Does somebody have a case of the Tuesdays? Well, don’t worry, Danny Boy Downes is here to chase those blues away with another edition of the Downes Side. Normally, I don’t like having fights during the week because I’m so busy doing important things you wouldn’t get. This week, though, I have to attend an Engaged Enrichment and Marriage Preparation retreat so it looks like I lucked out. I’m sure I’ll learn things about religion and stuff, but I’m betting there will be some dirty talk, so that’s a plus.

Jason MacDonald vs Tom Lawlor

The night kicks off inside Fairfax, Virginia’s Patriot Center with a middleweight contest between “Filthy” Tom Lawlor and Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald. Both are looking to rebound after first round losses in their last fights. MacDonald is an accomplished grappler with 19 of his 25 wins coming via submission. Ultimate Fighter season 8 alumnus Tom Lawlor has strong wrestling and boxing, but will forever be remembered for being this guy.

MacDonald is an excellent submission artist, but he’s struggled when opponents get top position on him. His last loss to Alan Belcher illustrates this perfectly. I don’t see him taking Lawlor down and expect the majority of this fight to be spent on the feet. This means “Filthy” Tom will be able to utilize his boxing advantage to pick apart “The Athlete” and eventually TKO him in the 3rd.

Igor Pokrajac vs Fabio Maldonado

Next up is a light heavyweight match between Igor Pokrajac and Fabio Maldonado. Pokrajac is riding a lot of momentum after knocking out Krzysztof Soszynski in 35 seconds last December. Team Noguiera’s Maldonado wants to get back in the winner’s circle after seeing his 11-fight winning streak end in June.

Sometimes, you’re just outmatched. I learned this lesson when I challenged Joseph Benavidez to see who could pick up more phone numbers at the local retirement home (seniors just love that guy). Pokrajac has an advantage with regards to clinching and wrestling, but not enough to make it a factor. Maldonado is a former pro boxer and he’ll make that readily apparent in this fight. He’s shown a proclivity for throwing body punches and will drop Pokrajac with one and ground and pound his way to a 2nd round TKO.

Yves Jabouin vs Jeff Hougland

The next fight pits a couple of bantamweights as Jeff “Hellbound” Houghland takes on Yves “Tiger” Jabouin. Just like I did with my future father-in-law, Jeff Hougland made a poor first impression in MMA, losing four of his first five. Things picked up for the Washington product, who hasn’t lost since 2005, and gives me hope for my situation. Undefeated since dropping down from featherweight, Jabouin is looking for a signature win after two straight split decisions.

I liked Hougland’s chances until I saw his comments in the pre-fight videos (skip to 1:35 mark). “Control the range” is basically code for, “try to survive as long as possible.” Now, I can respect this philosophy because I use the same one every time I go to a dance club. Unfortunately, though, Hougland’s chances surviving the stand up are about as good as me getting on America’s Best Dance Crew. Jabouin gets the TKO in the first, but I’m sure Hougland and I can find a niche somewhere.

Jeremy Stephens vs Donald Cerrone

We stay on the lower end of the scale with a lightweight bout between Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Looking to climb a few rungs on the crowded 155 lb ladder, Stephens makes his 14th appearance in the UFC. With a record of 7-6 in those previous 13 fights, I think we can all say the highlight of his career was a UD victory over a man once called (by his mother) “the handsomest boy in the UFC,” a Mr. Daniel Downes. Cerrone experienced his first UFC defeat at the hands of Nate Diaz at UFC 141 and has no plans on repeating the experience any time soon.

Neither fighter has ever been knocked out and that streak continues. The volume punching of Diaz may have given Cerrone problems in his last fight, but that won’t be a problem against Stephens. “Lil Heathen” does have 14 TKO/KO victories, but he throws single, power shots. I see Cerrone using his range advantage to tag Stephens on the outside with straight punches and coast to a unanimous decision victory. It’ll be a tough loss for Stephens to take, but at least he’ll always have that win at the Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale to tell his grandkids about.

Amir Sadollah vs Jorge Lopez

Originally scheduled to take place at UFC 143, injuries forced both men to withdraw. Now, a few months later Ultimate Fighter 7 winner Amir Sadollah takes on Wanderlei Silva-trained Jorge Lopez in what should be an exciting welterweight contest. While well-rounded, both fighters are predominantly strikers. Sadollah has a more classic Muay Thai style that favors clinching, while Lopez is more of a counter striker.

I’ve learned a few things writing this column. 1) People assume Dana White actually reads this and plead for him to fire me. 2) Much like Nietzsche, John Keats and James Joyce, I’m a misunderstood author whose true brilliance is often under-appreciated. 3) Never bet against guys trained by Brazilians because the majority of the times I’ve done so, it’s turned out poorly. So, unlike all those times I got sick eating Play-Doh as a kid, I have learned from my mistakes and take Lopez as he counter strikes his way to a unanimous decision.

Chan Sung Jung vs Dustin Poirier

That brings us to the main event of the evening as Chan Sung Jung (that’s right, Korean Zombie isn’t his birth name) squares off against Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier. Best known for his slugfest debut against Leonard Garcia at WEC 48, the Korean Zombie is undefeated in the UFC and carrying high expectations after knocking out former number one contender Mark Hominick in 7 seconds at UFC 140. The twenty-three year old Poirier is also undefeated in his UFC career and recently submitted Max Holloway in the first round.

I won’t deny the impressiveness of the Korean Zombie’s knockout in his last fight. Despite its impressiveness, though, it was an aberration. It’s just like the time I ate Taco Bell and didn’t spend the next 5 hours on the toilet. Sure, you want to enjoy the moment, but don’t expect it to happen every time — especially when you have a long car ride planned (literary….genius). While the Zombie does have the advantage standing, Poirier is capable enough to survive the onslaught. Jung will tire himself out and “The Diamond” will take advantage of this in the later rounds en route to a decision victory, thus ensuring Dustin “The Diamond” a longer career than Dustin Diamond.

That wraps up another edition of the Downes Side. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @dannyboydownes and read my blog here. Also, feel free to leave your thoughts, comments and delusions here as well.

FUEL TV is rapidly becoming the perfect platform to help market some of the UFC’s lesser-known, but extremely skilled, talent. Tuesday night’s card in Fairfax, Virginia is no different.

The six fight main card is headlined by Chan Sung Jung versus Dustin Poirier, a match pitting two featherweights hoping to fight their way into a title shot in a division still seeking a full embrace from the viewing public.

Jung seemed like he was on his way to featherweight anonymity 18 months ago. After starting his career with nine straight wins, “The Korean Zombie” fell short in three out of his next four fights. That tough stretch culminated with a vicious knockout loss via head kick to George Roop in September of 2010.

The loss left Jung at a crossroads in his career. One more loss and he would undoubtedly be sent packing to the mid-major shows to reinvent himself. His next opponent was a man who had defeated him one year earlier, Leonard Garcia, a whirlwind offensive fighter with one of the sturdiest chins in the division.

Jung put forth what I think was a career-best effort against Garcia in the rematch. He not only beat Gracia; he did it via twister, becoming the first man in UFC history to end a fight with the Eddie Bravo invention. The Zombie followed that with a stunning seven-second knockout win over Mark Hominick in a bout most thought was a mere formality for the one-time title challenger. The knockout win was the second fastest in UFC history, just short of Duane Ludwig’s record.

Those two wins put Zombie right back into the 145-pound mix.

Poirier enters Tuesday’s fight with no such recent hiccups. He has never lost three out of four at any point in his career. In fact, he hasn’t lost three times as a professional. Poirier has only lost once and has since put together a five-fight winning streak, making him one of the entrenched featherweight contenders.

This is an intriguing fight because both men really are at their best when mixing it up on the ground in a transition jiu-jitsu battle. When two fighters are extremely evenly matched in one area of the fight, they often cancel each other out in that facet of the game. I expect that to be the case on Tuesday night, which means Zombie and Poirier will likely resolve this one on the feet.

Coming off of his seven-second knockout win, one that earned him “Knockout of the Night” honors, most probably believe that Zombie will enjoy an advantage on the feet, particularly since Poirier has yet to score a knockout win in four UFC bouts. I disagree. I think Poirier is the more technically sound striker. And I think that will be the difference in the fight.

Keep in mind that Hominick basically walked right into the punch that led to his near-record-setting loss. He had absolutely no respect for Zombie’s standup game. That hubris was his downfall. Poirier won’t make that same mistake.

Jung-Poirier is a tremendous matchup, both stylistically and in terms of division relevance, but the most intriguing matchup for my money will happen a couple of fights earlier when Donald Cerrone clashes with Jeremy Stephens in what could turn out to be the Fight of the Year.

Cerrone is nicknamed “Cowboy” because of his drawl, sprawling ranch in Albuquerque, love of boots and his ever-present hat. But this guy fights like a cowboy – a rugged, all-action and fearless warrior looking to tame the Wild West. In his last 13 bouts, Cerrone has won nine post-fight bonuses. Had the UFC-WEC merger occurred earlier, that would leave him one shy of the most all-time.

