Tag: Roy Nelson

Tyson Griffin and UFC newcomer Bart Palaszewski will face each other in a featherweight bout featured on the preliminary card, live on Spike TV.

Griffin has endured a rough stint prior to dropping down to 145 pounds after dropping three consecutive losses to Evan Dunham, Takanori Gomi and Nik Lentz. Griffin rebounded with a much-needed victory over Manny Gamburian, which saw him effectively utilize a good combination of striking and leg kicks to keep his opponent at bay.  The impressive performance earned Griffin only his second win in his last five fights. 

After competing in multiple organizations, Palaszewski will finally make his UFC debut this weekend. The mixed martial arts veteran has recorded a total of twenty-seven stoppages throughout his career, as well as picking up some victories over opponents like Anthony Pettis and Ivan Menjivar, making “Bartimus” a credible competitor in the UFC featherweight division. During his most recent stint in the WEC, Palaszewski won five of his eight bouts.

While Palaszewski holds a lot of experience, his bout against Griffin will certainly not be an easy one to adjust to. Griffin has greatly improved on his overall game, specifically his striking, making him a difficult opponent to face. Griffin’s quick footwork and pace will undoubtedly make his opponent work harder but Palaszewski’s range and kickboxing could provide an interesting test for Griffin.

Griffin’s speed and footwork are instrumental in his bouts, especially when he is attacks and presses forward. Renowned for his tremendous work rate, Griffin’s is consistent throughout every round, and blends his striking with leg kicks impressively. In addition to his striking, he has also adapted a strong grappling game, which sees him utilize great scrambling ability.

Palaszewski won’t likely be surprised with Griffin’s striking, although his combinations could outpoint the veteran, but it is Griffin’s superior footwork and frenetic pace that will overwhelm and frustrate Palaszewski.

Prediction: Tyson Griffin unanimous decision.

Bleacher Report’s Mike Hodges

Brandon Vera was the next big thing that wasn’t.

Upon his debut, there was talk of him being the savior of the UFC heavyweight division and possibly the next man after Randy Couture who would capture both the heavyweight and light heavyweight titles!

However, the prophecies of Vera’s success were greatly exaggerated.

After starting 4-0 in the UFC, Vera went an abysmal 3-5, with none of the three wins being anything special (only one of the fighters he beat is still in the UFC, after all) and would’ve been kicked out of the UFC had Thiago Silva not failed his drug test.

Vera’s UFC 137 opponent, Elliot Marshal, hasn’t had much luck either.

Marshal is only 2-2 in the UFC with his most recent fight being an embarrassing loss to Luiz Cane.

Who will prevail when the two down-on-their-luck fighters meet?

It’s a difficult question to answer since both men are of an equal skill level.

Despite being a skilled Greco-Roman wrestler, Vera’s real strength is his Muay Thai. Seven out of 11 wins have come by way of (T)KO!

Marshal’s area of expertise is the ground game. He sports a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has five submission victories to his credit.

However, whenever Vera is faced with a big fight that he needs to win, he loses; he has terrible clutch! But this doesn’t mean that he is fated to lose, far from it.

Vera has enough wrestling to stop Marshal from taking him down. This will work towards Vera’s advantage since he has an edge in the striking. He’ll pepper Marshal with strikes en route to a late (technical) knockout or unanimous decision victory

Bleacher Report’s Matthew Saccaro

Francis Carmont is just hours away from making his UFC debut against Chris Camozzi.

Carmont has been fighting professionally since 2004 and has finally made his way into the big leagues, due to the five-fight winning streak he has compiled over the past few years.

Camozzi has been re-signed by the UFC, after being released earlier this year following a loss to Kyle Noke. His current UFC record is 2-1.

Making the cut to middleweight for the first time, former light heavyweight Carmont’s cardio is a big question mark in this fight.

If Camozzi can push a solid pace and take the fight into the later rounds, there is a good chance he will tire Carmont out.

However, Camozzi will need to be careful in the early goings of the fight. Carmont is a very aggressive fighter and often finishes his fights early.

Expect Carmont to come out with guns blazing, eager to impress in his UFC debut, and gas himself out.

Camozzi will be in trouble early, but whether the storm, and take advantage once Carmont begins to fade.

I see Camozzi snagging a submission early on in the third-round, but would not be surprised to see Carmont win with an early TKO—Carmont has solid ground and pound and swarms when he senses an opponent is hurt.

This fight is likely riding on whether or not Camozzi can keep his composure in the first round and make it a war of attrition.

