UFC on FX 6 Main Card Recap

Hector Lombard vs. Rousimar Palhares: Now this was the Hector Lombard that we were all waiting for! He instantly came out aggressive and was looking for the knockout from the get go. Palhares’ weakness has always been his striking and Lombard took full advantage of it. He consistently went for the right hook KO and eventually about halfway through the first round, he landed. It dropped Paul Harris and he finished him off with ground and pound.

Possible matchups for Lombard: Now that Hector Lombard has officially arrived in the UFC, I want to see him fight a bigger name. I know he called out Michael Bisping, but that isn’t going to happen right now. But he could possibly get his wish. I would like to see Lombard fight the loser of Bisping vs. Vitor Belfort, either way could be an amazing fight.

Possible matchups for Palhares: This fight further cemented the fact that Rousimar Palhares could very well be the most overrated fighter in the UFC today. Ed Herman is coming off of a decision loss to Jake Shields, though it was overturned to a No-contest after Shields tested positive for steroids. Ed Herman is definitely a well-rounded enough fighter to be able to defeat Palhares.

Colin Fletcher vs. Norman Parke: I do believe we have found a new name that could become a contender in the near future. Norman Parke has solid grappling skills and strength that can hold down a majority of the lightweights in the UFC. He needs to work on his standup, and once he does that he could be a legitimate threat at 155. The first two rounds were Parke going in and taking Fletcher down and grinding him out with his superior grappling. The third round was an absolute slugfest and Fletcher landed some really solid kicks. It was an awesome fight and I can’t wait to see how he develops as a fighter.

Possible matchups for Parke: As I said before, Parke has all the skills to be a future contender. But he should be moved at a slower pace, I want them to work him up to contention without rushing him. Ramsey Nijem is on a solid 3 fight win streak and has a lot of name value. A win over Nijem would be huge for Parke.

Possible matchups for Fletcher: This guy is an entertainer, that is for sure. He is also a very talented fighter. But he desperately needs to work on his takedown defense. He is very well rounded but his bottom game is very questionable when he is being controlled well. He should fight the Canadian Mitch Clarke to get back on track.

Robert Whittaker vs. Brad Scott: This fight was exactly as I expected it. It was an all-out bloody war from beginning to end. It was a razor thin unanimous decision for Whittaker. He was the more accurate striker from the beginning, landing more combos and more kicks. Scott is a tough as nails mini British version of Forrest Griffin and I see him gaining some star power. Remember both of these guys’ names.

Possible matchups for Whittaker: This is a similar situation as Norman Parke; tons of potential but needs to be moved at the right pace. Dan Miller is coming off of a big 3^rd round submission win over Ricardo Funch and has always been a very tough outing for everyone. A fight between these two would be very fun and could show how much potential Whittaker truly holds.

Possible matchups for Scott: The British Forrest Griffin is an awesome fighter. He’s extremely skilled and he is tough-as-nails in every sense of the term. I really want to see him stick around for a while. I think the fight to keep Scott around would be a scrap with Brock Jardine.

Ross Pearson vs. George Sotiropoulos: There is no doubt as to who the better man is after tonight. From the moment that the first bell rang, Ross imposed his will over the Australian and dropped him on multiple occasions. George had his back for a minute or two at the end of the first round but that was really the only high point for George. Ross dropped him again early in the third round and finished off his rival in under a minute into the third.

Possible matchups for Pearson: Ross Pearson is undoubtedly better at lightweight than he is at featherweight. His striking is faster, his cardio is better, and he is mentally more together. Yves Edwards is coming off of a huge first round KO win over Jeremy Stephens and a fight between these two just spells barnburner.

Possible matchups for Sotiropoulos: At 35 years old and three losses in a row where he was KO’d in two and almost finished in the other, Sotiropoulos needs to start thinking about retirement. It’s a shame but it’s true. His technique is amazing but his chin is quickly, quickly deteriorating. Sam Stout is coming off of a huge upset decision loss to John Makdessi. This fight makes perfect sense at this point in their careers.

