Stuck to the Prelims: Analyzing Eliot Marshall Vs. Vinny Magalhaes

I’m honestly genuinely surprised that more people aren’t talking about the preliminary fight between TUF Season Eight veterans Eliot Marshall and finalist Vinny Magalhaes. Sure it’s not as big as Chuck Liddell vs. Shogun or Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites, but I still feel it’s one of the more interesting fights on the card and worthy of being placed on the televised portion.

I’m not saying this because I’m a “TUF Fanboy.” I’m just generally excited about this matchup, and I think it has all the makings of a very good fight.

I noticed that pretty much everyone and their grandmother have taken the time to break down the main event fights, as well as the televised undercard, so I thought it would be a good idea to give a full in-depth analysis of a fight that not very many people are discussing.

Striking                                                                                        

It’s no secret that Eliot Marshall has the superior stand up game going into this fight. Vinny’s stand up isn’t that bad, and I do know he has been working hard on improving his striking, but the fact remains that as far as stand up is concerned, it’s the weakest part of his game.

Eliot Marshall can strike fairly well—and he showcased this in his fight against Jules Bruchez at the TUF season eight finale by peppering Jules with brutal striking combinations right from the opening bell. While Marshall is far from being the next Anderson Silva, he certainly has the clear advantage over Magalhaes in the striking department.

Eliot Marshall has the striking advantage, 10-7

Jiu-Jitsu

Both fighters are widely respected Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts, but Vinny Magalhaes is considered to be one of the best in the entire world in Jiu-Jitsu. Vinny is so dangerous on the ground that even against another world class black belt in Eliot Marshall, Vinny will have a huge advantage.

Vinny Magalhaes has the best Jiu-Jitsu in the Light Heavyweight division, and his best bet to win this fight would be to pull guard on Marshall and lock in a spectacular submission for the victory.

That’s really the only way I can see Vinny winning this fight though, and it’s definitely not going to be easy either because—like I mentioned before—Eliot Marshall is very skilled on the ground as well, though not as skilled as Vinny is.

Vinny Magalhaes has the jiu-jitsu advantage, 10-8

Wrestling

Vinny might have the better Jiu-Jitsu, but Eliot Marshall is a much better wrestler. Eliot trains at the Greg Jackson camp with guys like GSP, Nate Marquardt, Rashad Evans, and Shane Carwin among others, all of whom are known for their overwhelmingly strong wrestling base, and Marshall wrestles with these guys every day.

Marshall will most likely use this wrestling advantage to keep this fight standing up and look to knock Vinny out, especially considering Vinny's lack of stand up skills and his suspect chin.

Eliot Marshall has the wrestling advantage, 10-8.

Final prediction

If this were a jiu-jitsu match, then there would be no doubt in my mind that Vinny would win. However, this is an MMA fight, and if you’re extremely one-dimensional like Vinny Magalhaes and you’re fighting a well-rounded mixed martial arts fighter like Eliot Marshall—chances are you will probably lose.

Now Vinny might be a bit one-dimensional, but he’s very good at that one dimension, so there is a chance he can end up pulling off the submission. However, I just don’t see that happening.

Eliot is the better MMA fighter, and if he is able to avoid Vinny’s deadly jiu-jitsu, then he should end up winning this fight either by a decision or a TKO victory.

Eliot “The Fire” Marshall by second round (T)KO.