UFC 136: The Official Breakdown

By Siri Karri

I have no hesitation in saying that UFC 136 has been a card that I was looking forward to all year. The card features some of my favorite (and most exciting fighters) so goddamn you guys buy this card! Let’s break down these amazing fights.

Joe Lauzon (20-6) vs. Melvin Guillard (29-8-2)

Two incredibly exciting lightweights kick off this card. On one hand, Joe Lauzon is a submission wizard who has finished or been finished in all but one of his UFC fights. Melvin Guillard meanwhile is riding a five fight win streak and is rapidly closing in on a lightweight title shot.

Joe Lauzon: ”J-Lau” literally burst onto the scene at UFC 63 where he upset Jens Pulver via thunderous left hook knockout. Since then he has gone 7-3 collecting 6 post fight bonuses. At 5′ 10, Lauzon is a rather wiry lightweight who despite his KO of Pulver, mainly relies on his grappling to win his matches. That’s not saying that he’s boring by any means; he owns 3 “Submission of the Night” bonuses and his silky transitions means that opponents are left contemplating whether or not to follow Joe to the ground once they put him down.

Melvin Guillard: When it comes to raw talent, few can match Melvin Guillard. He’s very strong, very fast, very athletic, and hits like a truck. For his natural talent however he found himself with a rather rocky start in the UFC. He went 3 and 3 in his first stint and tested positive for cocaine. Yet now he’s 7-1 in his latest UFC run and knocked out 3 of his last 4 opponents. If you don’t believe me, go watch the highlight reel; Guillard resembles a wrecking ball more than a man.

Matchup: As much as I love Lauzon, his biggest weakness is that he tends to gas and falter against superior athletes. Sam Stout and Kenny Florian are the primary examples of this. Both found themselves on the receiving end of Lauzon’s explosiveness before wearing him down and dominating the rest of the fight.

Prediction: Guillard rd. 1 via TKO

Leonard Garcia (15-7-1) vs. Nam Phan II (16-9)

Their first fight is regarded as one of the worst judging decisions in the history of the UFC. Nam Phan used strategic body shots and placement to surgically dismantle Leonard Garcia as he flailed useless punches against Phan’s guard . . . except Garcia walked away with an ill earned decision. Time for vengeance.

Leonard Garcia: Featured in an all time classic war against Roger Huerta, Leonard Garcia is the ultimate brawler with mixed results. He’s 3-4-1 in his last 8 fights but has 3 post-fight bonuses to show for it. His fight against Chan Sung Jung or “The Korean Zombie” won fight of the year and is widely touted as one of the greatest mixed martial arts fights in the history of the sport. He’s also blessed with a phenomenal chin, having never been finished in the way of strikes and taking Marc Hominick, a feared striker and title contender against Jose Aldo, to a split decision with his durability. The fact that most of the fights he has lost are against title contenders or ex-title holders really says something for the pint sized brawler.

Nam Phan: Proof that big bangs can come in small packages. At only 5′ 6″, it’s conceivable that Nam Phan could fight at 135 lbs and with his record over his last 7 fights standing at 2-5 it’s very tempting to write him off as a goner. Don’t be fooled. Over the course of “The Ultimate Fighter”, Nam Phan defeated 3 larger opponents . . . 2 via brutal liver shots and the remainder by grinding out a tiring decision. His only loss came via split decision against highly touted finalist Michael Johnson who was visibly rattled by the power of Phan’s liver shot on multiple occasions. The kid is the real deal, and he beat Leonard Garcia in their first fight.

Matchup: Phan’s biggest problems have come on the ground, where his diminutive size prevents him from standing up again. This is where Mike Brown gave him trouble even though Phan was beating him easily on the feet. Luckily, Garcia doesn’t really have a ground game to speak of and is also a brawler. If their first fight is indicative of anything, Phan’s pinpoint striking will quickly overwhelm the much sloppier Garcia.

Prediction: Phan via unanimous decision.

Chael Sonnen (25-11-1) vs. Brian Stann (11-3)

Yes ladies and gentlemen, it finally happened; Chael Sonnen has nothing bad to say about his opponent. Brian Stann is a war hero and now a force to be reckoned with in the Octagon and Chael Sonnen must sit in silence as the fans flock to him. That’s a good thing though.
That means their fists are going to do the talking.

Chael Sonnen: Barring his legal and attitude problems both inside and outside the Octagon, Chael Sonnen is a force to be reckoned with. He is a D1 wrestler with 2 national titles and a 2nd place finish at the world Greco championships in Japan. He was riding a 3-fight win streak in his romp to a legendary title fight with Anderson Silva. His only previous loss had come to another middleweight title contender Damian Maia. His dominating wrestling and ground and pound grinds out what I consider to be “exciting” unanimous decisions.