UFC on FX 6: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson Predictions

Dave’s Picks

Main Card

Ross Pearson vs. George Sotiropoulos: This should be a fun one. I think Pearson has the more technical standup and has more power but Sots has a much better ground game. In my opinion this whole fight boils down to Sots’ takedown ability. He has had trouble in the past getting guys down or at least not down soon enough.  However, I think Sots can avoid Pearson’s power and grind out a somewhat close decision. = Sotiropoulos by unanimous decision.

Brad Scott vs. Robert Whittaker: Scott seems like a well rounded and decent fighter but Whitaker seems like a killer and I see Whitaker coming out and ending this quick with a highlight reel KO. = Whitaker by KO in round 1. My Pick for KO of the Night!

Colin Fletcher vs. Norman Parke: This fight is a tough pick for me. I really think Fletcher’s ground game might be too much for Parke. Parke does have the wrestling ability to win this but he will have to be defending takedowns left and right. I just think the safest pick here is Fletcher grabbing on to a limb and ending it. = Fletcher by submission in round 2. My Pick for Submission of the Night!

Hector Lombard vs. Rousimar Palhares: I believe that Palhares in the world of BJJ is an beast but in MMA he is one of the most overrated fighters in the middleweight division. Don’t believe me? Look at who he was beaten recently. I think Lombard is smart enough and strong enough to avoid the submission attempts of Paul Harris. I see Lombard dictating the standup and staying out of trouble en route to a boring decision. = Lombard by unanimous decision.

Prelims

Chad Mendes vs. Yaotzin Meza = Mendes by unanimous decision.

Joey Beltran vs. Igor Pokrajac = Igor by unanimous decision. My Pick for Fight of the Night!

Seth Baczynski vs. Mike Pierce = Pierce by split decision.

Ben Alloway vs. Manuel Rodriguez = Rodriguez by submission in round 2.

Brendan Loughnane vs. Mike Wilkinson = Wilkinson by split decision.

Cody Donovan vs. Nick Penner: Penner by split decision.

Sam’s Picks

Main Card

Ross Pearson vs. George Sotiropoulos: These TUF coaches’ fights are really difficult to pick. Both of these guys are in a bit of a slump at the moment, but more so for George, who is coming off losses to Dennis Siver and a KO at the hands of Rafael dos Anjos. Pearson himself is coming off a TKO loss to Cub Swanson. It’s kind of a striker vs. grappler matchup but they’re both well rounded. Pearson’s striking is very technical and fast but Sotiropoulos’ ground game is extremely slick. It’s going to be a very close fight but I see a late submission win for the Aussie = Sotiropoulos via 4^th round submission (choke). My pick for SOTN! My 2^nd pick for FOTN!

Brad Scott vs. Robert Whittaker: Dave nailed this right in the head in my opinion. Scott is definitely a good fighter, but Whittaker’s blitzing attack will be too much. Remember Whittaker’s name, he has a very bright future = Whittaker via 1^st round KO. My pick for KOOTN!

Colin Fletcher vs. Norman Parke: This one is much tougher for me to pick than the other final. Parke is very strong and pretty well rounded but Fletcher is just the better fighter. Parke has good wrestling but he sticks his head in for a guillotine and that is Freakshow’s specialty = Fletcher via 1^st round guillotine choke.

Hector Lombard vs. Rousimar Palhares: This could be a fight between the two most overrated fighters in the UFC today. But Lombard may not be overrated. His all-around game is fantastic while Palhares is really just a one trick pony. Paul Harris also lacks toughness; you hit him with a solid punch and he turtles. Lombard will make up for his last fight with this one = Lombard via 1^st round TKO.

Prelims

Chad Mendes vs. Yaotzin Meza = Mendes via unanimous decision.

Joey Beltran vs. Igor Pokrajac = Igor via unanimous decision. My 1^st pick for FOTN!

Seth Baczynski vs. Mike Pierce = Pierce via split decision.

Ben Alloway vs. Manuel Rodriguez = Alloway via 3^rd round TKO.

