UFC Fight Night Goes Mile High
Uber Undercard
Apr 2, 2008
A seven-fight undercard so epic it's practically Homeric is
headlined by a critical lightweight clash that matches two of the
UFC's most talented converted wrestlers. Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard (Pictures) are stuck in the swing bout role,
but any MMA fan worth his salt knows the value of this bout.
While Maynard (4-0, 1 NC) has shown endless potential in his brief UFC career, he has been a bit too willing to go for broke on the feet and his conditioning has been consistently suspect. In stark contrast to that is Edgar, who is one of the most disciplined fighters on the UFC roster and has the kind of conditioning that a Tour de France competitor would kill for.
That combination doesn't bode well for "The Bully," who keeps it
interesting early before fading late and allowing Edgar to take
over. A clear unanimous decision ends up going the way of "The
Answer," who will then leave MMA and cycle across the universe with
Lance Armstrong.
More lightweight action awaits as Josh "The Dentist" Neer makes his UFC return against Din Thomas (Pictures).
If you are the Bruce Dickinson of lightweight fights, plenty more await you starting with the short-notice special showdown between Marcus "I Beat Takanori Gomi (Pictures)" Aurelio and Ryan "Are You Ready?" Roberts.
This is one instance where the rule of nicknames takes precedence. I refuse to believe anyone with a nickname like "Are You Ready?" is earmarked for great things. Either way Aurelio has Roberts' number, and he should be able to score an early takedown and lock in an arm-triangle choke without incident.
Next up is the ongoing return of Manvel Gamburyan (Pictures), who will keep everyone hoping his shoulder stays in place against Cleveland's own Jeff Cox (Pictures).
Stylistically, the only thing Cox (9-4) has on Gamburyan (7-2) is height. That won't count for much when "The Anvil" takes this fight to the ground right after the opening bell.
Things won't get much better for Cox from there. He'll get overwhelmed by Gamburyan's relentless style before tapping out to a kimura late in the first round. Just make sure the ringside chiropractor is available in case Gamburyan's shoulder decides to freelance again.
Closing out the lightweights-only portion of the undercard is MMA's favorite Frenchman, Samy Schiavo (Pictures), taking on the always-exciting and always-shaggy Clay "The Carpenter" Guida.
Being the French Top Team's top dog is nice and all, but Schiavo (10-4) has struggled against elite competition in the past, and Guida (22-9) has more than held his own against some of the very best the UFC has to offer.
Watch for Guida to come out in his usual manner and dominate from top position before closing the deal with a ground-and-pound TKO late in the second round.
From here on out we get a pair of welterweight clashes with the first featuring two TUF housemates in Roman Mitichyan and George Sotiropoulos (Pictures).
Another of the growing list of judo converts in MMA, Mitichyan (5-1) will find the going rough against the far more savvy and versatile Sotiropoulos (8-2). The disparity in skill and experience will be too much for Mitichyan, who buckles under the pressure and drops an uninspired unanimous decision.
Ending the undercard proceedings is TUF finalist Tommy Speer taking on the perpetually bouncy Anthony Johnson. Seriously, this guy stays on the balls of his feet even while he's sleeping.
While that won't deter Speer (9-2) from his usual ground-and-pound approach, I see Johnson (4-1) scoring a major upset by keeping this fight on the feet just long enough to send Speer to the canvas. Expect Johnson to then conduct his post-fight interview while silently counting the number of fast-twitch muscle fibers in his body.
While Maynard (4-0, 1 NC) has shown endless potential in his brief UFC career, he has been a bit too willing to go for broke on the feet and his conditioning has been consistently suspect. In stark contrast to that is Edgar, who is one of the most disciplined fighters on the UFC roster and has the kind of conditioning that a Tour de France competitor would kill for.
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More lightweight action awaits as Josh "The Dentist" Neer makes his UFC return against Din Thomas (Pictures).
Assuming health for Thomas (20-7), who is attempting to come back
from a Ki-Jana Carter-level knee injury, he has Neer (23-6-1) beat
across the board and should have little trouble outclassing his
overmatched opponent. The end comes quickly for Neer after he takes
a few licks on the feet and ends up on his back, getting tapped out
with relative ease.
If you are the Bruce Dickinson of lightweight fights, plenty more await you starting with the short-notice special showdown between Marcus "I Beat Takanori Gomi (Pictures)" Aurelio and Ryan "Are You Ready?" Roberts.
This is one instance where the rule of nicknames takes precedence. I refuse to believe anyone with a nickname like "Are You Ready?" is earmarked for great things. Either way Aurelio has Roberts' number, and he should be able to score an early takedown and lock in an arm-triangle choke without incident.
Next up is the ongoing return of Manvel Gamburyan (Pictures), who will keep everyone hoping his shoulder stays in place against Cleveland's own Jeff Cox (Pictures).
Stylistically, the only thing Cox (9-4) has on Gamburyan (7-2) is height. That won't count for much when "The Anvil" takes this fight to the ground right after the opening bell.
Things won't get much better for Cox from there. He'll get overwhelmed by Gamburyan's relentless style before tapping out to a kimura late in the first round. Just make sure the ringside chiropractor is available in case Gamburyan's shoulder decides to freelance again.
Closing out the lightweights-only portion of the undercard is MMA's favorite Frenchman, Samy Schiavo (Pictures), taking on the always-exciting and always-shaggy Clay "The Carpenter" Guida.
Being the French Top Team's top dog is nice and all, but Schiavo (10-4) has struggled against elite competition in the past, and Guida (22-9) has more than held his own against some of the very best the UFC has to offer.
Watch for Guida to come out in his usual manner and dominate from top position before closing the deal with a ground-and-pound TKO late in the second round.
From here on out we get a pair of welterweight clashes with the first featuring two TUF housemates in Roman Mitichyan and George Sotiropoulos (Pictures).
Another of the growing list of judo converts in MMA, Mitichyan (5-1) will find the going rough against the far more savvy and versatile Sotiropoulos (8-2). The disparity in skill and experience will be too much for Mitichyan, who buckles under the pressure and drops an uninspired unanimous decision.
Ending the undercard proceedings is TUF finalist Tommy Speer taking on the perpetually bouncy Anthony Johnson. Seriously, this guy stays on the balls of his feet even while he's sleeping.
While that won't deter Speer (9-2) from his usual ground-and-pound approach, I see Johnson (4-1) scoring a major upset by keeping this fight on the feet just long enough to send Speer to the canvas. Expect Johnson to then conduct his post-fight interview while silently counting the number of fast-twitch muscle fibers in his body.
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