While we are approaching the end of March and it seems like it has been forever since an actual UFC event other than The Ultimate Fighter, it is time to recap what has transpired in the first quarter of 2012 with regards to the UFC.

From January 1st through March 31 the UFC held seven events. The first of which took place on January 14th and the span ended on March 3rd. That was seven events in seven weeks. No wonder the UFC decided to take some time off as the next event scheduled isn’t until April 14th.

Looking back at the events, there were several memorable moments. From fights to knockouts to submissions, the first quarter did not disappoint in the least. Let’s take a look at some of the best of the best through out this quarter.

Submissions
During the quarter there were a total of seventeen submissions. Some were obviously more memorable than others. But there was something special about our top five submissions. It could be because a fighter stuck to his bread and butter, it could have been a submission that hasn’t been seen before, or it could have been just from the sheer fact that the fighter got the submission. In all cases, just mentioning the fight and the submission it is likely to bring images of people tapping to the forefront of your brain.

5. Jim Miller defeated Melvin Guillard by rear naked choke at UFC on FX: Guillard vs Miller
4. Dustin Poirier defeated Max Holloway by mounted triangle armbar at UFC 143
3. Martin Kampmann defeated Thiago Alves by guillotine choke at UFC on FX: Alves vs Kampmann
2. Rousimar Palhares defeated Mike Massenzio by heel hook at UFC 142
1. Charles Oliveira defeated Eric Wisely by calf slicer at UFC on Fox: Evans vs Davis

Knockouts
Nothing gets the crowd going more than a crazy knockout. Sometimes a ref is merciful and is able to stop the barrage of attacks and other times, a single shot sends a foe to the canvas stiff as a board. No matter how the knockout happened, fans will always place the fighter that delivered the finishing strike on a new pedestal wanting him to take on a step up in competition.

5a. Stephen Thompson defeated Dan Stittgen by head kick at UFC 143
5b. Anthony Pettis defeated Joe Lauzon by head kick at UFC 144
4. Tim Boetsch defeated Yushin Okami by TKO at UFC 144
3. Lavar Johnson defeated Joey Beltran by uppercuts at UFC on Fox: Evans vs Davis
2. Jose Aldo defeated Chad Mendes by knee at UFC 142
1. Edson Barboza defeated Terry Etim by spinning heel kick at UFC 142

Fights
While there were several memorable fights across all the cards, there is just something extra about the fights that received fight of the night honors from the UFC. Some fights were quick, others were one sided beatings, and others were great back and forth battles. With that said, here’s the top 5 fights from the first quarter.

5. Evan Dunham vs Nik Lentz at UFC on Fox: Evans vs Davis
4. Diego Sanchez vs Jake Ellenberger at UFC on Fuel TV: Sanchez vs Ellenberger
3. Roy Nelson vs Fabricio Werdum at UFC 143
2. Demetrious Johnson vs Ian McCall at UFC on FX: Alves vs Kampmann
1. Frankie Edgar vs Ben Henderson at UFC 144

Overall Card
Pay per views always tend to have a higher ranking as far as star power is concerned, and justifiably so; they require someone to purchase the event instead of watch it for free. But sometimes the free cards can out perform their pay per view counter parts on the fact that the fighters want to be on the main card of a pay per view instead of televised card. It was a difficult decision to rank the cards, but here’s the top 5.

5. UFC on Fuel TV: Sanchez vs Ellenberger
4. UFC on FX: Guillard vs Miller
3. UFC on FX: Alves vs Kampmann
2. UFC 142: Aldo vs Mendes
1. UFC 144: Edgar vs Henderson

On the January 31st edition of RecapRadio, hosts Brent Todd and John Petit discussed a variety of topics. The discussion started off with a UFC on Fox 2 breakdown followed by UFC 143 previews.

The undercard for UFC on Fox 2 was first discussed as the Chris Camozzi versus Dustin Jacoby fight was not aired at all contrary to reports. This was rather unfortunate as not only was it an exciting back and forth battle, but Camozzi finished the fight with a 10-finger guillotine choke.

The conversation moved onto the rest of the undercard with a good debate on the knockout of the night. While both of us agreed that Lavar Johnson’s knockout over Joey Beltran deserved the bonus, Cub Swanson’s mouthguard knockout over George Roop was just cool.

Additionally the topic of the calf crusher submission by Charles Olivieria was discussed as we both found it weird that Joe Rogan didn’t even know what the submission was at the time of the call.

