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Eight Ways of Looking at UFC on Versus 6

Filed under: UFCWe’re just a few hours away from the UFC on Versus 6 event, and there are plenty of questions, concerns, and issues to sort through. Here, in no particular order, are a few of them.

I. Will this be the breakthrough fight Dominick Cruz …

Filed under: UFC

We’re just a few hours away from the UFC on Versus 6 event, and there are plenty of questions, concerns, and issues to sort through. Here, in no particular order, are a few of them.

I. Will this be the breakthrough fight Dominick Cruz needs? He’s the UFC’s least celebrated champion, mostly because mainstream fans haven’t seen enough of him yet. The UFC seems to think he can’t sell pay-per-views without Urijah Faber’s help, so Cruz gets stuck on a cable TV fight card smack in between two pay-per-view event weekends. It’s not the best coming out party you could hope for, but a lot depends on what he can make of it. If Cruz can put on another of his frantic, indefatigable performances — and this time, maybe even finish his opponent — he might finally get the attention he deserves. If he simply dominates Demetrious Johnson for the full five rounds, well, it’s hard to make much of a highlight reel out of that.

II. This fight is more important for Pat Barry than it is for Stefan Struve. Both are coming off losses and could really use a rebound win, but they’re not exactly in the same boat. Barry is 32 years old — nine years older than Struve — and has yet to string two victories together in the UFC. Ever since his debut he’s followed a win one, lose one pattern, usually beating the lesser-knowns and then losing the big ones, which doesn’t exactly impress the bosses. To further up the stakes, he’s coming off his first ever knockout loss. Though he previously said it had helped remove his fear of the KO, that’s the kind of thing that has been known to mess with a man’s mind. Now that he knows what it’s like to be the one waking up on his back, will he still feel like wading into those striking exchanges with the much larger Struve? Not that either of them would like to lose two straight, but Barry’s career has much less time left on the clock. Maybe Struve can wait, but Barry needs to make it happen now.

III. Who hypes the hype-man? If the name Mike Easton sounds familiar, it might be because you know him as the guy who’s always standing over Dominick Cruz’s shoulder, reminding him and everyone within shouting distance who the champ is. I admit, the man’s enthusiasm is infectious. We could all use a guy like him to pump up our egos and get us through a tough day. But now that he’s on the same card as Cruz, and getting back into action for the first time since 2009, who’s going to do the shouting? Probably still Easton, actually. He’ll just get to do it from inside the cage this time.

IV. Does Charlie Brenneman have a “Rocky story” sequel in him? “The Spaniard” got to be the hero when he stepped up on short notice and derailed Rick Story’s hype train, but yesterday’s glory fades quickly in this business. The Anthony Johnson fight is tougher because a) Brenneman’s no longer in a situation where he has nothing to lose, and b) “Rumble” has the exact combination of wrestling skills and knockout power that could prove to be a nightmare for a fight like Brenneman. This one may not follow a movie script outline, but it’s no less important for his career.

V. The last time Josh Neer won a fight in the UFC was February 7, 2009. He submitted Mac Danzig, then lost two straight and went on a tour of the minor leagues. Now the journeyman is back as a welterweight, and facing fellow wanderer Keith Wisniewski, who lost a decision in his sole UFC appearance back in 2005. It’s a situation where, if Neer can’t beat Wisniewski, he probably doesn’t belong in the UFC. Then again, you could say the same thing from the other side just as easily.

VI. Barry’s best chance against Struve? Since getting eye-to-eye with the Dutchman requires a little outside help, Barry might have to target his legs, which are at least more within his range. Though certain judges remain convinced that leg kicks can’t end a fight, Barry actually has three career victories that way, including his brutal win over Dan Evensen in his UFC debut. I’m not sure I’d want to put all my faith into my ability to chop away at Struve’s thighs like a lumberjack going to work on an angry redwood, but what else can he do? Unless he gets a boost from the referee, reaching Struve’s chin won’t be so easy.

VII. Hey, remember that whole controversial stoppage thing from the first Mac Danzig-Matt Wiman fight? Yeah, well, now they’re meeting again to settle it, just shy of a year and a half later. Finally, you can stop losing sleep wondering how this match-up would have turned out. I know it was really eating at you.

