UFC on Fuel 6: Franklin vs. Le Prelim Recap

Lineker and Urushitani slug it out. 

The UFC’s sixth event on Fuel TV and first to China came with mixed results, but was ultimately a success. It had several great fights, breakouts of future stars, and a spectacular knockout and comeback. It also showed us several fighters who don’t have what it takes to be in the UFC. Let’s see what these fights were and give them some matchups.

Riki Fukuda vs. Tom DeBlass: This was a surprisingly good fight. I was expecting this fight to be one of the more boring fights on this card, but both men really impressed me. From start to finish Fukuda won everywhere the fight went, but not without DeBlass having some memorable moments himself. Fukuda’s wrestling would ultimately overpower DeBlass’ BJJ. With a record of 0-2 within the UFC against lower-tier fighters, DeBlass will most likely receive a pink slip.

Possible matchups for Fukuda: Riki Fukuda is a legitimate fighter in the UFC, even though he only has a 2-2 record, which should really be 3-1. In his wins over both Steve Cantwell and Tom DeBlass, Fukuda has shown good wrestling and very technical kickboxing. He is definitely looking for stiffer competition, but I’m not sure he’s ready just yet. Another fighter in a similar position is Chris Camozzi. These two should fight to see who’s ready for some stiffer competition.

Yasuhiro Urushitani vs. John Lineker: This fight was awesome. I also believe it showed the breakout of a future star. Lineker showed superior power from the very beginning of this fight. The first round was very close and could have gone either way. In the closing minute, Lineker did drop Urushitani, which would become routine in the following rounds. Lineker would stalk down his opponent, eating shots, pushing forward, and delivering knockout blows. His technique was great and his power was very impressive. There was one combo that I remember that Lineker landed in the second round that seriously impressed me. He pushed Urushitani into the cage and unloaded on his body and head. The Japanese star has now lost twice definitively in the UFC and I foresee a pink slip.

Possible matchups for Lineker: Like I said in the last paragraph, I believe that Lineker will become a star within the UFC. With devastating standup and a great chin, he has a lot of the attributes for a future champion. The scary part is that he is only 22 years old. Urushitani was a top-10 or maybe even top-5 going into this fight and Lineker easily beat him. I was extremely impressed. Darren Uyenoyama is also coming off of a very impressive submission win over Phil Harris and I would love to see these two guys fight.

Alex Caceres vs. Motonobu Tezuka: This was a really fun grappling match with two very promising bantamweights. Tezuka clearly had the better wrestling, as he took down Caceres on multiple occasions, though it was Caceres who was the busier fighter on the ground, both on the top and bottom. Though I did score all three rounds in favor of Caceres, one could certainly make the case for two rounds in favor of Tezuka. Both guys impressed me, but Tezuka even more so. Even though he lost, it was extremely close and he took this fight on only about one week’s notice against a surging up and comer.

Possible matchups for Caceres: The standup of Caceres looked much improved in this fight. His jab was spot on and his kicks looked solid. I want to see his skills really tested against another fighter who won in China: Takeya Mizugaki. Caceres will certainly have his skills tested against a veteran like Mizugaki and it would show just how far he has come.

Possible matchups for Tezuka: I liked how Tezuka looked in this fight. He shows a lot of promise. But the fact of the matter is, he lost his debut so he is going to have to fight lower tier fighters. Dustin Pague has a 1-3 record within the UFC and this would be a fun loser goes home grappling match. 

Click here for the main card recap.

UFC on Fuel 6 Predictions

Sam’s Picks

Main Card

Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le: BARNBURNER ALERT: Man, oh man is this fight going to be awesome. Both these guys always put on fight of the night performances. Cung Le comes with a “Kung Fu” style while Franklin takes a simpler approach with very technical kickboxing. Le has not impressed me in the slightest since coming over to the UFC though. His loss to Wanderlei Silva was brutal and detrimental to his career and standings in the middleweight division rankings and his win over Cote was hardly impressive. It was a really close decision against someone who was making his return into the UFC after previously being released. Franklin, on the other hand, looked great in his last win over Wanderlei, despite nearly being knocked out in the second round. Franklin also has way better cardio, he almost never gasses while Le can gas after the second round. This is a five round fight. Franklin will find an opening and finish him = Franklin via 4th round TKO. My 1st pick for FOTN!