The main card of UFC on Fox 2 was broken down and we agreed on several things, but disagreed on the scoring of the Bisping-Sonnen fight. We both felt that if the original fights were in place and the fighters that showed up were the same in those fights, that Munoz would have beaten Sonnen, and Bisping would have destroyed Maia.

Instead we were presented with a rather lackluster performance by Maia who had no excuse for why he gassed. His opponent, Chris Weidman, at least could fall back on the fact that he cut 30 pounds in 10 days and he still beat Maia.

The main event was as predicted, and it just confirmed what we already knew about Davis. While he is talented and a good fighter, Evans is just on a different level.

When it came time to breakdown UFC 143 we first discussed a facebook stream fight of Dan Stittgen versus Stephen Thompson. Stittgen is a local fan favorite, but Thompson is undefeated in not only his mixed martial arts career, but also his Muay Thai career. We both said it should be an interesting fight, as styles make fights.

Breaking down the main portion of the card, we both agreed on nearly every fight. We predicted Ed Herman and Roy Nelson would earn unanimous decisions over Clifford Starks and Fabricio Werdum respectively. We expect a great fight in the bantamweight bout between Renan Barao and Scott Jorgensen, predicting Barao finishing Jorgensen. We expect Koscheck and Pierce to be a lackluster fight and could see it going either way.

As for the main event, we both felt that Carlos Condit is one of the best welterweights in the division. We even said that against anyone else, he probably wins. However we both think that Diaz is more than capable of avoiding a big shot, or if he is hit, can recover fast enough. Diaz has shown he is on a different level when it comes to fighting and we both predicted he would finish Condit off in the 2nd round.

You can listen to the podcast below.

When the officials were announced for UFC on Fox 2 here in Chicago, some eyebrows were raised after only a single ref from Illinois would be inside the cage during the event. Helping out John McCarthy and Herb Dean, was Rob Madrigal got the assignment from the Illinois State Athletic Commission.

While Madrigal had only been inside the cage for 15 pro fights prior to his UFC on Fox assignment, since January of 2011 he has overseen 138 amateur fights.

Marc Ratner, the UFC vice president of regulatory affairs stated, “I do not go in anywhere and tell the commission what to do. He’ll get some exposure and I look forward to meeting him.”

While many are quick to point out the short comings of the Illinois State Athletic Commission, it should be noted that the UFC had the faith in them to select the correct candidate(s) for the job.

Madrigal oversaw two preliminary fights on the UFC on Fox card, Chris Camozzi versus Dustin Jacoby and Lavar Johnson versus Joey Beltran. The first fight between Camozzi and Jacoby featured three kicks to the groin all of which Madrigal was not only in the correct position to see, but did exactly what a ref is supposed to do.

At the conclusion of the fight, Camozzi locked in a 10-finger guillotine, a rare modification of the choke hold. Madrigal was at first on one side of the fighters, but quickly moved to where he knew he could see a tap by Jacoby if there was going be one. Sure enough there was and Madrigal was quick to stop the fight.

The other fight Madrigal oversaw featured two heavyweight fighters who in the past have shown they have massive power and knockout ability. It is the referee’s job to know when a fighter is injured or knocked out, but to not interfere with the fight.

At the start of the fight Lavar Johnson hurt Joey Beltran with a big left hook to Beltran’s body. It sent Beltran to the canvas, but Beltran was quick to get up. Madrigal showed poise and precession in his duties as he moved himself into a position to see what would follow.

Through out the fight there were several directional changes and Madrigal again stayed calm and was present through out all the action. If one fighter shifted while against the cage to almost prevent the ref from seeing what was going on, Madrigal would run to the other side to see what was happening.

Even when Johnson was chasing Beltran at one point to follow up on his damaging blows, Madrigal was quick to get out of the way, yet still be in a position to see what was going on.

When it came to the conclusion of the fight, Johnson landed several uppercuts on Beltran knocking him out on his feet. Madrigal was right there and called off the fight the moment that Beltran went unconscious.

All the talk about how Madrigal didn’t have enough experience and that he should “be eased into it” was for naught.

Those that did have a problem with the assignment should not have voiced their opinion prior to the fight, rather they should have waited to see what kind of job Madrigal did. Only if he had made a mistake should there have been an issue.

From the article that was originally written it made it sound as if Madrigal would have let a fighter beat another fighter to death and that he was incompetent at his job. That was clearly not the case, and Madrigal made those who complained about the assignment seem foolish.

