David Mitchell vs. Hyun Gyu Lim Lim may be making his UFC debut, but with the event having such an Asian heavy crowd, it may still give Lim the feeling of having a.
David Mitchell vs. Hyun Gyu Lim
Lim may be making his UFC debut, but with the event having such an Asian heavy crowd, it may still give Lim the feeling of having a home field advantage. Lim has been described as the best boxer in all of South Korea, and that could very well be true. He’s going to looking to keep the fight standing and knock Mitchell out, especially after Mitchell’s lack of striking skill was exposed in his last fight with Paulo Thiago, who isn’t even known as a striker. For a fighter who is primarily a Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, Mitchell’s Jiu-Jitsu isn’t anything spectacular. Lim should have no problem evading Mitchell’s takedown attempts and using his boxing to end this fight early. Mitchell may be a big welterweight, but Lim has fought and finished many of his opponents who clearly had a size advantage over him, after all Lim used to fight at middleweight. Unless Lim chokes in his octagon debut or Mitchell has improved drastically in every aspect of his game, Lim will make Mitchell look like an amateur. I’m predicting Lim to get an early knockout.
Takeya Mizugaki vs. Jeff Hougland
It’s no secret that Hougland’s best chance of winning is to catch Mizugaki with a submission. Mizugaki may not have the best striking, but it’s an advantage he will enjoy in this fight. As we saw in his fight against Yves Jabouin, Hougland’s striking is a notch above novice level, and while Mizugaki is no Yves Jabouin, I doubt that Hougland will be a threat to him on the feet. Even with Jiu-Jitsu being Hougland’s greatest attribute, it isn’t on the same level of someone like Rani Yahya, and even Yahya wasn’t able to beat Mizugaki using Jiu-Jitsu. I don’t see Hougland getting a dominate position on the ground and therefore, see a victory for Mizugaki. I give credit to Hougland for his durability and determination to always stay in the fight, so I don’t think Mizugaki will be able to finish him, but I am predicting him to win a unanimous decision.
Riki Fukuda vs. Tom DeBlass
Although he had a strong first round in his fight with Cyrille Diabate, DeBlass didn’t have the cardio to go the following ten minutes, and that cost him the fight. If DeBlass had poor cardio fighting at light heavyweight, I’m not too confident that his cut to middleweight will go smoothly. Fukuda on the other hand, hasn’t shown a cardio problem in his past fights, and will be fighting at his normal weight class. This alone will give Fukuda an advantage, but Fukuda also possesses the striking advantage as well. Both of these fighters are primarily grapplers, but DeBlass showed zero striking in his UFC debut, while Fukuda has excellent leg kicks, body kicks and impressive counter punches. As if Fukuda didn’t have enough advantages, he is also much more experienced than DeBlass with three times as many professional fights. Best case scenario for DeBlass he edges out Fukuda in the first round, but then Fukuda easily takes the next two. Either way, I’m picking Fukuda to win a decision.
Yasuhiro Urushitani vs. John Lineker
Urushitani was extremely tentative in his fight with Joseph Benavidez and therefore landed very little offense. Lineker has an even more aggressive style than Benavidez, and that leads me to believe that Urushitani will have a hard time pulling the trigger in this fight. Lineker was clearly getting the best of Louis Gaudinot and had five times the significant strikes, but in the end, succumbed to a guillotine choke. Lineker will be have a lot of rage coming into this fight, and Urushitani won’t have an answer for Lineker’s heavy hands. I’ll be surprised if Urushitani makes it out of the first round, but regardless of how long it takes, Lineker will get the knockout.
After out predicting every MMA website for UFC on FX 5, I wasn’t expecting another near perfect prediction outcome for UFC 153, but once again, my predictions topped them all. Not only did I get.
