UFC on FX 2 Undercard Preview – Texans Dominate FUEL TV Lineup

February 27, 2012 – Have you ever been more excited for the undercard than the main card for an MMA event? That happens from time to time for everyone, usually when there is an interesting matchup or a favorite fighter to watch out for. But every now and again, promoters come up with some exceptional top-to-bottom matchmaking that allow for the undercard fights to steal the entire show (such as this past weekend’s LFC 10 card in Houston) based on how the fighters perform as they try to make a name for themselves.

This coming Friday night in Sydney, Australia, it’s our very own fearsome fighting foursome from the Lone Star State that will get that shot on FUEL TV on the UFC on FX 2 undercard. Out of the six fights set to be televised on the streaking UFC-dominated cable network, 4 of them will feature our guys in action down under as Texas fans cheer them off from the comforts of our own living rooms. Bars, and watch parties.

Let’s take a look at these fights on tap for our Texas guys and also cover the rest of the draw set to air on FUEL along with the opening bout on Facebook.

UFC on FX 2 – Preliminary Card (FUEL TV):

145 lbs.: Mackens Semerzier vs. Daniel Pineda
205 lbs.: James Te Huna vs. Aaron Rosa
185 lbs.: Andrew Craig vs. Kyle Noke
170 lbs.: Jake Hecht vs. T.J. Waldburger
205 lbs.: Anthony Perosh vs. Nick Penner
145 lbs.: Cole Miller vs. Steven Siler

UFC on FX 2 – Preliminary Fight (Facebook):

265 lbs.: Oli Thompson vs. Shawn Jordan

*presumed fight order

Daniel “Pit” Pineda to make sophomore appearance against Mackens Semerzier

Former Legacy FC 145/155 champ Daniel “The Pit” Pineda will be making his second UFC appearance at UFC on FX 2. He actually made his debut on the first FX card (UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller) with an exciting submission victory over Pat “Thrilling” Schilling that looked very similar to his past dominating performances over Ray Blodget and Rey Trujillo in Houston. Making his way back to the octagon on short notice, Daniel replaces an injured Robert Peralta against former WEC standout Mackens Semerzier.

A former high school wrestler, Semerzier burst onto the national MMA scene with a spectacular submission of his own against highly-favored BJJ ace Wagnney Fabiano back at WEC 43 in 2009.  He’s had a rough going since then, winning only 1 of his past 5 bouts with 3 losses and a no-contest against Peralta in their first bout. Despite this rough stretch over the past 2 years, many are still looking at Mackens as a talented fighter capable of hanging with the best in the world so this bout should be as telling for his potential as it is for Houston’s own 4OZ Fighter, Daniel Pineda..

Aaron Rosa dropping down to light heavyweight to take on James Te Huna

Also coming back for his third UFC appearance is Del Rio-born, San Antonio-based veteran Aaron Rosa. The 28 year old has split his UFC appearances so far with a win against Matt Lucas and loss to Joey Beltran in his last two bouts. Looking to establish some consistency after his recent drop to the light heavyweight division, Aaron will be looking for his second win in a row against Australia’s own James Te Huna.

A native of Penrith, Australia, Te Huna is 2-1 so far in UFC action with his most recent victory being a vicious knokcout of Ricardo Romero this past September at UFC 135. Known as a knockout-minded fighter with a solid kickboxing background, James has scored his last 6 victories by either KO or TKO so he’ll no doubt be looking to take it to the Texan.

Andrew Craig set for UFC debut against experienced Aussie Kyle Noke

Also taking on a local favorite is the second Houstonian on the card, Andrew Craig. Training with cousin Travis Tooke in Houston along with Robby Rabadi on occasion down in Austin, Andrew has been an undefeated fighter everyone’s had their eye on for awhile. Although he’s beaten guys like Rodrigo Pinheiro earlier in his career, he really opened some eyes in his last bout against Bellator/WEC vet Eric Schambari at LFC 8. Winning that one handedly, Andrew has since been waiting for just the right opportunity to come along and he finally gets it this Friday against Noke.

As far as opponents go, Craig will be up against a tough task in taking on former “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin bodyguard Kyle Noke. Not only is the Australian fighting on his own turf, but he’s won 5 out of his past 6 with his only blemish being a submission loss to Ed Herman in his last bout this past August. He’ll be looking to make short work of the Houstonian as he gets back to his winning ways.

TJ Waldburger looking for second win in a row against Jake Hecht

Last but certainly not least representing the Texas contingent in Sydney is Temple, TX phenom TJ Waldbuger – the most octagon-experienced of the bunch with 3 UFC fights already under his belt. Training at the Grappler’s Lair with coach and father-in-law John Moore, TJ burst onto the UFC scene with a win against David Mitchell back in September 2010 – a bout where the two set a record for most combined submission attempts in UFC history (per FightMetric). He’d drop his next fight to fellow Texan Johny Hendricks via TKO but rebounded with a win over Mike Stumpf via submission this past September. Now he’ll look to make it 2 in a row versus a tough opponent in Jake Hecht.

Set for his second UFC fight, Hecht scored an impressive TKO win over TUF veteran Rich Attonito in his UFC debut this past December. He also scored a win over another TUF-vet in Charlie Rader earlier in his career and will look to continue establishing himself against Waldburger in this one. As for

The best of the rest; 3 additional fights round out undercard

Aside from the bout on the undercard featuring the aforementioned Texans, there are 3 other fights filling out the UFC on FX 2 undercard on FUEL and Facebook. Chief among them is a fight featuring American Top Team’s Cole Miller taking on TUF 14 contestant Steven Siler as he looks for his 2nd win in a row.  Also on the FUEL card is Australian light heavyweight Anthony “The Hippo” Perosh looking to make it 3 in a row at 205 against UFC debutante Nick Penner. Rounding out the undercard is another clash of freshman UFC fighters in Englishman Oli Thompson taking on Strikeforce / Bellator veteran Shawn Jordan in the opening bout of the night on Facebook.

Make sure to tune in and watch our TEXAS fighters do work on the UFC on FX 2 undercard on FUEL TV. The broadcast with Pineda, Craig, Waldburger, and Rosa kicks off at 5PM Texas time with Thompson vs. Jordan taking place 30 minutes prior on Facebook.

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