UFC 148 Prelim Preview: Guillard vs. Camoes

Melvin Guillard

Our first prelim preview is going to be for the co-main prelim on FX, Melvin Guillard vs. Fabricio Camoes.

In the classic “striker vs. grappler” matchup, Melvin Guillard is looking to put his last two losses by RNC behind him as Camoes is looking for a step up in competition. Although Camoes boasts an unimpressive record in the UFC of 1-1-1, he is a highly underrated fighter with one of the best ground games at 155. That ground game is going to be a big problem for Guillard as he will have a clear disadvantage on the ground as 9 of his 10 losses are by submission.

Guillard was on the best win streak of his career when he ran into Joe Lauzon in one of the biggest upsets of all time, at UFC 136. Guillard came out as an intense aggressor, only to be caught by a jab coming in and being submitted at 47 seconds of the first round. Following that devastating loss, he was matched up with Jim Miller on the first main event on FX. The fight was going Guillards way until his back was taken and the fight was ultimately finished by RNC at 3:04 of the first round.

This is what makes the fight so interesting. Guillard’s losses are mainly by submission and Camoes has an extremely good ground game with half of his wins coming by submission.

Let’s take a look at Camoes’ recent fights. He is riding a three-fight win streak with wins over TUF season 8 winner Efrain Escudero (unanimous), UFC vet Steve Lopez (TKO in 23 seconds), and BJJ specialist Tommy Hayden (RNC). Before that, he went 0-1-1 with a draw against Japanese legend, Caol Uno and a decision loss to Kurt Pellegrino in the UFC. Following his hard fought decision loss to Pellegrino, he was surprisingly released by the UFC, but went on to do what I mentioned above.

This fight could truly go either way, as Guillard’s ground game has looked weak but with incredible standup and Camoes with one of the best ground games at 155.

Tune in for our predictions in the following week!

The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale Prelims Recap

John Albert argues Kim Winslow's call.

To start off, this season of TUF was disappointing in the fact that the fighters that were on this season aren’t exactly the most promising or UFC caliber, but they are here to change how we perceive their skills.

John Albert vs. Erik Perez: Controversy; the one word that would sum up this fight. Albert came out strong and was taken down but Perez landed himself straight into a tight triangle. Perez defended intelligently and stepped over and went for an armbar himself on Albert. Albert also defended intelligently by trying to step over, but suddenly, Kim Winslow, the ref, stopped the fight claiming it was a verbal submission. Even Perez said that he didn’t hear anything, in the post fight interview. Albert was instantly arguing the finish, and so was everyone who were watching. It’s really too bad too because Albert really does have a bright future. He is also a very entertaining fighter.

Possible matchups for Albert and Perez: This fight started off very entertaining. It ended with controversy. The only solution to this is a rematch and I certainly wouldn’t mind.

Joe Proctor vs. Jeremy Larsen: Proctor was a decent favorite heading into this fight. Many people, including my brother and I, believed that Proctor would win this fight by submission. Proctor trains out of Boston with Joe Lauzon, meaning that he has a strong ground game and has some decent striking. Proctor didn’t want to go for the submission, he wanted to make a statement, and he did. He finished Larsen with a knee and punches within the first two minutes.

Possible matchups for Proctor: One of the more promising fighters this season, Proctor has one major thing that he needs to work on: fight IQ. I know that he one by TKO this time, but Larsen just simply isn’t UFC caliber. Proctor needs to know when he should take the fight to the ground. A fight with fellow TUF Live cast mate, Sam Sicilia would be a slugfest and if Proctor plays it smart, he could submit him but that would be hard to do.

Sam Sicilia vs. Cristiano Marcello: This fight wasn’t the prettiest. It was filled with sloppy standup and cardio problems. Sicilia needs to work on both his conditioning and his standup. What he needs to do with his standup is he needs to not just throw for the KO with every punch. If Sicilia could work on his patience, cardio, and technique, he could have a bright future. But this fight was a sloppy mess. It was just these bombs being swung left and right by both these guys but Sicilia was throwing them with more technique, while Marcello was just throwing with his chin stuck right out in the air. Eventually, Sicilia caught him and brutally finished him with ground and pound.

Myles Jury vs. Chris Saunders: Jury is one of only three people from this season that didn’t make it to the finale that could really make it somewhere (Pichel, Lawrence). He showcased some very crisp standup for a UFC debut and has a deadly guillotine. He landed some solid straights and had great footwork. Jury can definitely get somewhere in the UFC, its always a good sign to see someone in their debut looking like a veteran.

