Another installment of EliteXC's proving ground will take place on Friday night with a ShoXC event from the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The card features BodogFIGHT veteran Eddie Alvarez vs. Ross "The Boss" Ebanez, and the debut of British knockout artist Paul Daley vs. TUF contestant Sammy Morgan. Tonya Evinger, Julie Kedzie, Kala Kolohe Hose, and a number of newcomers will also throw down in the cage. Ten matchups will be featured, and the event will be aired on Showtime at 11 PM EST. Let's break this card down.

Eddie Alvarez vs. Ross Ebanez

Alvarez (11-1) is amazingly unknown to many fans throughout the MMA fanbase. His skills have only recently seen the light of day as he was one of the featured fighters in the BodogFIGHT promotion. He gained considerable recognition as the BodogFIGHT Welterweight champion producing some solid wins over Scott Henze and Aaron Riley. His lone loss was in April to Nick "The Goat" Thompson in a very heated battle that saw him lose his title. After a solid win over Matt Lee, Alvarez has moved his impressive record to greener pastures.

Alvarez doesn't have an easy task ahead of him. Ross Ebanez (16-5) is a solid veteran fighter who trains out of Hilo, Hawaii with BJ Penn. Although he doesn't sport the same skills that you would think are synonymous with Penn's skillset, Ebanez isn't a pushover. The only real problem in Ebanez's game is that he's went the distance in 6 out of his last 8 fights. It's obvious that he lacks the ability to finish opponents of higher competition. Alvarez will be no different.

Expect Alvarez to push the pace and throw a lot of leather. Eight out of his eleven wins are via TKO or KO, so it should be a straight forward win for Alvarez. Don't be too surprised if Ebanez can outlast the onslaught and take it the distance though.

Leland's Prediction: Alvarez via TKO/KO, Round 1
_____________________________

Paul Daley vs. Sammy Morgan

Daley (16-6-2) is a British striker with some impressive knockout power. He hasn't strayed away from the stereotypical style that many Brits have been labeled with, but it hasn't hurt him in his matchups as of yet. In his last 4 fights, he's won 3 of them by TKO/KO, and revenged a loss to Paul Jenkins by causing him to quit by a punch to the body at Cage Rage 21. With key wins over Duane Ludwig and Mark Weir recently, he's looking to make a splash in the American MMA scene.

Sammy Morgan (19-9) was on the reality series The Ultimate Fighter. He was unsuccessful in his UFC stint, but had picked up a good string of wins prior to the show. His primary skills revolve around the submission game, but he's recently taken to throwing ridiculously inaccurate haymakers.

In his battle with Cung Le, Morgan looked terrible in his standup game. It could prove to be his Achilles Heel against Daley. Daley's standup will be far superior, but Morgan will most likely look for the takedown and submission. Don't count Morgan out completely, but if he decides to stand, there's no reason Daley shouldn't put him away fantastically. Morgan also stated in the pre-fight interviews that he was going to knock out Daley, implying that he will play into Daley's strengths. Sounds like he didn't learn from Alessio Sakara vs. Houston Alexander.

Leland's Prediction: Paul Daley, TKO/KO, Round 2
_____________________________