Combat Sports: An Encyclopedia

Why It Matters: UFC 159 

thesportssoundoff:

Joey NOX

April 26th, 2013

Why The Event Matters

UFC 159 marks the company’s return to New Jersey as the premier east coast venue for all UFC events. It also marks the return to the scene of the crime for Jon Jones as his breakout performance against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua happened in this very same venue. Jones takes on Chael Sonnen for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship and will attempt to join Randy Couture and Shogun Rua as the only fighters to enter a title fight coming off a loss and win said title belt. Also on the card is a top 10 clash between middleweights Michael Bisping and Alan Belcher. Popular heavyweight Roy Nelson returns against Cheick Kongo and Jersey’s own Jim Miller re-welcomes Pat Healy to the octagon.  Also littered among the fights are a collection of solid clashes at 145 and 155 lbs.

Kurt Holobaugh (9-1) vs Steven Siler (21-10)

Why It Matters:  Falling Behind.

Once the whipping boy for most “hardcore” MMA fans, the UFC’s Featherweight division has taken off and with the inclusion of some way overdue 155 lbers dropping, has become arguably the most stacked division in MMA. You’ve got reigning champ Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes, Ricardo Lamas, Korean Zombie, Cub Swanson, Frankie Edgar, Dennis Siver, Dustin Porier, Darren Elkins, Diego Brandao, Conor McGregor, Dennis Bermudez, Matt Grice, Erik Koch, Charles Aloe-Vera and even the likes of Clay Guida and Anthony Pettis if you want to go that far. I’m sure I’m forgetting some guys but perhaps in a way that’s the point; it’s really easy to get forgotten and fall behind in this division. Case in point; UFC featherweight Steven Siler. Despite an impressive 3-0 start to his UFC career, Siler has been mostly forgotten about since his loss to Darren Elkins in November. Since that time, Elkins has fought twice in FX while Siler falls himself returning on the facebook prelims. He’ll attempt to get some momentum going again against Louisiana’s Kurt Holobaugh. If you’re one of the few and the proud who saw Strikeforce’s last show, Holobaugh made an impressive stand against Pat Healy on two weeks notice. An outmatched Holobaugh didn’t back down against Healy and gave a decent account of himself on short notice. There’s a good chance that if Holobaugh loses, there is no second chance for him. At the same time,a win against Siler could be a huge statement win that signals his arrival on the main stage.  All the more reason why this fight has significant importance as our opener.

Hidden Talking Point: Strikeforce went 4-4 for last weekend in it’s battle with the UFC. Most believe they could’ve reasonably gone 6-2 had the cards fallen right in Melendez/Henderson and Larkin/Carmont. Can Siler keep the good times rolling for the red brand? 

Nick Catone (9-4) vs James Head (9-3)

Why It Matters: No longer hyped, Nick Catone is now just trying to survive

The career of Nick Catone has been an interesting one to say the least. The last man to defeat Costa Phillippou, Catone debuted in the UFC as an undefeated 6-0 prospect before a 1-2 run had stock in the rocks. A two fight win streak (aided by time off due to injures) had people buzzing about The Jersey Devil’s stock until Chris Camozzi stopped him on cuts. Catone decided to make the cut to 170 and was greeted coldly by underrated WW TJ Waldburger. No longer a hyped up middleweight, Catone is just hoping to extend his UFC stay with a victory over James Head. Head is in a similar situation; a middleweight with great promise who has since dropped to WW to find success. Head’s been a bit better at 170, going 2-1 in the division with a big win over Brian Ebersole. His last time out though he was KO’d by MMA’s last true mulleted warrior in Mike Pyle. While Catone is fighting for his job, Head is fighting to hold onto precious real estate in the 170 lb division. 

Hidden Talking Point: Nick Catone lost to TJ Waldburger who lost to Brian Ebersole who lost to James Head. Does that mean Head has faced the better competition, even if Catone’s resume contains top 5 MW Costa Phillippou? Or are we playing wacky MMAth again?

Cody McKenzie (13-3) vs Leonard Garcia (15-10-1)

Why It Matters: Someone is losing their job.

It feels like the logic remains the same regardless of who Leonard Garcia fights. He’s fighting for his job and can’t afford a loss. He can’t get by on being excited, he needs to fight smart etc etc. To his credit, Garcia fought a damn good fight against Hawaiian prospect Max Holloway his last time out. He’s still too wild of a striker and his ground game is non-existent but his jab returned from obscurity to negate Holloway’s faster hands and tighter boxing. Garcia is in one of those “no more gimmes” spots as the UFC has run out of ways to justify his spot on the roster during this losing streak. His opponent Cody McKenzie is in a similar spot. Although popular, McKenzie continues to struggle against the better talent in the UFC and is the epitome of a one trick pony. Can he convince Leonard Garcia to play into that one trick will determine who still has a job after this. Because make no mistake, someone is REALLY going to lose their job after this fight. You can only dodge the fan so many times.

Hidden Talking Point: It will be interesting to see who tempts fate in the other’s most dangerous skill area. I’m talking Leonard Garcia in McKenzie’s guard or Cody McKenzie trying to outstrike Garcia. Whomever is able to do that figures to have the significant edge on fight night.

