Well it's right about that time for UFC 61 folks! Man have we seen a lot of MMA in the past few weeks and hopefully to top off everyone's 4th of July weekend we'll get to witness some real fireworks in the Octagon. First off it's the re-match that nobody really thought was necessary, Ortiz vs Shamrock II. There's no doubt these guys hate each other and while their utter disdain for one another does make for some interesting tv, do we really need part two? But their first fight was such a one sided beatdown it kinda makes you scratch your head and ask why are they fighting again? They're hyping up a fight that in essence should be as one sided as Hughes-Gracie was at UFC 60 and Dana's hoping that all the loud bells and whistles surrounding Ken and Tito will distract you dear viewer into thinking that you're actually watching something of substance. Come for an epic match-up between two legends of the Octagon and we'll give you Tito smacking around Kenny again. And don't forget Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski III - a fight that had to happen because...Well because, there's nobody else in the heavyweight ranks. In light of bringing real competition into the UFC, Dana White and the rest of the suits over at Zuffa give us the ultimate in re-runs. You know when I was a kid, I couldn't wait to see "Return of the Jedi" when it came out. But I ended up feeling pretty dissapointed after watching it. Why? It was part one all over again - yeah you had some Ewoks but nobody liked the Ewoks - with Lucas bringing back the Death Star you couldn't help but feel like you had gone down this path already. It's the samething that's going on in the UFC. Like Lucas, Dana White seems to be sufferring from a lack of originality and/or talent and instead of brining us something fresh he's hoping the old familiar will do. Not too many people know that Tim Sylvia is actually half Wookie. This is an issue that may not sound like too much of a big deal right now. Yeah MMA is really taking off and we are witnessing a level of coverage that we've never had before. But trust me it's an issue that will turn into a huge problem not only for the UFC but MMA in America in the no so far off future. I hope the UFC addresses this problem and addresses it soon, aside from Liddel and Ortiz the Lightheavy Division is pretty thin, hell it's freakin' anorexic and that goes double for the Heavyweight division. Fighters are not cheap and quality ones don't just grow on trees so if you're going to keep pumping out shows Dana now is the time to start signing the big names. But hey it's not all bad, I'm going to the fights again so it's another opportunity to give the UFC my hard earned money. Yes so I can sit up in the nosebleed section while some blond skank from the Hilton family or David Spade gets to sit up front. Better yet, I get to go and watch the fight up in the thin air while some two bit sports hack who doesn't know the slightest thing about MMA gets to sit Octagonside. Me sound bitter? Maybe just a little bit. In all honesty I'm actually pretty excited about the Sylvia vs Arlovski rubbermatch, the first two have been great fights and I have no doubt that number three will be just as exciting. I just wish the division was deep enough to have a little build up so the paying audience could have a little time to get excited again. That second fight was crazy and to have part three come so soon, well it's all a little overwhelming. Dana, MMA has some great fans and they deserve better, hell the sport deserves better. It's time to get the checkbook out and go after fighters that really belong in the "Superbowl" of mixed martial arts. Anyways, I'm done with my rant let's get to the fights. First up is a fight featuring the UFC's number one contender in the heavyweight ranks: Jeff Monson. And his opponent Anthony Perosh of course...Who? Perosh is a BJJ fighter who comes from the land down under. A teammate of UFC veteran Elvis Sinosic and like Monson he comes into the Octagon with a pretty distinguished grappling resume. Persosh has placed 3rd in the World in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in 2003 and also in 1999, second in the 2000 Pan American and is the current and 7 times Australian Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion. He received his blackbelt from the Machados so you know he's legit. Zuffa in their great wisdom has decided to match-up two ground fighters again. You think after Monson vs Pe De Pano, they would have learned that this type of match-up doesn't really make for an exciting bout. Perosh supposedly has some stand-up and wrestling ability as well so maybe not all is lost. PLEASE GOD I HOPE SO. I hope I'm wrong but I see Monson taking this fight to the ground and grinding out a decision. Rogan's said it before, and I totally agree with him, when you get two guys who are