UFC 156 Prelim Recap

Hieron following Woodley's KO.
Photo via Yahoo! Sports.

Francisco Rivera vs. Edwin Figueroa: This was a great way to start off one of the best cards in recent memory. It was well known that both of these guys were most likely going to put on a barnburner and that is exactly what it was. In the early goings of the first round, Figueroa caught Rivera on two occasions and even dropping him with the second punch. Rivera showed great recuperation ability as he came back and made the first round much closer than it seemed it was going to be. Rivera landed several takedowns before the round ended. The second round was a different story though. Figueroa landed a takedown early, but Rivera was able to get back up, showing off his improved ground game. Shortly thereafter, Rivera rocked Figueroa and finished him after landing several huge haymakers.

Possible matchups for Rivera: The former featherweight is really finding his home at 135 pounds. With two straight knockout finishes, Rivera is starting to cement himself as a contender at bantamweight. This wasn’t a flawless victory, so a bout with another up and comer should be put in the works with a fighter like Johnny Bedford.

Possible matchups for Figueroa: Despite this loss, Figueroa is still an exciting prospect. He has potential to be a star with his hispanic background and entertaining fight style. If he wants to get back on track he should face off with Azamat Gashimov, who is coming off of a first round submission loss to Ivan Menjivar.

Chico Camus vs. Dustin Kimura: We have a very promising fighter in the works ladies and gentlemen. The fight was very close throughout the first two rounds. Camus would slightly out-strike Kimura but then go for the takedown, only to be attacked by a crazy amount of submission attempts. Camus clearly had the better standup so I found it confusing as to why he continually went in for the takedowns. When he went for the takedown in the third, Kimura reversed it and ended up in mount. The rear naked choke came soon thereafter, tapping the Roufusport fighter.

Possible matchups for Kimura: I am in love with Kimura’s fighting style. I love fighters who feel comfortable fighting off of their back and are constantly threatening with submissions. I want the UFC to be smart in developing Kimura into a star, so I would like to see a fight with Issei Tamura to build up his stock.

Possible matchups for Camus: Chico Camus is a very good and well rounded fighter, but one thing that he greatly lacks is fight IQ: it is very poor. He should learn from this fight that he should keep it standing against a guy who is mainly a ground fighter. He should fight the loser of Kyung Ho Kang and Alex Caceres in order to stay with the UFC.

Yves Edwards vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg: The Strikeforce imports have now started 1-0. Facing off with such a veteran of the sport like Yves is a difficult task, but Isaac Vallie-Flagg seemed very ready for it. He started and ended the fight as the aggressor, something he is very well known for. After a very close first round that showed Ike coming forward while Edwards would land counters here and there, Edwards came back strong. The second was all Edwards as he got Ike’s back and nearly finished him with a rear naked choke. Vallie-Flagg then found his stride in the third round as he consistently moved forward and landed tons of strikes, earning himself the split decision win.

Possible matchups for Vallie-Flagg: A win over Yves Edwards is always a very impressive feat. With a charismatic personality and entertaining fighting style, Vallie-Flagg could build up a nice fan base. I would like to see him fight the winner of Paul Sass and Danny Castillo, who are fighting in a few weeks at UFC on Fuel 7.

Possible matchups for Edwards: There isn’t much more for Yves in MMA anymore. If he doesn’t retire, the only matchups that I would like him to be in are fan friendly fights. If this is what he wants, I would love to see a fight with Donald Cerrone, who is coming off of a TKO loss to Anthony Pettis. Though the fight doesn’t necessarily make sense in the title picture, it does for entertainment.

Jacob Volkmann vs. Bobby Green: Strikeforce: 2. UFC: 0. I was very confident coming into this fight that Volkmann was going to easily dominate this fight. That is how it started out, but Green showed a lot of toughness and skill. Green came back in the second and showed fantastic top control over Volkmann as he elbowed his head multiple times. The third was much of the same as Bobby also showed a great bottom game as he swept Volkmann, getting his back and finishing him with a choke.

Possible matchups for Green: Coming into the UFC, Green was an exciting prospect, but no one expected him to beat up Volkmann the way he did. I would to see a fight with fellow up and comer in Rustam Khabilov, who is coming off of a fantastic first round KO over Vinc Pichel, which came via slam.

Possible matchups for Volkmann: It seems as though every time that I believe Volkmann will pretty easily win, he loses. With him now only 1-2 in his last three, I see him getting released if he loses his next fight. Michael Johnson is coming off of a surprising decision loss to Myles Jury. Johnson and Volkmann should fight in what should be a fun grappling affair.

