By Lance LeVan
UFC Fight Night 48 is being held in Macao, China on Saturday, August 23rd. This is a very unusual weekend with literally two UFC Fight Nights within 24 hours. Fight Night 48 in China and Fight Night 49 in Tulsa, OK. The fights in China will start at 8am CST (because of the time difference). The Tulsa fights will start at regular time (9pm CST). Both of these Fight Nights are going to be exciting, plus throw in the fact that we are seeing a lot of veterans returning to the Octagon. Several of these fighters are going to be fighting to see if they can get a title shot in the near future. You will be seeing tons of action and fighters putting everything on the line on Saturday.
(#8) Michael “The Count” Bisping (25-6-0) vs. Cung Le (9-2-0).
This is going to be a five round middleweight (185lbs) fight. This is going to be a slug/kick fest! The Count is a very technical fighter/striker…but anyone who knows Cung Le, knows the flurry of kicks that are going to be coming. I hope Bisping has been preparing for the onslaught of kicks that Le is able to put up. If Bisping can get this fight to the ground, he is notorious for being able to hold a fighter down and rain down with his ground-and-pound skills. I have seen Le break a man’s humerus (upper arm bone) with kicks. Not only does he throw devastatingly hard kicks…but he throws sheer volume of them also. Bisping is an all-around fighter. Le is well versed in MANY styles (TKD, BJJ, Sanshou, Judo, and others)…but he is a kickboxing fighter and a world champion. Since one lucky punch or a freaky submission could end someone’s night very quickly, it is going to be very difficult to predict a winner in this matchup. However, I am going to have to side with the stats and the experience in this one. Bisping has had almost three times the amount of fights in the Octagon. And just so everyone is clear…I am NOT a Michael Bisping fan. I dislike this fighter greatly. But I have respect for his skills in the ring. My prediction: Bisping wins by unanimous decision.
(#4) Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley (13-3-0) vs. (#10) Dong Hyun “The Stun Gun” Kim (19-2-1, 1NC)
This is a three round welterweight (170 lbs) fight. When you look at these two fighters on paper, they appear to be very similar and very evenly matched. However, Woodley is 5’9” and Kim is 6’1”…4 inch height difference. Both of these fighters have been in the UFC for a while. Both of them have fought some excellent fighters. Both like to strike and brawl. Woodley has won two of his last three fights in a very decisive manner. Kim is riding a 4-fight win streak. Kim would love to keep his momentum going and move up the welterweight ladder, but I am not sure that Woodley is going to just move over and let him pass by without putting up at least some argument. It will be great to see which of these guys will be putting everything they have in the Octagon and trying to win at all cost. A brilliant win here could catapult Woodley into a title shot in the near future. Everything about this fight says that I should put my money on Kim. But I think that Woodley is on the come-back train. I just have a feeling that he is on his way to winning a title. My prediction: Woodley wins via TKO in the 2nd.
Zhang “The Warrior” Lipeng (8-7-0) vs. Brendan “The Badger” O’Reilly (5-0-1)
This is a lightweight (155 lbs) fight that should be action-packed. I have to be honest and admit that I do not know much about these two fighters. Both are fairly new to the UFC but they have some experience in the ring. Both fighters like to trade punches. Both of these guys are going to be trying to make a name for themselves in this venue. Either one of them winning in dominating fashion would most likely catch the eye of Joe Silva and Dana White. I think both of these fighters are going to attempt to open the proverbial “can of whoop-ass” for this bout. This will be a very explosive fight and it could end in the blink of an eye. We’ll see what they bring to the cage Saturday night. Will they try to win by “not losing” or will they leave everything they have in the ring for 15 minutes. My prediction: The Badger wins via TKO in the 2nd round.
