Historic five-round main event highlights UFC’s United Kingdom return
Yes, there is a UFC card this weekend. You’re forgiven if you didn’t realize it, what with next weekend’s big debut on Fox overshadowing just about everything else in the company at the moment.
Smack-dab near the front of what will no doubt be a grueling run of events – with the sole non-fight weekends coming on Thanksgiving and Christmas – comes the UFC’s first return to England in over a year. You can’t really measure it against past United Kingdom events, at least in terms of name value, because it doesn’t add up. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from covering this sport over the years, it’s that the cards that look the weakest on paper often end up delivering a night chock-full of exciting fights, even if you don’t know a ton about the guys in the middle of the action.
Historically, this card will remembered for at least one item: the first five-round non-title fight in UFC history. That honor goes to main-event fighters Mark Munoz and Chris Leben, who should put on a brutal fight that probably won’t even utilize the two extra rounds before it’s over.
Let’s run down the main card.
The Preview: It’s the first five-round non-title fight in UFC history, but let’s be honest with ourselves: there’s very little chance this fight reaches the championship rounds.
There’s no mystery, no intrigue about what Chris Leben will try to do when he gets in the cage. His idea, in a general sense, is that he’s going to try and walk you down to punch you in the face, and if he takes unbelievable amounts of punishment in the process, well, that’s fine.
Leben has an unfailing belief in his chin, and for good reason, because it rarely fails him. Nowhere was this more clearly illustrated than his bout with Yoshihiro Akiyama, a seminal moment in Leben’s career where he proved that yes, a human being can actually continue to throw punches while being utterly unconscious on his feet.
He’ll try to execute the same game plan against Munoz, but here’s why it won’t be successful: unlike Akiyama or Wanderlei Silva, Munoz is a guy who won’t be suckered into standing and trading punches with a walking zombie like Leben. Munoz’ greatest strength is on the ground, delivering a brutal brand of ground and pound unmatched by anyone else in the middleweight division. Munoz is also intelligent enough to know that getting in a firefight with Leben might be exciting for the fans, but it’s also a recipe for potential disaster.
At some point in this fight – and it will be sometime in the first two rounds – Munoz will get a takedown. When he does, he’ll quickly pass Leben’s guard and smash him to pieces, earning a stoppage. At some point in the future we’re going to see an exciting non-title fight go the distance, but this won’t be it.
The Pick: Mark Munoz
Brad Pickett vs. Renan Barao
The Preview: Renan Barao is a stellar Brazilian prospect, running up a 26-1 record over the years coupled with a 3-0 record since joining Zuffa. A training partner of featherweight champion Jose Aldo, Barao has long been considered a guy who could rule the bantamweight division – especially given that champion Dominick Cruz has already defeated most of the top challengers once, if not twice. He’s an excellent jiujitsu artist who has displayed enough fortitude to beat tough dudes like Cole Escovedo, which he did at UFC 130.
As with other Brazilian prospects, though, Barao’s defensive wrestling is suspect. Brad Pickett, a tough and durable striker with the kind of wrestling ability to really make things tough over the long haul for Barao, is the type of opponent that could (and will) serve as the kryptonite to Barao’s suspect striking game. His ability to eat punches while setting up level changes is one of his strongest suits, and I fully expect him to use that aspect of his game heartily here.
Expect Pickett to do what he does, which is to say that he’ll take a ton of punishment in order to get the fight to the ground, where he’ll control Barao on the way to a decision win.
The Pick: Brad Pickett
Thiago Alves
Thiago Alves vs. Papy Abedi
The Preview: The matchmaking in this fight is quite interesting, to say the least. Abedi is a decent prospect with an undefeated 8-0 record, but he’s never faced anyone remotely as dangerous as Alves. Rarely does a debuting prospect face the kind of talent Abedi is up against here.
Alves, however, finds himself against the wall. Once one of the top welterweights in the world, Alves has fallen sharply over the past two years, constantly underachieves and now finds himself on the verge of a possible release from the promotion. In Abedi, Alves is facing a fighter he should beat handily, and if he doesn’t, well, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him plying his trade in the next Bellator welterweight tournament.
Abedi could have a decent career in front of him, but this matchup doesn’t play well into his strengths. Expect Alves to use his leg kicks to set up a fight-ending knockout punch at some point in the first two rounds.
The Pick: Thiago Alves
Terry Etim vs. Edward Faaloloto
The Preview: Like so many other bouts on this card, this is a matchup designed solely for the local crowd. Faaloloto, while having one of the more interesting surnames in mixed martial arts, is incredibly overmatched in this fight. He’s here simply to lose to the local favorite.
Etim’s striking game isn’t the best, but it doesn’t have to be, does it? His biggest strength (submissions) serves as Faaloloto’s biggest weakness, and you can expect him to exploit that handily on the way to a submission victory.
The Pick: Terry Etim
Cyrille Diabate vs. Anthony Perosh
The Preview: It’s unfortunate that Paul Taylor was injured in a car wreck this week, because his bout with Anthony Njokuani was the fight I most wanted to see on this entire card. In its place we get this bout between a mostly unknown fighter in Diabate and a guy who is best known for stepping in on late notice for a battering loss to Mirko Cro Cop.
Diabate’s length and striking ability will overwhelm Perosh here. In truth, Perosh isn’t a UFC-caliber fighter and wouldn’t even be fighting on this card if he hadn’t put up such a rugged effort against Cro Cop. Diabate should exploit the many holes in Perosh’s game early and often, and he’ll win this one by knockout.
The Pick: Cyrille Diabate
