...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
UFC Fight Night 56 concludes the UFC's two-event weekend tomorrow night, so as we did for UFC Fight Night 55, let's take a look at the main card fights, with some quick picks for the night's undercard from Uberlandia in Brazil.
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Ovince St. Preux (Light Heavyweight): I'm not sure if this fight represents an easier fight for Shogun than Jimi Manuwa or not. I think he had a better chance of it being a strictly striking affair had it been Manuwa, which played to his favor but also would have left him vulnerable to another KO loss. St. Preux is likely to try to make this more of a wrestling-centric fight, especially on short notice, and though he's got some striking ability, he'd surely like to try avoiding Shogun's strikes while attempting to get him to the ground for a submission. That said, I think Shogun's prepared for that, and is likely to succeed in keeping the fight on the feet. St. Preux's got power enough to stop Shogun, and the longer the fight goes the more likely that could become, but I'll go out on a limb with Shogun bouncing back from the Henderson loss. Shogun by TKO in the second round.
Ian McCall vs. John Lineker (Flyweight): Lineker's been quite good through most of his UFC run thus far, but his continued weight issues remain a concern. McCall has only lost to the elite of this division in Champ Demetrious Johnson and perennial contender Joseph Benavidez, but while he's beaten some other fighters, he's had issues finishing fights. If this one ends in a stoppage, Lineker by TKO is the likeliest scenario there, but even though he's got a speed edge, I think he's going to run into a hard fighter to put away. That opens the door for McCall to take over after what is likely going to be a barrage of first round strikes from Lineker. In doing so, I think he'll control the latter half of the fight in what should be a competitive matchup. McCall by decision.
Warlley Alves vs. Alan Jouban (Welterweight): Alves looked very good in winning "The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3" this Spring, and as he enters this undefeated there's no clear path to victory for his opponent. That said, Jouban's got a hell of a chin, and has the power to stop fights, as he's shown on numerous occasions. The questions here come in his ground game, as that wasn't challenged much in the Seth Baczynski fight, but will be here. This one's a toss up to me, as both are still far from known commodities. Alves may just be better on the ground and could pick up the submission win. Jouban may simply be better all around and could stop Alves or avoid a decision loss. There's a number of ways this fight could play out, but I'll roll with the home country fighter here. Alves by decision.
Claudio Silva vs. Leon Edwards (Welterweight): In an odd coincidence, each fighter has only one career loss, and for both it came by disqualification. Silva's more of a ground fighter, with six submission losses to his credit, while Edwards has stopped four opponents with strikes, adding another two submissions to his 8-1 overall record. If Edwards can keep things standing, I think he'll have the edge, but doing that against Silva is easier said than done. Silva by decision.
Juliana Lima vs. Nina Ansaroff (Women's Strawweight): Lima lost to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in her UFC debut in a mostly one-sided fight, where Jedrzejczyk was able to dictate the pace of the fight from start to finish. Ansaroff's been out of action since last December, so the layoff could be a concern, but both are likely to contest this one on the feet. It's hard to say who has the edge here, but I think it may be Ansaroff in the striking game. Still, it's probably going to be competitive throughout. Ansaroff by decision.
=====Preliminary Card Quick Picks=====
-Rodolfo Rubio over Diego Rivas by SUB RD 1
-Caio Magalhaes over Trevor Smith by decision
-Dhiego Lima over Jorge Oliveira by TKO RD 2
-Leandro Silva over Charlie Brenneman by SUB RD 2
-Thomas Almeida over Tim Gorman by TKO RD 1
-Colby Covington over Wagner Silva by SUB RD 1
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