very skilled on the ground, it's going to end up in a stalemate. I hope the ref keeps a close eye on these guys and if there's not much going on the ground but positioning he'll do the right thing and have plenty of restarts on the feet. I haven't seen much of this Octagon rookie, so who knows maybe Perosh has a decent sprawl and keeps it standing. That's where Monson's game is the weakest. Keep it standing Perosh and you'll have a great chance of beating him. If Monson wins, he'll most likely fight the winner of Sylvia vs Arlovski III. Do you really care? I don't. Monson by decision. I'm excited about this match because I've heard some great things about Pellegrino, he a wrestler and BJJ'er who fights out of Hermes Franca's camp. He's also trained with BJJ great Renzo Gracie, Ricardo Almeida, and the boys over at ATT as well. But will he have what it takes to beat the veteran Fickett? He's going to be the smaller fighter, as 155 is the weightclass his best suited for and this will also be his Octagon debut. Pellegrino can strike but his bread and butter is the taking the fight to the ground. Drew Fickett is 2-2 in UFC, his last fight he lost to Josh Burkman at Ultimate Fight Night 3 by guillotine. Fickett is your typical MMA fighter as he brings a very ballanced game with skill on the ground and the ability to stand if need be. Fickett does have the advantage experience wise, since he has fought in the UFC already. Will that experience give him a competive edge over the UFC rookie Pellegrino? I think this is going to be a three round war, Pellegrino's going to have to get rid of those butterflys quick. He's got an awesome groundgame and if there's a weakness in Fickett it's his groundgame. But Fickett's a toughfighter and he's got a lot of heart so he's not going to just roll over and die either. Pellegrino by decision. I was jumping for joy when I heard that the UFC re-signed Franca to the lightweight division. He's an exciting fighter who's foundation is BJJ but he's also got some heavy heavy hands for such a little guy. Yes he's lost some close decisions to Thompson and Edwards but he was in both of those fights till the end. Joe Jordan, is a MMA vet who sports a 19-9-2 record. He is also a last minute replacement who is making his Octagon debut. I have to be honest with you, I really don't know too much about Joe Jordan. But I give him major props for taking the fight on short notice and against someone as dangerous as Franca. Who knows what will happen as stranger things have gone down in the Octagon and I'm sure he's a game fighter but Franca is a serious contender at this weightclass. Besides I'm sure Franca is looking to make a statement with his first fight back in the Octagon... Franca by ko in round one. This is the fight I'm looking forward to the most in the prelims. We've got two guys who like to bang. We last saw Aldana in the UFC where he ended up losing to Bunentello. He's a brawler who likes to throw but he's also showed the ability to grind it out with some ground and pound. He's got an iron chin but his conditioning is questionable. He was gassed by the end of the first in his Octagon debut. I've heard great things about Kongo, he's a Muay Thai fighter out of France (originally from Africa) who likes to strike especially with some very vicious and powerful knees and kicks. He's already been a champion in Europe with the Rings circut, holding belts in both the Freefight and Muay Thai divisions. Supposedly he's been training in martial arts since he was five years old. One look at this kid and you know he's a fighter. And if he lives up to the hype, hopefully he'll take out Aldana with some of those nasty knees he has. Maybe we'll see how good his groundwork is as I can see Aldana comming out and trying to ground and pound his way to the win. Why sit and strike with someone when that's their biggest strength? Still I have a feeling that Kongo's going to be the guy that everyone's talking about after the fight. Kongo by tko in round two. This fight is a toss up for me. Due to the simple fact I don't know if Frank Mir has totally recovered from his injuries. Mir was sidelined for quite a while after he was involved in a motorcycle accident. In his first fight back he got absolutely worked by Pe De Pano. The speed, power, and grace that really marked his style of fighting had gone and we had to witness a beating that I can only describe as sad. I'm interested in seeing how this fight gets to the ground if it does at all. Christison is a large large man. Will Mir have the strength to take his opponent down? If it does go to the ground will have enough strength to work the guard like he once did? There's a lot of drama in this fight and I'm nervous yet excited to see how this all unfolds. Christison will have the reach advantage in this fight if it stays standing up. He throws straight