UFC 131 Fight Card: 4 Reasons You Should Already Know Who Jon Olav Einemo Is

This Saturday, Jon Olav Einemo will meet Dave Herman on the main card of UFC 131, which will be held at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Originally expected to fight Shane Carwin, Einemo had a change of opponent when Carwin was moved to the main event fight against Junior Dos Santos.

Einemo's fight with Herman will mark his return to mixed martial arts (MMA) after focusing on jiu-jitsu competition for the last four years. Despite his long layoff, there are still plenty of reasons why MMA fans should already be aware of Einemo and his accomplishments.

Einemo Fought Fabricio Werdum in 2006

Prior to his hiatus from MMA, Einemo fought Fabricio Werdum at Pride 31.

Although Einemo lost the fight by decision, he was arguably better than Werdum, a highly regarded jiu-jitsu practitioner, in the grappling department. However, Werdum took advantage of Einemo's developing striking game en route to victory.

As you are about to find out, though, Einemo's striking is likely to have improved by leaps and bounds since he last competed in MMA.

Click here to see the final two rounds of Einemo's fight with Werdum.

Einemo Trains at Golden Glory

Born in Norway, Einemo trains at Golden Glory, a gym located in Netherlands and known for producing some of the best fighters in the world.

When Einemo last fought, his weakness was most definitely in his striking. However, fans should expect to see an improved stand-up game from Einemo after training with some excellent strikers at Golden Glory, such as Sergei Kharitonov and Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight Champion and 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix Champion Alistair Overeem.

Einemo May Have the Best Ground Game of Any Heavyweight in MMA

If Herman or any other heavyweight in the UFC goes to the ground with Einemo, they are just asking to be submitted.

Having won the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships in 2003, Einemo is a decorated jiu-jitsu practitioner. Einemo has also managed to reach the semifinals, finals or the prestigious tournament on multiple other occasions.

Einemo Defeated Roger Gracie at ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships

If you are still skeptical about Einemo's abilities on the ground, look no further than his run at the 2003 ADCC Submission Wrestling Championship in the 88-98 kilogram weight division.

After wins in the first two rounds of the tournament, which included a bout against Brandon Vera, Einemo met Roger Gracie in the semifinals. At the time of the bout, Gracie was undefeated in submission wrestling and had already earned wins over Demian Maia and Ronaldo Souza.

However, Einemo was able to win on points and handed Gracie his first loss in a grappling match. Since then, Gracie has become recognized as possibly the best jiu-jitsu practitioner in the world and has not lost another bout in the ADCC Submission Wrestling Championships.

This video is actually of a 2007 bout between the two grapplers, but it shows Einemo holding his own once again against an even more experienced Gracie. Click here and here to see the rest of the match.