Pre-Fight Weigh In
UFC Fight Night: Seattle
Seattle, Washington
March 26, 2011
Preliminary Card
Lightweight: Waylon Lowe vs. Nik Lentz
Manpreet Jhass: Nik Lentz
Tony Kwatra: Nik Lentz
Prab Jhass: Nik Lentz
Consensus: 3-0 Lentz
Middleweight: Mario Miranda vs. Aaron Simpson
Manpreet Jhass: Mario Miranda
Tony Kwatra: Mario Miranda
Prab Jhass: Aaron Simpson
Consensus: 2-1 Miranda
Welterweight: Johny Hendricks vs. TJ Waldburger
Manpreet Jhass: Johny Hendricks
Tony Kwatra: Johny Hendricks
Prab Jhass: Johny Hendricks
Consensus: 3-0 Hendricks
Facebook Preliminary Card
Heavyweight: Sean McCorkle vs. Christian Morecraft
Manpreet Jhass: Sean McCorkle
Tony Kwatra: Sean McCorkle
Prab Jhass: Sean McCorkle
Consensus: 3-0 McCorkle
Bantamweight: Michael McDonald vs. Edwin Figueroa
Manpreet Jhass: Michael McDonald
Tony Kwatra: Michael McDonald
Prab Jhass: Michael McDonald
Consensus: 3-0 McDonald
Welterweight: John Hathaway vs. Kris McCray
Manpreet Jhass: John Hathaway
Tony Kwatra: John Hathaway (Serious downgrade in opponents considering this guy beaet Diego Sanchez)
Prab Jhass: John Hathaway
Consensus: 3-0 Hathaway
Heavyweight: Jon Madsen vs. Mike Russow
Manpreet Jhass: Jon Madsen
Tony Kwatra: Jon Madsen
Prab Jhass: Jon Madsen
Consensus: 3-0 Madsen
Featherweight: Alex Caceres vs. Mackens Semerzier
Manpreet Jhass: Mackens Semerzier
Tony Kwatra: Alex Caceres
Prab Jhass: Alex Caceres
Conensus: 2-1 Caceres
Main Card
Featherweight: Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung
Manpreet Jhass: Who better to replace Nam Phan with another victim of a robbery courtesy of Mr. Garcia himself? Candidate of fight of the year last year on numerous media outlets, and really was the perfect way to put WEC into the eyes of MMA fans right before their merger with the UFC; Chan Sun Jung vs. Leonard Garcia. Their first encounter was really all you needed to show to someone who was not a fan of the sport to get them into the sport. For three straight rounds they just threw bombs at each other and we are looking for nothing less in this sequel. Could this be a possible fight of the year candidate once again? I would love to say yes, but I don’t think they will be as wild this time around as Jung, who in my opinion got robbed of his last fight with Garcia, may want to implement a game plan this time around instead of going balls out. As long as the judges are not in the “Sanchez scoring” state-of-mind, Jung should be able to take this.
Pick: Chan Sung Jung
Tony Kwatra: Like I said earlier, if they had to replace an injured Nam Phan with anyone, the Korean Zombie Chan Sung Jung was the perfect guy to replace him with. I don’t expect this fight to be as exciting as the first one since Leonard Garcia seems to be alluding to becoming more technical rather than using his usual brawling style. However, I still think this fight will be the fight of the night and what a way to open the show. Chan Sung Jung needs a win after that brutal KO loss to George Roop and I expect him to come out and be as exciting as ever and edge out the win here.
Pick: Chan Sung Jung
Prab Jhass: I’m putting it out there right now. I’m imploring the State Athletic Commission to let us at The MMA Weigh In be ringside to judge this fight. Garcia’s past six fights have all gone to decision, with the exception of his draw with George Roop. Two of those decisions have been ridiculously bad, and that’s where the focus (sadly) lies with this fight against the Korean Zombie. Rightfully so, as the last time these two faced off it was all systems go as far as their hands go. They were swinging away like it’s batting practice and both of them had a fastball tattooed to their chin. This time around, I expect both men to be a little less trigger happy when it comes to using their hands. Jung has lost three of his past four, and a loss here may put him in jeopardy of staying on the roster.
Pick: Chan Sung Jung
Consensus: 3-0 Jung
Welterweight: Amir Sadollah vs. DaMarques Johnson
Manpreet Jhass: Believe it or not, Amir Sadollah is still quite young in his MMA career. With a grand total of 6 MMA fights, Sadollah still has a lot to experience. His most recent set back was to a much more experience Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 114, but he managed to bounce back with a win over Peter Sobotta. On the flip side, Johnson is coming off a submission victory over veteran Mike Guymon. DaMarques has had 5 fights in the UFC, all which have been finishes whether it is him finishing or getting finished. I believe he has all the tools and a wealth of experience over Amir which will be the deciding factor in this fight. I know on the radio show I chose Amir, but looking more into this fight, I do not see Johnson letting this one slip from under him.
Pick: DaMarques Johnson
Tony Kwatra: So Amir Sadollah finally has an opponent who’s good to go after 2 replacements. Amir is still learning as a mixed martial artist and he has good submissions and Muay Thai. DaMarques Johnson isn’t the most impressive fighter and I don’t see Amir having many problems with him.