Thiago Silva vs. Stanislav Nedkov: I am very excited to see what Nedkov can do against a former title contender in Thiago Silva. Nedkov has dynamic striking that is very powerful and can be technical, but so is Silva’s. Nedkov also hasn’t fought since August of 2011, which is over a year. Silva fought back in April, which will make him the much fresher fighter. Silva is on another level than Nedkov, it is just too much too soon = Silva via unanimous decision. My 2nd pick for FOTN!

Dong Hyun Kim vs. Paulo Thiago: Both these guys were at one point considered to be title contenders, but now they are both battling to keep their jobs with the UFC, especially Paulo Thiago. He’s 1-3 in his last 4 and he’s coming off of an absolutely brutal knockout from the hands of Siyar Bahadurzada. Kim is coming off of a bizarre and quick TKO loss to Demian Maia that left many scratching their heads, but it turned out to be a body spasm. Thiago has a definite striking advantage while Kim has a slight grappling advantage. I think Thiago will take a close decision win = Thiago via split decision.

Mac Danzig vs. Takanori Gomi: I really like Danzig in this fight. Gomi has looked like absolute garbage since joining the UFC, which I hate to say. Danzig looked great in his last fight with Efrain Escudero, beating him everywhere that their fight went. Gomi’s only chance of winning this fight is with one punch and Danzig has a great chin, which is something that people don’t always talk about. Danzig will take down Gomi and will eventually work for a submission = Danzig via 3rd round submission (arm). My pick for SOTN!

Tiequan Zhang vs. Jon Tuck: Jon Tuck is a promising fighter with a solid all-around game and solid standup. Zhang isn’t good in any part of MMA except his guillotine. Tuck will easily win this as long as he doesn't get caught in a guillotine = Tuck via 3rd round KO. My pick for KOOTN!

Takeya Mizugaki vs. Jeff Hougland: Personally, this fight doesn't make any sense to me. Hougland is a one dimensional submission wrestler with horrible standup while Mizugaki is a really well rounded title contender. Even though they are both coming off of losses, Mizugaki's "loss" was a highly controversial decision to Chris Cariaso. Hougland on the other hand, is coming off of the wrong side of a beatdown from Yves Jabouin. Hougland is a tough guy, but Mizugaki will man handle him = Mizugaki via unanimous decision.

Prelims

Alex Caceres vs. Motonobu Tezuka = Caceres via 1st round submission. (Interview with Caceres here)

John Lineker vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani = Urushitani via 1st round submission. My 3rd pick for FOTN!

Tom DeBlass vs. Riki Fukuda = Fukuda via unanimous decision.

David Mitchell vs. Hyun Gyu Lim = Mitchell via split decision.

Dave’s Picks

Main Card

Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le: This is such a fun fight. This should definitely be a slugfest and I believe Franklin should win this. He is the better overall mixed martial artist. Le has looked old in his two fights in the UFC. I think Franklin’s chin is something to worry about but I see this fight going like Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva 2. Franklin might get rocked but he will keep it together and take the decision. I do believe that Franklin could finish the fight but he has been fighting very safe lately and I believe that will continue here. I got Franklin outpointing Le until the bell rings. = Franklin by unanimous decision.

Thiago Silva vs. Stanislav Nedkov: This fight will be a bloody war. Nedkov literally comes out wind-milling until he finds a chin. Silva is a much more precise and calculated striker, however, Silva can become sloppy when engaged in a crazy war. The way Nedkov wins is by landing a big overhand sloppy punch. Silva has more ways to win and should win the striking as long as he does not get sucked into a sloppy war. I see Silva outpointing Nedkov on the feet and maybe taking it to the ground and finishing him there; Silva’s ground and pound is awesome and BJJ top control is great as well. Nedkov better land that lucky punch early or he is in for a rough night. = Silva by TKO in round 2. My Pick for KO of the Night! My Pick for Fight of the Night!

