Joe Ferraro

Showdown Joe breaks down each fight heading in to Saturday's UFC 118 in Boston.

Love and hate: two words that aptly describe what I'm about to write. "Love" is the enjoyment I feel when breaking down an MMA bout, searching for the trends and intangibles that favours one athlete over another. It's a set of physical calculations that I then sum up into giving one fighter an "edge" over another.

"Hate" is what I feel when I must make a prediction on a bout. I get limited satisfaction when I'm correct, and am left completely baffled when I'm wrong. So for UFC 118, I will begin laying the foundation for what I will soon label as "The Edge" - my personal system of calculating who has the best chance of winning a bout, and ticking off all of the haters who believe I just will not go out on a limb and make a "prediction"; a fight is a fight, and one punch can take any favourite and turn him into a long shot - as in, he better recover quick or this fight is over.

Watch Showdown Joe's reports from Boston on Connected. Watch live streaming of weigh-ins and pre- and post-fight news conferences here

Let's take a look at the bouts heading into Saturday night's UFC 118, and assess who will have "The Edge", inside the octagon:

Main Bouts (Pay-Per-View)

Frankie Edgar (154) vs. B.J. Penn (154)

Striking: BJ Penn

Wrestling: Frankie Edgar

Submissions: BJ Penn

Stamina: Frankie Edgar

Elite level experience: BJ Penn

Other Intangibles: BJ Penn

The Edge: BJ Penn

Randy Couture (220) vs. James Toney (237)

Striking: James Toney

Wrestling: Randy Couture

Submissions: Randy Couture

Stamina: Randy Couture

Elite level experience: Randy Couture

Other Intangibles: Randy Couture

The Edge: Randy Couture

Demian Maia (184) vs. Mario Miranda (185)

Striking: Mario Miranda

Wrestling: Mario Miranda

Submissions: Demian Maia

Stamina: Demian Maia

Elite level experience: Demian Maia

Other Intangibles: Demian Maia

The Edge: Demian Maia

Kenny Florian (156) vs. Gray Maynard (156)

Striking: Kenny Florian

Wrestling: Gray Maynard

Submissions: Kenny Florian

Stamina: Equal

Elite level experience: Kenny Florian

Other Intangibles: Gray Maynard

The Edge: Kenny Florian

Nate Diaz (171) vs. Marcus Davis (170)

Striking: Marcus Davis

Wrestling: Nate Diaz

Submissions: Nate Diaz

Stamina: Nate Diaz

Elite level experience: Marcus Davis

Other Intangibles: Nate Diaz

The Edge: Nate Diaz

Preliminary Bouts (Live on Sportsnet):

Joe Lauzon (156) vs. Gabe Ruediger (155)

Striking: Joe Lauzon

Wrestling: Gabe Ruedigar

Submissions: Joe Lauzon

Stamina: Joe Lauzon

Elite level experience: Joe Lauzon

Other Intangibles: Joe Lauzon

The Edge: Joe Lauzon

Andre Winner (154) vs. Nik Lentz (155)

Striking: Nik Lentz

Wrestling: Nik Lentz

Submissions: Nik Lentz

Stamina: Andre Winner

Elite level experience: Nik Lentz

Other Intangibles: Nik Lentz

The Edge: Nik Lentz

Preliminary Bouts (Non-Televised)

John Salter (185) vs. Dan Miller (185)

Striking: Dan Miller

Wrestling: Dan Miller

Submissions: Dan Miller

Stamina: Dan Miller

Elite level experience: Dan Miller

Other Intangibles: Dan Miller

The Edge: Dan Miller

Nick Osipczak (171) vs. Greg Soto (170)

Striking: Nick Osipczak

Wrestling: Greg Soto

Submissions: Greg Soto

Stamina: Greg Soto

Elite level experience: Greg Soto

Other Intangibles: Greg Soto

The Edge: Greg Soto

Mike Pierce (171) vs. Amilcar Alves (171)

Striking: Amilcar Alves

Wrestling: Mike Pierce

Submissions: Amilcar Alves

Stamina: Mike Pierce

Elite level experience: Mike Pierce

Other Intangibles: Mike Pierce

The Edge: Mike Pierce

Note: Other intangibles will be explained in the very near future, but include "quality of training partners", "in prime of career", "twilight of career", "injured recently", "facing a fighter who is making their octagon debut", etc.