Also set for the main PPV card of UFC 132 is the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz, a longtime MMA and surefire hall-of-famer who will be trying desperately to keep his career alive against young stud wrestler Ryan “Darth” Bader. Joining them on the main draw is a quartet of exciting fighters in Carlos Condit taking on the Korean “Stun Gun” Dong Hyun Kim and Germany’s Dennis Siver taking on Oklahoma’s Matt Wiman.
Further down on the card are three fighters with Texas ties in Melvin Guillard (Jackson’s MMA; formerly of Houston’s Metro Fight Club), Anthony Njokuani (Saekson Janjira Muay Thai), and Shane Roller (Coach at Team Takedown). Guillard and Roller are set to take on each other as they vie for a contender spot in the UFC’s lightweight rankings will Njokuani will look to rebound from a loss to top prospect Edson Barboza but taking on season 9 Ultimate Fighter finalist Andre Winner.
Let’s take a look at the entire card top to bottom and see if we can accurate predict a large portion of Saturday’s fights. Feel free to chime in with your own picks in the comments section so we can see who really gets it right come Saturday right!
UFC 132 Main Card (Pay-Per-View)
Bantamweight Championship bout: Dominick Cruz (c) vs. Urijah Faber
Fight Analysis
There was once a time where Urijah Faber was known as a phenom when he ruled the WEC featherweight division as the promotion’s longtime champion. After five defenses, he lost a big of that aura with two losses to a much bigger, peak-performing Mike Brown and one to current P4P best contender José Aldo. Since those setbacks, Urijah has made the move down to bantamweight and scored two wins in a row at 135. Those wins have brought him towards this showdown with longtime adversary Dominic Cruz with the UFC bantamweight title on the line.
As the UFC Bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz is the one carrying the momentum as the phenom in this day and age. Winning his last four fights against tough competition in Brian Bowles, Scott Jorgensen, and Joseph Benavidez (twice), “The Dominator” has seventeen wins to his record and only one loss… but it’s to Urijah Faber. The two fought for Urijah’s WEC featherweight title way back in 2007 with Faber finishing via submission. Cruz has been looking to avenge that defeat for four years now and he’ll finally get the chance to do it on Saturday night.
This is a fight that could go so many different ways. As the champion, Dominick Cruz has been successful by confounding opponents with remarkable footwork and striking from unorthodox angles. He’s largely been successful in doing so because he’s got the wrestling skills to react and keep his opponents at a distance where he can pepper them. Countering that, Faber has always been a wrestling machine. He certainly used that to his advantage in their first fight, taking own Cruz with no problem en route to the guillotine choke in under two minutes. The questions that arise here are (a) how much has Cruz improved in the past four years vs. (b) how much has Faber slowed down. In this weight class, I’d favor to say that Urijah is somewhat rejuvenated. Cruz isn’t as imposing physically as opponents like Aldo and Brown and he certainly won’t have the power to finish Faber. Meanwhile, Urijah still has the wrestling advantage and will threaten to put Cruz down more than any of his other opponents in recent years. A lot of people have Dominick Cruz are the favorite here, saying he’ll finally avenge that loss but I’m more inclined to say Faber takes it and wins himself another title.
Prediction – Urijah Faber by submission. Post-fight Dougie optional.
Middleweight bout: Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1) vs. Chris Leben (25-7)
Fight Analysis
All things considered, this may just be the most anticipated fight on the card. Wanderlei and Leben are two of the most aggressive fan-friendly fighters in the UFC and the chances of this fight being a boring one are next to possible. Both fighters are coming off layoffs with Leben coming back for the first time since getting KO’d by Brian Stann six-months ago at UFC 125 while Wand is coming back from injury to take the cage in his first fight since narrowly beating Michael Bisping by decision in February 2010.
There are questions for both fighters heading into this fight. Will Leben be able to take a shot like he used to or will he be more tentative after getting knocked out in his last fight? Likewise, will Silva choose to match aggression with aggression with Leben or will he stay away from that wild aggressive style after such a long layoff?
At this point in his career, Wanderlei likely realizes the value of not enduring punishment like he used to in his PRIDE days. Look for him to come in and utilize a smarter game plan and time his shots instead of going for broke and slugging it out with wild looping punches for the duration with a fighter like Leben. Recent time spent with former Chute Boxe master Rafael Cordeiro, Shogun, and everybody else that’s been at KINGS MMA recently have likely chipped away at any potential rustiness while sharpening his Muay Thai to the level it once was. If he can stay away from any big shots Leben loads up with, look for Wand to take this bout decision or TKO in the later rounds.
Prediction – Wanderlei Silva by decision.
