‘UFC on FUEL TV 4: Munoz vs. Weidman’ preview and predictions (Preliminary Card)
‘UFC on FUEL TV 4: Munoz vs. Weidman’ is our midweek fix of mixed martial arts action this week, as the latest UFC card to air on FUEL TV is set for Wednesday, July 11th at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. We’ve got five preliminary card fights to look forward to, with the lower weight-classes featuring heavily, so MMABay is here to round-up the undercard before we break down the six main card bouts. Which prospects will make a push for a main card berth next time around? Find out after the jump…
Damacio Page (12-7, 0-2 UFC) vs. Alex Caceres (6-5, 1-3 UFC)
The Lowdown: The loser will definitely be leaving town when bantamweight strugglers meet to close the preliminary card, and Jackson’s MMA veteran Damacio Page will be determined to prove he belongs in the big leagues. The former WEC standout was quickly dispatched of by Brian Bowles last March before spending a year nursing injuries and returning to action in April on FUEL TV. ‘The Angel of Death’ flew to Sweden where he and British contender, Brad Pickett, put on the ‘Fight of the Night’ but Page again succumbed to a choke as Pickett tapped him out in round two.
With a record of 6-5, Florida’s Alex Caceres has almost lost our patience since graduating from season twelve of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’. ‘Bruce Leroy’ quickly dropped back to back fights, both by submission at featherweight, but was given a final chance in November when he decided to make the cut 135lbs. Caceres impressed on FOX, out-classing veteran Cole Escovedo to take the unanimous decision. But at UFC 143, the afro-sporting and unorthodox Caceres was penalised a baffling two points for repeated groin kicks that left Edwin Figueroa in agony, losing a split decision as a result.
The Verdict: Page is a frustrating fighter to be a fan of – the New Mexican is never in a boring fight and has looked like a real contender at times in the past, but his cardio problems have never really gone away. When tired, Page often leaves himself wide open on the ground and while Caceres is no Rickson Gracie, he’s a wriggly guy to mess with down there. But the same can be said of ‘Bruce Leroy’, consistently inconsistent and rough around the edges when it comes to the ground game. Both have good chins, but under-whelming power in the striking department so the first man to slip up is going home the loser this week – we’ll go for experience over enthusiasm, as ‘The Angel of Death’ taps out a tiring Caceres midway through the fight. Page, submission, 2nd round.
Chris Cariaso (13-3, 3-1 UFC) vs. Josh Ferguson (7-4, 0-1 UFC)
The Lowdown: The flyweight division gets a couple of new faces as former bantamweight, Chris Cariaso, looks to continue a rich vein of form at 125lbs in front of his home-town crowd. ‘Kamikaze’s only loss in the UFC came via close decision against top contender, Michael McDonald, and Cariaso has won two on the trot since that defeat. The well-rounded flyweight defeated British grappler, Vaughan Lee, by split decision at UFC 138 in England before flying to Japan to do the same to Takeya Mizugaki in February.
Cariaso faces fellow former bantamweight, Josh ‘Taz’ Ferguson, this week and the former TUF contestant faces the door if he drops a second straight loss in the UFC. Ferguson’s flash knockout of Casey Dyer impressed as the Kentucky native entered the TUF house in style but the scrappy all-rounder failed to live up to expectations. At the season finale, ‘Taz’ started well but eventually gassed and succumbed to a submission from Roland Delorme early in the third round.
The Verdict: A natural flyweight, Ferguson may shock us this week but it’s doubtful and Cariaso shouldn’t have too many problems with the rookie. Expect the local fighter to dominate the stand-up, hit takedowns for fun and eventually slip in a choke during a scramble to send ‘Taz’ back to the little leagues. Cariaso, submission, 2nd round.
Rafael Natal (14-3-1, 2-1-1 UFC) vs. Andrew Craig (7-0, 1-0 UFC)
The Lowdown: After making a stuttering start to his UFC career by going 0-1-1, Brazilian middleweight Rafael Natal is now the proud owner of back to back victories and ‘Sapo’ seems to be finding his feet in the big leagues. The BJJ black-belt was able to stall wrestler Paul Bradley at UFC 133, winning the striking battles to earn the decision and repeated that feat at UFC 143 in February. ‘Sapo’ continued to showcase his improving striking that night, edging out previously unbeaten Dutch banger, Michael Kuiper, on the scorecards.
