MMA Troops Preview

I don't think I could be less excited for an MMA event. There are two things that could make this worth watching: Wiman and Miller have an all-out brawl, Yoshida puts on a judo clinic and Koscheck is cut the next day. Other than that, I just don't see the draw. Oh well, here are my predictions.

Tim Credeur vs Nate Loughran
-Credeur Wins by Second Round Submission

Steve Cantwell vs Razak Al-Hassan
-I'm going with Al-Hassan in an upset. I have zero knowledge of him, but the fact that Cantwell is such an overwhelming favorite (-350) makes me suspicious.

Cantwell is an average fighter. Unless he was fighting a twelve year old girl with Multiple Sclerosis, I wouldn't list him as the favorite. The UFC does not put little girl's with MS on main cards, so I'm thinking this fighter might turn out to be better than expected. Al-Hassan wins by a first round TKO.

Mike Swick vs Jonathan Goulet
-In another fight I could care less about, Swick and Goulet will finally get a chance to meet. Apparently they have been trying to fight each for some time, but like me no one really cared enough to book it.

Goulet is overmatched in this one. I'm not sure why he campaigned so hard for the fight on the "web", as he calls it. Swick bores the hell out of me. I like how in his UFC profile it lists "aggression" as one of his "strengths". Who the hell put this thing together Maggie Hendricks from Yahoo!? Anyway, Swick wins by unanimous decision.

Matt Wiman vs Jim Miller
-Finally a fight worth watching. Before reading any more, you should know I am a huge Miller fan, so this will be very biased.

Wiman impressed lots of people with his knockout of Thiago Tavares in June. Tavares' stock has since fallen and that win isn't looking so great any more. On the feet, Wiman should have the edge. Miller can hold his own, but he does not have the type of striking attack that will scare Wiman.

The biggest difference between the fighters is on the ground, where Miller excels. He's a submission machine and needs to take the match to the mat to win.

Whenever I look at two closely skilled fighters, I almost always go with the fighter who has the bigger edge in one department. In this fight, Wiman has a decent edge in striking. On the ground, Miller takes it by a larger amount. I'm going with that logic. Either way it'll be the first time this event catches my attention.

Miller wins by second round submission.

Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs Josh Koscheck
When I heard Koscheck planned on fighting twice in rapid fashion, my immediate thought was, "If he loses both, his UFC career is over." It just didn't strike me as a good idea. The fact he has to fight a slightly unknown commodity, who happens to be a judo expert, does not alleviate my concerns.

There is also the ongoing problems between his handlers and the UFC over image licensing. He's facing a deep hole to climb out of and I don't think it's going to happen. I expect him to go back to what he knows best and try to squeak out a decision against Yoshida. The problem he will run into is Yoshida will counter his wrestling with throws.

To me the only thing more exciting than a knockout is seeing one fighter throw the other on his head. I wish more fighters took up judo because it is a pleasing style to watch. Koscheck will have his moments of laying on top and barely doing any damage, however, they will pale in comparison to the multiple times he lands on his head.

Yoshida wins by unanimous decision. UFC cuts Koscheck within a month.