Mark Munoz
Brian Bowles (8-1-0) vs. Damacio Page (12-5-0)
It’s great to see the former champion Bowles finally make it back to the cage; he hasn’t fought since losing his belt to Dominick Cruz back in March of last year.
Before getting beaten by Cruz, Bowles had rocketed to stardom, upsetting Miguel Torres to claim the bantamweight belt and showcasing a well-balanced offensive attack in the cage. He dropped Torres with his heavy hands, and he’d also earned a pair of Submission of the Night awards previously, including one for his August ’08 win over Page.
The Greg Jackson student known as “The Angel of Death” is a tough out for anybody, but he hasn’t looked as fearsome of late. He too was sidelined for a year with various injuries, and was dominated by the smaller, faster Demetrious Johnson in his return. Cage rust could have had something to do with his performance, as did Johnson’s talents, but being badly beaten there and having a previous loss to Bowles on his record doesn’t make Page an attractive selection.
To be successful, Page needs to come out hard and fast, throwing power as he did against Will Campuzano and Marcos Galvao; he ended both fights by brutal knockout in a combined 80 seconds. Bowles, on the other hand, just needs to show that he’s capable of still delivering the kind of performances he put together prior to the Cruz bout.
Alessio Sakara (15-7-0) vs. Chris Weidman (4-0-0)
This could be a really interesting bout, as Weidman is the third opponent to be pencilled in opposite the Italian striker, after both Maiquel Falcao and Rafael Natal were forced to withdraw.
Sakara has looked much more polished since shifting his training to the American Top Team camp in Coconut Creek, Florida. He’s earned a trio of wins while showing the same power and quality boxing he’s demonstrated throughout his career.
One of the top prospects in the sport, Weidman is a student of former welterweight champion Matt Serra and long-time trainer Ray Longo. He’s rattled off four straight wins with New Jersey-based Ring of Combat, including a TKO win over fellow prospect Uriah Hall and makes his debut on short notice here.
The 26-year-old New Yorker has a well-rounded attack, though it’s unknown how he’ll hold up at the highest level; performing well on the regional circuit and maintaining that ability against the best competition in the world – and on live television – is a difficult challenge for anyone. Having just four career fights to his name, this is a tremendous leap in terms of competition, and might be too much for the young talent to handle.
C.B. Dollaway (11-2-0) vs. Mark Munoz (9-2-0)
This is a litmus test for Dollaway, who has emerged as the top product from Season 7 of The Ultimate Fighter and brings a three-fight winning streak with him into the cage.
Munoz is a proven commodity who sits at the top of the second tier in the middleweight division; he beat Dollaway’s teammate Aaron Simpson last time out, but failed in his chance to reach the next level against Yushin Okami, leaving him as a good-but-not-great option at 185-pounds. He is, for all intents and purposes, a challenging gatekeeper made for bouts like this.
Dollaway has looked impressive since losing to Tom Lawlor at UFC 100, taking decisions from Jay Silva and Goran Reljic before submitting Joe Doerksen at UFC 119 in September. While some will argue that all three of those men have since been released by the UFC, thereby diminishing what “The Doberman” has accomplished, you can’t take away from the fact that Dollaway beat Doerksen at his own game and controlled both Reljic and Silva for the duration.
That being said, Munoz is by far his toughest test to date and a great opportunity for Dollaway to silence his critics and prove that he deserves to keep climbing the middleweight ladder. A win here moves him to the next level and brings him into Demian Maia/Nate Marquardt/Yoshihiro Akiyama territory for his next fight.
For Munoz, this is a chance to affirm his place at the top of the second cut of contenders and halt the emerging talent’s move up the rankings, perhaps earning another shot at a bigger name in the process.
Diego Sanchez (22-4-0) vs. Martin Kampmann (17-4-0)
These two welterweights come in off fights at UFC 121 that went the distance, but their results couldn’t have been more different.
Sanchez was dominated early in his bout with Paulo Thiago, losing the first round easily and getting pushed around to open the second. Then something clicked, and the other winner from the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter put it on his Brazilian opponent, highlighted by a huge slam that came with it’s own soundtrack, courtesy of Sanchez.
He dominated the rest of the way en route to earning his first welterweight win in two-plus years, and reminded a lot of people of the Diego Sanchez of old, with good reason. He’s back in his hometown of Albuquerque and reunited with the team at Jackson’s where he began his career, and a win here will quickly return him to contention in the 170-pound division.
While Sanchez found his mojo and poured it on in Anaheim, Kampmann seemed to have a brain cramp in his bout with Jake Shields.
With the former Strikeforce middleweight champ suffering from a horrible weight cut and still not all that dangerous on his feet, Kampmann weathered the first round well enough and got the better of Shields in the second, leaving the fight hinged on the final frame.
Instead of continuing to get the better of Shields in the stand-up, Kampmann decided to take the fight to Shields’ wheelhouse, grappling with the BJJ black belt, and it cost him; Shields was superior on the ground, reversed the Dane’s position and took home a split decision win.
What is most troubling about the performance by Kampmann is that it’s the second time in four fights that he’s made such an error; he chose to stand with Paul Daley at UFC 103 and it ended horribly.
This is an important fight for both men, as the welterweight division is looking for fresh names to compete at the high end, and the winner here will get that opportunity. Unfortunately, the loser may take a tumble down the rankings and have a hard time getting back near contention again.
