Written by @MulattoBawse
Last report we went over the
preliminary fights but it’s time to get into the MONEY PPV fights. Now this
fight card has undergone a lot of changes over the past few months. Ultimate
Fighter: Live coaches Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber were originally supposed to
be the co-main event for Dominick's Bantamweight Championship, but a knee
injury to Cruz kept him out of his title defense forcing the UFC to put in
Brazilian Renan Barao into an interim title bout against Faber. Renan Barao was
originally supposed to face Ivan Menjivar on this same card in what was slated
as a #1 contender bout with the winner facing Cruz/Faber. The UFC decided to
put in Cruz's training partner, Mike Easton (who is making a name for himself
as well), against Ivan Menjivar, which would now be a contender elimination
bout.
With an injury to UFC Featherweight
Champion, Jose Aldo, the UFC was scrambling to find a main event for its July
21st card in the city of Calgary in the province of Alberta, Canada (in which
I'll be attending live). UFC decided to put the Barao Vs. Faber interim
championship bout as the main event of UFC 149, thus moving Tito Ortiz's
retirement match against Forrest Griffin to an anticipated rubber match which
will mark the last time we see the legend of the octagon in the cage.
Not only did all of that happen,
but originally on the main card, former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung
Le was supposed to square off with former UFC Middleweight Rich Franklin. But
with an injury to Ultimate Fighter: Brazil coach Vitor Belfort, UFC called upon
Franklin to main event UFC 147's card in Brazil in a rematch against MMA legend
Wanderlei Silva (in which he defeated the Brazilian fighter in his homeland).
Replacing Franklin is former UFC Middleweight Contender, Patrick Cote, who is
making his return to the company after nearly 2 years. So with all that mixing
and matching let’s get to the card we have now…
Mike Easton vs. Ivan Menjivar
In a fight that moves either rising
fighter up the ladder in the deep Bantamweight division, long time MMA veterans
Mike Easton and Ivan Menjivar lock horns in the opening bout which should be
one of the most entertaining matches of the night. With all the turmoil going
on within the Bantamweight division due to the injury to the champion Dominick
Cruz, and Urijah Faber and Renan Barao squaring off for the title 2 weeks after
this card, this is a fight neither fighter can afford to lose.
Mike Easton is a long time training
partner of Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz and holds a BJJ black belt under
both of their Jiu Jitsu coach, Lloyd Irvin. Easton has been a fighter that has
been known on the independent circuit for quite a long time and even holds a
victory over Ultimate Fighter 14 Bantamweight winner John Dodson. The
Washington D.C. native made his UFC debut in stunning fashion by TKO’ing Byron
Bloodworth in the 2nd round and followed that up with decision victory over
Jared Papazian.
Ivan Menjivar has been a veteran of
the sport for a long time and during the majority of his fighting career he has
been fighting out of his natural weight class. Ivan at one point even fought
UFC Welterweight Champion, Georges St. Pierre, whom he now trains with at the
Tristar Gym in Montreal. The Salvadorian fighter who now calls Montreal his
home, over the years has fought a lot of the “who's who” in the MMA game and
has served a journeyman role in the sport. Among the list of fighters he's
fought include: Matt Serra, Urijah Faber, Joe Lauzon, Vitor Ribeiero, Caol Uno,
etc. Recently though, Menjivar has been on the hottest streak of his career
since moving to his natural weight class(Bantamweight) and winning 3 straight
since the UFC's merger with the WEC, most recently beating John Albert in a
wild first round affair by rear naked choke back in Feburary.
In this fight, I see Mike Easton
being prepared for Ivan Menjivar's unorthodox fighting style and using his
superior wrestling to control Menjivar. Although Menjivar is known for his
submission based game, with 9 of his 24 wins coming by submission, I don't see
him giving the BJJ black belt too many problems. Easton has been working with
former Olympic alternate Shannon Slack who has made a big impact on Easton's
wrestling game, which will in turn help Easton get the victory
My Prediction - Mike Easton,
Decision
Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie
In a Featherweight bout which marks
the return of Chad Mendes since his UFC title loss against the divisions
champion, Jose Aldo, in which Aldo was brutally KO'd with a knee that added
another highlight reel KO to Aldo's resume. In this fight, "Money"
Mendes will look to get back to his winning ways as he faces dangerous
submission artist Cody McKenzie, who is known by fans for being on Team Georges
St. Pierre on the 12th season of the Ultimate Fighter.