VIII. Don’t forget about Paul Sass Not unless you want to get choked. The Brit has a nasty submissions game, and is particularly dangerous off his back. He’s also pretty creative about getting there, so it’s not simply a matter of deciding not to take him down. The youngster took a lot of people by surprise in his debut at UFC 120, so it should be interesting to see if Michael Johnson has done his homework on how to avoid getting entangled in that mess. You go to the mat with this man at your peril. And with the way he uses that triangle choke, you’re never truly safe from it until you’ve left the building.

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Pat Barry: Lifetime of Training Helps Battling Stefan Struve’s Height, Reach

Filed under: UFC, NewsAt 6-foot-11, Stefan Struve towers over every fighter in the UFC; he’s the tallest competitor fighting under the organization’s banner. Meanwhile, his Saturday night opponent, Pat Barry, is 5-foot-11. That height differential will…

Filed under: UFC, News

At 6-foot-11, Stefan Struve towers over every fighter in the UFC; he’s the tallest competitor fighting under the organization’s banner. Meanwhile, his Saturday night opponent, Pat Barry, is 5-foot-11. That height differential will make for an interesting visual at UFC Live 6, and it will also make for a difficult obstacle for Barry to overcome.

Reaching his high target will be no easy feat for Barry, who with a 74.5-inch reach, will have a nearly 10-inch disadvantage in that category. But Barry has no concerns about what appears to be a daunting challenge. In fact, he says that the fight is no different than any other for either him or Struve.

“I’m accustomed to guys being taller than I am whereas Stefan is accustomed to guys being shorter than he is,” Barry said recently. “So, like this is going to like play into our games, into our strategies, into our timing, reach, distance. Like this is going to play directly into what we’ve been training for every day since we started the job, like since we started this sport.

“So I don’t think it’s going to … I don’t think this fight is going to make it any different,” he continued. “I mean, like I said, I don’t think he’s run across any – I don’t think there’s any 9-foot-tall kickboxers. It’s something that his lifetime of training has prepared him for.”

On Thursday, the two squared up for the first time for a pre-fight staredown photo opportunity, and yes, the shot looked a bit comedic. The two could barely keep straight faces, with both cracking smiles and laughing.

Part of those loose attitudes stem from their past, as the two have known each other for a few years and get along well outside of the cage. It has allowed them to fire off one-liners at each other all throughout the leadup to the bout, and on Thursday, Struve got in the best line at the pre-fight press conference.

When asked how he expected to defend Barry’s high kicks, Struve nonchalantly answered, “Block it with my shin,” a response that drew laughter from the fighters and media.

Earlier, Barry even poked fun at himself, saying when it came to ground skills, Struve could “lay on the ground and submit me while I was standing straight up.”

But when the laughter ends and business gets serious, the two are expected to have one of the night’s most intriguing fights, not only because of the size and reach differential, but because of their respective kickboxing backgrounds.

Barry has worked hard in his recent camps to round out his game, working wrestling and jiu-jitsu with his new DeathClutch teammates, including former UFC champ Brock Lesnar and current Bellator champ Cole Konrad.

Meanwhile, Struve said he spent time sharpening up his striking, including working with renowned Romanian kickboxer Daniel Ghita.

So there is at least a friendly rivalry over who is the better striker, and neither man will want to be the first to try to take it to the ground. But “friendly” is the key word here. It’s not personal for either one. At least on the surface, it’s a test of everything that’s come before. For Barry, the challenge is simple physics. And for Struve, it’s beating Barry at his own game.

“I think that this could turn out to be a really awesome fight to where really when it comes down to it, my short arms won’t matter,” Barry said. “With his really long arms might, we might cancel each other out in a way and it might stand there and take a long time for the fight to get finished or maybe he can keep me on the end of a jab the way, you know, people eventually started keeping Mike Tyson away from them with a jab. Like, who knows? I mean it could be a little bit of anything. Anything could happen that night. So I mean range, it can be good, but at the same time it can be bad, too.”

