By Mark Gessner

1. "The American Psycho" Stephan Bonnar (13-7) vs. Kyle "Kingsbu" Kingsbury (11-2-0-1) [Light Heavyweight Division]

Stephan Bonnar is a thirty-four year old black belt in both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Tae Kwon Do and has been with the UFC for the past six years. He will be making his return to the octagon for the first time in nearly a year.

Bonnar made his UFC debut on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter where he ended up losing via unanimous decision, in an absolute war with Forrest Griffin in the finals. He has since gone onto win seven of his next twelve fights in the UFC, and won the "Fight of the Night" award in his second fight with Krzysztof Soszynski, where he won via second round TKO.

Aside from his TKO loss in his first fight with Soszynski due to a cut from an inadvertent headbutt, Stephan Bonnar has never been finished in his UFC career. He has fought UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman, and UFC Light Heavyweight Champions Jon "Bones" Jones, Rashad Evans, and Forrest Griffin to decision losses. Bonnar has an iron chin and cannot be knocked out. "The American Psycho" will stand in the pocket and trade punch-for-punch with anyone.

Prior to joining the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter, Kyle Kingsbury played defensive tackle for the Arizona State Sun Devils with his football career culminating in a 2004 victory over Purdue (Bonnar's alma mater) in the Sun Bowl. Following football, Kingsbury started fighting in MMA, going 7-1-0-1 with three knockout and two submission victories before joining fighting on the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter. As a member of Team Nogueria, Big Nog considered Kingsbury to be the best fighter on his team. Despite losing to Ryan Bader, Krzysztof Soszynski, and Tom Lawlor on TUF, Kingsbury was still given an opportunity to fight in the UFC. He has since been on a four fight win-steak and has earned "Fight of the Night" in his wins over Jared Hamman at UFC Fight Night: Marquardt vs. Palhares and against Fabio Maldonado at the TUF 13 Finale this past June.

This will be the toughest fight thus far in Kingsbury career. Bonnar has been fighting perennial top ten light heavyweights for the last half of a decade whereas the best fighter Kingbury has fought has been Ryan Bader who beat him with a second round arm triangle in a prelim fight on TUF. Kingsbury's best chance at winning this fight is to attempt to take Bonnar down to the mat and out-wrestle him while being wary of Bonnar's submission skills as a Carlson Gracie BJJ black-belt.

Prediction: Stephan Bonnar defeats Kyle Kingsbury via TKO

2. Martin "Hitman" Kampmann (17-5) vs. Rick "The Horror" Story (13-4) [Welterweight Division]

Martin Kampmann is a Danish fighter who began his MMA career fighting in Europe, where he went 8-1, before coming to the US, where he defeated Edwin Aguilar via first round TKO fighting for the WFA in Los Angeles, California. He then signed with the UFC, and made his debut at UFC Fight Night 6 in 2006, where he defeated Crafton Wallace via first round submission due to a rear naked choke. Kampmann went 7-2 in his next nine fights. Five of those seven wins came via either TKO or submission. His other two wins came via decision over Carlos Condit, which headlined UFC Fight Night in April 2009, and Paulo Thiago at UFC 115.

Kampmann then co-main evented UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez, against former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields, who was making his UFC debut. It proved to be a number one contender fight for the UFC Welterweight Championship. Shields went on to win via split decision in a very closely contested fight and earned the opportunity to fight Georges St-Pierre at UFC 129. Following his loss to Shields, Kampmann then headlined UFC Live this past March against Diego Sanchez, where he lost via unanimous decision in the "Fight of the Night."

Rick Story has been fighting in the UFC for the last two and a half years. Prior to the UFC, Story went 7-2 fighting in various MMA promotions in Oregon and Washingon, with his most notable win coming via decision over current top five welterweight Jake Ellenberger at SportFight 23 in June of 2008. After losing to John Hathaway in his UFC debut at UFC 99 via decision, Story went on a six fight win-streak. He followed up his loss to Hathaway with an arm triangle choke victory over Brian Foster in the second round, earning himself both the "Fight of the Night" and "Submission of the Night" bonuses at UFC 103.

Story then beat Jesse Lennox, Nick Osipczak, and Johny Hendricks via decision, along with a second round TKO victory over Dustin Hazelett at UFC 117, in his next four fights. Story then got a shot to fight top ten welterweight Thiago Alves at UFC 130, and entered the fight as an underdog. Story out-wrestled Alves throughout the three rounds and received an upset victory over Alves 29-27 on all three judges' scorecards for the biggest win of his career.

