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It is time to look at the second fight Night card of the year which will set the stage for Ultimate Fighter 5. I like that 2 of the 3 televised bouts are Lightweight bouts not just because I like that division but also because it is going to be featured on the show.

Lightweight Bout (Dark):
Naoyuki Kotani: 25, 5'8, 155, 17-5-5
Last UFC Bout: This is his UFC Debut.
Vs.
Thiago Tavares: 22, 5'7, 154, 14-0-0
Last UFC Bout:: This is his UFC Debut.

This looks like a bout that could just as easily have appeared on UFC 70 given the names of the fighters involved here. It appears that Kotani has an edge in experience. However, unlike several of my compatriots I don't just look at the number of fights to decide who is going to win. Although given their success compared to mine, perhaps I should? Na, I buck the system.
Winner: Thiago Tavares

Welterweight Bout (Dark):
Roan "Jucao" Carneiro: 29, 5'9, 170.5, 10-5-0
Last UFC Bout: This is his UFC Debut.
Vs.
Rich "No Love" Clementi: 30, 5'9, 170.5, 34-11-1
Last UFC Bout:: At Ultimate Fight Night 9 (01/25/2007) defeated Ross Pointon via submission at 4:53 of Round 2.

In January I picked against Clementi in his fight with Ross Pointon and it bit me in the backside so to speak. Now, I'm not going to make that same mistake but fully expect that it could still bite me in the backside.
Winner: Rich Clementi

Light Heavyweight Bout (Dark):
Wilson Gouveia: 28, 6'1, 205, 7-4-0
Last UFC Bout:: At UFC 62 (08/26/2006) defeated Wes Combs via submission at 3:23 of Round 1.
Vs.
Seth "The Silverback" Petruzelli: 27, 6'0, 204, 10-4-0
Last UFC Bout: At Fight Night 7 (10/10/2006) lost to Matt Hamill via Unanimous decision at 5:00 of Round 3.

I've seen Gouveia fight a couple of times and I have thought he looked impressive both times including a loss to Keith Jardine. Seth Petruzelli on the other hand I've not been so impressed by but not seen as much of him either. Going by who impresses me more may be an imperfect system, but life is not fair or so I've been told.
Winner: Wilson Gouveia

Welterweight Bout (Dark):
Kuniyoshi Hironaka: 30, 5'10, 170, 10-3-0
Last UFC Bout: At UFC 64 (10/14/2006) lost to Jon Fitch via Unanimous decision at 5:00 of Round 3.
Vs.
Forrest "The Meat Cleaver" Petz: 31, 5'10, 170, 18-3-0
Last UFC Bout: At Fight Night 6 (10/10/2006) lost to Marcus Davis via submission at 4:58 of Round 1.

Kuniyoshi Hironaka I remember from his fight with Jon Fitch. I remember Scott saying that Hironaka had a pretty hard head. I also remember enjoying that a lot. When I hear the name Forrest Petz I think of Forrest Gump and I'm not sure that is a good thing or a bad thing. One one hand that was a pretty good movie and a lot of good things happened to Forrest along the way but on the other hand a man's luck should have to run out eventually.
Winner: Kuniyoshi Hironaka

Lightweight Bout (dark):
Nate Mohr: 24, 5'9, 155, 6-3-0
Last UFC Bout: This is his UFC debut.
Vs.
Kurt "Batman" Pellegrino: 27, 5'8, 155, 15-2-0
Last UFC Bout: At UFC 64 (10/14/2006) defeated Junior Assuncao via submission at 2:04 of Round 1.

Mohr is a late replacement for Wander Braga and it still disappoints me that he has not fought in UFC because a name like Wander Braga is just begging to be made fun of I think. Anyway, my policy is to not pick the man who is taking on the fight at short notice to win and it has worked well for me in the past.
Winner: Kurt Pellegrino

Welterweight Bout (dark):
Keita "K-Taro" Nakamura: 22, 5'9, 170, 13-1-2
Last UFC Bout:: At Fight Night Live 7 (12/13/2006) lost to Brock Larson via Unanimous Decision at 5:00 of Round 3.
Vs.
Drew "The Master" Fickett: 27, 5'10, 170.5, 30-5-0
Last UFC Bout: At UFC Fight Night 7 (12/13/2006) lost to Karo Parisyan via Unanimous decision at 5:00 of Round 3.

A bout where both men are coming off of losses in their prior bout. There is more than one of those on this show. I don't know much about either man but looking at recent opponents, Fickett lost to Karo Parisyan who I like while Nakamura lost to Brock Larson who I know nothing about. Given this, I am going to pick Fickett because his last loss was to a better fighter.
Winner: Drew Fickett

Lightweight Bout:
Dokonjonosuke Mishima: 34, 5'7, 156, 17-5-2
Last UFC Bout: At UFC 65 (11/18/2006) lost to Joe Stevenson via submission at 2:07 of Round 1.
Vs.
Kenny "KenFlo" Florian: 30, 5'10, 156, 7-3-0
Last UFC Bout: At UFC 64 (10/14/2006) lost to Sean Sherk via Unanimous decision at 5:00 of round 5 in a lightweight title bout.

Another fight in which both men are coming off of losses.. I think that I like Florian to win this battle but his nickname has to go. Ken Flo is a nickname that inspires more rage in me than any other that comes to mind.
Winner: Kenny "gay name" Florian

Heavyweight Bout:
Antoni Hardonk: 31, 6'4, 242, 5-2-0
Last UFC Bout:: At UFC 65 [11/18/2006] defeated Sherman Pendergarst via TKO at 3:15 of Round 1.
Vs.
Justin "The Insane 1" McCully: 31, 6'2, 245, 7-3-2
Last UFC Bout: This is his UFC debut.

Justin McCully trains with Tito Ortiz so I don't think his conditioning will be a factor. McCully is a replacement for Frank Mir but he did not take this fight on the same kind of short notice that Nate Mohr took his fight with Pellegrino. I believe that the UFC sees something in Hardonk and were hoping to feed Mir to him to move him up the ranks. You hate to think anyone is just in to be beaten because Jason MacDonald proved that it can be dangerous to presume such things, but having said that I'm looking for a Hardonk victory.
Winner: Antoni Hardonk

Lightweight Bout:
Joe "Daddy" Stevenson: 24, 5'7, 153, 31-7-0
Last UFC Bout:: At UFC 65 (11/18/2006) defeated Dokonjonosuke Mishima via submission at 2:07 of Round 1.
Vs.
"The Young Assassin" Melvin Guillard: 23, 5'9, 156, 39-6-3
Last UFC Bout:: At UFC 63 (09/23/2006) defeated Gabe Ruediger via TKO at 1:01 of Round 2.

Out of all the fights that I could watch in the next few days, I think I am looking forward to this one the most. These 2 have been engaged in a war of words with the highlight being Guillard accusing Joe Stevenson of taking HGH. Hopefully the contest in the ring is as exciting as the talk back and forth. I am a fan of Guillard as a fighter but Stevenson is also not to be taken lightly. It could go either way I think and the winner of this might be next in line for a title shot after Hermes Franca. However, I'm going to take Guillard on this one. Just call it a hunch.
Winner: Melvin Guillard