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UFC on Versus 6: By the Odds

Filed under: UFCUFC on Versus 6 goes down in Washington D.C. on Saturday night, and while the people there may not look too kindly on you betting on presidential races (don’t look now, but Ron Paul’s going off at +4500), you can still scour this fight …

Filed under: UFC

UFC on Versus 6 goes down in Washington D.C. on Saturday night, and while the people there may not look too kindly on you betting on presidential races (don’t look now, but Ron Paul’s going off at +4500), you can still scour this fight card in search of a good deal.

So who do oddsmakers like on Saturday night, and who might they be overvaluing? I’m so glad you asked…

Dominick Cruz (-525) vs. Demetrious Johnson (+325)

If there’s anybody in the 135-pound division who can out-quick Cruz, it just might be Johnson. Then again, that’s still a big if. Johnson’s problem is that his quickness is mostly limited to the takedown department. Granted, he can shoot in for a double-leg and have your back on the mat before you can say ‘sprawl,’ much less do it, but it’s fairly predictable. Cruz, on the other hand, is anything but. With the way he dips his head and lets his feet drift perilously close together in that peculiar little striking cha-cha of his, he’d be relatively easy to drop if only you had any way of knowing when he was going to do what. From the looks of it, he barely knows. Cruz dominates not simply because he’s fast, but because he disguises his attacks so well. Is he throwing the lead right or is he just distracting you with it en route to the takedown? You never know until it’s too late.
My pick: Cruz. Compared to him, Johnson is a one-trick pony. If that trick were knockout power or even slick submissions, it might be worth the risk. But no way he holds the champ down for five rounds.

Pat Barry (-185) vs. Stefan Struve (+155)

As much as I love Barry and hope he sticks around for a long time to entertain us in and out of the cage, I’m surprised to see him favored in this fight. Barry’s a great kickboxer, but he’s giving up so much size and reach to the 6’11” Struve. The smart play would be for Barry to attack his legs, if only because he can’t reach the Dutchman’s head without a trampoline. If Struve does even a mediocre job of using his length, he should be able to give Barry problems. If the fight moves in close, Struve could take it to the mat, where he has the better submissions game. The only thing he can’t do is spend a lot of time in the clinch or miss with big shots that let Barry get in and counter. And okay, he also probably shouldn’t let Barry do to his legs what he did to poor, poor Dan Evensen’s, but that goes without saying, right?
My pick: Struve. In a stand-up comedy or personality contest, Barry wins easily. But here, with the underdog line plus all the checkmarks in Struve’s favor, he’s the smarter pick.

Anthony Johnson (-185) vs. Charlie Brenneman (+155)

Remember when Brenneman was, according to the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission’s Greg Sirb, a real-life “Rocky story” for stepping up in Nate Marquardt’s place and beating Rick Story? Well, a) someone should remind Sirb that it’s his job to regulate fights, not sell them like he’s Don freaking King, and b) as a thank you from the UFC, now Brenneman ~~gets~~ has to fight Johnson, which just reminds us all what a tough way to make a living this sport can be. Johnson has proved himself to be a pretty solid wrestler when he needs to be, but here he’ll likely use that to keep the fight standing and exploit Brenneman’s inexperience in the striking game. And that can be done, let’s not forget. Johny Hendricks had him on ice skates after landing a few good shots, and he’s nowhere near the striker Johnson is. As long as “Rumble” can make weight without killing himself, he has the tools to keep this fight where he wants it and take advantage of some holes in Brenneman’s game. But then, that scale has proved to be a nemesis in the past…
My pick: Johnson. He’s faced tougher competition in his UFC run than Brenneman, and a diverse set of skills has helped him tremendously. Brenneman does one thing very well, but that will only get you so far.

Mac Danzig (+165) vs. Matt Wiman (-205)

Ah, yes. The fight that ended early, then was supposed to happen again, then got put off by injuries and other match-ups until we all forgot what was weird about the first meeting. Quick version: Wiman had Danzig in a not-quite-tight-enough guillotine choke, but the ref freaked out and stopped it anyway, thinking Danzig was in trouble. Now they meet again to settle that old score, only this time it’s Wiman who’s more recently feeling the sting of injustice, having just lost a close decision to Dennis Siver in July. The first meeting between these two was so brief, it was tough to tell who had the edge. But that Siver fight gave Wiman a chance to really show what he could do, and he was impressive in it. The fight was still a close one and could have gone either way, but Wiman showed how far he’s come in recent years by hanging with someone of Siver’s caliber and nearly putting him away. Danzig? He knocked out Joe Stevenson last December, but that doesn’t exactly mean what it used to.
My pick: Wiman. He’s come a long way in the last couple years. Danzig is still mostly the same guy who won TUF.

