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UFC 199 predictions: ‘Rockhold vs Bisping 2’ FOX Sports 1 ‘Prelims’ undercard preview, Pt. 2
More fights are coming to Fight Pass and FOX Sports 1 this weekend (Sat., June 4, 2016) when UFC 199: “Rockhold vs. Bisping 2” storms The Forum in Inglewood, California. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg continues the UFC 199 “Prelims” party with the second (and final) installment of a two-part undercard preview series.
Nearly 10 years since his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut, Michael Bisping is finally fighting for the Middleweight title. The outspoken Brit — fresh off his upset of Anderson Silva — will square off with former foe and current 185-pound champion Luke Rockhold this Saturday evening (June 4, 2016), replacing the injured Chris Weidman in the main event of UFC 199 inside The Forum in Inglewood, California.
UFC 199 will also feature a Bantamweight grudge match between reigning champion Dominick Cruz and arch-rival Urijah Faber, as well as a Featherweight scrap between rising star Max Holloway and former title contender RIcardo Lamas.
We’ve got four “Prelims” undercard matches left to look at (check out the first batch here), all of which will air on FOX Sports 1. Here’s what the Network Formerly Known as Speed has to offer:
145 lbs.: Clay Guida vs. Brian Ortega
Once on the cusp of Lightweight title contention, Clay Guida (32-16) has alternated wins and losses since consecutive defeats against Benson Henderson and Gray Maynard. He entered his recent bout with Thiago Tavares having previously routed Robbie Peralta, but kept the trend going with a 39-second guillotine loss.
He will give up two inches of height to the 5’9″ Brian Ortega (10-0).
“T-City” announced his entrance to the UFC 145-pound division with a rapid submission of Mike de la Torre, only to fail a drug test and be forced out of action for nearly one year. He’s since redeemed himself with thrilling wins over Thiago Tavares and Diego Brandao, stopping both men in the third round.
He’s submitted five opponents and knocked out another.
This fight will go one of two ways: Either Guida will sleepwalk his way through another decision win or Ortega will do horrible things to his windpipe. That’s it … there is no nuance to this match up.
The dangerous thing about Guida is that he has no shame. He is more than willing to fall into a coma in an opponent’s guard rather than engage in any meaningful capacity, as he did against Hatsu Hioki. I can only imagine the kind of lethargy he’d dredge from the depths of his soul against an active grappler like Ortega. Luckily, “T-City” has the kind of guillotine to preclude such a disaster.
Guida’s just too one-note to thrive in the modern Featherweight division. Ortega slaps on a choke part-way through the first round.
Prediction: Ortega via first-round submission
155 lbs.: James Vick vs. Beneil Dariush
The towering James Vick (9-0) has now won five straight since his loss on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 15, including a submission of top Aussie prospect Jake Matthews. He last fought little more than one month ago, when he overcame a tough first round to defeat TUF: “Brazil 4” winner Glaico Franca by decision.
He stands five inches taller than Beneil Dariush (12-2) at 6’3.”
Dariush’s unexpected rise through the Lightweight division hit a snag in the form of Michael Johnson, who the Iranian had to settle for a controversial split decision against. His winning streak came to an official end last month, when Michael Chiesa dispatched him with his signature rear-naked choke.
He replaces the injured Evan Dunham on short notice.
Dunham would have been a nightmare match up for Vick, being a standout wrestler with excellent top control, but I don’t imagine him having much more luck against Dariush. The Kings MMA product is a damn good grappler in his own right and his gym’s brand of relentless offense matches up well with Vick’s long-distance, in-and-out stylings.
Vick struggled with Glaico Franca’s low kicks, a weapon with which Dariush is more than capable, and Dariush actually has the cardio to maintain his assault. Dariush pieces him up on the feet and mat for a redemptive decision win
Prediction: Dariush via unanimous decision
115 lbs.: Jessica Penne vs. Jessica Andrade
Jessica Penne (12-3) — the former Invicta Atomweight Champion — reached the semifinals of TUF 20 before ultimately falling to Carla Esparza, beating Lisa Ellis and Aisling Daly along the way. Following a win over Randa Markos on the Finale, she stepped up to replace Claudia Gadelha against Joanna Jedrzejczyk and suffered a frightful beating en route to a technical knockout loss.
She has submitted seven opponents as a professional.
