Five round non-title fights are on their way

During the Fan Expo Q&A that was a part of the UFC 129 weekend in Toronto, Dana White gave very welcome news by saying that the UFC is “very close” to implementing five round non-title fights.

Now, this wouldn’t be for all fights, of course, but instead for “big fights”, with White’s example being Brock Lesnar’s upcoming heavyweight title eliminator versus Junior dos Santos. In other words, it sounds like many of the fights that I wished had been given five rounds in the past- Liddell-Wanderlei, Couture-Vera, and most recently Penn-Fitch being examples that come to mind- may be the kind of fights he is talking about.

There are still a lot of questions, for instance: would a big name non-title fight like Penn-Fitch 2 be a five-rounder if there was also a title fight on the card, or will this only be implemented when a non-title fight is the main event? But still, this is a step in the right direction. I may be in the minority on this one, but I wouldn’t mind seeing all main card fights being five rounds. Some would say they’d rather watch the prelims, but in most cases, the main card fights are the ones you most want to see; why not give them more time on the telecast? For every three-round stinker that you wouldn’t want to see two more rounds of, there are great three-round fights that would be even more epic if they had ten more minutes of time.

Besides, since we basically get to see nearly all preliminary bouts on most cards these days between Spike TV, ION and Facebook, what’s the difference? Let’s see some more of these big non-title bouts get decided by the fighters and not by the judges. Lastly, having five rounds to judge gives the judges themselves two more chances to get it right. Of course, it’s also two more chances to fuck it up. Let’s just move on.

Dana White has a lot to say

What else is new though, right? The always-entertaining (and always controversial) UFC president has weighed in on a lot of topics recently. Like what, you ask? Well, how about that he thinks Lyoto Machida’s recent string of bad luck has to do with money (he thinks Machida’s success made him change his style), and that Royce Gracie wants Matt Hughes again, but he’s reluctant to make that fight (or any other fight for Gracie) happen?

He’s also had time to get into a brief Twitter battle with Jenna Jameson, who took exception to jokes about Tito Ortiz not being liked by fans in the recent “Executive Iceman” video White posted (which depicted Chuck Liddell going about the duties of his new job in humorous fashion). Jameson pointed out that White pays Ortiz “a ton of money”, which makes little sense as an argument against Ortiz being disliked by fans (bad guys sell tickets, too), and White told her to kindly “shut the fuck up”, advising Ortiz to “put her on a leash”. White did say that the skit was nothing personal and that the Ortiz portion was just to play up the rivalry between Ortiz and Liddell, to which Ortiz said “thanks”.

Most interestingly, White has indicated that he’s going to talk to Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz about all of his recent boxing talk. “I know for a fact that boxing isn’t for him, because I’ve been in boxing for years. All of the boxers wish they were involved with us.” He added that he’ll be flying out to see Diaz and discuss the issue as soon as UFC 129 is over. On that note, I say good for Dana, as I’m similarly unconvinced about the notion that boxing has greener pastures for MMA fighters than mixed martial arts does. Diaz would not be a big name in boxing, and to depend on MMA fans to support his boxing endeavors is an iffy proposition, as well. He’d have to essentially start all over, and only the big names in boxing are doing extremely well financially, anyway.

Quick Shots

–Randy Couture had some interesting comments for MMAFighting.com recently, telling them that one of his main reasons for wanting to retire while he’s still near the top of his game is to avoid the awkwardness that Chuck Liddell had to deal with at the end of his career. “But I don’t want to stick around too long and have everybody talking behind my back like that and forcing me to make a decision that I really don’t want to make. I want to go out on my terms.” Of course, it would have been easier for Liddell to do so if Dana White would have kept his advice between them and not been preemptively announcing the Iceman’s retirement for him at press conferences and during interviews, right?