After out predicting every MMA website for UFC on FX 5, I wasn’t expecting another near perfect prediction outcome for UFC 153, but once again, my predictions topped them all. Not only did I get eleven out of twelve predictions correct, but most of the fights played out exactly as I as I proclaimed. Of course, it’s not about the people making predictions; it’s about the fighters in the cage, now on to the event recap.
Cristiano Marcello vs. Reza Madadi
While this was a fight that could have gone either way, it was great to see Marcello improve on his striking. In the opening second of the round he was tagging Madadi with crisp strikes and landed a spinning back kick on more than one occasion. Madadi fired back in the second round with wild Chris Leben like punches that rung Marcello’s bell. For two fighters who like to fight on the ground, the majority of the fight was spent of the feet. It was interesting to see a dogfight between these two fighters seeing they are both showcase technical ground skills. I’ll have to watch this fight again to be sure, but I think the judges got the decision right. Marcello should be matched up with Evan Dunham in his next fight, while Madadi should fight Tony Ferguson.
Chris Camozzi vs. Luiz Cane
Joe Rogan said it best when he said that Cane just didn’t look like the same fighter who beat Sokoudjou and Steve Cantwell. If his less than perfect performance can be attributed to it being his first cut to middleweight, then he should come back stronger in his next fight. Camozzi was simply beating Cane to the punch and land cleaner and more often, I personally feel that Camozzi’s performance wasn’t so much good, as Cane’s was surprisingly disappointing. Nonetheless, Camozzi did win the fight, and therefore deserves a fight with Micahel Kuiper or Riki Fukuda ,while Cane should fight Karlos Vemola.
Sergio Moraes vs. Renee Forte
For a fight that nearly went the full fifteen minutes, it’s rather easy to sum it the recap. The difference in this fight was the takedowns and Jiu-Jitsu of Moraes. Forte had brief moments of success on the feet, but he wasn’t able to stop Moraes from getting the takedown, and that’s what won Moraes the first two rounds. In the third round, he was able to take Forte’s back and secure a rear naked choke. No potential match up opinions for this one, I’ll let the UFC deal with it.
Diego Brandao vs. Joey Gambino
Brandao may still have, what many would call, a reckless style, but it was enough to beat Gambino all three rounds to earn himself the win. I was surprised that so many people were picking Gambino to win the fight, to put it simply, if Gambino was outclassed by Steven Siler, why were they so confident that he would be able to beat Brandao? His performance over Gambino earns himself back some credit to his skills as a fighter. There were moments of success for Gambino; he was able to land a number of significant strikes while on the feet. He was even able to get top position on the ground for a brief period of time, but looking at the fight in its entirety, Brandao showcased better striking, wrestling and Jiu-Jistu. I’d love to see Brandao fight Jimy Hettes next, as for Gambino, he should fight Cole Miller.
Demian Maia vs. Rick Story
Maia proved that his win over Dong Hyun Kim wasn’t a fluke. Just like his fight with Dong Hyun Kim, it took Maia no time at all to take Story’s back. Instead of putting Story on his back and getting the mount position, Maia immediately tried to secure a rear naked choke. Story was able to defend well until Maia countered with a neck crank, Story couldn’t fight it, and had to tap out. After two wins over two strong opponents, I’d like to see Maia fight someone in the elite of the welterweight division, such as Erick Silva. As for Rick Story, he should fight James Head.
Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado
This fight was nothing like their first one, Davis completely dominated Prado and threw him around like a rag doll. Prado was extremely pumped for this fight, but you could see his confidence fade away more and more as the fight went on. After getting taken down at will in round one, Prado was desperate to avoid any futher takedown attempts. When Prado sprawled to stuff a takedown, he opened himself up for an anaconda choke, and Davis rolled right into it, forcing Prado to tap. After such a dominating performance, Davis should draw a top ten light heavyweight for his next fight, and Ryan Bader would be a perfect opponent. As for Prado, he should fight Fabio Maldonado.