I think he’ll be able to do it.

Final Prediction: Chris Camozzi defeats Francis Carmont via third-round submission.

Bleacher Report’s Andrew Barr

Though it will take place on the undercard this evening, Dennis Siver vs. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone is one of the most interesting fights scheduled to take place at UFC 137, and has serious meaning in the lightweight title picture.

Cerrone crossed over to the UFC earlier this year, after the promotion merged with the WEC. Since then, he has gone on a three-fight winning streak, most recently defeating dangerous up-and-comer Charles Oliveira by first-round TKO.

Siver has been with the UFC for four years now and experienced several ups and downs, but is finally making his way into title contention, coming off of big wins over George Sotiropoulos and Matt Wiman.

A win for either fighter this evening would be huge and, in all likelihood, guarantee them a top five opponent in their next fight.

Expect this fight to take place mostly on the feet.

Both men are talented and technical strikers and they both like to stand and trade.

It wouldn’t be shocking to see Cerrone, who has a slick submission game, try to take this fight to the ground, but Siver has excellent takedown defense and should be able to stop the Cowboy’s takedowns.

As a striker, Siver is compact and somewhat heavy on his feet. He could stand to be a bit quicker and a touch lighter on his feet, but he is an accurate striker with big power in his hands.

Cerrone is a different breed of striker. He probably doesn’t have as much power as Siver, but he is lighter on his feet and a little bit faster.

Also, expect Cerrone to throw significantly more kicks than Siver, as he is the lengthier fighter and will want to utilize his range effectively.

This should be a back-and-forth type of fight, but I believe Cerrone will be on the winning end of most exchanges.

Cerrone is much taller than Siver and has better footwork, so look for the Cowboy to leap in and out of Siver’s range throughout the fight and out-point him.

Siver has a solid chin and has only been TKO’d once in his career, so a decision is likely here.

Final Prediction: Donald Cerrone defeats Dennis Siver via Unanimous Decision.

Bleacher Report’s Andrew Barr

Today’s the day—UFC 137 is just hours away and the co-main event of the evening is set to be a heavyweight matchup between Cheick Kongo and Matt Mitrione.

Kongo vs. Mitrione is one of the most intriguing fights on the card and also has the potential to be one of the most exciting.

Mitrione made his way into the UFC by competing in the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter and since then has enjoyed nothing but success within the promotion, amassing an impressive record of 5-0.

Though relatively inexperienced as a mixed martial artist, Mitrione has proved to be a quick learner and many believe he has the potential to be a top contender in the heavyweight division.

During his time with the UFC, Kongo has lost consistently to the top level competition he’s faced. His biggest win was defeating Mirko Cro Cop back at UFC 75, which was a controversial performance from Kongo, who landed several illegal groin shots throughout the fight.

Because of his inability to get passed the elite of the division, many consider Kongo to be the unofficial gatekeeper of the UFC’s heavyweight division—a role he’ll be looking to shed with a big win later today.

On paper, this fight goes to Kongo.

He’s much more experienced than Mitrione, has proven himself against tougher competition, and is arguably the third-best striker in the heavyweight division.

The only glaring flaw in Kongo’s game is that he’s not great on the ground, especially if he’s on his back.

That said, he has solid takedown defense and, given that Mitrione doesn’t come from a wrestling background, Kongo should be able to keep this fight standing if he wants to.

If the fight does stay standing—which is likely, as both these guys love to stand and bang—Kongo will have a big advantage, in terms of technical striking.

However, Mitrione has surprisingly quick footwork and, in general, moves well.

Back at UFC 107, Frank Mir was able to out-strike Kongo by using busy footwork and head movement. Mitrione is even more light on the feet than Mir, so if Mitrione wins, the key to victory will likely be his movement—he needs to be a moving target.

This is a difficult fight to call because we don’t know what to expect from Mitrione.

Since his debut in the UFC two years ago, Mitrione has looked better and better every time we’ve seen him in the cage.

But has he improved enough since his last fight to contend with Kongo?

I’m thinking, no.

Kongo is so much more dangerous standing than any of the other opponents Mitrione has faced and that will be the deciding factor in this one.

Mitrione will frustrate Kongo for a while, using his footwork to avoid getting tagged, but eventually Kongo will land a big shot and finish Mitrione off with a barrage of punches.

Final Prediction: Cheick Kongo defeats Matt Mitrione via late second-round TKO.

Bleacher Report’s Andrew Barr