Dong Hyun Kim vs. Paulo Thiago: Thiago has not had much success lately. He has looked flat and not technical. This fight could be a standup war because both are primarily grapplers or it could be an awesome ground battle. Kim is the stronger, faster and just a much better fighter than Thiago. I think Thiago might receive the pink slip after this one. = Kim by unanimous decision.

Mac Danzig vs. Takanori Gomi: Oh Gomi, I will miss you. Mac is not exactly an elite fighter but he is definitely better than Gomi  at this point. Gomi has become a shell of his former self. He puts his head out there and gets hit way too much and just throws inaccurate bombs. Mac has the better boxing and better ground game. No matter where this fight goes Mac should be winning it. I think Mac will start landing punches, Gomi will go for a takedown and eventually Mac will sub Gomi. = Danzig by submission in round 2.

Tiequan Zhang vs. Jon Tuck: If Tiequan Zhang was not born in China he would not be in the UFC at this moment. To put it plainly Zhang is not a good fighter. He seems like a nice guy but he is not UFC caliber. On the other side, I do not know much about Tuck except that he hasn’t fought in a year and before that, another 2 years. That makes me very nervous. However, Tuck does have an impressive KO win over the hyped Eduard Folayang, but that was back in 2009. This fight should not be on the main card. Lineker vs. Urushitani should be on here instead. But anyway, I can’t tell you much about this fight except as long as Tuck stays out of Zhang’s chokes, he should be fine. = Tuck by unanimous decision.

Jeff Hougland vs. Takeya Mizugaki: Mizugaki is a much better fighter in every area of MMA. I see Hougland trying to take this to the ground ASAP and getting KOd soon after. = Mizugaki by KO in round 2.

Prelims

Alex Caceres vs. Motonobu Tezuka: Caceres by 2^nd round submission. My Pick for Submission of the Night! (Interview with Caceres here)

John Lineker vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani = Lineker by split decision.

Tom DeBlass vs. Riki Fukuda = Fukuda via unanimous decision.

David Mitchell vs. Hyun Gyu Lim = Mitchell via split decision.

CR Exclusive Interview with Alex "Bruce Leeroy" Caceres

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

Bruce Leeroy is quite the character. Coming off of the 12^th season of TUF, Caceres lost his first two bouts to Mackens Semezier and Jimy Hettes. Many people believed that he would receive the pink slip, but luckily, the UFC still saw something behind that beautiful afro.

Caceres decided to drop down to 135 and was going to debut against the former featherweight WEC champion, Cole Escovedo. Bruce Leeroy was a huge underdog heading into that fight, and rightly so, or so it seemed. Caceres dominated that fight from the beginning with superior standup and ground game.

It showed that the UFC was right in keeping him around, so his next fight was against Edwin Figueroa in quite possibly, the weirdest fight in modern MMA. Caceres kicked him in the groin twice and was deducted two points. Yes, two points. It seemed harsh and it clearly cost him the fight.

He lost a split decision that was highly controversial. But he came back with a strong performance over Damacio Page, in another fight that he was a hefty underdog in, with a 2^nd round triangle over “The angel of death”.

He’s riding his momentum into his next fight with newcomer Kyung Ho Kang in the first ever UFC event in China at UFC on Fuel 6. He sat down with us for an interview on this fight. Check it out:

Championship Rounds: So your next fight is against newcomer Kyung Ho Kang at UFC on Fuel 6. Talk about this fight. What’s the plan for training camp?

Alex Caceres: Well, first I am very excited for this upcoming bout against Kyung Ho Kang. He's a strong opponent and will be an excellent test for my ever-increasing knowledge in the octagon. On the fight itself, I plan to train upon all the aspects of martial arts.

