I¢m really looking forward to the light weight match up of Clay Guida(24-6) vs. Nick Diaz(10-2). There¢s some really interesting elements to this fight, which makes it tough for me to pick a winner. Guida always gives it 100% and win, lose, or draw, he always puts on an entertaining fight, which really fit¢s the UFC¢s philosophy of match making. It¢s being said that the UFC would rather see a fighter fight and lose than stall to get a win. Guida is the type of fighter that are talking about, in my opinion because even if he loses a fight, he still puts on a good show. Besides bringing a lot of heart into the cage, he has many skills as well, such as good wrestling, decent striking, and really good conditioning with the pace he is able to set in his fights. Guida is a very solid fighter and could be considered some what of a bench mark for the light weight division because really only the top tier fights in the division have been able to defeat him, while he¢s been able to get wins against the mid level light weights. That¢s why I think this is such an interesting match up, this fight will show where Nick Diaz is in terms of the overall light weight picture and if he is truly ready to start moving up the ranks in the light weight division. Diaz is known as a ju jist su specialist with some good boxing skills, which I think will match up well against Guida¢s wrestling and striking skills. I¢d expect this fight to include all elements of the MMA game with action standing and on the ground. I¢d give the strength advantage to Guida in this one, which might be useful in the clinch. As I said, this is a really tough one for me to pick a winner but I¢ll pick Clay Guida for a few different reasons. I¢ve mentioned how Guida pushes the pace in his fights, which could throw Diaz off his game and if this goes to the later rounds, I¢d think that Guida will have an advantage considering that conditioning is one of the noticeable advantages in his MMA game.

Karo Parisyan(26-5) vs. Dong Hyun Kim(11-0-1) seems on paper at least, to be a solid welter weight fight and essentially a judo battle. The main story of this fight would seem to be Kim¢s opportunity to cement himself as a name if the UFC is he¢s able to get a victory in this one. Kim, who wasn¢t even scheduled to be on the main card for his last fight was able to make his way to the PPV due to another fighter being injured. Kim made the most of the opportunity when he defeated Matt Brown UFC 88. Kim¢s known for being a well rounded fighter, which he has showed during his relatively short UFC career but with a fourth degree black belt in Judo, expect him to put that to use in this fight. His opponent, Karo is going to be a tough test though, he¢s a black belt in judo and known to be a great grappler with good defense. Analyzing this fight, the winner will probably be the one that is able to be more effective in the clinch and maintain control of the fight. Joe Rogan has mentioned on more than one occasion during his time on UFC commentary how strong of a grappler Karo is, which I think will be the key to victory in this fight. That¢s why I¢ll predict Karo to get the win here and if I had to guess, I¢d say it will be a submission win. Since we¢re talking about welter weights here, I want to take a second to discuss another welter weight that¢s on the card but not on the main broadcast, Jon Fitch. Fitch went five rounds in his last fight with GSP and even though he didn¢t win the fight, he still went the distance with the best welter weight in the world today, which is something no one else has done in a fight with GSP. Isn¢t that enough to justify a spot on the main card? It just seems ridiculous to me that a fighter can go from the main event in a title fight where he showed a great effort to not even being on the main card. There¢s two T.V. events in February for the UFC, why not put Fitch on the main card of the T.V. events? Fitch is a very solid fighter and I think after going five rounds with GSP, he deserves to be on a main card. Either way, I hope that his fight is shown during the broadcast.

Stephan Bonnar(14-4) vs. Jon Jones(7-0) is a fight in the light heavyweight division and this one is a very, very evenly matched fight. The skill sets for these two are almost mirror images, which could result in a good fight when they step into the octagon. Both fighters have a background in muy thai and ju jit su. The only major differences in their skills is that Bonnar is more of a striker and Jones is more of a wrestler so the key to victory here would seem to be where the fight takes place. Bonner has some really good boxing skills, which if he can utilize here, he could be victorious. I¢d look for Jones to try to use some ground and pound if he can take Bonnar down during this fight. Jones is undefeated in his MMA career, which adds extra intrigue to this fight. I¢ll pick Jones to get the victory but that¢s just a guess, these two are so evenly match that I think this one will probably go to the judges and I wouldn¢t be surprised at all if Bonnar wins but as I said, I¢ll pick Jones for this one.

