‘UFC 150: Henderson vs. Edgar II’ preview and predictions (Preliminary Card)
‘UFC 150: Henderson vs. Edgar II’ is all set for Saturday, August 11th and the UFC lightweight title is on the line in the main event at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. Before we check out the main card bouts, MMABay takes a closer look at the five preliminary card fights set to air on Facebook and UFC.tv – which prospects will make a beeline for the pay-per-view card in the future? Find out after the jump…
Dennis Bermudez (8-3, 1-1 UFC) vs. Tommy Hayden (8-1, 0-1 UFC)
The Lowdown: Rugged featherweight, Dennis Bermudez, takes the next step in his UFC career after losing in the final of ‘The Ultimate Fighter 14′ in a thrilling one-rounder with Diego Brandao. Bermudez had Brandao badly hurt but succumbed to an armbar late in round one, setting the New Yorker back as he joined the UFC ranks on a loss. But the Long Island MMA man excelled last time out, ground and pounding his way to a lopsided decision over lanky submission specialist, Pablo Garza, on FOX in May.
A pupil of BJJ black-belt, Jorge Gurgel, Cincinnati, Ohio’s Tommy ‘Wildcard’ Hayden was first seen making an unsuccessful attempt at qualifying for Team USA on ‘The Ultimate Fighter 9′ but the 26-year old found his way into the UFC as an injury replacement earlier this year. Fighting at lightweight, the wrestler started well against BJJ phenom, Fabricio Camoes, but was eventually caught in a deep rear-naked choke late in round one. The BJJ blue-belt makes his debut at 145lbs this weekend and only a win will suffice.
The Verdict: A fairly weak undercard is headlined by what should at least be a fun scrap as Bermudez rarely fails to deliver on the excitement front. Hayden will be a big featherweight and has the grappling to fare well but his fight IQ seemed a little off last time and he may also suffer from the weight-cut. Bermudez is a better striker, a better wrestler and a better mixed martial artist – he gets the stoppage in the latter half of the fight. Bermudez, (T)KO, 3rd round.
Jared Hamman (13-4, 2-3 UFC) vs. Michael Kuiper (11-1, 0-1 UFC)
The Lowdown: Middleweight prospect, Jared Hamman, finds himself demoted to the undercard after seeing a promising debut at 185lbs dashed in violent fashion last time out. ‘The Messenger’, who went 1-2 as a light-heavyweight, dropped to the middleweight division last summer and impressed as he stopped wrestling convert, C.B Dollaway, with punches and elbows in the second round. The 6ft 3in Californian seemed an intriguing addition to the division but at UFC 140 in December, Hamman met his match as Costa Philippou demolished him in the stand-up, knocking him out midway through the first round.
Hamman takes on Dutch prospect, Michael Kuiper, whose UFC debut earlier this year resulted in the first loss of his career. The judo black-belt had torn through the competition in Europe, quickly garnering an 11-0 record and finishing ten opponents as the 23-year old showed visible improvements in both his striking and BJJ. Kuiper faced Rafael Natal at UFC 143 in February but despite having his moments, the Dutchman fell short on the scorecards. Training with Golden Glory will certainly sharpen up Kuiper’s striking, but the youngster needs a victory here to keep himself on the payroll.
The Verdict: Someone will be leaving the UFC and these two middleweights are evenly matched – both are rangey and like to throw down and while Hamman holds the wrestling advantage, Kuiper’s judo could neutralise it. But Hamman has more ‘big game’ experience and ‘The Messenger’ should find a way to shut down Kuiper’s striking and drag him into deep waters, edging out the Dutchman on the judges’ scorecards. Hamman, decision.
Erik Perez (11-4, 1-0 UFC) vs. Ken Stone (11-3, 2-1 UFC)
The Lowdown: Just 22-years old, Jackson’s MMA bantamweight prospect Erik ‘El Golyito’ Perez, makes his second appearance in as many months in Denver as he takes on the in-form Ken Stone at the top end of the preliminary card. The young Mexican drew the attention of the UFC in December when he bested top British prospect, Paul McVeigh, by decision in BAMMA and made his debut in June against TUF product, John Albert. The grappler survived some hairy moments on the ground but eventually came through with an armbar that forced Albert to verbally submit late in the first round.