Natal faces unbeaten prospect, Andrew Craig, a mild-mannered Texan who rose to notoriety as the middleweight champion of Legacy FC where he impressively handled experienced grappler, Eric Schambari. The Team Tooke man, still only 26 years old, made his UFC debut in March in Australia against local favourite Kyle Noke and soured the mood in Sydney by bloodying and dominating the Aussie to take the unanimous decision. One of the blue-chip prospects in the middleweight division, Craig looks to take the next step in his fledgling career and in ‘Sapo’, gets a suitable bump in competition.
The Verdict: Craig is a very heftily built middleweight, reminiscent of Forrest Griffin in terms of physique, and the big ol’ Texan steer should have enough to shut down Natal. The Brazilian often tires as fights progress and this is when Craig will come into his own, caging and roughing up ‘Sapo’ for much of the fight and possibly landing a few takedowns for good measure. A cut and dried decision for Craig seems on the cards. Craig, decision.
Marcelo Guimaraes (7-0-1, 0-0 UFC) vs. Dan Stittgen (7-2, 0-1 UFC)
The Lowdown: Making his UFC debut at welterweight, Brazilian Marcelo ‘Magrao’ Zilio Guimaraes was once considered the top unsigned middleweight in the world and the BJJ black-belt arrives in the big leagues with plenty of hype. The Caveira Team grappler hasn’t really beaten anyone of note, surprisingly, apart from a decision win over Ildemar Alcantara, a talented middleweight and brother of UFC featherweight, Yuri. ‘Magrao’ is a powerhouse on the ground, has good wrestling by Brazilian standards and seems to be tidying up his stand-up game so we could be about to witness something special in San Jose.
‘Magrao’s sacrifice – sorry, opponent – will be Illinois native, Dan ‘The Anvil’ Stittgen, a welterweight looking to erase the memories of a tragic UFC debut in February. The BJJ purple-belt was called upon late in the day to face promising rookie, Stephen Thompson, at UFC 143 and looked completely lost in the stand-up before taking a highlight-reel kick to the dome that ended his night in round one. Prior to that, Stittgen had put together a neat run in the little leagues, garnering a 7-1 record that brought him to the attention of Joe Silva.
The Verdict: Stittgen’s bread and butter is ‘Magrao’s main course and the Brazilian should have no trouble mopping up the American on Wednesday night. Guimaraes might want to test out his striking but will be keen for a quick finish to protect against any unforeseen cardio problems. Look for ‘Magrao’ to tap out Stittgen without breaking a sweat. Guimaraes, submission, 1st round.
Raphael Assuncao (16-4, 1-1 UFC) vs. Issei Tamura (7-2, 1-0 UFC)
The Lowdown: Despite emerging victorious last time out, Brazilian bantamweight Raphael Assuncao remains rooted to the bottom of the Facebook prelims broadcast in San Jose. The Ascension MMA and WEC veteran was knocked out by current number one featherweight contender, Erik Koch, when making his Octagon debut but made a successful first cut to 135lbs at UFC 134 last summer. The BJJ black-belt focused on position over submission to control striker, Johnny Eduardo, for three rounds to take the unanimous decision.
The Brazilian welcomes Japanese prospect, Issei Tamura, to the bantamweight division this week and the Krazy Bee scrapper is looking to build upon a fine UFC debut taken on short notice. The Shooto veteran filled in for an injured Leonard Garcia at UFC 144 in Japan and knocked out Chinese prospect, Tiequan Zhang, with a hammer blow early in the second round. The stocky wrestler will probably be a better fit at 135lbs and a win over an established name like Assuncao will do him no harm.
The Verdict: Assuncao fights at a crawling pace and like Demian Maia nowadays, prefers to use his BJJ prowess to contain opponents rather than going for broke. While Tamura is a solid wrestler, he isn’t good enough to keep this fight standing and will be spending a lot of time on his back this week, enough time to hand Assuncao another lopsided decision victory. Assuncao, decision.
That’s all for the prelims of ‘UFC on FUEL TV 4′, check out MMABay in the days ahead for breakdowns of all six main card fights scheduled for Wednesday night, and remember you can catch all the undercard action live and for free on Facebook and UFC.tv.
By Steve Davies
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