UFC 101 Preview: The Prelims

Thales Leites vs. Alessio Sakara

The Breakdown: Originally slated to take on Rousimar “Half-man/Half-cinder block” Palhares, it looks as if Sakara is still being set up for a submission scalping against another mat shark in Leites. While Sakara certainly has the striking to keep Leites at bay, he doesn’t have the wrestling to stave off the takedowns that will inevitably come his way. Given Leites’ sturdy chin and surprising arsenal of judo throws, Sakara is going to need something more than one-two combos and feints to escape getting the human pretzel treatment.

The X Factor: For a guy with a Nova Uniao black belt pedigree, Leites makes more bad decisions than Kanye West does in an entire year. Inside the cage, Leites’ mistake of choice has been getting into far too many striking exchanges, which amounts to handing his opponents a chance to even up the score. Sakara knows how to land a kill-shot, and his hand speed makes a fight-ending flurry a real concern for anyone wandering into his wheelhouse.

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The Bottom Line: Unless Sakara can hire out a hypnotist to make Leites think he’s showing up for a kickboxing match, you’re looking at a fight that will be surprising only if Sakara can make it past the two-minute mark. Either way, Sakara is in trouble and could eventually find himself on the mat with a joint or two pointing in the wrong direction. I’m really hoping this is the fight I finally see someone bust out the back mount to camel clutch transition; everyone knows the Iron Sheik meant for that move to be used in MMA someday.