Erick Silva vs. Jon Fitch
Absolutely deserved to win fight of the night, this fight was literally nonstop back and forth action for fifteen minutes. Fitch didn’t necessarily change his style of fighting, but no one can say that he was boring in this fight. He nearly finished Silva with an armbar which was probably his closest attempt to finish, but he had Silva’s back for a good portion of the fight and was trying for the rear naked choke. Silva came close to choking out Fitch in the second round with a deep rear naked choke, but Fitch was able to fight through it and escape. He came back in the third round and completely out wrestled Silva for fifteen minutes to win a unanimous decision. I thought Fitch looked outstanding, and he needs another top welterweight for his next fight. I think the winner of B.J Penn and Rory McDonald would be the best match up.
Glover Teixeira vs. Fabio Maldonado
As dominating a victory it was for Teixeira, I’m not surprised that the fight played out the way it did. The UFC tried matching up Teixeira against “Shogun” Rua and “Rampage” Jackson, so Maldonado was a bit of a step down on the talent scale. After witnessing his inability to stop the takedown attempts of Igor Pokrajac, there was no way he was going to be able to stop Teixeira. Everybody has found a new respect for Maldonado for not quiting and even landing a heavy hook that wobbled Teixeira, but that doesn’t shield the fact that Teixeira completely dominated this fight, both on the feet and on the ground. I can see Teixiera being a title challenger in the near future. I’d like to see Teixeira face the winner of “Shogun” Rua and Alexander Gustafsson.
Antonio Nogueira vs. Dave Herman
After what Nogueira did to him, I don’t think Herman will badmouth Jiu-Jitsu anytime soon. As I predictied, Big Nog had the advantage on the feet as well. Herman didn’t land a lick of offense and took multiple shots to the head body and head. Herman just couldn’t find his range in the fight and Noueira picked him apart everywhere until he submitted him with the armbar. Nogueira is still just coming in at the top ten of the heavyweight division, if he wants to climb the ranks he should fight either Fabricio Werdum, or Antonio Silva. As for Herman, Mike Russow would be a suitable opponent.
Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar
Whether you’re a Stephan Bonnar fan or not, I doubt anyone is surprised about the outcome of this fight. Bonnar looked strong early, although Silva was never in any real trouble. Even when Silva was eating punches, he was in complete control on never looked dazed even for a second. As he always does, Silva spent a few minutes playing with opponent and then explodes on them with literally any strikes you can imagine. This time he caught Bonnar with a knee to the sternum that dropped him and he finished Bonnar off with a few follow up punches. Silva has stated he will not be fighting at light heavyweight again, so his next opponent should be the winner of Tim Boetsch and Chris Weidman. As for Bonnar, I don’t want to see him retire until he gets at least one more win. I’ve always wanted to see a trilogy between him and Forrest Griffin.
Demian Maia vs. Rick Story Most people are in agreement that Maia has the advantage in this fight. Story’s wrestling is his greatest attribute, but against Maia, he won’t be able to effectively use it..
Demian Maia vs. Rick Story
Most people are in agreement that Maia has the advantage in this fight. Story’s wrestling is his greatest attribute, but against Maia, he won’t be able to effectively use it. Maia is an expert at countering strong wrestlers with his Jiu-Jitsu as he’s demonstrated in his fights with Mark Munoz, Dan Miller, and most impressively, Chael Sonnen. Maia’s Jiu-Jitsu will be even more effective due to him having quite the size advantage over Story after dropping to welterweight. Maia looked outstanding in his welterweight debut, and his weight cut should be even easier now. If Maia has the same aggressive pace like he did against Dong Hyun Kim, then Maia will get Story down early and submit him in no time, but if Story is somehow able to take Maia down, Maia will have no problem sweeping him, or could just as easily secure a triangle. No matter how this fight plays out, Maia will outclass Story either on the feet or on the ground. Whether it’s over quick or goes into deep waters, Maia will sooner or later pull off a submission.
Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado
Davis had a bit more trouble against Prado in their first fight than expected. Although the fight didn’t last very long, Davis was clearly backpedaling and on the defensive until the accidental eye poke. After all the criticism of Davis’ performance, he’s probably put together a better game plan with his team. This time around, he won’t wait so long before going on the offensive and use his wrestling to put Prado in some compromising positions. Prado has nothing to lose and will once again come out fast and aggressive, looking to end this fight early, but if the Davis who beat Alexander Gustafsson, Tim Boetsch, and Antonio Nogueira shows up, he shouldn’t have a problem taking Prado down and beating him all three rounds. It’s possible that Davis could end the fight with a submission, but it’s more likely that it will go the distance.
Erick Silva vs. Jon Fitch
This is by far the hardest fight on the card to predict, I can see either one of these fighters emerging as the victor. There’s no question that if this fight ends early, Fitch will be the one on the losing end. Although his fight with Carlo Prater was ruled a disqualification loss, he has finished his last four opponents in the first round, three off them taking and average time of only forty five seconds. With that being said, Fitch could just as easily take Silva down and control him for all three rounds. Love or hate his grinding style, it’s extremely effective. Fitch has one heck of a chin that will help him get this fight into the later rounds where he could have an advantage, seeing most of Silva’s fights end rather quickly. I’m giving the edge to Fitch simply because Charlie Brenneman was able to get Silva down on more than one occasion in their fight, and Fitch is bigger, stronger, and a better wrestler than Brenneman. Silva is a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu, so I doubt that Fitch will be able to submit him, but I will pick him to win a decision.
Glover Teixeira vs. Fabio Maldonado
This may be a little premature, but I think Teixeira could challenge for the title with a couple more fights under his belt. Teixeira is a well-rounded fighter who isn’t afraid to let the fight go anywhere. Even though he’s a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt who has competed in multiple Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, he has more wins by knockout than he does by submission. Maldonado is a former boxer with a perfect 22-0 record, with twenty one of those wins by knockout. There’s no question that is boxing is excellent, but as we’ve seen in his fight with Igor Pokrajac, he is vulnerable in the clinch, and easily susceptible to takedowns. This will give Teixeira a huge advantage as he looks to take Maldonado down and dominate him on the ground. Maldonado will be in defense mode as he desperately tries to avoid Teixeira’s ground and pound, it’ll only be a matter of time until Teixeira finds an opening and is able pull off a submission.
Antonio Nogueira vs. Dave Herman
This is a bad match up for Herman, the Jiu-Jitsu advantage clearly is in the favor of Nogueira, but it’s not too obscure to think that Nogueira also will have the striking advantage. People forget how good of a striker Nogueira is because he is such a decorated Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, but his striking has gotten the better of Randy Couture, Brendan Schuab, and Frank Mir, before Mir was able to counter with a submission. Herman on the other hand has been out struck by Roy Nelson, Stefan Struve and John-Olav Einemo, until Einemo gassed and Herman was able to take over. I doubt he will look to stand with Herman, but if he can’t get the takedown, he will be more than capable of handling himself on the feet. Eventually, Nogueira should be able to get Herman to the ground and prove that Jiu-Jitsu isn’t “magic” by submitting him.
Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar
As much as I enjoy a real life Rocky story, I don’t see it happening. Bonnar does have the ability to hold Silva down and possibly submit him, but in order to do that, Bonnar needs to get Silva to the ground, and I don’t see him doing that. Silva is to fast and nimble on the feet to be susceptible to Bonnar’s takedowns. If Bonnar was on the same wrestling level as Chael Sonnen, than maybe he’d have a fighting chance, but unfortunately for him, he isn’t. Bonnar can certainly take massive amounts of punishment and still be in the fight, but Silva has knocked out plenty of fighters who have had a reputation of just that. It’s only a matter of time before Silva catches Bonnar and puts him away.
