February 15, 2012 – The Ultimate Fighting Championship is back on free TV this evening and making its debut on FUEL TV with a UFC on FUEL card headlined by a welterweight tilt that could determine a future title contender down the road with Diego Sanchez taking on Jake Ellenberger.
UFC on Fuel TV: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger also featured 5 more fights on the main card headed by heavyweight skyscraper Stefan Struve taking on Dave Herman and middleweight wrestler Aaron Simpson taking on Ronny Markes.
Let’s take a look at all the action set to go down at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska starting at 7PM Texas time tonight on FUEL.
UFC on Fuel TV: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger – Main Card Preview and Predictions
170 lbs.: Diego Sanchez (23-4) vs. Jake Ellenberger (26-5)
As for Diego, he’s also fighting his way back to potential title contender status in this one. He had a rough stretch losing 2 in a row to B.J. Penn and John Hathaway prior to his current streak but he has been looking good as of late with his last 2 fights garnering Fight of the Night honors.
Expect this one to be no different.
Both these guys are tenacious as all get out. That much was evident when Ellenberger knocked out Jake Shields in all of 53 seconds in his last fight.
He’ll go right into this one looking to do the same thing to a Diego that happily oblige while trying to return the favor.
The thing about it is that Ellenberger may be the fighter that’s on his way up the ladder while Sanchez is the one that’s fighting just to hang on the one he’s on. True Diego does have decent striking and grappling skills but he has neither the power nor the control of Jake Ellenberger. He’s not going to overwhelm him like he does lesser fighters and it’s a reach to say he’ll be catching him in transition. Ellenberger has a better chance of both finishing Diego and/or winning a decision.
Prediction: Jake Ellenberger over Diego Sanchez by unanimous decision.
265 lbs.: Stefan Struve (21-5) vs. Dave Herman (25-3)
Preview – This heavyweight matchup is a case of Stefan Struve playing the role of UFC divisional gatekeepers against Dave Herman, who’ll be making his second trip into the octagon after beating John-Olav Einemo. Struve was more highly-touted in his younger days as a 20 year old making his UFC debut but now the roles are switched and Herman is the fighter everyone is sort of curious about.
So how does fight go?
It’s hard to say. Struve always presents an interesting puzzle to solve for opponents being that he is a nearly 7-foot-tall kickboxer with decent chops on the ground. Meanwhile, Herman is more well-rounded mixed martial artist with a background training at Team Quest. Skill-wise, this fight may be a wash with the mitigating factor being who can apply the pressure and impose his will over the other over the course of three long rounds. Something tells me this one will come down to a pivotal third round with the fresher fighter getting the victory.
Prediction: Stefan Struve over Dave Herman by split decision.
185 lbs.: Aaron Simpson (11-2) vs. Ronny Markes (12-1)
Preview – Not much has been said about Aaron Simpson since his back-to-back losses to Mark Munoz and Chris Leben back in 2010 but he’s trying to climb back to relevancy now in the middleweight division. So far, he’s beaten three fighters in a row and is looking for his fourth straight win tonight.
A-Train will be taking on a fighter that’s more of an unknown quantity in Ronny Markes. The Brazilian made his debut with a decision win over Karlos Vemola. Other than another win over a downward-sliding Paulo Filho prior to his UFC debut, it’s hard to find anything that could give us any indication of his potential on his current record.
With that in mind, Simpson has to be the favorite in this matchup. He hasn’t been a dominating force by any means, winning his most recent bouts by decision, but he does have enough control to win yet another one unless this Markes can prove to be a finisher.
Prediction: Aaron Simpson over Ronny Markes by unanimous decision.
265 lbs.: Philip De Fries (8-0-1 NC) vs. Stipe Miocic (7-0)
Preview – His name make not ring a bell just yet but Stipe Miocic may be the number-one fighter to watch on this entire card as far as future potential. He’s a former NCAA wrestler and Golden Gloves champion who’s making his second trip back after beating always-tough Mexicutioner Joey Beltran in his UFC debut back on the October card in Houston.
The guy is a legit prospect.
His opponent, British-born Phil De Fries also did well in his UFC debut against fellow Englishman Rob Broughton but we’re not sure he has quite the potential of Miocic.
3Philip does have 7 wins by submission so look for him to try to catch his wrestling-minded opponent unawares while on his back if he can get him there. If he can’t or even if he can, look for Stipe to score the knockout in this one.
Prediction: Stipe Miocic over Philip De Fries by TKO.
135 lbs.: T.J. Dillashaw (4-1) vs. Walel Watson (9-3)
Preview – As one of the early favorites on season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter, T.J. Dillashaw cruised to the finals before running into the fists of lightning quick magician John Dodson but he’s looking to correct his mistakes and get his career started on the right track with this one.
He’ll be looking to do so against Walel Watson, a 5’11” bantamweight who debuted in the UFC with a brutal knockout of Lubbock, TX resident Joseph Sandoval.
Look for this bout to be decided based on whether Watson can withstand Dillashaw’s wrestling and pull off a win from the bottom. If he can’t, it’ll be a cruise to victory for T.J, a far more experienced grappler that Watson and a noted wrestler that’s trained with Urijah Faber and crew at Team Alpha Male.
Prediction: T.J. Dillashaw over Walel Watson by TKO.
135 lbs.: Ivan Menjivar (23-8) vs. Walel Watson (7-1)
Preview – It’s potential versus experience in this one as longtime veteran of the sport Ivan Menjivar takes on young John Albert.
Albert has decent finishing skills and has never gone to a decision but Menjivar is as wily as they come and hasn’t been finished since 2002. Being a TUF veteran is a lot different than competing against the likes of guys like Georges St. Pierre and Matt Serra so look for Menjivar to try and use all that experience to his advantage in this one. “Prince” Albert may pan out down the road but this may be a case of too much, too soon.
Prediction: Ivan Menjivar over John Albert by submission.
UFC on Fuel TV: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger – Undercard Predictions (Facebook)
155 lbs.: Jonathan Brookins (12-4) vs. Vagner Rocha (7-2)
Preview – Vagner Rocha is an excellent BJJ’er but Brookins isn’t bad with his submissions either and he’s better both wrestling and on his feet.
Prediction – Jonathan Brookins over Vagner Rocha by decision.
185 lbs.: Buddy Roberts (11-2) vs. Sean Loeffler (25-5)
Preview – Buddy Roberts is a Greg Jackson-trained fighter so we’ll he’ll come prepared. Meanwhile, Loeffler has won a ton of fights while staying busy but he hasn’t proven himself against tough competition as of yet. Roberts may be too much for him.
Prediction – Buddy Roberts over Sean Loeffler by TKO.
135 lbs.: Anton Kuivanen (16-4) vs. Justin Salas (9-3)
Preview – Anton Kuivanen is a seasoned fighter out of American Top Team making his UFC debut against fellow debuting fighter Justin Salas. Not much is known about either of these guys so we’re picking by pedigree.
Prediction – Anton Kuivanen over Justin Salas by submission.
135 lbs.: Tim Means (16-3-1) vs. Bernardo Magalhaes (11-1)
Preview – Another pair of debuting fighters open the card with this bout. Literally a roll of the dice here but we like Bernardo Magalhaes to pick up the decision.
Prediction -Bernardo Magalhaes over Tim Means by decision.
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