Quick Picks:

– Yves Edwards (-165) over Rafaello Oliveira (+135). Oliveira isn’t fighting guys like “Wigman Big Big” anymore, and he’s lost to nearly every name fighter he’s faced.

– Paul Sass (+150) over Michael Johnson (-180). With the exception of his decision loss to Jonathan Brookins in the TUF finale, all of Johnson’s other losses have come via submission. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Sass has some nasty ones.

The ‘For Entertainment Purposes Only’ Parlay: Cruz + A. Johnson + Wiman + Edwards.

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Photos of the Day: ‘UFC on Versus 6? Is All About the Height Difference

(From today’s press conference. Above: Dominick Cruz vs. Demetrious Johnson. Below: Pat Barry vs. Stefan Struve. Props to MMAMania)

Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and Pat Barry will spend all fight looking up nostrils when they take on tall-for-his-weight-class Dominick Cruz and tall-for-humanity Stefan Struve (respectively) this Saturday. Don’t forget to come back to CagePotato.com for round-by-round results from the Versus main card broadcast of UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson, starting at 9 p.m. ET. In case you’re curious, there’s a photo of Stefan Struve and Demetrious Johnson standing next to each other after the jump. Not for the faint of heart.

(From today’s press conference. Above: Dominick Cruz vs. Demetrious Johnson. Below: Pat Barry vs. Stefan Struve. Props to MMAMania)

(Props: Heavy)

UFC Live Cruz vs. Johnson Predictions

Filed under: UFCWill Dominick Cruz continue his reign of dominance over the bantamweight division, or will Demetrious Johnson become the new UFC 135-pound champion? Will Stefan Struve capitalize on his enormous reach advantage, or will Pat Barry get in…

Filed under: UFC

Will Dominick Cruz continue his reign of dominance over the bantamweight division, or will Demetrious Johnson become the new UFC 135-pound champion? Will Stefan Struve capitalize on his enormous reach advantage, or will Pat Barry get inside and test Struve’s chin? Can Charlie Brenneman knock off Anthony Johnson and improve to 3-0 in 2011? We’ll attempt to answer those questions as we predict the winners on Saturday night’s fight card.

What: UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson

Where: Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.

When: Saturday, the Facebook preliminary card starts at 6 PM ET and the Versus televised card begins at 9.

Predictions on the four Versus fights below.

Dominick Cruz vs. Demetrious Johnson
Johnson, nicknamed “Mighty Mouse,” is small even for the 135-pound weight class, and he’s going to have a very, very difficult time against the tall and lanky Cruz, who is as good as anyone in the sport at using his reach advantage to prevent his opponents from getting near him. Johnson would love to get inside and take Cruz down repeatedly, as he did in winning decisions over Kid Yamamoto and Miguel Torres to get this title fight, but that’s a very tall order against Cruz.

For Cruz, the path to victory looks a lot like what he’s been doing throughout his title reign: He needs to use his awkward movement and high-volume striking to keep Johnson on the outside and keep him frustrated. Although Johnson’s quickness may be something Cruz hasn’t seen before, Johnson looks like an opponent Cruz should be able to handle standing up for 25 minutes.

And so I like Cruz to do what he usually does: Win by unanimous decision.
Pick: Cruz

Pat Barry vs. Stefan Struve
The enormous height difference between Struve (the UFC’s tallest fighter) and Barry (the UFC’s shortest heavyweight) makes this fight interesting visually, but what makes it especially interesting is that neither one of these guys fights the way you’d expect someone his height to fight: Struve often fails to take advantage of his reach and instead lets his opponents get inside and test his chin, while Barry doesn’t let his short, stocky legs prevent him from throwing plenty of kicks.

