UFC 63 Preview
Mike Swick takes on David "The Crow" Loiseau in his first UFC fight since his beating at the hands of Middleweight champ Rich Franklin back at UFC 58. This should be a great standup match. "Quick" Swick is a proven knockout artist, but Loiseau has an excellent jaw and won't be as easy to knock out as Gideon Ray. Loiseau has the striking advantage, I think, given is proficiency with kicks as well as punches. If the fight somehow makes it to the ground, look for "The Crow" to finish Swick with ground and pound.
Jason Lambert takes on TUF 2 Heavyweight winner Rashad Evans (now fighting at 205) who is coming of a tough decision win against Stephan Bonnar. Lambert is on a 8-fight win streak, with wins including UFC vets Marvin Eastman and Travis Wiuff. Evans, however, remains undefeated at 8 and 0 but has had a good deal of trouble finishing fights, with only 1 TKO and 2 submissions to his credit, and none of which were in the UFC. Watch Lambert take the fight to the ground and either pound Evans to a stoppage or submit him. If Evans wants to win this fight, he should keep it standing and pray for a decision.
Jens "Little Evil" Pulver makes his UFC return at 155Lbs against UFC newcomer Joe "J-Lau" Lauzon. Miletich top lightweight Pulver has been fighting in PRIDE in Japan for the last 2 years. His last fights have brought mixed results, with 3 wins and 2 loses in his last 5 fights. His last UFC win came over welterweight #1 contender B.J Penn. Don't count newbie Lauzon out, though. With 13 wins to his credit (11 by submission), he could make quite a name for himself in the UFC with an upset submission over "Little Evil". Lauzon will try to get to the ground early and submit as quickly as possible, but look for Pulver to try to pound out a TKO in typical Team Miletich style. This match could have serious lightweight title implications.
TUF 2 alum Melvin Guillard, now fighting at 155, takes on another lightweight rookie, Gabe Ruediger. Ruediger is a 3-time WEC lightweight champion and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt with 6 of his 10 wins coming from submissions. Guillard, on the other hand, is a consumate striker, pounding 13 of 20 wins to a TKO finish. This match would seem to be the classic striker VS grappler. Who will come out on top? Conditioning may be the deciding issue, with Guillard having 4 decision losses and Ruediger never having lost a decision.
The undercard is a myriad of no-name fighters trying to make a name for themselves, save an all-TUF lightweight match between TUF 3's Danny Abbadi and Rich Franklin's training partner (and TUF 2 participant) Jorge Gurgel. Look for Gurgel (9-2) to dominate the inexperienced Abbadi (2-2). Gurgel is a submission artists, with all 9 professional wins coming from tap-outs.
MAIN EVENT: Hughes VS Penn
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A rematch of Matt Hughes' last UFC loss, this match pitts the current 2-time welterweight champ against the last man to take that belt from him: "The Prodigy" B.J Penn. It was UFC 46 when Penn submitted Hughes with a rear-naked choke. How much has changed since then? Well, Matt Hughes has gone undefeated against some tough competition and, with the exception of his fluke-win against Georges St. Pierre, has dominated all opponents. Hughes latest victim was UFC legend Royce Gracie. Penn on the other hand, hasn't been nearly as successful, losing to Ryoto Machida and a close decision to Georges St. Pierre in "The Prodigy"'s UFC comeback. Will this be the same fight? Hughes' jiu-jitsu is still nowhere near the level of Penn's, but his striking is superior. Penn's best bet is to try to take Hughes down and submit him once again, but Hughes' takedown defence is second only to maybe Chuck Liddell. Watch for Hughes to try to pound Penn to a stoppage.
...and that's how it is cuz Commander X said so.
Jason Lambert takes on TUF 2 Heavyweight winner Rashad Evans (now fighting at 205) who is coming of a tough decision win against Stephan Bonnar. Lambert is on a 8-fight win streak, with wins including UFC vets Marvin Eastman and Travis Wiuff. Evans, however, remains undefeated at 8 and 0 but has had a good deal of trouble finishing fights, with only 1 TKO and 2 submissions to his credit, and none of which were in the UFC. Watch Lambert take the fight to the ground and either pound Evans to a stoppage or submit him. If Evans wants to win this fight, he should keep it standing and pray for a decision.
Jens "Little Evil" Pulver makes his UFC return at 155Lbs against UFC newcomer Joe "J-Lau" Lauzon. Miletich top lightweight Pulver has been fighting in PRIDE in Japan for the last 2 years. His last fights have brought mixed results, with 3 wins and 2 loses in his last 5 fights. His last UFC win came over welterweight #1 contender B.J Penn. Don't count newbie Lauzon out, though. With 13 wins to his credit (11 by submission), he could make quite a name for himself in the UFC with an upset submission over "Little Evil". Lauzon will try to get to the ground early and submit as quickly as possible, but look for Pulver to try to pound out a TKO in typical Team Miletich style. This match could have serious lightweight title implications.
TUF 2 alum Melvin Guillard, now fighting at 155, takes on another lightweight rookie, Gabe Ruediger. Ruediger is a 3-time WEC lightweight champion and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt with 6 of his 10 wins coming from submissions. Guillard, on the other hand, is a consumate striker, pounding 13 of 20 wins to a TKO finish. This match would seem to be the classic striker VS grappler. Who will come out on top? Conditioning may be the deciding issue, with Guillard having 4 decision losses and Ruediger never having lost a decision.
The undercard is a myriad of no-name fighters trying to make a name for themselves, save an all-TUF lightweight match between TUF 3's Danny Abbadi and Rich Franklin's training partner (and TUF 2 participant) Jorge Gurgel. Look for Gurgel (9-2) to dominate the inexperienced Abbadi (2-2). Gurgel is a submission artists, with all 9 professional wins coming from tap-outs.
MAIN EVENT: Hughes VS Penn
----------
A rematch of Matt Hughes' last UFC loss, this match pitts the current 2-time welterweight champ against the last man to take that belt from him: "The Prodigy" B.J Penn. It was UFC 46 when Penn submitted Hughes with a rear-naked choke. How much has changed since then? Well, Matt Hughes has gone undefeated against some tough competition and, with the exception of his fluke-win against Georges St. Pierre, has dominated all opponents. Hughes latest victim was UFC legend Royce Gracie. Penn on the other hand, hasn't been nearly as successful, losing to Ryoto Machida and a close decision to Georges St. Pierre in "The Prodigy"'s UFC comeback. Will this be the same fight? Hughes' jiu-jitsu is still nowhere near the level of Penn's, but his striking is superior. Penn's best bet is to try to take Hughes down and submit him once again, but Hughes' takedown defence is second only to maybe Chuck Liddell. Watch for Hughes to try to pound Penn to a stoppage.
...and that's how it is cuz Commander X said so.
posted by Commander X at 1:56 PM
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