By Felix Rodriguez, Staff Writer
JANUARY 29, 2013 – Dana White & Co. look to deliver another monster card this Super Bowl weekend when the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Las Vegas on February 2nd. Fight fans have every reason to be excited about UFC 156. The card has Frankie Edgar making his bantamweight debut and against Jose Aldo for the 145lb belt, a main card stacked with title ramifications for every winner, and the prelims kick off the Strikeforce versus UFC tally with a nice mix of contenders and newcomers that include Texas standout, Edwin Figueroa. UFC 156 prelims will begin on Facebook, move on to FX and the main card will begin airing on PPV at 10pm EST / 9pm CST.
Here is a preview of the Prelims for this awesome card and predictions for each bout. Make sure to check out our main card analysis tomorrow and to tune-in for the fights, this card looks to be a special one!
UFC 156 – Preliminary Card Predictions
Edwin Figueroa vs. Francisco Rivera – Bantamweights (Facebook)
Figueroa has a pro record of 9-1 with a notable TKO win over Johnny Bedford and his lone defeat coming at the hands of Michael McDonald. The McKinney, Texas native is a hard-nosed striker with 6 KO/TKO victories and two submissions who has only seen the third round twice in his career. His opponent will be another hard puncher and emphatic finisher, Francisco “Cisco” Rivera, who has a pro record of 8-2-0-1NC. Rivera had a brutal KO of Roland Delorme, overturned due to testing positive for banned substances into a No Contest in his last fight; prior to that he had a 3 fight win streak split between the octagon and Tachi Palace Fights. Both fighters have faced similar levels of competition at this point in their careers and whoever comes out on top at UFC 156 could be a win or two away from facing a gatekeeper with some name recognition. It seems as if Rivera’s overall game is a bit further developed than Figueroa’s at this point in time; his strikes are cleaner and less loopy and his ground game/takedown defense leads to believe that, if not comfortable standing, Rivera will be able to take Figueroa down and keep him there. This fight won’t see the bell though so that is an unlikely scenario.
Prediction: This fight comes down to who connects first and more often. Rivera’s power punching will be too much and he will take a TKO in the early part or Round 1. Rivera TKO – RD1.
Chico Camus vs. Dustin Kimura – Bantamweights (Facebook)
Are these not the coolest names ever for a pro fighter? Awesome names aside this match pits debuting Dustin Kimura (9-0), versus the Duke Rufus trained Chico Camus (12-3). Camus and Kimura’s combined octagon experience totals a single fight in the UFC. Kimura will be debuting whereas Camus’ previous UFC fight was a unanimous decision win against Dustin Pague. Camus showed tremendous heart and displayed solid submission defense when fighting off a very tight triangle in his UFC debut and has an evenly spread number of wins by submission, TKO and decision. Dustin Kimura is a Hawaiian with an excellent arsenal of submissions that is also capable of finishing fights with his fists. The undefeated Hawaiian punched his ticket into the octagon with a KO victory over Guy Delumeau at PXC 34 in the Philippines. If we were to go by Camus’ fight against Pague it seems as if he has the antidote for the strongest facet of Kimura’s game –submissions. Look for Kimura to try to bring the action to the floor and throw multiple submissions attempts, his best chance of winning will be in the beginning stages of the match when both fighters are dry.
Prediction: Camus will be prepared for unorthodox and quick submission attempts from training with the likes of Anthony Pettis and Eric Koch in Milwaukee. We want to say Kimura by Kimura, but Camus will grind out the decision. Camus – Unanimous Decision.
Yves Edwards vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg – Lightweights (FX)
Yves Edwards (42-18-1) is a renaissance man aging like fine wine in his late 30s. The Thugjitsu Master with close ties to Texas KO’d notoriously hard-chinned Jeremy Stephens in his last fight and has gone 4-2 since rejoining the UFC in 2010. Edwards faces Isaac Vallie-Flagg (13-3-1), the first fighter to come directly from Strikeforce into the UFC after the San Jose-based promotion’s final card. TXMMA will be keeping close score on how SF fighters fare against their UFC counterparts and the first match between the promotions looks to be a stand-up affair. Vallie-Flagg is a well-rounded fighter who put all of his skills on display in his most recent victory against Gesias Cavalcante, but he will not be ready for the fluid transitions between striking from range and work from the clinch of Edwards.
