UFC Fight Night 19: Preview & Predictions

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Along with the main UFC events on Pay-Per-View, the UFC features up-and-coming fighters several times each year on UFC Fight Night, televised live and for free on SpikeTV.

UFC Fight Night 19 will serve as the lead-in event for The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights on Spike TV. The event, the first ever in the Oklahoma City area, will be held at the 15,600 capacity Cox Convention Center. The company was last in Oklahoma at UFC 4, where Royce Gracie excited the Tulsa, Oklahoma crowd by defeating Ron van Clief.

With an attractive season of The Ultimate Fighter following the event, it should get many casual fans, in addition to all of the mainstays. Nate Diaz vs. Melvin Guillard will serve as the main event while undefeated Gray Maynard will try and give Roger Huerta a fond farewell in what is rumored to be his last UFC bout, as the co-main event.

The preliminary card is headed by a rubber match between former WEC Light Heavyweight Champions, Brian Stann and Steve Cantwell. The bout also contains many popular fighters battling for their UFC lives. Phillipe Nover, Jeremy Stephens, and CB Dollaway all seem to be in a must-win situation.

The UFC Fight Night 19 event will begin at 8 PM EST and will be immediately followed by The Ultimate Fighter 10 at 10 PM EST on Spike TV. Complete UFC Fight Night 19 results will be posted at ProFighting-fans.com as the fights become official.

 
Steve Cantwell vs. Brian Stann

In their third career meeting, both Brian Stann and Steve Cantwell are in must-win situations. Stann won the first time around at WEC 26 via TKO, needing only 41 seconds to accomplish the task.

Cantwell returned to steal the WEC Light Heavyweight Title away from Stann at WEC 35, defeating him with a second-round TKO. The third meeting will be pivotal in the future of each fighter as a UFC competitor.

Steve “Robot” Cantwell debuted four years ago, fighting in Arizona with the Rage in the Cage organization. The California native stopped three consecutive opponents to earn his way into the Zuffa-owned WEC promotion.

Making his March 2007 debut at WEC 26, Cantwell was caught with a flurry of strikes only 41 seconds into his bout to hand him his first career loss. He did rebound to win three in a row for the WEC over the likes of Tim McKenzie, Doug McElfresh, and later Brian Stann, and became the last reigning WEC Light Heavyweight Champion.

When the WEC folded their 205-pound division in 2008, Cantwell was transferred over to the UFC and made his debut at UFC: Fight for the Troops, submitting Razak Al-Hassan with an armbar. In his most recent action, Cantwell took a step up in competition, hanging tough but losing a unanimous decision to Luis Arthur Cane at UFC 97 in April.

Pennsylvania native Brian Stann had only one fight before hitting the major league MMA scene. The former United States Marine needed all but 16 seconds in his WEC 21 debut to TKO Miguel Cosio.

“All-American” made it five consecutive WEC victories, defeating the likes of Cantwell, Craig Zellner, Jeremiah Billington, and Doug Marshall to earn the WEC Light Heavyweight Title. He suffered his first career loss in his first title defense against Cantwell, losing in a second-round TKO.

Despite his loss, the UFC brought Stann into the 205-pound division and matched him up with The Ultimate Fighter 8 cast member Krzysztof Soszynski in his debut. Soszynski wasted little time slapping a kimura on Stann at the 3:53 mark of the first round, making his debut one to forget.

Prediction: Cantwell over Stann via split decision

 
Carlos Condit vs. Jake Ellenberger

Jake Ellenberger (21-4) takes over for an injured Chris Lytle against the last WEC Welterweight Champion, Carlos Condit (22-5). Ellenberger will make his UFC debut fresh off a win in the upstart Bellator organization less than three months ago. Carlos Condit is back after five months off, losing in his UFC debut via split decision against Martin Kampmann.

Carlos “Natural Born Killer” Condit fought his first professional bout as an 18-year-old for the Mexico-based Aztec Challenge. He got off to a fast start, winning his first seven career bouts. In April of 2006, Condit produced one of his best career victories, stopping UFC veteran Frank Trigg by submission.

However, later in 2006, Condit suffered back-to-back losses for the first time in his fighting career, losing to Pat Healy and Jake Shields. Even with the losses, Japanese officials called Condit to participate in three Pancrase tournament bouts, defeating all three of his opponents via stoppages.

