UFC 132: Previewing the Main Card

UFC 132 is set to take place this saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Headlined by the first UFC Bantamweight Title fight between champion Dominick Cruz and former WEC Featherweight champion Urijah Faber.  The co-main event features 2 Middleweight sluggers in former Pride star Wanderlei Silva taking on Chris Leben.  Also featured on the main card is a Welterweight showdown between another former WEC champion Carlos Condit taking on undefeated Korean Dong Hyun Kim.  Personally this is a card I'm very excited for as you could see on my favorite favorite page here it includes Dominick Cruz, Carlos Condit and Brian Bowles.  Bowles is also in an important bout against Takeya Mizugaki and with a win could see him self face the winner of the Cruz/Faber main event.  Rounding out the main card is possibly Tito Oritz's last fight as he takes on TUF season 8 winner Ryan Bader and a Lightweight showdown between German kickboxer Dennis Siver and Matt Wiman.

Main Event

UFC Bantamweight Championship

Dominick Cruz vs Urijah Faber

17-1 Record 25-4

25 Age 32

 5'8 Height 5'6

   68" Reach 68.9"

 134.5 Weight 135.5

 -125 Odds +105

How They Got Here: Cruz, despite being the UFC Bantamweight champion is actually making his UFC debut.  Cruz defeated Scott Jorgensen in his last bout for his WEC Championship and then was promoted to the UFC's first ever Bantamweight champion after the WEC merged into the UFC.  Overall Cruz is on a 8 fight win streak.  Faber is making his 2nd UFC appearance, he most recently defeated Eddie Wineland at UFC 128.  He also previously beat Takaya Mizugaki in his Bantamweight debut at WEC 52.  This is a rematch from their 2007 bout for Faber's Featherweight title with Faber winning by choke 1:38 into the 1st Round.

What To Expect: I think one thing we can expect in this fight is it's not going to be the same fight we saw back in 2007.  Faber was in the middle of his dominating WEC run while Cruz was a 22 year old who experienced his first real training camp with a real full time coach.  Cruz has improved across the board since their fight 4 years ago developing some of the best foot work in all of MMA.  The MMA encyclopedia describes Cruz's fantastic foot work as "unique, a combination of meth head's jerkiness and Bruce Lee's kung-fu wizardry".  In their short 2007 bout Cruz did manage to show glimpses of his impressive stand up game and even looked to have nailed Faber with some pretty good shots, but as we know Faber has some crushing submissions and most likely will look to do the same this time around.  Cruz has also shown an even more improved takedown defense along with his wrestling history, I think his foot work, counter striking and takedown defense could frustrate Faber and make this a much longer fight than their first go around.  This is an extremely close fight to really pick who will come out the victor but right now I can say the real winner will be us the fans as we get to sit back and watch the biggest Bantamweight fight in MMA history unfold.

My Prediction: Cruz by Decision

Wanderlei Silva vs Chris Leben

33-10-1 Record 25-7

      34 Age 30

       5'11 Height 5'11

          74" Reach 70.5"

    184.8 Weight 186

         -180 Odds +155

How They Got Here: Wanderlei is making his long anticipated return having not been in action since his Middleweight debut in Febuary of 2010 where he defeated Michael Bisping by decision.  Wanderlei had a bout with Yoshihiro Akiyama canceled due to injury and ironically was replaced by Leben.  Leben ended up winning that bout on just 2 weeks notice after a previous victory over Aaron Simpson, Leben however fell short in his last bout losing by KO to Brian Stann.

What To Expect: Is it too much to ask for the standup fight of the year? Probably, but with the track record these 2 have for exciting fights we should at the very least see a pretty entertaining bout.  Both have a similar style of going forward swinging and getting involved in a slugfest.  As much as both guys like a standup war I think we should expect one of them going for a surprise takedown either from getting hurt in the standup or just wanting a win at this point in their careers.

My Prediction: Wanderlei by TKO 2nd Round

Tito Ortiz vs Ryan Bader
15-8-1 Record 12-1
36 Age 28
6'2 Height 6'2
74" Reach 74"
 206 Weight 205
+380 Odds -495

How They Got Here: Tito comes into this fight on a 4 fight losing having not won since a 2006 bout against Ken Shamrock.  Tito had a scheduled bout against Rogerio Nogueira in March but had to pull out due to receiving a cut and stiches during training.  Tito is basically fighting for his contract right now and I can't see him sticking around with another lose.  Bader is looking to get back on track after falling to current UFC Light  Heavyweight champion Jon Jones to submission at UFC 126.

What To Expect: You have to wonder what Tito will show up, does he want to make his possible last UFC fight memorable and come out looking for a finish or does he just want to play it safe and attempt to prolong his career.  Bader looks to have the advantage in pretty much everything in this fight even wrestling at this point in their respective careers.  Tito was once known for his great condition throughout his career but I think  the younger and hungrier Bader will be too much for Tito and put an end to the hall of fame career.

My Prediction: Bader by Decision

Carlos Condit vs Dong Hyun Kim

26-5 Record 14-0-1

27 Age 29

6'1 Height 6'1

76" Reach

170 Weight 171

-110 Odds -120

How They Got Here: Condit returns after having to pull out of UFC 137 bout against Chris Lytle due to a knee injury.  His previous bout was an impressive KO win over Dan Hardy at UFC 120.  Condit is currently riding a 3 fight win streak with his other wins coming over Rory MacDonald and Jake Ellenberger.  Kim looks to keep his undefeated record intact, his most recent victory came by way of decision over Nate Diaz at UFC 125.  Kim's no contest on his record was originally a lose at UFC 94 to Karo Parisyan but was overturned due to Parisyan failing a post fight drug test.

What To Expect: A potential title shot waits in the balance for the winner of this bout.  Condit, currently ranked as my #7 Welterweight will want to avoid getting put on his back by Kim who has a relentless takedown and top game.  Kim on the other hand who is on the brink of being a top 10 Welterweight himself should avoid this fight turning into a brawl where at times Condit thrives.  Another close fight that could go either way both guys set a pretty fast pace the first to take a deep breath could be the one taking the loss.

My Prediction: Condit by Decision

Dennis Siver vs Matt Wiman

18-7 Record 13-5

32 Age 27

5'7 Height 5'10

70" Reach 67"

156 Weight 155

-130 Odds +110

How They Got Here: Siver is coming off the biggest win of his UFC career when he defeated George Sotiropolous by decision at UFC 127.  Siver is ready to break into the top 10 of the division having won 3 in a row.  Wiman like Siver is coming off a big win where he defeated Cole Miller at UFC Fight Night 23 by decision, also like Siver Wiman is riding a 3 fight win streak.

What To Expect: We should expect Siver to attempt to keep this fight standing and throw Wiman off his game with his wide range of kickboxing skills such as his favorite move the spinning back kick to the liver.  Wiman on the other hand will probably look to get Siver done to the mat where he would have the definite advantage, with that said Wiman has been involved with a few standup battles himself so it wouldn't take much convincing for him to engage Siver on the feet.

My Prediction: Siver by Decision

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