Despite being just 5’2,” Jessica Andrade (13-5) spent her first seven UFC fights at Bantamweight, where she compiled a 4-3 record. The 24-year-old last fought in Sept. 2015, where she lost a rematch with Raquel Pennington via submission.
Six of her 10 stoppage wins have come by submission, five of them guillotines.
For all of Penne’s success in Invicta, I really haven’t been impressed with her in UFC. Her striking is terribly underdeveloped and she doesn’t try nearly enough takedowns. Andrade, both well-rounded and absolutely relentless on the feet, strikes me as a rather bad match up.
The one concern here is the weight cut — 5’2″ or not, 20 pounds is pretty significant, especially since Andrade ran out of steam in the Pennington rematch. Still, with how hard she hits and how much of a size advantage she’ll have, it’s hard to pick against her. Andrade sprawls-and-brawls her way to a dominant striking beatdown.
Prediction: Andrade via unanimous decision
145 lbs.: Cole Miller vs. Alex Caceres
Wins over Andy Ogle and Sam Sicilia gave Cole Miller (21-9) his first set of consecutive victories since 2010. And even though he lost to the surging Max Holloway, he is one of the few to take the young star the distance in his recent run. Most recently, “Magrinho” was holding his own against Jim “The Beast” Alers before an eye poke ended things in the second round.
He has submitted seventeen professional opponents.
Once riding high on the heels of a five-fight unbeaten streak — capped off with an upset submission of Sergio Pettis –Alex Caceres (11-8) soon found himself on a three-fight losing streak. He returned to action in January, taking a decision over Masio Fullen in Newark.
He replaces B.J. Penn, who was flagged for using a banned I.V. by USADA.
Miller is just a bad, bad match up for Caceres. Caceres gets away with some less-than-textbook striking thanks to his height and grappling ability, areas in which Miller holds a sizable edge. Worse, Cole packs a solid jab and powerful right hand with which to maximize his four-inch height advantage.
Miller’s hit-and-miss and will always struggle against the elite because of his nonexistent takedown game, but he’s perfectly well-equipped to take out “Bruce Leroy.” Miller dominates on the feet and ground for a wide decision victory.
Prediction: Miller via unanimous decision
Nothing like a good old-fashioned stacked pay-per-view (PPV) event to look forward to this weekend. See you Saturday, Maniacs!
Current UFC “Prelims” Prediction Record 2016: 61-38-2
More fights are coming to Fight Pass and FOX Sports 1 this weekend (Sat., June 4, 2016) when UFC 199: “Rockhold vs. Bisping 2” storms The Forum in Inglewood, California. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg continues the UFC 199 “Prelims” party with the second (and final) installment of a two-part undercard preview series.
Nearly 10 years since his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut, Michael Bisping is finally fighting for the Middleweight title. The outspoken Brit — fresh off his upset of Anderson Silva — will square off with former foe and current 185-pound champion Luke Rockhold this Saturday evening (June 4, 2016), replacing the injured Chris Weidman in the main event of UFC 199 inside The Forum in Inglewood, California.
UFC 199 will also feature a Bantamweight grudge match between reigning champion Dominick Cruz and arch-rival Urijah Faber, as well as a Featherweight scrap between rising star Max Holloway and former title contender RIcardo Lamas.
We’ve got four “Prelims” undercard matches left to look at (check out the first batch here), all of which will air on FOX Sports 1. Here’s what the Network Formerly Known as Speed has to offer:
145 lbs.: Clay Guida vs. Brian Ortega
Once on the cusp of Lightweight title contention, Clay Guida (32-16) has alternated wins and losses since consecutive defeats against Benson Henderson and Gray Maynard. He entered his recent bout with Thiago Tavares having previously routed Robbie Peralta, but kept the trend going with a 39-second guillotine loss.
He will give up two inches of height to the 5’9″ Brian Ortega (10-0).
“T-City” announced his entrance to the UFC 145-pound division with a rapid submission of Mike de la Torre, only to fail a drug test and be forced out of action for nearly one year. He’s since redeemed himself with thrilling wins over Thiago Tavares and Diego Brandao, stopping both men in the third round.
He’s submitted five opponents and knocked out another.
This fight will go one of two ways: Either Guida will sleepwalk his way through another decision win or Ortega will do horrible things to his windpipe. That’s it … there is no nuance to this match up.
