UFC 155: Dos Santos vs. Velasquez Prelim Recap

Chris Cariaso vs. John Moraga: In a division as shallow as the flyweight division, two finishes in a row is mighty impressive. John Moraga has now won two fights in a row, one by knockout and one by submission. The first two rounds of this fight were a bit slow, more of a feeling out process than anything. Cariaso was throwing a lot of left head kicks and Moraga would try to counter it. That is really the story of the first two rounds. But Moraga came into the third with some urgency. Cariaso clinched and jumped into a modified guillotine. Moraga finished him shortly thereafter.

Possible matchups for Moraga: This huge win now puts Moraga at least one win away from a title shot. Ian McCall and Joseph Benavidez are fighting at UFC 156 and the winner of that should fight Moraga in a number one contender bout.

Possible matchups for Cariaso: Cariaso was looking good up until he got caught in the guillotine. I would like to see him fight the winner of Phil Harris and Ulysses Gomez. All three of these guys are very talented but Harris vs. Gomez is a potential loser goes home bout.

Max Holloway vs. Leonard Garcia: This fight was…well… a Leonard Garcia fight. He was overly aggressive while being countered down the middle. He did fight with a lot more technique though, as he used a lot more head movement and more straight punches than usual. Holloway proved to be the more technical and out countered him throughout. Many people are saying that Garcia got robbed but you have to look at it this way: the first could have gone either way, the second was much of the same but everyone is leaning towards Garcia, and Holloway won the third. In other words, it could have gone either way, therefore it wasn’t a robbery. But robbery or not, Leonard Garcia is going to be released from the UFC.

Possible matchups for Holloway: Though this is a win over a pretty big name in Leonard Garcia for Max Holloway, it’s kind of a setback to be totally honest. He was a big favorite heading in but almost lost against a guy whose striking is far inferior to his in many ways. I don’t think Holloway is just yet ready for a step up so I would like to see him fight another up and comer. That fighter is Rony Jason, who is coming off of his TKO win over Sam Sicilia.

Phil de Fries vs. Todd Duffee: This fight went much like I envisioned: Duffee being aggressive and getting the finish early. He clipped Phil early but ended up being takedown and nearly finished. De Fries had him against the cage and was landing several very solid shots to the temple, but right after that, Duffee finished him off quick. There is no doubt that Duffee has a lot of power.

Possible matchups for Duffee: This now makes Duffee 2-1 in the UFC and right back on track. I have a feeling that he is going to be put on the fast track towards a title shot by the UFC. His knockout power and entertaining fighting style can make him a star in the mainstream spotlight. Pat Barry is another fighter that has similar fighting style: extremely powerful and entertaining. And he just happens to be coming off of a KO of the year candidate over Shane Del Rosario.

Possible matchups for De Fries: Though this loss only makes de Fries 2-2 in the UFC, his two losses are both via early KO losses. He should be put in a loser goes home bout next with the loser of Shawn Jordan vs. Mike Russow.

Michael Johnson vs. Myles Jury: Right from the start, this fight was Myles Jury. Many people went in thinking that this fight was going to be a mismatch, including myself. Jury was just the better fighter. He controlled him everywhere the fight went, especially on the ground; getting takedowns and battering him with ground and pound. That’s what I envisioned Michael Johnson doing. Going into this fight, Johnson was considered to be a future title contender and many now believe that Jury took his position.

Possible matchups for Jury: With this huge win over Johnson, this launches Jury up the rankings. I was calling for a big name for Johnson but instead he got owned by lesser known prospect in Jury. Mac Danzig is coming off of a very close decision loss to Takanori Gomi, so I think he should fight Jury for either a rebound fight for Danzig or a big stepping stone for Jury.

Possible matchups for Johnson: This was a devastating loss for the Blackzilian product. It will certainly push him down the ladder quite a bit. I’d like to see him fight guy for a rebound like Fabricio Camoes, who is coming off of a decision loss to Melvin Guillard.

