UFC: Fight for the Troops 2
By Ben Bieker
Main Event:
Evan Dunham, 11-1 vs. Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard, 26-8-2
Evan Dunham comes into this fight after a loss to Sean Sherk, but most people believe he won that fight including Dana White. Before that he was undefeated, and had four straight wins in the UFC, giving Efrain Escudero his first loss of his career, and started Tyson Griffins most recent skid. Evan is a really well rounded fighter too because he is able to control the fight on the ground, and is very competent standing. His knee to Tyson Griffin was devastating and almost finished Tyson off. Evan is a big Lightweight easily making his opponents look small when he has fought them.
Melvin has had a sort of resurgence since he has joined Greg Jackson’s team in Albuquerque. Struggling with relevance after coming off the Ultimate Fighter Melvin 3-3 and got popped for cocaine use. After that, he took a fight in a smaller organization to get his fighting legs back underneath him, and it worked. Since coming back to the UFC he has went 5-1 with his only misstep a loss to Nate Diaz, a fight he was winning. Now he says his mission is to get a title shot in 2011, but first up is Evan.
Evan has a lot more ability to win this fight, but at the same time Melvin always has one ability over all of his opponents, his power. He has quite a few knockouts on his record, and no one is immune to a well placed punch. Evan though has his wrestling and ground game to fall back on. Evan will need to use his varied game to keep Melvin on his toes, and off his power.
Melvin does not have the varied game that Evan does, but he’s working on it, and while Evan does have good striking it is not near the level of Melvin’s striking. Melvin has one punch knockout power, as seen by knocking out Dennis Siver, Gabe Ruediger, and Rick Davis all in highlight reel fashion. That is the one thing that he does posses in this fight, the ability to change the momentum in it with one punch, and he will need to utilize that if he is to continue on towards a title shot.
The Bottom Line: While I think Melvin has made strides to better himself in his MMA career I think that Evan has already put it all together, even though he has not been around as long. Look for him to take it down fast and often, until he catches Melvin in a submission late in the second.
Co-Main Event:
Matt “Meathead” Mitrione, 3-0 vs. Tim “The Thrashing Machine” Hague, 12-4
Matt Mitrione is one of the few fighters that have had all of his professional fights in the UFC. He went into the Ultimate Fighter on the strength of his credentials as a former NFL player, but he is slowly building himself to be a competent Mixed Martial Artist also. Training with the likes of Pat Berry and Anthony Pettis at Duke Roufus’ gym in Wisconsin you can see his development in his fights. Not relying purely on his power and athleticism anymore, he has been able to add dynamic striking and a good cardio to his game.
Tim Hague comes into this fight after spending two fights outside the UFC. He got booted after going 1-3 in the UFC. He beat Pat Barry in his debut submitting him after he got knocked down, then he was on the wrong side of the fastest knockout in the UFC against Todd Duffee, and lost a highly controversial decision Chris Tuchscherer. He actually was cut from the organization after that fight, but was brought back for a Canadian card and lost to Joey Beltran. When he was cut, again, he went a little bit of a streak knocking out notables Zak Jensen and Travis Wiuff in the first round.
This fight will surely play out on the feet as both are showing signs of having good standup power. Tim coming off two big knockout wins has to have put a lot of confidence in his standup ability, but now he comes up to someone who has a lot of confidence in his standup game after his most recent wins also. This fight will be contested on the feet and it should be exciting to watch.
The Bottom Line: Tim is going to be hungrier to prove his worth in the UFC and shows it here putting on a dominating performance punctuated with a third round submission win.
Mark “The Machine” Hominick, 19-8 vs. George Roop, 11-6-1
Mark Hominick has always floated around the top of his perspective weight division, but one thing has always kept him from it, which are top grapplers. Submission losses to Josh Grispi and Rani Yahya have kept him away from getting a title shot, but now that may be changing. Dana White has said with a win over George Roop he will get the first crack at Jose Aldo’s belt when he returns. Furthermore, Mark will not have to worry about the ground game as George has just as much tendency to stand as Mark does.
George Roop comes into this fight off one of the biggest wins of his career. He stopped the iron jawed Korean Zombie Chang Sung Jung. Before that George had a tough go of things in his fight career. After coming off the Ultimate Fighter George went 1-2 in the UFC before being dropped. The after one win in a smaller organization he made his in the WEC dropping two weight classes to do so, on short notice, to take on Eddie Wineland, but lost by unanimous decision. He should have won a decision over Leonard Garcia, but it was ruled a split draw. It was not the easiest stretch for a fighter, but he rebounded well with the aforementioned win over Chang. Now he has another chance to take a big step up with a win over Mark.