Rashad Evans was a man on a mission, and he wasn’t going to let rising star Phil Davis get in the way of his title shot at UFC on FOX 2. He safely executed his mix of striking and wrestling, only on rare occasion trying to finish Davis. Thus, Evans got what he ultimately wanted, his fight with Jon Jones. The fans, however, were less fortunate.

Evans defeated Davis via unanimous decision in the main event of UFC on FOX 2 in Chicago, IL on January 28th. The bout headlined a three-fight main card that also featured young wrestler Chris Weidman defeating jiu jitsu ace Damien Maia in a gassed-out kickboxing match, and the self-proclaimed middleweight champion Chael Sonnen defeating tough Brit Michael Bisping in an unsuspected three-round scrap. While Sonnen and Bisping delivered some excitement for the crowd, the other two fights did not get people out of their seats like the UFC brass had hoped for.

Before Evans and Davis fought, there was lots of speculation comparing their wrestling. Who was better, who could take who down, who had better technique. The questions were answered as Evans caught Davis’ kicks and took him down with relative ease. Davis stayed clear of submissions, and was able to stand on most occasions, but proved to not be enough of a danger on the feet to Evans. It was an auto-pilot cruise to a decision, leaving all five rounds to the way of Evans.

I sat near Jon Jones’ broadcasting position at the event and watched as Jones analyzed Rashads performance. He didn’t show much more than a few smiles and some brief claps throughout. Jones didn’t feel any more excitement than anyone in attendance as highlights were hard to come by.

Regardless of the safe showing, Evans will now fight Jones for his title, likely in Atlanta, Georgia in April. He did what he needed to do to beat Davis, and that’s exactly what would get him a shot at his former crown. The issue was, he didn’t sell that title shot. A finish could have been the extra ingredient that the Jones vs Evans title showdown needed to be a blockbuster.

Even after the fight, the UFC chose not to have Jones step into the cage and market their meeting. Many felt that Jones was awkward on the broadcast and that he should have been down by the cage in the first place. The missed marketing opportunities and performace highlights add up to make Jones and Evans title fight that much less meaningful, and UFC on FOX 2 that much less exciting.

On Saturday night at the United Center in Chicago, IL, the Ultimate Fighting Championship held a triple-header fight card for free on FOX. All three fights had title implications; some more significant than others; like the co-main event featuring Chael Sonnen vs. Michael “The Count” Bisping. The winner of this fight would be guaranteed a title shot at the current middleweight champion (185 lbs.) and pound-for-pound king, Anderson Silva in Brazil later this year.

With the injury to Mark Munoz, who was originally scheduled to face Sonnen, Bisping felt prepared enough to challenge Sonnen on only ten days notice. Many fans expressed their opinion that this was a much better match-up and the true number-one contender would emerge from this fight. Sonnen opened from the odds makers as a four-to-one favorite over The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 winner and in some cases a five-to-one. I felt that this was a gross mistake to count out Bisping’s ground game.

photo from Iron Forges Iron

The two most important questions were answered with-in fourteen seconds of the fight. “Can Sonnen take Bisping down?” and “Can Bisping escape from the bottom?” The answer to both questions was ‘yes.’ This was a very tough fight to score because of this. Most of the first two rounds were spent in the clinch position with takedown attempts and dirty boxing.

According to FightMetric.com, the official stats website of the UFC, Sonnen attempted seven takedowns in the fight and scored on four of them with in the fifteen minutes allotted for the fight. Bisping only scored with one takedown out of three attempts. In the striking department, Sonnen out landed his opponent by 33 in total strikes. In round one, Sonnen out struck his opponent by 20 total strikes and gained advantages ground position on Bisping by scoring two takedowns out of four attempts. Round one clearly went to Sonnen.

Undeniably, the second round went to “The Count.” He controlled the action by pinning Sonnen against the cage for most of the round. He also out struck Sonnen in the amount of significant strikes landed and strikes to the head.

The third and final round went to Sonnen with his dominant top game after securing a takedown with in 12 seconds. From there he controlled the round for over four minutes of the five minutes allowed per round. Sonnen was able to take the back of Bisping early on in the round, but was unable to score a submission due to the defense of Bisping. From there Sonnen switched position into the mount, but again was unable to do significant damage or secure a submission. Small chants of “USA” broke out towards the end of the fight. I’m not sure if they were routing for Sonnen or just showing their distain for Bisping.

Official Result…
Chael Sonnen wins by Unanimous Decision. (29-28, 29-28, 30-27). I’m not sure how one judge gave the second round to Sonnen. Maybe they don’t like Bisping or they went on a hotdog run during that round. Either way, they need a talking to.

