It’s fight night! Looking back at our last round of predictions, where I spent more time complaining about advancing age than any actual analysis of UFC 109, it’s hard to miss how uninterested I was. What can I say? Trying to drum up interest for Couture vs. Coleman was like bleeding water from a stone. But ZUFFA’s making me forget it tonight (unless, of course, it’s my old age making me forget things again) — by assembling as strong an MMA card we’ll get in 2010 without the luster of a title fight. It also marks the first ever UFC to grace the shores of Australia, so expect a wild crowd screaming along every kangaroo hop of the way.

This, friends, is more like it.

Predictions by myself (TH), Jacob Lawton (JL), and Bryan Belangia (BB) follow. As always, our predictions are for entertainment purposes only.

Main Event — Heavyweights: Antonio Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira (32-5-1, 1 NC) vs. Cain Velasquez (7-0)

JL: This is a pivotal fight in the UFC’s tumultuous heavyweight division and the biggest UFC fight of the year so far. But styles make fights, and unfortunately for Cain, I think “Big Nog” has the style to put him away. Velasquez is a fantastic wrestler, but he can lack ground control; Ben Rothwell managed to get to his feet every time Velasquez bought him to the ground. Should Cain stand, he has to deal with “Minotauro’s” boxing. I can’t see any way Velasquez can win this fight; it’s just a matter of how Noguiera chooses to finish his opponent. Noguiera, round one submission.

BB: Velasquez is a prospect for sure, but so far everyone he’s beaten has had huge weaknesses in their game and Nogueira just doesn’t. Meanwhile, Cain’s takedowns are great but his striking is sloppy. I expect Nogueira to land a lot of punches and Cain to be on the defensive — constantly looking for a takedown, where he’ll likely be in trouble should the fight go to the ground. Nogueira takes this one in a unanimous decision.

TH: I disagree and actually see this fight as even money: Velasquez earning a decision or even a stoppage with a ground-and-pound assault, or Noguiera getting a sweep and locking in a submission to finish it. But forced to pick a side, with apologies to the Dave Camarillo & AKA trained prospect — I’ll go with the more proven commodity. Noguiera weathers that “Wrath of Cain” with an armbar, round three.

Co Main-Event — Middleweights: Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva (32-10-1, 1 NC) vs. Michael “The Count” Bisping (19-2)

JL: Similarly, a storied veteran going up a member of the new generation. The key difference is that Silva has looked, in his recent fights, well below the stellar standard of his PRIDE run, losing five of his past six bouts. Bisping looked very good last autumn in his dismantling of Patrick Cote, and he will be looking to finish his rebound from his big knockout loss to Dan Henderson last July. Wanderlei is, like Henderson, heavy handed, and many will point to Bisping’s chin. Wanderlei, however, doesn’t have the same sort of takedown defense or ground game as Henderson, and on the feet I expect Bisping to have figured out that circling towards the power hand (as he did against Henderson) is a bad idea. I can see Bisping out pointing Silva over the three rounds.

BB: What people are quick to look past when they say Silva is washed up is the fact that he’s always fighting the best in the world- Franklin, Jackson, Liddell, Henderson. Bisping just isn’t on that level. It’s his first fight at 185lbs, so it may be interesting to see if there’s a cardio issue, although I’ll guess it likely won’t come into play. Bisping will show a lot of respect for Silva’s power and he’ll try the stick and move tactic that he tried with Henderson. Silva is hungry for a win though and will stalk Bisping down with relentless pressure and force him into a mistake, and it’ll be lights out for “The Count”. Silva by KO in the first round.

TH: Yeah, these guys will bang it out right away, and simply put, Silva still has enough left. There’s nothing in Bisping’s history that leads me to believe he can win a confrontation like this. I expect a swarm of punches and knees to earn the “Axe Murderer” a finish in a wild first round slugfest.

Lightweights: Joe “Daddy” Stevenson (36-10) vs. George Sotiropolous (11-2)

JL: Hot prospect Sotiropolous, undefeated in his “official” four fight UFC career, is one of two Aussies on the main card: and a very well rounded, hungry fighter. I feel that ‘Daddy’ may be past his best, and that Sotiropolous is just coming into his prime. The veteran Stevenson is well known for being hard to finish, so a crowd pleasing victory for the Aussie via decision.

BB: This is a fight I’m really looking forward to. Both guys really fight at a high pace and I fully expect it to be one of the most action packed fights on the card. Sotiropoulos has looked great since he’s been in the UFC. Stevenson basically hit a wall in the division after he lost to BJ Penn, with two losses in a row to Florian and Sanchez, but he’s won his last two fights since joining Greg Jackson’s camp. Stevenson beat Nate Diaz by using his wrestling and basically just controlling him for the length of the fight even though Diaz is dangerous on the ground. Sotiropoulos is also dangerous on the ground and a much more physical fighter than Diaz. Joe Daddy has been submitted four times in his career and look for it to be five against Sotiropoulos as he’ll just be too much for Joe to handle.

TH: I’m suprised we’re unanimous here as George is the betting underdog — but yeah, I like him to finally turn the corner with a star-making performance here. His jiu-jitsu a joy to watch and I think his striking may be enough to keep Joe honest. Joe’s cagey though, and I think a decision win is the most likely outcome.

Light Heavyweights: Keith Jardine (14-7-1) vs. Ryan Bader (11-0)

JL: Bar the lucky punch, I can’t see Jardine beating the incredibly naturally gifted Bader. Bader to take it via first round Ground and Pound.

BB: This just isn’t a good matchup for Jardine. Jardine’s only chance will be for the wrestler Bader for some odd reason deciding to strike, in which case Jardine will just pick him apart on the feet. It’s Bader’s fight to lose since he can control where it will take place. Bader will win by ground and pound or decision. I’ll give Jardine the benefit of the doubt- Bader by unanimous decision.

TH: We are unanimous — I see this as kind of a spotlight fight for Bader, but look for Jardine to reach the final bell.

Heavyweights: Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic (25-7-2, 1 NC) vs. Anthony Perosh (10-5)

JL: The Elvis Sinosic-trained Anthony Perosh is the other Aussie to appear at UFC 110. Unfortunately he is otherwise nothing special, and even a past-his-prime Cro Cop should have no problem dismantling him. Filipovic by 1st round TKO.

BB: Cro Cop is a shell of his former self — I don’t expect it to be a pretty fight — but I fully expect Cro Cop to get a second round TKO. Of course this will be followed with people proclaiming that he’s “back”, which couldn’t be further from the truth.

TH: Yeah, I’m not expecting much here either. Perosh circles for a bit before Cro Cop splatters him for a first round knockout. But it might be fun to see my old favorite heavyweight notch a win for old time’s sake.

Enjoy the fights!