‘El Golyito’ gets a steady bump in competition in Denver as American Top Team bantamweight, Ken Stone, looks for a third straight UFC win after making a disastrous start to his Zuffa career. Knocked out by a slam in the WEC, Stone was then knocked out again by Scott Jorgensen to mark his UFC debut but the well-rounded prospect has looked solid since. Stone choked Donny Walker unconscious last September before out-classing Dustin Pague at UFC on FX 4 in June to take the unanimous decision.
The Verdict: Stone lost to Eddie Wineland and Scott Jorgensen – two of the top dogs at 135lbs – and has looked very well-rounded since those losses, showing improving striking and a great ground game. Perez may have got the win against Albert, but he struggled early on and showed some holes in his submission defence, something a submission wizard like Stone can exploit. The American Top Team man should take it, if not by sub, then by dominant decision. Stone, decision.
Chico Camus (11-3, 0-0 UFC) vs. Dustin Pague (11-6, 1-2 UFC)
The Lowdown: Roufusport bantamweight, Chico ‘King’ Camus, has been on the radar of Joe Silva for a while having cut his teeth on the local circuit and the latest talent to come from Milwaukee, Wisconsin is riding a three-fight winning streak into his Octagon debut. Despite finishing most of his earlier opponents, Camus has won his last three by decision but the most recent, over fellow regional prospect Alptekin Ozkilic, was the one that saw ‘King’ snapped up by the UFC.
Camus makes his debut against ‘The Ultimate Fighter 14′ product, Dustin ‘The Disciple’ Pague, who takes his third fight in less than two months in Denver. After a fairly impressive run on the reality show, the Virginia-based Pague was brutally finished by John Albert at the season finale but responded well at UFC on FX 3 in June – manhandling Jared Papazian before submitting him with a rear-naked choke. Two weeks later, ‘The Disciple’ made an ill-advised decision to fill in for an injured bantamweight to fight Ken Stone and lost a convincing decision to put his job in jeopardy this weekend.
The Verdict: Camus hasn’t faced anyone of UFC calibre and Pague is a tough first outing for the highly-touted prospect. ‘The Disciple’ has a nasty clinch game and is good on the ground also, and while Camus’ striking will surely be of a good standard, Pague’s height and versatility will be too much for the newcomer. Expect Pague to soften up Camus from the clinch and tap him out midway through the fight. Pague, submission, 2nd round.
Nik Lentz (21-5-2, 5-2-1 UFC) vs. Eiji Mitsuoka (18-8-2, 0-1 UFC)
The Lowdown: A couple of years ago, Nik ‘The Carny’ Lentz was a dark horse in the UFC lightweight division having gone 5-0-1, but the Minnesota native has dropped the ball and enters the featherweight division on back-to-back losses. It could well have been three, as Lentz was mauled by Charles Oliveira but saw the result changed to a No Contest due to an illegal knee landed by the Brazilian prior to the submission finish. The well-rounded Lentz then dropped a unanimous decision to Mark Bocek at UFC 140 before facing Evan Dunham a month later at UFC on FOX 2 in January. ‘The Carny’ was the victim of a doctor’s stoppage after two rounds due to a cut and faces the chop if he fails to deliver the goods in Denver.
The same could be said of Japanese veteran, Eiji Mitsuoka, whose UFC debut in Tokyo in February was one to forget and forced the wrestler to consider making his own cut to 145lbs. Mitsuoka came with a decent reputation, being a veteran of Sengoku and holding notable wins over the likes of PRIDE veteran, Joachim Hansen and recent TUF Brazil standout, Rodrigo Damm. But despite winning the first round at UFC 144, Mitsuoka took his foot off the gas in the second and Japanese legend, Takanori Gomi, took advantage to drop him and put him away.
The Verdict: When a Japanese wrestler takes on a former NCAA division one wrestler, put your money on the Yank. Lentz has shown strong wrestling but more importantly, some solid striking ability during his time with the UFC and Mitsuoka didn’t look too comfortable standing last time out so the odds are stacked against the former Sengoku man. A stoppage isn’t out of the question, but ‘The Carny’ specialises in grinding out a decision and will do so again in Denver. Lentz, decision.
That’s all for the undercard which our U.K readers can watch live and for free starting around midnight on Facebook, stay tuned to MMABay this week as we preview the five main card fights scheduled for ‘UFC 150: Henderson vs. Edgar II’.
By Steve Davies
Why not tell us what you think about this story and get your thoughts featured in this week’s edition of MMABay Radio? Email Mailbag@mmabay.co.uk, start the subject with the word ‘RADIO MAILBAG’ and we’ll talk about our favourites on the next show.
