Before then though, make sure you don’t forget the entire undercard airing in full online, simulcast on both FoxSports.com and on the UFC’s Facebook page.
Adding to the heavyweight main event is a supporting slate featuring 9 bouts of action, including the co-main event of Clay Guida taking on Ben Henderson in a lightweight title eliminator. The card also features the likes of Japanese superstar Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto along with rising prospects Dustin Poirier and Pablo Garza.
Here’s our take on all the undercard bouts set for this Saturday, November 12th in Anaheim.
UFC on Fox 1 – Undercard Predictions
155 Ibs. – Clay Guida versus Ben Henderson
Out of all the fights on the undercard, and there are some good ones, this co-main event clash between these two wild-haired cardio machines may be the one fans should watch the closest because of what they’re fighting for – a title shot. The winner of this one will likely be the next challenger to the belt currently held by Frankie Edgar.
Stylistically, this is a great matchup between two men known to be among the most energetic fighters in the MMA world. Simply put, these guys never ever get tired. They’re also both great wrestlers with underrated standup. And they both like to stay active and aggressive. Add all those things together and this should be an action-packed fight. The shorter Clay Guida (29-11) will probably look to score the takedowns on his opponent in order to control him from the top but Ben Henderson (14-2) is deceptively strong and nearly impossible to submit so grappling with him is going to be one hell of an undertaking. Meanwhile, Henderson has an edge in the striking department with his TKD background and superior reach. As we’ve seen in his two victories over Donald Cerrone along with his last win over Jim Miller, Ben Henderson is the real deal.
Prediction: Ben Henderson by unanimous decision
145 Ibs. – Dustin Poirier versus Pablo Garza
We’re in for a treat with this battle between two of the top featherweight prospects in the UFC in Dustin Poirier (10-1) and Pablo Garza (11-1).
Both of these men had breakout years in 2011 with Poirier upsetting former #1 contender Josh Grispi at UFC 125 and following that up with a win over the UK’s Jason Young this past summer. Meanwhile, Pablo Garza has proven himself to be one of the world’s most exciting young fighters this year by knockout out Fredson Paixao in the UFC’s 1st ever featherweight fight and following that up up with a flying triangle choke against Yves Jabouin.
We can expect a fight of the night candidate in this one as both these men are offensively-minded fighters that aren’t afraid to go for broke in order to get the finish. Look for Dustin to be all over Garza from the opening bell and Pablo to try and use his length to keep the Louisianan at bay until he sees an opportunity for a timely submission attempt. Training with “Crazy” Tim Credeur, Poirier won’t be easy to submit and is even harder to control on the feet. He’s also the stronger fighter and that could be a major factor. No matter how this one plays out, expect for it to be very exciting.
Prediction: Dustin Poirier by 2nd round knockout
145 Ibs. – Cub Swanson versus Ricardo Lamas
This matchup pits two WEC vets looking to extend their records to a 2-fight winning streak in Cub Swanson (15-4) and Ricardo Lamas (12-2). Heading into this one, Swanson is prehaps still best known for losing in :35 to Jens Pulver at WEC 31 but has faces some tough competition since then, including the likes of Chad Mendes and Jose Aldo. While Cub has the edge with level of compeititon, Lamas will come into this bout with the stronger grappling pedigree from his days wrestling as a Division III All-American at Elmhurst College. Unless Swanson can clip Ricardo coming in, I see the Chicago native controlling this one for the victory.
Prediction: Ricardo Lamas by unanimous decision
170 Ibs. – DaMarques Johnson versus Clay Harvison
It’s a battle of two veterans from Utah in this one as “Darkness” DaMarques Johnson and Clay Harvison both look to come back from recent defeats and score a win in Anaheim. Despite his recent record, DaMarques actually has both a submission of the night and a knockout of the night in his resume so you can’t really sleep on him. As for Harvison, he’s looking to make his way to 2-1 in the UFC after losing out to Seth Baczynski in his second octagon appearance. Both these guys have shown to be susceptible to submissions and well-rounded everywhere else but “Darkness” may be a hair better in all areas.
Prediction: DaMarques Johnson by 2nd round submission
135 Ibs. – Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto versus Darren Uyenoyama
In one of most interesting matches of the day, Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto (18-4) comes back after some recent troubles with injury to take on Darren Uyenoyama (6-3).
As a longtime veteran of the sport, Yamamoto was once one of the most feared little men in the sport while fighting in Japan. Athletic enough to take a hiatus from MMA to try and make the Olympic team (Japan) in greco-roman wrestling, “Kid” once dominated the JMMA scene. In addition to being an excellent grappler, he was also one of the most powerful punchers in the game knocking out guys Rani Yahya and Genki Sudo. Those wins and the rest of his illustrious career had fans clamoring to see him in the UFC. Now he’s finally here but the jury is out on whether he can reclaim greatness after so many hard times both personally and professionally in recent years.
If he wants to accomplish that, he’ll have to get past an opponent in Uyenoyama that’s also no stranger to fighting overseas. “The Bone Crusher” made his own name over in Japan while fighting on the while fighting for Dream, Shooto, and Deep – most recently winning his last bout over former Shooto titleholder Shuichiro Katsumura. Now he’ll look to jump-start his own UFC career over his legendary counterpart.
As far as this fight goes, it’s going to come down to whether Uyenoyama can weather the storm of a man who has 13 career knockouts with most of them being highlight reel material. “Kid” may not be the killer he once was but if he can channel that energy to connect even one time then Darren is in trouble.
Prediction: Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto by 1st round knockout
145 Ibs. – Mackens Semerzier versus Robert Peralta
Mackens Semerzier (6-3) was proclaimed as a top prospect after upsetting the highly-favored Wagnney Fabiano in the WEC a few years back. He ended up winning his first 5 fights in a row but has since lost his last 3. Coming over to the big leagues since the merger, Mack has since rebounded with a submission win over “Bruce Leroy” Alex Caceres and now looks to continue winning against power-puncher Robert Peralta (15-3). Out of his 15 wins, 11 of them have by knockout so look for Rob to try and become the first man to stop Semerzier. Likely to be a willing opponent, Mackens will probably fire back at his opponent to make this one a battle of chins. When that happens, something will have to give.
Prediction: Robert Peralta by 2nd round TKO
135 Ibs. – Alex Caceres versus Cole Escovedo
Alex Caceres (5-4) was once the sensation of The Ultimate Fighter – season 12 while playing up his “Bruce Leeroy” moniker. That gimmick hasn’t quite played out successfully in the UFC as of yet with him dropping his first 2 UFC fights to Mackens Semerzier and Jim Hettes. Now dropping down from feather to bantamweight, Caceres is hoping the change in division will jumpstart his career. As for opponent Cole Escovedo (17-8), times have been even tougher as the former WEC 145 champ has been on the losing end in 4 out of his last 5 bouts. Granted those losses were to high-level competition but nobody ever remembers who beat you, just that you were beat. Experience should play a big part in this fight and that tilts the odds in Escovedo’s favor.
Prediction: Cole Escovedo by 2nd round submission
170 Ibs. – Mike Pierce versus Paul Bradley
This one will be a rematch between two wrestling specialists when Mike Pierce (12-4) takes on formerly short-lived TUF contestant Paul Bradley (18-3, 1 NC). These two first fought on the regional circuit with the Oregonian, Pierce, taking the decision victory. Heading into this fight 2 years later, Pierce will be looking to rebound after losing his last bout to another top wrestler in Texan Johny Hendricks. As for his opponent, Bradley will be looking for his first UFC win after falling to Brazilian Rafael Natal on short notice in his debut. Looking at this Saturday’s fight, it’s pretty clear on paper who should win – Pierce. Expect this one to be a 30-27 unanimous decision going his way.
Prediction: Mike Pierce by unanimous decision
205 Ibs. – Aaron Rosa versus Matt Lucas
San Antonio based Aaron Rosa (16-4) made his UFC debut at UFC 131 when he replaced Dave Herman against the “Mexecutioner” Joey Beltran. That bout ended up as one of the most exciting bouts of the evening but resulted in a losing effort for Texan. Now coming back trimmed down to 205, Rosa hopes to turn things around with a win over UFC debut fighter Matt Lucas (14-2). Lucas has scored 45 wins in a row in the past 2 years with 4 coming by way of knockout so he’s likely a hard hitter. That plus a cut down to 205 from heavyweight could spell a huge challenge for Aaron but he’s proven himself to be a resilient fighter, as most from the lone star state are. This isn’t his first rodeo and we look for him to take out his debuting opponent somewhere in the deeper rounds.
Prediction: Aaron Rosa by TKO in the 3rd round
That’s it for now here on TXMMA.com. Stay tuned for our breakdown of the UFC on FOX main event between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos tomorrow and don’t forget to tune in to FoxSports.com or UFC on Facebook to catch this card LIVE this Saturday night. Also make sure to LIKE TXMMA on FACEBOOK for more on this and all UFC events in the future.