The Ultimate Fighting Championship kicks off 2006 with what has to be the most anticipated show in the history of Mixed Martial Arts in North America. UFC 57: Couture-Liddell 3 will take place this Saturday, February 4 th, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

In the main event, Chuck Liddell defends his UFC Light Heavyweight title against former Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight champion Randy Couture. This will be the third meeting between the two, with Randy having won the first fight, and Chuck the second.

UFC Light Heavyweight Title
Chuck “Ice Man” Liddell 17-3 (-170) vs. Randy “The Natural” Couture 14-7 (+160)

Liddell is riding a four fight win streak, and has looked absolutely unstoppable since losing to Rampage Jackson back at Pride FC 2003. This will be Liddell’s second defense of the title he won from Couture last year. With rumors of a possible knee injury suffered in training last week, Liddell is going to have to work extraordinarily hard to stop Couture from shooting in and taking the fight to the ground. For Liddell to win, he has to keep the fight standing as long as possible, and hope to catch Randy with one of those vintage strikes.

At age 42, Couture is the proverbial iron man of the sport. He is an exceptionally well rounded fighter with world class Greco Roman wrestling skill, and a work ethic to match. Despite being known primarily as a wrestler, he surprised many with good striking ability in his first fight with Liddell. After feeling the sting of Chuck’s right hand at UFC 52, Couture will look to take the fight to the mat and either submit his opponent or ground and pound until the referee stops the fight.

Prediction: Couture by TKO

Heavyweights
Frank Mir 8-1 (-254) vs. Marcio Cruz 1-0 (+234)

Former heavyweight champion Frank Mir looks to make his return to the octagon a successful one when he faces the undefeated Team Gracie Barra member Marcio Cruz. It’s been quite some time since we last saw Mir in the UFC, as he’s been sidelined for 20 months after a motorcycle crash that caused him to break his left leg. In his last fight before the accident, Mir submitted and actually broke Tim Sylva’s arm to win the UFC heavyweight title. This is a tall order for the young Cruz, who only has one fight under his belt, and although that may have been a win at UFC 55, it was against a far lesser opponent. Cruz may be able to take him down to the ground once or twice, but it should be a relatively easy night for Mir.

Prediction: Mir by Submission

Heavyweights
Renato “Babalu” Sobral 26-5 (-323) vs. Mike Van Arsdale 8-2 (+293)

Since losing to Chuck Liddell at UFC 40, Renato Sobral has won nine straight, including wins over Mauricio Rua, Trevor Prangley, Jeremy Horn, and Travis Wiuff, and has quickly become a hot figure the Mixed Martial Arts world. Babalu has gone the distance with Fedor Emelianenko, and is considered one of the deadliest submission fighters in the sport. Van Arsdale is a UFC veteran that sports a record of 8-2. A strong wrestler with good submission skills, Van Arsdale is coming off a submission loss to Randy Couture at UFC 54. In what should be a relatively boring contest, look for both men to take the fight to the ground.

Prediction: Renato Sobral by Submission

Welterweights
Nick Diaz 11-4 (-153) vs. Joe Riggs 23-7 (+143)

With both fighters coming off what were probably the worst losses of their respective careers, it’s hard to tell how this fight will end up. These are also two of the youngest fighters in the UFC, so look for a high pace to be set, especially by Diaz. Riggs will be fighting for the first time since his loss to Matt Hughes at UFC 56. But it’s also fair to point out that the fight with Hughes was originally supposed to be for the UFC Welterweight title, but Riggs came in two pounds heavy at the weigh-in. The fight took place, but it wasn’t for the title and it seemed to kill Riggs’ spirits.

Diaz was most recently seen losing an ugly decision to Diego Sanchez. A top student of Cesar Gracie, Diaz owns a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and will most likely look to take Riggs down right off the bat, although the bigger and stronger Riggs may be able to get to his feet pretty easily. We’ve seen Diaz’ striking ability before against Robbie Lawler at UFC 48 and it’s no laughing matter.  

Prediction: Nick Diaz by Submission  

Heavyweights
Brandon Vera 5-0 (-237) vs. Justin Eilers 9-4-1 (+217)

Heavyweight prospect Brandon Vera makes his UFC PPV debut against veteran Justin Eilers. In what should be the most exciting fight of the night, two young strikers will be looking to make a name for themselves. Justin Eilers is a UFC vet with a record of 1-3 inside the octagon. Since winning his UFC debut against Mike Kyle, Eilers has completely fallen off the map, suffering back-to-back losses and blowing out his knee in the process. He’ll look to bounce back the only way he knows how, by knocking someone out. On the other side of the coin we have Brandon Vera, a former Marine from San Diego, who made a successful UFC debut last October with a TKO win over Fabiaon Scherner on Spike TV’s Ultimate Fight Night 2. If there’s one guarantee all night, it’s that this fight doesn’t go the distance.

Prediction: Brandon Vera by Knockout

Heavyweights
Paul Buentello 19-8 (-234) vs. Gilbert Aldana 5-0 (+214)

Former world title challenger Paul Buentello will face the debuting Gilbert Aldana. This will be Buentello’s first fight since suffering a devastating 15 second knockout loss to Andrei Arlovski at UFC 55. Despite the deceiving 19-8 record, Buentello is considered one of the deadliest heavyweight strikers in the sport today. Not much is known of Gilbert Aldana. This will be his first fight in the UFC, having racked up a 5-0 record on smaller MMA shows against dubious competition. Although it is fair to point out that all five of Aldana’s wins have come by knockout in the first round. Don’t blink… this one should be a thriller!

Prediction: Paul Buentello by Knockout

Heavyweights
Jeff Monson 19-5 (-244) vs. Branden Lee Hinkle 12-6 (+224)

Neither guy has lost a fight in nearly three years. Monson makes his first appearance in the UFC since losing to Ricco Rodriguez back at UFC 35. Since then, Monson has put together a 13-1 record fighting on various smaller shows throughout the US and Brazil.

Hinkle is coming off a first round stoppage of the very limited Sean Gannon. A former college wrestler, Hinkle is also well versed in submissions. I see this one as more of a toss-up than anything, but it is in fact my upset special of the night.

Prediction: Branden Lee Hinkle by Decision

Heavyweights
Keith Jardine 9-1-1 (-131) vs. Mike Whitehead 9-4 (+121)

In a battle of alumni from “The Ultimate Fighter” season two, the two heavyweights most considered to be the favorites to win the show will finally face off. Jardine is a well rounded fighter, who relies mostly on his strong striking ability. He trains with Greg Jackson’s Submission Factory, and also boxes professionally, having compiled a 3-0 record with 1 knockout.

Mike Whitehead is looking to put a disappointing performance on the “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show behind him, and a win over Jardine may bounce him right back. Relying mostly on a strong wrestling background, Whitehead will look to take the bigger man down to the ground as soon as possible and look for the submission.

Prediction: Keith Jardine by Submission