Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie
In a clear mismatch of UFC featherweights, former title contender Chad Mendes will face MMA’s favorite one trick pony, Cody McKenzie. This fight barely even warrants a breakdown.
Mendes is one of the best 145 pound fighters in the world. His only loss came in his last fight against Jose Aldo who is one of the top pound for pound fighters in MMA. Mendes relies on his excellent wrestling and control to grind his way to victories. Eight of his eleven victories have come via decision. He keeps things simple and continues to show improved striking with every appearance. McKenzie has made a career out of his much celebrated modified guillotine choke. He used it to win all of his fights on the Ultimate Fighter as well as his last fight against Marcus LeVesseur. But whenever he has fought higher level competition such as Vagner Rocha, Yves Edwards and even Nam Phan, he has not been able to compete and was finished by all three fighters. Chad Mendes trains with one of the best camps in the world at Team Alpha Male and one of their specialties is guillotines. He will not allow McKenzie to attack his neck and this will be a great opportunity for him to earn a finish.
Mendes is favored at –600 with McKenzie at +450 and quite honestly, that line could move even further in favor of Mendes. This is not a close fight and while anything can happen in MMA, no one can reasonably expect McKenzie to win. He has one route to victory and if he locks up that choke, he could pull off the upset. But the much more likely course for this fight would be Mendes dominating McKenzie and eventually earning the victory via TKO due to ground and pound.
Ivan Menjivar vs. Mike Easton
The UFC will kick off its blockbuster UFC 148 card with a bantamweight matchup between two veterans in Ivan Menjivar and Mike Easton. Both fighters started their professional careers around the same time but Menjivar is perceived to be the more experienced fighter with thirty two professional fights to Easton’s thirteen. Both fighters are also riding multi-fight win streaks in the UFC since the introduction of the bantamweight division with Menjivar winning three in a row and Easton winning two. However, both are coming off less than impressive victories.
Menjivar is the more well-rounded fighter with the ability to finish the fight on the feet and on the ground. He is most dangerous in the submission game but often hurts his opponents with strikes before pouncing for the finish. At age thirty, he is still capable of making a run in the 135 pound division but he will need to improve on his recent form is he hopes to do that. In his most recent victory over John Albert, Albert actually appeared to be the better fighter and dominated the first three minutes of the fight before burning himself out attempting to finish. Menjivar was able to take advantage and earn the victory via rear naked choke when his exhausted opponent gave up his back and was unable to defend. If he wants to defeat Easton, he’ll need to improve significantly over that performance.
Easton has spent the majority of his career fighting in smaller organizations taking two separate two year breaks from MMA. Easton is an explosive athlete with huge power in his hands. He has made a career of overpowering his opponents and either finishing with punches or grinding his way to a decision. He will have a power and athleticism advantage against Menjivar but will probably be at a technical disadvantage in almost every area. Like his opponent, Easton also earned a less than impressive victory in his last outing with a split decision win over Jared Papazian. Two judges scored the fight in favor of Easton but the third round was so close that either fighter could have legitimately been scored the winner. If he approaches this fight with a similarly basic gameplan of standing and hoping to land his huge right hand, he could be in trouble because Menjivar is more dangerous than Papazian and has the power to put him in trouble.
The bookmakers currently have this line as a straight up pick ‘em with both fighters at -115. This fight will come down to who really wants to be a factor in the UFC bantamweight division and whose camp comes up with the better gameplan. Menjivar has the technique to outpoint Easton on the feet and threaten him on the ground. But Easton’s power could be too much for Menjivar to handle. If Menjivar moves in and out and defends the takedown, he can win this fight on the feet. But if he allows Easton to gain and maintain top position, look for Easton to grind his way to victory.