Next training session…
Sonnen has controlled most of his opponents in the Octagon when he takes the fight into his world. Somehow Bisping was better at getting back to his feet than anyone else, including the Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Sonnen needs to identify how Bisping repeatedly escaped and close that gap in his game.

Bisping needs to control the distance more when on the feet to avoid getting close to wrestlers. During the open workouts on the Wednesday prior to the fight, he was displaying spinning heel kicks, push kicks and high kicks that would keep any sensible fighter at bay.

Next Possible Opponents…
Sonnen will challenge Anderson Silva in Brazil over the summer for the Middleweight Championship of the UFC.

Bisping has been sent back down the rankings and will need at least two victories before he can challenge for a title. Since Demian Maia and Bisping lost on the same night and were originally scheduled to fight each other, they can fight to see who belongs in the upper tier of their division.

UFC on Fox 2 took place on Saturday January 28th at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The preliminary fights aired on Fuel TV with the three-fight main card airing on Fox. MMA Recap was on hand and cageside for the event to capture all of the action.

Chris Camozzi and Dustin Jacoby opend up the night of fights. The first round was a great back and forth battle between the two fighters. Early in the round Camozzi had Jacoby guessing as he landing some massive shots. But Jacoby stayed the course and started to find his range, frustrating Camozzi. With ten seconds left in the round, Camozzi landed a big right that buckled Jacoby to earn him the round. Round two featured more striking by both fighters. Camozzi looked to try and counter Jacoby, but was a little off in his timing as Jacoby was landing more. Round three both fighters came out swinging with Camozzi taking the center of the octagon to start. Jacoby landed a beautiful combo led off with a body shot. Camozzi landed a leg kick that swept Jacoby’s feet out from under him. Camozzi rushed in and grabbed a standing guillotine.

Joey Beltran declined to touch gloves with Lavar Johnson which means one thing; he’s going to lose the fight. Johnson nearly finished the fight in the first fifteen seconds with a body shot that hurt Beltran but Beltran recovered from within the clinch. The two fighters jabbed at each other to set up a powerful shot and both connected with more than one. But Johnson landed a big right and then followed it up with several uppercuts and a left hook that sent Beltran to the canvas.

Shane Roller’s gameplan from the start was to take Michael Johnson down. Unfortunately he was unable to get Johnson down and ate a lot of punches through out the first two rounds. Even with all the punches he was eating, Roller continued to press forward. In the third round, Roller was able to take the back of Johnson and wanted to finish the fight with a rear naked choke. Unable to get the choke while holding a body triangle, Roller switched to punching Johnson. Some of his punches were to the back of the head and Herb Dean stopped the fight to warn Roller. After the restart, Johnson was able to escape the bad position and saved himself from losing the round by 10-8. Once on the feet, the two traded punches till bell’s end.

Charles Oliveira scored the first calf slicer submission on Eric Wisely. After a kick thrown by Wisely, Oliveira caught it to put Wisely on his back. Oliveira worked standing punches to Wisely till he was able to pass to side control. He quickly worked for a heel hook and Wisely tried to roll out of it. Oliveira continued attacking the leg, and put Wisely in a the submission forcing Wisely to tap. The crowd didn’t know what they saw, but they loved the crazy submission.

George Roop had a serious size advantage over Cub Swanson and he looked to use it early. Roop threw a variety of kicks to keep Swanson at bay, but Swanson stayed the course to try and get inside and land his punches. Roop stumbled Swanson but he quickly recovered and swarmed Roop rocking him in return. Roop attempted a takedown, but Swanson reversed and scored a big takedown. Swanson started to find his way under Roop’s punches and edged Roop out for the round. The second looked to be much of the same but Swanson landed a right hook over top of Roop’s jab that sent Roop to the floor. Swanson followed up with big bombs forcing Big John to step in and stop the action.

Heavyweights Mike Russow and John-Olav Einemo were up next. The crowd was heavily behind Russow the Chicago police officer. Russow took Einemo down immediately to start the fight, but couldn’t do much with it. The two fighters exchanged punches with Russow using his strikes to try and set up another takedown. The takedown came and he worked most of the round from within Einemo’s guard. With less than ten seconds left, Einemo swept Russow and was in the mount, but time expired and he couldn’t do much with it. The second round was much the same with Russow taking Einemo down and trying to pass his guard but unable too. Einemo threatened a little with setting up some submissions, but Russow defended well. Einemo started to land some heavy shots including two big knees that forced Russow to shoot for a takedown. Einemo worked for a triangle but Russow escaped and wound up on top. Russow worked elbows and was trying to pass guard when the fight got stood back up. Einemo landed another massive knee before Russow took the fight to the ground and finished the fight in that position.

