As promised, I will start my breakdown of the UFC 82 card over the coming week. Let’s start by taking a look at the undercard for the event.

The flavor of the undercard seems to be “past glories”. You’ll see what I mean. This is the undercard for the event:

Andrei “Pitbull” Arlowski v/s Jake O’Brien
Luke Cummo v/s Luigi Fiorovanti
Josh Koscheck v/s Dustin Hazelett
Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez v/s David Bielkheden
John “Hurricane” Halverson v/s Jorge Gurgel

Let’s start from the bottom and make our way up.

1. John “Hurricane” Halverson v/s Jorge Gurgel

John Halverson, a miletich product, has been in the UFC before (lost to Roger Huerta at UFC 67) and is at the moment coming off a three fight win streak in smaller shows. John Halverson is a brawler/ wrestler like a few other Miletich products and is pretty strong at those particular skills. However, he has either lost by TKO or submission in his more high-profile fights, which leads me to believe that Halverson has a serious case of “Dreamsmasheritis“, a particularly unique malady that was first seen in veteran KOTC champion and UFC, PRIDE and EliteXC veteran Joey Villasenor.

On the other hand we have Jorge Gurgel. A very accomplished jiu-jitsu fighter, Jorge has a similar malady in that he goes the distance and loses in hard fought matches with good fighters. Till he joined The UFC, Jorge had a really impressive 9-1 record. However, after he joined the UFC, Jorge’s record has been pretty even at 2-2, with his losses coming against Mark Hominick and Alvin Robinson. The fights haven’t been really pretty either.

Prediction: Jorge Gurgel by Unanimous Decision

2. Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez v/s David Bielkheden

This is the match that Diego has to win. Sanchez has been drifting into mediocrity ever since he left his proving ground in Greg Jackson’s camp and now that he seems to have a steadier camp, the UFC has thrown him up against David Bielkheden.

Although I don’t know much about David Bielkheden and have never seen him fight, his record suggests a middle level fighter and it seems to me that Diego has been thrown a lifesaver in this fight.

Look for Diego to dominate the fight and score a KO/ TKO to win the fight in the first round.

Prediction: Diego Sanchez by TKO - Round 1

3. Josh Koscheck v/s Dustin Hazelett

Coming off a decisive loss against interim welterweight champion Georges St.Pierre, Josh Koscheck comes in to this fight looking to get back to his winning ways. As always, Koscheck brings in excellent wrestling skills, athleticism and an always improving striking game along with the spirit of one of the best camps in MMA - The American Kickboxing Academy.

Hazelett is coming in to this fight with a three win streak against game opponents and hopes to continue the run with a victory over Koscheck. It won’t be easy however as Hazelett will have to put his ground game to the test against the wrestling skills of Josh Koscheck. The advantage that Hazelett has over his opponent is the often displayed finishing skills.

What will be interesting to see is whether Koscheck has really upped his game to another level or whether Hazelett continues his winning streak in the UFC. This promises to be an interesting fight by any stretch of the imagination.

Prediction: Hazelett by Submission - round 2

4. Luke Cummo v/s Luigi Fiorovanti

In another round of comeback fighters, Luke Cummo takes on Luigi Fiorovanti. Neither of the fighters have fought since ssptember of last year and are both looking to find their footing once again inside the octagon. Cummo, one of Matt Serra’s star pupils, has shown a great deal of heart and warrior spirit in all of his fights and suprised a lot of people including Matt Hughes as far as his fighting abilities are concerned. Coming in with a very solid all-round game, Cummo definitely has the advantage as far as MMA is concerned, technically.

Fiorovanti on the other hand, while not as technically adept as Cummo has knock out power and looks to finally prove himself and his fans right by finally fulfilling the promise he came in to the UFC with. To win this match, Fiorovanti will primarily have to keep the fight standing and try and work his boxing while staying in the pocket and denying Cummo the reach advantage. Whether or not he is able to withstand Cummo’s onslaught and implement his game plan will ultimately decide whether he wins or not.

Prediction: Luke Cummo by TKO Round 2

Andrei “Pitbull” Arlowski v/s Jake O’Brien

Capping an undercard that could very well be a good Fight Night card is the heavyweight matchup featuring former UFC champion Andrei “Pitbull” Arlowski versus the ever dangerous “Irish” Jake O’Brien.

O’Brien, best known for his ground domination of Heath Herring in his first fight in the UFC is coming off a long layoff due to injuries and is surely looking to make another example of a very highly favoured and decorated opponent in Arlowski. O’Brien has some very solid wrestling skills which are supplemented by his boxing skills, which although nowhere near the level of an Andrei Arlowski, are definitely improving thanks to his brother who is a pro-boxer.

Andrei Arlowski, who has been out of action since April last year, when he fought Fabricio Werdum in what was one of the most boring fights in the UFC, probably wants to show the world that he is still the same fighter who ruled the heavyweight division in the UFC in the past. As far as the reason behind the Pitbull being on the undercard is concerned, although the subject of much debate, is very simple and is infact two fold. One, he is coming off some very lack-luster performances and has shown none of the charisma and in-ring charm that took him to the top of the food chain in the UFC. The second and more business based reason is plain for anyone who follows MMA to see. There has been a lot of rumours surrounding Arlowski as far as his future plans with the UFC are concerned. The UFC, plainly wants to give the fighter as little exposure as possible, unless they are sure that he will remain with the company or not, causing him to be relegated to the prelims.

Prediction: Andrei Arlowski by KO round 3

Stay tuned to the site for more breakdowns of the main card fights over the course of the week.