Rustam Khalibov (15-1) vs Yancy Medeiros (9-0)

Why It Matters: Catching Bellator’s Russian Dominance

The UFC is the industry leader in many different areas. You’ve got the biggest audience, the best talent, best production, best promotion and the widest array of countries represented. That said there is one area where they lag behind Bellator in. When it comes down to it, Bellator does a far better job scouring Russia and areas surrounding for top flight MMA quality talent. That’s an area the UFC either doesn’t have a lot of interest in or just doesn’t scout well, especially when you compare how many good fighters Bellator seems to find. That could be changing with the additions of Khabib Nurmagamedov and now Rustam Khalibov. Khalibov burst onto the scene with successive concussion suplexes against Vinc Pichel in December but he gets a meager step up against Hawaii’s Yancy Medeiros. Stifled under the Strikeforce banner, Medeiros found himself holding fund raisers to try and raise money for him to train stateside. Medeiros is also making the weight cut to 155 lbs for the first time as well. Medeiros is the lesser hyped prospect but that’s more due to his long lay off than anything else. He’s very talented and young enough at 25 years old to make an impact in the UFC. While I’m sure they have nothing against Medeiros, I bet the UFC would much prefer if Khalibov turned into one of the first building blocks to a potential Russian expansion.

Hidden Talking Point: After spending a lot of time talking up the UFC’s interest in Russia, it’s fair to point out that they don’t have as many Hawaiian stars as they used to. Could Meideros eventually help cushion the blow that losing BJ Penn would be? 

Sara McMann (6-0) vs Sheila Gaff (10-4)

Why It Matters: Wrestling with expectations.

Ya get it? Because ya know, Sara McMann is a wrestler? So she’s wrestling with expectations? I crack myself up sometimes. Bad puns aside, Sara McMann has been the answer by most WMMA fans (and Rousey haters) to the question of “Who Can Give Ronda Rousey The Toughest Fight?”. In many ways, it has to be McMann, an Olympic silver medalist who shows advanced awareness on the ground and is working hard to fine tune her stand up. I don’t know if McMann now is good enough to trouble Rousey  but I can think of worse palettes to build an opponent off of. At the same time, Germany’s Sheila Gaff could render all this talk moot with one powerful right hook. Gaff has insane power as evidenced by her face scorching KO of Jennifer Maia. She also hasn’t lost since 2010 and if you were to remove said year, Gaff’s record would be 9-1. The expectation is that Sara wil outwrestle Gaff over three rounds, maybe with a finish via submission toward the third round or so. I Gaff fights up to her talent level, it may not be that easy for McMann. That in turn would lead to questions about her actual talent level. It’s the problem with expectations; especially those that may just be unrealistic.

Hidden Talking Point: Last week, the UFC had Olympic Silver medalist Yoel Romero. This week they have Olympic Silver medalist Sara McMann. Is the first time the UFC has had Olympic Silver medalists in back to back shows? 

Ovince St. Preux (12-5) vs Gian Villante (10-3)

Why It Matters: Can Strikeforce produce 3 light heavyweights?

In this pure “Strikeforce vs Strikeforce” fight, one might argue that there’s not much to really talk about. Ovince St. Preux was a Strikeforce find that they nurtured slowly and built up until they threw him to the wolves against Gegard Mousasi, He looked decent in a loss where he was clearly overmatched and the former Tennessee Volunteer still maintains a high upside. A former heavyweight who was scuffling to get fights, Gian Villante has won three straight fights since making the drop to 205 lbs and is 3-1 overall in the division. While Strikeforce was loaded with 155-ers (who I believe to this point have gone 5-2 in the UFC), they lacked at 205 lbs. This is where a guy like Villante and OSP can make some hay and find some ground. After Mousasi and Feijao, there isn’t a real solid 205 lb fighter who can make their claim as the 3rd best import in the division. A win by either guy could go a long way towards cementing them as that guy.

Hidden Talking Point: Given that Mousasi is hurting and there’s a lack of top flight LHWs who haven’t fought Jon Jones recently, how fast could the winner escalate up the ranks? 

Bryan Caraway (17-6) vs Johnny Beford (19-9-1)

Why It Matters: TUF 14 Collides!

This was originally a really exciting match up between wrestler with brutal ground and pound Johnny Bedford and well rounded MMA Mexican star in the making Erik Perez. One infection later and Bryan Caraway will get a chance on less than a week’s notice. Initial disappointment about Perez’s injury aside, this is still a fine little ditty in the 135 lb division.Caraway is coming off a loss in a good fight (with abysmal coaching) against Takeya Mizugaki while Bedford has fought consistent injuries in his UFC career en route to a 2-0 record inside the company. Bedford and Caraway were both on the same season of The Ultimate Fighter and in fact, were both members of the same team on the show (Team Miller). They’re also very similar fighters; smothering wrestlers with a solid ground game and superb ground and pound. The problem is the 135 lb division is filled with guys similar to them and there may only be room for one going forward.

Hidden Talking Point: After getting told to “coast” in the 3rd and vital round of a close fight, how will Caraway view his corner’s advice during the tenser moments? 

Click inside for the main card!

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