–Strikeforce may not be mixing with the UFC completely at this point, but it’s also far from “business as usual”, as Lorenzo Fertitta is assisting in the negotiations with Fedor Emelianenko’s constantly frustrating management team for a possible fight with Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Dan Henderson. It’s a fight both fighters seem to want, but the key here, as always, is whether M-1 Global can feel that they’re leeching off of Fedor enough. After all, Fedor’s only got so many fights left in him, and then M-1 will have to do what every other promotion in the world has had to do and try to make it on their own steam, instead of financing their shitty promotion with money earned by Fedor’s own greatness.

–In a fight that I really like, Matt Hughes will be returning to take on Diego Sanchez at a UFC event this upcoming fall, according to UFC officials. The fight has been verbally agreed to at this point, and should be a good test for both men. I’m excited to see what Hughes has left in the tank against a fighter who fights a somewhat similar style. I thought this fight would eventually happen back when Sanchez had first won “The Ultimate Fighter”, but a lot has changed since that point. Still should be a fun bout.

–Another fun bout that will actually be taking place outside of Planet Zuffa is the one this weekend between longtime MMA standout Jeremy Horn and former UFC middleweight contender Thales Leites. People hate on Leites for the Anderson Silva fight, but this matchup could make for some great jiu-jitsu. Also of note on the Superior Challenge card is a title fight between UFC veteran Rich Clementi and Swedish bad boy Reza Madadi, which should be a furious one if the near-altercation at the weigh-ins is any indication.

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Close doesn’t necessarily mean controversial

As I noted before, I was highly disappointed with Joe Rogan’s inciting of fan sentiment both in the arena and among those viewing at home against the judges’ decision in the Diego Sanchez-Martin Kampmann fight. Rogan has long been comfortable with criticizing the performances of ringside officials and referees during his announcing duties, but has recently been more outspoken in his post-fight interviews (which, of course, are heard by all in attendance), as well.

Usually, it’s pretty humorous. In fact, I would gladly pay $10 extra for UFC pay-per-views if they would split the screen to show cameras on the three individual judges’ faces while Rogan is lambasting their decisions after fights. That would be great entertainment, my friends. I’ve often thought, how shitty must it be to be sitting there at ringside, listening to this guy rake you over the coals and encourage the fans to boo you even more lustily than before?

Except that last Thursday, it really wasn’t warranted. MMA fans as a whole are not always as savvy as they could or should be, this being a young sport with a growing fan base and all. Many of them do not seem to understand that not every close fight means that someone is being “screwed over” or that the decision is a bad one. As a mature MMA fan, you need to admit to yourself that some rounds could go either way. Personally, I think the second round of the Sanchez-Kampmann fight was one of those.

Fightmetric’s stats show that the second round was very close, indeed. Sanchez threw just a few more strikes than Kampmann did, and landed just five less. However, he also landed more power shots, and threw 25 more power punches than Kampmann did, as Kampmann focused on jabbing throughout the round. Now, let’s not forget that “aggression” is one of the judging criteria. Then, there’s the punch that wobbled Kampmann briefly. Is it not fair to say that that punch could have swayed a judge or two?

I’m not trying to convince you that Sanchez won. I thought Kampmann won the first two rounds when I watched the fight, personally. What I’m trying to do is illustrate that it was a close round that could have gone either way. This is not the kind of fight that should inspire outrage. Let’s save that for the truly bad decisions that have become more and more commonplace in the sport. By this point, MMA fans should know better, and Joe Rogan should certainly know better. The decision isn’t wrong simply because you don’t agree with it.

Worst of all, this partially-manufactured controversy has overshadowed a brilliant fight that featured gutsy performances from both competitors. It’s just too bad that the story was presented as that of bad judging when it should be more about bad criteria and a poor scoring system that needs to evolve.

Palhares does it again

If you’re not impressed/surprised/intrigued by the fact that Rousimar Palhares’ last three UFC wins have come by way of heel hook, you should be. Check this out: before Palhares’ first UFC win by heel hook at UFC 107, there had been one heel hook submission in the previous forty-three UFC events. Now, there were between 10 and 12 fights on each of those events, placing the percentage of fights ending by heel hooks during that time period in the UFC at about .2%. That percentage would probably hold up pretty well for the entire existence of the UFC, honestly.

