UFC on FX 4 – Brian Ebersole vs. T.J Waldburger preview
‘UFC on FX 4’ kicks off a double-header of mixed martial arts action this weekend on Friday, June 22nd and MMABay continues to break down the main card action set for Atlantic City, New Jersey. Next, it’s a welterweight clash between the always entertaining Brian Ebersole and deadly submission specialist, T.J Waldburger. Will ‘The Hairrow’ punk another rising star or will the ground wizard pick up the upset? Find out after the jump…
Brian Ebersole (49-14-1, 3-0 UFC)
Welterweight contender, Brian Ebersole, looks to extend his unbeaten UFC record to four fights this weekend as the vastly experienced and quirky ‘Bad Boy’ sets his sights on breaking into the crowded title picture. The globe-trotting Indiana native is undefeated in ten fights, including three impressive showings inside the Octagon.
The well-rounded adopted Aussie, famous for the ‘Hairrow’ he shaves onto his chest come fight night, out-worked Chris Lytle and rocked him several times to mark his UFC debut, taking a comfortable decision after taking the fight at short notice. At UFC 133, Ebersole was financially rewarded for submitting Dennis Hallman inside of one round – quickly removing Hallman’s cringe-worthy speedos from the Octagon, which pleased Dana White no end.
‘Bad Boy’ was last seen on the main card of UFC 140 in December, eking out a questionable split decision over top prospect, Claude Patrick. The enigmatic veteran is one solid win away from thrusting his name into the hat at the very top of the welterweight division.
T.J Waldburger (15-6, 3-1 UFC)
Still only 24-years old, slick grappler T.J Waldburger is slowly making a name for himself and has won back to back fights since suffering his only UFC defeat at the hands of current top contender, Johny Hendricks.
The BJJ brown-belt has scored two beautiful submissions in this time, tying up Mike Stumpf in a deft triangle-choke in the first round last September. In March, Waldburger flew to Sydney, Australia to face Jake Hecht and needed less than a minute to aggressively leap onto an armbar and force an agonising tap from the all-rounder.
A strapping welterweight, Waldburger has the size and submission skills to potentially be a top contender in a year or two but he faces a huge leap in competition in Atlantic City this weekend.
The Verdict: Joe Silva obviously feels that Waldburger can hang with the bigger dogs but this could be too much, too soon for the young Texan. While Waldburger is a great grappler, Ebersole is pretty much impossible to submit and excels in firing off ground and pound once he frees up and takes top-position. The veteran holds a big advantage standing too, and has deceptive power – he should be able to dictate the action and pace of the fight. Look for ‘Bad Boy’ to control much of the action before bludgeoning away with elbows on the ground to earn the stoppage. Ebersole, (T)KO, 2nd round.
By Steve Davies.
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