Picking & Grinning: UFC 127 Prelims
Jeff Sherwood Feb 25, 2011
Jason Reinhardt (top) in a photo dated from 2006. | Jeff
Sherwood/Sherdog.com
The UFC 127 preliminary card is examined by Sherdog.com staff:
Ross Pearson vs. Spencer Fisher
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Todd Martin: Pearson and Fisher are similarly tough warriors not afraid in the least to trade hands. I would take the Fisher of a few years ago to defeat Pearson confidently, but I’ve had the nagging feeling in recent fights that Fisher is a fighter on the decline. Still, I think Fisher has enough left in the tank to get by the young gun here.
Rob King: Fisher is at a crossroads in terms of his UFC
career. A win here keeps him in the UFC for the foreseeable
future. A loss could signal his end with the promotion.
Fisher is tough as heck and a finish seems unlikely, but I like
Pearson to take a close decision victory.
Freddie DeFreitas: There's a ton of pressure firmly planted on the shoulders of the Brit following the loss to Miller but the reality is, Fisher lacks both the reach and submission game that plagued Pearson last time out. It's the perfect opportunity for Pearson to get back on track and prove he is “The Real Deal” with a decision win over a crafty veteran.
Nick Ring vs. Riki Fukuda
Marciniak: To me this is one of the toughest fights to call on the entire card. Nick Ring is coming off a 12-month layoff from knee surgery, and Fukuda is making his big show debut. Ring should be able to put enough strikes together to win two of the rounds and hold his own should he get taken down as it doesn't take an ADCC champion to sweep Fukuda. I slightly favor Ring to take a decision in this fight.
Lutfi Sariahmed: If Ring's knees don't blow up on him this should be a really fun fight. Both Ring and Fukuda are matched up very well for their first UFC bouts. I slightly favor Fukuda here because of his bigger fight experience in Deep, and after Ring's TUF experience he just comes off as very fragile to me. Is it fair? Probably not. But your perception of fighters changes drastically before and after a debut on this stage. Give me Fukuda because his body of work in Deep was better than what Ring did to get here.
Guilherme Pinheiro: To be honest, aside from his stint on TUF, I’ve only seen Nick Ring fight once, at Bellator’s ninth edition against Isidro Gonzales, a fight in which he won impressively. Fukuda, on the other hand, has a lot more experience than Ring while facing better competition than his opponent. One last thing that has to be considered is that Ring last fought professionally in October 2009, which means he’s going to have to overcome almost 18 months of ring rust. I’ll take Fukuda by decision.
Tony Loiseleur: I like Riki Fukuda in this fight, but only just barely. It may not be a very pretty bout either, considering Fukuda's modus operandi of late has been to clinch up, dirty-box, and knee his opponents to death in between takedown attempts. Ring's length could give Fukuda problems, but so long as he doesn't stay at range, Fukuda should be able to mitigate Ring's offense and slow the fight down while racking up damage in close. Again, it will likely be a close, plodding fight, but I favor the Deep middleweight champ here by decision.
Alexander Gustafsson vs. James Te Huna
Marciniak: Back at UFC 120 Gustaffson just thrashed Cyrille Diabate, who is by all accounts a better stiker than Te Huna. The Kiwi likes to brawl but was getting hit a lot by Igor Pokrajac in his UFC debut a year ago, which is not a glowing recommendation. True to his nickname, Gustafsson should maul his opponent whether standing or on the ground. The Swede is on a different level and will prove that with a TKO win.
Pinheiro: Despite a loss to Phil Davis at UFC 112, Gustafsson remains a very good prospect for the UFC. In my honest opinion, the loss to Davis came in was providential in the way that it also gives the UFC the opportunity to bring Gustafsson along in a lower pace, which gives him time to develop his arsenal. Te Huna offers a great opportunity for Gustafsson to show his development. While Huna is no tomato can by any means, I don’t believe he has the necessary skills to hang with Gustafsson. I see this one ending within the first frame with Gustafsson having his hand raised as the winner by TKO.
DeFreitas: Fans of straight-up, standup, mano a mano violence rejoice as the granite-chinned Swede meets the heavy handed home-town favorite, in Te Huna. I have little doubt the judges can safely venture to the concession for a light snack as this one's not going past the first: Gustafsson by KO
Brian Knapp: I always side with talent, and Gustafsson has it in spades. I see him putting Te Huna in bad positions on the ground and ultimately choking him for the submission.
Tie Quan Zhang vs. Jason Reinhardt
Sariahmed: Make fun of Reinhardt's 20-1 mark all you want but this seems like a bout he is made for. Zhang is still just so raw that it's hard for me to see him getting past a guy with even Reinhardt's background. This should serve as the new baseline for the UFC when judging Zhang. Reinhardt's one loss was to Joe Lauzon when he got his first real taste of competition. Which side is Zhang on here? Is he capable of sticking around in the UFC or is it too much, too soon? Zhang has along way to go before he's a finished product and I think Reinhardt picks up the win here.
Martin: UFC is hoping that Zhang can be a conduit to greater visibility in the massive Chinese market. It remains to be seen whether he possesses the skill needed to be a difference maker. Reinhardt, who hasn’t fought in over three years and looked completely overmatched in his lone UFC bout, is being brought in to lose. Zhang will do his job here and pick up a second win under the Zuffa banner.
