UFC on Fuel TV 5 Main Card Recap

Stefan Struve finishing Stipe Miocic

The UFC continues to deliver on their smallest scale of fight nights on the obscure Fuel TV. This event had brutal knockouts, slick submissions, big upsets, and the emergence of some extremely promising fighters. Fuel TV continues to deliver exciting UFC events, which is sad because no one is really watching these fights. Anyway, let’s head into this event and look at some possible matchups for winners and losers of this event.

Che Mills vs. Duane Ludwig: This fight was rather confusing. I thought it would be an awesome standup war, but Mills instantly went in for a takedown. He softened Ludwig up a little bit with some ground and pound but Duane got up soon after that. Then, all of a sudden, Duane fell to the ground waving off the fight. Apparently his knee gave out. Honestly, this is the perfect sign that Duane should retire. I love the guy but his time in this sport is done.

Possible matchups for Mills: Despite this weird "win", Mills is still a very promising fighter with a well rounded MMA game. Another fighter who is very exciting and looked great on Saturday was Dan Hardy. A fight between these two guys would fun and would show how far Mills can go in his UFC career.

John Hathaway vs. John Maguire: Horrible is the only word to sum up this fight. It was like watching a sparring match between two aspiring MMA fighters. Hathaway took a decision and we all went "meh".

Possible matchups for Maguire: Despite this boring and embarrassing loss, Maguire is still one of the most promising welterweights in the UFC. He needs a rebound fight but if you want to stay promising, fight another prospect. Kyle Noke is coming off of a huge TKO win over Charlie Brenneman that instantly made him one of the most promising 170ers in the UFC. This could be a fun grappling match.

Paul Sass vs. Matt Wiman: Paul Sass came into this fight as one of the biggest prospects in MMA today. There was a monster hype train that was submitting people left and right with triangles and heel hooks. He came into this fight as a favorite to win and was fighting one of the most underrated fighters in MMA today, Matt Wiman. We at CR were very confident that Wiman would win this fight, and win dominantly. But we had no idea that it was really going to go the way it did. No one expected Wiman to win this fight by way of submission. He further proved why he is so under appreciated. The first round armbar was beautiful.

Possible matchups for Wiman: With this fight, Wiman has finally cemented himself as a top guy at 155 pounds. Even though it may not be a fight he would want, another undefeated fighter that holds unlimited potential is Khabib Nurmagomedov. Khabib is coming off of a really close decision win over Gleison Tibau that made him a top-20 lightweight himself. The winner of this fight should most likely face a top-10 guy afterwards.

Possible matchups for Sass: Despite this loss, Paul Sass is still one of the most promising fighters in the UFC. If he wants to continue to seem like he has the future we all want him to have, then he needs to fight another good fighter. Jamie Varner is coming off of a triangle loss in one of the best fights this year and I'm sure Sass saw a lot of opportunities for some triangles himself. Jamie Varner would be a huge test for him and if Sass could win, that would be a huge feather in his cap as Varner has a lot of name value.

Brad Pickett vs. Yves Jabouin: Everyone expected this fight to be one of the best on the card, and it delivered exactly what we expected, plus a little extra. Jabouin was looking solid in the beginning of the fight, getting the better of the favorite to win, Brad Pickett. I was starting to become really impressed with how well Yves was utilizing his unorthodox striking to get the better of the Brit. But then, out of nowhere, Pickett lands a monstrous uppercut that put Jabouin out cold. Brad Pickett finally lived up to his nickname of "One Punch".

Possible matchups for Pickett: With this huge win, Pickett should be put in a number one contenders match. Michael McDonald is most likely still healing his broken hand, but once it heals, those two should fight in what could very possibly be one of the best fights of the year.

Possible matchups for Jabouin: Yves was looking awesome up until he got caught with a monstrous uppercut. I think he should still fight a good fighter, like Takeya Mizugaki. Mizugaki is fighting Jeff Hougland next, and win or lose, he should fight Jabouin in what would also be an awesome fight.