Anyone who read my pre-fight breakdown of Nate Diaz versus Jim Miller knows how I view post-fight awards. That is the one true gauge of how exciting a fighter is for the casual fan to watch. And Cerrone stands right next to Nate and his older brother Nick as the most exciting combatants in the UFC, in my opinion.

Stephens is no slouch in the excitement category. He was awarded four post-fight bonuses in his last nine fights. Forty-four percent would be an extremely impressive ratio, if he was fighting anyone other than Cerrone and his 69% ratio.

Putting two thrilling combatants like that in a cage together almost always produces amazing results. Tuesday night will not be any different. I guarantee it. Bold statement, I know. But I’m jumping out on a limb because there is one additional layer of intrigue to this matchup. Both men are coming off a loss, which means this fight is ultra important in determining their place in the pecking order of the crazy deep lightweight division. And that means these two will scrap for real, not wanting to take any chances that the judges rip a win from a pair of deserving hands.

In terms of the actual skill matchup, both men are amazing strikers, albeit very different. Cerrone is surgical with his fists, kicks and knees. He is a stick-and-move predator, rather than a foot-planting brawler. He rarely sits down fully on his strikes and throws with full force because it opens him up to unnecessary counters. The exception to that rule is when his opponent is hurt. Cerrone will go full throttle in that situation.

Stephens, on the other hand, doesn’t know how to fight any way other than full throttle with every strike. He is the personification of punches with bad intentions. His arsenal isn’t anywhere near as varied Cerrone’s. But he has very real show-stopping power in his fists, certainly more so than his foe. As a result, Stephens’ idea of “stick and move” is to hammer with bludgeoning blows and step forward with more. His lateral movement is often reserved for chasing his opponent, rather than retreating to reset his angle.

Cerrone needs to put his shots together on the feet to win. Stephens just needs to touch the other guy. That is what makes this such a fun fight.

To finish the skills comparison, Cerrone is the vastly superior ground fighter. He isn’t a great wrestler, so I think he will likely struggle to take the fight to the ground if he finds himself in trouble on the feet. But if it goes there, he has tremendous submission skills. Indeed, most of his wins have come by way of submission, despite the fact that he entered the sport as a striker.

I’m not sure that well-rounded advantage will help Cerrone much in this fight because of his lack of great wrestling. His best chance at using those skills will be to secure a clinch and work his way to his opponent’s back. That is an unlikely outcome, but it seems like his best chance for a submission.

But I don’t think Cerrone really cares about a submission in this fight. I firmly believe he will enter the cage fully intent on outstriking his opponent. He might not have the same juice in his strikes, but he has the skill to outclass Stephens on the feet en route to a unanimous decision win or a stoppage from an accumulation of shots. Then again, all Stephens needs is one opening to bring the action to an abrupt end.

Who will win? I lean toward Cerrone, but I’m not counting Stephens out by any stretch of the imagination.

I’m being squeezed and forced down a dark, pulsating tunnel of living flesh. I’ve been ripped from a place of comfort and quiet solitude, a haven where I floated, with time suspended, for ages. The convulsive, relentless actions of a power I cannot control force me further and further toward my future, toward my fate. I feel crushed, malformed. My eyes are slits. I can see vague shapes, and discern dark from light, but barely, and only with effort. My ears feel clogged. I can hear, but like my vision, my sense of hearing is corrupted, semi-formatted, incomplete. I can feel, and at the same time I am numb. The forces that control my progress cannot be resisted or bargained with. There is no reason, no sense of humanity or concern, just that inexorable force pushing me ever onward.

I am wet, slick, greasy. I see light and hear voices. Hands grasp for me. I am grabbed, and thrust into the grasp of the unknown. A sharp slap brings me fully into existence. I open my mouth to scream. …

Birth? Death? My Ring-walk?

All of the above.

You’re never ready. You prepare. You train. You plan, plot, scheme, connive, accommodate, gather intelligence, float falsehoods to throw your opponent off the trail and identify moles in your own camp, encourage and nurture unholy alliances, sweet-talk sponsors, infuriate your family and friends, grind yourself into a fine powder day in and day out, then reconstitute yourself in the morning with water and hope, like instant mashed potatoes served in the soup kitchen of your mind.

You tell yourself you’re ready.

Your cornermen scream it in your ears as you hit mitts backstage.

Your friends and family tell you you’re ready, cell phones, granola bars, and energy drinks clutched in their hands. They are confident, but if you look closely, the hands holding those objects are trembling, ever so slightly.

You know you’ve done the work, but it’s not the Angel of Knowledge you need right now; it’s another, much more elusive angel in the canon whose intercession you urgently need. The angel we call Belief.

You’re never ready.

But, eventually, inevitably, immutably, you’re …

Next.

When Burt Watson, the captain general at UFC events, calls your name, you take that walk, ready or not. And as you do, as you take that walk and hear that crowd and listen to the familiar strains of your walkout song, as you and your cohort, wearing sponsor’s T-shirts and hats, heads to the ring, you silently pray that the Angel of Belief will alight on your shoulder, smiling sweetly, chubby and rosy-cheeked, like Cecco, Caravaggio’s model and muse, eyes alight with the wonder of possibility, full of secret and divine knowledge, shamelessly nude, like in the masterpiece Love Conquers All.

You wait, and watch, and listen for the Angel of Belief as you walk through a crowd of screaming strangers toward your fate.

And in a movie, if this were a movie, that angel appears, parting the beams of the seizure-inducing strobe lights as they flash in time to the walkout music you hate, but are stuck with because your sports psychologist believes in routine, even in a sport that lives and dies by improvisation and adjustment.

And sometimes the Angel of Belief appears.

But sometimes the angel …

Doesn’t.

But you still have to fight. The cage door is closed behind you whether you, your cornermen, your family, your fans, or your angels are ready or not.

So here we go. Down to the Octagon.

It’s like looking through two paper-towel tubes, a kind of tunnel vision. Whatever is on the periphery disappears. Things in the center of your vision are in clear, sharp focus. You hear the referee ask you about your mouthpiece and groin protection. You grimace like a chimpanzee warning away potential rivals for a mate, and knock on your crotch like a traveling salesman behind on his monthly quota.

Your cornermen pull off your shirt, which inevitably gets stuck halfway off your head, and you clumsily struggle with it in your MMA gloves, your hands wrapped too tightly or too loosely, or both, or neither. You absent-mindedly wonder why no sponsor has come out with a shirt that has snaps up the front, like a hospital orderly’s shirt, instead of the same horrid, rock-concert-quality shirts with the tiny neck hole and single-stitch sweatshop construction (that is, of course, everybody else’s sponsor shirts; my sponsor’s shirts are of the highest quality, are made for years of comfortable, reliable wear, and can be treated as objects of heirloom-quality pride and value).

OK, shirt’s off. The officials point me to the stairs, like they’re afraid I’ll make a wrong turn, walk into the crowd, and start pounding a fat guy from Orlando here in Vegas on a UFC vay-kay. I’m usually pretty good about knowing where to go once I’m almost completely naked, covered in sweat and grease, in a room full of people chanting my name—and I also know where to go when I’m fighting.

So off I go, ready to stand, by myself, rather awkwardly, listening to someone else’s walkout song, shifting impatiently from one foot to the other like an old gambler at the dog track with a hot tip, in a long line with a slow cashier a minute before the bell rings and the mutts start chasing the electric rabbit.

Here he comes. I watch, impassively, as he makes his way through the same fleshy tunnel full of grasping hands and blinding lights that I just negotiated. I begin manning the garrison in my own mind; the creaking, leaky fortress where I attempt to safeguard my confidence, where I try to immunize my insecurity by locking it in the deepest recesses of the stockade that is my inner psyche. But the troops I have left to defend the fortress are the least reliable; they are the last line of defense, once the best and brightest of my mental war-party, but they have been decimated by my training camp, previous fights, self-doubt, want, misery, pain, and regret. I survey this ragtag force; their armor is rusty, their weapons are worn and dull. Some have no weapons at all; just a steely-eyed stare, a mute, desperate resolve to serve, even if the campaign is doomed. Among them I see rheumy eyes, missing teeth, scarred visages, missing limbs. But still they stay and man their posts. I gather them together one last time. I attempt to give them my “Crispin’s day” speech about how lesser armies have conquered more powerful foes, about how courage and faith can carry this day.

But damn that guy looks big.

And damn he’s got a helluva walkout song.

And damn do I wish this were over.

And it will be … but not for a while.

Published with permission from Victory Belt Publishing. Click here to order the book.

Does somebody have a case of the Tuesdays? Well, don’t worry, Danny Boy Downes is here to chase those blues away with another edition of the Downes Side. Normally, I don’t like having fights during the week because I’m so busy doing important things you wouldn’t get. This week, though, I have to attend an Engaged Enrichment and Marriage Preparation retreat so it looks like I lucked out. I’m sure I’ll learn things about religion and stuff, but I’m betting there will be some dirty talk, so that’s a plus.

Jason MacDonald vs Tom Lawlor

The night kicks off inside Fairfax, Virginia’s Patriot Center with a middleweight contest between “Filthy” Tom Lawlor and Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald. Both are looking to rebound after first round losses in their last fights. MacDonald is an accomplished grappler with 19 of his 25 wins coming via submission. Ultimate Fighter season 8 alumnus Tom Lawlor has strong wrestling and boxing, but will forever be remembered for being this guy.

