UFC 149 ‘Faber vs. Barao’ Preview

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Middleweights

Court McGee (14-2, 3-1 UFC) vs. Nick Ring (12-1, 2-1 UFC): McGee suffered the first loss of his Octagon career to Constantinos Philippou in March, as the “The Ultimate Fighter 11” winner was unable to force the grinding affair that he prefers. Ring will need to utilize solid movement and angles so McGee cannot get a hold of him. McGee lands just enough offense to get the narrow decision nod.

Bantamweights

Roland Delorme (8-1, 2-0 UFC) vs. Francisco Rivera (8-2, 1-1 UFC): Delorme was one half of one of the best rounds of the year at UFC on Fox 3, where he submitted Nick Denis with just a second remaining in the opening frame. His ability to keep cool through difficult times will serve him well against Rivera, who has dangerous knockout power. Delorme survives some heavy fire early and then rallies to submit Rivera in round two.

Light Heavyweights

Ryan Jimmo (16-1, 0-0 UFC) vs. Anthony Perosh (13-6, 3-3 UFC): A former Maximum Fighting Championship 205-pound titleholder, Jimmo will carry a 16-fight winning streak into his UFC debut. Perosh, meanwhile, has stuck around longer than anyone initially expected him to after he lost to Mirko Filipovic on short notice back in 2010, beating Tom Blackledge, Cyrille Diabate and Nick Penner in his second stint with the promotion. Perosh wins by decision.

Bantamweights

Bryan Caraway (16-5, 1-0 UFC) vs. Mitch Gagnon (8-1, 0-0 UFC): Caraway has gotten more attention for his role in girlfriend Miesha Tate’s feud with Ronda Rousey than his own fighting career, but with 14 submission victories to his credit, the man has a dangerous ground game. He will meet a like-minded adversary in Gagnon, who has earned all eight of his career victories via tapout. Caraway wins the chess match on the mat and forces his foe to tap late in the first.

Featherweights

Antonio Carvalho (13-5, 0-1 UFC) vs. Daniel Pineda (17-8, 2-1 UFC): After two straight submission victories to begin his UFC career, Pineda got to experience deeper waters at UFC 146, falling to former WEC 145-pound king Mike Thomas Brown. Despite being overpowered for much of the contest, Pineda still made a late push in the final round. Carvalho faded down the stretch in falling to Felipe Arantes at UFC 142, but he can make life difficult for Pineda with his judo and grappling expertise. Pineda wins by decision.

Lightweights

Mitch Clarke (9-1, 0-1 UFC) vs. Anton Kuivanen (16-5, 0-1 UFC): Kuivanen struggled to defend Justin Salas’ takedowns in losing his UFC debut in February, while Clarke fell to John Cholish via second-round TKO at UFC 140. Kuivanen likes to use kicks, particularly to the body, but he was not able to land effectively versus Salas. Clarke has fairly aggressive standup and active submissions from his back. Clarke wins by submission in round three.