Jamie Varner vs. Melvin Gulliard: This fight was exactly as many expected: a barnburner from beginning to end with a great scrambles on the ground. Guillard opened the fight with a bunch of very solid legkicks but Varner ended up countering them with a nasty combo that almost knocked Guillard out. Varner ended up fighting smarter in the second round though, as he began to wrestle with Melvin, who is known to have a very poor ground game. It was a back and forth second round but Varner took it to the ground again. In the third round, Varner fought smart again and out-grappled Guillard. At one point, Varner did a reversed atomic bomb right on Guillard’s head. Yeah, it’s a tad hard to describe in words. It was a generally easy 30-27 for Varner and one of the judges gave it 30-27 to Guillard… Anyway, on to the matchups.

Possible matchups for Varner: This was an absolutely huge win for Varner. Guillard has a lot of name value so I want Varner to fight a top-10 or top-15 opponent again. I would like to see him fight the loser between Cerrone and Pettis. Cerrone and he have a huge rivalry that goes way back to 2009 at WEC 38. And Pettis vs. Varner would be an instant Fight of the Night.

Possible matchups for Guillard: It’s a shame that Guillard may never actually reach the greatness in which we all thought he could one day reach. I would like to see him fight another guy who is coming off of a decision loss like Mark Bocek. It could go either way with a KO from Guillard or a submission from Bocek.

Erik Perez vs. Byron Bloodworth: Did anyone expect any different? Perez came right out and landed shots, pushing Bloodworth against the cage. After landing a nasty knee to the body and dropping Bloodworth, Perez swarmed and finished him soon after. This makes Bloodworth 0-2 with two TKO losses in the UFC. He’s not UFC quality.

Possible matchups for Perez: There were reasons as to why Perez was so hyped going into his fight and he showed it in his win over Bloodworth. I would like to see him fight the winner between Francisco Rivera and Edwin Figueroa. The winner would deserve a top-10 opponent.

Brad Pickett vs. Eddie Wineland: From beginning to end, Eddie Wineland put on a striking clinic over Brad Pickett, and I have to admit, I was quite surprised. Wineland was just countering and landing with right hands the whole fight, battering Pickett’s face. He looked fantastic, much like his last win over Scotty Jorgensen.

Possible matchups for Wineland: Heading into this bout, there were very big title implications. Wineland dominated this fight so I would like to see him fight the winner of Renan Barao and Michael McDonald. With the technique and power that he brings to the table, he will be a handful for either fighter.

Possible matchups for Pickett: Poor Brad Pickett. He gets to a number one contender match, and loses. This has happened at least two or three times to him now. If he wants to make it back into contention, he should fight Mike Easton. A win over Easton could send him right back into contention.

UFC on FX 5: Browne vs. Silva Prelim Recap

The UFC delivers again. This event was yet another fantastic card on their small scale that introduced promising fighters, new title contenders, and hometown favorites prevailing in victory. Let's take a look at some of those bouts and some possible matchups for both the winners and losers

Darren Uyenoyama vs. Phil Harris: Both fighters impressed me in this fight. I thought it was going to be a striker vs. grappler match, but it was really a mixed martial artist against mixed martial artist. Harris took down Uyenoyama early, but they got up quickly and Darren threw some sort of flying spinning somersault kick. Yea, it was just as crazy looking as it sounds. The first round was closely contested but the second was another story. Uyenoyama took down Harris and got his back in an absolutely beautiful transition. He then soon after got the rear naked choke for the highlight reel submission.

Possible matchups for Uyenoyama: Darren Uyenoyama has now become a top guy in the UFC’s flyweight division with this finish over Harris. He has both unorthodox standup and a brilliant ground game. His original opponent for this fight was Louis Gaudinot and this fight still makes sense as they are both 1-0 at flyweight in the UFC with second round submissions. Who ever wins that fight should then fight in a number one contenders match.