Barry probably has an advantage if the fight stays standing, but I think this fight will eventually go to the ground, and Struve will have an enormous advantage on the canvas — even if he has to get knocked down to get there. Look for Barry to leave himself exposed on the ground and Struve to capitalize and win by submission.
Pick: Struve

Anthony Johnson vs. Charlie Brenneman
Johnson returned after more than a year away and put a one-sided beating on Dan Hardy in March, and he’ll look to do it again when he takes on Brenneman, who’s coming off a big win over Rick Story. I think the savvy Brenneman is going to give Johnson a lot more trouble on the ground than most people expect, and win a decision.
Pick: Brenneman

Matt Wiman vs. Mac Danzig
Some unfinished business between these two is finally about to get resolved: At UFC 115 in June of 2010, Wiman won when referee Yves Lavigne wrongly thought Danzig had passed out while in a guillotine choke. (In reality, Danzig was alert and defending himself.) The UFC tried to book them in an immediate rematch, but injuries got in the way. Now they’re finally ready to meet again, and I like Wiman to win legitimately this time, taking a decision.
Pick: Wiman

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Gambling Addiction Enabler: ‘UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson’ Edition

As the dust settles from UFC 135, some of us out there must be itching to bet on fights that will not make us look like fools if we are wrong. Lucky for us, redemption lies around the corner, because this Saturday UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson goes down, and the odds are a hell of a lot closer than what we’re used to. Check out the fight odds below, then see if you can stomach our suggestions.

Main Card (courtesy of Best Fight Odds)
Dominick Cruz (-440) vs. Demetrious Johnson (+350)
Anthony Johnson (-180) vs. Charlie Brenneman (+158)
Matt Wiman (-210) vs. Mac Danzig (+175)
Pat Barry (-185) vs. Stefan Struve (+160)

Undercard (Courtesy of MMAValor)
Yves Edwards (-120) vs. Rafaello Oliveira (-120)
Michael Johnson (-240) vs. Paul Sass (+180)
Mike Easton (-130) vs. Jeff Hougland (even)
Shane Roller (-130) vs. T.J. Grant (even)
Josh Neer (-120) vs. Keith Wisniewski (-120)
Joseph Sandoval (-150) vs. Walel Watson (+120)

The Main Event: There is no denying the speed and agility of Dominick Cruz’s striking game, but look, judges love takedowns, and if there’s one thing “Mighty Mouse” can do, it’s take the fight to the ground. The champ has a penchant for letting his fights go the distance, and that only increases the likelihood that we will see an upset here, whether deserved or not. I wasn’t convinced; however, by Johnson’s victory over Miguel Torres. He showed excellent submission defense against Torres’ onslaught of attempts, but not much else that proves he can handle someone of “The Dominator’s” caliber. That said, a small bet with those odds won’t bankrupt you if there’s no return.

The Good ‘Dog: Considering most of the undercard fights are a pick ‘em at this point, I’d say your best bet is Charlie Brenneman, who’s recent routing of Rick Story showed that once he gets you down, you stay down. There’s no denying he can’t handle Johnson on the feet, but wrestling based fighters like Josh Koscheck and even the much smaller Rich Clementi were able to take “Rumble” down, so a bet on Brenneman seems pretty solid.

Some of you may be picking Struve for the upset due to Barry’s complete lack of ground game, but the real question here is whether or not Struve will be smart enough to take the fight to the ground. You’d think after his devastating knockout loss to Travis Browne he’d be in a hurry to do so, but if Junior Dos Santos and Roy Nelson haven’t taught him that lesson already, I don’t know if it can be taught.

Steer Clear: Both Matt Wiman and Mac Danzig have been struggling with consistency as of late. Danzig’s only win of relevance since winning the Ultimate Fighter 6 was his most recent knockout of recent UFC castaway Joe Stevenson. Wiman, on the other hand, has notched a couple impressive victories over Cole Miller and Thiago Tavares but is coming off a close decision loss to Dennis Siver back at UFC 132. Their first fight doesn’t add a ton to the mix, as it was Yves Lavigne’s screw up that ended it in the first place. I’d expect Wiman to take it, but I’m just gunna stay outta this one.

Official CagePotato Parlay: Barry + Brenneman + Edwards + Johnson.
20 bucks will get you a return of $186.46.

-Danga