FightHype's Percy Crawford and Ben Thompson break down all the fights to give their picks on who will win Submission of the Night, Knockout of the Night and Fight of the Night honors at UFC 86. Don't miss all the action tonight when UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and the winner of the first-ever season of The Ultimate Fighter, Forrest Griffin, clash at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada and broadcast live on PPV at 10PM ET/7PM PT.
KNOCKOUT OF THE NIGHT
Ben "The Hype" Thompson - Gabriel Gonzaga KO2 Justin McCully Justin McCully goes from making his UFC debut against Antoni Hardonk to a clash with Gabriel Gonzaga. Damn! If you ask me, it sounds like Tito Ortiz isn't the only fighter that Dana White wants to see "get their ass kicked." Of course, considering that Ortiz and McCully are best friends, that's not surprising. Actually, it's probably more likely that Gonzaga gets a tap out since all of McCully's losses have come via submission, however, I'm gonna roll the dice here and say that Gonzaga goes for the knockout...especially if he's already been given some extra incentive to do so, if you know what I'm sayin'.
Percy "The Talent" Crawford - Gabriel Gonzaga KO1 Justin McCully I look for "Napao" to get back in the win column in impressive fashion. We haven't seen "The Insane One" since his UFC debut in April of 2007, a shaky decision win over Antoni Hardonk. Due to injury, he hasn't had a chance to get those UFC jitters out inside the Octagon and if Gonzaga is as determined as he should be, I don't like McCully's chances. I really think Gonzaga has something to prove in this fight since his lackluster performance against Fabricio Werdum. I look for a big punch or kick from "Napao" to end this mid-1st round.
SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT
Ben "The Hype" Thompson - Ricardo Almeida SUB2 Patrick Cote (rear naked choke) Hey, if I have to guess a submission of the night, I'll put my money on the Brazilian Jiu-Jutsu 3rd degree black belt. I know he had a long layoff, but he picked up right where he left off when he locked in the guillotine and made quick work of Rob Yundt at UFC 81. Patrick Cote has definitely been on a roll, but if he isn't able to get Almeida out of there early, he'll have to fight the perfect fight to prevent the takedown. I just don't see that happening so at some point, I think the fight will make it to the ground and if Travis Lutter can slap an armbar on Cote, I like Almeida's chances to a submission of his own. There might be a few other submissions tonight, but I think Almeida's will be more impressive.
Percy "The Talent" Crawford - Dennis Siver SUB2 Melvin Guillard (armbar) Being that Siver has never been knocked out in his 16 fights and out of his 5 losses, 4 of them have come via submission while the other was a decision, I think he's pretty much in the clear of getting clipped by the arsenal that Guillard brings to the table. His wrestling and ground game obviously have to be up to par to go 3 rounds with Gray Maynard so this is an easy one for me...Siver by armbar in round 2 while fending off some ground and pound from Guillard. This just might be the last time we see Guillard in the UFC.
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT
Ben "The Hype" Thompson - Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin Yikes! Rampage looked a little soft during the weigh-in yesterday. He made weight, but he definitely didn't look quite as ripped up as he has in the past. I think the long layoff for the light heavyweight champ definitely did more harm than good and the extra weight he put on (240+ lbs. at one point) was a little difficult to take off this time around. That's just the advantage that Griffin needed to make this fight a very close, competitive, back-and-fourth, all-out brawl between two guys who never back down. I originally picked Rampage to stop Forrest in the 4th, but that weigh-in has definitely made me a little nervous about that prediction. I'm still rollin' with Rampage in this one, but regardless of who wins, I think their clash will earn the Fight of the Night award.
Percy "The Talent" Crawford - Tyson Griffin vs. Marcus Aurelio I don't think Tyson Griffin can be in a dull fight. Don't get me wrong, he doesn't always finish the fights that he probably should, but they're always all over the place. The same can be said for Aurelio. These 2 guys both come from great camps and will be in phenomenal shape. I'm glad I don't have to pick a winner in this category because this fight could truly go either way. From start to finish, I expect the fireworks in this fight to carry over from the previous day.
