Ht/Wt: 6’3/185 lbs.
Age: 31
Hometown: Lafayette, La.
Fighting out of: Breaux Bridge, La.
Record: 10-2
The stakes: Fresh off a successful UFC debut against fellow “TUF” alumnus Cale Yarbrough, Credeur now begins his real UFC career against a top middleweight prospect who’d love nothing more than sniping a supposed reality TV product. This is the fight that many will use to gauge Credeur’s legitimacy as a contender, and it will likely be his only chance to establish himself one way or another.
The breakdown: This fight boils down to who has the better grappling game, which really comes down to who can gain the top position and impose his will. For Credeur, that means closing the pocket early against the “athletastically explosmatical” Loughran and stifling his rapid-fire submission game with a more disciplined, methodical approach.
Nate Loughran Scouting Report
Ht/Wt: 6’2/170 lbs.
Age: 28
Hometown: Rohnert Park, Calif.
Fighting out of: Santa Rosa, Calif.
Record: 9-0
The stakes: Undefeated record? Check. Solid mean face? Check. Crunktastic jiggosity? Not sure what that means, but Loughran probably has it in spades as he’s rapidly become the prospect du jour in a thin middleweight division. With one UFC win already under his belt, a high-profile undressing of Credeur may be the ticket to Loughran getting someone besides the hardcore contingent on his bandwagon.
The breakdown: A surprisingly natural submission artist despite coming from a wrestling background, Loughran may be in over his head tangling with a far more experienced grappler. While that has yet to hold him back, it may be time to switch up the game plan and focus on the striking game, which is a glaring deficiency for Credeur, who often resembles an uncoordinated version of Gumby on the feet.
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The bottom line: I’ll go out on a limb here and bank on the cerebral Loughran switching gears and exploiting Credeur’s unwieldy striking. Solid as Credeur may be on the mat, he just doesn’t have the extra gear that Loughran has and will find himself quickly failing to keep up with Loughran’s frenetic pace.