In contrast, 42% of Palhares’ UFC fights have ended by a submission via heel hook, and as I said before, his last three wins have come that way. It’s incredible, actually. There is one thing that does help explain the lack of heel hooks in the UFC that immediately comes to mind, and that is that they just aren’t attempted that often. Heel hooks, like most leg locks, require the fighter to sit back and seize their opponent’s leg, giving up their top position on the mat and often leaving them vulnerable to strikes in the process.

Furthermore, they’re just plain hard to do. How many times have you seen a fighter sit back for a leg lock, fiddle around with it for a bit, then just give up? It happens all the time. Combine that with the risk involved and the loss of position, and there isn’t a lot of incentive for most fighters to mess with them in the first place.

Of course, the best explanation is that Palhares is very, very good at them. And that’s scary, because heel hooks are possibly the most dangerous submission in all of MMA, since by the time you feel pain or discomfort, the damage is usually done and you’re nursing a serious knee injury. Even in training, you have to be careful with heel hooks and make sure that you apply them carefully rather thank “cranking” them. Since it’s a completely different matter in a real fight, Palhares’ future opponents had better be prepared to tap quickly if they want to walk out of the cage on their own two feet.

[EDIT: Okay, so I was victimized by Sherdog.com's results on this one. They have the win listed as a heel hook by Palhares, when it was actually via kneebar. Since it was an unaired preliminary bout, I haven't been able to see it yet. Still, even two heel hooks in 7 fights is good for 28.5%, which means you're 142 times more likely to see a heel hook in a Palhares fight than in any other UFC fight.]

Quick Shots

–For all my criticism of Rogan’s handling of the Sanchez-Kampmann decision, he was right on with his analysis of the strange Cyrille Diabate-Steve Cantwell bout. Very rarely do you see a fight that is so one-sided, yet where the victorious fighter shows almost no interest in finishing his opponent. Diabate did look visibly tired near the end of the fight, but he also looked strangely complacent throughout. Did he not know that he could possibly win a nice bonus by knocking Cantwell out? Did he simply not care? Even though he dominated Cantwell, it’s hard to be very impressed with such a lethargic performance.

–Chris Weidman was impressive in his win over Alessio Sakara. I thought Sakara might be crafty enough to outlast the youngster, but it only took one round for Weidman to make the necessary adjustments and start taking it to the UFC veteran. Weidman should be a talent to watch if he can continue to evolve his game past simply using his wrestling talents.

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Make sure to refresh regularly for updates!

8:01- Thanks to everyone who’s joining us at Fightmania.com for the live blog tonight. I’ll let Mike Goldberg get us started with his favorite phrase- no, not the one about someone having a “definitive” advantage, the other one. “Here we go!”

8:03- Well, anyone who was worried about Diego Sanchez no longer bringing the unintentional comedy thanks to his life changes can relax now. His pre-fight interview, complete with freshly-shaved head and unblinking intense stare, starts the night off with plenty of laughs. Kampmann takes a considerable lead for the “line of the night” award with “I’ll put him to sleep and he can ‘dream’ all he wants”.

8:09- Our first fight is Brian Bowles vs. Damacio Page. Bowles is still rocking the 80′s part and looking just like Dirk Diggler. He tells Page in the pre-fight hype video, “You’re not the boss of me! I’m the king! I’m the king of Dirk!” Okay, he doesn’t, but he really should.

8:13- We’re almost underway. No surprise here, Diggler has the 4 1/2″ reach advantage.

8:15- “The Angel of Death” almost sets new levels of morbidity for a nickname, even in MMA. I think someone should just go the other way with it. Take the nickname “The Love Master” or “Professor Hugs”. How about “Cuddles”? You have to be a badass to fight for these drunk, ravenous fans with that nickname. “The Spider! Cuddles! Next!”

8:19- What a fight! Page took it to Bowles early on, really working on his lead leg with heavy kicks, but an eye-poke led to Bowles saying “Eff this” and turning up the aggression. A heavy uppercut hurt Page and a tight guillotine rendered him unconscious. Page’s second loss to Bowles by submission.