Following the biggest win of his career, Story accepted UFC's offer to fill-in for an injured Anthony Johnson and main event versus Nate Marquardt on UFC on Versus a month after his win over Alves only a month later. However, Marquardt was pulled from the main event the day of weigh-ins and Story instead fought Pittsburgh native Charlie Brenneman in his hometown. Brenneman out wrestled Story for three rounds and won via unanimous decision.

Both Kampmann and Story are entering UFC 139 in need of a win to rebound from their losses. Kampmann is on the longest losing streak of his career, having never lost back-to-back fights. Story is looking to reestablish himself in the 170 pound division coming off his upset loss to Brenneman. As I laid out in last week's Ground and Pound, the welterweight division in the UFC is pretty much set for 2012 with title matches and contenders fights, but if whoever wins this fight, can couple the win with a few more next year, they could find themselves in line for a title shot in 2013. Look for Story to take this fight to the mat and ground and pound out a three round decision victory much like Jake Shields did against Kampmann at UFC 121.

Prediction: Rick Story defeats Martin Kampmann via decision

3. "The California Kid" Urijah Faber (25-5) vs. Brian Bowles (10-1) [Bantamweight Division]

Urijah Faber was the biggest name in the WEC and arguably the most well known fighter who made a name for themselves outside of the UFC. Faber is a former WEC Featherweight Champion, a belt that he won WEC 19 in March of 2006, and held until November of 2008 where he lost to Mike Brown. Following losing the belt, and not being able to win the rematch or a shot at the belt against Jose Aldo, Faber made the decision to drop to Bantamweight, his natural wrestling weight.

In his 135 pound debut at WEC 52, Faber defeated Takeya Mizugaki with a rear-naked choke and was awarded the submission of the night award. He defeated Eddie Wineland via unanimous decision at UFC 128 in March to earn a shot at the UFC Bantamweight Championship versus Dominick Cruz.

Faber went on to lose via decision at UFC 132 against Cruz. It was one of the most closely contested fights anyone will ever see. For every takedown, the opponent was able to almost immediately work their way back to their feet. For every big strike, the opponent would land one or two of their own. But, at the end, Cruz was awarded the victory via unanimous decision in the "Fight of the Night."

Brian Bowles is one of the best finishers in all of MMA. Of his ten career victories, only one of them have come by decision. He has three knockouts and six submission victories in his five year MMA career. In the WEC, where he made a name for himself, he beat every top 135 pound fighter in the world, with the exception of current UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz.

Since the WEC and UFC merged in December of 2010, Bowles is undefeated in his two fights under the UFC banner. In his UFC debut, he submitted Damacio Page in the first round with a guillotine choke, earning himself the "Submission of the Night" award at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann. He followed up that win with a decision victory over Takeya Mizugaki at UFC 132 this past July.

Faber vs. Bowles is scheduled to be a "title eliminator" fight, meaning the winner could find themselves in-line for the next shot at Cruz for the UFC Bantamweight Championship fight, whereas the loser drops a few slots back in contention. While I predicted on the last card that both fighters were on at UFC 132 that if Faber vs. Cruz ended via finish that Faber would win or if it ended via decision Cruz would win (Cruz one via unanimous decision), I'm making an opposite prediction for this fight. If this fight ends via finish, Bowles is winning this fight. If this fight is won via decision, Faber will be the winner.

Prediction: Urijah Faber defeats Brian Bowles via decision

4. "The Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva (33-11-1-1) vs. Cung "The Human Highlight Reel" Le (8-1) [Middleweight Division]

Wanderlei Silva has fought in MMA, most notably in Pride and the UFC since 1996. He was the Pride Middleweight Championship from 2001-2007. He won Sherdog's Fighter of the Year Award in 2004. He has the record in Pride for most wins (twenty-two) and knockouts (fifteen). During his decade and a half long career, he has twenty-three career knockouts, including a knockout of the night over Keith Jardine at UFC 84, which ended up winning the knockout of the year.

However, in the UFC, he is only 2-4. His three of his four losses were against UFC Light Heavyweight legends Chuck Lidell, Rampage Jackson, and Rich Franklin. He then dropped weight, and moved into the 185 pound division in the UFC. In his UFC Middleweight debut, he defeated Michael Bisping soundly via unanimous decision at UFC 110.

In his next fight at 185 pounds, in the co-main event at UFC 132, Chris Leben knocked out Silva in twenty-seven seconds. While, a knockout loss to Leben should have ended his MMA career, a loss to his next opponent will.

His next opponent is former Kickboxing and Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le. Le was an undefeated kickboxer from 1997-2004, going 16-0, before transitioning to MMA in 2006. Since moving to MMA, Le has gone 7-1, with all of seven of his wins coming via knockout. His most notable win came at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le where he won via TKO due to breaking Frank Shamrock's arm (if only it could have been a vocal injury, eliminating Shamrock's ability to do color commentary). Le is coming off a second round knockout victory at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum in 2010, where he avenged the only loss of his career against Scott Smith, who he beat via second round knockout.