Rony “Jason” vs. Sam Sicilia This has “Fight of the Night” written all over it. Neither fighter is scared of a dogfight, and they both have the tendency to move forward at all times during.
Rony “Jason” vs. Sam Sicilia
This has “Fight of the Night” written all over it. Neither fighter is scared of a dogfight, and they both have the tendency to move forward at all times during their fights. The clear power advantage goes to Sicilia, at such a light weight class, his one punch knockout ability goes unrivaled. There’s always that chance that it could be nighty night, for Jason, but I don’t see this fight ending early due to Jason’s ability to take punishment, and still come forward. In the end, it will be Jason’s more well-rounded style that will give him an edge. Sicilia hasn’t displayed much more than just his heavy hands, no kicks and no Jiu-Jitsu. Jason will have a six inch reach advantage over Sicilia, and no one knows how Sicilia’s cut to featherweight will affect his performance. Jason simply has too many advantages for him not to find a way to overcome the punching power of Sicilia, and win this fight by decision.
Gleison Tibau vs. Fransisco Trinaldo
In only his second fight in the UFC, Trinaldo draws an elite contender in Tibau. I doesn’t take a genius to realize that Tibau has nearly every advantage in this fight, size, height, reach, grappling, and experience. This is just a golden opportunity that is coming a little too early for Trinaldo, he’s just not ready yet for an opponent at Tibau’s skill level. Tibau will use his wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu to overpower Trinaldo and look to finish with his famous guillotine choke.
Diego Brandao vs. Joey Gambino
In his last fight, Gambino fell victim to Steven Siler and was caught in a guillotine choke. Why he’s now being matched up with the faster, more skillful Brandao, is far beyond my comprehension. Gambino can’t match Brandao’s Jiu-Jitsu, and Brandao has the better striking. This should be an easy win for Brandao, and if he doesn’t finish Gambino, he’ll certainly take all three rounds to win a unanimous decision.
Sergio Moraes vs. Renee Forte
The predictions on this fight are split nearly 50/50. I can see why, both have the same amount of experience, and have wins by both knockout and submission. What makes me lean towards Moraes, is that he has the grappling advantage, but he also went toe to toe with Cezar Ferreira, an excellent striker, and gave him a run for money. Forte may have better striking than Moraes, but he is no Cezar Ferreira. Moraes will be able to hold his own on the feet, and will eventually get the Forte to the ground where he will submit him.
Luis Cane vs. Chris Camozzi
To be blunt, I’m just not impressed with Camozzi. His last four wins were either by split decision, against a semi-talented UFC newbie, or stopped because of a cut after he was clearly losing the fight. Cane is used to fighting bigger opponents at light heavyweight, and he has faced a higher level of competition than Camozzi, taking on Cyrille Diabate, Antonio Nogueira, and Sokoudjou. Camozzi will not be able to avoid the heavy strikes and the takedowns of Cane, and he will fall victim to either a knockout or submission. My money is on the knockout.
Cristiano Marcello vs. Reza Madadi
The majority of Madadi’s wins are by submission, but now he’s facing an elite Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, so this may be the first time we see him look to keep the fight standing. It would be a mistake for Madadi to challenge Marcello on the ground, so his best chance would be to try and knock him out on the feet. The fighters that give Marcello a tough time, are those with excellent striking and footwork, a skill Madadi doesn’t possess. Madadi might have a slight striking advantage, but it won’t be enough to stop Marcello from clinching with him, and then getting a takedown. From there, Marcello will easily take whatever submission Madadi gives him.
Demian Maia vs. Rick Story Most people are in agreement that Maia has the advantage in this fight. Story’s wrestling is his greatest attribute, but against Maia, he won’t be able to effectively use it..