MacDonald is an excellent submission artist, but he’s struggled when opponents get top position on him. His last loss to Alan Belcher illustrates this perfectly. I don’t see him taking Lawlor down and expect the majority of this fight to be spent on the feet. This means “Filthy” Tom will be able to utilize his boxing advantage to pick apart “The Athlete” and eventually TKO him in the 3rd.

Igor Pokrajac vs Fabio Maldonado

Next up is a light heavyweight match between Igor Pokrajac and Fabio Maldonado. Pokrajac is riding a lot of momentum after knocking out Krzysztof Soszynski in 35 seconds last December. Team Noguiera’s Maldonado wants to get back in the winner’s circle after seeing his 11-fight winning streak end in June.

Sometimes, you’re just outmatched. I learned this lesson when I challenged Joseph Benavidez to see who could pick up more phone numbers at the local retirement home (seniors just love that guy). Pokrajac has an advantage with regards to clinching and wrestling, but not enough to make it a factor. Maldonado is a former pro boxer and he’ll make that readily apparent in this fight. He’s shown a proclivity for throwing body punches and will drop Pokrajac with one and ground and pound his way to a 2nd round TKO.

Yves Jabouin vs Jeff Hougland

The next fight pits a couple of bantamweights as Jeff “Hellbound” Houghland takes on Yves “Tiger” Jabouin. Just like I did with my future father-in-law, Jeff Hougland made a poor first impression in MMA, losing four of his first five. Things picked up for the Washington product, who hasn’t lost since 2005, and gives me hope for my situation. Undefeated since dropping down from featherweight, Jabouin is looking for a signature win after two straight split decisions.

I liked Hougland’s chances until I saw his comments in the pre-fight videos (skip to 1:35 mark). “Control the range” is basically code for, “try to survive as long as possible.” Now, I can respect this philosophy because I use the same one every time I go to a dance club. Unfortunately, though, Hougland’s chances surviving the stand up are about as good as me getting on America’s Best Dance Crew. Jabouin gets the TKO in the first, but I’m sure Hougland and I can find a niche somewhere.

Jeremy Stephens vs Donald Cerrone

We stay on the lower end of the scale with a lightweight bout between Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Looking to climb a few rungs on the crowded 155 lb ladder, Stephens makes his 14th appearance in the UFC. With a record of 7-6 in those previous 13 fights, I think we can all say the highlight of his career was a UD victory over a man once called (by his mother) “the handsomest boy in the UFC,” a Mr. Daniel Downes. Cerrone experienced his first UFC defeat at the hands of Nate Diaz at UFC 141 and has no plans on repeating the experience any time soon.

Neither fighter has ever been knocked out and that streak continues. The volume punching of Diaz may have given Cerrone problems in his last fight, but that won’t be a problem against Stephens. “Lil Heathen” does have 14 TKO/KO victories, but he throws single, power shots. I see Cerrone using his range advantage to tag Stephens on the outside with straight punches and coast to a unanimous decision victory. It’ll be a tough loss for Stephens to take, but at least he’ll always have that win at the Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale to tell his grandkids about.

Amir Sadollah vs Jorge Lopez

Originally scheduled to take place at UFC 143, injuries forced both men to withdraw. Now, a few months later Ultimate Fighter 7 winner Amir Sadollah takes on Wanderlei Silva-trained Jorge Lopez in what should be an exciting welterweight contest. While well-rounded, both fighters are predominantly strikers. Sadollah has a more classic Muay Thai style that favors clinching, while Lopez is more of a counter striker.

I’ve learned a few things writing this column. 1) People assume Dana White actually reads this and plead for him to fire me. 2) Much like Nietzsche, John Keats and James Joyce, I’m a misunderstood author whose true brilliance is often under-appreciated. 3) Never bet against guys trained by Brazilians because the majority of the times I’ve done so, it’s turned out poorly. So, unlike all those times I got sick eating Play-Doh as a kid, I have learned from my mistakes and take Lopez as he counter strikes his way to a unanimous decision.

Chan Sung Jung vs Dustin Poirier

That brings us to the main event of the evening as Chan Sung Jung (that’s right, Korean Zombie isn’t his birth name) squares off against Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier. Best known for his slugfest debut against Leonard Garcia at WEC 48, the Korean Zombie is undefeated in the UFC and carrying high expectations after knocking out former number one contender Mark Hominick in 7 seconds at UFC 140. The twenty-three year old Poirier is also undefeated in his UFC career and recently submitted Max Holloway in the first round.

I won’t deny the impressiveness of the Korean Zombie’s knockout in his last fight. Despite its impressiveness, though, it was an aberration. It’s just like the time I ate Taco Bell and didn’t spend the next 5 hours on the toilet. Sure, you want to enjoy the moment, but don’t expect it to happen every time — especially when you have a long car ride planned (literary….genius). While the Zombie does have the advantage standing, Poirier is capable enough to survive the onslaught. Jung will tire himself out and “The Diamond” will take advantage of this in the later rounds en route to a decision victory, thus ensuring Dustin “The Diamond” a longer career than Dustin Diamond.

That wraps up another edition of the Downes Side. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @dannyboydownes and read my blog here. Also, feel free to leave your thoughts, comments and delusions here as well.

FUEL TV is rapidly becoming the perfect platform to help market some of the UFC’s lesser-known, but extremely skilled, talent. Tuesday night’s card in Fairfax, Virginia is no different.

The six fight main card is headlined by Chan Sung Jung versus Dustin Poirier, a match pitting two featherweights hoping to fight their way into a title shot in a division still seeking a full embrace from the viewing public.

Jung seemed like he was on his way to featherweight anonymity 18 months ago. After starting his career with nine straight wins, “The Korean Zombie” fell short in three out of his next four fights. That tough stretch culminated with a vicious knockout loss via head kick to George Roop in September of 2010.

The loss left Jung at a crossroads in his career. One more loss and he would undoubtedly be sent packing to the mid-major shows to reinvent himself. His next opponent was a man who had defeated him one year earlier, Leonard Garcia, a whirlwind offensive fighter with one of the sturdiest chins in the division.

Jung put forth what I think was a career-best effort against Garcia in the rematch. He not only beat Gracia; he did it via twister, becoming the first man in UFC history to end a fight with the Eddie Bravo invention. The Zombie followed that with a stunning seven-second knockout win over Mark Hominick in a bout most thought was a mere formality for the one-time title challenger. The knockout win was the second fastest in UFC history, just short of Duane Ludwig’s record.

Those two wins put Zombie right back into the 145-pound mix.

Poirier enters Tuesday’s fight with no such recent hiccups. He has never lost three out of four at any point in his career. In fact, he hasn’t lost three times as a professional. Poirier has only lost once and has since put together a five-fight winning streak, making him one of the entrenched featherweight contenders.

This is an intriguing fight because both men really are at their best when mixing it up on the ground in a transition jiu-jitsu battle. When two fighters are extremely evenly matched in one area of the fight, they often cancel each other out in that facet of the game. I expect that to be the case on Tuesday night, which means Zombie and Poirier will likely resolve this one on the feet.

Coming off of his seven-second knockout win, one that earned him “Knockout of the Night” honors, most probably believe that Zombie will enjoy an advantage on the feet, particularly since Poirier has yet to score a knockout win in four UFC bouts. I disagree. I think Poirier is the more technically sound striker. And I think that will be the difference in the fight.

Keep in mind that Hominick basically walked right into the punch that led to his near-record-setting loss. He had absolutely no respect for Zombie’s standup game. That hubris was his downfall. Poirier won’t make that same mistake.

Jung-Poirier is a tremendous matchup, both stylistically and in terms of division relevance, but the most intriguing matchup for my money will happen a couple of fights earlier when Donald Cerrone clashes with Jeremy Stephens in what could turn out to be the Fight of the Year.

Cerrone is nicknamed “Cowboy” because of his drawl, sprawling ranch in Albuquerque, love of boots and his ever-present hat. But this guy fights like a cowboy – a rugged, all-action and fearless warrior looking to tame the Wild West. In his last 13 bouts, Cerrone has won nine post-fight bonuses. Had the UFC-WEC merger occurred earlier, that would leave him one shy of the most all-time.

Anyone who read my pre-fight breakdown of Nate Diaz versus Jim Miller knows how I view post-fight awards. That is the one true gauge of how exciting a fighter is for the casual fan to watch. And Cerrone stands right next to Nate and his older brother Nick as the most exciting combatants in the UFC, in my opinion.

Stephens is no slouch in the excitement category. He was awarded four post-fight bonuses in his last nine fights. Forty-four percent would be an extremely impressive ratio, if he was fighting anyone other than Cerrone and his 69% ratio.

Putting two thrilling combatants like that in a cage together almost always produces amazing results. Tuesday night will not be any different. I guarantee it. Bold statement, I know. But I’m jumping out on a limb because there is one additional layer of intrigue to this matchup. Both men are coming off a loss, which means this fight is ultra important in determining their place in the pecking order of the crazy deep lightweight division. And that means these two will scrap for real, not wanting to take any chances that the judges rip a win from a pair of deserving hands.