Lyoto Machida(13-0) vs. Thiago Silva(13-0) is a battle of two of the light heavyweight division¢s rising young start and the result of this fight could possible determine a future challenger for Rashad Evan¢s title. Instead of discussing the numerous skills for each fighter in this one, I¢m going to go directly to what I think that keys to victory are for each fighter. Lyoto has a very unique and elusively offensive style that his opponents can¢t figure out. Thaigo is an extremely aggressive fighter that is very crisp with his strikes and if he¢s able to use that aggressive style to throw Lyoto of his game, Thiago could get a win here. As for who I think will win, I¢ll predict Lyoto because up until this point, no one has really figured out how to fight him because of his elusive styled, which I think is because of his karate background that he uses in the octagon.

The Welter Weight title fight is a champion vs. a champion and fights don¢t get much bigger than this in terms of what¢s at stake in the main event of UFC 94. The current welter weight champion, George St. Pierre(17-2) vs. the current UFC light weight champion, BJ Penn(13-4-1). Depending on how you look at this fight, BJ Penn has everything to gain and nothing to lose because if he wins, he makes history as the first fighter to hold two titles at the same time in the UFC, which is an amazing accomplishment. If he loses, he¢s still the light heavy weight champion. Both of these fighters are very well rounded and are black belts in Brazilian ju jit su. Although, I¢d give the ju jit su advantage to Penn, while GSP would seem to have the strength advantage, which I think will be a key to this fight. BJ showed some great boxing in his last fight against Sean Sherk and because of that, it will be interesting to see if he tries to keep the fight standing. It¢s ridiculously tough to pick a winner here but I¢ll say GSP wins because he will have the strength advantage, which could help him control the clinch or give him a take down advantage. GSP is welter weight and Penn is a natural light weight for MMA fights so I think GSP will be able to use his strength advantage to get the win.

ref johanson: I'm doing pretty well sir. How about you pal?

DW: I'm surviving...the country is in a recession, the economy sucks, and the weather has been terrible but I guess I can't complain because sir this time around we are discussing UFC 92:The Ultimate 2008, which looks on paper atleast to be the most stacked UFC card of the year

ref johanson : Absolutely. I am so psyched right now. This'll probably be the highlight of my break from school to be perfectly honest .

DW: That being said sir let's get right into the fights here as it will be a heavy weight bout with Cheick Kongo Vs. the debuting, Mostapha Al Turk. This is really a clash of styles here as Kongo is a pure striker and Turk is a ju jit su specialist...who do you think has the advantage going into the fight?

ref johanson: I've seen Cheick Kongo fight a few times. I have to say I'm pretty impressed overall with him. He clearly won his fight with-Mirko I think-about a year ago. He had an OK performance against Heath Herring. Definitely not the best fight in the world but I think that was a screwed up call. He should've won that fight. He is undoubtedly a striker, because he wasn't terribly good on the ground, but he held his own I'd say. As for Al Turk, I know nothing about him. But jiu jitsu guys are dangerous. They are often a stirker's nightmare. Who will win I don't know. I think they both have good chances. If Kongo can land some good hits and not let Al Turk shoot in on him, he will win. On the other hand, if Al Turk can shoot in, it may be over right there if Kongo can't defend himself on the ground. However, I say Kongo will win, because I've seen more of him and he's beaten very accomplished fighters. On top of that he seems to be the more well-rounded fighter.