The dangerous thing about Guida is that he has no shame. He is more than willing to fall into a coma in an opponent’s guard rather than engage in any meaningful capacity, as he did against Hatsu Hioki. I can only imagine the kind of lethargy he’d dredge from the depths of his soul against an active grappler like Ortega. Luckily, “T-City” has the kind of guillotine to preclude such a disaster.
Guida’s just too one-note to thrive in the modern Featherweight division. Ortega slaps on a choke part-way through the first round.
Prediction: Ortega via first-round submission
155 lbs.: James Vick vs. Beneil Dariush
The towering James Vick (9-0) has now won five straight since his loss on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 15, including a submission of top Aussie prospect Jake Matthews. He last fought little more than one month ago, when he overcame a tough first round to defeat TUF: “Brazil 4” winner Glaico Franca by decision.
He stands five inches taller than Beneil Dariush (12-2) at 6’3.”
Dariush’s unexpected rise through the Lightweight division hit a snag in the form of Michael Johnson, who the Iranian had to settle for a controversial split decision against. His winning streak came to an official end last month, when Michael Chiesa dispatched him with his signature rear-naked choke.
He replaces the injured Evan Dunham on short notice.
Dunham would have been a nightmare match up for Vick, being a standout wrestler with excellent top control, but I don’t imagine him having much more luck against Dariush. The Kings MMA product is a damn good grappler in his own right and his gym’s brand of relentless offense matches up well with Vick’s long-distance, in-and-out stylings.
Vick struggled with Glaico Franca’s low kicks, a weapon with which Dariush is more than capable, and Dariush actually has the cardio to maintain his assault. Dariush pieces him up on the feet and mat for a redemptive decision win
Prediction: Dariush via unanimous decision
115 lbs.: Jessica Penne vs. Jessica Andrade
Jessica Penne (12-3) — the former Invicta Atomweight Champion — reached the semifinals of TUF 20 before ultimately falling to Carla Esparza, beating Lisa Ellis and Aisling Daly along the way. Following a win over Randa Markos on the Finale, she stepped up to replace Claudia Gadelha against Joanna Jedrzejczyk and suffered a frightful beating en route to a technical knockout loss.
She has submitted seven opponents as a professional.
Despite being just 5’2,” Jessica Andrade (13-5) spent her first seven UFC fights at Bantamweight, where she compiled a 4-3 record. The 24-year-old last fought in Sept. 2015, where she lost a rematch with Raquel Pennington via submission.
Six of her 10 stoppage wins have come by submission, five of them guillotines.
For all of Penne’s success in Invicta, I really haven’t been impressed with her in UFC. Her striking is terribly underdeveloped and she doesn’t try nearly enough takedowns. Andrade, both well-rounded and absolutely relentless on the feet, strikes me as a rather bad match up.
The one concern here is the weight cut — 5’2″ or not, 20 pounds is pretty significant, especially since Andrade ran out of steam in the Pennington rematch. Still, with how hard she hits and how much of a size advantage she’ll have, it’s hard to pick against her. Andrade sprawls-and-brawls her way to a dominant striking beatdown.
Prediction: Andrade via unanimous decision
145 lbs.: Cole Miller vs. Alex Caceres
Wins over Andy Ogle and Sam Sicilia gave Cole Miller (21-9) his first set of consecutive victories since 2010. And even though he lost to the surging Max Holloway, he is one of the few to take the young star the distance in his recent run. Most recently, “Magrinho” was holding his own against Jim “The Beast” Alers before an eye poke ended things in the second round.
He has submitted seventeen professional opponents.
Once riding high on the heels of a five-fight unbeaten streak — capped off with an upset submission of Sergio Pettis –Alex Caceres (11-8) soon found himself on a three-fight losing streak. He returned to action in January, taking a decision over Masio Fullen in Newark.
He replaces B.J. Penn, who was flagged for using a banned I.V. by USADA.
Miller is just a bad, bad match up for Caceres. Caceres gets away with some less-than-textbook striking thanks to his height and grappling ability, areas in which Miller holds a sizable edge. Worse, Cole packs a solid jab and powerful right hand with which to maximize his four-inch height advantage.
Miller’s hit-and-miss and will always struggle against the elite because of his nonexistent takedown game, but he’s perfectly well-equipped to take out “Bruce Leroy.” Miller dominates on the feet and ground for a wide decision victory.
Prediction: Miller via unanimous decision
Nothing like a good old-fashioned stacked pay-per-view (PPV) event to look forward to this weekend. See you Saturday, Maniacs!
