Punch Drunk Preview: UFC 114
This weekend’s event in Las Vegas is a card that revolves around the highly-anticipated meeting between former light heavyweight champions Rashad Evans and his nemesis Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Delayed since December, the hype for this event has been building through trash talk, the UFC Primetime series and a one-sided coaching duel on Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter.
While the main event is the main focus, the rest of this card carries some intriguing matchups that will provide clarity to the contender status of some well-known stars, and showcase the potential of some of the top prospects in the UFC.
Enough talk – onto the fights.
Jesse Forbes (11-4-0) vs. Ryan Jensen (14-6-0)
The loser is returning to the regional circuit, as neither Forbes nor Jensen has been able to find success inside the Octagon.
Technically, Jensen has a win, defeating Steve Steinbeiss by submission in September 2009. I say “technically” because it was one of the worst stoppages in the history of stoppages. While stuck in a Jensen guillotine, the referee asked Steinbeiss if he was okay. Steinbeiss responded with a thumbs up and the referee stepped in, waving off the fight. When that’s your only win, you’re in trouble, but at least it’s one more win than Forbes has under his belt.
Aaron Riley (28-12-1) vs. Joe Brammer (7-1-1)
Riley is a grizzled veteran coming off a demolition at the hands of Ross Pearson, while Brammer got a bunch of attention for wearing a walkout shirt from Hoelzer Reich before Mark Bocek submitted him back in December.
It could be a slugfest that ends up getting play on either the preliminary or pay-per-view portion of the event, but it could just as easily be a meaningless meeting that goes off without much attention. Every time I get excited for a Riley fight, I end up being disappointed, so I’m going with the latter, though I’m hoping for the former.
Luis Cane (10-2-0) vs. Cyrille Diabate (15-6-1)
Getting knocked out by Lil’ Nog dropped Luis Cane from the middle of the main card to the third fight of the night. Yikes! Now he’s meeting Dan Henderson’s striking coach from Season 9 of The Ultimate Fighter, Cyrille “The Snake” Diabate.
Cane was a Top 10-ish 205’er before the Nogueira fight and that promise and ability doesn’t fade with one loss. Diabate is dangerous because of his length and striking ability, but he hasn’t beaten anyone of serious consequence EVER and needed another year outside the organization to secure a contract after being featured on TUF 8. What does that tell you?
Melvin Guillard (23-8-2) vs. Waylon Lowe (8-2-0)
With the injury to Thiago Tavares, this fight went from a danger zone to a diamond mine for Melvin Guillard. Allergic to submission fighters, Guillard now faces a late replacement with no Octagon experience to speak, seeking a second consecutive win and a step up in competition.
He looked good in his first fight under the guidance of Greg Jackson and has always shown potential. While beating Waylon Lowe doesn’t really stand to advance Guillard’s career as much as beating a known entity like Tavares, a win is a win is a win and Guillard stands to earn another one here.
Efrain Escudero (12-1-0) vs. Dan Lauzon (12-3-0)
This fight was interesting before the Lauzon family feud kicked in, and now that the brothers are battling in the media, I’m even more excited to see what happens when Lauzon locks horns with TUF 8 winner Escudero.
Coming off his first career loss, Escudero has a lot of questions to answer in this fight too. How high is his ceiling? Will the loss change his approach? Does the Lauzon family feud give him a false sense of confidence that results in another loss?
Tune into Spike TV for all the answers.
Amir Sadollah (3-1-0) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (12-0-1)
Another Spike special featuring a former TUF winner, this fight will give everyone an indication of just how good Amir Sadollah could be.
Kim is criminally underrated, a very strong judoka who will try to control the fight and keep Sadollah close. DHK isn’t going to win any striking battles with Sadollah, who has shown excellent Muay Thai in earning back-to-back decision wins. It seems cliché, but who ever dictates the pacing and spacing of this fight will get their hand raised.
Diego Sanchez (21-3-0) vs. John Hathaway (12-0-0)
Welcome back to the welterweight division, Diego. YES!
I feel a little dirty seeing Sanchez back at 170, aiming to end promising British prospect Hathaway’s unbeaten streak. He dropped to lightweight because a shot at the welterweight belt wasn’t in the cards. Then when BJ Penn splits his forehead open with his shin, it’s back up to 170 because the cut was too much to take. Seems awful convenient…
Hathaway has all the talent in the world and has looked solid in outpointing Rick Story and Paul Taylor in his last two, but Sanchez might be too much of a step up in competition for the young Englishmen. If he is to emerge with a win, Hathaway instantly vaults into the co-main event status the next time the UFC invades the United Kingdom.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (18-3-0) vs. Jason Brilz (18-2-1)
No disrespect to Jason Brilz, but this is a slam dunk for Nogueira. He dropped Luis Cane with a quick left in his debut, has an impressive resume filled with name-brand wins, and is comfortable if the fight goes to the ground, as you’d expect it to with a wrestler like Brilz.
You don’t get 18 wins in 21 attempts by being a ham-and-egger, but being a tough grinder who is able to earn victories over Eric Schafer and Tim Boetsch and scoring a win over Lil’ Nog are drastically different. Kudos on stepping in on short notice, now enjoy the third loss of your career.
Todd Duffee (6-0-0) vs. Mike Russow (12-1-0)
Duffee thinks he’s overhyped. I think he’s modest.
The 24-year-old is a serious prospect who debuted last August with the fastest knockout in UFC history. Standing 6’3” and ripped at 250 pounds, Duffee is a specimen who has looked every bit the potential star people have been calling him since he stopped Assuerio Silva in Brazil two years ago.
Despite being overshadowed in this bout, Russow is no slouch. His lone loss came more than three years ago to Sergei Kharitonov, he has a solid submission game and has the proven gas tank to go into deep water if necessary.
Winner moves up, loser faces an unknown, debuting heavyweight next time around.
Michael Bisping (18-3-0) vs. Dan Miller (11-3-0)
This really is a pivotal matchup for both fighters, which should make for an exciting co-main event. Miller is looking to avoid the dreaded three-fight losing streak, going as far as to say he’s done if he drops this contest, while Bisping doesn’t want to drop two-in-a-row and move to 1-3 in his last four.
Considering Miller was outscored while standing with Demian Maia, Bisping clearly has the striking advantage, but while his ground game has improved, Miller’s black belt jiu jitsu skills give him the edge on the mat.
The deciding factor might be Bisping’s penchant for living dangerously. In each of his last two fights, he’s made critical mistakes that cost him the win, circling into Dan Henderson’s right hand and leaving his neck out at the close of the second round against Wanderlei Silva.
Should be a good one, no matter who wins.
Quinton Jackson (30-7-0) vs. Rashad Evans (14-1-1)
These two flat out dislike each other and might just run into the center of the cage swinging for the fences… and no one would complain if they did.
The whole night will be a countdown to seeing these two standing opposite each other in the Octagon, just as the last six months of waiting has been. You would think that all the waiting would have lessened the anticipation for this bout.
You would think that, wouldn’t you?