In terms of the actual skill matchup, both men are amazing strikers, albeit very different. Cerrone is surgical with his fists, kicks and knees. He is a stick-and-move predator, rather than a foot-planting brawler. He rarely sits down fully on his strikes and throws with full force because it opens him up to unnecessary counters. The exception to that rule is when his opponent is hurt. Cerrone will go full throttle in that situation.

Stephens, on the other hand, doesn’t know how to fight any way other than full throttle with every strike. He is the personification of punches with bad intentions. His arsenal isn’t anywhere near as varied Cerrone’s. But he has very real show-stopping power in his fists, certainly more so than his foe. As a result, Stephens’ idea of “stick and move” is to hammer with bludgeoning blows and step forward with more. His lateral movement is often reserved for chasing his opponent, rather than retreating to reset his angle.

Cerrone needs to put his shots together on the feet to win. Stephens just needs to touch the other guy. That is what makes this such a fun fight.

To finish the skills comparison, Cerrone is the vastly superior ground fighter. He isn’t a great wrestler, so I think he will likely struggle to take the fight to the ground if he finds himself in trouble on the feet. But if it goes there, he has tremendous submission skills. Indeed, most of his wins have come by way of submission, despite the fact that he entered the sport as a striker.

I’m not sure that well-rounded advantage will help Cerrone much in this fight because of his lack of great wrestling. His best chance at using those skills will be to secure a clinch and work his way to his opponent’s back. That is an unlikely outcome, but it seems like his best chance for a submission.

But I don’t think Cerrone really cares about a submission in this fight. I firmly believe he will enter the cage fully intent on outstriking his opponent. He might not have the same juice in his strikes, but he has the skill to outclass Stephens on the feet en route to a unanimous decision win or a stoppage from an accumulation of shots. Then again, all Stephens needs is one opening to bring the action to an abrupt end.

Who will win? I lean toward Cerrone, but I’m not counting Stephens out by any stretch of the imagination.

If the eighth episode of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil had some changes compared to the previous ones, such as Team Wand choosing this week’s fight, it also revisited some issues from last week, where Anistavio Gasparzinho was submitted by Rony Jason, sparking some controversy about the idea of matches between friends.

The tense atmosphere between the two coaches is back. Vitor Belfort fired back about what Wanderlei Silva said about the last featherweight bout in the quarterfinals, and the differing views of the two coaches still yields much discussion.

For the first time on the reality show, Wanderlei would hold the hammer, choosing the fights in the middleweight division and opting for his fighter, the hard working “people’s champ”, Francisco Massaranduba, to face the quiet warrior Tiago Perpétuo,  also known as Bodão.

Despite their distinct life stories, Bodão and Massaranduba both teach lessons about overcoming adversity in their lives. The fighter from Team Wanderlei comes from Amarantes, in Piauí, where he worked hard since he was a child and started late in mixed martial arts. Bodão from Team Vitor overcame a malignant tumor in his childhood, surprising all the doctors in search of his dream.

In the house, Gasparzinho kept his good mood intact, but faced another critic, Serginho Moraes, and both he and Rodrigo Damm tried to stop his jokes.

When it comes to breaking down the fight, Serginho thinks size will be a factor, as Bodão was already in the light heavyweight division (205lbs) and Massaranduba is a lightweight (155lbs). But on the team of the former PRIDE champion, they believe Massaranduba’s will and speed will be vital in earning the second win for Team Wanderlei.

FRANCISCO “MASSARANDUBA” DRINALDO VS. TIAGO “BODÃO” PERPÉTUO   
 
The low kicks from Tiago to set the distance found no defense from Massaranduba, who – on request of his team – tried to counter attack with right and left hands. A knee from Massaranduba before the two clinched made it a little hard for Bodão, who had to show off all his takedown defense with his back against the fence.  They soon switched positions and Wand’s pupil lost balance, but he didn’t stay on the ground for too long.

The fight continued with punches and knees from both as they battled against the fence. With 30 seconds to go, the referee separated the competitors, but the striking from long range didn’t last long, as they clinched again with the same exchange of blows, ending a close round.

The second round started with Bodão’s high and low kicks while Massaranduba tried to connect with his left hand. At close range, Bodão was dominating, but Massaranduba took him down and got inside the guard in order to punch his opponent. The “people’s champ”  couldn’t get a good ground and pound attack going like Rafael Cordeiro suggested, so Bodão pushed him with his feet and stood up. At this moment, Bodão could get him against the fence and land some good knees on his tiring foe. Taking advantage of this moment, Bodão threw some more blows and used a takedown attempt from Massaranduba to take him down and start hammering him with shots from half guard.

The charismatic man from Team Wanderlei tried to get back on his feet, but Bodão pushed his dominance against him, and punched him until the bell called for the end of the round.

The tight first round with a slight advantage to Massaranduba, and the dominance of Bodão in the second round led to a third round. But an exhausted Massaranduba wasn’t in condition to fight five more minutes, even with his opponent – in a rare moment in combat sports – trying to motivate Massaranduba to not give up on his dream. The winner – Tiago Bodão.

“I am very happy and confident,” said Bodão. “I’ll leave all this strength that I left up there for Serginho, who is next, and he will represent us. Thanks Brazil, Thank you for the support. Oss.”

“I’m not invincible, right?” said Massaranduba. “I lost it. You must tell the truth. I’m feeling defeated. I don’t like losing, but it comes and we can’t do anything, right? Now I’ll move on with my career, I can’t stop the time.”

Despite representing the rival team, Daniel Sarafian could not contain his tears with Massaranduba’s loss. The tough guy showed his emotional side as he felt with his heart the setback from the man he learned to like inside the house.

Next week, it’s Delson Pé de Chumbo vs. Sergio Moraes for the final spot in the semis.
   
TEAM VITOR

Sérgio Moraes (0-0)  
Cézar Mutante (1-0) submitted  Leonardo Macarrão on  ep. 5
Hugo Wolverine (1-0) beat  Marcos Vinicius “Vina”  by unanimous decision on  ep. 6    
Daniel Serafian (1-0) submitted Reneé Forte on ep. 3
Rodrigo Damm (1-0) beat John Macapá by split division on  ep. 4
Thiago Bodão (1-0)  beat  Massaranduba by withdrawal on ep. 8
Godofredo Pepey (1-0) beat Wagner Galeto by split decision on  ep. 2
Anistávio Gasparzinho (0-1) lost to  Rony Jason by submission on  ep. 7   
       
TEAM WANDERLEI

Delson Pé-de-Chumbo (0-0) 
Rony Jason (1-0) submitted Gasparzinho on ep. 7
John Macapá (0-1) lost to  Rodrigo Damm by split decision on  ep. 4        
Francisco Massaranduba (0-1) lost by withdrawal to Tiago Bodão on  ep. 8
Marcos Vinicius “Vina” (0-1) lost to Hugo Wolverine by unanimous decision on  ep. 6
Reneé Forte (0-1) lost to  Daniel Sarafian by submission on  ep. 3
Wagner Galeto (0-1)  lost to  Godofredo Pepey by split decision on  ep. 2
Leonardo Macarrão (0-1) lost to Cézar Mutante by submission on ep. 5     
 

After Jorge Lopez trained with mixed martial arts superstars Wanderlei Silva, Anderson Silva, “Shogun” Rua and “Ninja” Rua as a teenager, and even went on to work with “The Axe Murderer” once he began fighting professionally in Las Vegas, you would figure that he has seen pretty much anything you could see as a welterweight prospect on the rise.

But then he made his UFC debut last September against Justin Edwards, and things were a lot different than he ever expected.

“It’s funny, I’m fighting and I can hear (UFC color commentator) Joe Rogan talking at the same time,” said Lopez. “I got taken down, I was being pressed against the cage, and I popped back up. I can hear him saying ‘and he pops back up like a spring.’ (Laughs) I can hear him saying these things and I’m fighting, and it’s really surreal. I see (Octagon announcer) Bruce Buffer in there and it’s like a dream almost. It doesn’t seem real until you’re actually fighting.”

It was the culmination of a strange week for Lopez, who entered the bout with an 11-1 record and all the expectations that come along with being a protégé of Wanderlei Silva. But from the time he showed up in New Orleans on fight week, he realized that this wasn’t like any other match he had experienced.

First he arrived in town at 190 pounds, 20 over the welterweight limit.

“(UFC site coordinator) Burt (Watson) was mad at me,” said Lopez. “I wasn’t dieting the right way. I had just fought four weeks before then, so I was a little too confident in my weight. I thought I should have been okay with my weight and I wasn’t. I was a lot bigger than I should have been.”

Lopez made weight at 171, but on fight night, he wasn’t as zoned in as he usually was.

“It was a crazy feeling,” he said. “Before we actually walked out, I was having a hard time waking up before the fight and having a hard time getting hyped up and feeling like I was about to fight. I was really low energy and it didn’t seem real.”

Seeing and hearing the people he had only seen and heard on television before didn’t help him shake the jitters, and by the time he “woke up,” he only had five minutes to erase Edwards’ two round lead.

