While the influx of Russian talent into the UFC from earlier in the decade won't ever draw comparisons to the British music invasion of the ‘60s, it did help raise the profile of talented middleweight striker Amar Suloev (Pictures).
His opponent, Andy Foster, has never reached the heights that Suloev has, but a victory against such a tough opponent would certainly put him on the right track.
Whether or not Foster has it in him to pull off what would be a big upset is the real question here considering the competition he's faced and his glaring loss to AKA journeyman Brian Ebersole (Pictures).
However, given Suloev's somewhat lacking ground game and Foster's affinity for submissions, the groundwork is in place for Foster to make something happen. In order for Foster to even begin entertaining the idea of an upset he'll first have to navigate Suloev's dangerous striking arsenal and find a way to get Suloev on his back. This is where the style match-up takes a turn against Foster as Suloev is not a free takedown and has shown on more than one occasion that he is more than content to pick apart his opponents using his solid takedown defense and patient boxing.
Considering Foster's lack of big fight experience and Suloev's vastly superior striking skills, I'd look for Suloev to pepper Foster early on with his jab and the occasional right cross to keep Foster from barreling in for a takedown.
Once Foster finds himself unsure of whether or not he can close the distance, it'll be Suloev whipping leg kicks and putting together combinations on a newly tentative Foster. Once that happens, it won't be long before Foster ends up on the wrong side of the win/loss ledger. Suloev takes this one via strikes midway through the second round.
Thanks to her spirited performance against fan favorite Gina Carano (Pictures) on EliteXC's inaugural event, Julie Kedzie (Pictures) helped raise the profile of female MMA even in defeat. With that raised profile comes fans expecting more of the same and Kedzie will look to deliver against relative neophyte Julia Berezikova (Pictures). While Berezikova is something of an unknown quantity, most MMA fans didn't have a clue who Kedzie was prior to her match with Carano.
It was Kedzie's strong wrestling and even stronger chin that kept her going against Carano and this time out she'll be hoping to rely more so on her wrestling than her chin to take out Berezikova. While Berezikova isn't the wrestler that Kedzie is, she does have an aggressive style and seems equally comfortable rolling on the ground as she does trading blows.
Berezikova's ability to adapt to her opponent will serve her well against Kedzie who will come out looking to take this fight to the ground from the opening bell.
Once on the ground it will come down Berezikova's ability to keep Kedzie from grinding out a win and if it indeed comes down to that, the smart money is on Kedzie. Berezikova could make things interesting if she lands a few strikes but considering Kedzie ate Carano's best shots and came back for more, it's unlikely Berezikova will give Kedzie much pause. Facing a superior wrestler who has no reason to fear your striking isn't exactly the best setup for a win in MMA.
Long story short, Berezikova needs to keep Kedzie from dictating the terms of this fight and she simply doesn't have the tools to make that happen. Berezikova won't get steamrolled thanks to her competent ground game but Kedzie has no problem winning one takedown at a time. Kedzie walks away with a unanimous decision victory despite Berezikova's best efforts.
One of Canada's more popular journeymen seems to have finally found an organization willing to keep him around. Indeed, Bill Mahood (Pictures) has found an organization willing to accept the fact that he is never going to become a world-beater but will go out there and pose a challenge for up and comers.
This time around, the up and comer in question is Steve Steinbeiss, younger brother of welterweight veteran Ray Steinbeiss (Pictures) who is also in action on this card.
No word on whether or not Steve will be allowed to make a hot tag to his older brother if things get dicey but if you need to make a hot tag to a welterweight in order to beat Bill Mahood (Pictures), there are bigger problems at hand. Now that the obligatory tongue in cheek commentary is out of the way, onto what everyone is here for, the fight.
While one should never expect a tremendous display of MMA skill from Mahood; he is a decent striker who comes in looking to put the pressure on his opponent. Considering his inexperienced opponent, Mahood would be best served staying true to form and forcing Steinbeiss to stay on the defensive. The problem Mahood runs into when trying to put away his opponents on the feet is that they quickly realize Mahood can't defend against takedowns or submissions.
