This Saturday night the UFC travels to Australia, with UFC 193 taking place in Melbourne. Womens bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey defends her title against undefeated challenger Holly Holm in the main event. In the co-main event, womens strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk defends her title for the second time against Valerie Letourneau. The rest of the card features some interesting fights, including the return of a number of Australian fighters who will be looking to impress in front of their home fans. Let's take a look at the main card and predictions for how they will turn out.
Jared Rosholt vs. Stefan Struve
Heavyweight fights are always a bit of a toss up, but with this matchup we see one of the more consistent heavyweights in Rosholt matched up with one of the least consistent, in Struve. Rosholt does not have the finishing ability usually associated with heavyweights, but still manages to get the job done far more often than not. At 5-1 in the UFC, Rosholt sports only one finish among his wins. Struve is a different animal, having finished eight of his 10 wins in the UFC, while being finished in all five of his octagon losses. Rosholt's wins are all over fairly unremarkable competition, and Struve will be the most notable scalp in his collection should he get a win. Struves submission prowess makes this an interesting ground battle should Rosholt get the takedown, which he will no doubt look to do. If Struve can keep it standing he should use his long reach to his advantage, though that is something which he historically hasn't done as well as he should. It is very unusual for a fighter as young as Struve (27) to have as many miles on him as he does, but somehow I don't see more than a couple more fights in his future considering his health issues the past couple of years. Rosholt is a solid if unspectacular fighter, and I think his takedowns and top control should be enough to win a fairly lackluster fight here.
Winner: Jared Rosholt by Decision.
Uriah Hall vs. Robert Whittaker
This is an intriguing matchup, between a fighter on the edge of breaking out and another aiming to make the most of his current momentum. I have been wrong many times picking Uriah Hall fights, in fact I think he is probably the most inconsistent fighter on the UFC roster. He seems to have all the physical gifts but constantly lets himself down when he is under the spotlight. For every knockout of Gegard Mousasi there is a split decision loss to Rafael Natal, and it makes being a Hall fan very frustrating. Whittaker is a different matter altogether. After a fairly average run at welterweight, Whittaker moved up a weight class and has scored tremendous finishes in his last two fights. His ceiling at middleweight remains to be seen, and this fight will give us a better idea of how far he can go.
Style-wise this should be a fun clash of two strikers, with most if not all of the fight likely to be contested on the feet. One of Halls weakest points in his inactivity, sometimes he can do nothing for long periods and it has cost him decisions more than once. Whittaker has no such problem, and will bring the fight to Hall right from the beginning. This could be his undoing however, as Hall won't have a chance to sabotage himself and will be forced into action. I think the size and reach advantage of Hall will come into play, and the two will trade blows until someone goes down. I expect that someone to be Whittaker, as Hall follows up his biggest career victory with another finish to give him six wins in his last seven fights.Winner: Uriah Hall by knockout.
Mark Hunt vs. Antonio Silva
I was beyond shocked that the first fight between these two went five rounds, even more so considering the shots they both took from each other. The two years since their original fight haven't been kind to either, with Hunt looking every day of his 41 years and Silva struggling without the TRT that gave his career a much needed boost. I would have bet the house on a knockout in the first fight, and even though it didn't happen I expect this one to make up for it. Bigfoot Silva has the weaker chin of the two and Hunt throws the harder shots, so I'll be surprised if this makes it out of the first round.
Winner: Mark Hunt by knockout.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Valerie Letourneau
If you look at the odds, then this is the biggest mismatch in UFC history. Jedrzejczyk is as high as a 21/1 favourite in some bookies, a higher favourite than even Ronda Rousey. Whether these odds are accurate is debatable, especially since this is only Jedrzejczyk's second title defense. Add to this the fact that Jedrzejczyk will be facing a slightly bigger fighter for the first time in her UFC career and it seems surprising that she is such an overwhelming favourite. Letourneau is a fellow striker, and has faced decent competition at bantamweight, two full weight classes higher than strawweight. Those expecting her to be overwhelmed as easily as the undersized Carla Esparza might be surprised, so I wouldn't bet on an early finish. Given that this is five rounds and Letourneau will making quite a big weight cut however, I expect the steady accumulation of damage by Jedrzejczyk to eventually take its toll. While not as much of a mismatch as the odds indicate, Jedrzejczyk is a top fighter, and until she faces Claudia Gadelha again it is hard to see anyone having more than a punchers chance against her.Winner: Joanna Jedrzejczyk by TKO.
Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm
There is not much to say about Ronda Rousey that hasn't been said a thousand times before. It is up to the Joe Rogans of the world to hype up her opponents, I'm just here to make an honest prediction. That prediction is that this Rousey fight will be more of the same, total and utter devastation. It will take a very special opponent to defeat Rousey, and I don't think Holm is that opponent at all. The only real question in this fight is whether Rousey will go for an armbar or try to prove a point against the champion boxer and go for the KO. I think she will do a little of both, using her grappling to throw Holm to the floor, and from there raining down punches for a TKO win in the first round. Don't take a smoke break during this one, it won't last long.
Winner: Ronda Rousey by TKO.