Light Heavyweight bout: Tito Ortiz vs. Ryan Bader
Fight Analysis
I remember a time in the early days of MMA where Tito Ortiz ruled the UFC with flair, charisma, and a dominating skill set unmatched at the time. He rang off wins against Wanderlei Silva, Guy Mezger, Evan Tanner, and many others while playing the heel role and hyping up the crowds. Almost a decade later and Tito is a far cry from the fighter he once was, not having won since beating fellow relic Ken Shamrock way back in 2006. In truth, Tito has performed well at points in the last few years, namely the draw against Rashad Evans and almost getting a triangle against Machida. But still, those were only flashes of former brilliance. If he were anybody else, he’d have been cut from the UFC after his last loss to Matt Hamill but his old manager Dana White has given him this one last chance to fight for relevance and a spot in the UFC.
That will be a tough task for Tito against Ryan “Darth” Bader. One of the more dominant wrestlers in the light heavyweight division, Bader rang off twelve wins in a row including one against Antônio Rogério Nogueira before running into current champion Jon “Bones” Jones. Still one of the best in class and looking to rebound from that loss and get back into title contention, Bader will be looking to make a statement against Tito Ortiz. I think he’ll do just that.
Prediction – Ryan Bader by TKO.
Welterweight bout: Carlos Condit (26-15) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (16-0-1-1)
Fight Analysis
Nicknamed the “Natural Born Killer,” Carlos Condit has been on a streak as of late, stopping three hot prospects in as many fights to push himself closer to title contention. Now he’ll face another tough opponent in “The Stun Gun” Dong Hyun Kim, who’ll be looking to stunt Condit’s chances of using him as a springboard towards the top echelon of the division.
As an opponent for Condit, the Korean may be the perfect anecdote for Condit’s style. As a 4th dan black belt in Judo and an impressive wrestler as well, the undefeated Asian has the right blend of smothering tools to keep Condit pinned to floor and take a decision victory. That’s what this one will come down to unless Condit can catch Kim early.
Prediction – Dyong Hyun Kim by decision.
Lightweight bout: Dennis Siver vs. Matt Wiman
Fight Analysis
The last time we saw Dennis Siver in the cage, he was busy stopping submission phenom George Sotiropoulos in his tracks in Australia. Prior to that, the hard-hitting German won two bouts over hard hitting strikers Andre Winner and Spencer Fisher. At UFC 132, he’ll be taking on Mat Wiman, who also has three wins of a row of his own.
Wiman is a gritty fighter who constantly grinds on his opponents especially on the ground with takedowns and ground control as his forte. Siver is just as well-rounded but is the technically-superior fighter on his feet. Look for that to be the edge in this fight.
Prediction – Dennis Siver by decision.
UFC 132 Undercard Card (SPIKE)
Lightweight bout: Melvin Guillard vs. Shane Roller
Fight Analysis
Once known as “The Young Assassin,” Melvin Guillard has significantly matured as a fighter since moving over to train with Greg Jackson’s team almost two years ago. Since that time, he’s rang off four wins in a row, including his most impressive outing to date against Evan Dunham this past January. Melvin is about two wins away from a title shot and needs to beat Shane Roller to continue on his way.
Training out of Team Takedown, Shane Roller was a three-time All-American at OSU and has won his last two bouts. The key for Shane will be whether he can drag Melvin to the mat and keep him there where it’s always been assumed that he’s susceptible to getting submitted. That hasn’t happened lately though and Roller may wear himself out trying.
Prediction – Melvin Guillard by knockout.
Lightweight bout: George Sotiropoulos vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Fight Analysis
Since entering the UFC, George Sotiropoulos has proved himself to be an impressive fighter with one of the best submission games translated to MMA. Winning most of his fights by submission, the spry Australian was well on his way to a title shot before Dennis Siver derailed his quest in his home country at UFC 127. He’ll be looking to rebound and recapture some of that momentum in this fight with dos Anjos, a BJJ expert who was enjoying his own three-fight win streak before losing to the energizer blanket, Clay Guida. In this fight, George will want things to the floor while dos Anjos will want to keep it on the feet. Whoever wins that battle will likely win the fight.
Prediction – Rafael dos Anjos by decision.
UFC 132 Preliminary Card (Facebook)
Bantamweight bout: Brian Bowles vs. Takeya Mizugaki
Prediction – Brian Bowles by submission.
Middleweight bout: Brad Tavares vs. Aaron Simpson
Prediction – Aaron Simpson by decision.
Lightweight bout: Anthony Njokuani vs. Andre Winner
Prediction – Anthony Njokuani by knockout.
Bantamweight bout: Jeff Hougland vs. Donny Walker
Prediction – Donny Walker by TKO.
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