Demian Maia vs. Rick Story
Most people are in agreement that Maia has the advantage in this fight. Story’s wrestling is his greatest attribute, but against Maia, he won’t be able to effectively use it. Maia is an expert at countering strong wrestlers with his Jiu-Jitsu as he’s demonstrated in his fights with Mark Munoz, Dan Miller, and most impressively, Chael Sonnen. Maia’s Jiu-Jitsu will be even more effective due to him having quite the size advantage over Story after dropping to welterweight. Maia looked outstanding in his welterweight debut, and his weight cut should be even easier now. If Maia has the same aggressive pace like he did against Dong Hyun Kim, then Maia will get Story down early and submit him in no time, but if Story is somehow able to take Maia down, Maia will have no problem sweeping him, or could just as easily secure a triangle. No matter how this fight plays out, Maia will outclass Story either on the feet or on the ground. Whether it’s over quick or goes into deep waters, Maia will sooner or later pull off a submission.
Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado
Davis had a bit more trouble against Prado in their first fight than expected. Although the fight didn’t last very long, Davis was clearly backpedaling and on the defensive until the accidental eye poke. After all the criticism of Davis’ performance, he’s probably put together a better game plan with his team. This time around, he won’t wait so long before going on the offensive and use his wrestling to put Prado in some compromising positions. Prado has nothing to lose and will once again come out fast and aggressive, looking to end this fight early, but if the Davis who beat Alexander Gustafsson, Tim Boetsch, and Antonio Nogueira shows up, he shouldn’t have a problem taking Prado down and beating him all three rounds. It’s possible that Davis could end the fight with a submission, but it’s more likely that it will go the distance.
Erick Silva vs. Jon Fitch
This is by far the hardest fight on the card to predict, I can see either one of these fighters emerging as the victor. There’s no question that if this fight ends early, Fitch will be the one on the losing end. Although his fight with Carlo Prater was ruled a disqualification loss, he has finished his last four opponents in the first round, three off them taking and average time of only forty five seconds. With that being said, Fitch could just as easily take Silva down and control him for all three rounds. Love or hate his grinding style, it’s extremely effective. Fitch has one heck of a chin that will help him get this fight into the later rounds where he could have an advantage, seeing most of Silva’s fights end rather quickly. I’m giving the edge to Fitch simply because Charlie Brenneman was able to get Silva down on more than one occasion in their fight, and Fitch is bigger, stronger, and a better wrestler than Brenneman. Silva is a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu, so I doubt that Fitch will be able to submit him, but I will pick him to win a decision.
Glover Teixeira vs. Fabio Maldonado
This may be a little premature, but I think Teixeira could challenge for the title with a couple more fights under his belt. Teixeira is a well-rounded fighter who isn’t afraid to let the fight go anywhere. Even though he’s a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt who has competed in multiple Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, he has more wins by knockout than he does by submission. Maldonado is a former boxer with a perfect 22-0 record, with twenty one of those wins by knockout. There’s no question that is boxing is excellent, but as we’ve seen in his fight with Igor Pokrajac, he is vulnerable in the clinch, and easily susceptible to takedowns. This will give Teixeira a huge advantage as he looks to take Maldonado down and dominate him on the ground. Maldonado will be in defense mode as he desperately tries to avoid Teixeira’s ground and pound, it’ll only be a matter of time until Teixeira finds an opening and is able pull off a submission.
Antonio Nogueira vs. Dave Herman
This is a bad match up for Herman, the Jiu-Jitsu advantage clearly is in the favor of Nogueira, but it’s not too obscure to think that Nogueira also will have the striking advantage. People forget how good of a striker Nogueira is because he is such a decorated Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, but his striking has gotten the better of Randy Couture, Brendan Schuab, and Frank Mir, before Mir was able to counter with a submission. Herman on the other hand has been out struck by Roy Nelson, Stefan Struve and John-Olav Einemo, until Einemo gassed and Herman was able to take over. I doubt he will look to stand with Herman, but if he can’t get the takedown, he will be more than capable of handling himself on the feet. Eventually, Nogueira should be able to get Herman to the ground and prove that Jiu-Jitsu isn’t “magic” by submitting him.
Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar
As much as I enjoy a real life Rocky story, I don’t see it happening. Bonnar does have the ability to hold Silva down and possibly submit him, but in order to do that, Bonnar needs to get Silva to the ground, and I don’t see him doing that. Silva is to fast and nimble on the feet to be susceptible to Bonnar’s takedowns. If Bonnar was on the same wrestling level as Chael Sonnen, than maybe he’d have a fighting chance, but unfortunately for him, he isn’t. Bonnar can certainly take massive amounts of punishment and still be in the fight, but Silva has knocked out plenty of fighters who have had a reputation of just that. It’s only a matter of time before Silva catches Bonnar and puts him away.
After only correctly predicting four fights out of a possible eleven for UFC on Fuel TV 5, I desperately needed some success for UFC on FX 5. Not only was I successful in my predictions,.
After only correctly predicting four fights out of a possible eleven for UFC on Fuel TV 5, I desperately needed some success for UFC on FX 5. Not only was I successful in my predictions, but I beat out every other MMA website’s predictions. However, this event isn’t about the results of the predictions, it’s about the results of the fights, and they certainly didn’t disappoint.
Darren Uyenoyama vs. Phil Harris
In the beginning of the first round, it was Harris who started taking a slight edge. He was beating Uyenoyama to the punch and achieved the superior position by taking Uyenoyama’s back before eventually securing a takedown. Uyenoyama tried to counter with a triangle, but was unsuccessful, what really got the crowd’s attention is when Uyenoyama attempted a somersault kick. The cheers from the crowd seemed to give him a bit more bounce in his step and he finished the round strong, but still a close round to score.
Uyenoyama came out in the second round much more relaxed on the feet, seeming quite confident. When Harris started putting together combinations and turning up his aggression, Uyenoyama looked to clinch, and it wasn’t long until he used a standing kimura to secured a takedown. Once Uyenoyama had Harris on the ground, it was the beginning of the end as he controlled Harris and repeatedly advanced his position, constantly looking for submissions. When Harris turned his back to avoid the ground and pound of Uyenoyama, he opened himself up for the rear naked choke; Uyenoyama was able to sink it in and get the tap.
The flyweight pool of fighters isn’t that deep, but I wouldn’t object to seeing a fight between Uyenoyama and Jussier da Silva. As for Harris, I find Tim Elliot to be a potential exciting match up.
Diego Nunes vs. Bart Palaszewski
Joe Silva was right in awarding this “fight of the night“. Nunes surprised everyone by coming out extremely aggressive, dropping Palaszewski early. Palaszewski gave Nunes fans a huge scare when he caught Nunes with first, a deep guillotine choke, and then a triangle. Nunes was able to escape both submission attempts and land some ground and pound until the end of the round.
While Palaszewski did threaten with several big strikes of his own, most of the fight was Nunes surprising the crowd with his newly showcased aggressive style and landing heavy shots on Palaszewski, either on the feet or via ground and pound. It was probably the best performance Nunes has ever displayed, and I’d suggest Marcus Brimage as a suitable opponent in his next fight. As for Palaszewski, I’d like to see him fight Yves Jabouin.
Jacob Volkmann vs. Shane Roller
This was a fairly quick fight that saw roughly two minutes of evenly matched stand up, but once Volkmann grabbed a hold of a leg, then it was all him from that moment on. Volkmann immediately took Roller’s back and took just under ninety seconds to submit Roller. Now officially it was ruled as a rear naked choke, but it was actually a face/neck crack seeing as Volkmann was not under Roller‘s chin. Regardless, all submissions look the same on the win/loss column.
