UFC 149: Barao vs. Faber Prelim Recap

Ryan Jimmo celebrating his win over Anthony Perosh
Photo by Fighters.com

This event started off with some of the best prelims we have had in some time and it was capped off by one of the worst PPV main cards that the UFC has ever had. Not only this, but Dave and I had our worst prediction night since starting CR. Weird night but let’s head into the recap.

Anton Kuivanen vs. Mitch Clarke: This surprisingly turned out to be an awesome fight, mainly on the ground. Kuivanen and Clarke battled back and forth for the better part of 3 rounds in a closely contested fight. I ended up scoring the bout for Kuivanen, 29-28, but the second round truly could have gone either way, leading to the split decision. With Clarke now going 0-2, my guess is that he will be released.

Possible matchups for Kuivanen: This win didn’t do much in adding to his stock but it was an entertaining fight and he showed that he can hang with a talented grappler. It’s hard looking for a fight with a guy like Kuivanen but the one that makes the most sense is one with Rafaello Oliviera. “The Tractor” just won a close decision win over Yoislandy Izquierdo, putting him in a similar spot as Kuivanen.

Antonio Carvalho vs. Daniel Pineda: Carvalho came out in this fight looking to put his first UFC loss behind him with a win over the tenacious Daniel Pineda. He did so in just 71 seconds with a beautifully set up combo that put Pineda out.

Possible matchups for Carvalho: This guy looked amazing out there. He came out very calm, which was something that he lacked in his fight with Arantes. He was very robotic and clunky in his striking with Felipe and this time around, he was smooth and relaxed. With a win over a guy like Pineda, who a lot of people were considering to be one of the next big things at 145 pounds, Carvalho has shown he deserves a step up. The former WEC featherweight champion looked very good in his win over Pineda himself. A win over Mike Brown would be a huge feather in the cap of Carvalho.

Possible matchups for Pineda: Losing two in row in the UFC is never good, but Pineda still has potential. He deserves a rebound fight and Cody McKenzie is coming off a quick TKO loss himself at the hands of Chad Mendes. Pineda should rather easily dispatch of him.

Bryan Caraway vs. Mitch Gagnon: This fight was FOTN for a reason, Gagnon came out hard and quick and nearly finished Caraway in the first two rounds with some brutal knees. Caraway showed that he is a solid vet as he came back to submit Gagnon in the closing frame after Mitch had visibly slowed down dramatically.

Possible matchups for Caraway: Caraway clearly needs to work on his standup, he’s tough but is capable of being finished. His ground game is fantastic and he is a very experienced guy. Matt Grice just came off a very impressive win over Leonard Garcia, a fight in which he really showed off his wrestling ability. They are in similar spots in their career and a win would catapult either fighter into the mid-tier range of 145 pounds.

Possible matchups for Gagnon: Gagnon had a bad case of the UFC jitters as he gassed out hard after the first round. But before that, he was looking good. With his first UFC fight under his belt, his gas tank will most likely be much better in his sophomore UFC fight. Fellow 149 loser Roland Delorme is coming off a devastating first round KO loss at the hands of Francisco Rivera. A bout between them would definitely be an exciting fight wherever it goes, and a competitive one at that.

Ryan Jimmo vs. Anthony Perosh: One punch can end your night and sometimes, the first one will do just that. Jimmo threw one punch and ended Perosh’s 3-fight win streak in just 7 seconds.

Possible matchups for Jimmo: You can’t do much better in a UFC debut than what Jimmo did on Saturday. After being unfairly criticized for being too boring, he put his naysayers to bed with one big overhand right. Jimmo has the ability to be solid fighter at 205. Chad Griggs has yet to make his 205 debut and a fight between them would be fun and the winner would deserve a big step up in competition.

Possible matchups for Perosh: At 40 years old, “The Hippo” has to be considering retirement by now, but if he isn’t, he could fight the loser of Jorden Kruth and Fabio Maldonado and would make sense; considering they are all in similar spots in their careers as Perosh.

Francisco Rivera vs. Roland Delorme: Rivera looked like a title contender out there. He had pinpoint accuracy, powerful knees and punches, and a lot of speed to top it off. Rivera looked like he had some of the best standup at 135 pounds. Delorme is not an easy guy to finish and Rivera seemed to have done it with ease.

Possible matchups for Rivera: Rivera looked absolutely outstanding in his win over Delorme. The question still remains about Rivera, how has his ground game come along since his submission loss to Reuban Duran? He looked like he is very ready for a step up in competition and a man who can test his ground game and be a step up is Ivan Menjivar. He just came off a loss to Mike Easton and they would put up an awesome fight.

Nick Ring vs. Court McGee: A lot of people following this fight are saying that McGee definitely won this fight but I actually scored it for Ring 29-28. It was really close, don’t get me wrong, I just thought that Nick Ring won that fight.

Possible matchups for Ring and McGee: With this fight technically being their 1^st (they fought during their time on The Ultimate Fighter) and the fact that it was very entertaining and super close, I wouldn’t mind seeing them duke it out again.

For the main card recap, click here.