UFC 83 Preview Part Two of Two: Undercard

Under card (may not be broadcast):

185 lbs.: Jason MacDonald (19-9) vs. Joe Doerksen (39-11)

A revenge bout for Doerkson, who said that the last time the two fought he underestimated MacDonald and “let him up to give the crowd a show.” “El Dirte” won’t be making that mistake this time around as he uses his strong submission defense to ward off “The Athlete’s” out-of-nowhere chokes and TKO’s him on the feet.

185 lbs.: Alan Belcher (12-4) vs. Jason Day (15-5)

I don’t know much about Day, but a look at his record shows that he most likely got this call-up to the UFC from his win over David Loiseau two months ago, albeit in a split decision over a fighter who doesn’t seem to want to be in the cage anymore. He also has a submission win over Jonathan Goulet, but Belcher has looked more impressive in every outing I have seen him in, scoring wins over solid competition by both strikes and submissions.

Unless Day has something special that I haven’t heard about, Belcher should take this fight and move closer to the title picture.

185 lbs.: Ed Herman (14-5) vs. Demian Maia (6-0)

Ed Herman has shown improvement since his rough patch after entering the UFC, winning three in a row, but his bread and butter still appears to be his ground game. He did score a knockout on the feet against Joe Doerkson in his last fight, but I watched the fight live and it appeared that the knockout was simply a result of Herman being less gassed than Doerkson, who took the fight on short notice.

Herman has more experience than Maia, but has shown a tendency to gas and most of his submissions (by his own admission) come by result of his ground and pound. I don’t know much about Maia’s standup skill, but his submission game seems highly hyped in discussions I’ve been hearing, so I’d have to give him the edge in that department on the ground.

If this fight goes to the ground (and I’m fairly sure it will) I’d tenatively say that Maia takes it simply due to the fact that I don’t think Herman has the endurance to maintain top control for all three rounds.

155 lbs.: Sam Stout (13-3-1) vs. Rich Clementi (30-12-1)

Sam Stout is a dangerous striker, while Clementi goes for the ground (sounds like a familiar scenario, doesn’t it?) I’d have to give the edge to Stout in that he not only seems to have beefed up quite a bit in his last few appearances, but he never seems to run out of gas (unless Spencer Fisher punches him in the face for three rounds).

Clementi has shown to have a problem with his gas tank at times, and although he took out a dangerous striker in Melvin Guillard recently, that fight was won more by taking advantage of Guillard’s wild recklessness in striking, a luxury he won’t have against the disciplined Muay Thai champion.

When coupled with the fact that Stout finally seems to be taking MMA more seriously and polishing up his takedown defense (witness his unanimous decision over grappler Per Eklund), it looks like a short night for “No Love.”

265 lbs.: Cain Velasquez (2-0) vs. Brad Morris (10-2)

I don’t know much about either, but the popular opinion seems to be that Velasquez is a monster. I have heard reports that no one in his camp can stop his takedowns. Velasquez is listed at 245, so he is a good-sized heavyweight, and he also trains out of the very reputable American Kickboxing Academy, who we all know can transform a wrestler into something special.

I have so little information on either man that it makes a pick difficult, however, no matter how much it goes against the grain, I can’t in good conscience pick someone with two fights over someone with twelve, particularly with ten wins. Morris has fought in various mid-to-large sized shows, and has had a variety of finishes going his way. He has four wins by submission, but none that I can definitively tell was achieved off the bottom (where he will likely be).

Still, I have to go with experience in this fight and pick Morris, but frankly I will be happy to see an exciting fight begin to breathe some new life into the struggling heavyweight division.

170 lbs.: Jonathan Goulet (21-9) vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka (11-4)

I almost cannot make a pick in this fight, because I know next to nothing about Hironaka other than the fact that he has good submissions and appears to be something of a decision fighter. That is actually something that can work well for him against someone with the cardio of Goulet. Hironaka survived to a decision against monster welterweight contender Jon Fitch and won a decision against Nick Diaz (albeit years ago).

Goulet seems to have the same smothering style of top control as his occasional training partner Georges St. Pierre, but also has shown a very questionable chin; in his fight against Luke Cummo he ground out a decision based on takedowns, but Cummo dropped him nearly every time they stood. Hironaka has only two “true’ TKO’s against him, but I feel that Goulet’s wrestling and submission defense can keep him out of trouble long enough to score the decision.