WEC 53 Preview: The Prelims

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Danny Castillo vs. Will Kerr

This is a hard-nosed lightweight bout with the potential for fireworks, which is pretty much a safe bet with any Castillo match. “Last Call” looked outstanding in a tough loss against the favored Shane Roller, losing by third-round submission in one of the sleeper gems of 2010.

Kerr is wired similarly, but I give Castillo the edge in wrestling and conditioning. Look for a good, back-and-forth scrap before Castillo steps up the onslaught, winning by knockout in the third.

Renan do Nascimento Mota Pegado vs. Chris Cariaso

Renan “Barao” is 23-1, and his lone loss came in his pro debut -- quite a rebound from a bad start. Cariaso, whose record of 11-1 includes wins in Strikeforce and EliteXC, has his work cut out for him and will want to keep this standing, as Pegado is probably better on the mat.

Look for Pegado to take it to the ground and work steadily en route to a third round submission.

Eddie Wineland vs. Ken Stone

The first ever WEC 135-pound champ, Wineland now finds himself taking on young gun Stone, whose record of 9-1 would be nicely supplemented with a win over a name bantamweight.

Eddie’s durability and edge in experience are the tipping factors here. I like him by decision.

Ricardo Lamas vs. Yuri Alcantara

Lamas has rebounded from a 1-1 start to his WEC career by reeling off three consecutive wins. He showed good wrestling and an ability to pace himself in his last outing, a decision win over Dave Jansen.

Alcantara is a product of Brazil with a ledger of 23-3 and wins over some decent competition. He has good jiu-jitsu, and in a “wrestling vs. BJJ” pairing, standup can often be the deciding factor. Alcantara is very aggressive and will force the issue, and he’ll use that to set traps on both the feet and the ground to beat Lamas in the second.