UFC 114 Preview: The Prelims

Aaron Riley vs. Joe Brammer

Anyone with a morbid interest in pink-slip producing matches should keep a close eye on the lightweight scrap in the making between uber-veteran Aaron Riley and controversy magnet Joe Brammer. Between his past sponsorship from Nazi imagery enthusiasts Hoelzer Reich to his current affiliation with Christian MMA outfit Fight Pastor, Brammer might be best known for things having nothing to do with fighting -- a distinction he needs to get rid of and fast.

The problem is that Riley is the better fighter regardless of what approach Brammer opts to take. Long one of the sport’s best gatekeepers, Riley does a fine job of separating the wheat from the chaff because his jack-of-all-trades style poses problems for anyone without a dominant offensive skill. Typically Brammer will try and work for a bit on the feet before scoring a takedown and trying to advance to a dominant position, but Riley has never been a free takedown and is actually the better wrestler of the two. This is mainly because Riley’s stance gives him better balance and he knows how to use the cage to his advantage, whereas Brammer tends to fight flat-footed with his back to the cage. By doing so Brammer basically makes himself an easy target for both strikes and takedowns.

An old-school brawler at heart, Riley will undoubtedly look to capitalize on Brammer’s striking, which appears to be lacking in either confidence or motivation. Against Mark Bocek, Brammer appeared hesitant to commit to his strikes and was dropping his hands with literally every strike he threw. That’s just inexcusable against UFC competition and Bocek, who is known almost exclusively for his grappling, landed clean right cross counters on him at will. If Brammer’s getting that thoroughly out-boxed by grapplers, it starts to become obvious why Riley is so heavily favored in this bout.

A pressure fighter who thrives on staying in the pocket and slipping damage while landing high-percentage strikes, Riley has tempered his brawling instincts in recent years and settled into a more disciplined but no less voluminous striking style. Staying in the pocket isn’t Brammer’s style. He tends to give up ground readily, which makes one wonder how exactly he plans on scoring points. The answer is he won’t. A finish is certainly within reach for Riley, but he’ll probably settle for a clean sweep of the scorecards.