Tonight brings the rematch of Lyoto Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua with UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2 from the Bell Centre in Montreal. The card doesn’t have a lot of overwhelming bouts outside of the main event, but each fight should be interesting. Here are my picks for tonight’s main card:

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship – Lyoto Machida (16-0) vs. Mauricio Rua (18-4) – Shogun exposed weaknesses in Machida’s once-thought unstoppable style in the first meeting at UFC 104. Now, in this rematch, look for Machida to approach the fight from a different style and make the proper adjustments to win this fight decisively. Shogun gave one of his best efforts at UFC 104 and he has the potential to win this fight, but Machida has a better team around him to have him prepared to win this contest. I like Machida to win by TKO in round four.

UFC Welterweight Bout – Josh Koscheck (16-4) vs. Paul Daley (23-8-2) – This fight will determine who will coach alongside UFC Welterweight Champion, Georges St. Pierre, in the next Ultimate Fighter and also be the new No. 1 contender to St. Pierre’s title. This fight can be won by Koscheck if he checks his ego at the door and takes the fight to the ground as Daley is the better and more powerful striker but struggles on the ground. Look for Koscheck to feel Daley out early, but eventually rely on his wrestling skills to get the fight to the ground where he will sink in a choke in round two.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship celebrates a monumental landmark tonight with UFC 100. To celebrate the 100th Pay Per View show for the Mixed-Martial Arts company, the UFC has put together a stacked feature card headlined by three main-event caliber fights. Overall the main card has five fights, including two championship bouts. The show takes places from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas at 10 p.m. ET. Here are my predictions for the main card bouts.

Heavyweight Championship (265 pounds): Champion Brock Lesnar (3-1) vs. Frank Mir (12-3) – This fight is tough to call. Mir one the previous meeting at UFC 81 in February of 2008, but since, both fighters have vastly improved. Lesnar has been over-powering and shown solid boxing in his wins over Heath Herring and Randy Couture. Mir has been on a tear in his last three fights, picking up quick wins over Antoni Hardonk, Lesnar, and Minotaro Nogueira. Mir became the first to stop Nogueria back at UFC 92, which set up the rematch with Lesnar. In this fight, I think Mir’s improved boxing will play a big factor. In the first meeting, Lesnar landed big punches early and pounced on Mir, nearly stopping the fight before Mir pulled of a knee-bar submission. In this fight I think Mir will be able to dictate where the fight goes more than he did in the first meeting. With Mir’s composure and elite level submission ability, I see Mir surviving Lesnar’s early onslaught and then successfully pulling off a submission. I take Mir by submission in round three.

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