The last of the preliminary fights to air on FuelTV featured lightweights Nik Lentz and Evan Dunham. The two fighters quickly stepped to the center to throw massive shots. Lentz nearly had a D’Arce but he couldn’t get the position right and Dunham escaped. Lentz shot for a takedown, and Dunham worked a guillotine to counter it. Lentz escaped, and battled for position over Dunham. The fighters stood and worked a short game inside the clinch before separating. Dunham worked for a takedown of his own and got it, but Lentz controlled well from the bottom. Dunham worked punches and elbows to end the round. Dunham came out on a mission to start the second round and immediately got a takedown. Dunham tried to pass to side control, but Lentz wouldn’t give up. The two fighters stood and Lentz scored with some uppercuts before separating. Dunham working for a guillotine and can’t get it, and the two fighters start throwing punch after punch that were landing to the crowd’s delight. Dunham with another takedown and he worked several punches before working a modified choke. The choke wasn’t working so he opted for elbows instead. Lentz started to sit up and Dunham with a straight right. Lentz is badly bloodied up, but still coming forard as the round ends. Reply showed his eye is badly swollen and the doctor is called in to look at it. The doctor waved off the fight as Lentz’s eye was shut.

Kicking off the main card on Fox, Chris Weidman stepped in on eleven day’s notice to fight Demian Maia. Maia looked to use his improved boxing against Weidman, and Weidman was happy to oblige. Weidman landed more strikes through out and at the end of the round secured it with a takedown. The second round was a close round to call as Maia started to find his range and did more damage in the first half. Near the end of the round Weidman scored a takedown and if there was enough time he probably would have finished his guillotine he had locked in. By the third round both fighters were visibly gassed. Weidman continued to land punches and when Maia did attempt a takedown, Weidman easily defended. Maia ate a couple of knees but the action was not enough to satisfy the Chicago crowd as they booed at the conclusion of the fight. What looked to be a clear cut unanimous decision for Weidman either 30-27 or 29-28 was not as one judge scored it for Maia giving Weidman the split decision victory.

It was more difficult to tell if the crowd was pro Chael Sonnen or anti Michael Bisping based on their entrances, but once inside the cage fighting, it became very clear they were for Sonnen. The first round Sonnen immediately took the fight to the ground but Bisping was quick to get back up. The two traded punches with Bisping throwing crisper strikes, but Sonnen landing the more damaging ones. The second round Sonnen seemed to have slowed down a bit as he couldn’t find a home for his punches. Bisping used the opportunity to land his punches and attempted some fancy spinning kicks. Most of the round however was spent against the cage and surprisingly the Chicago crowd didn’t object to it. The third round Sonnen took Bisping down and the crowd went crazy. As he was able to get Bisping’s back the noise level erupted even more. The loudest ovation however came when Sonnen mounted Bisping as it was next to impossible to hear anything. Bisping was able to escape, but it wasn’t enough as the round ended. The judges were all in agreement with who won giving the fight to Sonnen.

In the pre-fight build up for Rashad Evans and Phil Davis, Evans stated that it would be Davis that would shoot first for the takedown. And while that was true, it was Evans who actually scored the first takedown. The five round battle was not much to the crowd’s delight as it consisted mostly of Evans throwing combos and avoiding Davis’s takedown attempts. When Evans would take the fight to the ground, he was impressive in securing a crucifix not once, but three times through out the fight. All three times he nearly finished with punches and elbows, but Davis was somehow able to escape. Both fighters were extremely exhausted at the end of the twenty-five minute battle and Evans solidified his status as the number one contender for the light heavyweight title to challenge Jon Jones.

Quick Results
Chris Camozzi defeated Dustin Jacoby by guillotine at 1:08 of round 3
Lavar Johnson defeated Joey Beltran by TKO at 4:24 of round 1
Michael Johnson defeated Shane Roller by unanimous decision 29-28, 29-28, 29-28
Charles Oliveira defeated Eric Wisely by calf slicer at 1:43 of round 1
Cub Swanson defeated George Roop by TKO at 2:22 of round 2
Mike Russow defeated John-Olav Einemo by unanimous decision 30-27, 29-28, 29-28
Evan Dunham defeated Nik Lentz by TKO (doctor’s stoppage) at 5:00 of round 2
Chris Weidman defeated Demian Maia by split decision 29-28, 28-29, 29-28
Chael Sonnen defeated Michael Bisping by unanimous decision 30-27, 29-28, 29-28
Rashad Evans defeated Phil Davis by unanimous decision 50-45, 50-45, 50-45

UFC on Fox 2 open workouts took place at the Chicago Boxing Club in Chicago, Illinois.  MMA Recap was on hand to interview several of the fighters competing on Saturday’s card.

