Dwight W - UFC On Fox 2 Evans vs Davis is set to pop off this Saturday from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois and will be the second event shown on the FOX deal.

In the main event Rashad Evans will take on Phil Davis for his coveted number one contender spot in the Light Heavyweight division and BJJ ace Demian Maia will face dangerous newcomer Chris Weidman.

Those two fights aside, I am most looking forward to Chael Sonnen vs Michael Bisping in an intriguing fight of styles to possibly see who gets Anderson Silva next.

Here are my predictions for the main card fights:


Damian Maia vs Chris Weidman

Losing a chance to beat on Michael Bisping is enough to depress anyone but Demian Maia better not wallow in his grief on Saturday night. The Brazilian jiu jitsu ace and evolving fighter will now face tough American wrestler and undefeated Chris Weidman.

Maia was looking at a huge opportunity to vault himself back into the title mix at 185-pounds with a strong win over Bisping and it must be a bit of a let down now having to face the risk of Weidman. Maia will have to concentrate on his game, which has become much more well rounded in the past year, and worry less about the switch of oppponent. Maia has improved his stand up considerably as we witnessed in his last two fights against Jorge Santiago and especially Mark Munoz at UFC 131 last June.

Weidman is a Matt Serra product who comes from a very solid college wrestling background, and he has stormed in to the UFC and beaten some tough guys like Alessio Sakara, Jesse Bongfeldt and "Filthy" Tom Lawlor. Maia is a large step up from those figthers and Weidman will need to rely on his strength and wrestling a lot in this one to avoid the dangerous game of Maia. I do believe that Weidman is the stronger of the two fighters, so if he can channel that power into his punches and grappling, he may have a chance at a decision.

I see this fight with Weidman starting out strong on Maia, but eventually it will go to the ground and Maia's brilliant ground game will catch Weidman in a bad spot

Maia wins via submission 3rd Round


Chael Sonnen vs Michael Bisping

In what many believe should be the main event of the evening, Chael Sonnen will fight Michael Bisping to determine who will get a possible shot at the title later this year. This juicy fight was put together last minute, and while it is a bit disappointing to miss out on all the entertaiing pre-fight talk that a normal lead up to Sonnen-Bisping could bring, I am glad this fight is here right now.

Did anyone see Chael Sonnen's last fight against Brian Stann? This one is going to be much of the same.Bisping might try to float, stick and move a bit better than Stann did but once uncle Chael gets him wrapped up and down to the floor, I don't see Bisping getting him off of him. That means that Bisping has a submission's chance at victory over Sonnen and I don't think he has the skills.

This fight will show once again how Sonnen's style is so hard to stop and leave Bisping stunned like Stann was at who he got dominated and beaten so easily.

The only difference will be that Stann made no excuses, while "The Count" will have his ready to go.

Sonnen wins via unanimous decision

Rashad Evans vs Phil Davis

This fight is a large risk for Rashad Evans and a nice opportunity for the undefeated 9-0 Phil Davis to establish himself as the number one contender for a title shot.

Evans already has that spot in hand and that's why it is largely a no win for him, but Evans is a well rounded professional who seems confident he is on another level than Davis. Evans is coming off a solid win over Tito Ortiz and has only one loss on his 18-fight record. Evans is a supreme athlete and fighter who has developed a very dangerous striking game and this is where he has the edge on Davis. He may well even be the better wrestler and I think it spells doom for his oppponent.

Davis has been cool and confident leading up to this fight and while it is true he has not lost yet in his career, he has not faced a guy the level of Evans yet either and I'm not sure "Mr Wonderful" realizes what he is in for. Davis will deperately try to keep Evans in a hold and on the bottom all night but Rashad is a decorated wrestler and I can't see that happening.

Evans will use his strength and experience to keep this one moving all over the octagon and he will win the battles in most areas. Davis has only a wrestlers chance of winning a decision while Evans has knock out skills and power to boot. This one ends with "Suga" pounding Davis out from the top.

Evans wins via TKO 3rd Round

Final Thoughts

I am looking forward to seeing if the Sonnen-Bisping fight does in fact play out similar to Sonnen-Stann or does Bisping have something in his game that I am not giving him credit for? Is he stronger than he gets credit for? Can he keep it standing and pick Chael apart? Can he submit Sonnen and shock everyone? If Bisping can defeat Sonnen I will definitely change my tune on him and give him the respect a title contender deserves. If Sonnen does win in dominant fashion, does it not prove (Munoz aside) that it really is only Silva and Sonnen and then all else at 185? I can't wait to see this fight more than Evans-Davis

Bonuses

Fight of The Night: Evans-Davis
KO Of The Night: Evans
Submission of The Night: Maia