UFC Live 5 Preview: The Prelims

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Light Heavyweights
Ronny Markes (11-1, 0-0 UFC) vs. Karlos Vemola (8-1, 1-1 UFC)

The Matchup: One of my favorite parts about covering MMA are matchups like this one, where two hot prospects are thrown together to see what happens.

Vemola, an intimidating figure with heavy hands and violent ground-and-pound, looks like someone cast as a Guy Ritchie villain. Markes has seven finishes in the first round and makes his UFC debut, with a signature win over the once-special Paul Filho bolstering his credentials.

While Vemola is a scary dude on the feet and on the mat, Markes is more polished standing and seems the better overall athlete. Fights like this are compelling because of the adrenaline dump, as both men jockey to get the upper hand early. Vemola hung tough in a three-round loss to the much larger heavyweight Jon Madsen in his first Octagon appearance, and that kind of experience should help him here, along with the momentum left over from his second UFC bout: a one-round blitz knockout of Seth Petruzelli at UFC 122.

Anticipate violent exchanges with both men getting hurt, and expect Vemola to take down Markes. Once there, he will have to avoid submissions and pick his spots to ground-and-pound.

The Pick: Vemola either gets caught in a submission early or bangs out Markes in the second round. Look for the latter to happen in a rousing bout.

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