“Not until like the third round, when I realized that I could be down on the scorecards, did I wake up,” said Lopez. “I remember thinking between rounds ‘I could be losing right now, I’ve got to pick it up.’ And I did. Something just snapped and I started playing my game as opposed to just worrying about everything else.”

Lopez won the third round battle but lost the war, dropping a 29-28 decision to Edwards. Ask him about the fight though, and he has no excuses or sour grapes. For him, it was a bad night, one that he got out of his system, and now it’s time to move forward.

“It was weird, but it’s good to get that out of the way, and I’m prepared to see all that the second time,” he said. “I learned a lot from that fight and kinda got the jitters out, I know where I’m at now, and it won’t be the same for me.”

And if there are other positives to take away from the defeat, the main one if not only does he still have a job, but the UFC brass was impressed enough with him to put him in the co-featured slot on this Tuesday’s UFC on FUEL TV card in Fairfax, Virginia. His opponent is former Ultimate Fighter winner Amir Sadollah, someone who just happens to be a familiar face to Lopez, who trained with his fellow Las Vegan when the two worked at the Xtreme Couture gym a while back. During those sessions, Sadollah was already an established UFC fighter and Lopez was a hungry up and comer looking for rounds and the chance to see where he stood against an Octagon vet.

“I guess the biggest reason why I would like to spar somebody like that is to know where I’m at, where I stand, and know where the top level guys are at compared to me,” he said. “And getting the good work in, that’s always good also.”

Lopez knows that what happens in sparring is different from what happens in a fight, but he also admits that he saw enough of Sadollah to have a good idea of what he’s going to show up with this Tuesday.

“I noticed a lot of holes in his game, and I kinda got a good feel to how he fights,” he said. “It’s no surprise that he’s a tough guy, and he never stops coming forward. I had seen that in his fights, but I also got to experience it in training. The few times that we trained together, it was the same thing. We’d be sparring and he would never stop coming – he’d always push me and push me. It’s something that I knew beforehand and that’s still who he is.”

With Lopez coming off nearly eight months off, as an injury took him out of a UFC 143 bout with Matthew Riddle (who replaced an injured Sadollah in the February match), you would think he would be concerned with ring rust as well as a hard-charging opponent come fight night. But it’s just the opposite for the well-rounded 23-year old.

“I’ve been doing a lot of work with Gil Martinez and Robert Drysdale, so I definitely think you’re going to see a different fighter,” he said. “I’ve been really focusing on improving every skill in my arsenal. Before, I was at a point where I thought, I’m good where I’m at, so I’m gonna keep training how I am now. But I wasn’t evolving. Now I feel like I’ve been evolving over the past few months and getting better and better.”

And there’s no better place to show that evolution than in the co-main event of a UFC card.

“Some people may see it as extra pressure, but I love that,” he said. “Being the first fight of the night in New Orleans was weird. I had never been the first fight of the night on any card in my life. But being the co-main event and being one of the highlighted fights, fighting Amir, a big name, it only motivates me more and pushes me more to want to show these guys how good I really am and what I can really bring to the table. I gotta show up on Tuesday night and prove that I belong here.”

In three UFC fights thus far, South Korea’s Dongi Yang has met up with two members of The Ultimate Fighter season 11 cast, Chris Camozzi and Court McGee. This Tuesday, he faces Brad Tavares, who, you guessed it, was on season 11 of TUF. Is “The Ox” tired of seeing these guys yet?

“No, I don’t really care about that,” said Yang through manager / translator Brian Rhee. “I’ll fight whoever the UFC matches me up with.”

It’s one of the more bizarre coincidences you’ll find in the fight game, and while trying to get an accurate current read on anyone from a show that took place two years ago can be difficult, Yang has pulled out the old DVDs in his bouts with the aforementioned trio.

“They didn’t show TUF in Korea back then, even though they do now,” he said. “But I did watch some of the fights from that season when I was getting ready for my fights.”

Unfortunately for Yang, he dropped decisions to Camozzi and McGee which count for the only two losses on his 10-2 record. Both were close and competitive, which could make things even worse for a fighter’s psyche, knowing that a slight break here or there might have changed the outcome. And the 27-year old southpaw, breaking from convention, doesn’t look at the defeats as being a necessary evil in his growth as a fighter.

“I guess it depends on the fighter, but for me, I think I learn more from my wins,” he said. “Or maybe it’s just that losing sucks.”

Now that’s more accurate than what you usually hear. And if not for the queries from reporters, Yang wouldn’t even be thinking about what happened around his lone UFC win against Rob Kimmons in March of 2011. For him, all that matters is what’s next.

“My first loss was a little tough, because I hadn’t experienced it before,” he said. “But I don’t really dwell on those losses. I’m just looking forward to my next win.”

He’s expecting it to come this Tuesday. Tavares is no slouch though, having shown a maturing game since coming off TUF11. And though the Hawaiian is coming off a tough decision loss to Aaron Simpson in July of last year, what may be tougher for him to overcome is the long layoff since that bout. Yang is aware of such an issue, but as he explains, he’s had a lengthy break himself.

“I’ve been off for about eight months, myself, so I’m just looking to keep the fight at my pace,” he said.

And that pace involves moving forward at a steady clip and delivering the kind of pressure that can keep any opponent from getting into a steady rhythm. Add in heavy hands and a southpaw stance, and you can see why he’s a tough out for anyone at 185 pounds. And he’s not done building on his existing foundation just yet.

“I’m always pushing myself to be stronger and develop my game,” said Yang. “It’s my goal to improve, in some way, every time I train.”

Speaking of training, Yang has been aided this time around not just by his Korean Top Team squadmates, especially Hyun Gyu “Ace” Lim and Doo Hwan Kim, but by visiting UFC stars Benson Henderson and Dong Hyun Kim. And to make the long trip from Seoul to Fairfax, Virginia even easier to deal with, he has teammate Chan Sung Jung fighting in the card’s main event against Dustin Poirier.

“It’s definitely been a good thing,” said Yang. “We brought a lot of guys from Korean Top Team here (to Virginia) and that helps out with timing our training and for morale. It’s a lot more comfortable being in the US with a larger group.”

On Tuesday, it’s just going to be Yang and Tavares in the Octagon though, and both are hungry to get back in the win column. Yet in breaking down the final result “The Ox” has no doubt as to who will get the “W” and how.
 
“The fans can expect to see me win by KO.”

Some fighters are superstars in the gym, but when the bright lights are on and it’s time to perform for real, they’re a lot less than that. Some fighters are the opposite, content to take their lumps in the gym as long as they deliver stellar efforts when the bell rings.

UFC welterweight Amir Sadollah falls into the latter category, and he has no shame in admitting it.

“I get beat up in the gym all the time,” said the Ultimate Fighter season seven winner, who returns to the state he grew up in, Virginia, to battle friendly rival Jorge Lopez this Tuesday on FUEL TV. “I have my share of bad days, but I think that’s always been a strength of mine (to come back from that and perform on fight night). I’m not going to say I don’t try in practice, but I’ll be trying on certain things and kind of letting things happen. And at the end of the day, I think what I’m doing is really training and really practicing and experimenting in training, where it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if you get tapped out of beat up, as long as you’re applying what you’ve learned on fight night.”

So if Lopez believes that his sparring sessions with Sadollah a while back have prepared him for what he will see in Fairfax in two days, not so fast, says the 31-year old vet.

“Even if you trained with someone recently, training is different from a fight, and I think you’d be foolish to really think you can know what’s gonna happen,” said Sadollah. “I don’t know about him, but I know I fight very different from how I train. It’s good to have an idea, but at the same time, you just have to go ahead and continue with your gameplan and not worry about what they’re gonna do.”

That’s just another part of the educational process of Sadollah, one of the rare athletes who has fought his entire professional career under the UFC banner. To succeed in the Octagon and stay here for nearly four years is a significant feat. To do it without any prior pro experience takes things to a whole other level. Sure, there have been ups and downs for Sadollah, but the ups have kept the downs from overwhelming him. Needless to say, he has no regrets.

“I always wish I can do what’s best for my career and make it optimal, but I was kinda thinking about that (fighting his whole career in the UFC), and I wouldn’t change anything,” he said. “I’m glad that I got to jump in the big leagues, and I’m proud of all my wins and losses in the UFC. It’s the big stage and you gotta be confident to be there, and I think that was best for me. My personality’s the same way. I want the challenge, and I want the high risk / reward. Of course it’s much harder to fight in the UFC than on the local circuit, but at the same time, if you can do it, you’ve got something to be proud of.”

Winner of bouts over CB Dollaway, Phil Baroni, Brad Blackburn, Peter Sobotta, and DaMarques Johnson, Sadollah has proven himself in the Octagon, and even his decision loss to veteran Duane “Bang” Ludwig in August of last year proved to be educational, as he got to test his standup skills against one of the best technical strikers in the game. He didn’t come out on top, but he got plenty of things to work on moving forward.