This is a fight between two fighters who are on the last legs of their careers. Silva has been fighting for fifteen years and was an absolute legend in Pride. But, Pride shutdown over half a decade ago. Le was late to the party joining MMA a half a decade ago but has had a great start in his first eight fights. Had he forgone kickboxing and went into MMA, you could be looking at one of the best 185-205 pound fighters ever of all-time. This is Le's first step towards MMA glory at thirty-nine years old, and Silva's last shot at employment.

Prediction: Cung Le defeats Wanderlei Silva via KO

5. Maurício "Shogun" Rua (20-5) vs. Dan "Hendo" Henderson (28-8) [Light Heavyweight Division]

Before joining the UFC, Shogun made a name for himself in Pride where he went 11-1, with his only loss coming to Hall of Famer Mark Coleman due to a broken arm in the fight. He won had the Pride 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix to become a champion at twenty-three years old. In his UFC debut at UFC 76, he lost to the first winner of The Ultimate Fighter, Forrest Griffin via rear naked choke in the third round. He came back from his loss with TKO victories over Mark Coleman and Chuck Liddell to earn himself a shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. He lost a closely contested, very disputed five round battle with champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 104. He was given an immediate rematch and at UFC 113, where he knocked out Machida in the first round to become the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

In his first championship defense, Shogun lost to one of the top three pound-for-pound fighters in the world, Jon "Bones" Jones. Jones dominated the first two rounds with his striking, before winning via TKO in the third round at UFC 128. Shogun was able to rebound from his loss versus Jones, and defeated Forrest Griffin via KO in under two minutes in their fight at UFC 134 in Brazil.

Forty-one year old Dan Henderson appears to have entered his second or third prime coming into his fight with Shogun. He represented the United States in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Olympics in 1992 and 1996. Following wrestling, he went on to be a former Pride Middleweight, Pride Light Heavyweight, and Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion. On top of bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience into the octagon, Henderson brings one of, if not, the most lethal right hands in all of mixed martial arts.

With his right hand, also known as the "H-Bomb" by Strikeforce play-by-play announcer Mauro Ranallo, Hendo has knocked out Wanderlei Silva, Michael Bisping, Rafael Cavalcante to win the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship, and Fedor Emelianenko.

The main event fight between Shogun and Hendo is scheduled to go five, five minute rounds due to UFC's new edict that all main events will be five rounds whether it is a title fight or not, beginning at UFC 138 earlier this month. While slated to go twenty-five minutes, the chances of this fight going three or more rounds is slim-to-none. Both Shogun and Hendo are knockout strikers who do not want to leave fights in the hands of the judges. While both fighters are prolific strikers, look for Hendo to attempt to use his wrestling ability to take this fight to the ground. Ground and pound is Hendo's best chance at beating the knockout artist Shogun. If Hendo disregards his wrestling ability and attempts to trade strikes with Shogun, Shogun has the slight advantage. However, you cannot disregard the potential of Hendo dropping a "H-Bomb" and turning Shogun's lights out.

Prediction: Maurício "Shogun" Rua defeats Dan Henderson via knockout

Preliminary Card
Danny Castillo defeats Shamar Bailey [Facebook]
Seth Baczynski defeats Matt Brown [Facebook]
Miguel Torres defeats Nick Pace [Facebook]
Rafael dos Anjos defeats Gleison Tibau [Facebook]
Chris Weidman defeats Tom Lawlor [Facebook]
Michael McDonald defeats Alex Soto [Spike TV]
Ryan Bader defeats Jason Brilz [Spike TV]

Overall Show Thought:
This is probably the best card of the year that does not have a title fight on it. Bonnar vs. Kingsbury will be a striking war. Kampmann vs. Story will be a wrestling battle. Faber vs. Bowles will produce one of the best 135 pound back-and-forth fights in UFC history. Silva vs. Le will end with someone being knocked out cold on the canvas to end their career. And, Shogun vs. Hendo will end via prolific knockout with one fighter moving one step closer to the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, and the other reconsidering where their UFC career goes from here. This main card will almost certainly be the best $55 you spend on a UFC card this year.

Thanks you very much for clicking the link that brought you to my preview and predictions for UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson. If you have any thoughts, questions, comments, or critiques, feel free to email me at kliq4life28@gmail.com or tweet me at @MarkGessner. Be sure to check out Ryan Kester's live coverage of the show, this Saturday night.

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