Believe it or not there is a UFC PPV this weekend. I know you all are watching the build for UFC 94 with the St. Pierre Penn rematch and the UFC Prime-time but that event doesn’t happen for 2 more weeks. You need to drop $54 dollars this weekend to watch a sub-par card in the mid afternoon on a Saturday to prove you’re a true hardcore UFC fan.

Now I call it a subpar card because chances are you only know 4 fighters; 5 if you are a fan, as I am, of Chris Lytel. I pick his fight against Marcue Davis to be fight of the night. I also pick him to win because he’s a hometown guy. Those 4 fighters are all facing each other, so it’s a $54 event on PPV, featuring 2 fights that are solid undercard matches on most events, or great free matches for a fight night on Spike.

Then in two more weeks there is a rematch between two of the greatest fighters in the UFC in Penn and St. Pierre. I don’t know about all of you, but I am planning on finding a bar with a low cover charge for this weekend.

Now, a preview of those two main events for this weekend’s UFC 93, which are: Rich Franklin Vs. Dan Henderson and Mark Coleman Vs. Mauricio Rua.

Franklin V. Henderson Preview

This is interesting because whoever wins will probably end up the coach on the next Ultimate Fighter. Franklin has been fairly adamant about not wanting to be a coach and “Hendo” has keep to him self about it. I would like to see Henderson get a rematch with Anderson Silva. He seemed to be a bit out of it in their last match and Silva dominated him. I think a rematch and a more focused Henderson would be a great fight. As for my Pick, I have to go with Dan Henderson even if he is 1-2 since returning to the UFC.

Mark Coleman V. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua Preview

This fight is actually a rematch. Coleman won the first fight back in Pride F/C when Shoguns’ arm broke. It was a freak accident and not any type of decisive win, but a win for Coleman none the less. When picking this fight you have to think about a few things:

First of all, Coleman is 44 and just came out of retirement. He’s old for a fighter, and while Randy Couture has shown no signs of aging (the Brock Lesner fight is an abnormality until I see him lose to someone who isn’t a freak of nature), can the same be said about Coleman? How many people can beat father time like Randy? Also, Coleman has never fought in the modern age of the UFC. A lot has changed since he last choked out Dan Severn.

As for Rua, well his first, and last fight in the UFC saw him completely gas out against Forrest Griffin. There was a time when Rua was considered the best at 205, but those were the old Pride days. As we have seen time and again (forget Anderson SIlva and Rampage), the old Pride vets haven’t been able to make a great transition to the UFC. Also, if his brother, “Ninja” Rua is any indication of how these guys train now that they are no longer part of Chute Box Academy, then Shogun will probably gas out if the fight goes past the first. I am picking Coleman in the second.

As mentioned before, Affliction is presenting it’s second PPV offering next weekend. Their attempt to make you part with your cash is offering the best heavyweight match up of the year (I know it’s early).

Andrei “How taste my pee-pee?” Arlozski Vs. God (known around MMA circles as Fedor Emelianenko).

Let’s face it, no one is giving Andrei a chance in this fight. Hell, Vegas has him at +275. Now, even if he is fighting Fedor, Arlovski has a few things going for him. Mainly, he has Freddie Roach in his corner. Sure Freddie is a boxing guy, but he is the guy that trained Oscar De La Hoya while he was good, then showed Manny Pacquiao how to dismantle everything about Oscar after De La Hoya burned him.

If Andrei can keep this fight standing he stands a real chance at beating Fedor based simply on his corner. The otherthing Adnrei has going for him, the fangs. I cant stress this enough. The fanged mouthpieces make the fighter who wears them. If Arlovski wears the fangs to the ring he will win this fight. My pick, and my money are going to Andrei… no mattter how much I regret it.

Quick note, it is being widely reported this could be the final Affliction PPV. While having the highest payroll in all of MMA has allowed them to creat the best Heavyweight division, the lack of promotion and ticket sales have greatly hurt the company. I wouldn’t expect another PPV from them, so this may be your last chance to see Fedor fight a true top 10 heavyweight. These guys make their money off of high priced T-shirts, loosing money on a television expansion just doesnt make much sense to me.