This is the big kickoff to the Strikeforce: Heavy Grand Prix, with 2 quarterfinal match ups and some reserve bouts. While I'm pretty excited to see a Pride style tournament going down with some of the top heavyweights in the world, I'm pretty sure that we are not going to see the matchups we want, Fedor vs Overeem, Fedor vs Barnett, Fedor vs Werdum, etc. My hope would be to see Fedor win the whole thing.
Strikeforce - Fedor vs. Silva
Frank Mir def. Cheick Kongo by KO (guillotine choke), rd. 1 - Mir obviously watched some tape on Kongo and saw that he drops both hands to his waist when you try to take him down & he used one of the oldest MMA moves, duck down, fake takedown, while throwing a big overhand and he caught Kongo right on the button which set up a guillotine that knocked Kongo out. If Mir keeps fighting like this he will make a good case for a third Lesnar fight. I don't understand why a guy like Kongo, with great striking but the poorest ground game in the division, doesn't just fight K-1 instead of MMA. I'd love to see how he matches up against Overeem, Badr Hari, or Schilt.
Kenny Florian def. Clay Guida by submission (rear-naked choke), rd. 2. - Kenny has improved once again after losing a titleshot. I think Kenny has solidified himself as the #2 guy in the division ( at least in the UFC). Look for the UFC to make a rematch of Florian and Sanchez & this time, I would think that Ken-Flo would be the favorite.
Stefan Struve def. Paul Buentello by decision - I thought this fight should've won 'Fight of the Night'. It was a great battle & I have a new found respect for Struve. With Struves genetic gifts, he already has a very solid Jiu Jitsu game, half decent striking, & he is only 21 years old.
Alan Belcher def. Wilson Gouveia by TKO(punches), rd. 1
Demarques Johnson def. Edgar Garcia by submission ( triangle choke) - Johnson was losing but he put together a great upkick into a triangle- choke to win $65 000 for 'Submission of the Night'.
Rousimar Palhares def. Lucio Linhares by Submission (Heel Hook), rd.2
Johny Hendricks def. Ricardo Funch by Decision (Unanimous), rd.3 - I'm looking forward to seeing more Johny Hendricks. He is developing nicely and will be a big deal in the welterweight division.
UFC Lightweight Championship
B.J. Penn (No. 1 LW, No. 6 PFP) vs. Diego Sanchez - As much as I'd like to see Diego take the belt I gotta go with BJ. I don't think there is anyone at 155lbs that can beat BJ right now. Penn is better then Sanchez in every aspect of the game. Penn is not gonna stand in one spot and get hit with machine gun uppercuts like Guida did. I'm rooting for Diego to knock Penn out with a 'YES! cartwheel', but I have to pick PENN by TKO, rd.4.
Frank Mir (No. 4 HW) vs. Cheick Kongo - Mir should win this fight easy. Should. I am going with Kongo for the upset, though. I think Mir believes that he can hang with Kongo on the feet & I expect Kongo to hit him hard and accurate. This is Mir's fight to lose, if he fights smart he'll go to the ground ASAP but I don't think he really respects Kongo's ground and pound game. Whichever way this fight goes I don't expect it to gt out of the first round. Kongo, by TKO, rd. 1. 
Kenny Florian (No. 4 LW) vs. Clay Guida - Florian is an all-round better fighter but I can see the judges giving Guida the nod if he gets on top of Florian and stays there, regardless of whether he is doing more to win. Some people still argue that Guida won rd. 2 of his fight with Sanchez because he was on top, even though he didn't do anything but get elbowed in the face a million times. Florian by decision. 
Jon Fitch (No. 2 WW, No. 8 PFP) vs. Mike Pierce - Fitch by decision. It's nice to see Fitch back on the main card.
Paul Buentello vs. Stefan Struve - Struve has a huge length and reach advantage but I think Buentello's experienced striking and good takedown defense should get him the win. Buentello by TKO, rd. 3.
Kevin 'Kimbo Slice' Ferguson defeats Houston Alexander by decision - This is not the fight anyone was expecting. Both of the bangers decided that this was the fight to show off their new skills & patience. Houston still lacks a good striking technique and while he stuck to his leg kick gameplan he didn't capitalize when it paid off in the third round and he let Kimbo slowly get back to his feet. I, as well as everyone else, was impressed with Kimbo's improved ground game. Slice will never be Jiu Jitsu ace but he was still able to dominate the more experienced Alexander on the mat, with only a few months of training at American Top Team. The most entertaining part of the fight was when the final bell sounded and both Kimbo and Houston bent over, hands on knees to catch their breath.
