Brendan Schaub (Above Right): Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
The Breakdown: Schaub reached the finals of this past season of “The Ultimate Fighter” on pure physical talent and moxie to spare, but his KO loss to Roy Nelson in that final bout revealed a fighter with a lot of work to do. For his formal UFC debut, Schaub gets an opponent facing the same situation in Chase Gormley.
Getting tapped out in short order by Stefan Struve at UFC 104 put Gormley’s limited offense and porous submission defense on display for all to see. Trying to throw around Schaub, who is roughly the size of a Wildebeest, just isn’t going to work for Gormley. His wrestling just isn’t as developed as it needs to be to overcome Schaub’s raw strength advantage. Also of note is Schaub’s football background, which shows in his MMA game as he seems especially adept at using his own frame to generate leverage and create space when he needs it.
When Gormley can’t dominate with his wrestling, his whole game falls apart faster than the plot of a Dan Brown “novel.” Limited to barroom brawl tactics on the feet, Gormley has no answer for Schaub’s reach and chin-checking power, both of which Schaub uses with impressive ruthlessness for a converted fullback still trying to grasp the basics of fight sport.
The Bottom Line: Perhaps even more important than Schaub’s natural abilities is his obvious dedication to learning the game and ongoing training regime with the vaunted Jackson’s MMA Team. All things considered, this is the right fight at the right time for Schaub, and it will show.