More fights are coming to Fight Pass online digital network and FOX Sports 1 this weekend (Sat., Sept. 27, 2014) when UFC 178: "Johnson vs. Cariaso" kicks off from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. MMAmania.com's Patrick Stumberg continues the UFC 178 "Prelims" party with the second (and final) installment of a two-part under card preview series.
Rockin' in the U.S.A.
After two weeks abroad and with seven straight events on foreign soil to come, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is stopping at the venerable MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, this weekend (Sat., Sept. 27, 2014) with UFC 178.
Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson will be at the helm of the pay-per-view (PPV) show, defending his 125-pound belt against kickboxing specialist Chris Cariaso. Thirty pounds higher, two-time Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez will finally get his long-awaited UFC opportunity, facing the violently resurgent "Cowboy" Cerrone.
Of course, not to be outdone, Dustin Poirier will attempt to halt the meteoric rise of outspoken Featherweight, Conor McGregor, in other scintillating PPV main card action.
That's just the top of a very solid fight card.
We've got three UFC 178 "Prelims" under card matches to still preview and predict below after we took care of this initial trio yesterday right here.
Let's see what we've got:
135 lbs.: Dominick Cruz vs. Takeya Mizugaki
After earning and twice defending the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) Bantamweight title, Dominick Cruz (19-1) opened his UFC career successfully, defeating challengers Urijah Faber and Demetrious Johnson. Unfortunately, a long string of injuries has kept "The Dominator" out of action for nearly three years since, resulting in his relinquishing of his coveted UFC belt.
Cruz has won his last 10 fights since his lone career loss to Faber in 2007.
After three years of alternating wins and losses, Takeya Mizugaki (20-7-2) finally got over the hump in 2012, rattling off a six-fight win streak. In that span, he earned wins over the likes of Bryan Caraway, Erik "Goyito" Perez and, most recently, power-puncher Francisco Rivera.
He has been finished just once since 2006, falling to the aforementioned Faber via submission in the latter’s 135-pound debut.
This fight has one and only one question: how much Cruz has deteriorated. If he retains anywhere near the form he had in 2011, neither Mizugaki nor anyone else in the present bantamweight division can beat him. Though Mizugaki is a well-rounded and entertaining bantamweight, not to mention one of my personal favorites, but he doesn’t have the speed or footwork to counter Cruz’s movement nor the wrestling to counter the champ’s unstoppable knee tap.
Again, though, this is entirely dependent on whether Cruz retains his freedom of movement, which is far from a given considering the nature of his injuries. Still, he’s on a level above his contemporaries and even three years out of action isn’t enough for me to predict a loss. Cruz jukes and jives his way back into title contention.
Prediction: Cruz via unanimous decision
155 lbs.: Jorge Masvidal vs. James Krause
Jorge Masvidal (27-8) found the momentum he’d built up with two straight UFC victories halted in Nov. 2013 when he lost a close decision to Dagestani suplex machine Rustam Khabilov. He has since built it up once again with his 2014 campaign, posting victories over Pat Healy and Daron Cruickshank.
"Gamebred" will give up three inches of height to Krause.
Though he fell in the elimination round of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 15, James Krause (21-5) entered UFC on the strength of a seven-fight win streak. After choking out Sam Stout in his Octagon debut, Krause fell to Bobby Green thanks to a questionable body kick, but managed to re-enter the win column because of an injury on opponent Jamie Varner’s part.
He has finished 19 opponents ... 13 via submission.
Masvidal is one of the more frustrating fighters to watch in the Lightweight division. I’ve said it before and I will again: He has all the tools to be a champion. He’s a skilled boxer with some of the best defensive wrestling in the organization. There’s just something missing -- he’s only got one finish in his last 12 matches and he seems to let fights get way too close.
He’s better than Krause, but that’s no guarantee of victory.
Nonetheless, Krause’s long-range striking doesn’t seem sufficient to overcome Masvidal’s jab. If the fight does hit the ground, it will be on Masvidal’s terms. If Masvidal can avoid conceding Krause’s volume and getting dropped again, he should potshot and wrestle his way to another decision win.
Prediction: Masvidal via unanimous decision
170 lbs.: Patrick Cote vs. Stephen Thompson
Following a loss to Cung Le and rough bout with Alessio Sakara, Patrick Cote (20-8) elected to try his hand at Welterweight. And he has won both of his appearances at 170 pounds, decisioning Bobby Voelker in his debut before doing the same to fellow TUF: "Nations" coach Kyle Noke in April.
Eight of his professional victories have come via knockout.
A loss to Matt Brown and an uninspiring follow-up performance against Nah-Shon Burrell had the Stephen Thompson (9-1) hype train fading fast. The Tristar-trained product soon fed more coal into the burner, however, thrashing Chris Clements and Robert Whittaker in impressive fashion.
"Wonderboy" has knocked out five, including three of his four UFC wins.
I hopped off the "Wonderboy" train bandwagon the Burrell fight and I don’t expect to be let back on, but I think he can get the win here. His strikes seem to finally have real impact and his control of distance is exquisite. Cote -- who has built a career on straightforward aggression and a cinderblock right hand -- is going to be eating a lot of heavy leather and not landing much in return.
The complication, of course, is Cote’s newfound willingness to wrestle. Thompson’s aforementioned distance control, however, should be enough to keep it on the feet, where his technical acumen should carry him to a one-sided decision win.
Prediction: Thompson via unanimous decision
Regardless of what you think of the UFC 178 main event, the entire card from bottom-to-top is terrific. Be sure to check out all the coverage we've got planned.
Have fun, Maniacs.
Remember, too, that MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 178 fight card on fight night, starting with the two Fight Pass "Prelims" matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, right on through the FOX Sports 1-televised under card bouts at 8 p.m. ET and then main card PPV, which is slated to begin at 10 p.m. ET.
Current UFC "Prelims" Prediction Record 2014: 140-60 (1 NC)
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