Ross Pearson (11-3-0) vs. Cole Miller (16-4-0)
True story: I once sent Cole Miller an interview request via email. He accepted, I put together some questions and he never sent them back to me. I’ve been kind of biased against him since, though I do admit that opening with “how does your brother have an awesome Top Gun inspired nickname while you’re stuck with Skinny?” might have been a mistake.
Anyway, “Magrinho” looks to build off his Submission of the Night win over Dan Lauzon in the opening bout of the broadcast against rising lightweight Ross Pearson. Miller’s jiu jitsu continues to improve and impress, as evident in his wins over Lauzon, Junie Browning and Jorge Gurgel. The danger is that he’s sometimes too aggressive for his own good and gets planted, like when he fought Efrain Escudero.
Pearson is one of the top young talents in the lightweight division, continuing to climb the ladder since winning Season 9 of The Ultimate Fighter. He looked downright nasty in stopping Aaron Riley in his post-TUF debut, and wore down Dennis Siver last time out.
The winner takes a solid step up the ladder and into the deep end of the 155-pound pool afterwards.
Jim Miller (17-2-0) vs. Gleison Tibau (21-6-0)
How the younger half of the New Jersey-based Fighting Miller Brothers doesn’t get more attention at 155 is beyond me.
He’s 6-1 in the UFC, with his lone loss coming to Gray Maynard and his only other professional loss came to Frankie Edgar back in 2006, yet when the conversation rolls around to lightweight contenders, Miller’s name never comes up. Miller is the lightweight version of his older brother, UFC middleweight Dan – a strong grappler with solid hands, using those talents in concert with great cardio and an unlimited gas tank to out-pace and out-work the opposition.
Tibau is a massive, massive lightweight and he looks like he’s chiselled out of granite. He’s also an extremely dangerous opponent. A BJJ black belt who trains at ATT, Tibau is 4-1 in his last fight fives, with his loss being a controversial split decision judgment in favor of Melvin Guillard. The Brazilian is a takedown machine, but his size can cause him to tire late in fights.
A third-straight quality win for Tibau or five-straight victory for Miller awaits, along with an invite into the upper echelon of the realigned UFC lightweight division.
Efrain Escudero (13-1-0) vs. Charles Oliveira (13-0-0)
TUF winner Escudero has been solid in his three bouts since defeating Philippe Nover to claim the crown as The Ultimate Fighter on Season 8.
He dropped Cole Miller hard in his first fight after the finale, then tired before getting stuck in a nasty armbar courtesy of Evan Dunham before rebounding with a solid-but-unspectacular decision win over Dan Lauzon on the Prelims Live portion of UFC 114. A solid wrestler with heavy hands, Escudero needs to mix the two better and show better decision making inside the cage to continue climbing the ladder.
Oliveira debuted just a month ago at UFC Live in San Diego, submitting Darren Elkins with a slick triangle in the first round. The energetic young Brazilian is considered one of the better prospects in the sport, and facing Escudero is going to be a quality litmus test for the unbeaten lightweight.
Nate Marquardt (29-9-2) vs. Rousimar Palhares (11-2-0)
Marquardt’s loss at the hands of Chael Sonnen looks a whole lot better now that the verbose veteran from Oregon put a similar beating on Anderson Silva at UFC 117 before getting caught in a triangle.
The former King of Pancrase was supposed to dominate that fight and assert himself as the #1 contender in the division. Instead, he’s facing a pivotal bout against a dangerous submission specialist in hopes of putting his ascent up the middleweight rankings back in motion. Marquardt has an outstanding array of skills and a great team that helps him prepare. The key will be fighting his fight, as cliché as that sounds.
Nicknamed “Tree Stump,” Palhares is a legitimate threat at 185. The squat Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt and Brazilian Top Team pupil has won three straight (Tomas Drwal, Lucio Linhares, Jeremy Horn) since dropping a decision to Dan Henderson. While he’s no match for Marquardt standing, he is lethal on the ground, with eight of his eleven career wins coming via submission.
With the middleweight division in a state of flux, the winner gets a quick trip into contention and a future fight with someone in the Demian Maia / Michael Bisping / Chris Leben range.