DW: You make some great points and no doubt Kongo is a dangerous fighter but one of my biggest criticisms of him is his lack of ANY ground game. He has KO power no doubt about it and even good take downs but he has yet to show any ground ability, which could be the key to a fight with a ju jit su specialist. In my opinion, this is more of a toss up because if Kongo can press the fight and use the jab to set the pace of the fight to keep it standing he could have a victory here but if it goes to the ground at all I'll have to say Turk has the advantage. That being said, I have to go with Kongo to get the victory here, simply because I've never heard of Turk so it's possible this fight is a chance for Kongo to show his skills. Moving on from there we have a ground battle of CB Dollaway Vs. Mike Massenzio in the middle weight division. Dollaway was a cast member of the ultimate fighter show and was a favorite to win it but was beaten twice on the show. Once during the taping and then in the finals to Amir Sadala. Dollaway is known for being a wrestler with good ground and point but his opponet is a brizillain ju jit su blue belt...just based on there skill sets do you think either fight has an obvious advantage going into the fight?

ref johanson: Well to behonest here, I'd say no. I'd say this is another toss-up. They're both great grapplers. Unfortunately, I only managed to see CB Dollaway fight once and he won pretty easily from what I remember. As for Mike Massenzio, I have never heard of him. However that's still not enough for me to give the advantage to Dollaway. Two good grapplers like that is an evenly matched fight. So I wouldn't give an obvious advantage to either of them.

DW: Dollaway seemed to be very arragant going into his fight with Amir Sadala and I think that's what cost him the fight. Since both of them are ground based fighters, in my opinion, it will be the fighter that is better at striking that will be the victory. I have to say, I think Dollaway will win but if he doesn't improve his attitude I don't see him being a major force in the middle weight division. who would you predict to win?

ref johanson: I'd have to agree. From what I saw of him, he seems to be a fairly decent striker. On top of that, while jiu jitsu fighters are always among the best of the best on the ground, I haven't really seen too many that have great striking ability. For the record, I don't like Dollaways's attitude either.

DW: alright sir, now let's get into the major fights, in what I expect to be an absolute war it will be "The Axe Murder" Wanderlei Silva v.s. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. What are your thoughts?

ref johanson: This is definitely going to be the fight of the night, and one of the best of the year. Both of these fighters have beaten huge names and love to have all-out striking wars. I'm expecting little if any ground game from this fight, the latter being more likely. Who I would pick to win though, would probably be Wanderlei Silva. Rampage is an incredibly dangerous fighter, but I just don't see him beating Silva. Silva just rolled over Keith Jardine like he was nothing. He is in top physical shape and as ready as he can be. Rampage, however, is probably not ready. With getting arrested shortly after losing the title, plus his anger problems, he can't possibly be as focused as he should be. I think it will be a great fight nonetheless, and there is still the chance Rampage can win, but I think Wanderlei is going to take it.

DW: I have to agree Wanderli 100% because he has already beaten Rampage twice in Pride and also as you said, there's no way Rampage is as focused as he should be but then again one of the major problems of Rampage's career is that there are times he is just not mentally prepared for a fight. As I said in a column last week about the Ultimate Fighter Finale, you can have all the tools in the world but if you're not mentally prepared to put those tools to use then you have no chance in a major fight. Aside from Wanderli winning this fight, I hae to say that I have nothing but respect for Wanderli and you have to love the heart that he brings into the octogon every time. He loves the fans and putting on a show for them. He is a true class act and I hope he continues to be a major star in the UFC because he really deserves it

ref johanson: I couldn't agree more on every point you make. Rampage is a great fighter and, like you said, has every tool he needs to be the best, but I personally think being mentally prepared for a fight is better than physically prepared. I mean, obviously you're going to need to be conditioned to knock people out and to be able to take a few punches and kicks, but if the opponent is in your head-as I saw was the case with Rich Franklin and Anderson Silva-you have almost no chance of winning. And Wanderlei really DOES put a lot of heart and effort into his fights. He really is a great man and fighter. He doesn't run his mouth like many of the other fighters, and just always looks like he loves being there. He loves MMA for what it is, and isn't just there to collect a paycheck and be part of a rising sport. I have nothing but respect for the man.

