Welcome folks, to my picks and predictions for UFC 92. “The Ultimate 2008″ will air Saturday night via pay-per-view and is arguably the best fight card of the year. A solid line-up calls for solid picks, right? Whether you agree or disagree, leave your thoughts by commenting.

As a lead writer here, there’s a certain “responsibility” for making quality peeks into the future. That being said, anything can (and does) happen in mixed martial arts. With an overall 12-8 record thus far since our launch, let’s get into how I, Gray D., see the action inside the Octagon going down on December 27.

Update: PICK OUTCOMES: 5-5

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UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira vs. Frank Mir

Notes: Great match-up, but Big Nog will take this one and show once again why he’s one of the toughest, most skilled martial artists on the planet.
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UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans

Notes: Griffin’s not given enough credit, and Rashad’s given too much, in my opinion. I like Evans and think he will remain a contender, but his game is not deep enough to handle Forrest’s onslaught and toughness.
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C.B. Dollaway vs. Mike Massenzio

Notes: Dollaway will catch Massenzio in a submission, set-up by good takedowns.
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Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva

Notes: Silva’s like a kid on Christmas morning, about fighting his nemesis Jackson. Quinton will look improved due to his training at Wolfslair, but Silva’s going to continue his run at a title shot.
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Cheick Kongo vs. Mustafa Al-Turk

Notes: Al-Turk’s inexperience will prove to be his downfall in this fight. Kongo is inconsistent, but will come out stronger while displaying lethal stand-up.
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Yushin Okami vs. Dean Lister

Notes: I hate having to picks against Okami, but I believe Lister’s strength and ground game will give him enough of an advantage against the man many consider to be the #1 contender, Yushin.
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Antoni Hardonk vs. Mark Burch

Notes: Not much to say here, but Hardonk will post a W.
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Matt Hamill vs. Reese Andy

Notes: Andy is a can, and Hamill will absolutely wreck this opponent.
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Ryo Chonan vs. Brad Blackburn

Notes: Ryo looked good in his last match at UFC 88, and will continue his winning ways as Blackburn will eat a loss.
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Dan Evensen vs. Pat Barry

Notes: Evenson had a poor outing against Cheick Kongo. He didn’t show me much, and suffered damage in the stand-up game. Barry’s a solid kickboxer and will pick apart Evensen. Look for a TKO victory by Barry.

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Gray D. is 122-78 in his overall picks here at 6th-Round.com and pens this column before every major MMA event. Outside of writing, he is a fitness/nutrition enthusiast and runs the site’s Twitter account @6thRound.

For our contributor Tommy H.’s predictions, check out his latest post.

>> LIVE fight results, here on December 27.