UFC 162 FX Prelim Card

Edson Barboza Vs. Rafaello Oliveira
We kick off the preliminary fights on FX with the entertaining and rising lightweight Edson Barboza facing the experienced brazilian black belt, Rafael Oliveira. Initially, Barboza was supposed to face the entertaining Canadian striker, John Makdessi, but an injury forced Makdessi to pull out off the fight, and the UFC asked Oliveira to take his place. Since suffering the 1st loss of his career last year to Jamie Varner, Barboza has comeback to defeat Lucas Martins where he stopped the fellow Brazilian early in the first round. Oliveira himself got his 2nd win under the UFC brass with a decision victory last year against Yoislandy Izquierdo.

 After his loss to Jamie Varner, Barboza decided to move his camp up to New Jersey to work on his weaknesses with Frankie Edgar (who will be co main eventing this card) and his camp.

Reports are that Barboza has fit in so well that he even got his main training partner rising WSOF fighter Marlon Moraes to New Jersey with him as well as his Muay Thai coach from Brazil. Since arriving to the UFC, Barboza has made a name for himself with a very dynamic striking arsenal which has resulted in entertaining fights sometimes ending with highlight reel KO's(his spinning back kick KO of Terry Etim will be remembered for years to come). After that win he was labeled the future of the Lightweight division and someone who could eventually contend for the Lightweight title . These hopes hit a brick wall, though, against Jamie Varner. In that fight, Varner was able to expose Barboza's weaknesses in the areas of wrestling and boxing. Varner fought a great fight, eating Barboza's kicks and getting inside with his boxing and wrestling, eventually stopping the young fighter and derailing his hype.

Barboza took the loss very well and acknowledged the holes in his game by making the trip to New Jersey to train with former UFC Lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar and remedy his issues. Although we've only seen one fight from him since the move against an unknown fighter, I still feel Barboza will show he is a much improved fighter since the move in this fight.

Rafael Oliveira on the other hand, has had a very underachieving career. Despite posting a 15-5 record, 4 of his 5 losses have been in the UFC where he's posted a 2-4 record. He's lost to the likes of tough fighters like Nik Lentz, Andre Winner, Glesion Tibau and Yves Edwards, but you will never get anywhere in your UFC career without a win that sticks out on your resume. Which Rafael lacks. But this can all change this Sunday when Oliveira locks horns with Barboza. Oliveira has everything to gain and nothing really to lose in this fight, and sometimes thats the best situation to be in.

Despite all this I expect Barboza to put on a show and restart his ascent in the UFC lightweight division. I believe that loss against Varner helped Barboza more than it derailed him as he continues to work on the kinks in his game. I expect Barboza to finish Oliveira in devastating fashion, adding another highlight reel KO to his resume and the possibility of earning a match against a top 10 Lightweight for his next fight.

My Prediction: Edson Barboza - TKO 1st Round.

Gabriel Gonzaga Vs. Dave Herman

The only heavyweight fight of the night should be an interesting and very entertaining scrap. In what could be a "loser leaves the UFC" fight, former #1 contender Gabriel Gonzaga takes on the entertaining Dave Herman. Both fighters are coming off losses, and with the recent UFC cuts, both need to win here to secure their job with the UFC. Dave Herman has lost his last 3 bouts against Stefan Struve, Roy Nelson, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira… And while all 3 fighters are in the top 10 of the official UFC rankings, losing 3 straight is not a good look. All of Herman's fights have been entertaining, though, so the UFC felt the need to give him another shot. Gonzaga himself is coming off a controversial fight against Travis Browne where he felt he was illegally elbowed in route to the loss.

Gabriel Gonzaga at one time was at the top of the UFC heavyweight contendership, when he shocked the world, knocking out Mirko Cro Cop in England(which will go down as one of the biggest upsets in UFC & MMA history), but he failed in his title shot against the legendary Randy Couture back in 2007. For many years, Gonzaga has been one of the most skilled heavyweights in the division. He has very well ranged striking with decent hands and nice MMA style Muay Thai along with his BJJ skill set, where has competed and won many international Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournaments. Gonzaga has been able to translate his BJJ into MMA very well as he has many wins ranging from different kinds of submissions. But with all of Gonzaga's skill set, he has underachieved in the sport. At one point, many felt he could've been a world champion, but with so many young, athletic fighters coming into the sport it appears the days of Gonzaga being a contender is over.