Chad Mendes is quite possibly the
best wrestler at 145lbs in the UFC Featherweight division. Mendes who was in
the same wrestling program as long time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck
Liddell, at Cal Poly, amassed an impressive collegiate career. In his final
year of college, Chad Mendes was NCAA tournament runner-up at the 141 lb
division before making the switch to MMA. Mendes made the smart move by going
to Urijah Faber's gym, Team Alpha Male, which is a camp composed of smaller,
athletic wrestlers training out of Sacramento, California. Mendes has been
stellar in his switch to MMA going undefeated in his first 11 bouts and
eventually earned a title shot earlier in the year.
Cody McKenzie, who is known to MMA
fans for his vicious guillotine choke, holds the 3rd most victories in all of
MMA using the choke (13). Before his first loss against Yves Edwards last year,
he won 11 straight in the first round using his modified version of the guillotine
choke. After dropping two in a row, McKenzie picked up the biggest win of his
career over wrestling phenom Marcus LeVesseur in typical guillotine choke
fashion. This fight will mark McKenzie's first fight at Featherweight.
I see Mendes securing the win after
McKenzie gasses out and working his way back up the Featherweight division.
While Mendes obviously should fear for McKenzie's guillotine choke, Mendes has
shown very good submission defense and offense throughout his career and has
never been submitted. McKenzie's gas tank is very questionable too when he
can't get that guillotine. When the fight lasts past the first round it seems
like he isn't the same fighter. I expect Mendes to avoid the guillotine and
grind out McKenzie, eventually stopping him early in the 2nd round.
My Prediction - Chad Mendes by TKO
or Submission
Demian Maia vs. Dong Hyun Kim
After years of making his mark on
the middleweight division, Demian Maia will move down to Welterweight for the
first time in his career facing top Welterweight, Dong Hyun Kim. Maia, who has
been in the upper tier of middleweight fighters for years, will look to make
his mark on the 170lbs division. But Maia won't have an easy task, as he faces
often overlooked Dong Hyun Kim who like Maia, is an accomplished grappler.
Damien Maia in the last 5 years has
impressed MMA fans with his highly skilled Jiu Jitsu game, winning
"Submission of the Night" 4 times. He eventually earned the right to
face Anderson Silva for the middleweight title and although he was dominated in
the early going he displayed a lot of heart and kept fighting. He lasted the 5 rounds
(losing by decision) and was praised by Dana White for his gutsy performance…
Also, on top of facing Anderson, Maia has also fought and holds a victory over
the man who will face Anderson in the main event, Chael Sonnen. He welcomed Sonnen
into the UFC with a triangle choke in the first round back in 2009, impressing
everyone. Maia's BJJ credentials are very impressive: he has made the
championships in the ADCC, World Cup, and Pan American Championships. What
makes Maia's BJJ so successful in MMA is the fact he is a very good wrestler,
as displayed in his close match with Mark Munoz (who is an NCAA Div 1. Champion)
His ability to wrestle with middleweights means he should have a much bigger
strength advantage at welterweight
Dong Hyun Kim has been one of the
most under the radar welterweights in the division since his entrance into the
UFC. A part of it can be attributed to his style, which isn't the most crowd
pleasing one, but the fact remains that he is a very talented fighter. His only
loss in the UFC was to the Interim Welterweight Champion, Carlos Condit, but
before that fight he was on 5 fight win streak with 1 no contest which would've
been a loss in a controversial decision against Karo Parisyan(who tested
positive for painkillers). Throughout his UFC career, Kim has used his Judo
background to smother his opponents and grind them out. Kim doesn't really try
to finish his fights but instead opts to use his superior cardio and top
control to get the win. 5 of 6 of his victories have been by decision but
despite winning, he has yet to WOW the fans and UFC bosses. Throwing a wrench
in Maia's coming out party can do that.