Dan Hardy vs. Amir Sadollah: This fight wasn't exactly the fight that we hoped it would be, but it did have one pleasant surprise, it showed a new and improved version of Dan Hardy. I felt that Hardy would have the advantage on the feet and Amir would have the advantage on the ground, but it was quite the opposite. Amir was winning that standup, so Dan took it to the ground almost every round. Weird, right? Dan looked great on the ground and I look forward to how he is going to use his new arsenal in the future.

Possible matchups for Amir: After two very lackluster performances in a row, Amir is starting to lose my interest. If he wants to continue to show everyone why he was a TUF winner, then he needs to beat someone with at least a little name value. Pascal Krauss is coming off of a decision loss to John Hathaway and needs a rebound win.

Stefan Struve vs. Stipe Miocic: So many people were doubting Struve in this fight. Everyone was saying that Stipe would knock out Struve and become a top guy in the heavyweight division. But Dave and I felt that Struve would be the more composed fighter and wouldn’t wilt under pressure. We felt that he would submit him. Although we were partially right, we were also partially wrong. Stipe won the first round but Struve came out strong in the second. He started to catch Miocic with some solid jabs and straights that wobbled Stipe badly. Struve followed that up with some nasty uppercuts and the fight was finally stopped. Struve is now undeniably a top-10 heavyweight.

Possible matchups for Struve: With this win, Struve is possibly just one or two wins away from a title shot. He called out Fabricio Werdum after this win, and I love that fight. That would be a great number one contenders match.

Possible matchups for Miocic: Stipe is still one of the most promising heavyweights in the UFC. He has crazy athleticism that is unmatched by most other heavyweights. One other fighter that is also coming off of a loss who is also both promising and extremely athletic is Shawn Jordan. This would be a great fight.

Prelim recap here.

UFC on Fuel 5 Predictions

Sam’s Picks

Main Card

Stefan Struve vs. Stipe Miocic: The betting lines for this fight are really surprising me. Everyone is thinking that Miocic is going to absolutely destroy Struve and basically knock him out in the first round. I really don't see that happening. Struve, as I said before (Dark Horse article here), is one of the most underrated fighters in the UFC. Because he has lost a few fights by KO, people are instantly saying he has a horrible chin. Although he doesn't have a good chin, it isn't as bad as people make it out to be. Now, Miocic is amazingly well rounded. Being a well established collegiate wrestler and a gold gloves boxing champion. That's impressive to say the least. But Struve has been fighting extremely smart as of late, bringing it to the ground when he needs to, which is clearly his strong suit. One huge weakness that I have seen in Miocic is his conditioning; it's subpar. In the Joey Beltran fight, he started to drastically slow down in the later rounds. If he does that, Struve will take him down and submit him. But I even see Struve doing that earlier, rather than later = Struve via 2nd round submission (armbar). My pick for SOTN!

Dan Hardy vs. Amir Sadollah: Dan Hardy finally gets to fight in front of his hometown of Nottingham, England. I'm looking forward to this fight more than I thought I would. Dan Hardy looked awesome in his last fight in his vicious KO win over Duane Ludwig. And Amir Sadollah looked horrible in his last fight with Jorge Lopez. Dan should easily win this fight = Hardy via 1st round TKO.

John Hathaway vs. John Maguire: This is an interesting fight to me. Two young, promising British welterweights looking to establish themselves as title contenders. Hathaway has a clear advantage in the standup, but Maguire has a slight advantage in the ground game, specifically with submissions. Maguire has sweet submissions but Hathaway has a solid top game. This is pretty hard to pick but I'm going with what makes more sense = Hathaway via unanimous decision.