DeFreitas: Despite having fought the majority of his career in China against virtually unknown opposition, I would still argue that Zhang has faced stiffer competition than Reinhardt. Zhang stands in elite company as he represents only the fifth fighter with a better than .500 record to square off with Reinhardt. It's obvious the UFC is trying to rebuild Zhang following the loss to Downes and Reinhardt is just fodder for "The Mongolian Wolf” at this stage. However, one thing to strongly consider: Reinhardt is coming in riding a two-fight winning streak over opponents with a combined record of 2-16. I'll take Zhang by submission.
Anthony Perosh vs. Tom Blackledge
Martin: Neither Blackledge nor Perosh is really a UFC-level fighter. I think the keys to the fight are that Perosh has a decided edge in the ground game and won’t have to travel halfway around the world for the fight. He’ll submit Blackledge.
Critchfield: More than a year after being rewarded with a UFC contract for taking a fight with Mirko Filipovic on short notice, Perosh returns to the Octagon to face Blackledge, a coach on the “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights.” Both fighters have a tendency for quick fights. Perosh’s black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu should give him the edge on the ground, but expect an aggressive Blackledge to make the most of his opportunity and earn a TKO in the first round. Â
Loiseleur: It's been quite some time since Blackledge stepped into a ring or a cage, but the same can be said for Perosh, whose last action was a losing effort against Mirko Cro Cop one year ago. Still, the things that stand out to me is how tentative Persoh is, which is complicated by his porous standup defense. It will be hard for Blackledge to not take advantage of this, since I see him storming out from his corner at the opening horn. It likely won't take much time, but once Blackledge connects, Perosh is going down and likely staying there. Give me Blackledge by TKO, round one.
DeFreitas: I believe Blackledge may be better prepared as a fighter training out of the Wolflairs Academy. While I give a slight edge in experience on the ground to Perosh, the Australian's got to get it there first and that's where I believe he'll struggle and pay the price later in the fight. Blackledge takes this one by late stoppage.
Knapp: I’m not sure either of these gentlemen is equipped enough to compete in the UFC over the long haul. Perosh showed great toughness and heart but little else in his loss to Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic. Blackledge has a penchant for finishes. He ends it with an early KO or TKO.
Mark Hunt vs. Chris Tuchscherer
Jordan Breen: It's difficult to size up a fight full of such obvious, glaring flaws. However, there is much to be said for Hunt being at the end of his career, and even though he's had legitimate MMA training camps and gotten his weight down for the first time in years, he's still likely going to be outwrestled by Tuchscherer, who won't be concerned with doing anything else. Expect sloppiness and tedium en route to a Tuchscherer decision, but, if you want to make it fun for yourself, betting on Hunt at +220 isn't a bad proposition. After all, it only takes one punch, and it's the only real way to get into the fight.
Sariahmed: Tuchscherer wins by whatever he wants.
Martin: I’ve been really unimpressed by Tuchscherer’s UFC career thus far. He’s slow and one-dimensional. But the last time Hunt won a fight, Anderson Silva hadn’t made his UFC debut. I think Hunt will make it past the 80 second mark of the first round for the first time since 2006, but Tuchscherer will ground-and-pound him for the win.
King: Tuchscherer has a huge advantage on the ground here thanks to his wrestling days back at Minnesota State-Moorhead. Tuchscherer does like to slug and could get sucked into a slugfeast in which case this fight becomes a toss-up, however I see Tuchscherer using common sense at some point in the fight and take it to the ground to bang out a stoppage. Â
Curt Warburton vs. Maciej Jewtuszko
Breen: Warburton isn't a shabby wrestler for a British product, but the Pole is the more dynamic party here. Jewtuszko can hit scary hard: he clobbered a much more seasoned striker in Anthony Njokuani, and broke Erikas Petraitis' face. However, he's also a product of one of Poland's best grappling squads, Berserkers Team. It shouldn't be a wipeout, but Jewtuszko has the skills to knock out and submit Warburton, and Warburton isn't so good of a wrestler that "Irokez" will be stuck to the mat.
Critchfield: Jewtuszko was impressive in his Zuffa debut, surviving some solid right hands from Njokuani before landing some powerful shots of his own to win via TKO. Warburton lost a close decision to Fisher and will likely be on the chopping block with another loss. The Wolfslair product went back and forth against Fisher in the clinch, but trying the same tactic against the muay Thai skills of Jewtuszko could prove to be a bad decision. Warburton is the stronger fighter, but Jewtuszko has more explosive potential and will finish the fight in the second or third round. Â
King: Warburton was never tested before he came to the UFC octagon, and that lack of fight experience will continue to hurt him until he goes back to smaller shows and picks up more wins. Jewtuszko looked awesome in his single WEC fight and really, how can you pick against someone who got the victory in his last fight because of a spinning-back fist? I'm not expecting the flashy backfist again, but look for Jewtusko to make his UFC debut a successful one.
Pinheiro: I think this is Jewtuszko’s fight to lose. However, it will all depends on his gameplan. Jewtuszko is a guy that, like the majority of fighters, tends to overvalue his striking ability. He will probably be even more confident in his stand up game after his TKO victory over Njokuani and that’s where the danger is. If this turns into a kickboxing match, there is always a chance that Warburton connects with something violent that may end the fight. The safest path for Jewtuszko is to bring the fight to the ground, where he holds a clear advantage over his opponent. I believe that’s what he’ll do. Jewtuszko wins by submission in the second round.
2011 Standings:
Tomasz Marciniak 28-16
Guilherme Pinheiro 27-17
Brian Knapp 26-18
Tristen Critchfield 26-18
Tony Loiseleur 26-18
Todd Martin 25-19
Lutfi Sariahmed 25-19
Rob King 25-19
Jordan Breen 25-19
Freddie DeFreitas 22-22
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