The undefeated Askren (9-0) will have his hands full with Lima (21-4). The latter fighter rides into the bout on a nine-fight win streak armed with TKO finishes in three of his last four. At just 24, he has nearly three times the experience. He is three years Askren’s junior. In five straight fights, Askren has gone the distance and he will look for the second successful defense of his gold.

The Atlanta-based Brazilian, Lima (21-4) has had no trouble cutting fights short and he has stopped his opponent in 18 of his 21 wins.

Meanwhile, Askren pinned a Hungarian before losing to a star Cuban and left wrestling after competing at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The five-foot-11 Askren started training and fighting MMA, even though he kept his hand in wrestling as a college coach. Askren is coming off a split decision win over Jay Hieron, the Season 4 tournament winner.

A victory for Askren will raise his record to 10-0, including seven fights in Bellator. Askren, one of the all-time greats of collegiate wrestling and a former Olympian, in each of those bouts displayed the takedowns and ground control. A victory against the hard-hitting Lima is crucial to Askren. He is aware of the stylish Lima’s punching power, but he believes his progress in striking will allow him to be more aggressive.

In Bellator, he has yet to secure an indisputable finish via submission or knockout. In an April 2010 fight with Ryan Thomas, even Askren’s lone non-decision win for the organization resulted from a premature stoppage by a referee.

Lima has fought at Caesars Windsor before, stopping UFC veteran Terry Martin in just 74 seconds at MFC 29 in April 2011. He is riding a nine-bout win streak of his own. Since, earning a decision over Steve Karl and stopping Chris Lozano and Ben Saunders to win the Season 5 welterweight tournament and earn a shot at the champion, he has gone 3-0 in Bellator.

UFC betting Odds have this fight as a -115 pick’em.

Mir, 14-5 in his career, has won two of three fights since losing to Brock Lesnar at UFC 100 in a fight for the UFC heavyweight title. He forced Cheick Kongo to submit at UFC 107 and knocked out Mirko Filopovic at UFC 119. His last loss was via knockout to Shane Carwin at UFC 111.

Mir is a former heavyweight champion who uses a variety of styles in the ring, including Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, boxing, Kenpo Karate and wrestling. He has won eight of his 14 fights via submission.

Nelson, 15-5 in his career, has the ability to force opponents to submit, winning five fights that way, but he also has quick-strike capability that has led to eight knockouts. His style is a mix of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Shaolin Kung Fu. After beating Brendan Schaub in the finale of The Ultimate Fighter and then Stefan Struve at UFC Fight Night in March 2010, Nelson lost to Junior dos Santos by decision at UFC 117 in his last fight.

Both fighters are in their 30s and moving into the late stages of their MMA careers. A victory for either one in this fight could propel the winner to a shot at the top of the division.

MMA Odds for this fight will be available closer to May 28.

Torres, who is 39-3 with nine wins by knockout and 23 by submission, is a former WEC bantamweight champion. A black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Torres also features a Muay Thai striking style. Torres made his UFC debut at UFC 126 in February of this year, beating Antonio Banuelos by unanimous decision. Torres didn’t show off his full arsenal in the fight, largely playing it safe, so many expect him to show off the full skillset that made him one of the best submission bantamweights in the WEC in his second UFC performance.

Johnson also won on the UFC 126 card, defeating Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto by decision after three rounds. Johnson is 9-1 in his career with two knockouts and five submissions. Along with his speed, he’s known for his wrestling ability. Johnson’s stamina allows him to wear out opponents and once he’s able to force them to the mat, he has an array of holds that he can force submissions using.

Although Johnson doesn’t have the quick-strike ability that Torres does, he should have the advantage on the mat. The contrasting styles should make this one of the most exciting bouts on the UFC 130 card.

The rankings take into account a fighter’s overall performance, win-loss record, head-to-head matches and common opponents, and difficulty of opponents.

The rankings system, from MMAWeekly.com, is considered the most comprehensive rankings system in the sport.