8:22- Very god of Bowles to tell the referee Page was out. Then again, maybe I’m giving too much credit, here. I suppose if he didn’t tell the ref, he’d be trying to kill him, right?

8:24- Which leads me to one of my pet peeves in sports today: anytime an athlete isn’t a total dickbag, he or she is “classy”. It’s classy when fighters shake hands after a bout, it’s classy when a basketball player helps another one up off of the floor, it’s classy when a fighter doesn’t talk shit about his opponent in the post-fight interview. Really? When did the bar for class get set so low that you can be classy by default if you’re not a jerk? Classy isn’t graded on a curve, my friends: it’s pass/fail. Great quote for your Facebook pages, by the way. Spell my name right when you attribute it to me!

8:25- Bonus fight footage as we get to see Igor Pokrajac (I spelled that without double-checking; achievement unlocked) and Todd Brown fight. I’d like to see a breakdown on the combined UFC records of fighters named “Todd”. It can’t be good.

8:30- I guess the prelims were full of fighters making puzzling strategic decisions. Brown initiated the clinch multiple times with Pokrajac even though he really needed to have a standup fight with him, and Steve Cantwell opted to stand up and let Cyrille Diabate off his back in the first round of their fight, leading to his demise.

8:33- Pokrajac just made the most gentlemanly call out of another fighter ever. The recipient was Tito Ortiz, by the way. I like it. I think every fighter on the card should have agreed to call Tito out after winning, regardless of their weight class. Come on, you wouldn’t laugh at that?

8:38- Jon Jones gets the interview treatment from Joe Rogan. He really buys into his ability and says he thinks he’s already there, “there” being “the best light heavyweight in the world. He just doesn’t think he’s had the chance to prove it. I actually like his confidence. You can’t jump out of nowhere to fight the top fighter in the world in your weight class without it.

8:39- Alessio Sakara continues the celebrity somewhat-look-alikes theme. If only his English was better so he could shout, “Tonight…we dine…IN HELL!” In comparison, we have Chris Weidman, who couldn’t get into his own post-fight party without being carded.

8:45- Continuing the theme even further (probably too far): Our referee is Gary “Lil’ Lesnar” Copeland. By the way, Sakara is almost Stevenson-esque, maybe even Danzig-esque in his ability to stay in the UFC regardless of his level of performance. Not quite Bonner-esque, though.

8:48- Sakara is throwing some good combinations, but maybe not as good as Rogan is giving him credit for. It’s pretty much left hook, right hook, right leg kick each time. Most of the hooks are landing on Weidman’s arms, to boot.

8:50- Put me down for 10-9 Sakara for a rather pedestrian first round. No, I mean literally pedestrian- Sakara keeps dropping his hands and walking around the cage between exchanges. His activity level really dropped towards the end of the round, though I like his takedown defense so far.

8:53- Weidman is showing some capable ground and pound and good guard passing after getting his first takedown of the fight early in round two. Sakara’s mystery cut that came seemingly out of nowhere in the first round is really getting sloppy. Nothing like Edwin Dewees in “The Ultimate Fighter 4″, mind you. In terms of gushiness, that’s the gold standard right there.

8:56- Rogan points out that the cut is a new one and not the one from the first round. Awesome moment as Sakara wipes the blood off with Copeland’s shirt. “Gimme yer shirt, bitch,” Rogan says to add his own personal caption to the moment. Saves me the work. Anyway, round two goes to Weidman, who had a lot more success with his takedowns and seems to be getting more comfortable out there. I like Sakara’s ability to stand up and sweep from his back, as well as the body shots, though.

9:02- Sakara is really struggling now. Weidman is securing each takedown with ease and Sakara can’t do much off of his back. Stop me if you’ve heard that one before.

9:06- Sanity prevails as all three judges give the bout to Weidman, though no one gives the first round to Sakara. Weidman has to be pleased to come in with a 4-0 record and win like this on two weeks’ notice in his UFC debut.