Shocking as it may sound given how far MMA has come since the early days, all Steinbeiss has to do to pick up a W is put Mahood on his back and let Mahood's own ineptitude take over. Count on Steinbeiss coming in prepared to do just that and take a step towards becoming a young talent worth cultivating in Bodog. How well Steinbeiss does is something we can't anticipate but if he does score that takedown early on, look for the end to come not long afterwards, most likely midway through the first round.
The prospect takes on the veteran in one of the more interesting bouts on Bodog's undercard as Russian up and comer Dmitry Samoilov tangles with veteran welterweight competitor Ray Steinbeiss (Pictures). While Steinbeiss is looking to recover from three straight losses, Samoilov is looking to escape the confines of the Russian MMA scene and make a name for himself fighting under the Bodog banner. It wasn't all that long ago however that Steinbeiss was playing the role of unproven prospect.
Entering 2006, Steinbeiss was looking like a legitimate prospect in the always dynamic welterweight division thanks to an 8-0 record with only one win coming by way of decision. It seemed like a matter of time before Steinbeiss punched his ticket to the UFC, that is until he squared off with Nick Diaz (Pictures) and took the first loss of his young career, which was quickly followed by a pair of losses in another emerging MMA organization, the IFL. Now Steinbeiss is faced with the uphill task of rebuilding his career and perhaps salvaging what's left of the potential that helped him get here in the first place.
Given Russia's prodigious output of quality fighters, Samoilov has his own issues about living up to potential. Against Steinbeiss, he faces the toughest test of his career taking on a more experienced opponent who has just as much to prove as he does.
Both men favor the ground with Samoilov having an aggressive, sambo-inspired approach while Steinbeiss has a more traditional Brazilian jiu-jitsu style which emphasizes advancing position first. Considering the difficulties Samoilov had with the unspectacular Tyler Jackson (Pictures) in his Bodog debut, it's hard to imagine the youngster giving Steinbeiss much pause once this fight inevitably hits the ground.
Steinbeiss may not be the second coming but he is a tough, game opponent who knows how to win and avoid the big mistake that often decides fights. That is a lesson that Samoilov has yet to learn and he doesn't have the sheer talent to overcome the difference in experience. Samoilov's aggressive ground game will keep things interesting but look for Steinbeiss to gain the top position more often than not and once there, to employ a steady blend of striking and guard passing to rack up points en route to a decision win.
Hoping to continue his unexpected win streak, Erik Oganov (Pictures) will square off against Derrick Noble (Pictures). Known for his exciting battle in the UFC with Thiago Alves (Pictures), Noble has a reputation to uphold against the relatively unknown Oganov who put on the fight of his life late last year in a split decision win over Keith Wisniewski (Pictures). I won't chalk up Oganov's win to luck but bringing a horseshoe with him to ringside certainly wouldn't hurt considering Noble's striking ability.
That striking ability is what nearly earned Noble a win over Thiago Alves (Pictures) at UFC 59 before an unexpected return volley felled Noble. Just like that, Noble finds himself on the under card of Bodog's biggest event to date and no doubt he is looking to take his frustrations out on somebody. That somebody just so happens to be Oganov, who is your classic example of a fighter who doesn't pose any serious style problems but seems capable in all facets of the game. Against a tough, far more experienced opponent like Noble, Oganov will have to hope that he can find a way to keep Noble off of him and perhaps take the fight to the ground where he has a better chance of winning.
The tough luck part of this fight for Oganov is that he isn't a very good wrestler and Noble is not an easy guy to take down. That right there is the deal breaker for Oganov since the only reason he was able to beat Wisniewski was Wisniewski's own inability to overwhelm Oganov with his less than stellar striking. Noble is more than capable of bringing the fight right to Oganov and putting him away.
Now, this is a huge opportunity for Oganov so I wouldn't expect him to simply fall to the ground and tap out the second Noble lands a punch but it probably won't take Noble long to land something that will liberate Oganov of his senses. Once that happens, it won't be long before Oganov finds himself trying to figure out why the referee just yanked his opponent off of him. Noble takes this one via KO with relative ease midway through the first round.