“For me it was important,” said Sadollah. “I’ve always seen so many fights in the UFC that are these great promised striking battles, and then they turn into a grappling match. And not that I’m so vain that I wouldn’t try to win the fight, because I definitely went for takedowns in the fight and Duane did a great job on the feet in defending that stuff. But for me, he’s a great striker and definitely the best I’ve faced so far, so it was important to know that I wasn’t gonna ditch out on the striking. I was there to fight and win, but I also wanted to fight the best and learn from that experience, and I feel like I did that.”

Injuries have kept him sidelined since the Ludwig bout, with his original UFC 143 meeting with Lopez becoming a casualty as a result. But when he was able to train, Sadollah made sure he was in the gym, not just to get in shape and keep sharp, but to learn.

“It was unfortunate that I was injured, but the upside of all that is that training for the period that I was able to and then going into this camp, I noticed all these, not shortcuts, but things I was doing efficiently and doing well in my camp, and things that historically I had stressed about, I wasn’t stressing about anymore,” he said. “It showed me that maybe I’m starting to get the hang of this.”

You rarely get this kind of honesty anywhere in the sports world, but particularly in the fight game. Most fighters don’t want to show the process to get to this point, to admit that maybe they don’t know it all. To those athletes, that just gives an opponent ammo for an upcoming bout. Sadollah has never been a typical pro fighter though, and in all honesty, he’s the same person today that he was when he first appeared on the world’s radar on The Ultimate Fighter in 2008. That’s admirable.

“It would be wrong to say that nothing has affected me, but I’m just trying to let all this experience help me as a person and not detract from me, and that’s always been a definite goal of mine,” he said. “Obviously I want to be in the UFC and perform to the best of my abilities and fight the biggest fights and be the best, but you don’t want to let your own hype take away from who you are and I’ve been fortunate enough to have supportive family and friends to keep me grounded.”

Being humble is the first step to getting better. If you know it all, you’re not willing to learn. Amir Sadollah has checked his ego at the door of every gym he’s been in over the last few years, and now he’s beginning to reap the benefits.

“I’m starting to feel like these lessons are accumulating and I’m starting to learn the tricks,” he said. “I’m far from being a master, but I think I’m definitely past being green.”

If the eighth episode of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil had some changes compared to the previous ones, such as Team Wand choosing this week’s fight, it also revisited some issues from last week, where Anistavio Gasparzinho was submitted by Rony Jason, sparking some controversy about the idea of matches between friends.

The tense atmosphere between the two coaches is back. Vitor Belfort fired back about what Wanderlei Silva said about the last featherweight bout in the quarterfinals, and the differing views of the two coaches still yields much discussion.

For the first time on the reality show, Wanderlei would hold the hammer, choosing the fights in the middleweight division and opting for his fighter, the hard working “people’s champ”, Francisco Massaranduba, to face the quiet warrior Tiago Perpétuo,  also known as Bodão.

Despite their distinct life stories, Bodão and Massaranduba both teach lessons about overcoming adversity in their lives. The fighter from Team Wanderlei comes from Amarantes, in Piauí, where he worked hard since he was a child and started late in mixed martial arts. Bodão from Team Vitor overcame a malignant tumor in his childhood, surprising all the doctors in search of his dream.

In the house, Gasparzinho kept his good mood intact, but faced another critic, Serginho Moraes, and both he and Rodrigo Damm tried to stop his jokes.

When it comes to breaking down the fight, Serginho thinks size will be a factor, as Bodão was already in the light heavyweight division (205lbs) and Massaranduba is a lightweight (155lbs). But on the team of the former PRIDE champion, they believe Massaranduba’s will and speed will be vital in earning the second win for Team Wanderlei.

FRANCISCO “MASSARANDUBA” DRINALDO VS. TIAGO “BODÃO” PERPÉTUO   
 
The low kicks from Tiago to set the distance found no defense from Massaranduba, who – on request of his team – tried to counter attack with right and left hands. A knee from Massaranduba before the two clinched made it a little hard for Bodão, who had to show off all his takedown defense with his back against the fence.  They soon switched positions and Wand’s pupil lost balance, but he didn’t stay on the ground for too long.

The fight continued with punches and knees from both as they battled against the fence. With 30 seconds to go, the referee separated the competitors, but the striking from long range didn’t last long, as they clinched again with the same exchange of blows, ending a close round.

The second round started with Bodão’s high and low kicks while Massaranduba tried to connect with his left hand. At close range, Bodão was dominating, but Massaranduba took him down and got inside the guard in order to punch his opponent. The “people’s champ”  couldn’t get a good ground and pound attack going like Rafael Cordeiro suggested, so Bodão pushed him with his feet and stood up. At this moment, Bodão could get him against the fence and land some good knees on his tiring foe. Taking advantage of this moment, Bodão threw some more blows and used a takedown attempt from Massaranduba to take him down and start hammering him with shots from half guard.

The charismatic man from Team Wanderlei tried to get back on his feet, but Bodão pushed his dominance against him, and punched him until the bell called for the end of the round.

The tight first round with a slight advantage to Massaranduba, and the dominance of Bodão in the second round led to a third round. But an exhausted Massaranduba wasn’t in condition to fight five more minutes, even with his opponent – in a rare moment in combat sports – trying to motivate Massaranduba to not give up on his dream. The winner – Tiago Bodão.

“I am very happy and confident,” said Bodão. “I’ll leave all this strength that I left up there for Serginho, who is next, and he will represent us. Thanks Brazil, Thank you for the support. Oss.”

“I’m not invincible, right?” said Massaranduba. “I lost it. You must tell the truth. I’m feeling defeated. I don’t like losing, but it comes and we can’t do anything, right? Now I’ll move on with my career, I can’t stop the time.”

Despite representing the rival team, Daniel Sarafian could not contain his tears with Massaranduba’s loss. The tough guy showed his emotional side as he felt with his heart the setback from the man he learned to like inside the house.

Next week, it’s Delson Pé de Chumbo vs. Sergio Moraes for the final spot in the semis.
   
TEAM VITOR

Sérgio Moraes (0-0)  
Cézar Mutante (1-0) submitted  Leonardo Macarrão on  ep. 5
Hugo Wolverine (1-0) beat  Marcos Vinicius “Vina”  by unanimous decision on  ep. 6    
Daniel Serafian (1-0) submitted Reneé Forte on ep. 3
Rodrigo Damm (1-0) beat John Macapá by split division on  ep. 4
Thiago Bodão (1-0)  beat  Massaranduba by withdrawal on ep. 8
Godofredo Pepey (1-0) beat Wagner Galeto by split decision on  ep. 2
Anistávio Gasparzinho (0-1) lost to  Rony Jason by submission on  ep. 7   
       
TEAM WANDERLEI

Delson Pé-de-Chumbo (0-0) 
Rony Jason (1-0) submitted Gasparzinho on ep. 7
John Macapá (0-1) lost to  Rodrigo Damm by split decision on  ep. 4        
Francisco Massaranduba (0-1) lost by withdrawal to Tiago Bodão on  ep. 8
Marcos Vinicius “Vina” (0-1) lost to Hugo Wolverine by unanimous decision on  ep. 6
Reneé Forte (0-1) lost to  Daniel Sarafian by submission on  ep. 3
Wagner Galeto (0-1)  lost to  Godofredo Pepey by split decision on  ep. 2
Leonardo Macarrão (0-1) lost to Cézar Mutante by submission on ep. 5     
 

After Jorge Lopez trained with mixed martial arts superstars Wanderlei Silva, Anderson Silva, “Shogun” Rua and “Ninja” Rua as a teenager, and even went on to work with “The Axe Murderer” once he began fighting professionally in Las Vegas, you would figure that he has seen pretty much anything you could see as a welterweight prospect on the rise.

But then he made his UFC debut last September against Justin Edwards, and things were a lot different than he ever expected.

“It’s funny, I’m fighting and I can hear (UFC color commentator) Joe Rogan talking at the same time,” said Lopez. “I got taken down, I was being pressed against the cage, and I popped back up. I can hear him saying ‘and he pops back up like a spring.’ (Laughs) I can hear him saying these things and I’m fighting, and it’s really surreal. I see (Octagon announcer) Bruce Buffer in there and it’s like a dream almost. It doesn’t seem real until you’re actually fighting.”

It was the culmination of a strange week for Lopez, who entered the bout with an 11-1 record and all the expectations that come along with being a protégé of Wanderlei Silva. But from the time he showed up in New Orleans on fight week, he realized that this wasn’t like any other match he had experienced.

First he arrived in town at 190 pounds, 20 over the welterweight limit.

“(UFC site coordinator) Burt (Watson) was mad at me,” said Lopez. “I wasn’t dieting the right way. I had just fought four weeks before then, so I was a little too confident in my weight. I thought I should have been okay with my weight and I wasn’t. I was a lot bigger than I should have been.”

Lopez made weight at 171, but on fight night, he wasn’t as zoned in as he usually was.

“It was a crazy feeling,” he said. “Before we actually walked out, I was having a hard time waking up before the fight and having a hard time getting hyped up and feeling like I was about to fight. I was really low energy and it didn’t seem real.”

Seeing and hearing the people he had only seen and heard on television before didn’t help him shake the jitters, and by the time he “woke up,” he only had five minutes to erase Edwards’ two round lead.