9:12- With Jones out of the way, we get the obligatory Rogan-Shogun interview. Nothing to see here. Safe to say Shogun isn’t a title-holder in the Ultimate Charisma Championship.

9:14- If you like your striking sloppy and your fights grindy, get ready because Munoz-Dollaway is NEXT! Dollaway bears a passing resemblance to Jim Carrey’s female bodybuilding character Vera de Milo from In Living Color. I’m reaching at this point, but we’re gonna get through this celebrity lookalike thing unscathed, I promise.

9:17- Dollaway has a five inch reach advantage, but Munoz’s cauliflower ear advantage is just as decisive. Call it a wash.

9:20- Munoz overcomes a bad mistake early on that allowed a takedown by Dolloway to tag Dollaway with a right hand and finish on the mat for a TKO. The stoppage looked a bit premature, but as Munoz got off of Dollaway, Dollaway’s eyes were focused somewhere in the 20th row of the crowd, so we’ll call it good. Of course, Dollaway recovers quickly after that and proceeds to throw Mario Yamasaki under the bus by protesting the stoppage, but you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do, right?

9:23- Why do fans boo the victorious fighter after a premature stoppage? Not that this one was, but the question remains. For that matter, why boo the winning fighter after a poor judges’ decision?

9:24- We get a shot of Kenny Florian and Todd Harris wearing 3-D glasses, as apparently they’re commentating on the 3-D broadcast on Xfinity, whatever that is. Those glasses are ridiculous, though. They look like what people imagined the future would look like back in the 1950′s. You know, like they would be right at home with flying, super shiny cars and silver reflective jumpsuits.

9:27- Another bonus prelim, with Thiago Tavares and Shane Roller getting the replay treatment. Rogan notes that Tavares looks “very thick”, and it’s unclear whether he’s talking about his musculature or his eyebrows. Those things look impenetrable. Like an evil cartoon henchman’s hidden lair.

9:29- Tavares is sponsored by a salon, apparently. Goldberg compares him to Vitor Belfort, maybe because everyone with fast hands is comparable to Belfort. Or because Tavares looks like Belfort’s little brother. Either way.

9:32- Roller isn’t setting up his takedowns with strikes and Tavares is having no trouble fending them off as a result. 10-9 round for Tavares to start. I feel weird scoring fights that have already happened, by the way.

9:35- You know who Tavares really looks like? If he had a mustache, he’d look exactly like John Oates of Hall & Oa– Holy shit! Roller lands a perfect straight right that floors Tavares out of nowhere and lead to a stoppage immediately after. “Holy shitbuckets!” says my wife. I concur.

9:45- Kampmann is out first for the main event and he comes out to Three 6 Mafia’s “It’s a Fight”. Both a completely obvious statement and proof that he’s been watching Rocky Balboa.

9:46- Goldberg notes that Kampmann’s got more ways to win this fight. I almost thought in WWE terms for a second there, like Dana White marched out Vince McMahon-style and declared that Sanchez can only win by submission or something.

9:47- Sanchez walks out to “La Bamba” but wears the same tough guy face he always does. It’s a weird contrast. It’s almost as if he’s challenging the song to remove his scowl, and you know what? He’s winning. Seriously, don’t put it past him, there’s about a 80% chance that it’s why he picked this song. Or maybe because he’s crazy. Or a little of both. Let’s just move on.

9:50- Contrast in styles: Sanchez stares across the Octagon while making his best Clubber Lang face. Kampmann smirks back and grooms his eyebrows.

9:52- Bonus observation: next time you see Diego Sanchez from a side view, check out how his forehead slopes right into his nose with nary a bump. It’s weird.

9:53- Sanchez looks a bit flabby. They start and Sanchez is throwing with the ferocity of a young Tito Ortiz. Or at least the craziness of a young Ortiz. Kampmann is calm and technical as always. Kampmann stuffs the first takedown attempt of the night and drops Sanchez with a straight right for good measure.

