BY JAMIE PENICK, MMATORCH EDITOR

UFC 101 is just days away and the crowd in Philadelphia is in for a treat. The UFC Lightweight Title is on the line in the main event and UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva faces off against original Ultimate Fighter and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin as the night's co-main event. With plenty of fights primed for a finish on this card it's sure to make up for what could be a perceived lack of star power outside of the top two fights. So with that in mind, let's take a look at what's on tap!

Preliminary Card Bouts

Jesse Lennox vs. Danillo Villefort: With a combined record of 19-3, these two WEC imports make their UFC debut at the Wachovia Center on Saturday night. The key thing to look at here is the fact that in 22 fights between the two of them, only one has gone to a decision. Both fighters are coming off of victories in January at WEC 38, and in what should be a wild start to the evening I'll take Lennox with a late first round TKO to splash onto the scene. (For the record, I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same finish with the opposite victor.)

George Sotiropolous vs. George Roop: Sotiropolous makes his return after a long layoff, and in fact he is dropping down to 155 after fighting thus far in the Octagon as a welterweight. He has won both of his fights in the UFC since his time on the Ultimate Fighter. Roop has split decisions in two fights thus far in the UFC since his stint on the reality show's eighth season, both of which themselves were split decisions. Roop has the height advantage by a few inches in this one, but he's taking this fight on short notice and Sotiropolous is poised for a successful return to action. Sotiropolous with a submission in the first round.

Matt Riddle vs. Dan Cramer: In a bout between two young guns with a grand total of three fights between them it's hard to judge just what we're going to see. Both have shown some skills in their limited professional careers thus far, but right now the edge has to go to Riddle. Look for him to take a hard fought decision.

Shane Nelson vs. Aaron Riley: Their first bout ended with a premature stoppage, and had everyone but Shane Nelson incensed. He'll want to finish this like he though he did in March but Riley will be out to prove that the first bout was a fluke. Riley takes this one with some extra aggression and a second round TKO.

Thales Leites vs. Alessio Sakara: Sakara's a sacrificial lamb in this bout. After Leites was embarrassed by Anderson Silva in April he's been punished by getting tossed to the under card of this event, but it's a fight he has no business losing. Unlike the Silva fight, he'll be able to take Sakara to the ground and keep him there to finish this one with a quick submission. First round.

Tamdan McCrory vs. John Howard: McCrory recently discussed how he was now beginning to grow into his 6'4" frame and may be looking at a move to middleweight in the future. Howard made a successful debut against Chris Wilson in January at UFC 94 but will come into this fight seven inches shorter than his foe. McCrory has only lost twice in his career, both to submissions impressive enough to garner "Submission of the Night" honors for their respective events. He's been in the cage with some very good competition and will look to continue his climb up the ladder. His size and ability on the ground should allow him to fluster Howard en route to a second round submission.

For Jamie's main card predictions and analysis, visit his full article at our sister site MMATorch at the link below (or PWTorch App users, just search "MMATorch" in the App Store on your iPhone or iPod Touch and download the free MMATorch App to get all MMATorch articles on your phone.)

FULL UFC 101 FIGHT CARD PREVIEW

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