UFC 138

Almost forgotten amongst the rest of the UFC cards this month and last, we have a solid card to look forward to tonight.Without further ado, here we go.

Cyrille "The Snake" Diabate vs. Anthony "The Hippo" Perosh
light heavyweight

The Snake takes on The Hippo in a fight that got moved up to the main card after an entertaining fight between Anthony Njokuani and Paul Taylor had to be scrapped due to Taylor being injured in a car accident (He is fine). Diabate is a tall, southpaw striker, and Perosh is a solid grappler, so this is very much a style vs style match up. Both men are a stones throw away from forty, and the loser could very well find themselves looking for a new organization to fight in. Diabate needs to utilize his reach advantage (He is 6'6") and avoid getting taken down as submission defense has been one of his shortcomings. Perosh needs to negate that reach by getting inside and try to get the fight to the mat where he can use his superior grappling to attempt to end the fight via submission. In a fight that is essentially a toss up, I lean towards the grappler, and see Perosh getting a late first round, early second round submission.

Perosh via submission (rear naked choke) Rd. 2


Terry Etim vs. Eddie "Falo" Faaloloto
lightweight

Etim has been on the shelf with injuries for over a year, and had seemed right on the cusp of making a big splash in the lightweight division. Now healthy, he once again finds himself on a card in his native England, ready to begin his assault on the top of the division anew. Faaloloto is very young when it comes to MMA, only having four professional fights to his name. Etim has a solid stand up game, and his lanky frame has made it easy for him to lock up submissions as well. Etim should win this fight fairly easy as Faaloloto doesn't pose a credible threat in any aspect of the game, and will most likely find the referee interceding on his behalf in the middle of the first round.

Etim via TKO, Rd. 1

Thiago "Pitbull" Alves vs. Papy "Makambo" Abedi
welterweight

Alves makes his return to the Octagon after being upset by Rick Story in his last UFC bout. A brutal muay thai striker, with increasingly stout take down defense, Alves looks to return to his head hunting ways that garnered him wins over the likes of Karo Parisyan, Matt Hughes, and earned him a title shot. Abedi makes his UFC debut after racking up an 8-0 record on smaller shows, with seven of his victories by stoppage. This is his first fight at 170, so it will be interesting to see how he handles the transition, to a lower weight class. Alves is as nasty as they come when focused and on his game, so it will be key to winning for him to fight his game, and not letting Abedi dictate the pace. Expect a lot of feeling out early, and exchanges coming more frequently into the second round, until Alves finally lets his hands and feet go, getting a third round stoppage.

Alves via TKO, Rd.3

Brad "One Punch" Pickett vs. Renan "Barao" Pegado
bantamweight

Former WEC fighter Pickett makes his UFC debut against another solid up and comer in Pegado, who is also had several fights in the other Zuffa organization before the merger. Both men sport impressive records with Pickett standing at 20-5 and Pegado boasting a gaudy 26-1. While Pickett may have faced the tougher opponents, he cannot just expect to win as "Barao" has an extremely tough ground game that Pickett will do well to avoid and keep the fight standing. With wins over Ivan Menjivar, and Demtrious Johnson, Pickett could find himself knocking on the door of title contention with a win here, especially if can live up to his nickname. I see a back and forth battle in this one, with Pickett fending off take downs, and inflicting damage on the feet when he can, and Pegado flicking out leg kicks and attempting to get the fight to the ground so he can utilize his submission and grappling game. After three very tough rounds, Pickett gets his hand raised in a close decision.

Pickett via Split Decision

Chris "The Crippler" Leben vs. Mark "The Filipino Wrecking Machine" Munoz
middleweight

The first five round, non title fight main event in UFC history pits two fighters against each other that will almost insure that the fight doesn't last that long. Heck, this fight wouldn't likely make it to a decision if it was a three rounder! Leben is who he is at this point in his career. A solid, if not technical striker with a chin like granite and some of the heaviest shots in the UFC. Munoz continues to improve his stand up, which makes him that much scarier since his wrestling and ground and pound are some of the scariest in any weight class. The deciding factors in this fight will be how long can Leben fend off the take down long enough to exploit the somewhat suspect chin of Munoz, and can Munoz pick his shots on the feet instead of throwing nothing but power shots and avoid the extremely underrated submission game of Leben on the ground. Munoz may want to test his stand up early, but will likely revert to taking Leben down. Neither fighter has stellar cardio, but Leben does have a zombie like ability to continue fighting even when he should have by all accounts, passed out. Against my better judgement, I'm taken Leben by third round stoppage, as he weathers the storm early, and graces us with another classic TKO.

Leben via TKO, Rd. 3