I predict Maia wins however he
wants but I don't see him finishing Kim. Maia stand up is somewhat underrated
because of how good his BJJ is, but he has displayed some decent striking,
especially in his fight with Dan Miller. Dealing with the weight cut to 170
might be new, but Maia should adjust to it without too many problems. Kim did
show some nice stand up against Sean Pierson but I feel Maia at this point in
his career is the smarter striker. On the ground, Maia is the better wrestler
and possesses a much more advanced BJJ game, and should be able to control Kim
and work submissions. But I don’t believe Kim will be submitted in this fight due
to his smarts as a fighter and will defend the submissions of Maia well.
My Prediction - Demian Maia by
Decision
Patrick Cote vs. Cung Le
Although the Cung Le-Rich Franklin
match is more intriguing, Patrick Cote is a great replacement and possesses the
opportunity to prove he belongs back in the UFC by playing the spoiler to the
crowd pleasing, movie star Cung Le, who in his own right needs a win. This is a
must win for both fighters as they have a lot to prove. For Cote, he wants to
keep his spot in the UFC after being released back in October by the UFC, and with
a win over Cung Le it can push Cote towards possible a fight with an upper tier
middleweight. For Cung Le, he wants to prove he can win under the UFC banner
after coming from Strikeforce, where he held the middleweight title.
People feel Cung Le lacks the
motivation to be an MMA fighter, only fight 1-2 times a year,get a quick cheque
and go star in a few B-Level movies. I personally don't know Cung Le's personal
motivation to keep fighting but I do know if he wants to make a serious run in the
UFC, he has to do it starting with Cote. Cung Le just recently turned 40, and
although he hasn't had a lot of MMA fights, or even a long career, he's had a
long kickboxing/combat fighting career. Cung Le is one of the few fighters that
use a Karate-based style in which Taekwondo comes into play as he throws an
arsenal of kicks as his main offense. In his UFC debut, he looked to be winning
the fight against Wanderlei Silva but ultimately got caught and KO'd by the MMA
legend, sending him back to the drawing board. Should he lose this fight
against Cote, there is a chance Cung Le and could possibly be let go from the
UFC.
For Patrick Cote, this is
redemption for an MMA career with many highs and lows. Since showing his heart
by taking a fight, undersized, and on short notice against his MMA hero at the
time Tito Ortiz(and lasting a decision), Cote lost 2 straight fights. After
that, he was given a chance by Dana White to get onto a season of Ultimate
Fighter. This season, which was labeled the Comeback season, had many UFC
veterans, and the winner would earn a title shot in their weight class. Cote
was able to make it to the finals and was on the brink of a title shot until he
was submitted easily by Travis Lutter. People began to label Cote as an
"underachiever" after that fight, but the Montreal, Quebec born
fighter refused to give up. He was given another chance in the UFC and won 4
straight, earning a chance to face the Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva.
Even though Cote was getting handled by Silva in the fight, he was still very
much "IN" the fight until moving the wrong way and putting too much pressure
on his of his right leg, causing him to fall and injuring his knee. The fight
was immediately stopped and Cote had to get knee surgery. In his return, he
lost two fights in a row and was let go by the company. Cote since then has kept
fighting for another shot in the company and won 4 straight for the independent
promotions. With the UFC scrambling for someone to replace Rich Franklin, they
called in the veteran Cote, giving him a chance to fight on the main card in
what will be one of the most watched PPV fights in UFC history.
In this fight, both are renowned
for their stand up; Cote with his boxing and Cung Le with his kicks. For Cote
to win he must keep the fight close and not allow Cung Le to keep him at bay
with his kicks. He must get inside where his boxing will be effective. For Cung
Le to win he must use his superior speed and not allow a chance for the brawler
to work inside (like Wanderlei did in the 2nd round) and use his arsenal to
confuse the Canadian fighter. I predict Cung Le will have problems but should
be able to steal the fight on points. Cote might cause a few scares but Le will
shake it off and keep him at a distance securing the decision
My Prediction - Cung Le by decision
I will preview the Co-Main Event
and Main Event next fight where I will give my predictions and why I think they
will win so stay tuned.
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