Brad Pickett vs. Yves Jabouin: BARNBURNER ALERT - Before I start talking about this fight itself, I just want to say that I love the way that Pickett fights. He puts everything on the line every time he goes out there. He seems to always be in the FOTN every time he's out there. Anyway, I think this is a very easy fight to pick. Jabouin may have a slight advantage in the technical aspect of striking but everywhere else, Pickett has the advantage. Especially in the submissions = Picket via 3rd round submission (guillotine). My 1st pick for FOTN!

Paul Sass vs. Matt Wiman: I am really looking forward to what Paul Sass can do in the future. He has looked unstoppable since being signed to the UFC. I'm also a fan of people who pull guard, and finish the fight. But Matt Wiman may be way too big of a step up. Wiman is a legitimate title contender and Sass' biggest win has been over Jacob Volkmann, who isn't anywhere near Wiman's level. I see Wiman winning everywhere the fight goes = Wiman via unanimous decision.

Che Mills vs. Duane Ludwig: Mills is one of the most promising welterweights in the UFC. He holds some insane power. I mean, like crazy power. That is what is going to win him the fight. I love Ludwig, but his career is starting to close in on him fast = Mills via 1st round KO. My pick for KOOTN!

Prelims

Kyle Kingsbury vs. Jimi Manuwa = Manuwa via 1st round TKO.

Andy Ogle vs. Akira Corassani = Ogle via 3rd round submission (RNC). My 3rd pick for FOTN! (Interview here)

Tom Watson vs. Brad Tavares = Watson via unanimous decision. My 2nd pick for FOTN!

DaMarques Johnson vs. Gunnar Nelson = Nelson via 1st round submission (arm).

Robbie Peralta vs. Jason Young = Young via split decision.

Dave’s Picks

Main Card

Stefan Struve vs. Stipe Miocic: Oh man I can’t wait for this one. Struve has never had a boring fight and Stipe is a bruiser. Everyone knows I am a huge Struve fan and when he fights smart and puts all of his tools together, he can beat anyone in the world. He is still super young and his height and reach advantage are huge. Stipe is also another very exciting young fighter with decent wrestling and striking power. I see Struve playing it smart and trying to keep his distance using his sizable reach advantage and eventually taking it to the ground and finishing Stipe. = Struve by submission in round 2. My Pick for Submission of the Night!

Dan Hardy vs. Amir Sadollah: Hardy is coming off of a huge, and much needed, win and is fighting at home for the first time in years. Sadollah has never impressed me at all for one second. He is super funny and I like reading his tweets but Hardy is going to hand him his pink slip. = Hardy by TKO in round 2. My Pick for KO of the Night!

John Hathaway vs. John Maguire: This fight will show us a lot about their futures in the UFC. Both of them are talented young guys with the possibility of doing some big things. I think this one will be a stinker though. I see Hathaway controlling a long boring fight and ending up with the W. = Hathaway by unanimous decision.

Brad Pickett vs. Yves Jabouin: Awesome fight! This fight will be sick and filled with tons of striking. I think Pickett will out-point Jabouin and maybe even finish him after landing a huge combo. Look for this one to set Pickett up for another huge contender match. = Pickett by unanimous decision. My Pick for Fight of the Night!

Paul Sass vs. Matt Wiman: I agree with Sam that Sass is great but not ready for Wiman. If Wiman fights smart and safe he will easily win this one. However, if Sass wins, especially by submission, he will be ready for the big names. This fight should be fun. = Wiman by unanimous decision.

Che Mills vs. Duane Ludwig: Che Mills hits with a ton of force and Ludwig’s chin is gone. I’m a huge “Bang” fan but Mills is going to light him up. = Mills by KO in round 1.

Prelims

Kyle Kingsbury vs. Jimi Manuwa = Manuwa by TKO in round 3.

Andy Ogle vs. Akira Corassani = Ogle by unanimous decision. (Interview here)

Tom Watson vs. Brad Tavares = Watson by split decision.

DaMarques Johnson vs. Gunnar Nelson = Nelson by split decision.

Robbie Peralta vs. Jason Young = Peralta by unanimous decision.

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.