Jake Ellenberger picks Vitor Belfort over Luke Rockhold at UFC on FX 8

"That's a really good fight, a good match up. I like them both, I'm a big fan of both these guys. You know, Luke is coming from Strikeforce -- former Strikeforce middleweight world champion and Vitor's, man, he's "The Phenom." He's a guy who's been a former world champion and he continues to get better. The variables are going to be against Luke Rockhold, it's his UFC debut, you know what I mean? It's the main event and we're in Brazil. Those are all three huge things to deal with and I like Luke in this fight but it's going to be really hard to -- it doesn't matter which name you put in there, it's hard to say Vitor Belfort versus blank and say that name against Vitor in Brazil, you know? I'm rooting for Luke, I really am, but that's a tough one. It's hard to lean against Vitor in Brazil."

-- Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight contender Jake Ellenberger shares talks to Rick J Lee about his thoughts on tonight's (May 18, 2013) UFC on FX 8 main event between Vitor Belfort and Luke Rockhold set to go down at Arena Jaragua in Santa Catarina, Brazil. "The Juggernaut" feels Rockhold has a good chance of winning the fight, but, like many, can't bring himself to officially go against "The Phenom" in his home country of Brazil. Belfort has looked like an unstoppable force when competing in Brazil, and the fact Rockhold has to step into that hostile territory -and in his UFC debut no less-- stacks the cards too far against him in Ellenberger's opinion.

Do you agree with Ellenberger's assessment of the fight? Or do you see it going differently? Let us know in the comments section below.

MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC on FX 8 fight card, starting with the Facebook "Prelims," which are scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. ET, right on through the FUEL TV-televised under card bouts at 6 p.m. ET and then main card action, which is slated to begin at 9 p.m. ET on FX channel.

For the entire UFC on FX 8 fight card and line up click here. To catch up on all the news and notes for this weekend's "Belfort vs. Rockhold" event hit up our comprehensive archive by clicking here.