This should be called TUF Alumni night instead of Fight Night. A lot of the fighters were on past seasons of TUF. Maybe that is part of the UFC plan to bring them up slower in the fight night.
Mike Swick Vs. Josh Burkman
(Mike Swick Wins by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 in the 3rd round)
RESULTS: Boy was this fight kinda flat. I think they broke the record for clinch up and having the ref split them up. I think it was like six times. Swick said he cut to much and should have lost more in the days before instead of losing to much gradually. Josh used his power to hold the clinch and basically Swick stuffed every single takedown.
This is gonna be a good fight. Josh had a relentless power in his wrestling and Swick is quick as he likes to say. I think this is the first fight at 170, but I might be wrong. After Swick battled with Okami at 185 he thought twice about competing again at 185. It will be neat to see Swick in this new world. Both of these guys are hard and relentless, but I feel like Swick has more technique when things go bad so I will go with Mike getting a swick-atine in the 2nd.
Patrick Cote Vs. Drew McFedries
(Patrick Cote Wins by Technical Knock Out at 1:44 in the 1st round)
RESULTS: I was really pulling for Drew for all he has been going through. Even Cote mentioned it at the end of the fight. Both of these guys through hard, but Cote had the stronger chin.
Wow this could be a main card easily. I still remember Drew’s KO over Jordan Radev. Cote has knock out power too; just ask Grove. Both of these guys are coming off fights in which they got KO’s in a dominating fashion. I hope Cote is on the comeback, but who knows with Drew’s power. This should be a good stand up battle for sure. I would have to guess and say Cote gets the decision.
Alvin Robinson Vs. Nate Diaz
(Nate Diaz Wins by Submission (Choke) at 3:39 in the 1st round by triangle choke)
RESULTS: I was very impressed with Diaz in this coming out. He came out looking like he put on some muscle. He was more aggressive in this fight and held the dominate position on top more. Alvin should have known better than to lay in the guard of somebody that has long legs, like Diaz. That Triangle was all too easy for Diaz to cinch up. He asked at the end of the fight for some contenders next. I think he is showing signs of good progression.
Ole Nate is, once again, going to battle against a brown belt in jiu jitsu. Both of these guys are great grapplers, so they will probably take a couple of shots and then both go to the ground. My thinking is that they will have an all out war standing up. So, if it happens, thank me for working Murphy’s law in reverse. Diaz via triangle in the first.
Michihiro Omigawa Vs. Thiago Tavares
(Thiago Tavares Wins by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 in the 3rd round)
RESULTS: Omigawas strength alone kept many of Tavares’ attacks at bay. Nothing to spectacular in this fight.
Easy one: Thiago Tavares via submission in the first round.
Alberto Crane Vs. Kurt Pellegrino
(Kurt Pellegrino Wins by Technical Knock Out at 1:55 in the 2nd round )
RESULTS: I couldn’t believe that Alberto Crane never even came close to getting a submission. He did get an awesome shin kick to Pellegrino’s head that rocked him hard. If Crane would not have rushed in and fell on top of his guard, he may have been able to finish him off, but instead he got to close to him and Pellegrino was able to tangle him up and stall.
Both of these guys came up through the world renowned BJJ tournaments. I am hoping this will be a BJJ clinic with punching. It will be cool just to see what Crane has learned after his last fight with Huerta. Crane stuck to BJJ only in this fight, and paid the price for it. He did well, putting Huerta in trouble a couple times, but you can’t go into a MMA fight and not throw a punch. Somebody will get submitted in this match for sure. Crane by submission in the third.
Dennis Siver Vs. Gray Maynard
(Gray Maynard Wins by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 in the 3rd round )
It will be interesting to see how these men progress with each fight. They show so much potential, but you can see where they lack some of the tools that they will learn with every fight. Maynard via decision.
Jeremy Stephens Vs. Cole Miller
(Jeremy Stephens Wins by Technical Knock Out at 4:44 in the 2nd round)
Another TUF alumni in Cole Miller. This will probably be his toughest fight yet. Stephens is a tough fighter with intensity to match. Cole has super long legs and can put you in trouble if you even get near his guard though. This will probably go to the judges since both of these guys are really good fighters. Since Cole fights more of a counter style I would think Stephens will score more points on take downs and such. Stephens wins via decision.
Joe Veres Vs. Corey Hill
(Corey Hill Wins by Technical Knock Out at 0:37 in the 2nd round )
A new and improved Corey Hill? That is what everyone is saying and I hope they are right. I agree that he improves with every fight. When he was on the TUF show, he was almost starting from scratch. The height difference in the fight is going to be huge with Veres being 5′6″ and Corey at 6′4″. This will be just a learning fight for Corey Veres shouldn’t put him in much danger. Once Corey figures out a strategy mid-fight, he will probably finish with some move that he has been working on. Corey via submission in the 2nd.
Justin Buchholz Vs. Matt Wiman
(Matt Wiman wins by submission (Choke) at 2:56 in the 1st round by rear naked choke)
This is Justin’s first time out in the UFC, but he is no joke at all. He trains with Faber and has ended his last five fights in the first round. Wiman won’t be ready for this dude. Wiman is a serious scrapper though. I really don’t know on this one. Toss up: coin says Justin.
