Jeremy Stephens is 6-4 in the UFC. | Photo: Sherdog.com
“The Ultimate Fighter 13” Finale undercard holds some compelling bouts, featuring several WEC imports on Saturday at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
Let us take a closer look at the preliminaries for the finale.
Lightweights
Daniel Downes vs. Jeremy Stephens
The Matchup: One trait to like about Stephens’ standup style is that he does not strike for points; he punches through the target, unleashing everything into blows designed to end fights. Combine that with the expectable solid wrestling and conditioning from a Davenport, Iowa, product, and one has “Lil’ Heathen” in a nutshell.
Downes is an up-and-coming product who trains with lightweight dynamo Anthony Pettis and a bit of a sleeper. After showing true gameness in a third-round stoppage loss to Chris Horodecki at WEC 49 -- Downes was a late substitution in that one -- “Danny Boy” rebounded to score an upset over Tiequan Zhang and a submission win in a non-UFC tuneup.
Stephens is a very physical lightweight, looking to bully opponents with aggression and a fast pace. Downes should try to make him pay for that aggression, but that is a decidedly tricky bag. Stephens’ wrestling and in-your-face style, plus a stout chin, make him a handful for anyone at 155 pounds. He has shown flashes of next-level talent, particularly with his numbing punching power, which dispatched Rafael dos Anjos and Marcus Davis.
For Downes to score a win here, he is probably going to have to land something amazing -- not unlikely when one trains with former world kickboxing champion Duke Roufus -- or catch a submission from an overeager Stephens.
At this point, one has to favor Stephens on account of much more experience both overall -- 25 fights versus nine for Downes -- and bouts under the Zuffa banner -- 12 to two. Stephens should be able to dictate where the fight goes, especially in tie-ups, as he has proven explosive and really can wrench around opponents.
The Pick: Stephens by second-round knockout.
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