Possible matchups for Harris: Despite being finished in his UFC debut, Harris is still a fighter with a lot of promise. Another fighter who lost his UFC debut was Ulysses Gomez. Because they are both 0-1, they should fight for a possible loser goes home, but hopefully not, fight.

Bart Palaszewski vs. Diego Nunes: This fight was bound to produce fireworks and it did, plus a little extra. Diego Nunes is typically the type of technical striker that picks his shots and strikes when he sees the opportunity. In this fight, he blitzed Bart from the opening bell. No one has ever seen Diego fight so aggressively, and I got to say, I really like it. He caught Bart on multiple occasions and almost finished him in the first and at the end of the fight. He even landed one of the most solid spinning back-fists to not knock someone out. If Diego can work on his cardio and continue to do what he did on Saturday, he will quickly become a top contender.

Possible matchups for Nunes: Like I just said, Nunes can become a title contender very quickly if he continues to do exactly what he did the other night. Now that he is a contender, he needs to fight some contenders. Hatsu Hioki is coming off of a huge loss to Ricardo Lamas and because he is still a top guy at 145, he will continue to fight top guys. With Diego Nunes looking to become a top guy and Hioki looking to reestablish himself as a top contender, this fight would be fantastic.

Possible matchups for Palaszewski: This has now been two losses in a row for "Bartimus" and his third of his last four. That isn’t great but he is still one of the better fighters at featherweight. Mike Brown is a former champion at 145 and is looking to go back into title contention. Now that he has wins over both Daniel Pineda and Nam Phan, he needs to take a step up in competition if he wants to get there. Bart Palaszewski is that step up.

Jacob Volkmann vs. Shane Roller: Volkmann finally got hat first finish under the UFC banner and better yet, he did it in front of his hometown in Minneapolis. Volkmann ran out and put his hands on Roller as quickly as possible. He got the takedown and Roller’s back in the process. The rear naked choke attempt followed soon after but Roller was not giving his neck up, but Volkmann didn't care, he decided to crush his jaw instead. Volkmann really impressed me in this fight. And with this loss, Roller has now lost 4 of his 5 fights. That is simply not UFC caliber. He has now even decided to retire.

Possible matchups for Volkmann: The man named "Christmas" is surprisingly a force at 155 pounds. He doesn't look menacing. Actually, he’s quite unassuming. But he has some solid grappling that can put any lightweight fighter on their back. I'm sure he wants another step up in competition and a fighter that was screwed out of a fight on Saturday was Thiago Tavares. This would be a fun grappling match.

Marcus LeVesseur vs. Carlo Prater: There is always that one fight you wish you could un-see at every UFC event. This was that one fight. And let me tell you, it was awful. For two guys who's jobs were on the line, you would expect a spirited affair. But this fight was packed with sloppy takedowns and guillotine attempts. That was it. The outcome was very questionable and no one cared. Prater is basically 0-3 in the UFC. He's gone.

Possible matchups for LeVesseur: Marcus could very well be 0-2 in the UFC so I don't think he deserves any step up and should be put right into a loser goes home fight. CJ Keith is coming off of a first round TKO loss to Ramsey Nijem after missing weight. I thought he would have been released but since he's still in the UFC, these two should square off.

Mike Pierce vs. Aaron Simpson: This fight was shockingly good. The UFC had it as the first fight originally for a reason. They have both had very boring fights in their last two performances. This fight was anything but. Midway through the first round, Simpson caught Pierce and almost finished him with some ground and pound and a submission. Simpson looked fantastic in the first round but Pierce showed a lot of heart going into the second round. He landed a huge right hand right on the chin of "The A-Train" and instantly put him out. It was a great comeback, but it wasn't the only one.

Possible matchups for Pierce: Pierce is one of the more under appreciated fighters in the UFC. He holds great knockout power and fantastic wrestling, a pretty good equation for success. He is slowly but surely making his way to the top and if he wants to continue that ascension, he should fight the winner of Mike Swick and Matt Brown. The winner would most likely become a top-10 welterweight.

