UFC 146 Prelims recap

So, I have to start out by saying that this was an amazing card. Dana said it was going to be awesome and it certainly was awesome. The only fights that I would say were boring would be the Brown/Pineda fight but that was on Facebook, and Dollaway/Miller. So let’s give this card a recap, along with future matchups.

 Mike Brown vs. Daniel Pineda: In a rather lackluster bout, Mike Brown defeated the wily and scrappy Daniel Pineda in the opening fight. Although, Pineda lost this fight, he still has a bright future which was shown through his tenacity late in the fight, sweeping Mike Brown to get his back and nearly winning the fight after being dominated the first two rounds. Brown, on the other hand, is done. I’m not saying this because he hasn’t looked good; I’m saying this because he actually retired after this fight. It’s always good to see a fighter on a high note, even if it wasn’t that high.

Possible matchup for Pineda: Pineda has an extremely bright future ahead of him, but he has a few things he really needs to work on, like head movement, cardio, takedown defense. Once he gets those things down, he will certainly be a title contender and there is no doubt in my mind that he will be. Possibly Maximo Blanco, who is also coming off a loss, would be good, Pineda would really push the pace.

Kyle Kingsbury vs. Glover Teixeira: Glover Teixeira showed everyone why he has been such a hyped fighter. He came in against a guy who is really tough and just absolutely destroyed him. Teixeira did what Maldonado and Bonnar couldn’t do. He finished Kingsbury who is a really tough guy, and has really good standup. Glover came in, rocked him with an uppercut, got his back, pounded, Kingsbury rolled over, arm triangle, fight over. That is an impressive UFC debut to say the least.

Possible matchup for Kingsbury: After being shamefully dismantled by the extremely dangerous Teixeira, Kingsbury either needs a rebound fight or a loser goes home fight. I came up with a combo of both of these. A rematch with Fabio Maldonado would be perfect. Maldonado is very good and very underrated. His boxing is crisp and he has some hellish body shots, hard to watch. Along with the fact that it will certainly be entertaining, it was very controversial, people thought that Maldonado won, including myself. This fight certainly has value in both entertainment, and to answer questions.

Possible matchups for Teixeira: Clearly, Teixeira has been ready for the big time for quite a while, but visa problems delayed his readiness. He’s here now, folks, and he is hungry and very dangerous. I have been looking around for a good matchup for him and people have been saying that a fight with the winner of Vera and Te Huna would be good to show us who is ready to take a step up. A fight with Te Huna would be very interesting, and certainly exciting.

Paul Sass vs. Jacob Volkmann: Paul Sass truly had his coming out party against Volkmann. I was really confident in this pick despite the fact that I really wanted to go with Sass because I am a huge fan of guys who pull guard. But I looked at Paul Sass like I look Cody McKenzie, just a guy who, very predictably, goes for the same thing for every fight. Sass is another story though. Beating someone as good as Volkmann is truly impressive. Volkmann is a very strong and technical wrestler who was quickly rising up the ladder but Sass put that rise to sleep with that deadly “Sassangle”. Sass clearly needs to work on his standup but once his standup is good enough to get himself safe enough to either takedown or pull guard, he should really do some damage in the lightweight division.

Possible Matchup for Sass: A really good grappling match, one that serves tow purposes: entertainment and to show who is ready for a step up. Would be a fight with Mark Bocek. I think this fight would be not only very fun to watch these two brilliant BJJ guys go at it, but also to see how good Sass’ ground game truly is.

Possible matchups for Volkmann: Volkmann is a really good fighter. He has amazing wrestling, some of the most technical in his weight class. That’s why he was able to hang with guys at welterweight, despite a big size disadvantage. I can see Volkmann eventually getting up into title talks in the next 2 years, so if he will one day, then his next fight has to be a rebound one, but against someone with a name that means something.  A fight against the always entertaining Paul Taylor would be a good rebound fight for Volkmann, once Taylor is finally fully healed.

Dan Hardy vs. Duane Ludwig: This was one of the fights on this card that I wasn’t 100% about going into it. Neither more nor my brother were sure about our picks. I thought I was going to be right with my prediction with in the first minute when Ludwig caught Hardy, but clearly Hardy was the better fighter. I can guarantee you that Hardy will never go back into title contention, but he will certainly stay around for a while, being a part of some really entertaining bouts.

Possible matchups for Hardy: Obviously, Hardy will stick around at the level in which he will fight people with name value but wont really move him up anywhere in the welterweight ladder. Rich Attonito could certainly be that type of fight, once he gets healed after pulling out of his fight with Rick Story. Hardy versus Attonito would certainly be entertaining.

Possible matchups for Ludwig: Clearly, Ludwig is starting to falter. His chin is weakening and the doors are closing in on him in his MMA career. If he wants to keep his career rolling, he should do it against someone like Matt Brown, whom he could definitely out strike on the feet. It also has a ton of entertainment value in it.

CB Dollaway vs. Jason Miller: This fight was gross. I have never, and will never, be a fan of CB Dollaway. He complains and puts on boring fights in the ones that he wins. It was also a very sad fight. Miller looked really good at the weigh-ins and the beginning of the first round but clearly his knee was hurt coming into the fight. He had some Sakuraba tape around his knee and he feel on it and was blatantly limping. CB won pretty handily, but it certainly wasn’t pretty. Miller retired and was cut following the loss.

Possible matchups for Dollaway: Dollaway is making his way up after this win against Miller. A fight against Brad Tavares would show who has the chops to take a step up in competition.

Jamie Varner vs. Edson Barboza: This fight was absolutely shocking. Varner blitzed Barboza in the first round. Not even Varner saw that coming. It literally surprised everyone, including the WINNER. I have to be honest though, I was cheering for Varner coming into this fight. I always love a good comeback story, career or fight wise. Barboza was in the middle of title talks following his breathtaking KO of Terry Etim. Varner came in as an extremely heavy underdog, but he made those betting for him some rich people.

Possible matchups for Varner: The person that came to mind was Donald Cerrone, but that would not make any sense, it would only happen for entertainment purposes. Since Varner, rather easily, dispatched one of the top contenders in the lightweight division, it only makes sense that he gets another good fighter, but not as high up the ladder as Barboza. A fight against Jeremy Stephens will not only help out with the lightweight ladder, but it would also be a guaranteed FOTN.

Possible matchups for Barboza: Barboza is still one of the best in his division, with some of the fastest and technical standup in the game. He needs a rebound fight. Plain and simple. Matt Wiman, who is a very good fighter, could prove to be a good test for the (still) rising star in Barboza.

Diego Brandao vs. Darren Elkins: Elkins was just one of the two examples that toughness and cardio always beats out a blitz like the one in the first round. Elkins was another hefty underdog prior to the fight, so whoever bet on him and Varner is quite the rich man (or woman). I really wanted to pick Elkins; I have always thought that Brandao is an incredibly overrated fighter. He gasses after the first round, at featherweight. 145ers are not supposed to gas out after the first round. Elkins is an underrated fighter; it’s mainly because of his quick loss to Oliviera and one-sided win (loss) to Omigawa. He is solid wrestler and is tough as nails. I personally scored the fight 28-27 for Elkins. 8-10, 10-9, 10-8.

Possible matchups for Elkins: Elkins needs a step up in competition. He could really do some damage in his division if he continues to fight smart. He could very well fight the loser of the Hioki/Lamas fight. A win over Brandao is huge for Elkins.

Possible matchups for Brandao: This overrated maniac will only be a tough gatekeeper at featherweight. A fight against Robbie Peralta would either be good rebound fight for Brandao or a career launcher for Peralta.