UFC 96 Quick Preview:

• Date: March 7, 2009
• Time: 7:00 PM ET
• TV Schedule: Live on Pay-Per-View
• Location: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio
• UFC 96 Headline Fight: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson v Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine
• UFC 96 Main Card Fights: Shane Carwin v Gabriel Gonzaga (Heavyweight); Matt Brown v Pete Sell (Welterweight); Matt Hamill v Mark Munoz (Light Heavyweight); Gray Maynard v Jim Miller (Lightweight)
• MSF UFC 96 Preview by Plough

UFC 96 betting is upon us, which means it’s time to start doing some handicapping and picking. While the last UFC took place in front of a rowdy crowd in London, England, UFC 96 will feature a blue-collar, raucous crowd in Columbus, Ohio. The main card everyone is excited about is the Quinton “Rampage” Jackson skirmish with Keith Jardine. Many people want to see how Jackson responds after his first big win since having some legal problems outside the octagon.

Without further ado, here are the UFC 96 picks along with some analysis:

Jackson vs Jardine line: Jackson -300

Rampage Jackson squares of with the Dean of Mean in the UFC 96 main event in what should be an absolute brawl. Rampage had an interesting year in 2008 but, as most sports betting fans know, the last thing seen is the most remembered. The last outing we saw from Rampage was stepping into the octagon as an underdog against Wanderlei Silva and knocking him out.

Rampage had a lot of personal problems which appear to be in the past. He was an underdog against Silva for many reasons but one of them was because those who bet on UFC just weren’t sure where his head was.

Now he’s focused and now he’s motivated. He should take care of business with Jardine.

UFC 96 betting pick: Jackson -300

Gonzaga vs Carwin line: Gonzaga -200

Gonzaga is typically a Cinderella when it comes to March Madness betting but this Gonzaga is a -200 in a heavyweight fight against Shane Carwin at UFC 96. Carwin has been perfect in his 10 fights with five wins by knockout and five by submission.

Carwin has fought some cupcakes in his time but now he’s taking a step up in competition. Gabriel Gonzaga will bring the heat and really put some pressure on Carwin with kicks and punches right from the get-go.

Carwin is a big underdog but he has shown that he has plenty of skill. No opponent he’s faced has made it out of the first round so don’t be surprised if Carwin takes this bout at UFC 96.

UFC 96 betting pick: Carwin +160

Hamill vs Munoz line: Hamill -200

Odds on UFC 96 have Hamill favored to beat Mark Munoz and hand him his first defeat. Munoz is 5-0 so far but he is very much a no-name fighter yet to be tested by anyone with credentials.

Hamill is a veteran of The Ultimate Fighter 3 but he has struggled to find consistency in the UFC. He hasn’t won back-to-back bouts since March 2007, going 2-2 in his last four fights.

For Munoz, this will be his UFC debut and, generally, new fighters have a tough time. This isn’t the stiffest challenge he could face but it’s one that will likely cause his first loss.

UFC 96 betting pick: Hamill -200

Ultimate 2008 was an entertaining card. Personally, I though UFC 91 was a better broadcast but if you bought UFC 92 you definately got your money worth. If you look at “safe bets” UFC 92 took your account. I went 1-3 on my predictions, and the one I hit on was a Vegas underdog.

Rampage, Frank Mir, Rashad Evans, and Cheick Kongo all won by decisive knockouts. Of that group I only hit on Rampage. Too bad I took him in a parlay with Forrest Griffin.

While on the UFC 92 card, I have one question… Has Kongo ever been in a fight where he didn’t deliver one obviously deliberate cock punch? His fight against M. Al Turk saw Al Turk deliver one accidental knee to the groin. AT that point 5 of the people in my room made joks that all suggested we knew Kongo wouldnt allow someone to get by with his trademarked knee to the nuts. Sure enough during the next clench Kongo got himself into position, looked down to make sure where his knee was, then lifted Al Turn off his feet via a knee to the junk.

I think it’s time to start fining guys for repeated rules violations. I’m not talking about the occasional accidental kick to the groin, thumb to the eye, or accidental blow to the back of the head. I’m talking about patterns that arise and violate the rules whenever a certin fighter fights. Kongo has built a career using knees to the balls, every fight there is at least one. If I were a heavyweight I wouldn’t want to fight the guy, not because he’s good, but because I saw what happened to every other guy he has fought.