Dave Herman on the other hand, has never really been a top level heavyweight but more of a gatekeeper in the division. He is someone you want to test yourself out against to see if you can crack the top 10 rankings. Herman has fought all over the world in various different promotions, and for his credit has put on good performances and good fights. He always brings it when he fights, and I have yet to see a boring Dave Herman fight, win or lose. That is why it's difdicult to cut fighters like him, because of this ability to get the crowd going. If Herman wants to keep his job he needs to start winning, and that has to start Saturday night.

I expect Gonzaga's skill set to be too much for Herman… Herman always tends to keep his hands low and with Gonzaga's power he will capitalize on that and it will end in a brutal KO for Herman, possibly in the 2nd round once Gonzaga finds his range.

My Prediction: Gabriel Gonzaga - TKO in the 2nd Round

Norman Parke Vs. Kazuki Tokudome

Norman Parke makes his UFC PPV debut against prospect Kazuki Tokudome after winning The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes. This should prove to be a huge step up for the Japanese fighter. Tokudome looks to add the biggest name on his resume as he looks to defeat Norman Parke who has gained international fame throughout his MMA career, whereas the Ultimate Fighter winner Parke will look to notch his first UFC win after winning the first ever Australia Vs. England version of the Ultimate Fighter where he impressed everyone.

Norman Parke isn't your typical "Northern Ireland/British" fighter, instead, Parke comes from a wrestling/judo background which gave him the edge over other fighters in the Ultimate Fighter house. He was able to grind his way to winning in his lightweight division. 12 of Parke's 17 victories have come by submission and his grappling should improve as he has decided to train at famed world Abu-Dhabi Submission champion Robert Drysdale's camp in Las Vegas. Parke already possesses some of the best wrestling I've seen from a British fighter in the lightweight division and taking his talents there will only add to that. Parke has been known for years around the English and Irish MMA scene, where he competed in various different promotions before getting his shot in the Ultimate Fighter house. Only 27 years young, Parke will look to rise and become a contender in the lightweight division. Gicen his skill set I feel he can really make some noise.

Not too much is know about Parke's opponent Kazuki Tokudome, despite him being a Pancrase veteran. Kazuki made his UFC debut in March back in his homeland Japan, winning a unanimous decision over Cristiano Marcello. Kazuki was well know in Pancrase where he became the #1 Lightweight contender for the King of Pancrase, before falling to the champion Isao Kobayashi. Kazuki comes from a judo & boxing background. Parke hasn't shown too much of his stand up ability, so if Kazuki can keep the fight on his feet he can try to expose that.

My prediction is Parke grinds out Kazuki for an easy decision. I feel the ceiling is really high for the Brit and he will continue to improve. While it may be boring for some people, Parke needs to play it smart and get this victory and continue to climb up the lightweight ladder.

My Prediction: Norman Parke - Unanimous Decision

Chris Leben Vs. Andrew Craig

To finish off the UFC 162 preliminary card on FX, we get the fan favorite Chris Leben looking to stay relevant against the entertaining Andrew Craig. This fight could mean the end for Chris Leben, who is known by almost all fans for his time in the infamous first season of the Ultimate Fighter, which helped catapult the UFC into the mainstream light. Leben could be on the chopping block with the UFC despite being with the company since I was a senior in High School. He's going to have his hands full with the hungry Andrew Craig, who might not be as well known as Leben is, but is a very solid middleweight.

Chris Leben for this camp has decided to go with Alliance MMA, where the likes of Phil Davis, Mike Easton, Brandon Vera, and UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz all train. This could be a good move for Leben as it's a very good camp with lots of good fighters, but Leben has been all over the place since the beginning of his MMA career when he started at Team Quest. Leben looked out of it and not all into the fight when he fought Derek Brunson last December in what was a snoozer of a match. Before that fight, Leben was out for a year after testing positive for oxycodone and morphine after his loss to Mark Munoz. You could use the ring rust excuse for Leben, but to me, he appeared to be the same Chris Leben we saw for years.

Many may not know to much about Andrew Craig, but this kid is a very entertaining fighter who possesses a very dynamic striking game. He is much more well versed than Chris Leben who always tries to slug it out and take strikes right on the head. Craig uses a lot more movement and varies with his strikes. Although he lost his first fight against rising middleweight Ronny Markes, he looked good, and in the process gave the Brazilian a really tough fight in a very close decision loss. In this fight, Craig will look to avoid the power punches from Leben and counterstrike him as he engages.

I feel this will be one of the upsets of the night. I've been impressed with Andrew Craig over the last few years, while Chris Leben has failed to impressed me since his back to back wins over Aaron Simpson and Sexyama back in 2010. I feel Craig is the quicker fighter and will avoid the knockout power of Leben in route to a decision, beating Leben to the punch in their striking engages.

My Prediction: Andrew Craig -- Unanimous Decision