Jay Hieron vs. Tyron Woodley: Strikeforce imports are going to officially go undefeated tonight. There isn’t much to say about this fight. I felt as though Woodley would grind Hieron out for a decision. It was the complete opposite. Woodley landed a haymaker and ended up knocking Hieron into rigor mortis. It was beautiful, violent, and impressive. Hieron now has an overall record of 0-4 in the UFC. He just can’t keep up with UFC caliber fighters anymore.

Possible matchups for Woodley: Apparently Woodley wanted to prove a point following his loss to Nate Marquardt. He did better against Hieron than anyone ever did. For his second UFC fight, I would love to see him fight Thiago Alves, a fight that could truly be his coming out party.

Gleison Tibau vs. Evan Dunham: Evan Dunham just loves to put himself in slugfests. This one was no different. Tibau came out strong in the first round but Dunham came back and implemented a great gameplan. Evan loves to come out slow in the first round and come back strong. He came out and jabbed Tibau and landed several huge knees in the end of the third round to gain himself a split decision win.

Possible matchups for Dunham: After this very close fight with Tibau, Dunham puts him right back at the brink of contention. He’s not quite there, so I would like to see him fight the winner of Danny Castillo and Paul Sass. I believe a fight between Sass and Dunham would be a very good fight.

Possible matchups for Tibau: Now at 1-2 in his last three, Tibau is starting to fade and head near retirement. There isn’t much left for him so I think he is going to end up as a gatekeeper and stepping stone for up and comers in the UFC. I would like to see him fight John Cholish, who hasn’t fought since his very close decision loss to Danny Castillo.

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.

UFC 149: Barao vs. Faber Predictions

Dave’s Picks

Main Card

Urijah Faber vs. Renan Barao: (our interview with Urijah about this fight and much much more, click here!)This fight is going to be amazing! I am so pumped for this. We will either see 1) Faber win and become one of the best fighters to ever live (if he is not one already) and cement himself as a legend and be only the 3^rd person ever to be a Zuffa champion in 2 different weight classes. Or 2) Barao wins and we see a new star born who has the potential to beat Cruz and own that belt for years to come. Barao will be much bigger and stronger and have better striking but Faber will be faster and have better wrestling. I think the BJJ aspect will be cancelled out because both are amazing. Anything can happen in this fight but I feel more comfortable in picking Barao. I think he has more ways to win and I can see him winning the fight in a similar fashion to when Jose Aldo beat Faber. This one will be fun and I can’t wait! = Barao by unanimous decision. My 1st Pick for Fight of theNight!

Tim Boetsch vs. Hector Lombard: I love Tim Boetsch; from the time I saw him throw David Heath neck-first onto the floor like a rag doll.The guy puts on fights, real fights. Lombard is a high level grappler with crazy strength and decent striking. This will be Lombard’s long awaited UFC debut and Boetsch is no easy test to start your UFC career against. Boetsch has amazing heart and is as strong as they come but is not great at any one thing. I hope Boestsch wins but the safer pick is with Lombard. = Lombard by unanimous decision.

Shawn Jordan vs. Cheick Kongo: This should be a fun standup war. Jordan has impressed me for awhile now and Kongo has been looking worse and worse as of late. Jordan should also have the grappling advantage and he has the better camp. I can’t envision Kongo winning this thing unless Jordan either gets careless or has a horrible night. = Jordan by TKO in round 2. My Pick for KO of the Night!

Brian Ebersole vs. James Head: Head looked great against Papy Abedi and he has beaten the formidable Gerald Harris. However, Ebersole is 4-0 in the UFC and has looked good except in the Claude Patrick fight. Ebersole will be shorter and most likely a reach disadvantage but he is much better then Head everywhere and he should take this. = Ebersole by unanimous decision.

Chris Clements vs. Matt Riddle: This fight will probably be a sloppy brawl but fun to watch. I think Clements is much better then Riddle and I think Riddle will be cut after this fight. Look for Clements to have the speed advantage and take this somewhat easily. = Clements by unanimous decision.

Prelims

Court McGee vs. Nick Ring = Ring by split decision.

Roland Delorme vs. Francisco Rivera = Delorme by split decision. My 2nd pick for Fight of the Night!
(For our interview with Roland Delorme click here, our interview with Fracisco Rivera click here)

Ryan Jimmo vs. Anthony Perosh = Perosh by split decision.

Bryan Caraway vs. Mitch Gagnon = Caraway by unanimous decision.

Antonio Carvalho vs. Daniel Pineda = Pineda by submission in round 2. My Pick for Submission of the Night!

