UFC 154 ‘St. Pierre vs. Condit’ Preview
The Prelims
Patrick Cote finds himself in the middle of a serious drought in
the UFC. | Brian Townsend
Middleweights
Patrick Cote (17-8, 4-8 UFC) vs. Alessio Sakara (15-9, 6-6 UFC): Something has to give here. Cote has not won a UFC bout since June 5, 2008, while Sakara’s last Octagon triumph came against James Irvin in 2010. Cote was never able to get going against Cung Le at UFC 148, but he has enough power in his right hand to test Sakara’s questionable chin. Cote wins by knockout or technical knockout in round two.
Light Heavyweights
Cyrille Diabate (18-8-1, 3-3 UFC) vs. Chad Griggs (11-2, 0-1 UFC): To make his 205-pound debut successful, Griggs must close the distance against the rangy Diabate. “The Snake” is lacking in defensive grappling, however, and if “The Gravedigger” can achieve dominant position, he will be able to assert his will through ground-and-pound. Griggs wins by TKO in round three.
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Lightweights
Rafael dos Anjos (17-6, 6-4 UFC) vs. Mark Bocek (11-4, 7-4 UFC): A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, dos Anjos combines slick grappling with surprising knockout power. Bocek is more one dimensional, but he will struggle to dominate battles of positioning on the ground against his opponent. Dos Anjos does more damage on the feet and earns a unanimous decision.
Lightweights
Sam Stout (18-7-1, 7-6 UFC) vs. John Makdessi (9-2, 2-2 UFC): Stout’s kickboxing skills are well known, but the talented striker showed a new facet to his game by scoring multiple takedowns on Spencer Fisher at UFC on FX 4 in June. The creative Makdessi has struggled of late, falling to Anthony Njokuani and Dennis Hallman in his last two bouts. He will get more opportunities to land something out-of-the-ordinary here, but Stout will connect with more volume and accuracy to capture a decision.
Featherweights
Rodrigo Damm (10-5, 1-0 UFC) vs. Antonio Carvalho (14-5, 1-1 UFC): Damm enjoyed a successful Octagon debut, choking out Anistavio Medeiros de Figueiredo in the first round at UFC 147. Prior to that win, however, Damm had been finished in four of his previous five outings while competing for Strikeforce and Sengoku. Carvalho, who has earned 10 of his 14 career victories by knockout or submission, used crisp boxing to score an impressive knockout of Daniel Pineda at UFC 149. Carvalho wins by second-round TKO.
Bantamweights
Ivan Menjivar (24-9, 3-1 UFC) vs. Azamat Gashimov (7-1, 0-0 UFC): Gashimov is making a significant leap here, as only two of his first eight professional opponents have victories to their credit. Menjivar, a savvy, aggressive veteran, might be a little too seasoned for Gashimov at this point. “The Pride of El Salvador” wins via first-round submission.
Featherweights
Steven Siler (21-9, 3-0 UFC) vs. Darren Elkins (14-2, 4-1 UFC): Since his stint on Season 14 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Siler has emerged as an entertaining performer with a high-volume striking attack backed by a solid submission game. Like Siler, Elkins has won three fights in a row, most recently outpointing the explosive Diego Brandao at UFC 146. Siler lands the better combinations, is active on the floor and takes a three-round verdict.
Welterweights
John Maguire (18-4, 2-1 UFC) vs. Matt Riddle (6-3, 6-3 UFC): Maguire steps in for Besam Yousef to challenge Riddle, whose suspension for a positive marijuana test following UFC 149 recently came to an end. Maguire has a crafty ground game, but Riddle might be a little too big and powerful for the Englishman. Riddle wins by decision.
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