Tiki Ghosn

Shonie Carter

Rashad Evans

Phil Davis

Phil Davis taking questions

Mike Russow

John Danher

Demian Maia

Chris Weidman

On the latest edition of RecapRadio, hosts Brent Todd and John Petit talked about a variety of topics. The show started off with our predictions on the UFC on Fox 2 card. We ran down our thoughts on which preliminary fights were going to entertain before diving into the main card.

When it came time to predicting the main card, the two of us weren’t always on the same page. Weidman and Maia we were split on who was going to win. John had Maia winning the fight due to his improved standup and his smothering jiu jitsu, while I had Weidman winning by taking Maia down, ground and pounding until Maia threatened with a submission, and then Weidman standing back up and repeating.

When it came to Bisping versus Sonnen we both agreed that Sonnen got an easier matchup than before. However I am not convinced yet that Bisping is as good as his performance against Jason Miller and felt that Sonnen would fairly easily beat Bisping. John on the other hand predicted this fight would probably be a split decision.

When it came to the main event one thing was clear. It was Evan’s fight to lose by making a mistake. Davis has all the talent in the world, but looking at the resume of both fighters it became very clear that Evans has fought the tougher competition.

Eddie Wineland joined the show to discuss his injury that forced him to withdraw from his UFC on Fox fight, his career as a firefighter and more.

We closed out the show with our recap of UFC on FX.

Weidman (left) vs. Maia (right) Photo from PROMMANOW.com

One man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity. Such as life and defiantly the sport of MMA. The latest testament comes from Mark Munoz, who suffered an injury two weeks prior to his middleweight bout with, Chael Sonnen. Munoz’s injury shuffles the stacked card and sends Michael Bisping to face Sonnen for a number-one contenders bout. This left Demian Maia to face relative newcomer, Chris Weidman. All of these last minute changes defiantly benefits Chris Weidman the most. Weidman is fairly new to the organization, but has won all three of his UFC bouts. This Saturday night, when the UFC returns to FOX, he will have the chance of a lifetime to make a positive impact on the UFC brass, the fans and of course the middleweight division.

Weidman (7-0 MMA; 3-0 UFC) is a former Division I wrestler from Hofstra University and Ring of Combat Middleweight champion. He has been training and fighting out of the Serra-Longo camp. Weidman will be taking a large leap in competition on Saturday as he faces a former number-one contender in Maia (16-3 MMA; 12-3 UFC). Weidman is coming off a two-submission win streak with one of them being a notable name in Tom Lawlor. Maia busted onto the UFC scene in 2007 with four straight submission wins, then a KO loss and lately has either won or lost on the judges’ scorecards (4-2). This has many of his fans wondering when the highlight reel submissions would return. Maia has stated in interviews that he is training to become a well-rounded fighter and focusing more on his boxing skills.

Ways to Win…
Weidman can win this fight if he out strikes Maia on the feet and avoids the takedown attempts. There is a vast difference between Jiu-Jitsu takedowns and freestyle wrestling takedowns. I give the edge to the college technic. We have seen numerous fights where the wrestler gets the better of a BJJ expert. Case in point is UFC 100 Lesnar vs. Mir bout. It will be very interesting to see whose stand-up game is better between the two grapplers.

Maia can win this fight if he can get this fight to the ground and use his top BJJ game. Most wrestlers are not comfortable on their back; especially when you have a high level BJJ black belt on top of you such as Maia. The best way for Maia to secure these takedowns will be to make Weidman respect his striking combos, then look for a Judo trip. Case in point from Maia’s fight against Sonnen when he hip tossed Sonnen right into a triangle choke at UFC 95, which earned him the Submission of the Night award.

Prediction…
I believe that with his strong wrestling background and a high level BJJ instructor, Matt Serra as one of his coaches, that Weidman will get the edge on Maia. I see him finishing the fight in the second round with ground and pound. If being on a UFC’s main card on network television does not get to him mentally, he will capitalize on this generous opportunity given to him via Munoz’s injury.