Mitch Clarke vs. Anton Kuivanen = Kuivanen by unanimous decision.

Sam’s Picks

Main Card

Urijah Faber vs. Renan Barao: (our interview with Urijah about this fight and much much more, click here) This is one of those types of fights that you don’t want either guy to lose. I really want to see the Faber-Cruz trilogy resolved and I also want to see Barao show the world why he is considered Cruz’s biggest threat. Because Barao trains at Nova Uniao, he has a training partner that has fought, and defeated, Urijah Faber. Jose Aldo, the current UFC featherweight champion, dominated Faber in the past which headlined WEC’s largest event. Barao is a very similar fighter to that of Aldo; very technical and quick standup with devastating leg kicks. Barao is going to win this fight with the leg kicks, it worked for Aldo = Barao by unanimous decision. My 2^nd pick for FOTN!

Hector Lombard vs. Tim Boetsch: I am a huge Boetsch fan. I always have been since his amazing slam win over David Heath. I am saying this because I want everyone to know that I am not joining the Lombard hype train. Lombard is a very good fighter. His standup is powerful and technical and his judo is phenomenal. Boetsch is the type of guy who is constantly finding ways to win against fighters who are hefty favorites. He could very well do it in this fight. Lombard is the better grappler but Boetsch can always find a way to win. I will be cheering for "The Barbarian" = Lombard by close unanimous decision.

Shawn Jordan vs. Cheick Kongo: Shawn Jordan is going to be one of the next big things at heavyweight. He has powerful standup and a solid ground game. Cheick Kongo’s chin is gone and his ground game sucks. Everything in this fight favors Jordan = Jordan by 3^rd round TKO. My pick for KOOTN!

Brian Ebersole vs. James Head: Head has not impressed me yet, the best thing he has done is beat Gerald Harris. Ebersole is starting to cement himself as a title contender and James Head will never be one. Ebersole will dominate this fight wherever it goes =Ebersole by 1^st round submission. My pick for SOTN!

Chris Clements vs. Matt Riddle: Riddle is the sloppiest fighter in the UFC. He is just plain bad. I thought that Henry Martinez won their fight and he was half a foot shorter than Riddle. Clements is a fun fighter and should easily win this one = Clements by unanimous decision. My 3^rd pick for FOTN!

Prelims

Court McGee vs. Nick Ring: Ring by split decision.

Roland Delorme vs. Francisco Rivera: Rivera by split decision. My 1^st pick for FOTN!
(For our interview with Roland Delorme click here, our interview with Fracisco Rivera click here)

Ryan Jimmo vs. Anthony Perosh: Jimmo by 1^st round TKO (but this was hard to pick).

Bryan Caraway vs. Mitch Gagnon: Gagnon by 3^rd round submission.

Antonio Carvalho vs. Daniel Pineda: Pineda by 1st round submission (choke).

Mitch Clarke vs. Anton Kuivanen: Clarke by unanimous decision.

CR Exclusive Interview with Roland Delorme!

Roland celebrating after submitting Josh Ferguson  (Photo from thescore.com)

Roland Delorme is an exciting bantamweight in the UFC. His record is 8-1 with all 8 wins being finished. He was a member of The Ultimate Fighter 14 cast and was on Jason “Mayhem” Miller’s team, going against Michael Bisping’s team, in the first season to ever have bantamweights competing. He is now 2-0 in the UFC and has a big fight coming up at UFC 149 on July 21^st against Francisco Rivera (for our interview with Francisco Rivera click here). We were able to get a great interview with Roland before his big fight. (Go follow him on Twitter @rolanddelorme1) (CR in bold)

CR: Hey Roland, thanks so much for doing this interview. We look forward to your fight with Rivera.

1) You are fighting Francisco Rivera at UFC 149. Talk about that fight. How do you envision it?

Roland Delorme: I envision myself feeding him right hands like he's hungry. Getting in his face and making it a bloody war. My blood or his blood it doesn’t matter. People want blood and I want to give it to them.

2) What typically goes through your head before each fight?

RD: Before each fight I just try to keep positive thoughts going through my head and stay relaxed, like the calm before the storm.

3) How much are you looking forward to fighting in front of your home country? How will that play out in the fight?

RD: I can't wait to fight in Canada in front of everybody in Calgary. I’m going to do my best to make it an entertaining fight. I see myself winning and being on TV is going to make it that much better knowing all my friends and family back home are watching.

4) You took your last fight on short notice against Nick Denis. How much do you think that hindered your performance, despite the fact that you won?

