By Anthony Pepe, Staff Writer
Here is a UFC 158 Undercard Preview of each of the prelim fights set to air on Facebook and FX for this event. Check back soon to catch the previews and predictions for the main card and be sure to catch the show on Saturday March 16th.
UFC 158 – St-Pierre vs. Diaz – Preliminary Card Previews and Predictions
George Roop vs. Reuben Duran – Bantamweight (Facebook)
George Roop has a record of 12-9-1. Roop earned himself Fight of the Night honors at WEC 47 in a rare split draw with the always game and exciting Leonard Garcia, and dominated again in his Knockout of the Night performance at WEC 51 where, despite being a heavy underdog, he caught Chan Sung Jung, the “Korean Zombie,” with a vicious head kick in the second round. His most notable fight inside the Octagon comes by way of TKO victory over Josh Grispi in the third round via a devastating body punch at The Ultimate Fighter 13 finale.
His opponent, Reuben Duran, comes into this night sporting an 8-4 record, with only one of those fights going the distance. Duran’s most notable fight inside the Octagon came at The Ultimate Fighter 13 finale, as well, where he secured Submission of the Night honors for his third round, rear naked choke victory over Francisco Rivera.
Both Roop, who is 1-3 in his recent UFC campaign, and Duran, 1-2 in UFC appearances, will be fighting like their lives depended on it to maintain a position on the UFC roster.
Prediction: Both of these fighters have proven they can turn in exciting, stellar performances, but it will be Roop’s experience that will earn him a hard-fought decision. Roop by unanimous decision.
Yves Jabouin vs. Johnny Eduardo – Bantamweight (Facebook)
Yves Jabouin comes into this fight with a record of 18-8, with eleven of his wins coming by way of knockout. Johnny Eduardo has a record of 26-9, with half of his wins coming by way of submission and six by way of KO. It is fair to say that we have a classic case of striker vs. grappler on our hands here. Eduardo, the Nova União product, has won twelve of his last thirteen fights.
Jabouin, coming out of the Tristar Gym, has fought in the Octagon a total of five times (3-2) versus Eduardo, who has only entered the Octagon twice (1-1), making Jabouin more accustomed to the big stage of the UFC.
Prediction: Jabouin has proven himself a dangerous striker and has more experience in the Octagon, but it will be the seasoned Eduardo who will walk away with the win in this meeting by rear naked choke in the second round. Eduardo by tapout in the second.
T.J. Dillashaw vs. Issei Tamura – Bantamweight (Facebook)
Dillashaw is a Team Alpha Male standout with a 6-1 record. His only loss comes by way of TKO at the Ultimate Fighter 14 finale at the hands of now-flyweight contender John Dodson, who recently lost his first UFC title shot to Demetrious Johnson in a five-round decision. T.J. is a strong wrestler, and has won his last two UFC fights, one by unanimous decision and the other, over Vaughan Lee, by neck crank submission in the first round.
Tamura carries a 7-3 record (1-1 in UFC) and comes out of the Crazy Bee camp, training with Kid Yamamoto.
Prediction: While Tamura is a strong wrestler as well, look for Dillashaw to rely on his higher pedigree, and to ride the wave of momentum created by Team Alpha Male leader Urijah Faber in his recent comeback victory at UFC 157. Dillashaw will put a stop to the fight by rear naked choke in the second round. Dillashaw by tapout in the second.
Rick Story vs. Quinn Mulhern – Welterweight (Facebook)
Closing out the Facebook part of the card, we have two experienced fighters in Rick Story (14-6) and Quinn Mulhern (18-2). This matchup pits the standout wrestler in Story against the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt making his UFC debut. Story has won seven of his last ten fights, all inside the Octagon, but those three losses have come in his last four bouts. This matchup has the potential to be a very exciting and interesting ground game, for those of us that like ground games.
Prediction: Anticipate Story to be aggressive and push the action in an attempt to show he can still deliver exciting fights. He will, however, get caught in a triangle choke in the third round after relentlessly pursuing Mulhern with takedowns and ground and pound for three rounds. Mulhern by tapout in the third.
John Makdessi vs. Daron Cruickshank – Lightweight (FX)
Starting out the televised portion of the preliminary bouts on FX, we have the 10-2 Makdessi set to face the 12-2 Daron Cruickshank. Makdessi is a quintessential striker, holding black belts in both Shotokan and Tae Kwon Do, who boasted a 22-0 kickboxing record before turning to MMA. His record inside the Octagon is 3-2, with his last outing ending in a unanimous decision victory over the hard-hitting Sam Stout. Cruickshank, trained as a kickboxer, is a seasoned striker, as well, with seven of his twelve wins coming by KO. This fight should be a standup war between two rough and ready fighters looking to move their way up the lightweight ranks,
Prediction: Cruickshank, having been KO’d during his stay in the house on The Ultimate Fighter Live, will be hard pressed to make it out of the second round, as Makdessi looks to better his KO percentage to plus 60 percent. Makdessi by KO in the second.
Dan Miller vs. Jordan Mein – Welterweight (FX)
Dan Miller is a BJJ black belt with a 14-6, 1 NC record that has gone the distance with five of the top welterweights in the UFC, including his most recent loss to Rousimar Palhares. Miller welcomes UFC newcomer Jordan Mein (26-8) to the Octagon. Mein may be new to the UFC, but he is no stranger to fighting, having turned pro when he was just 16. Mein has as many knockouts as Miller has wins, having stopped such notable opponents as Evangelista Santos and Joe Riggs.
Prediction: With Mein being eight years younger and Miller having lost five of his last eight fights, this looks like it would produce a Mein KO in the second. But looks can be deceiving, and Miller will show us that those losses only stood to make him hungry for a chance to redeem himself. Miller by arm bar in the second round.
Antonio Carvalho vs. Darren Elkins – Featherweight (FX)
This featherweight bout pits the 15-5 Carvalho against the 16-2 Darren Elkins. Darren Elkins is riding a four-fight winning streak inside the Octagon into this fight with Carvalho, who will be looking to derail any momentum Elkins may be building, and use that energy to further his UFC campaign.
Prediction: With black belts in both BJJ and Shotokan, Antonio should be able to dictate the pace and place of this fight. It will, however, be Elkins who dictates the where and when of this fight, using his wrestling background to grind out the decision victory. Elkins, decision victory.
Patrick Cote vs. Bobby Voelker – Welterweight (FX)
Bringing the FX portion of the preliminary card to a close, we have Patrick Cote (19-8) taking on Bobby Voelker (24-8). Cote made his UFC debut in the main event of UFC 50, losing by decision to Tito Ortiz. Since that card, he has scored Knockout of the Night honors on two different occasions, has been a finalist on TUF 4, and fought Anderson Silva for the middleweight belt, where he lost by TKO due to a knee injury.
Voelker is just as experienced and accomplished, having fought for the VFC welterweight belt, as well as besting WEC’s first trilogy, scoring two TKO victories versus one technical decision loss via unintentional eye injury to his opponent, Roger Bowling.
Prediction: This one has all the makings of a barnburner, with Cote having won five of his last six and Voelker at four out of five, and they will likely stand and bang until Cote wins this one by third round KO.