However I must make the obligatory statement that, "He has a punchers chance." Now that that's out of the way, I think Couture will submit Toney in the first, but think that Toney might have learned enough in his MMA training to last until the second before getting submitted, but if he does last until the second he'll get beat up badly in the first.

Kenny Florian vs. Gray Maynard:
This will be a huge step up in competition for Maynard, and I personally don't think he'll have what it takes to get past Florian.  Florian's striking is far better than Maynard's and his wrestling is much improved from the past, so I think he'll hold his own on the ground.  I think Florian will rock Maynard standing then follow it up with a submission in the second, handing Maynard his first official loss.

Demian Maia vs. Mario Miranda:
Maia is a stellar grappler with improving standup but Miranda is pretty good on the ground in his own right, and has shown fight ending power in his striking.  Also, Maia has been knocked out before, and I believe it will happen again in his career.  I'm actually picking Miranda for the upset in this one with a second round TKO.

Marcus Davis vs. Nate Diaz:
Davis will be Diaz's second opponent at welterweight, and is a definite step up from the out of shape Rory Markham who Diaz fought last.  Davis comes from a striking background but Diaz has a definite reach advantage.  I also think Davis is at the end of his career, so as much as I don't want to say it, I think Diaz will beat Davis, ending the fight with a second round TKO.

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)

Joe Lauzon vs. Gabe Ruediger:
Both of these guys were on season five of The Ultimate Fighter, but Lauzon has faced stiffer competition since that time.  Lauzon didn't look great in his last outing, but that had a lot to do with coming back too early from knee surgery.  I expect to see a return to form from Lauzon in this one, and he'll pick up a first round submission victory.

Andre Winner vs. Nik Lentz:
Both of these fighters were last in action in North Carolina at UFC Fight Night 20, and both are rising prospects, but I think Lentz's wrestling abilities will help him avoid Winner's punching power.  From there I think Lentz will grind out a decision and Winner won't live up to his name.

PRELIMINARY CARD

John Salter vs. Dan Miller:  Dan Miller via submission - Round 2
Greg Soto vs. Nick Osipczak:  Osipczak via unanimous decision
Mike Pierce vs. Amilcar Alves:  PIerce via unanimous decision

If you don't plan to buy the pay-per-view and need to know where to watch the fights Saturday night, then you can find local bars showing the fights by clicking here.

Be sure to check back here Sunday for results and recap.

Check out these UFC® 118 predictions from other MMA Examiners:

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, Durham MMA Examiner

Justin Harris is a writer and longtime fan of MMA. He is a contributor for MMAFrenzy.com, has covered several local MMA events and followed the sport since the beginnings of the UFC in 1993. Like many MMA fans he lost track of the sport during it's "dark years" but came back into the fold with...

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