“Not until like the third round, when I realized that I could be down on the scorecards, did I wake up,” said Lopez. “I remember thinking between rounds ‘I could be losing right now, I’ve got to pick it up.’ And I did. Something just snapped and I started playing my game as opposed to just worrying about everything else.”

Lopez won the third round battle but lost the war, dropping a 29-28 decision to Edwards. Ask him about the fight though, and he has no excuses or sour grapes. For him, it was a bad night, one that he got out of his system, and now it’s time to move forward.

“It was weird, but it’s good to get that out of the way, and I’m prepared to see all that the second time,” he said. “I learned a lot from that fight and kinda got the jitters out, I know where I’m at now, and it won’t be the same for me.”

And if there are other positives to take away from the defeat, the main one if not only does he still have a job, but the UFC brass was impressed enough with him to put him in the co-featured slot on this Tuesday’s UFC on FUEL TV card in Fairfax, Virginia. His opponent is former Ultimate Fighter winner Amir Sadollah, someone who just happens to be a familiar face to Lopez, who trained with his fellow Las Vegan when the two worked at the Xtreme Couture gym a while back. During those sessions, Sadollah was already an established UFC fighter and Lopez was a hungry up and comer looking for rounds and the chance to see where he stood against an Octagon vet.

“I guess the biggest reason why I would like to spar somebody like that is to know where I’m at, where I stand, and know where the top level guys are at compared to me,” he said. “And getting the good work in, that’s always good also.”

Lopez knows that what happens in sparring is different from what happens in a fight, but he also admits that he saw enough of Sadollah to have a good idea of what he’s going to show up with this Tuesday.

“I noticed a lot of holes in his game, and I kinda got a good feel to how he fights,” he said. “It’s no surprise that he’s a tough guy, and he never stops coming forward. I had seen that in his fights, but I also got to experience it in training. The few times that we trained together, it was the same thing. We’d be sparring and he would never stop coming – he’d always push me and push me. It’s something that I knew beforehand and that’s still who he is.”

With Lopez coming off nearly eight months off, as an injury took him out of a UFC 143 bout with Matthew Riddle (who replaced an injured Sadollah in the February match), you would think he would be concerned with ring rust as well as a hard-charging opponent come fight night. But it’s just the opposite for the well-rounded 23-year old.

“I’ve been doing a lot of work with Gil Martinez and Robert Drysdale, so I definitely think you’re going to see a different fighter,” he said. “I’ve been really focusing on improving every skill in my arsenal. Before, I was at a point where I thought, I’m good where I’m at, so I’m gonna keep training how I am now. But I wasn’t evolving. Now I feel like I’ve been evolving over the past few months and getting better and better.”

And there’s no better place to show that evolution than in the co-main event of a UFC card.

“Some people may see it as extra pressure, but I love that,” he said. “Being the first fight of the night in New Orleans was weird. I had never been the first fight of the night on any card in my life. But being the co-main event and being one of the highlighted fights, fighting Amir, a big name, it only motivates me more and pushes me more to want to show these guys how good I really am and what I can really bring to the table. I gotta show up on Tuesday night and prove that I belong here.”

In three UFC fights thus far, South Korea’s Dongi Yang has met up with two members of The Ultimate Fighter season 11 cast, Chris Camozzi and Court McGee. This Tuesday, he faces Brad Tavares, who, you guessed it, was on season 11 of TUF. Is “The Ox” tired of seeing these guys yet?

“No, I don’t really care about that,” said Yang through manager / translator Brian Rhee. “I’ll fight whoever the UFC matches me up with.”

It’s one of the more bizarre coincidences you’ll find in the fight game, and while trying to get an accurate current read on anyone from a show that took place two years ago can be difficult, Yang has pulled out the old DVDs in his bouts with the aforementioned trio.

“They didn’t show TUF in Korea back then, even though they do now,” he said. “But I did watch some of the fights from that season when I was getting ready for my fights.”

Unfortunately for Yang, he dropped decisions to Camozzi and McGee which count for the only two losses on his 10-2 record. Both were close and competitive, which could make things even worse for a fighter’s psyche, knowing that a slight break here or there might have changed the outcome. And the 27-year old southpaw, breaking from convention, doesn’t look at the defeats as being a necessary evil in his growth as a fighter.

“I guess it depends on the fighter, but for me, I think I learn more from my wins,” he said. “Or maybe it’s just that losing sucks.”

Now that’s more accurate than what you usually hear. And if not for the queries from reporters, Yang wouldn’t even be thinking about what happened around his lone UFC win against Rob Kimmons in March of 2011. For him, all that matters is what’s next.

“My first loss was a little tough, because I hadn’t experienced it before,” he said. “But I don’t really dwell on those losses. I’m just looking forward to my next win.”

He’s expecting it to come this Tuesday. Tavares is no slouch though, having shown a maturing game since coming off TUF11. And though the Hawaiian is coming off a tough decision loss to Aaron Simpson in July of last year, what may be tougher for him to overcome is the long layoff since that bout. Yang is aware of such an issue, but as he explains, he’s had a lengthy break himself.

“I’ve been off for about eight months, myself, so I’m just looking to keep the fight at my pace,” he said.

And that pace involves moving forward at a steady clip and delivering the kind of pressure that can keep any opponent from getting into a steady rhythm. Add in heavy hands and a southpaw stance, and you can see why he’s a tough out for anyone at 185 pounds. And he’s not done building on his existing foundation just yet.

“I’m always pushing myself to be stronger and develop my game,” said Yang. “It’s my goal to improve, in some way, every time I train.”

Speaking of training, Yang has been aided this time around not just by his Korean Top Team squadmates, especially Hyun Gyu “Ace” Lim and Doo Hwan Kim, but by visiting UFC stars Benson Henderson and Dong Hyun Kim. And to make the long trip from Seoul to Fairfax, Virginia even easier to deal with, he has teammate Chan Sung Jung fighting in the card’s main event against Dustin Poirier.

“It’s definitely been a good thing,” said Yang. “We brought a lot of guys from Korean Top Team here (to Virginia) and that helps out with timing our training and for morale. It’s a lot more comfortable being in the US with a larger group.”

On Tuesday, it’s just going to be Yang and Tavares in the Octagon though, and both are hungry to get back in the win column. Yet in breaking down the final result “The Ox” has no doubt as to who will get the “W” and how.
 
“The fans can expect to see me win by KO.”

Some fighters are superstars in the gym, but when the bright lights are on and it’s time to perform for real, they’re a lot less than that. Some fighters are the opposite, content to take their lumps in the gym as long as they deliver stellar efforts when the bell rings.

UFC welterweight Amir Sadollah falls into the latter category, and he has no shame in admitting it.

“I get beat up in the gym all the time,” said the Ultimate Fighter season seven winner, who returns to the state he grew up in, Virginia, to battle friendly rival Jorge Lopez this Tuesday on FUEL TV. “I have my share of bad days, but I think that’s always been a strength of mine (to come back from that and perform on fight night). I’m not going to say I don’t try in practice, but I’ll be trying on certain things and kind of letting things happen. And at the end of the day, I think what I’m doing is really training and really practicing and experimenting in training, where it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if you get tapped out of beat up, as long as you’re applying what you’ve learned on fight night.”

So if Lopez believes that his sparring sessions with Sadollah a while back have prepared him for what he will see in Fairfax in two days, not so fast, says the 31-year old vet.

“Even if you trained with someone recently, training is different from a fight, and I think you’d be foolish to really think you can know what’s gonna happen,” said Sadollah. “I don’t know about him, but I know I fight very different from how I train. It’s good to have an idea, but at the same time, you just have to go ahead and continue with your gameplan and not worry about what they’re gonna do.”

That’s just another part of the educational process of Sadollah, one of the rare athletes who has fought his entire professional career under the UFC banner. To succeed in the Octagon and stay here for nearly four years is a significant feat. To do it without any prior pro experience takes things to a whole other level. Sure, there have been ups and downs for Sadollah, but the ups have kept the downs from overwhelming him. Needless to say, he has no regrets.

“I always wish I can do what’s best for my career and make it optimal, but I was kinda thinking about that (fighting his whole career in the UFC), and I wouldn’t change anything,” he said. “I’m glad that I got to jump in the big leagues, and I’m proud of all my wins and losses in the UFC. It’s the big stage and you gotta be confident to be there, and I think that was best for me. My personality’s the same way. I want the challenge, and I want the high risk / reward. Of course it’s much harder to fight in the UFC than on the local circuit, but at the same time, if you can do it, you’ve got something to be proud of.”

Winner of bouts over CB Dollaway, Phil Baroni, Brad Blackburn, Peter Sobotta, and DaMarques Johnson, Sadollah has proven himself in the Octagon, and even his decision loss to veteran Duane “Bang” Ludwig in August of last year proved to be educational, as he got to test his standup skills against one of the best technical strikers in the game. He didn’t come out on top, but he got plenty of things to work on moving forward.