Possible matchups for Jury: Jury deserves a step up in competition. His standup is very good, crisp and technical. A person, who my brother and I both believe would be a good match-up would be with past TUF winner, Efrain Escudero. Escudero has been struggling lately but this could either be either a saving grace for Escudero or the coming out party for Jury.

Daron Cruickshank vs. Chris Tickle: This fight was closer than I was expecting. I though that Cruickshank would rather easily dispatch Tickle but Tickle won the second round rather easily. Cruickshank still looked good though. His inside trips were executed beautifully but doing them as many times as he did can eventually leave them to be both expected and easily countered.

Possible matchups for Cruickshank: It took me a while to find someone that would be a good matchup for Cruickshank but I found one that would show where Cruickshank is in the ladder and how good his skills are. Ramsey Nijem and CJ Keith are fighting on the 22 of June. The winner of that should square off with Cruickshank for an entertaining scrap.

For the Main Card Recap Click here

UFC 146 Prelims recap

So, I have to start out by saying that this was an amazing card. Dana said it was going to be awesome and it certainly was awesome. The only fights that I would say were boring would be the Brown/Pineda fight but that was on Facebook, and Dollaway/Miller. So let’s give this card a recap, along with future matchups.

 Mike Brown vs. Daniel Pineda: In a rather lackluster bout, Mike Brown defeated the wily and scrappy Daniel Pineda in the opening fight. Although, Pineda lost this fight, he still has a bright future which was shown through his tenacity late in the fight, sweeping Mike Brown to get his back and nearly winning the fight after being dominated the first two rounds. Brown, on the other hand, is done. I’m not saying this because he hasn’t looked good; I’m saying this because he actually retired after this fight. It’s always good to see a fighter on a high note, even if it wasn’t that high.

Possible matchup for Pineda: Pineda has an extremely bright future ahead of him, but he has a few things he really needs to work on, like head movement, cardio, takedown defense. Once he gets those things down, he will certainly be a title contender and there is no doubt in my mind that he will be. Possibly Maximo Blanco, who is also coming off a loss, would be good, Pineda would really push the pace.

Kyle Kingsbury vs. Glover Teixeira: Glover Teixeira showed everyone why he has been such a hyped fighter. He came in against a guy who is really tough and just absolutely destroyed him. Teixeira did what Maldonado and Bonnar couldn’t do. He finished Kingsbury who is a really tough guy, and has really good standup. Glover came in, rocked him with an uppercut, got his back, pounded, Kingsbury rolled over, arm triangle, fight over. That is an impressive UFC debut to say the least.

Possible matchup for Kingsbury: After being shamefully dismantled by the extremely dangerous Teixeira, Kingsbury either needs a rebound fight or a loser goes home fight. I came up with a combo of both of these. A rematch with Fabio Maldonado would be perfect. Maldonado is very good and very underrated. His boxing is crisp and he has some hellish body shots, hard to watch. Along with the fact that it will certainly be entertaining, it was very controversial, people thought that Maldonado won, including myself. This fight certainly has value in both entertainment, and to answer questions.

Possible matchups for Teixeira: Clearly, Teixeira has been ready for the big time for quite a while, but visa problems delayed his readiness. He’s here now, folks, and he is hungry and very dangerous. I have been looking around for a good matchup for him and people have been saying that a fight with the winner of Vera and Te Huna would be good to show us who is ready to take a step up. A fight with Te Huna would be very interesting, and certainly exciting.

Paul Sass vs. Jacob Volkmann: Paul Sass truly had his coming out party against Volkmann. I was really confident in this pick despite the fact that I really wanted to go with Sass because I am a huge fan of guys who pull guard. But I looked at Paul Sass like I look Cody McKenzie, just a guy who, very predictably, goes for the same thing for every fight. Sass is another story though. Beating someone as good as Volkmann is truly impressive. Volkmann is a very strong and technical wrestler who was quickly rising up the ladder but Sass put that rise to sleep with that deadly “Sassangle”. Sass clearly needs to work on his standup but once his standup is good enough to get himself safe enough to either takedown or pull guard, he should really do some damage in the lightweight division.