DW: I definetly think Wanderli needs to run for the senate...

ref johanson: Or for President....

ref johanson: Next time around of course...

DW: He was born in Brazil so I don't think he can legally run for president but that's a good idea either way...ha ha polotics aside, we have the UFC interum heavy weight title fight of Nogaria v.s. Frank Mir. I don't know about you sir but this is a fight I'm really looking forward to and sadly, I think it's a fight that most band wagon MMA fans will over look simply because these two weren't with the UFC when the company exploded a few years ago. Nogaria reached legendary status in Pride and is without a doubt of the best heavy weights of all time being a ju jit su master and having the never give up mentality plus being able to strike. Mir was side lined and stripped of the title a few years ago after being severly injuried in a motorcycle crash and even after returning he still wasn't the fighter he was but now seems to be back on track. in fact, two of his 3 career losses were after he tried to come back from the motor cycle crashed before many thought he should have. Mir is also a ju jit su black belt and is a very dangerous fighter, which he proved when he broke Tim Sylvia's arm and also submitted Brock Lesnar. What are your thoughts on the fight?

ref johanson: I'm definitely really looking forward to this fight too. Both fighters are obviously very dangerous. I don't think I've ever seen Nogaria fight, but I did see when Mir submitted Lesnar. That was an impressive victory, but I can't give him too much credit-Brock Lesnar had next to no experience in the UFC with that fight, and didn't have a good ground game. He just basically relied on his brute power for all his fights. Mir just cleverly exploited Lesnar's inexperience and was able to submit him. But I will give him credit because he did it while Lesnar was using his head as an anvil. However, I'd have to give the advantage to Nogaria, because of Mir being in the motorcycle accident and Nogaria being a better striker. Nogaria is more well-rounded, which is what MMA is all about. Being good at just one skill isn't going to get you incredibly far.

DW: To me, Nogaria is probably going to get the victory here because he is a more well rounded and more experienced fighter but if Nogaria wins that shouldn't be anything against Mir because there's no shame in losing to a legend like Nogaria. Even if Mir doesn't win I still think he will be a force in the heavy weight division and him being back in the UFC will do nothing but help the heavy weight division and make it better. Although Mir has shocked the world before so I wouldn't be majorly surprised if he was able to get the upset victory over Nogaira.

DW: Okay sir now let's get to the main event for the light heavy weight title it will be Forrest Griffin v.s. Rashad Evans...what are your thoughts?

ref johanson: My thoughts are this is definitely going to be a great fight. I absolutely love watching both of these fighters. Who will win though, I can't say for sure. I personally think Griffin is more well-rounded, but Evans' striking ability is definitely better, and just plain lethal. If Forrest Griffin wants to retain the title, I think his only chance is to take the fight to the ground, because I just don't think he's going to win in a slugfest with Rashad Evans. He's undefeated, and practically knocked Chuck Lidell's head off in his last fight. Evans is on a tear right now. Forrest Griffin is a very accomplished fighter too, having a great fight with Rampage to take the title. I would have to give the advantage to Forrest Griffin because he has both good striking and ground skills. However, he seems to like to strike in his fights, although I've seen him submit fighters before. That being said, I think Rashad Evans will win, unless Forrest takes the fight to the ground. But hey, you never know what ref johanson: could happen in MMA, Forrest just might take Rashad's head off for all I know. DW: You know Johanson, Rashad proved in his fight with Liddel that no one should doubt him and he is very capable of winning the title but Forrest is great as well and one of my favorite fighters so I'll predict Forrest retains the title but that's just a guess not a solid prediction. ref johanson: Oh absolutely. He, in my opinion, is a very underrated fighter. It's a real tough call. Forrest is one of my favorite fighters too, but just don't know if he's going to win this one. That's just me though.

DW: okay sir I think that's enough insightful discussion for the readers for now and thank you very much for the discussion.

ref johanson: It was my pleasure thank you as well sir it was a great discussion.