Prediction: An overmatched Vallie-Flagg will look to take things to the ground and get caught coming in with a flurry of punches or a solid knee. Edwards TKO – RD2.
Jacob Volkmann vs. Bobby Green – Lightweights (FX)
Volkmann vs. Green will be the second match of the night with a Strikeforce vs. UFC theme. Bobby Green (19-5) began his SF stint with a loss to Gesias Cavalcante but then went on a 4-0 streak to get invited into the UFC. Green is a BJJ blue belt with a penchant for the submission, having tapped out 8 of his victims –one of them being UFC prospect Daron Cruickshank. Green is an aggressive and hard striker with 7 Kos to his credit, including a KO of Charles ‘Krazy Horse’ Bennet. Unfortunately, none of the opponents he’s faced have the ground credentials that Jacob Volkmann (15-3) brings to the table. Volkmann started off his UFC career as a welterweight with consecutive losses, but turned things around after dropping to the 155 division. Volkmann is known for his wrestling base and is no slouch in the submission department either having seven submissions to his credit. Volkmann is simply too much and too soon for Bobby Green who will have to battle the octagon jitters and then overcome the veteran savvy of Volkmann to have his hand raised
Prediction: Green will have no answer for the relentless takedowns of Volkmann who will stifle the UFC newcomer’s offense once on top. Volkmann will dominate this one and grind out three ugly rounds of takedowns and ground and pound. Volkman – Unanimous Decision.
Tyrone Woodley vs. Jay Hieron – Welterweights (FX)
Jay Hieron (23-10) is an experienced fighter from Xtreme Couture that has not been able to win in the octagon. The Thoroughbred has fought in the UFC on three different occasions starting with a loss to GSP in 2004. Hieron has come up short in all three of his octagon fights. His return to the UFC was spoiled in a unanimous decision loss to Jake Ellenberger and is at risk of being cut by the promotion if he loses two in a row. His opponent, Tyrone Woodley (10-1) will try to erase the memory of Nate Marquardt’s epic beating and bounce back from his lone career loss when he meets Hieron at UFC 156. Woodley is the third and final Strikeforce import of the night. He is an excellent wrestler that is raw in other areas of his game. The ATT fighter can be over reliant on his wrestling, but other than the Marquardt fight it’s hard to argue with the results he’s had so far. Even if Woodley’s game is one dimensional, it is still very hard to stop because his takedowns are top notch and his top game is an effect combination of tight control and timed strikes meant to grind out wins.
Prediction: Hieron won’t have the cardio to endure Woodley’s assault and will slowly fade after constantly trying to scramble back to his feet. Look for Woodley to coast in his octagon debut and move on to a main card bout in his next fight. Woodley – Unanimous Decision.
Gleison Tibau vs. Evan Dunham – Lightweights (FX)
Tibau (26-8) will meet Dunham (13-3) in the last preliminary bout aired on FX and there couldn’t be a better matchup to segue into the PPV portion of the card! Evan Dunham is an exciting fighter from Xtreme Couture that mixes accurate striking up with good clinch work in order to set up takedowns and shine on the ground. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt has 6 submissions to his credit, including a Sub of the Night effort against Efrain Escudero at UFC FN20. He will be looking to rebound from a loss to T.J. Grant when he meets Gleison Tibau at UFC 156 and will need to have his ground game on point to emerge victorious. Tibau is a huge lightweight from American Top Team that combines his exceptionally large frame with solid wrestling and a BJJ background to overwhelm his opponents. Dunham’s best shot at winning is to keep Tibau on the outside and pick him apart with ranged strikes. If he lets Tibau press him up against the fence he will spend the rest of the round depleting his energy while trying to get back on his feet. Tibau must make sure to stay tight when on top of Dunham and avoid mental lapses in order to not get swept or submitted by the Xtreme Couture fighter.
Prediction: If Tibau can avoid leaving his elbows out or his neck exposed for Dunham to snatch a late round submission his size and top game will be too much to overcome. Look for Tibau to grind out an ugly win after holding Dunham down for three rounds. Tibau – Unanimous Decision.