Possible Matchup for Sass: A really good grappling match, one that serves tow purposes: entertainment and to show who is ready for a step up. Would be a fight with Mark Bocek. I think this fight would be not only very fun to watch these two brilliant BJJ guys go at it, but also to see how good Sass’ ground game truly is.

Possible matchups for Volkmann: Volkmann is a really good fighter. He has amazing wrestling, some of the most technical in his weight class. That’s why he was able to hang with guys at welterweight, despite a big size disadvantage. I can see Volkmann eventually getting up into title talks in the next 2 years, so if he will one day, then his next fight has to be a rebound one, but against someone with a name that means something.  A fight against the always entertaining Paul Taylor would be a good rebound fight for Volkmann, once Taylor is finally fully healed.

Dan Hardy vs. Duane Ludwig: This was one of the fights on this card that I wasn’t 100% about going into it. Neither more nor my brother were sure about our picks. I thought I was going to be right with my prediction with in the first minute when Ludwig caught Hardy, but clearly Hardy was the better fighter. I can guarantee you that Hardy will never go back into title contention, but he will certainly stay around for a while, being a part of some really entertaining bouts.

Possible matchups for Hardy: Obviously, Hardy will stick around at the level in which he will fight people with name value but wont really move him up anywhere in the welterweight ladder. Rich Attonito could certainly be that type of fight, once he gets healed after pulling out of his fight with Rick Story. Hardy versus Attonito would certainly be entertaining.

Possible matchups for Ludwig: Clearly, Ludwig is starting to falter. His chin is weakening and the doors are closing in on him in his MMA career. If he wants to keep his career rolling, he should do it against someone like Matt Brown, whom he could definitely out strike on the feet. It also has a ton of entertainment value in it.

CB Dollaway vs. Jason Miller: This fight was gross. I have never, and will never, be a fan of CB Dollaway. He complains and puts on boring fights in the ones that he wins. It was also a very sad fight. Miller looked really good at the weigh-ins and the beginning of the first round but clearly his knee was hurt coming into the fight. He had some Sakuraba tape around his knee and he feel on it and was blatantly limping. CB won pretty handily, but it certainly wasn’t pretty. Miller retired and was cut following the loss.

Possible matchups for Dollaway: Dollaway is making his way up after this win against Miller. A fight against Brad Tavares would show who has the chops to take a step up in competition.

Jamie Varner vs. Edson Barboza: This fight was absolutely shocking. Varner blitzed Barboza in the first round. Not even Varner saw that coming. It literally surprised everyone, including the WINNER. I have to be honest though, I was cheering for Varner coming into this fight. I always love a good comeback story, career or fight wise. Barboza was in the middle of title talks following his breathtaking KO of Terry Etim. Varner came in as an extremely heavy underdog, but he made those betting for him some rich people.

Possible matchups for Varner: The person that came to mind was Donald Cerrone, but that would not make any sense, it would only happen for entertainment purposes. Since Varner, rather easily, dispatched one of the top contenders in the lightweight division, it only makes sense that he gets another good fighter, but not as high up the ladder as Barboza. A fight against Jeremy Stephens will not only help out with the lightweight ladder, but it would also be a guaranteed FOTN.

Possible matchups for Barboza: Barboza is still one of the best in his division, with some of the fastest and technical standup in the game. He needs a rebound fight. Plain and simple. Matt Wiman, who is a very good fighter, could prove to be a good test for the (still) rising star in Barboza.

Diego Brandao vs. Darren Elkins: Elkins was just one of the two examples that toughness and cardio always beats out a blitz like the one in the first round. Elkins was another hefty underdog prior to the fight, so whoever bet on him and Varner is quite the rich man (or woman). I really wanted to pick Elkins; I have always thought that Brandao is an incredibly overrated fighter. He gasses after the first round, at featherweight. 145ers are not supposed to gas out after the first round. Elkins is an underrated fighter; it’s mainly because of his quick loss to Oliviera and one-sided win (loss) to Omigawa. He is solid wrestler and is tough as nails. I personally scored the fight 28-27 for Elkins. 8-10, 10-9, 10-8.

Possible matchups for Elkins: Elkins needs a step up in competition. He could really do some damage in his division if he continues to fight smart. He could very well fight the loser of the Hioki/Lamas fight. A win over Brandao is huge for Elkins.

Possible matchups for Brandao: This overrated maniac will only be a tough gatekeeper at featherweight. A fight against Robbie Peralta would either be good rebound fight for Brandao or a career launcher for Peralta.