UFC 88 seems to be a card that Dana White threw together to keep the one-time UFC poster boys Chuck Liddell and Rich Franklin in the contender picture. Liddell will have his hands full with Rashad Evans, who should be able to control Chuck and win a decision. Liddell is a -260 favorite going in, but I would take the upset in this one.

Rich Franklin, a -230 favorite, should be able to handle Matt Hamill. He’s improved his take-down defense over the last year, and Hamill is essentially a punching bag during any stand-up stage the fight may be in. Look for Rich Franklin to get a TKO or submission via rear naked choke.

Other winners I’m picking include Rousimar Palhares, who brings a lethal BJJ game against the aging Dan Henderson, and Karo Parisyan, who should be able to Judo throw around Yoshiyuki Yoshida with ease.

UFC 88 is set for September 6 at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta. Fighting on the card will be a collection of has-beens, including former UFC poster boy Chuck Liddell (21-5 MMA, 16-4 UFC). He will fight the undefeated Rashad Evans (11-0-1 MMA, 6-0-1 UFC), who should be able to put a beating on Chuck if he doesn’t get the main-event jitters.

The other fights include washed-up former poster boys like Rich Franklin (23-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) and Dan Henderson (22-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC). Franklin will fight fellow Cincinnati native Matt Hamill (4-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in the night’s co-main event. Henderson fights Rousimar Palhares (8-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC).

The rest of the card includes:

- Karo Parisyan vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
- Martin Kampmann vs. Nate Marquardt
- Kurt Pellegrino vs. Thiago Tavares
- Tim Boetsch vs. James Lee
- Matt Brown vs. Dong Hyun Kim

There are three people at the top of the MMA mountain: Fedor Emelianenko, Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre. For now, thanks to his unanimous victory over Jon Fitch earlier this month at UFC 87, St. Pierre has muscled his counterparts out of the spotlight.

Sherdog’s Jake Rossen has begrudgingly given St. Pierre the nod as the king of the cage, citing his quality and variety of opponents. Emelianenko doesn’t have the UFC promotional machine behind him, and the heavyweight division is pretty thin these days. Silva is ahead of St. Pierre on Sherdog’s most recent pound-for-pound rankings, but those were made two months ago. Rossen prefers GSP’s all-around game and points at Silva’s relative lack of wrestling skills to make his final decision.

We’ll get to see the next chapter on Oct. 25 when Silva headlines UFC 90 against Patrick Cote. Emelianenko has pulled out of the Oct. 11 Affliction event with a hand injury.

There would be no going against the script this time. Saturday’s big UFC 87 pay-per-view had some of the best fights of the year, and the favorite won all three of the marquee matchups.

It started with Kenny Florian (-145) beating Carlos Huerta by decision, winning every round 10-9 in a smart, technical display featuring some hard kicks and takedowns. Later in the evening, Brock Lesnar (-240) supplied the beatdown with another unanimous decision over Heath Herring. Lesnar was dominant, but patient, learning from his mistake in his UFC debut loss to Frank Mir.

The main event topped them all. Georges St. Pierre (-350) was never in danger against Jon Fitch, but the underdog showed a lot of heart and even had some good offense in the second and fourth rounds. In the end, St. Pierre remains the Welterweight champion by unanimous decision. Next up: a likely bout with Lightweight champ B.J. Penn.

The UFC has assembled the largest, deepest roster of MMA talent in the world. But when it comes to the heavyweights, seven of the Top 10 in the Sherdog rankings are plying their trade elsewhere. Fedor Emelianenko, Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett were all part of last month’s Affliction: Banned event.

Part of the reason for this slowdown is the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter, in which interim Heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and No. 1 contender Frank Mir are acting as coaches. They won’t meet until December, after the series is done airing. But Emelianenko’s refusal to sign with UFC, and Couture’s subsequent defection, have kept what should be the biggest money fight in MMA out of the Octagon.

Into the breach steps Brock Lesnar. He’s a –230 favorite over Heath Herring (+180) at Saturday’s UFC 87 event in his home state of Minnesota. He’s big, and he’s popular, but is he ready to lead?

