UFC Fight Night 22 Preview: The Prelims

Rich Attonito vs. Rafael Natal

After thankfully silencing the infernally verbose Jamie Yager, Attonito will now get a legitimate opponent in Brazilian slugger slash grappler Natal. It makes for a real step up in competition for Attonito, who previously was a journeyman and now stands on the cusp of securing a spot in the UFC.

Beating Natal is going to be a vexing proposition, however. Attonito doesn’t offer anything that Natal isn’t better than him at. Standing, Attonito has decent boxing skills, but he’s missing the athleticism to put together combinations or land with fight-changing power. The sort of mid-range game that he typically uses also plays right into Natal’s power southpaw jab, which is usually the precursor to his snappy left and right high kick.

If anything, Attonito should be focused on gaining top control since Natal’s guard pales in comparison to his top game. However, Attonito would need to put together at least two rounds’ worth of takedowns since he isn’t going to pound out or tap out “Sapo” in this dimension. Running Natal through the grinder is going to be rough for him since he doesn’t have the sort of shutdown wrestling to consistently ground the Gracie Fusion product.

Unlike so many Brazilian fighters, Natal actually has decent enough takedown defense to stop anyone who doesn’t know how to chain together techniques. Attonito’s simplistic level changes and sloppy clinch work doesn’t inspire much confidence, and even if he does score some takedowns, I don’t see him doing much with them.

Regardless of who wins, this isn’t one of those fights that is going to produce a serious contender. What this fight will do is show the disparity between your average “Ultimate Fighter” alumnus and even a moderately talented prospect. A lopsided decision win for Natal wouldn’t be surprising, but he should be able to bust Attonito up on the feet and hammer out a stoppage.