“For me it was important,” said Sadollah. “I’ve always seen so many fights in the UFC that are these great promised striking battles, and then they turn into a grappling match. And not that I’m so vain that I wouldn’t try to win the fight, because I definitely went for takedowns in the fight and Duane did a great job on the feet in defending that stuff. But for me, he’s a great striker and definitely the best I’ve faced so far, so it was important to know that I wasn’t gonna ditch out on the striking. I was there to fight and win, but I also wanted to fight the best and learn from that experience, and I feel like I did that.”

Injuries have kept him sidelined since the Ludwig bout, with his original UFC 143 meeting with Lopez becoming a casualty as a result. But when he was able to train, Sadollah made sure he was in the gym, not just to get in shape and keep sharp, but to learn.

“It was unfortunate that I was injured, but the upside of all that is that training for the period that I was able to and then going into this camp, I noticed all these, not shortcuts, but things I was doing efficiently and doing well in my camp, and things that historically I had stressed about, I wasn’t stressing about anymore,” he said. “It showed me that maybe I’m starting to get the hang of this.”

You rarely get this kind of honesty anywhere in the sports world, but particularly in the fight game. Most fighters don’t want to show the process to get to this point, to admit that maybe they don’t know it all. To those athletes, that just gives an opponent ammo for an upcoming bout. Sadollah has never been a typical pro fighter though, and in all honesty, he’s the same person today that he was when he first appeared on the world’s radar on The Ultimate Fighter in 2008. That’s admirable.

“It would be wrong to say that nothing has affected me, but I’m just trying to let all this experience help me as a person and not detract from me, and that’s always been a definite goal of mine,” he said. “Obviously I want to be in the UFC and perform to the best of my abilities and fight the biggest fights and be the best, but you don’t want to let your own hype take away from who you are and I’ve been fortunate enough to have supportive family and friends to keep me grounded.”

Being humble is the first step to getting better. If you know it all, you’re not willing to learn. Amir Sadollah has checked his ego at the door of every gym he’s been in over the last few years, and now he’s beginning to reap the benefits.

“I’m starting to feel like these lessons are accumulating and I’m starting to learn the tricks,” he said. “I’m far from being a master, but I think I’m definitely past being green.”

In a few short years in the UFC, middleweight Tom Lawlor has a well-earned reputation for keeping fight fans entertained in and out of the Octagon. But as he approaches Tuesday’s UFC on FUEL TV matchup against Jason MacDonald, there has been a distinct, almost silence around “Filthy” Tom.

“I’m flying under the radar, or at least trying to,” he said, admitting that this course of action wasn’t by accident. “I think I’ve been accused of being not as focused on a fight as I should be. So pretty much I’ve said nothing about the fight except for the fact that I’m fighting. I just want to go out there and let my performance speak for itself.”

That’s unfortunate, simply because Lawlor’s pre-fight antics have added a dose of levity to what is a very serious sport once the bell rings. In fact, it’s been these little sidebars on the way to the Octagon, whether it’s entering as Hulk Hogan or weighing in as Dan Severn, that allow Lawlor to have some fun before it’s time to go to work. But a few critics will always shout louder than the legions of fans that enjoy the non-fighting stuff from the New Englander as well.

“It’s just a few fans, but they seem to think that you should be training 24 hours a day and you should have no life outside of the workplace,” he said. “I always wonder if those same people live their lives like that. Are these the kind of people that are taking work home every night and sitting on a computer and toiling away and hating their lives? And my guess would be yes. These people probably do hate their lives and they want everyone else to be just as miserable and only focus on working all the time.”

Oddly enough, Lawlor’s time living in Florida basically saw him involved in the world of martial arts nearly 24/7. Whether he was helping to run a gym, teaching classes, or just training for his own fights, Lawlor was immersed in the sport. Yet after he moved to Providence, Rhode Island to buy a house, he has seen his life change drastically.

“In the past year I’m kind of less involved in the sport and I’m just training and fighting,” he said. “I’m not helping run a gym, and I’m not teaching classes on a regular basis. Where I live now, there are gyms, but I’m used to more of a one-stop shop for all of my MMA needs. Here it’s kind of fragmented. There are boxing gyms and jiu-jitsu places, and there are MMA places, but they’re not on as big of a scale as some of the places I was used to going to in Florida. So it’s a different environment, and I do miss being more involved in the sport in coaching and helping other people train and being a teammate. With all these gyms up here, I’m getting pulled in different directions as well. I have a bunch of guys that I would consider teammates, but they’re not all on the same team.”

And then there’s always the weather.

“I hated sunshine and the heat and being able to go outside whenever I want so much that I said I’m gonna move to a place that has almost the worst weather in the country,” he deadpans, noting that after New England had some of its best weather in years this past winter and spring, “Any of that suffering and anger that I would have built up over the winter has kind of subsided a bit.”

Despite all the changes, it’s clear that Lawlor still has his sense of humor. With that intact and his training situation settled in the Northeast, all he has to focus on is his fight with MacDonald, which gives him the opportunity to break loose of a skid that has seen him lose three of his last four bouts. Yet he insists that this isn’t something he particularly dwells on.

“Honestly, the only people that ever bring it up are MMA media people,” he said. “No one ever goes, ‘oh man, you lost three of your last four fights.’ (Laughs) I haven’t had anyone say that to me besides when people do interviews with me. But I really don’t like trying to explain it because then it sounds like I’m making excuses.”

If he won’t, then it will have to be pointed out that many people believed he won the three rounder with Aaron Simpson in 2010 that he lost via split decision. Four months later he was doing well against Joe Doerksen before gassing out in the second round and getting submitted. His next bout in October of 2010 was a decision win over Patrick Cote, and after a year off due to injury, he came back in 2011 and got caught and finished early by Chris Weidman. Now going 1-3 in his last four doesn’t sound so bad, but no one looks past the numbers too much these days, and against Canada’s MacDonald, Tuesday may be a must win.

“I really don’t think about it that much,” said the 29-year old. “Maybe I should think about it more. The problem with my record is that I have 12 professional fights, and half of them have been in the UFC. So with this fight, more than half of my professional career will have been in the UFC. So I’m fighting guys that are considered to be some of the top guys in the world and it’s a trial by fire in a way. I’ve been with the company, if I count The Ultimate Fighter, for four years. But before that, I was fighting full-time for a year. So it’s a situation where, and I hate this cliché, but it is what it is.”

In other words, he’s had to grow up in public, which can be a double-edged sword. Sure, the recognition and money is better in the big leagues, but at the same time, your shortcomings aren’t witnessed by 100 people in a church basement. They’re broadcast to millions.

“I don’t think people realize how big of a difference it is between fighting on the local scene and fighting in the UFC,” he said. “If you don’t have that experience, it’s really like a whirlwind when you’re in there fighting.”

Tom Lawlor has survived the whirlwind though, and like fellow fighters Amir Sadollah, Matt Mitrione, and Matt Riddle that followed a similar path, he’s made a home for himself in the UFC. Now all he needs to do is to protect that home against MacDonald, a task easier said than done, but one you know he’s ready to tackle. And watching that may just be better than any flashy Octagon entrance.

TORONTO – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® organization announced today that the highly anticipated UFC 149 event – headlined by the featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and challenger Erik Koch at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary – has officially sold out. With the sell-out, attendance for the July 21 event will be over 18,000.

UFC® 149: ALDO vs. KOCH, presented by Sport Chek, is the first-ever UFC® event to be held in Alberta. The Calgary event marks the first of three UFC events taking place in Canada in 2012 as Toronto (Sept. 22, location to be determined) and Montreal (Nov. 17, Bell Centre) are also set with UFC dates this calendar year.

The stacked card also sees two former UFC® champions in Calgary as former light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua faces off against Thiago Silvawhile former interim heavyweight champ Minotauro Nogueira returns to action to face Cheick Kongo. Title contenders also clash as Michael Bisping faces middleweight Tim Boetsch.

Five Canadians add to the star power on July 21 as Edmonton’s Mitch Clarkefaces lightweight Anton Kuivanen, Calgary’s Nick Ringbattles middleweight Court McGee, Sudbury, Ontario’s Mitch Gagnontakes on bantamweight Bryan Caraway,Oshawa, Ontario native Antonio Carvalhochallenges featherweight George Roop, and Saint John, New Brunswick’s Ryan Jimmo meets light heavyweight Anthony Perosh.

Canada has played host to eight UFC® events since 2008. Its three host cities to date – Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver – have welcomed more than 185,000 fans in attendance with millions watching worldwide on PPV. Canadian events have had a cumulative gross gate of more than $40M andmillions more in direct economic impact. The city of Montreal has held fourevents (UFC 83, 97, 113 and 124) while Toronto (UFC 129 and 140) and Vancouver (UFC 115 and 131) have each played host twice.

Earlier this year, the UFC® also committed to host three premier global events in Canada each of next three years (through to 2014).

UFC® 149 will be available live on Pay-Per-View at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST on UFC.TV, iN DEMAND, DirecTV, DISH Network, Avail-TVN, and in Canada on Shaw Communications, Bell TV, Sasktel, Viewer’s Choice Canada and in French on Canal Indigo for a suggested retail price of$44.99 US/$49.99 CAN for Standard Definition and $54.99 US/$59.99 CAN for High Definition.