As mentioned above, this match was to unify the Heavyweight title Lesnar had won from Randy “The Natural” Coture at UFC 91 last November, and the Interm Heavyweight Title Mir won from Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in December at UFC 92. Mir’s upset victory not only garnered him that interim title, but it added heat to the unification bout since he defeated Lesnar in the first round of his UFC debut.

Now to more immediate info.

UFC 96 is live this Saturday on PPV. As has been my duty in the past, I’m going to give you a look into the money lines, the backgrounds, and my feelings on a few of the fights. First lets his the specifics:

UFC 96 Live on Pay-Per-View, Saturday March 7th, 10pm est. All lines courtesy of BetUs.com.

Quintin “Rampage” Jackson (-350) v Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine (+250)

The top fight on this event will see one of my all time favorites take on one of the ugliest men in the business. Rampage has been up and down over the last year. He lost the Light-Heavy title to Forrest Griffin, decided to stop eating and sleeping for a week, went for a highly publicized drive that resulted in injuries and damages to other people and their cars, fired his trainer, and joined a new camp in England. After all of that he still found it in him to turn out the lights on Wanderlei Silva and win the Knockout of the Night award back at UFC 92 in December. It’s rumored if Rampage wins, his next fight will be to reclaim the Light-Heavy title against a surging Rashad Evans.

There isn’t a lot of nice things I have to say about Keith Jardine. He has never wronged me personally and I haven’t met him. As a fighter I just don’t like him.

He is a guy who fights up to the talent level of whoever he’s fighting. That tells me he is lazy. He’s beaten both Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell, but during this span he has also lost to a failing Wanderlei Silva (who placed one hand on Keith’s neck and used the other to punch him ugly) and a worthless Houston Alexander.

What I am saying is Keith wins fights he should lose and loses fights he should win. His best bet at beating Rampage is by using leg kicks and hoping he can cause the same type damage Forrest Griffin did against Jackson.

My Pick: Rampage via KO in the First.

Gabriel “Napo” Gonzaga (-160) V. Shane Carwin (+130)

This is a fight I want to watch. I have no idea what is going to happen in it, but we have one guy in Gonzaga who has the ability to have really fun bouts, and we have a guy in Carwin who is something of an up and comer. Gonzaga has a two-fight win streak going, and both have been dominate. That being said Fabrico Wedum and Randy Couture both TKO’ed him not that long ago.

Shane Carwin is someone I don’t know much about. I have watched his fights without ever really remembering him, of course that probably speaks more to my alcohol consumption then to his memorability. What I have learned about Carwin is that he is a wrestler by nature and he looks like he belongs in the WWE. Most importantly, he has never had to go out of the first round to get a win.

I don’t see it being out of the realm of reasonability that, with Mir out, this becomes a #1 contenders match. Whoever wins gets a shot at Lesnar at 98? I know it’s a bit of a stretch, but it would help the UFC add some last minute heat to a PPV which is seriously lacking buzz.

Just for you the reader, as I was finishing this article I happened across an interview with both Gonzaga and Carwin. It is because of this interview I am changing my prediction:

My Pick: Gonzaga via armbar in the second

Outside of these two fights, there isn’t a whole lot for me to add to this prediction. The actual PPV card is a bit weak for the UFC. Sure the Pete Sell Vs. Matt Brown match could turn into a slug fest, but neither man will turn into a title contender by winning. I am personally hoping to see Matt “The Hammer” Hamill drop to the new comer Mark Muno, but that is solely based on the fact Muno trains with Urijah Faber.

What is probably the most interesting fight on this card is the Brandon Vera v Michael Patt. It’s not interesting because of the matchup, but because Vera is within one loss of becoming a sports cautionary tale. He spent a year in a contract holdout to make huge money, pissed people off, got what he wanted, came back and hasn’t been impressive at all since. If Vira looses this fight, he will have gone from main event-caliber name to a pink slip in less then a year. After having watched the fighters weigh in, Patt looks like the town drunk, but Vera looked like he was already beaten. I wont be suprised if this goes to a decision or if Vera looses via TKO.

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