9:54- Kampmann has the front headlock and Sanchez is bent over with one hand on the mat to avoid being kneed in the grill. They need to change that rule so a downed opponent is simply someone on one or both knees, back, etc. None of this “touch the mat to avoid having your face kneed in” crap.

9:57- The first round ends and it’s all Kampmann. Sanchez’s face is a mess and he’s bleeding rather heavily out of his mouth. He still manages to make the tough guy face, while Kampmann makes the “I’m really glad I’m not you right now” face.

9:59- Rogan says Sanchez’s corner wanted lots of takedown attempts with switches from single leg to double leg and so forth. I’m not sure how well it will work, though. Kampmann’s takedown defense has been remarkable so far. Like Rogan said, “effortless”.

10:01- Sanchez is working really hard for a takedown here, but Kampmann doesn’t even look challenged. Sanchez swings for the faces but Kampmann is no worse for wear, other than a cut near his right eye. This is turning into quite a fight.

10:03- For all the talk about the cut to Kampmann “changing the course of this fight,” Kampmann is still winning. He’s landing the better shots for the most part, fending off takedowns with ease, and being more economical with his striking. Of course, judges often reward activity over actually landing punches (see: Leonard Garcia), so who knows.

10:06- Sanchez picks up where he left off, landing a big right to the head, then to the body. Rogan mentions Kampmann breathing out of his mouth, but Sanchez has been doing so since minute three of the fight. Goldberg continues his assault on the cliche record, throwing in “bloodied, but not beaten” for good measure.

10:08- I am amazed at how Sanchez hasn’t gassed even for a second, even though he’s obviously not in his best shape. He finally gets a takedown, but Kampmann stands quickly. This round is up for grabs, and the fight probably is, as well.

10:10- Kampmann has definitely injured his right hand, and Sanchez is all over him with a minute left. Sanchez is a freaking warrior. After that first round, to keep going the way he has is incredible. The horn sounds and the fight is over. An early contender for fight of the year, and Sanchez just may have pulled it off.

10:11- It’s all about who the second round went to. The first was Kampmann’s, and the third belonged to Sanchez for sure. That said, I completely expect a 30-27 one way or another from at least one judge.

10:13- The cards are in and Diego Sanchez wins it. Not Diego “The Nightmare” Sanchez, mind you. Diego “The Dream” Sanchez. Gutsy performance for sure. Fans are booing and I’m really not sure why. They must be hardcore Kampmann fans, if such a thing exists. Sanchez is a mess. Incredible comeback.

10:15- Both fighters think they won and that’s fair enough. It hinges on the second, and that was a close round (I gave it- and the fight- to Kampmann, personally). I’m not sure why every close fight has to be turned into a controversy, though. It’s a close fight! That second round could go either way. I’m surprised to hear that Rogan backs Kampmann for the second round, considering how he was reacting to everything Sanchez did that round. He even acknowledged that Kampmann was hurt twice in the second round.

10:19- At any rate, a great night of fights. Nearly all of them delivered, and best of all, they were free. Thanks for joining me, everyone. Make sure to check back later this week for both my thoughts on tonight’s fights and UFC 127. Have something to say? E-mail me at akathatoneguy (at) hotmail.com.

E-Mail Jon Hartley

Preliminary Bout Quick Picks

Todd Brown over Igor Pokrajac

How is Pokrajac still in the UFC? He’s lost 3 out of 4 fights in the normally cut-happy promotion.

Rousimar Palhares over Dave Branch

Also my pick for “most likely to end in a gruesome, injury-causing submission”.

Dongi Yang over Rob Kimmons

Yang is over his UFC jitters and should take a competitive bout against the veteran Kimmons.

Takeya Mizugaki over Reuben Duran

How is Mizugaki, a top ten bantamweight, missing out on being featured on both the main card and the Facebook prelims portions of the event?

Shane Roller over Thiago Tavares

Roller grapples his way to a decision win in what could either be a compelling mat battle or a bit of a snoozefest.