Possible matchups for Simpson: If Aaron Simpson isn't considering retirement yet at 38 years of age, his time is coming soon. A fighter who is coming off of a win but just about at the same level of Simpson is Dan Miller. A wrestler vs. wrestler can sometimes turn into a slugfest.

Danny Castillo vs. Michael Johnson: Remember when I said Pierce's comeback wasn’t the only one? Well this is the other one. Danny Castillo dropped the Blackzilian at about the one minute mark of the first round. He then started to rain down so many hammer fists on Johnson's temple, that I was actually telling the ref to stop the fight. After that, Castillo locked in an ultra tight arm triangle choke that I thought was going to end the fight for sure. But no, Johnson showed the heart of a warrior and defended well against every one of Castillo's attacks. Going into the second round, Johnson was instantly the aggressor, taking hold of the center of the octagon. Castillo came in and Johnson caught him with a short left hand and dropped him. He followed up with some brutal hammer fists of his own and knocked Danny Castillo clean out. It was another fantastic comeback.

Possible matchups for Johnson: With this win, Michael Johnson has become a legitimate contender at 155 pounds. He is athletic, strong, has great wrestling, and powerful striking. There is no wonder as to why Rashad says he is a future champion in the UFC. Another fighter who has looked great in his last performance was Matt Wiman. This would be a huge step up in competition for Johnson and it would also be extremely entertaining.

Possible matchups for Castillo: The Alpha Male product has yet to do anything that really impresses me inside the UFC. His lone finish win was over an out of shape Shamar Bailey. Although he is still a talented fighter, he has yet to truly make a statement. Evan Dunham is coming off of a close loss to TJ Grant and if either fighter wants to reinstate themselves as contenders, they need a win over a fellow former contender in each other. 

UFC on FX 5: Browne vs. Silva Predictions

Uhh... where is Dodson vs Formiga?

Sam's Picks

Main Card

Travis Browne vs. Antonio Silva: I completely disagree with Dave on this fight. Some people are saying that Browne is riding some massive hype train, but that simply isn't the case. I feel that there isn't a hype train behind Travis; I feel that he is now a true title contender. Dave said that Browne wasn't able to handle the size of Kongo, but from what I remember, people thought that draw was a BS decision and that Browne should have won. That was early in his career anyway. He has been on an absolute roll as of late. Silva, on the over hand, has been massacred in his last two fights against two top-5 opponents in Daniel Cormier and Cain Velazquez. Although Travis Browne isn't on the same levels as those two guys, I have a feeling that he will one day become a top-5 heavyweight. Silva's isn't chin isn’t all that great and Browne has a lot of power. Travis will land a big shot and drop him early = Browne via 1st round KO. My pick for KOOTN!

Jake Ellenberger vs. Jay Hieron: It's great to see Hieron back in the UFC. Since his release from the UFC, he has done great, he even arguably defeated top-10 welterweight Ben Askren. But Ellenberger is on another level to that of Hieron's latest competition. Ellenberger has the striking power and strength advantage while Hieron has a minor grappling advantage. Ellenberger should win this but I have this weird feeling that Hieron is going to submit him = Ellenberger via unanimous decision.

John Dodson vs. Jussier Formiga: Finally, the debut of Formiga. I have been waiting for this for a long time and they didn't give him an easy fight. John Dodson is possibly the fastest fighter in the UFC not named Demetrious Johnson and he also holds a crazy amount of power for a guy that only stands at 5 feet 3 inches. This fight is the typical striker vs. grappler matchup that almost never disappoints, and it's a very hard one to predict. Dodson didn’t look all that great in his last outing while Formiga is riding a three fight win streak with wins over both Michael William Costa and Mamoru Yamaguchi. Both these guys will inevitably challenge for the 125-pound title but Dodson is in his prime right now. I see him dominating the first two rounds, but Formiga winning the third = Dodson via unanimous decision. My 1st pick for FOTN!