Moving on to new news it appears the door is open for Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski to return to the UFC. Dana White was quoted this week as saying that Arlovski is the one who got away. Andrei wanted to do some boxing and stuff outside UFC and Dana wanted Arlovski all to himself. I would look for Andrei to start talking with Dana seriously after he his upcoming Affliction bout against Fedor Emelianenko on January 24. As for that bout, I’ll take Arlovski, I dont care how great Fedor is or was, there is just something special about Andrei’s fanged mouthpiece and that smile which makes me pick him every time. Side note: as soon as I saw Rashad Evans was wearing a fanged mouth piece against Forrest Griffin I knew my money was on the wrong fighter. One of my rules is never bet against the fangs.

In other Dana White news, it is reported that he may be interested in bringing back Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic. It was reported on Cagepotato.com that Dana said (On Best Damn Sports Show) if Cro Cop wins his New Years eve freakshow fight against Hong Man Choi he will be welcomed back in the UFC. Adding more fuel to this fire, Cro COp still has his cage up in his training facility. Now, I dont want to run with speculation, but UFC needs heavyweights. Cro Cop is a marketable heavyweight, even if he went 1-2 in his UFC stint and had a horrible 2008 (Hey who didn’t?), he is still a former top 5 heavyweight who has crazy knock out power. I’m not saying this will happen, I’m just saying I would pay to watch Mirko fight anyone, especially if he is coming in with a point to prove.

(Editor’s Note: UFC 92 takes place on December 27, 2008 live on Pay-Per-View from the MGM Grand.)

First we have my personal favorite fighter and monster truckowner in Quinton “Rampage the streets of LA” Jackson fighting Wanderlei “The Ax Murder” Silva (known around these parts as Clay Face).

Unless your an MMA, junkie you may not have heard about an organization known as Pride F/C, but these two fought there twice before. Both times Rampage got knocked out by Clay Faces’ knees.

Rampage is different now, and until he went crazy after his loss to Forrest Griffin, he was a more focused and better fighter then he had ever been. Clay Face on the other hand seemed to be on his way down the ranks until his brutal “grab him by the throat and punch him until he can’t move” beating of Keith “Overrated” Jardine.

My Pick – Rampage in 2nd via TKO

Also on this card we see former Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir fighting the Interim Heavyweight Champion “Minotaro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

We all know the only reason this fight is happening is because they were the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter this season. More importantly, we also know that whoever wins has the daunting task of taking that interim title and facing Brock Lesnar to unify the heavyweight titles.

So in my estimation, whoever wins this fight is actually losing. That being said, these are two of the great submission artists in the heavyweight division. All of us BJJ fans out there this should find this to be a great match-up.

If you dont know who to cheer for look at it this way: Nogueira is like a zombie (credit goes to the video below and Frank Mir), and Mir has already beaten Lesnar. So If you don’t like Lesnar go for Mir; if you do like zombies go for Nogueira.

My Pick – Nogueira in 3rd vis submission after having his ass whipped by Mir for 2 1/2 rounds

The last fight I want to look at is the main event “Sugar” Rashad Evans Vs. Light Heavy Champ Forrest Griffin. I’m still a bit bitter about Griffin beating the common sense out of Rampage back in July and taking his title.

That being said, I like Forrest and think he comes off as a genuinely good guy who works as hard as anyone could to be the best at what he does. We all know the man can take a beating and keep on fighting. With Evans we don’t have a lot of history to work with. Yeah he’s the season 2 TUF winner, fought Ortiz to a draw, he started as a pure wrestler, and has since developed a stand-up game that seems to be one of the best in the sport.

Everyone talks about his knock out of Chuck Liddell, and while it was beautiful, it wasn’t that impressive. You have to be a Liddell fan boy or have never watched the sport to think that Liddell is half the fighter he used to be.

Let’s face it, Liddells‘ fight against an aging Clay Face was much closer then the UFC allows people to think it was, he got beat by “Over Rated” Jardine, and Rampage didn’t even let Chuck outta the first round. Not knowing that Evans was going to win would have been like not knowing you were 9 months pregnant.

When all is said and done, this should be an ultimate slug fest. Evans will try and take Griffin down, but Griffin wont let him and it will end up being toe to toe most of the fight.

My Pick – Forrest Griffin retains the 205lbs Belt by decision after having the snot pounded out of him

Here is a little video Preview: