As MMA fans we tend to recover quickly from events and move on the next one rather quickly. At least that’s the hope coming out of this past weekend’s UFC 148 event and the blockbuster mega-fight between undisputed middleweight champion Anderson Silva and brash challenger Chael Sonnen with UFC ON FUEL 4 taking place this Wednesday night, a grand total of four days after that PPV event.
This time around, the UFC looks to continue the progress of the middleweight division by featuring Mark Munoz (12-2) taking on Chris Weidman (8-0) in the main event.
Middleweight main event could serve as title eliminator
Both men have some significant wins headed into this one with Munoz having bested Chris Leben, Demian Maia, C.B. Dollaway, and Aaron Simpson in his last four while Weidman has also beaten Maia inaddition to Tom Lawlor, Jesse Bongfeldt, and Alessio Sakara since debuting in the UFC in March 2011.
Like Chael Sonnen before them, both Munoz and Weidman have their own title aspirations and this bout should do plenty as far making the case for the winner to receive his own shot at “The Spyder” Silva somewhere down the line, potentially sooner rather than later.
Aside from the division eliminator, UFC ON FUEL 4 also features 11 other bouts with broadcast split between Facebook for the undercard and of course FUEL for the six-fight main draw.
Houston’s Andrew Craig makes second UFC appearance on undercard
Notable for Texas is the second UFC appearance for Houston’s own Andrew Craig (7-0), a former champion for both IXFA and the Legacy Fighting Championship here in his hometown.
A student under his cousin Travis Tooke of Team Tooke, Andrew debuted impressively in the UFC this past March when he beat hometown favorite Kyle Noke in his own backyard of Sydney, Australia on the undercard of UFC on FX 2. Prior to that, he was killing it on the local scene with six straight victories to start his pro career – including notable wins over Bellator vet Eric Schambari and BJJ black belt Rodrigo Pinheiro.
Not planning on stopping that momentum any time soon, the middleweight will now look to take his winning streak to eight against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Rafal “Sapo” Natal, who just so happens to be the student of another Houston-area resident by the name of Vinicius “Draculino” Magalhães, the head instructor at Gracie Barra Texas in Webster and the man who’ll be coaching in his corner on Wednesday night.
With their UFC futures predicated on the outcome of this bout, this is much more than some cross-town rivalry for Craig and Natal (who lives in New York) but given who’ll be in their corners, rest assured much of the viewing public in Houston will be watching to see who gets bragging rights come Thursday morning.
Best of the rest and Fight Night Predictions
Aside from Munoz vs. Weidman, the main card will feature the lightweight debut of “The Mexicutioner” Joey Beltran as he returns for his second stint in the UFC 30-year-old New Zealander James Te Huna. Beltran went 3-4 in the heavyweight ranks and is hoping his power will carry him further at 205. As for Te Huna, he’s coming off back-to-back stoppages over Texan Aaron Rosa and Ricardo Romero so don’t except for him to back down at all in this one. In short, expect a slugfest in this one.
Also making a drop in weight is Arizona’s Aaron Simpson, who’ll be competing as a welterweight for the first time against fellow wrestler and three-time NCAA Division I tournament qualifier Kenny Robertson.
Joining them to round out the FUEL-televised card are Francis Carmont, who will be looking to extend his win streak to eight in a row versus Karlos Vemola, former TUF’er T.J. Dillashaw who’ll take on the most recent guy to upset Kid Yamamoto in Vaughan Lee, and Rafael dos Anjos, who’ll try to follow up his May submission over Austin’s Kamal Shalorus by taking on another fighter with Texas roots in “The Nigerian Nightmare” Anthony Njokuani.
Main Card (FUEL TV)
185 lbs.: Mark Munoz vs. Chris Weidman – Pick’em
205 lbs.: James Te Huna vs. Joey Beltran – Te Huna by TKO, RD2.
170 lbs.: Aaron Simpson vs. Kenny Robertson – Simpson by decision.
205 lbs.: Francis Carmont vs. Karlos Vemola – Carmont by decision.
135 lbs.: T.J. Dillashaw vs. Vaughan Lee – Dillashaw by decision.
155 lbs.: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Anthony Njokuani – Njokuani by decision.
Preliminary Card (Facebook)
135 lbs.: Alex Caceres vs. Damacio Page – Caceres by submission.
125 lbs.: Chris Cariaso vs. Josh Ferguson – Cariaso by decision.
185 lbs.: Rafael Natal vs. Andrew Craig – Craig by decision.
170 lbs.: Marcelo Guimaraes vs. Dan Stittgen – Guimaraes by submission.
135 lbs.: Raphael Assuncao vs. Issei Tamura – Tamura by decision.