Josh Neer vs. Justin Edwards: Yeah, this fight is on the main card. The only plausible reason this is, is because they are both very scrappy fighters. Edwards, though, is nowhere near the level of Neer. Even though Neer is coming off of a first round KO loss that was to a very underrated welterweight in Mike Pyle. Neer should dominate this fight everywhere it goes = Neer via 3rd round submission. My pick for SOTN!

Prelims

Yves Edwards vs. Jeremy Stephens = Stephens via 3rd round KO. My 2nd pick for FOTN!

Michael Johnson vs. Danny Castillo = Johnson via split decision.

Dennis Hallman vs. Thiago Tavares = Tavares via unanimous decision.

Shane Roller vs. Jacob Volkmann = Volkmann via split decision.

Diego Nunes vs. Bart Palaszewski = Nunes via split decision. My 3rd pick for FOTN!

Darren Uyenoyama vs. Phil Harris = Uyenoyama via unanimous decision.

Marcus LeVasseur vs. Carlo Prater = LeVasseur via unanimous decision.

Mike Pierce vs. Aaron Simpson = Pierce via split decision.

Dave’s Picks

Main Card

Travis Browne vs. Antonio Silva: This fight should be interesting. We could see a crazy slobber knocker or a boring “stare affair” (I’m going to trademark that). Silva will be Browne’s toughest test. Silva has not been doing well, being brutally KO’d in his last two fights, but that was against much better opponents than Travis Browne. This fight will truly show us where Browne stands in the division. This fight is very tough for me because Silva has looked so bad and Browne has looked so good. But the determining factor for me is this: Browne has only beaten one big heavyweight in the last 2 years (Stefan Struve) and couldn’t handle Cheick Kongo’s size and strength. Silva is a massive human being with great grappling skills. I think Silva will out grapple Browne in a boring fight. = Silva by unanimous decision.

Jake Ellenberger vs. Jay Hieron: This is a strange fight to me. Jake is coming off of a big loss but that came at the end of a 6 fight rampage through the welterweight division. Hieron hasn’t fought in the UFC since losing to Jonathan Goulet in 2005. But Hieron has been on a tear but not against world-class opponents. I think Ellenberger will be faster, stronger and have better striking. Hieron might have the better wrestling but I think Ellenberger will take this fight handedly. = Ellenberger by unanimous decision.

John Dodson vs. Jussier Formiga: This fight will be nuts. Dodson is one of the most entertaining fighters alive and Formiga has never disappointed either. I cannot wait for this one. The winner of this will be the first challenger to Demetrious Johnson’s brand new Flyweight belt. I am not sure if either of these guys can handle “Mighty Mouse” but we will find out soon enough. Dodson has beaten the tougher competition over the years but in order to win, he has to have better cardio then he showed in the Tim Elliot fight. Should be an interesting fight but I am going with the guy who is already 2-0 in the UFC = Dodson by unanimous decision. My Pick for Fight of the Night!

Josh Neer vs. Justin Edwards: Not sure why this is on the main card above the laast three prelim fights but whatever. This fight should be all Josh Neer. Neer got put out cold in his last fight but that was against a high level talent in Mike Pyle. Justin Edwards is nowhere near Pyle’s level. Edwards is not UFC quality and will get destroyed. = Neer by submission in round 1. My Pick for Submission of the Night!

Prelims

Yves Edwards vs. Jeremy Stephens: Stephens by TKO in round 2. My Pick for KO of the Night!

Danny Castillo vs. Michael Johnson: Castillo by split decision.

Dennis Hallman vs. Thiago Tavares: Tavares by unanimous decision.

Shane Roller vs. Jacob Volkmann: Volkmann by unanimous decision.

Diego Nunes vs. Bart Palaszewski: Nunes by split decision.

Phil Harris vs. Darren Uyenoyama: Darren by unanimous decision.

Marcus LeVesseur vs. Carlo Prater: Prater by submission in round 2.

Mike Pierce vs. Aaron Simpson: Pierce by split decision.