The UFC returns to cable television and the Versus network with UFC on Versus 2: Jones vs Matyshenko, taking place on August 1st in sunny San Diego, California. This card is no push over. It features some of the brightest young guns in the UFC. Let’s take you through the UFC on Versus 2 preliminary fight card and spotlight the most intriguing match-ups.
UFC On Versus 2 Preliminary Card
The preliminary fight card features seven bouts consisting of three lightweight, two middleweight and one of each light heavyweight and welterweight matches. The lone welterweight match features two American fighters in DaMarques Johnson and Matthew Riddle. Since losing to James Wilkes in the Ultimate Fighter 9 season finale, Johnson, a boxer and BJJ artist, has gone on to win his last two fights in convincing fashion. In those two fights, Johnson showed off his diverse skill set by obtaining back to back fight night awards; submission of the night for his opening round triangle choke over Edgar Garcia and a knockout of the night award that Johnson received for his performance against Brad Blackburn during UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi. Matthew Riddle on the other hand has impressively earned a 4-1 record since joining the UFC back in 2008. He is an ex-collegiate wrestler, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner who has shown great patience and stamina in his fights. This should be an exciting fight as these men share similar skills sets and are both hungry for a win.
There are some talented lightweights fighting on the UFC on Versus 2 preliminary card. Paul Kelly faces off against Jacob Volkmann while Thiago Tavares tries to get his career back on track against fellow Brazilian and UFC rookie, Willamy Freire. Paul Kelly and Jacob Volkmann are nearly identical. Each of the MMA fighters are 10-2, they both have launched their MMA careers from a background in wrestling and they are both five foot nine inches tall. The only difference is that Volkmann has an edge in the level of competition he has faced (Volkmann’s two loses came to Martin Kampmann and Paulo Thiago). This should certainly be an interesting fight, anyone’s ball game.
Now Thiago Tavares and Willamy Freire on the other hand has fight of the night potential. These BJJ stars have a mission of their own heading into UFC on Versus 2. For Tavares the mission is redemption. No one can doubt his skill on the mat, however his striking and stand-up defense have shown to be an Achilles heel (but I would never say this to his face). Tavares is in serious need for a convincing win in August to pad his 4-3-1 UFC record. The mission for Willamy Freire you ask? Prove to the world of mixed martial arts that he is the future. This twenty two year old kid hasn’t lost since 2007 of September, winning eleven straight fighting out of Shooto and Vale Tudo.Now the MMA world wants to see how Freire will handle himself in the spotlight of the UFC against a strong opponent in Tavares. Should be fireworks in San Diego!
The other two notable names fighting on this preliminary card are James “Sandman” Irvin and Brian “All-American” Stann. These guys are also in serious need of a win at UFC on Versus 2. Irvin was on a nice two fight win streak back in 2007 and 2008, that is before he met Anderson Silva (I think we all remember how that turned out, and if not look it up on YouTube). After that fight, Irvin dropped down to middleweight and took on Alessio Sakara. An under-nourished Irvin lost his bout with Sakara from a first round KO. He faces Igor Pokrajac (0-2 in the UFC), a man that Irvin should easily defeat. Brian Stann has a similar story. Stann had an un-believable run with the WEC going 5-1 and winning the light heavyweight championship. Then Stann dropped back to back losses against Steve Cantwell and Krzysztof Soszynski. Everything was looking up for Stann in 2009 after he revenged his loss to Cantwell and defeated Rodney Wallace, but then Stann ran into the up and coming Phil Davis in early 2010 and was stopped in his tracks. At the August UFC event, Brian Stann is hoping to avoid the path of Irvin and score a victory over Mike Massenzio a talented submission fighter.
