Light Heavyweight: Rafeal Cavalcante vs. Jared Hamman

I recently reported Jared Hamman as being the replacement for Renato "Babalu" Sobral, who is expecting the birth of a child. In that report, I said that there had been trouble finding a matchup for the Brazilian Rafeal “Feijao” Cavalcante. There is good reason for that in that Feijao posseses all the tools to make a run for a title someday, whether it be in StrikeForce or anywhere else. In fact, Cavalcante already trains with top talents at Team Nogueira in Brazil such as the Nogueira brothers, Lyoto Machida, and Anderson "Spider" Silva. In his career, Hamman has knocked out 8 out of the 11 opponents he has faced.

My prediction: Rafael Cavalcante will simply be too much for a game Jared Hamman. Cavalcante's lone loss comes via DQ, when he kicked a downed Marcio "Pe De Pano' Cruz in the head back in 2007. He hasn't lost since then and he won't start this weekend. Feijao will KO Hamman for a hard-fought win in the third round of this fight.

Main Event - Catchweight (182 Ibs) Robbie Lawler vs. Jake Shields

This has fight of the night potential as Lawler and Shields are arguably the two best acquisitions from the EliteXC deal. “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler hasn't lost since a Bully Beatdown submission courtesy of Jason "Mayhem"Miller at a Hawaii ICON event in 2006. On the other side, Jake Shields hasn't lost in his last 11 bouts and is one of the most highly-touted grapplers in any division of MMA. Both are great, with Lawler having beaten the likes of Joey Villasenor, Frank Trigg, Scott Smith, and Murilo "Ninja" Rua and Shields having defeated Paul "Semtex" Daley, Carlos Condit, and Yushin Okami.

My prediction: The outcome of this fight really depends on where it takes place. Lawler can finalize the fight at any moment on his feet with his powerful striking. Likewise, if Jake Shields can get this on the ground, he can win via submission. I don't think either will happen and this fight will go to decision. If it's not on the ground for any long stretch, expect Shields to win via unanimous decision.