UFC on Fuel 5: Brad Tavares vs. Tom Watson Head-to-Toe Breakdown

UFC on Fuel 5 will take place in England and is one of the upcoming cards I am most excited for. It might not be made up of blockbuster names, but it promises to provide great fights between entertaining fighters.

In particular, the middleweight showdown between Brit Tom Watson and Ultimate Fighter veteran Brad Tavares looks to be a barnburner. Both men are exciting fighters that will both give the fans what they want to see.

Here is a rundown of the matchup between the two men.

Striking

Both men are powerful strikers and can end a fight in an instant. That is one reason why this fight will be a fan-friendly affair.

Tavares is still somewhat new to MMA (8-1), but the Hawaiian has knocked out four men in his career thus far. Among those was Phil Baroni in Tavares' second UFC fight. He has devastating power when he unleashes a strike on his opponent's chin.

Watson is a great kickboxer and has the knockouts to prove it. Of his 15 career victories, seven have come via knockout, including his clean knockout of Murilo Rua. He also uses his Muay Thai well. The Brit unleashes devastating punches, elbows, knees and kicks to whomever stands in front of him.

Based on technique and his variety of strikes, the newcomer receives the advantage in this category.

Edge: Watson

Wrestling

While neither man is known for their wrestling ability, both have proven they can earn takedowns when necessary.

Watson trains with Greg Jackson and Firas Zahabi, which means he is getting very good training in the martial art. With guys like Georges St. Pierre, Rory MacDonald and company at his disposal, one has to think he will be well-prepared.

Tavares, for the most part, has shown good defensive wrestling ability. That is, minus his setback against Aaron Simpson. He also has solid offensive takedown ability, but I doubt he will use it against a guy with the takedown defense of Watson.

Edge: Push

Submissions/Grappling

As with wrestling, neither man is a superior grappler or submission artist at this point in their career.

Having said that, one certainly has a slight advantage in this category.

Watson has 19 career fights with only one submission win to his name (first career fight via guillotine choke). What's more, two of his losses are by tapout. Make no mistake, Watson is a striker by trade and will likely look to keep the fight standing.

Tavares only owns two submission wins in his short career, but has grappled with guys like Aaron Simpson and Dongi Yang. He has proven to be tough in the jiu-jitsu game, which gives him the slight edge over Watson.

Edge: Tavares

Intangibles

As this is Tom Watson's UFC debut, he will be at an obvious disadvantage, Tavares will be entering the Octagon for his fifth UFC bout.

Having said that, the Brit has competed in main events in mid-tier promotions like BAMMA in the past.

Furthermore, Watson's training camp and game plan will probably be superior to the Hawaiian fighter.

Tavares is an Xtreme Couture guy, but Watson has been training with some of the best fighters in the world at Tristar and Greg Jackson's camp.

These factors will make this fight very interesting.

Prediction

When it's all said and done, we may have the fight of the night on our hands here. Either way, it will have plenty of competition on an action-packed card.

This will likely be a striking battle. Watson and Tavares are both very powerful, but Watson is more diverse and technical. This will be the difference.

I don't expect much ground work to occur in this fight, which should leave the fans with one hell of a fight.

Don't blink or you may miss fireworks.

Prediction: Watson def. Tavares via decision