Marcus LeVesseur vs. Carlo Prater
For the first time in I don’t know how many fights, I end up being on the right side of a split decision. I think the judges made the right call simply because LeVesseur was the more aggressive fighter and was landing the heavier strikes. Not that Prater was getting completely outclassed, because he gave LeVesseur a few scares with several submission attempts, but LeVesseur was able to escape every submission, and spent most of each round as the effective aggressor. LeVesseur absolutely deserved the win and I’m glad that the judges finally got a split decision right for a change. For his next fight he should draw Pablo Garcia, while Prater should draw an opponent along the lines of Cody McKenzie.
Mike Pierce vs. Aaron Simpson
Judging on the explosiveness he demonstrated, the weight cut went much better for Simpson this time around. After a brief stalemate in the clinch, Simpson started to take control when he stunned Pierce with a big right hand. He then landed several additional strikes before he secured a double leg, picked Pierce off the ground, and slammed him to the canvas. Complete control for Simpson until the end of the round. However, it took Pierce only twenty nine seconds into the second round to land a perfect counterpunch while evading Simpson’s deadly overhand right. It caught him right on the chin that immediately dropped Simpson to his knees, a few more shots from Pierce and the ref had to step in. I’d like to Pierce fight Dan Hardy, while Simpson could face Charlie Brenneman.
Michael Johnson vs. Danny Castillo
After looking mundane and physically exhausted in his past couple of fights, Castillo turned over a new leaf and really came out to fight. For a fighter who is known for being primarily a wrestler, his boxing looked sharp and he was able to catch Johnson with a big right hand. Immediately Castillo when into grappling mode and nearly submitted Johnson with an arm triangle. Johnson survived, but it was a dominating round for Castillo, I scored it a 10-8 round.
Second round was a complete switch and Johnson came out aggressive with his striking and was able to avoid Castillo’s takedowns. It wasn’t much longer until Johnson caught Castillo with a short counterpunch that dropped him, and the follow up punches from Johnson put Castillo’s lights out. Johnson should draw Jacob Volkmann in his next fight, while Castillo should be matched up against Roller.
Justin Edwards vs. Josh Neer
This was the only fight that I predicted incorrectly, but in my defense, it was easily the biggest upset of the night. There isn’t too much to analyze seeing that this fight only lasted forty five seconds. Edwards simply countered Neer’s takedown attempt with a guillotine choke, and because Neer refused to tap, he went to sleep. Neer couldn’t believe he had lost when he woke up in the ref’s arms.
A fight between Edwards and Matt Wiman would be exciting seeing both won there last fights and it was considered an upset. As for Neer, he should draw Paul Sass.
John Dodson vs. Jussier da Silva
According to the stats, Dodson should’ve been the bigger fighter. Although he was clearly the leaner, more muscle-bound fighter, Silva looked taller with an equally big frame. Still, Dodson was the superior striker and much faster on the feet. After a close first round, Dodson dropped Silva and then swarmed on him. All Silva could do was attempt to cover up, but after eating several shots to the head, the ref had to stop the fight. It looks like Dodson will be getting the next title shot against Demetrious Johnson which I think is the right decision.
Jake Ellenberger vs. Jay Hieron
Ellenberger came out much more cautious and patient than he usually does, and that may have been why this fight wasn’t nearly as exciting as I expected. There were a few brief moments of excitement in the fight, but ultimately I’m disappointed in Ellenberger’s performance. If he ends up facing Josh Koscheck in his next fight, I’m confident that Ellenberger will loose unless he changes up his strategy. As for Hieron, I’d like to see him fight Che Mills.
Travis Browne vs. Antonio Silva
No more than five people picked Silva to beat Browne. Not only Did Silva win, he did so in the fashion that I predicted. People were forgetting that Silva is a karate black belt and therefore has good striking skills. Silva’s striking was deadly accurate while Browne didn’t land a shred of offense. Silva has big power in his hands, and with one clean punch, he dropped Browne and then put him away with some ground and pound. Big win for Silva.
I’d suggest that Silva deserves a rematch with Fabricio Werdum or face Stefan Struve. Travis Browne should be matched up with Stipe Miocic.