CR: How do you believe fighting in China will affect your overall performance?

AC: Bruce Leeroy, china!  Do I have to say more?

CR: In your last fight with Damacio Page, your ground game looked extremely slick and on point. Were you surprised at all that Page tried to take you down so many times?

AC: In a way, I was. I mean, when you watch his fights he's striking most of the time. But it had become apparent that taking me down became his game-plan when he could not find his range and timing in our bout.

CR: Go back to UFC 143 with your fight with Edwin Figueroa. That was one of the more bizarre fights that I have ever seen in modern day MMA. How do you think the judges could have scored it for Figueroa?

AC: Eh, it is what it is…

CR: Talk about your experience on The Ultimate Fighter. What was it like being on GSP’s team and what did it change about you?

AC: Well, I developed an extremely convincing French accent [laughs]. But with all playfulness aside, my experience in the TUF house has set in motion a series of events that will very well hopefully carry me to a higher plain of consciousness.

CR: You seem to be becoming a much better fighter following each performance. What have you been doing differently to round out your all around game?

AC: Video games, lots and lots of video games. All types, I look upon them with an impartial eye...

Thanks again to Mr. Caceres! Make sure you guys go follow him on Twitter @BruceLeeroyGlow and support him in his fight on the 10^th of November.

Don't Look Past These Guys: UFC Dark Horses

As the UFC continues to add to their already dense roster, there are a lot of mid-tier fighters that are being overlooked and not being given the respect they deserve. Every division has several dark horse title contenders and several constant underdogs.

These guys are starting to prove to us that they aren’t who we really think they are, but actually a force to be reckoned with. I have personally chosen my dark horse title contenders in who I believe will be challenging for the title as everyone else overlooks them.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

Heavyweight: Stefan Struve -  “Skyscraper” is really starting to find his grove in the MMA world. After his KO loss to Travis Browne at UFC 130, people started to write him off as a wasted talent.  People knew he had an immense amount of potential, but we never saw it come into fruition, until now. 

After his loss to Browne, he decided he is now going to fight smart. Fight IQ has been his biggest opponent since his UFC debut against Junior dos Santos. With extremely slick BJJ and technical striking, Struve has what it takes to be a future champion, but his chin has been saying otherwise.

Now riding a 3 fight win streak against Pat Barry, Dave Herman, and Lavar Johnson, he’s looking for a rematch with the champ but he’ll have to get through top heavyweight prospect in Stipe Miocic.

Photo via MMAWeekly.com

Light Heavyweight: James Te Huna – This New Zealand born knockout artist has been making statement after statement in the UFC. With a record of 4-1 under the UFC banner, with his only loss to title contender Alexander Gustafsson, he is riding a 3 fight win streak with wins over Ricardo Romero, Aaron Rosa, and a fight of the year candidate against Joey Beltran, including a TKO win over Igor Pokrajac in his UFC debut.

Not a lot of people are talking about Te Huna and the title picture, but that time is certainly coming sooner, rather than later.

With immense KO power in his hands that also hold technical prowess, Te Huna may be the next guy to beat at 205, and I see a top-10 opponent in his next fight.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

Middleweight: Francis Carmont – Training out of a place like Tristar gym can get you immediate attention, especially when you’re an up and comer, but there is one man that is starting to hog the spotlight from the other up and comers. His name is Francis “Limitless” Carmont and this 30-year-old Frenchman is really starting to turn some heads, and showing that his nickname is rather apt.

Although his standup is not technically sound, but rather powerful, his ground game is his bread and butter. With 19 professional wins with 10 by submission, he is the type of fighter where you want to avoid his ground game.

After coming off a spectacular submission win over Karlos Vemola, who is a Czech national wrestling champion, Carmont is looking to take a step up in competition against the charismatic, Tom Lawlor. If he passes, he could be looking at a top-15 or even top-10 opponent.