MMA Fighters who are currently serving drug-related suspensions are not eligible for Top 10 consideration until they have fought one time after the completion of their suspension.

They must also have competed within the past 12 months in order to be eligible for Top 10 consideration unless they have a bout scheduled within a reasonable time frame.

In the Heavyweight division (over 205 pounds), Cain Velasquez is ranked no.1 followed by Fabricio Werdum and Brock Lesnar.

In the Light Heavyweight (205-pound limit) division, Jon Jones is No. 1 followed by Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Rashad Evans.

Anderson Silva tops the Middleweight division (185-pound limit), followed by Yushin Okami and Nathan Marquardt.

And Georges St-Pierre stays atop the Welterweight category (170-pound limit), followed by Jon Fitch and Jake Shields.

Bisping is a -340 moneyline favorite to win in UFC 127 Odds while Rivera is a +260 underdog.

Bisping made his name in UFC by winning season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter as a light heavyweight. He went on to win his next three UFC fights, including a controversial split decision win over Matt Hamill at UFC 75. He picked up his first UFC loss at UFC 78 against fellow Ultimate Fighter winner Rashad Evans in a split decision. Bisping subsequently moved to middleweight and is 6-2 ever since.

Rivera is in his 10th year as an MMA fighter and is a year away from turning 40. He has been fighting in UFC matches since UFC 44 on Sept. 26, 2003. He owns a 19-7-0 record and has won three straight going into his match with Bisping.

Rivera is known for his heavy hands, which is something Bisping has somewhat struggled with. But, Bisping is widely considered to be the better fighter as he is consistently on the main event while Rivera barely makes the main card most of the time.

This is one of the more anticipated matches thanks to the verbal sparring they have done in the months leading up to the fight. Bisping has expressed that he was hoping for a more high-profile opponent and that he’s “going to get battered” at UFC 127. Rivera has posted videos on YouTube that make fun of Bisping’s British accent, MMA record, background, and many other things.

Hardy and Johnson have verbally agreed to the bout claims MMA Fighting, which is being lined up as a co-main event for Ultimate Fight Night 24. To headline the event, a light-heavyweight battle between Tito Ortiz and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is expected.

After success on the British fight circuit, Hardy joined the UFC in 2008. With four consecutive wins, he opened his UFC career. To earn a title shot with champion Georges St-Pierre, his victories include over Mike Swick and Marcus Davis. In the March title fight, Hardy suffered a lopsided unanimous-decision loss and he then returned in October and suffered a first-round knockout to Carlos Condit.

Hardy will look to end the skid against Johnson. Since November 2009, Johnson will fight for the first time after suffering a knee injury that promoted a lengthy recovery time. Johnson was scheduled to return March of this year but injury kept him at bay. He has been out of action all of 2010. With a submission loss to Josh Koscheck at UFC 106, recently, his three-fight win streak that included KO wins over Kevin Burns, Luigi Fioravanti and Yoshiyuki Yoshida came to an end. coming off back-to-back losses to Georges St. Pierre and Carlos Condit, Hardy himself has had a string of bad luck.

Of the UFC Fight Night 24 event in Seattle, the welterweight bout would probably serve as the co-headliner. With someone undoubtedly being knocked out cold, this will be an awesome fight. No other outcome can be predicted apart from the fact that neither fighter loves to go to the ground nor both men will give up the bout easily.

St-Pierre has been dominant for years, but he hit a rough patch a few years ago. He lost his welterweight title belt and had to work to get it back. One his path to win back his belt he came across Josh Koscheck. These two fought and the match came down to a unanimous decision in favor of St-Pierre.

A lot of time has passed since that fight and these fighters are both better than ever. St-Pierre seems to improve in every aspect of his game. He is fast and powerful on his feet and he also has a ground game that rivals the best in his weight class.