Brendan Loughnane vs. Mike Wilkinson = Wilkinson via unanimous decision. My 3^rd pick for FOTN!

Cody Donovan vs. Nick Penner = Donovan via split decision.

UFC 149: Barao vs. Faber Main Card Recap

Renan Barao getting the belt

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.

Matt Riddle vs. Chris Clements: Before this fight, I wasn’t really a fan of Matt Riddle due to the fact that I thought that he was a guy that didn’t deserve to be in the UFC and his all around MMA game just wasn’t good. This fight shut me up. His boxing needs work but his kicks are great. His wrestling is great and the fight ending standing arm triangle was beautifully set up. I said at the end that he must have worked a lot on his BJJ and he said that he worked a lot with Robert Drysdale. It showed.

Possible matchups for Riddle: In one of the funniest rants that I have ever seen at a UFC post-fight press conference, Riddle called out Dan Hardy. Riddle recalled of a time that a Brit had spat directly in his mouth and wants to take revenge upon Dan Hardy, but doesn’t have anything against Dan Hardy himself. That fight would be good and if Riddle fights smart and tries to take it to the ground, he could actually win.

Possible fights for Clements: Clements is not a very good fighter. Plain and simple. His standup is sloppy and his ground game is very amateurish. Lance Benoist is also coming off a loss and they both have fought Matt Riddle, and even though Benoist won against Riddle, they both need rebound fights.

James Head vs. Brian Ebersole: This fight was just plain weird. It looked like Ebersole didn’t even care about the fight. His takedown attempts were just horrendous, and then they wouldn’t do anything. I thought Head definitely won the fight and that a split decision was ridiculous.

Possible matchups for Head: Head and Seth Baczynski are both looking for steps up in competition and if they fought, the winner would get just that.

Possible matchups for Ebersole: Ebersole clearly had no interest in this fight. His body looked drained and non muscular, which I’m guessing was from his cut down to 155 pounds. Mac Danzig is the type of fighter who is always right on the brink of title contention and loses a fight; a matchup with Danzig would be a tough first test for Ebersole at 155 pounds.

Cheick Kongo vs. Shawn Jordan: In my opinion, this was the worst fight of the night. It was punch then clinch. Punch, and then clinch for the whole 15 minutes, it was brutal. Kongo ended up winning but I did not care who won or lost.

Possible matchups for Kongo: Kongo is the ultimate gatekeeper. Brendan Schaub is still looking for an opponent for his next fight and it didn’t seem like Kongo took very much damage at all in this fight.

Possible matchups for Jordan: Jordan still has a lot of potential along with being one of the most athletic heavyweights in the UFC. Mike Russow just came off of a high profile loss and they both need big rebound fights.

Tim Boestch vs. Hector Lombard: This was the most disappointing fight on Saturday. We were all expecting big things in Lombard’s debut and he did not impress, to say the least. The fight was Lombard standing flatfooted while Boestch leg kicked and punched him. It was weird and I actually scored every round to “The Barbarian”.

Possible matchups for Boestch: Even though this fight was highly boring, Boestch still impressed me and moved himself into the top 5 of 185 pounds. He and Alan Belcher could face off in a potential number 1 contenders match.

Possible matchups for Lombard: In my last recap for UFC on Fuel 4, I said that Munoz should fight the loser of this fight. It’s really the only one that makes sense, including that Lombard called him out before this fight.

Renan Barao vs. Urijah Faber: Barao showed us all that he truly has the best chance at dethroning the bantamweight champion that is Dominick Cruz. Barao dominated this fight from the beginning with kicks, knees, and powerfully fast punches. Barao truly is amazing.

Possible matchups for Barao: If Barao isn’t planning on waiting for Cruz, the only fight that makes sense for him to defend his belt would be against Michael McDonald.

Possible matchups for Faber: Miguel Torres and Urijah Faber’s careers are starting to close in on them. This used to be the super fight that we all wanted very badly back in the WEC days. There is no better time than now. 

For prelim recap, click here.