Alright, all of you who will be betting on the fights this weekend, you're in luck because I'm about to give you pearls. In the past 11 bouts I bet on, I've predicted 9 correctly (although only 6 where I got the round and method of win). Here they are...

GSP TKO's Fitch in second round.

Roger Huerta wins decision over Florian.

Brock Lesnar TKO's Herring in first round.

What do you guys think?

You don’t need to be a UFC expert to know Matt Hughes. Turn your pages back to 1999-2006 and you are unlikely to find the word welterweight without a mention of Hughes. Making his debut in UFC 22, he exploded into the scene with a unanimous decision over Valeri Ignatov. He then lost the belt in UFC 29, only to reclaim it in UFC 38, this time from the hands of Carlos Newton. Hughes lifted the then-champion up off the canvas and held him against the fence before viciously dropping him to unconsciousness. The four-time All American wrestler then went on to defend his title an unprecedented six consecutive times before falling to BJ Penn at UFC 46. After reclaiming the belt following a Penn suspension, he went on to defend it another five consecutive times throughout a stretch of six wins over significant names such as Frank Trigg, GSP, Royce Gracie, and BJ Penn.

    However, the 34 year-old has not been performing to the high standards set forth by his prior accomplishments in the octagon. His 43-6 record, although impressive, highlights this pattern; three of six career losses come from his last 4 bouts. Granted, it may be too soon to cast doubt given an extraordinary GSP takes credit for two of them. Still, those fans who were expecting, perhaps hoping, for an indication of redemption, a glimpse of the old Hughes, were undoubtedly disappointed in the O2 arena in London. Hughes’ gameplan was to take down a dangerous Muay Thai striker in Thiago Alves. However, his wrestling seemed dull compared to that during his prime when he was lifting up and slamming his opponents almost at will. His takedowns, arguably his greatest strength, only slightly resembled those in the past; he took sluggish shots which were shrugged off by an opponent with a recently sprained ankle. Even when he did finally obtain a dominant position over Alves, he was not able to inflict damage with his signature ground-and-pound, perhaps less than that inflicted by Alves in a shorter period of time. The Illinois-native went on to lose after receiving a knee to the jaw, which proved to be the beginning of the end, as Alves quickly ceased the opportunity and forced referee Herb Dean to call a stop to the fight a little over a minute into the second round.

    Ultimately, Hughes does not represent the same threat he once did. His strength does not provide a decisive advantage like it did in the past. And his, once effortless, takedowns have faded into hard earned battles for position (when he does succeed). Is the “Greatest Welterweight Champion of All Time” no longer a serious threat to the young guns in the sport? Has his speed and strength faded with age? Or is MMA a different sport today, now dominated by a new breed of fighter, stronger and faster than in the past? It’s difficult to say for sure, but my guess is a little bit of both. He even hinted the end is near, as he expressed desire to take on arch rival Matt Serra before putting the gloves away for good. Still, whether he fights a few more or gracefully bows out after an encounter with Serra, the UFC and especially the fans will never forget his contribution to the octagon, the welterweight division, and most importantly, mixed martial arts in general.

I think we need to address an important issue here. The UFC is a great organization because it brought MMA to the forefront and continually delivers exciting fights.

That said, as the sport evolved, the UFC tightened its stranglehold on the fighters, whose salaries have not grown in proportion to the sport in general. Think about this; Randy Couture (arguably the greatest heavyweight of all time) wants to fight Fedor Emelianenko (arguably the greatest heavyweight of all time). This is the best match up conceivable, but because the UFC has a tight leash on Randy, they deny him the fight. That way, they keep fighters in check, passive, and under their thumbs because when a fighter gets too big it threatens their monopoly. They want them right in the middle; big enough to promote the UFC but small enough not to pose a threat.The UFC keeps a hand under the fighter’s chin to keep him from drowning, but not to lift his head out of water. As a result, the fighters are cheated out of knowing who the best heavyweight really is and the fans are cheated out of a dream match up.

Consider Tito Ortiz (regardless your opinion of him today, you cannot deny he carried the UFC through the lean years), who is also leaving now. The company keeps the pie and the fighters get the crumbs. Tim Sylvia, same story. On the surface, it seems like the UFC is nurturing MMA, but from the perspective of the fighters (the people who are the sport), they train just as hard, if not harder, than most professional athletes, perform for sold-out crowds in arenas or on tv for 44.99$ per event, only to see the corporate ranks keep 99% of the revenue and let the fighters split the other 1%. Can you blame them for being dissatisfied?

In the past, salary (or lack thereof) was a motive to avoid a career in MMA. It is undoubtedly very much improved today, but still nowhere near where it should be. Dana White made over 24$ million last year; more than every fighter combined. If Anderson Silva fought Roy Jones Jr. (a bout he's asked permission for) his cut would be enough to change his life. But the UFC won’t let him and they'll release Couture, Sylvia, and Ortiz before they let them stir up other fighters to revolt. They need to recognize there is no UFC without the fighters, so they should be paid just as well as other professional athletes (or at least in proportion to their contribution). If the UFC doesn’t loosen up this Nazi Germany style of running their company, they will continue to lose fighters to new organizations that will wisen up and reward fighters their due pay.