Photo via MMA Sun

 Welterweight: John Hathaway – At only 25 years old, Hathaway has a ton of time to improve his all around game, which is quite scary considering he has already beaten Diego Sanchez (who was coming off of a title shot), Rick Story, and Paul Taylor. His only loss is to Mike Pyle, who absolutely dominated the fight, but that is simply a learning experience for the young Hathaway.

Following his two lackluster bouts with Pyle and Kris McCray, Hathaway made a strong comeback against submission specialist, Pascal Krauss as UFC on Fox 3.

This young man has an insane amount of potential and it has yet to be tapped into, perhaps we will see it against John Maguire on September 29^th.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

Lightweight: Tim Means – This one might come as a surprise to many. Tim Means has only had two fights in the UFC and against relative unknowns in Justin Salas and Bernardo Magalhaes. But, don’t be mistaken, Tim Means is immensely talented. His standup is insanely accurate and his takedown defense is great. His finishing ability is also fantastic as he has 13 (T)KO, 3 submission, and only 2 decision wins. His crazy reach and height can’t hurt either and Tim Means is continuing to make a name.

Although his next fight is against UFC debutant, and relative unknown, Abel Trujillo, Tim Means deserves recognition and with a win over Trujillo, he may finally receive some.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

Featherweight: Antonio Carvalho – Going into UFC 149, Carvalho was expected to be rather easily disposed of by Daniel Pineda. It didn’t exactly go that way. Carvalho blitzed Pineda and knocked him out with a beautiful head kick followed by a barrage of punches in only 71 seconds. Although this only makes him 1-1 in the UFC, this win showed that he clearly had a bad case of the UFC jitters heading into his fight with Felipe Arantes.For a guy who is known for his ground game, Carvalho’s standup looked pretty fantastic against Pineda. 

Believe it or not, Carvalho actually has a win over Hatsu Hioki back in 2007. Even though it was only a split decision, a win is a win and that win is huge. If Antonio Carvalho can continue to look as good as he did against Pineda, we are looking at a potential champion at 145.

Photo via MMAWeekly.com

Bantamweight: Alex Caceres – Alex Caceres, or otherwise known as Bruce Leeroy, has looked great since his drop down to 135. After losing his first two bouts to Mackens Semerzier and Jimy Hettes in the UFC, he decided it was time for another drop. And it’s done wonders.

He won his bantamweight debut against former WEC featherweight champion in Cole Escovedo, and he won dominantly. He ended up losing his next fight to Edwin Figueroa, but it was highly controversial and it was a bizarre fight overall. He ended up easily submitting former WEC star, Damacio Page, in the second round with a triangle choke. With his extremely well rounded MMA game, Alex Caceres is one of the most underrated fighters in the UFC today.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

Flyweight: Chris Cariaso – Cariaso is another one of those fighters that simply hasn’t received enough praise. The guy is a very good fighter. His ground game is strong and his standup is underrated. With wins over Takeya Mizugaki, Vaughan Lee, Will Campuzano, Josh Ferguson, and a very close fight with a top-5 bantamweight in Michael McDonald, Cariaso is for real.

I think his fight with McDonald truly speaks to his skill. That fight was extremely close throughout the fight and Cariaso had a huge disadvantage in the size category, giving up 5 inches in height. He stayed in there with McDonald and actually won some of the standup.

After his successful 125 pound debut against Josh Ferguson, Cariaso is just one win away from a title shot. He has what it takes to really give any 125er a run for their money.

UFC on Fuel TV 4 Prelim Recap

Andrew Craig's crazy comeback headkick.
Photo by SporTV.com

Overall, this was a very good night of fights.  We got to see a potential dethroner of Anderson Silva’s long reign show why he is being considered the next big thing in MMA, with his win. We also got to see a potential Fight of the Year and several other rising prospects show that they are ready for a step up in competition. Only two fights were not entertaining, that’s a rarity that there were only two. Anyway, into the recap!