Both of these fighters like to stand and trade, which is something that makes the fans happy. The problem is George when going up a world class striker gets beat up and does not change up his game. You can see it in his fight against Eddie, and it may happen again if he does not change his plan when fighting Mark. It will come down to if he can out strike Mark, which is highly unlikely because Mark is one of the best strikers in the division.
The Bottom Line: Roop should take it to the ground, but he won’t and it will cause him to get beat up leading to a unanimous decision win for Mark Hominick.
Pat “HD” Berry, 5-2 vs. Joey “Mexicutioner” Beltran, 12-4
I don’t know if Joe Silva has a sick sense of humor, or if Joey Beltran has ill will towards Duke Roufus trained fighters, after his loss to Matt Mitrione, but he is in trouble in this one. Joey got out struck by Matt Mitrione in his last fight and he is not half the striker Barry is. Barry is a juggernaut with his feet and hands and can hurt anyone there. Plus, with him looking to hurt someone after his loss to Cro Cop, where people have accused him of throwing the fight a, I would not want to be in the cage with him. Joey has a chance if he tries to take it to the ground, but history would dictate he would not try.
The Bottom Line: While Matt couldn’t stop Joey on the feet, he lacks the finesse and acquired power that Pat has after years of fighting. Look for Joey to hold on until the third, but eventually his legs give and the fight is ended.
Cole “Magrinho” Miller, 17-4 vs. Matt “Handsome” Wiman, 12-5-0
Cole has been steadily improving in his UFC career. Two fights after being knocked out by Efrain Escudero he nearly knocked out Ross Pearson, but settled for a submission. In addition, his Jiu-Jitsu while not the technically the best is still extremely potent. Being 4-1 in his last 5 fights with all of those wins by submission, including 3 submission of the night is not something to scoff at, and with steadily improving stand up game the top of the 155 pound division may have another person in their ranks.
Matt Wiman is coming off a controversial win over Mac Danzig, but he cannot let that be in his head against Cole. Matt is a fighter who is decent at all aspects of the game, but is not great in one. He has some knockouts and some submissions in his wins, but none of them standout as spectacular. He will need to fight smart and keep himself on his toes if he is to beat Cole Miller.
Matt’s best chance is to use his superior wrestling to keep it standing, and while Cole’s hands are getting better Matt still has the advantage there. Cole has also been shown to be prone to flash knockdowns, having been stopped by Efrain and Jeremy Stephens. Cole does have the ability to submit Matt, but then again Matt has never lost by submission, and if Cole cannot get it to the ground he will have a problem if that is his plan. The fight will come down to who wants it more as both are hungry, and both feel like they deserve a spot in the upper echelon of the division.
The Bottom Line: Cole will win, but Matt will not make it easy for him. Cole is too aggressive and will find a way to stop Matt. Look for Cole to be the first man to submit Matt and look for it in the second round.
The UnderCard:
Cody “Big Time” McKenzie, 12-0 vs. Yves “Thugjitsu Master” Edwards, 36-16-1
Cody did not do himself any favors by taking this fight. He seems to be a competent fighter with one really good trick, but when he cannot pull off that trick his game seems to crumble. I know we have only seen him lose once in his career against Nam Phan, but that loss showed a blueprint to beat McKenzie. Be competent enough on the ground to not get caught, and be able to out-work him on the feet.
That is all something that Yves is able to do. Yves has only loss four times by submission two losses were to two very high level BJJ black belts, one loss to Featherweight number on contender Mark Hominick, and one to top Middleweight contender Nate Marquardt. These are names and skill levels that are beyond Mckenzie’s skills set. Yves’s standup is also dynamic and varied all something that plays in well to beating Cody.
The Bottom Line: It may take Yves two round, but he will stop Cody and for highlights reel sake let’s call it by head kick.
DeMarques Johnson, 11-8 vs. Mike “The Joker” Guymon, 12-4-1
This fight does not go to the judges as it is a fight between two good fighters who both have two glaring weaknesses. Johnson has been shown to not have the greatest chin in the world, and Mike has been shown to not have the best submission defense in the world. In a career record of 1-2 in the UFC, Mike’s losses have been by submission in the first. Johnson on the other hand has a competent ground game, but has been rocked a bit in his fights. He has also shown a penchant for his hands, but Mike is better and more seasoned in that department.
The Bottom Line: This is a pick’em fight, but to me Mike has shown more heart in his fights, and I think he shows it again here stopping DeMarques in the second round after a scare in the first.
