Reminder: join us tonight at Buffalo Wild Wings in Clifton Park for UFC 127

REMINDER: Join us tonight at Buffalo Wild Wings in Clifton Park (22 Clifton Country Road) for UFC 127 live, starting at 10:00pm!

Preliminary bouts will air live on the ION Network (check local listings) starting at 9:00pm. The free hour of fights is headlined by a potential Fight of the Night contender featuring lightweights Ross Pearson and Spencer Fisher.

The event itself is headlined by BJ Penn taking on Jon Fitch with a potential shot at the Welterweight Title on the line and co-headlined by what has become a Middleweight grudge match pitting British fighter Michael Bisping against veteran fighter Jorge Rivera.

Make sure you get to Buffalo Wild Wings early, as seats will be filling up quickly.

The full fight card, and my predictions, are below.

Main card

Welterweight bout
B.J. Penn vs. Jon Fitch
Prediction:  Fitch by Unanimous Decision. Penn is going into this fight undersized – he came in at 167 while wearing jeans at the weigh-ins – and will have trouble overcoming the grappling prowess and strength of Fitch, who is arguably the best Welterweight in the world not named Georges St-Pierre.

Middleweight bout
Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera
Prediction:  Bisping, but I’ll be rooting for Rivera for obvious reasons (Bisping’s an overrated blowhard).

Lightweight bout
George Sotiropoulos vs. Dennis Siver
Prediction:  Sotiropoulos by Unanimous Decision. I think, though, it’s going to be a lot closer than people think. Siver’s no joke, though his troubles with making weight yesterday were a bit disconcerting.

Welterweight bout
Chris Lytle vs. Brian Ebersole
Prediction:  Chris Lytle via Unanimous Decision. With a combined 114(!) fights between the two combatants, there are perhaps no more well-traveled fighters on tonight’s card. But while Ebersole has ebbed and waned against middling competition and aged warriors (one of his recent wins comes against Carlos Newton), Lytle has been fighting the best in the world for the better part of the last four years and he’s on an impressive three-fight streak that includes wins over a tenacious Matt Brown and former champion Matt Serra. Ebersole’s definitely a step down, and barring some unforeseen disaster shouldn’t have any trouble here.

Middleweight bout
Kyle Noke vs. Chris Camozzi
Prediction: Noke via KO in Round 2. He’s looked impressive and refocused since arriving in the promotion last year, and I think he’ll further his streak here.

More after the jump.

Preliminary card (airing Ion TV)

Ross Pearson vs. Spencer Fisher Prediction: Fisher via Unanimous Decision
James Te-Huna vs. Alexander Gustafsson Prediction: Gustafsson, R2 KO

Preliminary card (on Facebook – like the official UFC page to watch)
Anthony Perosh vs. Tom Blackledge Prediction: Perosh, Unanimous Decision
Zhang Tie Quan vs. Jason Reinhardt Prediction: Reinhardt, Unanimous Decision

Unaired Prelims
Nick Ring vs. Riki Fukuda Prediction: Ring, Unanimous Decision
Mark Hunt vs. Chris Tuchscherer Prediction: Tuscherer, R1 KO
Maciej Jewtuszko vs. Curt Warburton Prediction: Jewtuszko, R1 KO