Josh Koscheck is the number one contender and will have a lot on his plate while fighting “GSP” (Georges St-Pierre). However, he is a much better fighter than he was the last time these two squared off. Previously he was only known for his ground game and wrestling style. He has improved his game and he has become a great standup fighter and a tough striker. While he does have some room for improvement, he has all of the tools to take on the best in the game.

These fighters will be on the Main Card and should catch the attention of all of the MMA fans out there.

Tito Ortiz is a former UFC Light Heavyweight champion and one of the most well known fighters in his sport. His upcoming bout with Hamill will be his 23rd fight as a UFC fighter. He has a career record of 15-7-1 and a UFC record of 15-6-1.

Ortiz, though, is on the downside of his career. He is winless in his last four fights. Since December of 2006, he has lost fights to Chuck Lidell, Lyoto Machida, and Forrest Griffin, and he had a draw against Rashad Evans.
While Ortiz is winless in his last four fights, Hamill has won his last four in a row. He is coming off of a win over Keith Jardine in the season 11 finale for The Ultimate Fighter. The fight was good enough to be named “Fight of the Night.” He won by majority decision.

What Hamill lacks in technical striking skills, he makes up for with power. Six of his victories have come by knockout. Although he has gained a reputation as a stand-up fighter, his best asset is wrestling. He rarely uses it in the octagon, and that may come to haunt him against Ortiz. Ortiz is still an excellent wrestler and isn’t afraid to use it against his opponent.

In this fight, the former student is favored to beat his former teacher. Odds makers have listed Hamill at -170 while Ortiz is at +140.

The UFC unveiled the entire 11-fight lineup for the event on Thursday.

Sadollah, who is considered a late starter in mixed Martial Arts, last appeared at UFC 114 in May, when he was beaten in a unanimous decision against undefeated South Korean judoka Dong Hyun Kim at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The 30-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y. fighter has worked his way up the UFC rankings with impressive wins over Phil Baroni, Bellator Fighting Championships veteran Brad Blackburn and Lions Den Scottsdale scrapper C.B. Dollaway.

Based at Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts in Las Vegas, Sadollah has never lost back-to-back fights, according to Sherdog.com.

Sabotta, 23, will be trying to rebound from consecutive defeats, and he has not competed since UFC 115 in June, when he dropped a unanimous decision to “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 9 winner James Wilks at the GM Place in Vancouver, Canada.

A two-time national champion in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Sobotta has delivered all eight of his wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission. He has been finished only once in 11 professional appearances.

A showdown pairing former middleweight King of Pancrase Nate Marquardt with the world-ranked Yushin Okami will headline UFC 122, along with a middleweight duel between American Top Team’s Alessio Sakara and the resurgent Jorge Rivera.

Here is the rest of the card:

Nate Marquardt vs. Yushin Okami
Alessio Sakara vs. Jorge Rivera
Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Goran Reljic
Amir Sadollah vs. Peter Sobotta
Dennis Siver vs. Andre Winner
Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Jason Brilz
Rob Kimmons vs. Kyle Noke
Karlos Vemola vs. Seth Petruzelli
Duane Ludwig vs. Nick Osipczak
Kris McCray vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha
Pascal Krauss vs. Kenny Robertson

Many people were looking forward to the rematch between Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera, but will have to settle for Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic instead. Cro cop has had ups and downs over the years, but he has been on a positive stretch as of late that could be beneficial in his fight.

Three years ago it appeared that Cro Cop was on his way out, but he has really bounced back recently, winning 5 of his last 6 fights. He has been stronger recently, but he still seems to have some issues with confidence. He has been fighting for many years and has the technique to beat anyone if the situation is right. Cro cop will definitely have a shot to win this one, and it will all lie in his legs. He has a powerful kicking game and may be able to take Mir off balance with it.

Mir has been as good as anyone at points over the last few years. Unfortunately he has not been able to sustain it. Mir had beaten Brock Lesnar previously, but lost in their rematch. He has since lost again to Shane Carwin and is starting to look more like a second tier fighter. A loss in this one would be detrimental to his career.

This fight should be a good one as each fighter has something to prove.