UFC ‘Jones vs. Matyushenko’ Prelims Preview

Rob Kimmons vs. Steve Steinbeiss

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Another potential pink slip grand prix bout pits middleweights Kimmons and Steinbeiss for a chance to live another day in the UFC. Besides that bit of business, it’s a chance to hop in the MMA time machine for an old-school grappler vs. striker style clash.

Kimmons is the one with the submission skills while Steinbeiss is content to go for broke on the feet before his grappling deficiencies catch up to him. The challenge for Steinbeiss is that he’s not a monster kill-shot artist -- he has to bank on hitting huge combinations. This leaves him standing right in front of an opponent who will be looking to get him on the floor every chance he gets.

While no one is about to confuse Kimmons with Masahiko Kimura, he has a knack for creating scrambles and finishing the job in short order. Not good for Steinbeiss, who has some major issues with jiu-jitsu fundamentals. In fairness to Steinbeiss, though, his submission loss to Ryan Jensen was a total referee botch job.

However, that doesn’t change the fact that Steinbeiss couldn’t put Jensen away and ended up trapped in a guillotine choke. Kimmons presents the same issues and is even better at forcing the fast-paced grappling exchanges that Steinbeiss can’t get away from unscathed. Kimmons gets the win.