OttO's predictions for UFC 83, April 19th, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Let me start off by saying, that this fight card is definitely showcasing some of the finest talents from both north and south of the border, and it is somewhat hard to choose a winner for some. But, after some careful consideration, I believe that I can provide you all with my own personal predictions for this particular event, the first of its kind in the Great White North!

It is my understanding that the first bout on the main card will be Mark Bocek from Toronto, and the most recent TUF winner Mac Danzig. Of course this may not be true, but I feel it is a good place to start, anyways. Personally I feel that neither of these men is lacking in raw talent, but I would have to give this one to Mac. Although Bocek has a very impressive record, only losing to tough wrestler Frankie "The Answer" Edgar (who remained undefeated until Saturday night, of course), I do not believe that he has the amount of experience, or even the pure strength to compete at Mac's level. The man is the epitome of pure professionalism, and he's shown time and time again that even without animal protein, one can achieve great success in MMA. So, that being said, I'm calling it like this: Danzig the victor by triangle choke in the 2nd round.

Next there will be two of my great fellow Canadians facing off in the Octagon, and both great ground players in their own right, Jason MacDonald vs. Joe Doerksen. I know both of these men have great ground games, but I would have to say that I choose MacDonald to win over Doerksen. I personally haven't seen much from Doerksen in a while and, what I have seen, seemed to lack something in his performance in my opinion. To me it seems like MacDonald is hungry to stay in the UFC. This much was obvious even when fighting and eventually losing to Rich Franklin by T.K.O. stoppage. That said, I feel that MacDonald will gain the win by submission or make enough decent attempts at them, as well as make takedowns that will probably gain him a decision victory!

Next, I will make my prediction as to who will win between Rich Clementi and Sam "Hands Of Stone" Stout from London, Ontario. This to me will be quite a match, with the possibility of it ending quickly for either man, or going the distance. Rich Clementi, of course, coming off of a very impressive submission victory over Melvin Guillard in December, seems to be possessing the skills needed to succeed on the ground. But this one in my mind will have to go by where the fight takes place. I feel that after losing so quick to a rear-naked choke when he fought Kenny Florian, that Stout has most likely been practicing his submission defense thoroughly. This is pretty much a given, but if Clementi sinks one in tight the fight will most definitely be over. If the fight stays standing I see Clementi getting cut up, and possibly knocked out. So, regretfully, I leave this one as a coin toss for the time being!

Next is Nate Quarry vs. Kalib Starnes from the TUF3 cast. As much as I know for a fact that Starnes possesses great skills, I will start of by saying that the fight will go to Quarry. My reason is that Quarry is the one that, between the two of them, harbors the most hunger to win. Starnes put on some impressive showings on TUF3, but I really don't think he has the capacity to take out someone the likes of Quarry, at least not in any kind of spectacular fashion.

Now this next bout is looking to be quite the beat-down, in my opinion. One of my personal favorites and winner from the TUF3 competition, Michael "The Count" Bisping, takes on Charles McCarthy. I say this because McCarthy has never given me any memorable fights that I can recall off hand. Whereas Mike has provided many impressive victories time and time again, both in the UFC, on TUF as well as in various videos that I have viewed online with origins from abroad. Bisping's only loss came recently by judge's decision to the still undefeated Rashad Evans. I feel that Bisping will win by either KO or TKO, because he has proven that he has the ability to do so. He will definitely be more than handful for Charles McCarthy in his debut at 185 lbs, for sure.

For what looks to be the lead in to the main event, we have Travis Lutter taking on Rich Franklin in the Middleweight division. This is definitely going to be quite a scrap, with the ground advantage certainly going to Lutter, but it would seem to me like Franklin's ground submission defense is vastly improving with time. So Lutter may not be able to make him tap, but I feel there is a definite chance that it is possible. Both men have knocked out some tough guys in their time, but if they stay on the feet, Franklin will most likely score the knockout over Lutter. I choose Franklin to win.

As for the main event of the evening, I can keep it short and sweet! I truly don't feel that Serra will get so lucky two times in a row, but who knows. At this point, I'm leaning all the way towards GSP to win in front of the capacity crowd in his native province of Quebec on April 19th, live on Pay-Per-View! OttO

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