In a battle that pits a lightweight prospect against a lightweight gatekeeper, young Brazilian up and comer Rodrigo Damm will face the toughest test of his career against Santino DeFranco. What Damm lacks in experience he makes up for in upside as evidenced by his easy dismantling of the dangerous Kultar Gill (Pictures) and his string of three straight first round submission wins that preceded his Bodog debut. DeFranco may not have the hype machine pumping out any glowing words about him but he is an experienced opponent out to reestablish himself after a string of inactivity.
Neither man presents much of a threat on the feet and neither holds any illusions of such so expect this one to be decided on the ground. While DeFranco has a solid jiu-jitsu style and is typically difficult to rattle once he finds his comfort zone, Damm is more your hyper active grappler who is constantly looking for something he can grab a hold of. That may play right into DeFranco's hands or, if DeFranco isn't as sharp as he once was, Damm could find himself with an opportunity to pick up another quick submission win.
In this case, it would be wise to gamble on Damm given DeFranco's two-year lay off from MMA and the fact that Damm's style is better suited to MMA.
We're starting to see the aggressive grapplers winning out over their more passive counterparts and Damm should continue that trend against an opponent who simply doesn't match up well with Damm's bullying style on the ground. DeFranco should be able to last into the later stages of the fight but Damm will eventually pick apart the holes in his game and advance position en route to a submission victory via rear-naked choke in the third round.
A couple of rookie heavyweight prospects will look to make a name for themselves on this undercard as Josh Curran takes on Jarno Nurminen. In a division starved for fresh faces, both men represent part of the next generation of heavyweight fighters. Whether or not either man can live up to the standard set by the current crop of heavyweights remains to be seen but a win here puts them on the right path.
Nurminen has the pedigree considering he represents Team Scandinavia, home to talented grapplers like Jon Olav Einemo (Pictures) and Joachim Hansen (Pictures), while Curran decided to enter the world of professional MMA after winning a few local Toughman contests in his native Idaho. Not exactly your typical rise to glory but Curran proved his mettle by handing Roy Nelson (Pictures) the first loss of his career. Unexpected results for a guy who is a line cook by trade but in this sport, winning will make the public forgive a lot.
Now that we've gotten the heartwarming story over and done with, let's address the fact that Curran is basically a tough guy who likes to bang. There's nothing wrong with that per se but it's not exactly a long-term plan for success in MMA, especially when facing guys who actually train and have the skills to put you away. Nurminen is something of an unknown quantity but he has the training partners to put him on the path to success. Considering the number of times Nelson had Curran in big trouble, don't be surprised is Nurminen comes out and puts Curran right on his back in search of a submission. Curran lucked out against Nelson who seemed to lose his motivation midway through the fight but he can't count on such luck every time out. Nurminen claims the win via submission in the second round.
Starting things off is a clash of heavyweights looking to entrench themselves in Bodog's heavyweight division. Norwegian Damn Evensen will ply his wares against Sergey Kaznovsky (Pictures) in a bout where the loser could find himself headed out the door. Despite being an undercard bout, the stakes are high for these two men as there are no promises of return matches given neither has a particularly impressive record.
A shot to impress the heads of Bodog is just what both men need as they attempt to recover from back-to-back losses. Despite not having found much success in MMA, both men are decent fighters who have the potential to blossom into something more if they can get some forward momentum going. Neither man is particularly strong in any facet of the game but they both go in there willing to scrap and put it on the line.
Kaznovsky has an edge in experience but Evensen has faced quality fighters like Christian Wellisch (Pictures) so it remains to be seen just how much of an advantage Kaznovsky has in that regard.
Fighting in front of his own compatriots however, one has to imagine Kaznovsky will want to put on a show for his friends and family. That is exactly why Evensen should win this one; he comes in without the added burden of having to perform in front of his hometown crowd and can focus on getting the job done.
It won't be an awe-inspiring display of skill, but Evensen should be able to work out a win against an over anxious opponent. Scoring a stoppage won't be easy considering Kaznovsky's size advantage but a decision victory will be well within reach for Evensen.