Shortly after finishing his tenure in Japan, Condit signed a contract with the WEC and was soon fighting for the vacant Welterweight belt. He succeeded in capturing that belt in only his second promotional bout. He would go on to defend it three times over the likes of Brock Larson, Carlo Prater, and Hiromitsu Miura.

When the WEC 170-pound division dissolved into the UFC, Condit was an important acquisition. It was a rough beginning to his UFC career, losing to Martin Kampmann by a close split decision at UFC Fight Night 18.

Team Quest-trained Jake Ellenberger won his first twelve bouts while fighting for organizations such as Extreme Challenge, King of the Cage, and the IFL. His first loss was in his IFL debut, losing to Jay Hieron via unanimous decision.

Ellenberger was up and down over the next two years, defeating such fighters as UFC vets Zach Light and Pat Healy and losing to notables Derrick Noble and Delson Heleno.

Recently, Ellenberger has been steady, winning four straight bouts while fighting in the M-1 Challenge, Victory FC, and Bellator FC. He comes into his UFC debut with 18 stoppages out of his 21 victories and having only been stopped once in his four-year career.

Prediction: Condit over Ellenberger via submission

 
Nate Quarry vs. Tim Credeur

Either Nate Quarry (11-3) or Tim Credeur (12-2) will take a step up in the bottom-heavy Middleweight division and inch closer to a contender position. While Anderson Silva is clearly the king of the UFC’s 185-pound division, both Quarry and Credeur are taking significant strides to becoming legitimate.

Quarry returns for the first time since his April UFC 97 TKO win against Canadian Jason McDonald. Meanwhile, Credeur has been nothing but impressive, winning all three UFC contests, including a UFC Fight Night 18 bout over Nick Catone.

Nate Quarry, 37, used organizations like Extreme Challenge, King of the Cage, and Gladiator Challenge to build his 5-1 record before appearing on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. Suffering an injury early in the competition, Quarry was asked to stay on as an assistant coach for Team Couture.

It was worth it for Quarry, who received a contract from the organization nonetheless, first showing up on the Finale, defeating Lodune Sincaid via first-round TKO. “Rock” actually compiled three consecutive victories, giving him a title bout at UFC 56 against then-champ Rich Franklin.

It was too early for the overmatched Quarry, who suffered a highlight reel KO that can be seen circulating on numerous UFC Unleashed shows. Quarry returned with victories against Pete Sell and Kalib Starnes, bringing him to a top contender bout with Demian Maia at UFC 91.

Maia totally dominated the Oregon native by getting him to the ground and locking in a fight-ending, first-round, rear naked choke. Quarry is back on track after he controlled Jason McDonald and delivered a series of punches resulting in a first round TKO victory at UFC 97.

Bouncing around the minor league MMA circuit, Tim Credeur won six of his first seven bouts, fighting mostly in his home state of Louisiana. His only loss during that span was a 2002 King of the Cage loss against Elite XC veteran Joey Villasenor.

Chael Sonnen dealt Credeur his second career loss in a 2006 Bodog Fight bout in Costa Rica with several unanswered strikes. Credeur returned to action in impressive fashion, submitting three straight opponents for three separate Louisiana organizations.

His big break came in 2008 by being cast for The Ultimate Fighter 7, making it to the semi-finals, where he was defeated by finalist Jesse Taylor. Credeur was not able to compete on the TUF season seveb finale, but returned later in the year at UFC Fight Night 14 and stopped Cale Yarbrough via first-round TKO.

He followed his UFC debut win with two more stoppages, including Nate Loughran at UFC: Fight for the Troops and Nick Catone at UFC Fight Night 18. There is no doubt that this will be Credeur’s stiffest challenge to date.

Prediction: Quarry over Credeur via unanimous decision


Gray Maynard vs. Roger Huerta

Roger Huerta wants to make his final UFC bout one to remember, as he is planning on leaving the organization to pursue other interests, including acting. He is set to take on undefeated former collegiate wrestler, Gray “The Bully” Maynard (7-0), who is coming off a UFC 96 decision victory against Jim Miller. Huerta is trying to bounce back after losing to former number one contender, Kenny Florian, at UFC 87 over one year ago.