Mike Thomas Brown, 24-7, #8 Featherweight vs. Rani Yahya, 15-6
Mike Brown has fallen on some hard times as of late. A few years ago he was shocking the world beating the golden boy of the Featherweight division in Uriah Faber. Now he is just another fighter fighting for survival in the UFC and with a loss here he may not have much more on his contract. Having gone 3-3 in his last six fights is not good, and while his losses are to the top of the division if he gets beat by Rani he could be sent packing.
Rani also seems to be at the end of his career with Zuffa if he can’t find a way to win. A former title contender for the bantamweight title, Rani is on a back-to-back losing skid. Plus, while moving up in weight for the first time since 2007 a lot would seem to be working against him.
Mike Brown holds the advantage standing up and in wrestling. He has shown to be a competent striker with good power, and Rani never having won by anything other than a submission allows for some room for Mike Brown. He has expressed that he has felt too confident in his standup game as of late, but this is one spot where he still should. Rani having 14 of his 15 wins come by way of submission knows where he needs to have this fight go too, but the question is whether he can get it there. He could opt to try to tire Mike out as he has shown impaired cardio as of late, if he cannot get it down early, and hope to catch him later if he can make it there.
The Bottom Line: These fighters may go for the kill early as they have their backs against the wall. Taking a fight 20 days after your last fight is never recommended, especially after a loss, but maybe Mike knows something we don’t. Look for him to get back on the winning track and send Rani packing with a first round ground and pound stoppage.
Waylon Lowe, 9-3 vs. Willamy “Chiquerim” Freire, 18-3
Waylon is about as well rounded as they come. In 9 wins he has three by decision, three by stoppage, and three by submission. Waylon’s has trained everywhere from Team Quest, to team Gurgel, and now he resides in American Top Team. He also impressive in his loss on the Ultimate Fighter. That combined with an Olympic level wrestling made him perfect to enter the ranks of the UFC.
Willamy definitely has the experience edge over Waylon having a record of 18-3. He fought a long time through the local circuits in Brazil, even winning the local Shooto Welterweight title. He is more of a ground fighter having 9 wins by submission, and he is now making his debut after suffering a knee injury before his first fight.
Waylon always has his wrestling to fall back on, and the smart money would be to use that to keep the fight standing since Willamy seems to be weak there it also keeps Waylon away from the submissions. Obviously for Willamy he would want this fight to hit the ground, but with him in a favorable position and without the wrestling to counteract Waylon’s he will need to rely on reversals and scrambles to make any head way there, or hopefully he can out strike Waylon until he makes a mistake.
The Bottom Line: Waylon has the tools to win this fight, and look for him to use those tools en route to a unanimous decision win.
Charlie “The Spaniard” Brenneman, 12-2 vs. Amilcar Alves, 11-2
Charlie may have come from a background in college wrestling, but he was never the best. What a lot more people may recognize him from is the first season of Spike TV’s program Pros vs. Joes where he won the first season. Spurred by the athletic competition on the television show Charlie quit his day job, of a teacher, to become a mixed martial artist.
Alves on the other hand is a lifelong Mixed Martial Artist. Coming from Brazil he started as a Judo specialist, and then turned his attention to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu where he has a black belt in both disciplines. After compiling an 11-1 record he was called up to the UFC.
While Alves would seem to have strength on the ground he has been put down by wrestlers before. In his UFC debut Mike Pierce grounded him and even submitted him, even though he did not have the pedigree to do so. Charlie while not the highest caliber of wrestler that Pierce is, can do the same to Alves. If Alves can keep it standing he will have the advantage as Charlie’s standup game is still developing, as shown by his knockout loss to Johny Hendricks who he himself is not the best standup fighter. So, Alves needs to use his Judo base to keep it standing or take advantage of those parts when he has them.
The Bottom Line: Charlie should be able to take the fight to the ground, and if he is able to fend off the submission he should be able to control Alves en route to a unanimous decision win.
Will Campuzano, 8-3 vs. Chris “Kamikaze” Cariaso, 10-2
This fight could be for either fighter’s future in the organization, as both have lost their last fights, both having been submitted by their last opponents. Will was 2-2 in the WEC and then lost his UFC debut back in December. Chris went 1-1 in the WEC, and was submitted in the first round of his last fight. He will need to be impressive here if he wants to continue to work for Zuffa.
Their styles are very similar, as both have wins by TKO, submission, and decision. Both have lost fights by submission and Knockout too, so it is not like they are masters at any one discipline. It looks to be that Chris is more of a grinder having quite a few decision wins out of his ten. While Will has shown to have some power in his hands knocking out quite a few people, but Chris’ striking is more dynamic having a more varied attack. Will’s best bet is to take it to the ground, because even though he has lost a few fights there, he will have the advantage over Chris.
The Bottom Line: This one goes to the scorecards, as Will takes the fight by split decision after much back and forth action.