punches and for a big guy he's got some decent technique. But all that size is going to be a serious problem if it goes to the ground. Those long legs are a major issue if it goes to the ground. Guys with long legs get taken down easy and their guard is pretty easy to pass. If Mir is healthy I see him winning and winning easily. If not, it's going to be another bloody affair with Mir taking shots from the guard. I hope that Mir wins, because this guy was the former champ and it would be really horrible to see a great career end with such a stupid accident. Mir by armbar in round one. This is going to be an interesting fight because it involves Josh Neer. Neer isn't the most talented fighter out there but the kid has heart. There's just no quit in him. If you saw that fight with Guillard, you know what I'm talking about. He's spent the majority of the time in that fight getting the crap knocked out of him but came back and secured a triangle choke to get the win. Neer is a lot like Fickett in the sense he is very balanced guy interms of being able to do it all. But he does have an inclination toward duking it out with strikes. And he trains with the Miletich crew so you know he's comming in prepared for anything and everything. The only thing about Neer is that I sort of look at him as the litmus test for the fighters in 170. I feel he's the type of guy that will have a long career in MMA but he'll never be the champ. Like I said he's got a lot of heart and fundamentally he's solid. He does many things but not anything outstanding. If you're a decent fighter Neer's the type of guy you'll fight . He comes to fight in shape and he'll make you work. He's the guy you'll fight if the UFC is trying to give you a boost in terms of fan appeal and recognition. If you haven't been training or really don't have what it takes to be in that division Neer will make you look bad. Lose to Neer and you'll know that your days in the UFC are probably numbered. Beat Neer and who knows you just might have what it takes to be a contender one day. Josh Burkman's an athlete first and foremost. He doesn't have the best technique but makes up for it in pure strength and brute force. He's got some wrestling skills and can work a submission or even go for some ground and pound too. But he's also kind of a brawler, so he has that mentality of someone who's looking to throwdown even if it's not in his best interest to do so. Look for Burkman to pin Neer up against the fence in the clinch, he'll try to overwhelm Neer with pure aggression and guile. He'll throw some strikes for a bit, I think Neer's got him beat there so look for an eventual takedown. With Neer's heart and overall skills this could be a close fight between the two fighters. Burkman might dominate the entire fight yet all he has to do is make one mistake and Neer could pull it out. I know Burkman has been training with Tito Ortiz and the rest of the guys up at Big Bear. Maybe this is what gives him the edge and therefore I'm leaning towards Burkman. Burkman by decision. This could be the fight of the night. Match-up's make fights and this one has all the makings of a classic match. Joe Stevenson's making the drop down to 155 where he's meeting up with the former uncrowned king of that division Yves Edwards. They're both comming off losses in the Octagon but don't sleep on either of these guys because they're quality fighters. Look for Stevenson to take this fight to the ground and quick! Yves has some great stand up and Stevenson won't want to have anything to do with those knees and elbows. On the ground this should make for a very very competitive match. Stevenson is a great grappler, but so is Yves in his own right. Stevenson is going to have to work that ground and pound if he's going to win. Getting into a grappling match with Yves is the last thing he want's to do. Why you ask? Because that will give Yves the opportunity to escape or even sweep his opponent. Nope, Joe will want to stack Yves up against the fence and work those elbows. Slow this fight down and force Yves to grind it out. You know how basketball teams like to force teams that like to run into a half court game? That's exactly what I'm talking about here. Yves on the otherhand should look to keep this standing as it is his strength. But he's also got a very dangerous guard and he is very adapt to throw in a triangle choke or two. Either way, he's got to keep active and keep that pace frantic. That will cause Joe to expend a lot of energy and keep his options open to different modes of attack. Yves can do it all. This is going to be a back and forth battle with Yves catching Stevenson with a kick or a knee in a later round. I feel that Yves is too experienced and well balanced for Joe Stevenson at this point. Yves by tko in round three. I'll post my thoughts on the two fights in the main event tomorrow.