“The Bully” made his way into MMA after completing a successful wrestling career at Michigan State University. The Xtreme Couture-trained fighter won two fights prior to being selected to appear in The Ultimate Fighter 5 Spike TV series.

As a contestant on TUF 5, Maynard was selected to be on BJ Penn’s team and made it through, until reaching the semi-finals, where he was defeated by eventual winner, Nate Diaz. At the TUF 5 Finale, Maynard and his opponent, Rob Emerson, were knocked out simultaneously, therefore ending the fight in a no contest.

Since that June 2007 bout he has been flawless, winning five straight contests, including a UFC Fight Night 13 decision victory against previously unbeaten Frankie Edgar. His other UFC victories include Joe Veres, Dennis Siver, Rich Clementi, and most recently, Jim Miller at UFC 96.

Roger “El Matador” Huerta debuted in August 2003, fighting for the Extreme Challenge organization. Huerta lost only once in his first 17 bouts; among the tough opponents that he defeated were Matt Wiman, Melvin Guillard, and Brad Blackburn.

The UFC reached a deal with Huerta that put him in the cage by September of 2006 against TUF 9 fighter, Jason Dent. Huerta was unable to finish Dent, however did come out on top, winning a decision as well as “Fight of the Night” honors.

Five more UFC wins brought his organizational streak at six in a row; among his opponents were John Halverson, Leonard Garcia, Doug Evans, Alberto Crane, and Clay Guida.

When “El Matador” was given the chance to fight Kenny Florian for what many believed to be a future title shot, he dropped the ball. Florian controlled Huerta physically and out-strategized him mentally, capturing the unanimous decision victory and the shot at BJ Penn’s title.

Prediction: Huerta over Maynard via majority decision

 
Nate Diaz vs. Melvin Guillard

Always exciting, Nate Diaz (10-4) will try to get his UFC career back on track after suffering back-to-back losses for the first time in his young career when he faces Louisiana native Melvin Guillard (22-7-2) in the Main Event.

In June, Diaz was in action in at The Ultimate Fighter 9 finale, losing to perennial contender Joe Stevenson by unanimous decision. His opponent, Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard, has returned from a one-fight absence from the UFC to win back-to-back lightweight bouts.

Only 26-years-old, Guillard has over thirty bouts to his credit, fighting most of his early fights in small organizations. Guillard won his first 10 bouts until losing back-to-back fights for the Freestyle FC organization in 2004.

He continued an up and down career until finding stability with the UFC in the form of the The Ultimate Fighter 2 house. After losing in his first fight during the show, he returned to the finale and delivered a KO punch to Marcus Davis for his first UFC win.

He was also credited for defeating Rick Davis and Gabe Ruediger as a member of the UFC, but lost bouts to Josh Neer, Joe Stevenson, and Rich Clementi and soon found himself out of the promotion.

It only took one fight outside of the UFC before “The Young Assassin” was back in the UFC. Since his return he has been excellent, defeating Dennis Siver at UFC 86 via TKO, then Gleison Tibau at the TUF 9 finale in a controversial decision. Guillard stands to take a huge step up the lightweight ladder with a victory against Diaz.

Diaz, a Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu disciple, won five of his first six bouts in the WEC, Strikeforce and Pancrase organizations. By the time he made his appearance on The Ultimate Fighter 5, his record was 5-2, with experience against top lightweights Hermes Franca and Koji Oishi.

He delivered by winning the TUF 5 tournament, defeating Manny Gamburyan via TKO to claim the six-figure UFC contract. After winning at the TUF 5 finale, Diaz went on to win four more in a row against Junior Assuncao, Alvin Robinson, Kurt Pellegrino, and Josh Neer.

Calling out UFC matchmaker Joe Silva to give him a top contender, Diaz was surprised in his UFC 94 bout when Clay Guida outscored him on the judges’ scorecards and handed him his first promotional loss.

In his most recent action, Diaz met Joe Stevenson at the The Ultimate Fighter 9 finale, where “Daddy” manhandled him for three rounds and the unanimous decision victory. Diaz needs a victory to stay relevant in the 155-pound division and possibly to keep his job with the organization, as not many fighters survive a three-fight losing streak with the number one MMA promotion.

Prediction: Diaz over Guillard via submission