Brian Stann: I’m not going to ape about Brian Stann; if you want to hear me do that read my article on this site. From a fighting standpoint, Stann is the fat kid from your little league team who over the summer got buff, starting hitting home runs effortlessly, and hooked up with the hottest woman in school. After a mediocre performance at light heavyweight, Stann EXPLODED onto the middleweight scene by submitting grappling expert Mike Massenzio in a “Fight of the Night” performance. He then went on to knockout Chris Leben (only man other than Anderson Silva to do so) and Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago. The fact is that after rehydrating, Stann weighs close to 205 lbs and is a damn good striker. Grapplers find themselves outmuscled and strikers find their chins being tested.

Matchup: God I LOVE Brian Stann but this may be his first middleweight loss. Stann’s most decisive loss was to Phil Davis, widely regarded as one of the 205 lb. division’s premier wrestlers. Stann amended part of the problem when he dropped to middleweight to improve his strength but the fact is he’s not an elite ground fighter yet. In Chael Sonnen, we have an iron chinned championship wrestler who nearly dethroned Anderson Silva.

Prediction: Chael Sonnen via unanimous decision

Jose Aldo (19-1) vs. Kenny Florian (14-5)

The first of two title fights promises to be an incredible one and honestly, probably the better one. Both are spectacular strikers and amazing ground fighters and both are mixed martial arts veterans. There’s really nothing left to hype this fight.

Jose Aldo: He is a chainsaw in shorts. He has won 12 straight fights and finished 7 out of his last 9 opponents and physically decimating the remaining 2. If you remember my description of Melvin Guillard earlier in this article, that description is applicable to Jose Aldo except that he never had a hiccup in his career. Aldo is fast, powerful, and accurate. Just ask Cub Swanson who was knocked out by a double flying knee just 8 seconds into the fight. Ask Uriah Faber who couldn’t walk properly after getting beaten by Faber. Ask Marc Hominick whose head looked like someone injected a cantaloupe above his eyebrow from Aldo’s ground and pound. The only real problem Aldo had was in his fight against Hominick in which he packed on too much muscle and tired. It’s not a mistake he’ll repeat again.

Kenny Florian: Kenny is part of a very special cast of UFC fighters that took part in the very first Ultimate Fighter series alongside legends such as Forrest Griffin and Chris Leben. He started his UFC career at 185, yet the 5′ 10 Boston native finds himself fighting for the title at 145 lbs. He has fought the who’s who of MMA from BJ Penn to Sean Sherk and holds a very respectable record. As a BJJ expert, he holds submission wins over MMA superstars such as Takanori Gomi and Clay Guida. He doesn’t necessarily go for takedowns to get his submissions either; his muay thai is so good that more often than not his opponents hit the ground in a heap rather than a takedown. After failing to gain a belt in any other division, he now makes his final stand at 145.

Matchup: While Florian was successful in his featherweight debut against Diego Nunes, critics will point out two things. First, for the first time in Florian’s career his opponent was faster and slipper than he was. Second, Nunes knocked down Florian twice in their fight but didn’t have the strength to finish him off. The fact is that if Aldo connects, the fight is as good as done; Aldo is far too good of a fighter to let such an opportunity slip him by.

Prediction: Jose Aldo via KO round 1

Frankie Edgar (13-1-1) vs. Gray Maynard (10-0-1)

Seriously, look at these guys’ records. The champion and challenger have one loss between them . . . and it was to the other guy! The quality of this fight is not to be underestimated. Sure it may pale in comparison to the barn burner that will be Aldo vs. Florian but the quality of grappling in this fight will be unparalleled. Oh and these guys can box.

Frankie Edgar: In comparison to the traditional lightweight kings such as BJ Penn, Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson Edgar is a runt. He’s short, thin, and doesn’t look like he has much muscle. Yet he’s beaten BJ Penn twice and his only loss is, in fact, to Gray Maynard. See, Frankie Edgar is fast . . . REALLY FAST. Sean Sherk AND BJ Penn are both stellar boxers and Edgar ran circles around them while picking them apart with smart jabs and hooks before taking them down. The fact that he could keep BJ Penn down is an amazing feat.

Gray Maynard: If Frankie Edgar is the zippy Corvette of the lightweight division, Gray Maynard is the Sherman Tank. He is large, muscular, and his nickname is “the Bully”. Against flashier, faster fighters such as Nate Diaz and Roger Huerta he has simply walked them into a corner, taken them down and won with little trouble. In his title fight with Frankie Edgar, he knocked down Edgar on 3 separate occasions before the iron chinned Edgar fought through his concussion and brought the fight to a draw.

Matchup: The one thing I enjoyed about Maynard’s boxing is that he used long, looping hooks to catch Edgar on the first knockdown. This automatically decreased the likelihood that Edgar could duck away after landing his combinations. Perhaps Edgar has evolved since then, but I see Maynard dominating the stand up while not letting Edgar run away with the later rounds.

Prediction: Maynard via unanimous decision

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