Breaking down Ultimate Fight Night 22
Live on SpikeTV from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas is UFC Fight Night: Marquardt vs Palhares (aka UFC Fight Night 22). This card is unique because nine matchup changes occurred before the fight card was finalized. We will get into each one as we approach it in this edition of Valor Breakdown.
The opening bout of the night features Welterweights Brian Foster (13-5) and Forrest Petz (18-8). Both men may be in a do or die situation as they are coming off a loss. Foster loss to Chris Lytle by submission while Petz lost a close split decision to Daniel Robert. With both fighters needing a win, this is a great fight to get the night started.
Up next, will be Anthony “TJ” Waldburger (13-5) face off against David “Daudi” Mitchell (11-0) in the Welterweight division. These two fighters have a few things in common: they are both making their UFC debuts and win the majority of their fights by submission. Waldburger hasn’t fought since winning the Shark Fights Welterweight Championship a year ago. Mitchell on the other hand, won his last fight just two month ago. “Ring rust” could possibly be a factor in this fight, but expect it to be one heck of a grappling match.
The 3rd fight matches up TUF 11 Middleweight Rich “The Raging Bull” Attonito (8-3) and UFC Newcomer Rafael “Sapo” Natal (12-2). Attonito, a BJJ Purple Belt and former D-1 Wrestler, is coming off a victory in his UFC debut against fellow TUF competitor, Jamie Yager. He will definitely have his hands full with Natal, who last fought in May at Moosin: God of Martial Arts, in which he scored a KO victory over UFC vet, Travis Lutter. Both men are fairly well-rounded, earning victories by KO, Sub and decision. This fight could go to either man and will be a good matchup.
The next fight is one of many that got switched around due to injuries. Tomasz “Gorilla” Drwal (17-3) was originally scheduled to fight Nick Cantone who pulled out due to an injury. Instead, he will fight Dave Branch (6-1) who was supposed to fight Aaron Simpson but he contracted a staph infection and had to pull out. Drwal is coming off a loss to Rousimar Palhares at UFC 111. That fight resulted in a 90-day suspension for Palhares due to him continuing to apply the submission after the referee called for the stoppage. Branch is coming off his only loss at the hands of rising star Gerald Harris due to a brutal Rampage-like slam that knocked Branch out. For either fighter, a win could provide them an opportunity to face a bigger name fighter, but another loss could hand them their walking papers.
The next fight will be a Light Heavyweight bout between Jared “The Messenger” Hamman (11-2) and Kyle “Kingsbu” Kingsbury (8-2). Both men are 1-1 in the UFC thus far and are coming off decision victories; Hamman against Roddy Wallace and Kingsbury against Razak Al-Hassan. A victory here could show their worthiness in the stacked LHW division.
The final fight on the preliminary card is another one of those that got switched around as a result of an injury. Yves “The Texas Gunslinger” Edwards (38-16) makes his return to the UFC and will face off against John “Quick Guns” Gunderson (23-7). Edwards, who calls his style of fighting “Thugjitsu”, has over 50 professional fights and has fought in just about every fighting organization from KOTC to PRIDE to Moosin to WEC. Gunderson also has plenty experience with 30 professional fights under his belt, some of which came in the IFL as part of the Nevada Lions alongside Roy Nelson. Edwards is a well-rounded fighter with an equal amount of submission and KO victories (15), and with Gunderson formerly fighting out of the famous Lion’s Den, he also has 15 submission victories to his credit. This fight will definitely be a war and could be an early candidate for Fight of the Night.
The first fight on the Main Card is an important fight in the Lightweight division. The two men looking to put themselves in the title contention mix are Ross “The Real Deal” Pearson (11-3) and Cole “Magrinho” Miller (16-4). Pearson, undefeated since winning TUF 9, has been increasing his level of competition and handling himself very well. Miller, a TUF 5 competitor, is no stranger to fighting former TUF competitors and will look to build on an impressive submission victory over Dan Lauzon from UFC 108. This fight is a good matchup of Grappler vs Striker and the winner will move one step towards getting themselves thrown in the title mix.
The next fight on the card is another Lightweight battle between Jim Miller (17-2) and Gleison Tibau (21-6). Miller has put together a nice 4-fight win streak following his loss to Gray Maynard in March of 2009. Tibau has gone 4-1 in his last 5 fights following back-to-back losses to Tyson Griffin and Jeremy Stephens. Both fighters are BJJ Black Belts and Miller is a former D-1 wrestler at Virginia Tech, so this could quite possibly turn into a grappling match as both men picked up the majority of their victories via submission. Miller has never been submitted and Tibau has been submitted only one time, so don’t be surprised if these two stand and bang.
The co-main event features TUF 8 winner Efrain “Hencho en Mexico” Escudero (13-1) and Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira (13-0). Escudero was originally set to fight John Gunderson, then Matt Wiman (after his opponent, Mac Danzig, got injured) and finally Oliveira, after Wiman got injured. Escudero has used his wrestling and grappling background to choke out nine of his previous opponents. Oliveira has used his BJJ and fast hands to dominate his opponents, picking up six KO victories and six submission victories. Esudero’s lone loss came at the hands of rising star, Evan Dunham back at UFC Fight Night 20. The key to victory for Escudero will be to keep his fast paced-style of fighting and use his wrestling to keep Oliveira from taking the fight to the ground. Oliveira can attack from just about any position, so he just needs to implement his own game plan and fight at his own pace.
Finally, it’s time for our Main Event of the evening! Long-time UFC fighter Nate “The Great” Marquardt (29-9-2) takes on dangerous BJJ grappler Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares (11-2) in Middleweight division showdown. Marquardt was originally set to fight Alessio Sakara at UFC 116 but that fight was cancelled after the death of Sakara’s father. Palhares was marked as a replacement for Sakara and the fight was scheduled for UFC 118, but was moved to this card after former headliner Alan Belcher had to pull out of his fight with Demian Maia due to an eye injury.
Marquardt’s three losses in the UFC came at the hands of Anderson Silva (in a Middleweight title fight), Thales Leites, and Chael Sonnen (in a Number One Contender’s bout). Silva is still the Middleweight Champion and Leites and Sonnen went on to fight Silva for his belt. Palhares was at the center of controversy following his last victory, over Tomasz Drwal, when he held onto his submission hold after the referee called an end to the fight. As a result of this, Palhares received a 90-day suspension.
There is no mystery as to what Palhares, a BJJ Black Belt wants to do in this fight. Just like in the past, he will look to get the fight to the ground and secure a submission. Six of his nine submission victories have come by way of Heel Hook, so Marquardt will have to be careful to avoid putting himself in that position.
Marquardt is also a BJJ Black Belt and may be the man best suited to counter Palhares’ BJJ skills. Nate is no stranger to submissions, but also has quick hands that can put people to sleep. A win in this fight could put either man in the Middleweight Title mix, and possibly one fight away from a title shot.
This card might have been plagued with injuries, but it has shaped into possibly one of the best cards of the summer. Tune in this Wednesday, September 15th, to SpikeTV to see how it all goes down. Don’t forget to watch the premiere of the Ultimate Fighter season 12 which airs right after UFN 22.
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Aspiring chef turned MMA writer after financial issues prevented me from pursuing my first dream. Ever since I started watching MMA, I've read up about it and talk about it all the time and with the encouragement of family and friends I finally decided to actively pursue a career in writing about it.Subscribe
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