Raphael Assuncao vs. Issei Tamura: Assuncao seems to have really rejuvenated his career at 135. So far, he has looked fantastic in his last two performances at bantamweight, following his KO loss at the hands of Erik Koch. He won this fight with a relentless TKO win over rising prospect in Issei Tamura. Assuncao controlled the fight from the very start and finished it early in the second round.

Possible matchups for Assuncao: Following this impressive victory, Assuncao is ready for a bigger test if he plans on making a title run at 135. Yves Jabouin and him had a very close fight back in October of 2009; in which Assuncao won a razor thin split decision over Jabouin. Yves looked fantastic in his last bout with Jeff Hougland, making for this rematch to be interesting. The winner deserves a top-15 or top-10 opponent.

Possible matchups for Tamura: Tamura was anything but impressive in his TKO loss to Assuncao. John Albert has lost his last two, despite the second being highly controversial, and a fight between these two could prove to be a loser goes home bout.

Marcelo Guimaraes vs. Dan Stittgen: This was one of the two fights mentioned above that did not perform. There were times where I was actually getting angry with myself for watching the fight. They were constantly stalling in the standup, with some of the worst standup I have ever seen, and doing nothing on the ground. Guimaraes eventually took the split decision in a fight that will do no good for either’s careers.

Possible matchups for Guimaraes: I thought that this would be one of the only times that both fighters should be cut for their performances in the Zuffa-era of the UFC (the only other I can think of is Maiquel Falcao vs. Gerald Harris). Him and Papy Abedi should face off in a loser goes home match; I have no interest in either of them.

Andrew Craig vs. Rafael Natal: Andrew Craig has a ton of heart, which was shown in his two UFC fights so far. He was being thoroughly dominated by Rafael Natal. The second round was looking to be a 10-8 and I was looking to be 3-0 in my predictions, but Craig put those to rest with a head kick. It landed flush and Natal went OUT.

Possible matchups for Andrew Craig: Craig is a hard fighter to find matchups for. He doesn’t look good but figures out a way to win. The guy is not ready for upper echelon but he should fight the winner of Jared Hamman-Michael Kuiper to decide where he goes in the middleweight division.

Possible matchups for Rafael Natal: One kick can end your night, no matter how impressive your performance. Natal lived that statement in this fight. Natal has not impressed me in his 2-2-1 stint in the UFC so far. His wins over Kuiper and Paul Bradley did not impress me in the slightest. Both him and Karlos Vemola had losses on this card so a rebound fight between them makes sense.

Chris Cariaso vs. Josh Ferguson: The flyweights still haven’t had a boring fight in the UFC. They have all been crazy brawls and insanely entertaining. Cariaso and Ferguson continued that streak as Cariaso outworked his way to a unanimous decision victory over the tenacious Josh Ferguson, who I presume will be cut after an 0-2 stint in the octagon.

Possible matchups for Cariaso: That is now 3 in a row for Cariaso, making him 4-1 in the UFC and 5-2 under Zuffa. Despite the fact that his wins over Mizugaki and Vaughan Lee are highly disputed, especially Mizugaki, a win is a win and Cariaso is slowly, but surely, working his way up to a title shot. With the flyweight division so thin, UFC executives are scrambling for title contenders. Cariaso should fight Louis Gaudinot next and whomever wins that fight, should move up to a number one contenders bout.

Alex Caceres vs. Damacio Page: Bruce Leroy has found his home all the way down at 135 pounds. After being very hyped following TUF, he lost two fights in-a-row making me believe that he would receive the pink slip, but ended up dominating former WEC bantamweight champ in Cole Escovedo. He would then lose one of the weirdest decisions that I have ever seen to Edwin Figueroa, a fight in which was highly controversial. Tonight, Caceres had the clear submission advantage as he continually went for submissions against Page once the fight hit the mat, eventually securing a slick triangle in the second round and earning him SOTN honors.

Possible matchups for Alex Caceres: While I was on Twitter, I noticed that Walel Watson had called out Caceres saying that their fight would be awesome. I agree, I believe that could very well be a fight of the night and a tough test for both young fighters.

For the Main Card Recap Click Here