Before I was a writer here at CagePotato, some of my favorite columns to read were the “New Guys” features devoted entirely to familiarizing us with the unfamiliar faces sprinkled throughout the average UFC card. It made the preliminary action far more exciting in my opinion, and more importantly made me look like less an MMA fan, more a prophet when making picks against my friends on fight night. I would of course plead ignorance after I had successfully transferred their money into my wallet, but hey, that’s what they get for saying “This Cyprus Diabetes guy is going to get straight up murdered by Luiz Cane.”
So to begin a year in which 95 or so percent of scheduled UFC fights will likely be cancelled due to injury, we figured we would brush off this old feature moving forward, if only to brief you on the no-namers who will inevitably be stepping in on short notice to replace our plagued MMA stars. Today’s edition focuses on the upcoming UFC on FX 7 card headlined by Michael Bisping vs. Vitor Belfort, and features a pair of dangerous, well-rounded sluggers hailing from, you guessed it, Brazil. Funny how that always seems to be the case.
(Nobre vs. Matheus Nicolau Pereira at Bitetti Combat 13. And if you dug that standing TKO, you’ll love these.)
PEDRO “The Rock” NOBRE
Experience: 14-1 record, with all but 1 win coming by stoppage (9 TKO, 4 Sub). Multiple appearances under the Bitetti Combat banner. Trains out of the illustrious Brazilian Top Team gym.
Will be facing: Iuri Alcantara (2-1 UFC, holds a KO victory over top contender Ricardo Lamas)
Lowdown: Stepping in as a late replacement for the injured George Roop, who was actually stepping in for the injured Johnny Eduardo *opens mouth, inserts revolver*, Nobre has developed a reputation for putting on technical, exciting brawls that rarely make it out of the second round. For an example of this, see above. He was one of the first participants selected for TUF: Brazil, but was eliminated from the competition when he was knocked out by Vincius Vina in his preliminary fight.
LUCAS “Mineiro” MARTINS
Experience: 12-0, with all but one win coming by stoppage (8 TKO, 3 Sub). Trains out of Chute Box and holds two local lightweight titles to his credit. The craziest thing about this guy? He just turned pro last year, yet has already racked up 12 victories.
Will be facing: Edson Barboza *shivers* (4-1 UFC, CagePotato Knockout of the Year Winner, possible recipient of Jax-like roboleg surgery)
Lowdown: Although we dubbed him the “Unluckiest SOB Ever” when we first heard he would be fighting the beast that is Barboza, upon further research, it looks like “Mineiro” might stand more than a snowball’s chance in hell of winning this thing. Like Barboza, Martins is a devastating striker who can deliver an unconventional highlight reel KO in the blink of an eye. The above gif, for instance, was taken from Martins’ last fight against Oberdan Vieira Tenorio at Jungle Fight 46, so you know the guy won’t be short on confidence heading into the biggest fight of his life. Combine that with the fact that he has next to nothing to lose by taking this fight on such short notice, and you’ve got yourself a technical battle good enough to be placed on any main card. What we’re saying is, expect to see this one show up during the FX broadcast despite the fact that it is buried in the prelims.
So Taters, anyone like these boy’s chances a little better?