Punch Drunk Preview: UFC 115

Punch Drunk Preview: UFC 115

Short on lots of big name stars, the UFC’s first foray into British Columbia offers a card big on intrigue. With a couple matches designed to separate contenders from pretenders, and a main event that will tell us where a pair of iconic former champions stand, UFC 115 should end up more entertaining and eventful than the mild-mannered match-ups suggest.

Mike Pyle (18-7-1) vs. Jesse Lennox (11-2-0)

The first fight of the night is the traditional “Loser Leaves Town” tilt. Pyle was beaten by rising talent Jake Ellenberger last time out and is 1-2 in the UFC, while Lennox is batting .500 through two fights, having dropped a decision to Rick Story in his most recent trip to the Octagon.

Pyle has the edge in experience and has the benefit of working every day with a tremendous group at Xtreme Couture. But it’s been that way for some time, and he still hasn’t delivered an eye-opening performance. Neither has Lennox, and chances are neither will in this one either.

Claude Patrick (11-1-0) vs. Ricardo Funch (7-1-0)

One of three Canadians competing in Vancouver, Patrick makes his organizational debut riding a ten-fight winning streak. His lone loss came to Drew McFedries way back in June 2002. That said, it’s not like he’s been beating studs since then. Patrick has beaten a collection of regional mid-card opponents, and he won’t be getting any of those in the UFC.

Unbeaten when he made his Octagon debut, Funch dropped a unanimous decision to Johny Hendricks at UFC 107. Now that the first fight jitters are out of the way, perhaps the Team Link trainee will show what had some people picking upset back at UFC 107.

If not,he’s done.

James Wilks (6-3-0) vs. Peter Sobotta (8-2-0)

One of the winners from Season 9 of The Ultimate Fighter, Wilks was thrown to the fire in his post-TUF debut. Matt Brown proved to be too much, though Wilks did have his moments in the match-up. This time around, we’re on the opposite end of the spectrum, as he looks like he’s being given a sacrificial lamb named Peter Sobotta.

The German fighter isn’t a human punching bag, but he’s not a world-beater either. In his one UFC appearance to date, he went to the cards with Paul Taylor and lost. Taylor has subsequently shit the bed in trying to make the move to lightweight. That should tell you all you need to know about this one.

David Loiseau (19-9-0) vs. Mario Miranda (9-1-0)

I know I’m supposed to remain impartial, but dammit I want good things for David Loiseau. He’s a pioneer of this sport in Canada – insofar as he was one of the first real Canadian stars – and was dicked around by the Quebec Commission before UFC 113. This might be another “Hey, we’re in Canada. Let’s get another Canadian on the card” situation, but even if it is, I want it to be a winning one for Loiseau.

Mario Miranda is the guy who can ruin all that. I’ll be very displeased if he does.

Mac Danzig (19-7-1) vs. Matt Wiman (11-5-0)

If you can tell me a reason to care about this fight, I will re-write this piece and include your explanation. As I can’t think of one reason why this battle of middling lightweights should eat up any more of my word count, I’m moving on.

How it’s on Spike as one of the “if you like this, drop $50 on the pay-per-view” fights is beyond me.  Danzig vs. Wiman????

Tyson Griffin (14-2-0) vs. Evan Dunham (10-0-0)

I love this fight. Love it. Peanut butter and bacon sandwich love it. Seriously – try it and tell me it’s not awesome…

Both are a notch below the top tier of contenders at 155. Both have improving games that have shown new wrinkles in recent fights, with Griffin finally finishing a fight and Dunham having won his three UFC contests in three different ways.

Oh yeah, they’re teammates too! Awesome.

Winner gets to face a marquee lightweight. Loser still ain’t doing all that bad either.

Carlos Condit (24-5-0) vs. Rory MacDonald (10-0-0)

What do you do with a 20-year-old unbeaten Canadian who just survived an early scare to submit a veteran in the first round of his UFC debut? When it’s Rory MacDonald, you throw him in the cage with former WEC welterweight champ Carlos Condit and see what happens.

If he loses, he’s 20 and lost to a former champ who many still believe has a bright future. If he wins, the kid is a great story, a viable contender and someone who can be around to beat people up for, I dunno, 20 years.

Condit is working with Greg Jackson now, so it will be interesting to see what Master Yoda has taught his new padowan. He’s always been gifted offensively, but if the defensive holes haven’t been filled, he’s in for a long night.

Ben Rothwell (30-7-0) vs. Gilbert Yvel (36-14-1)

In the evenings mandatory match-up of mammoths, Rothwell and Yvel will slug it out in hopes of extending their stay with the UFC one more fight.

Everyone from the Duke Roufus camp has been putting in serious performances of late, so that bodes well for “Big Ben.” Facing “Tropical Storm” Gilbert is dangerous, but certainly not as bad as his night against Cain Velasquez.

Now that Dana White isn’t trying to sell Yvel against an up-and-coming Junior dos Santos, you don’t hear the UFC Prez offering too much praise for the bat-shit crazy badass from the Netherlands.

Paulo Thiago (13-1-0) vs. Martin Kampmann (16-3-0)

Easily the best fight of the night, and I mean that with all due respect to all the other pairings. Not only are these two fairly evenly matched, but they’re fighting for a step into the upper echelon of the welterweight division.

You could argue Thiago has already earned his place at the table, having beaten both Josh Koscheck and Mike Swick, as well as Jacob Volkmann, but you won’t hear him complain. After all, a day not dodging bullets and chasing drug dealers is a walk in the park.

Kampmann went from being in a #1 contender fight with Mike Swick at UFC 103 to getting lit up by Paul Daley in Dallas. Now he’s back to start climbing the ladder again. He’s got all the tools, but he needs to make sure and use them appropriately.

Pat Barry (5-1-0) vs. Mirko Cro Cop (26-7-2)

There shouldn’t be any of that annoying wrestling or grappling in this one, as two kickboxers will stand across from each other and fire leg kicks off until one can’t continue.

Cro Cop is a legend and was lethal. Now he’s more of a fading star who more and more people believe has overstayed his welcome, while the arsenal that once made him the most feared striker on the planet has been MIA for his last few fights.

In Barry, he meets a younger, quicker kickboxer who will be seeking an autograph at some point during the week. He’ll also be seeking to earn a second-straight win and continue the Roufusport roll I mentioned earlier.

Chuck Liddell (21-7-0) vs. Rich Franklin (26-5-0)

As much as I would have loved to see Chuck punch Tito in the head a couple more times, this is a better fight. Franklin is still a tough out for anybody, and presents some challenges for Liddell that will show whether he should have taken Dana White’s advice last April and hung up the four-ounce gloves.

One of these former champions is coming out of this fight with the right kind of momentum to push them towards one final title run. The other is coming away with a whole lot of questions, both from themselves and the media.

As both would much rather be the former than the latter, expect a pretty entertaining fight.