UFC 79 features a tough welterweight champ bout

Georges St. Pierre takes on Matt Hughes for the interim welterweight title. Courtesy of Zuffa, LLC

UFC ends what can only be described as an eventful year with what may go down as one of the top cards of 2007. The promotion returns to Vegas and fans expect pre-New Years Eve fireworks at Saturday's UFC 79, which features an interim title bout, a dream fight, the introduction of "The African Assassin", and a couple of other intriguing matchups.

Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre (interim welterweight title)

This fight was originally scheduled as the long-awaited conclusion to TUF 6 and was supposed to pit welterweight champ Matt Serra against former champ Matt Hughes. Instead, Serra injured his back training just days before Thanksgiving and Georges St. Pierre, the man dethroned by Serra, stepped in to take his place. Given the uncertainty of Serra's prognosis and reluctance to leave the division's title dormant for much longer, UFC President Dana White deemed the Hughes-St. Pierre bout a five-round interim title match. The winner of the fight will go on to fight Serra to unify the belt. If Serra's injury keeps him out of action for a prolonged amount of time, the winner of this fight will become the undisputed welterweight champ.

Hughes and St. Pierre are quite familiar with each other. This is the third fight between the two and each has captured one match, making this the rubber match of the trilogy. After their first fight at UFC 50, which St. Pierre lost by submission due to armbar at the very end of the first round, St. Pierre admitted that he was in awe of his idol when they fought. St. Pierre overcame being awestruck in their second bout at UFC 65 and won in dominant fashion by TKO due to strikes in the second round.

The young, athletic St. Pierre is in the prime of his career and has well-developed all-around skills. In his last fight against Josh Koscheck, St. Pierre even managed to outwrestle the former college wrestling champ. Hughes, who has recently indicated he may not have too many fights left in his career, is a very strong wrestler. Taking the fight to the ground would appear to give Hughes his best chance of winning. If the fight remains standing, however, the clear edge goes to St. Pierre.

Prediction: St. Pierre wins by TKO (strikes) in the second round.

Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva (light heavyweight)

A year and a half ago, this matchup would have been one for the ages. At the time, Chuck Liddell was the UFC's light heavyweight champ and Wanderlei Silva was PRIDE's corresponding titleholder. Since then, both fighters have lost twice in a row and as a result some of the luster of this bout has been lost as well. Still, it's a fight MMA fans have been clamoring for for years and one White has desperately wanted to make happen.

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