WEC 44 'Brown vs. Aldo' Preview

Danny Castillo vs. Shane Roller

The Breakdown: The divisional house cleaning theme continues throughout the main card, as Castillo and Roller have emerged as somewhat unexpected contenders in a division with no clear-cut champion. Wrestling will play heavily into the outcome here.

Both men come from wrestling backgrounds, but Roller excels at the top control game, thanks to his strong positioning instincts and physical explosiveness, which lend a nasty edge to his ground striking. Castillo, meanwhile, prefers using his wrestling in reverse to force stand-up exchanges -- a tall order considering Roller’s sterling collegiate record.

Of course, collegiate wrestlers do not always translate their skills to the cage flawlessly, and Roller is no exception. The talent may be there, but he has made his fair share of mistakes, something he can ill afford against the competition that awaits him from this point forward.

The X-Factor: No one expects much from either fighter in the jiu-jitsu department, and while they do lack well-rounded games, they make up for it with pure offense. Do not expect to see any X-guard or pendulum sweeps in this fight, but both men can bully their way to a submission win using their positioning and pure physical dominance.

The opportunities will be there, but the initiative to take advantage of them may not. Regardless, both lightweights would be wise to sniff out the submission, especially if they find themselves on the wrong end of the Cael Sanderson treatment.

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The Bottom Line: Take Roller’s conditioning and wrestling over Castillo’s striking in what looks like a contender for “Fight of the Night.” For maximum enjoyment, play an audio loop of Godzilla’s shriek over the commentary; you will not miss anything.