Facebook Prelims

Steve Cantwell vs. Cyrille Diabate

Cantwell’s name is misleading, as he does everything pretty well. He’s a competent, accurate striker, solid wrestler and has good submissions. Meanwhile, Diabate’s skill set provides a more obvious path to victory, as his mat game is definitely his weakness. However, he has outstanding kickboxing that provides a serious danger to foes.

Cantwell will have his moments, but I think that at some point Diabate will be able to catch Cantwell with something nasty and move in for the finish. This is a winnable fight for both fighters, though, and Cantwell simply has to grind his way to a late stoppage or decision if he wants to have his hand raised.

Prediction: Diabate by KO/TKO

Danny Castillo vs. Joe Stevenson

Castillo will debut in the UFC against tough veteran Stevenson in what should be an entertaining scrap. Both guys will want to move forward all fight long, while their particular strategies within that mindset will vary. Castillo will unleash powerful punches while Stevenson will use his striking to close the distance, wear out Castillo and take him down.

Castillo is far more likely to get a KO than Stevenson, but Stevenson is very good on the mat and will waste no time passing the guard and putting Castillo in bad positions should he get there. I think he will and he will take a step toward returning to his former status of being just on the outside of the elite lightweights in this one.

Prediction: Stevenson by submission

Main Card Preview

Brian Bowles vs. Damacio Page

We haven’t seen Bowles in awhile due to his propensity toward broken hands, but he brings his freaky similarity to Mark Wahlberg’s character in Boogie Nights to the UFC tonight against Page, who’s a tough character himself. Bowles is just plain better, but Page is as tough as nails and opportunistic on the mat.

I think Bowles will have similar success to what he had in their first meeting, as he’ll have the power to make Page uncomfortable and the ability to finish the fight standing up or on the mat. Page will rarely have breathing room in this one, as Bowles showcases his skills for a whole new set of fans.

Prediction: Bowles by submission

Alessio Sakara vs. Chris Weidman

Style-wise, the matchup is a fairly friendly one for Weidman, who is a pretty good grappler with great takedowns. However, Sakara has a huge edge in experience and any miscues on Weidman’s part will be harshly punished with Sakara’s more than capable standup.

One good aspect of striker vs. grappler matchups is that they provide a rather clear path to victory for each man. Weidman was likely salivating when he watched tape of many of Sakara’s mat misadventures, but Sakara has improved and the bright lights of the UFC will provide another opponent for Weidman to contend with, too. Weidman will unquestionably be better in the long run, but Sakara’s experience edge will be too much here.

Prediction: Sakara by KO/TKO

CB Dolloway vs. Mark Munoz

I’m always intrigued by matchups between fighters with similar styles, particularly when it isn’t immediately clear which fighter is superior in that specific area. Therefore, this bout should be interesting and might even cross over into “entertaining”, as well.

Both have been your typical crossover athletes from college wrestling to MMA, and have had their share of respective successes while not adding the dynamic elements to their games that someone like Ryan Bader has. Still, there is probably something to be said for Munoz’s power advantage, even if he’s a little sloppy with his striking. I also expect Munoz to be stronger, though Dolloway may have more refined skills on the mat. I’m not sure that will mean much if Dolloway is on his back, though, and while much of this fight will take place standing or in the clinch, I think Munoz will get more of those fight-sealing takedowns.

Prediction: Munoz by decision

Martin Kampmann vs. Diego Sanchez

These two have both had their time as contenders in the welterweight division, and Sanchez memorably challenged BJ Penn for the lightweight title as well, though that obviously didn’t go so well for him. Since then, Sanchez has rebounded nicely and apparently changed his life while attempting to get back on track in the division he made his name in.

Kampmann will enjoy a clear advantage while standing; Sanchez has capable striking but has never expanded beyond the basics, while Kampmann will use a variety of weapons to keep Sanchez guessing (and hurting). If Sanchez gets the fight to the mat, Kampmann will be in trouble but should be able to survive. He won’t submit Sanchez by any means, but Sanchez will control him and land shots consistently. I just think Kampmann will be able to keep Sanchez off guard and fend off his takedowns tonight.

Prediction: Kampmann by decision

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