RD: I don’t think it hindered my performance at all actually. I knew I was going to get smacked around the first little bit and the same is going to happen for this fight. It might take me a bit to pick up on his striking habits but when I do you'll know it. Besides if I don’t get beat up then it’s not really a fight and what’s the fun in that?

5) Talk about your experience on TUF. What was it like training under Jason Miller? What was your mindset following being in the house?

RD: The training in the house was great and Jason (“Mayhem” Miller) seemed very into helping me improve my ground game and all around MMA game; which to this day I appreciate very much. Before I got to the house I wasn’t sure if I could compete on a UFC level but by the time I left I knew I was on that level and not only compete but win and my confidence went through the roof. Now, every time you see me fight I'm getting way better than the last and I want to keep this ball rolling.

6) Following your last two wins, where do you rank yourself among your fellow 135ers?

RD: I think I’m in the top twenty in the world and with a win over Cisco (Francisco Rivera) will solidify that. I don’t live in the past or the future. I live in the now and right now Cisco is all that matters and after that we will see where I sit.

Make sure you watch his fight on July 21^st against another rising star Francisco Rivera. It has huge chance at being Fight of the Night! Make sure to follow him on Twitter at @rolanddelorme1

CR Exclusive Interview with Francisco Rivera!

Photo by Bloodyelbow.com

Francisco Rivera is an up and coming bantamweight in the UFC that is both one of the more entertaining fighters at 135, which is quite the accomplishment, and he also holds the power of a heavyweight. He has a record of 8-2 with 5 of those coming by 1^st round KO/TKO with an accumulated time of just 4:05. That’s some power!

Anyway, Rivera was very gracious in taking time away from training to do an interview with us on his upcoming fight with Ken Stone at UFCon FX 4. He took this fight on short notice, replacing the injured Edwin Figueroa. His answers were very honest and we look forward to him showing his power on June 22!

Championship Rounds: Hey Francisco! Thanks so much for doing this with us and we can't wait for your fight! So, your next opponent is Ken Stone at UFC on FX 4. How do you think taking this fight on short notice will affect your performance?

Francisco Rivera: This fight will be good one. Going to just bring it, hopefully he wants to stand and bang a little before he eventually tries to take me down. (Laughs) But we will see, I come to fight on my feet. It's what the fans like, it’s what I like, so we will see :).

CR: What motivated you to take this fight with Stone?

FR: What motivated me to take this fight was that I'm on a good fight streak and this will be my fourth fight in five and a half months. So my body is in pretty good shape and my confidence level is riding high.

CR: How do you envision your fight with Stone going?

FR: I feel like [the fight] will turn out my way. How can I say it won't? (Laughs) [I predict a] KO in the second round.

CR: What do you ultimately want to accomplish in the sport of MMA?

FR: I want to be able to look back and know that I was part of the biggest MMA organization of all time. Most people dream [of it]. And my dream came true.

CR: Which of your accomplishments means the most and why?

FR: Making it to the UFC is by far my biggest accomplishment of all ... Never would have I thought I would be here. My life growing up was a mess.

CR: What was your initial reaction when the UFC officials called you up to come in on short notice to fight Alex Soto?

FR: I was crying because after the 1st cut with Zuffa™, things were not good for me. I didn't think they would call me that fast but I knew my last two fights before they called me were two of the best KO’s of the year.

CR: Talk about your fight with Soto. What was your gameplan? And why do you think you utterly dominated him for 3 rounds?

FR: My fight with Soto was what I wanted and I knew what would happen. My experience got me through; the nerves and my confidence got me through the fight... Once I felt his power I knew it was my fight. He ran from me for three rounds and I rocked him in every round so I was happy with my performance. I was able to get some cage time and I was happy with my win.

CR: You are a very seasoned striker. How long have you been training in MMA and what was your first martial art?

FR: Yes, my Muay Thai was my 1st martial art. And my boxing was top notch in training. I was beating all the MMA guys up in training which led me to MMA and my first amateur fight which I got my ass kicked in. (Laughs)

CR: When you first were interested in MMA, who was your role model?

FR: My best friend, who died a few years back, was the one who got me to do MMA and I dedicate my MMA career to him. He was also a MMA fighter, Brian “Jop Jop” Joplin… RIP.

CR: There has been a lot of controversy over judging in MMA. How do you think this could be improved? What should be done?

FR: The thing with the judges sucks. To prevent that, or going to the judges, I guess fighters must finish fights, thus the only way to stay away from them (Laughs) Point blank.

Thank you to Francisco Rivera for doing this! Go follow him on Twitter @CiscoRiveraUFC and tune in on Youtube or Facebook for his fight against Ken Stone on June 22!

RIP Brian Joplin