UFC 145: Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin Head-to-Toe Breakdown

Photo: Zuffa, LLC

As I write this, there are exactly 48 hours left until the UFC pay-per-view drought comes to a close.

At 10 pm (ET) on Saturday, April 21, as Bruce Buffer proclaims that we are, in fact, live, featherweights Mark Hominick and Eddie Yagin will be backstage warming up for their PPV tilt. 

Currently on a two-fight losing streak, and coming off of a heartbreaking KO defeat against Chan-Sung Jung at UFC 140, Hominick desperately needs to get back to his winning ways to climb back up the 145-pound ladder.

Standing in his way will be Eddie Yagin. Coming off of a less-than-impressive UFC debut against Junior Assuncao, Yagin needs to overcome the odds and avoid the chopping block.

So, who will take the day? Let's review it one point at a time.

Striking

Photo: Sherdog.com

This one is pretty much a no-brainer.

Hominick is, in my opinion, one of the better strikers in the featherweight division. He has very clean technique and can quickly put most fighters in a bad way if he lands his shots.

More importantly, Hominick is an incredibly active striker that will put a relentless pace on opponents. That doesn't bode well for Yagin, who got punched a whole lot more than he punched in his latest fight against Assuncao at UFC 135.

If he only manages to get 40 strikes off against Hominick, he'll be in for a very long—or, possibly short—night.

Hominick undoubtedly wants to keep this fight standing, where he'll have a significant advantage.

Advantage: Hominick 

Grappling

Photo: Nathan Denette/THE CANADIAN PRESS

Unlike their striking games, Hominick and Yagin line up more evenly in the grappling department.

A third of Yagin's wins have come by way of submission—though Hominick is no stranger to making opponents tap, with eight submission victories of his own. Neither fighter is particularly adept at wrestling, though both have solid takedown defense.

Yagin's best shot of winning this fight lays in getting Hominick to the ground and working for submissions or ground-and-pound. Unfortunately, he'll probably have difficulty closing the distance and getting a hold of Hominick, so footwork and the cage will have to be his friends.

It's hard to definitively say who is the better man on the ground, but images of Hominick laying on top of Jose Aldo and raining down shots keep creeping into my mind's eye, and I have a hard time believing Yagin could do the same.

Advantage: Hominick

Prediction

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Well, given that Hominick has the edge both on the feet and on the ground...this should be fairly obvious.

I foresee Hominick keeping this fight in the middle of the Octagon, or with Yagin's back against the cage, and the Canadian throwing shots in volume.

If he smells blood, he could certainly put Yagin out in the first or second rounds. But given his recent losses, he may be a bit more cautious and gun-shy.

I predict a dominant decision victory for Hominick.