The money is piling up behind Georges St. Pierre for next week’s UFC 87: Seek and Destroy at the Target Center in Minneapolis. He’s up from –295 to –340 to beat Jon Fitch and retain the UFC Welterweight title. I predict he’ll do just that, but it’s difficult not to take Fitch at +260. All he’s done is go 8-0 in the octagon.

I have much the same feeling about Brock Lesnar (–270). Yes, he is exactly the kind of person you do not want to find yourself in combat with. But we saw in his UFC debut against Frank Mir that Lesnar needs to work on his defense. It’s enough to make me lean toward Heath Herring (+210) in their heavyweight bout, if only from a value standpoint. Lesnar should still win.

One upset I predict will happen: Roger Huerta (+125) over Kenny Florian (–155). Huerta hasn’t lost an MMA bout in over four years.

Aug. 9 is a little over a week away, but it’s not too early to gaze into the crystal ball for UFC 87: Seek and Destroy. As long as the “Octagon Girls” are inside. Mercy.

Welterweight: Georges St. Pierre (champion) vs. Jon Fitch (challenger). St. Pierre is the best there is. Fitch is capable, but moving way up in class.
Prediction: St. Pierre Pick: Fitch (+235)

Lightweight: Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta: Huerta is 6-0 in UFC and battle-tested before that. Florian is the public favorite.
Prediction: Huerta Pick: Huerta (+125)

Heavyweight: Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring: Lesnar was beating the tar out of Frank Mir before getting sucked into a kneebar. He needs to prove himself.
Prediction: Lesnar Pick: Herring (+210)

Lightweight: Manny Gamburyan vs. Rob Emerson: Odds were pending at press time. I like Gamburyan’s judo background and his attitude.

Middleweight: Jason MacDonald vs. Demian Maia: Maia’s impressive Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills should overcome the tough Nova Scotia veteran.

They’re pulling out all the stops for this Saturday’s Affliction: Banned show at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Megadeth will be there. So will Michael Buffer. The undercard is being shown on cable for free. And the main event features two of the top heavyweights in the sport: Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Sylvia.

Emelianenko was the –350 favorite at press time; he’s 28-1-1 in MMA action, with the only loss coming at a RINGS event in 2000 due to a very controversial referee stoppage. Sylvia (+275) is 24-4, with all four losses against top competition while fighting for the UFC Heavyweight title.

That competition level might be the difference in Saturday’s fight. Emelianenko hasn’t really been tested since beating Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at PRIDE Final Conflict 2005. And this isn’t the first time Sylvia goes into combat as the underdog. He’s got all the betting value in this matchup, but if you ignore the odds, Fedor is the easy pick.

It would be even more shocking if we hadn’t seen it so many times before. Once again, an alumnus of The Ultimate Fighter series has pulled off a major MMA upset. Once again, a big-name fighter from PRIDE has lost in the UFC Octagon. But it’s still strange to see this: Forrest Griffin, Light Heavyweight champion.

Griffin had the fight of his life last Saturday at UFC 86 in Las Vegas, going to the wire with defending champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. The fight could have gone either way; in the end, Griffin won a unanimous decision that did not sit well with many fans at Mandalay Bay. A rematch seems inevitable.

Patrick Cote scored an even narrower victory over Ricardo Almeida in Saturday’s second most important bout, winning by split decision. Cote improves to 12-4 in MMA action and moves one step closer to a fight with Middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

We’ve missed you, Rampage.

Quinton Jackson will grace the octagon for the first time since September when he faces Forrest Griffin in the main event of UFC 86. Saturday’s big card at Mandalay Bay isn’t as hotly anticipated as you might expect, mainly because of the long layoff that allowed Jackson and Griffin to participate as a coaches in The Ultimate Fighter 7 series.

It also doesn’t help that Griffin is a +215 underdog. Although he upset Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 76, Griffin is expected to have his head handed to him by the indomitable Rampage. It isn’t that Griffin can’t stand up with the best of them – this is all about Jackson. His victories over Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson showed the value of Jackson’s training with Juanito Ibarra. Any concerns about Jackson’s work ethic are ancient history now.

Griffin may still be the value pick, but Jackson isn’t likely to lose the Light Heavyweight strap this Saturday.