Matt Mitrione defeats Marcus Jones by KO (punches), rd. 2 - Jones needs to learn basic striking skills. I haven't seen someone look so uncomfortable throwing punches since Canseco fought Hong Man Choi earlier this year. That, and Jones needs to work on his cardio. Bad. Jones should really consider not running at guys with his hands down.
Jon Madsen defeats Justin Wren by decision (split) - Nothing to say about these guys. They'll both be in the UFC, neither will be a contender.
Brian Stann defeats Rodney Wallace by decision (unanimous)
UFC , Ultimate Fighter 10 : Heavyweights Finale, December 5, 2009, Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas
Josh Koscheck def. Anthony Johnson by submission (rear-naked choke), rd. 2 - Kos fought a good fight & a smart one. Johnson needs to work a ton on his ground game if he plans to be a complete fighter. Rumble has a ton of potential & is very young but he always looks absolutely lost on the ground.
I liked when Koscheck called out Hardy & said he hasn't fought anyone good, even though he just beat his AKA teammate the week before. Thumbs up to Koscheck for trying to get a title shot by running his mouth. It worked for Carwin.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Louis Arthur Cane by TKO, rd. 1. - wow! I really underestimated Lil' Nog. I picked Cane to win because I thought he had the advantage in striking & Rogerio hasn't looked that impressive lately. I was wrong, Nog was lean and fast with very crisp boxing. I am excited to see Nogueira makes some waves in UFC's stacked light-heavyweight division.
Amir Sadollah def. Phil Baroni by decision (unanimous) - Baroni is Baroni, he fought exactly how we thought he would, he got the crap kicked out of him but he's tough as hell. Sadollah was not that impressive in his 3 round beating of Baroni. We'll see what happens with Sadollah but I remain unconvinced that he is a quality welterweight. I did find that Baroni's blood all over Sadollah was very aesthetically pleasing. 
Paulo Thiago def. Jacob Volkmann by decision (unanimous) - There was a lot of great technical grappling in this fight. Volkmann clearly needs to work on his striking. I like Thiago, I think he's earned his spot among the top 10 welterweights.
Ben Saunders def. Marcus Davis by KO, rd. 1 - I was blown away by Saunders knocking out Davis. Saunders looked more mature then in his fight against Swick, but what will he be able to do when he can't knee his opponent from the clinch?
Kendall Grove def. Jake Rosholt by submission (triangle choke), rd. 1 - Jake was all over Grove, throwing him around like a ragdoll. Rosholt needs to work on his submission defense & not tap the second he gets caught. 
Caol Uno & Fabricio Camoes Draw (majority) - I didn't get to see this fight. They say Camoes would've won if he didn't hit Uno with an illegal strike in round 2.
Brian Foster def. Brock Larson by submission (strikes), rd. 2 - Brock didn't look like he'd ever trained anything but top position grappling. I thought Foster wasn't ready for the UFC yet but he looked good. I am excited for Fosters next fight.
George Sotiropopulos def. Jason Dent by submission (armbar), rd. 2 - Both guys looked pretty good. Dent showed some quality striking but it was Sotiropoulos' more rounded game that proved too much for him.
Paulo Thiago (169) vs. Jacob Volkmann (170) - I was pissed that we aren't getting the Dustin Hazelett/Karo Parisyan fight, due to Karo pulling out last minute. I really wanted to see Hazelett back in action & I thought the Parisyan fight was a great match up. On the plus side, Thiago vs Volkmann has been moved to the main card. Everyone seems to be on the Volkmann bandwagon. He's 9-0 coming into this fight & can apparently take anyone down. To be honest, I've never seen Volkmann fight before but it doesn't seem he's fought anyone at Thiago's level. I've been very impressed with Paulo in his 2 fights in the UFC, I am gonna take Thiago by Decision. 
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (205) vs. Luis Cane (205) - This fight has to be the saving grace of this card. With all the changes UFC 106 has gone through, I wouldn't be as excited as I am if not for this match up. I like Lil' Nog but I have to go with Cane (pronounced Con-eh, not Cane). I don't think Rogerio is the fighter his brother is & I see Cane getting the better of him on the feet, & being able to stay out of trouble if it does go to the ground. Cane by TKO, rd 3.
Amir Sadollah (170) vs. Phil Baroni (170) - Baroni is a joke. If Sadollah loses to him then he's an even bigger bigger joke. Sadollah by armbar, rd 2. 
On Spike: 
I'm pretty happy to see that I picked the upset Aldo TKO round 2 & went 8-2 in my picks. Jose Aldo is a beast & I look forward to him defending his 145lb title. Not sure what his next fight will be but I know he'll be fighting Urijah Faber if 'the California Kid' can get by Assuncao in January. I also look forward to seeing how Mike Brown recovers & moves forward from losing his title & how he plans to improve to get it back. 