Pick: Amir Sadollah
Prab Jhass: This should be a great fight with possible FOTN all over it. Sadollah is coming off of a much needed win against Peter Sobotta at UFC 122, while Johnson made Guymon submit at Fight for the Troops 2. Johnson should bring the fight to Sadollah and maybe try to keep it on the feet with Amir, as I feel Sadollah may be able to win this fight on the ground. That being said, I expect Sadollah to get this fight to the mat, and grind out a win.
Pick: Amir Sadollah
Consensus: 2-1 Sadollah
Welterweight: Dan Hardy vs. Anthony Johnson
Manpreet Jhass: I was split on this fight, and I truly dislike when I am put in this position. I really like both fighters, especially in this instance where they are both in need of a win. On the radio show it literally came down to the word before “Dan Hardy” for me to pick who I wanted to win. It was just on the spot whatever came out of my mouth was going to be my choice and it was Dan Hardy. Hardy is coming off two consecutive losses, the first not being of much surprise and the second to Condit who not only defeated Hardy, but in impressive fashion. Anthony Johnson on the other hand has not fought since his controversial fight with Koscheck all the way back at UFC 106 which was in November of 2009. Coming off such a huge lay off, Johnson may have a wealth of rest, but ring rust has always paid a toll on fighters. The most recent being Shogun (who I still believe was not the fighter we saw fight at UFC 113, but again I take nothing away from Jones). I believe Dan Hardy may be the more technical striker in this stand up war and I see him knocking Anthony into the 13th row of Key Arena.
Pick: Dan Hardy
Tony Kwatra: I am REALLY excited for this fight. Hardy has a lot to prove and so does Johnson after such a long lay off since his last fight. Both men are coming off losses in their last fights and need wins (although I don’t think either one gets cut with a loss here) to get their stock back up in the welterweight division. Both men have expressed the desire to keep the fight standing so I expect nothing but a fun fight with a TKO/KO finish here. Hardy seems to want to make a statement here and I believe he comes out too aggressive against the bigger Anthony Johnson, getting caught in the process and suffering his 3rd straight loss.
Pick: Anthony Johnson
Prab Jhass: First off, I can’t wait for this fight. “Rumble” has been absent from the octagon since UFC 106 when he was choked out by Josh Koscheck. I’ve seen some pictures of Johnson online, and I swear it looked as if he had eaten his former self. He looked HUGE (not in a good way), and it seriously makes me question the type of condition he’ll be in there against a guy like Hardy. He’ll have the reach on “The Outlaw”, but it doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll win the stand up battle. Hardy seems to have screwed his head back on (literally) after Condit exploded on him, and I’m glad that he has this renewed focus back on title contention. Dan needs to keep Johnson on the feet and avoid being put on his back, where Johnson is a great wrestler dating back to his college days. A win here helps keep both relevant in the Welterweight division, and a loss sets them both back significantly.
Pick: Dan Hardy
Consensus: 2-1 Hardy
Light Heavyweight: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Phil Davis
Manpreet Jhass: The main event of this card turned from two fighters who were in a disappointing moment in their career to one being sidelined with an injury and replaced by another hungry up and comer. Many have put Phil Davis as the next big thing behind Jon Jones who has not even cracked his peak, and I think Phil will not have that hard of a time with Lil’ Nog. Nogueira has shown his weakness against wrestlers in his past fights against Ryan Bader and Jason Brilz. In my opinion Phil Davis is going to be too strong for Nogueira and will take this fight to the Brazilian. Not saying that Phil Davis should be the next one getting a title shot, but I hope they continue to build up him slowly as they did with Bones Jones as I still think that Phil is quite a raw specimen and still needs more work to be a better all around mixed martial artist. This would be a great win to put him on the map in the MMA community and for people to look out for him as he slowly rises.
Pick: Phil Davis
Tony Kwatra: As soon as Jon Jones won the title, Phil Davis popped into my head as a legit contender in the future. I still think Davis will need 2-3 more impressive wins AFTER this fight with Lil Nog assuming he wins this Saturday. Davis is a huge light heavyweight with a lot of power, awesome wrestling, and wicked submissions (behind the back kimura anyone?). Lil Nog has had trouble in his last 2 fights with Bader and Brilz due to both of those fighters being wrestlers. Phil Davis, in my estimation, is a better wrestler than both those fighters and so I don’t see Lil Nog winning this fight at all; it also doesn’t help that Davis much bigger and more powerful than him. I see Davis dominating Lil Nog en route to a decision win using his wrestling. After this fight, I’d like to see Davis get a bigger name like say, Rich Franklin or Forrest Griffin.
Pick: Phil Davis
Prab Jhass: Can we please see another Mr. Wonderful? Then can we please have Bruce Buffer announce Davis as winner via “a Mr. Wonderful”? Seriously, Davis is a beast. I might be underestimating Lil Nog, but from what I’ve seen of his UFC run I’m not wrong in thinking so. Nogueira is 2-1 in his past three in the UFC, however that “win” against Brilz could be debated until we’re hoarse. Davis is 8-0 and just on a complete tear through his competition. I just can’t see an older Nogueira keeping up with Davis and I look for Mr. Wonderful to make quick work of Lil Nog.
Pick: Phil Davis
Consensus: 3-0 Phil Davis
Prediction Statistics
1) Tony Kwatra: 10-2
2*) Manpreet Jhass: 9-3
2*)Prab Jhass: 9-3
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