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Johnny Hendricks and Stephen Thompson may be the headline bout of UFC Fight Night 82, but there’s plenty of action to be played out on the prelim card.
Lightweights Headline Prelims
Josh ‘The People’s Warrior’ Burkman takes on fellow veteran fighter KJ ‘King’ Noons. Burkman comes in 27-12-1 with seven KOs and 10 submission wins, however he may feel like his back is against the wall, following consecutive stoppage losses: Dong Hyun Kim Sub’d (5/23/15) Burkman by armbar and Patrick Cote scored a third round TKO over him in August.
This may feel like familiar territory for ‘The People’s Warrior’. Burkman had compiled a record of 5-2 from 2005-07, but in ’08 he saw his ten-fight stint with the promotion halted following three straight losses.
He was able to battle his way back, getting wins in smaller promotions: Showdown Fights, and World Series of Fighting (where he went 4-1 with wins over UFC Vets: Jon Fitch, Aaron Simpson and Gerald Harris), but is 0-2-1 (NSAC overturned his loss to Hector Lombard in Jan, to a no contest, due to a failed drug test by Lombard) since returning to UFC.
Despite being 3-6-1 in his last ten, KJ Noons may not be in the same jeopardy as Burkman following a Saturday loss. Last time out ‘King’ was submitted in the first round by rear-naked choke (5/30/15) and an accidental eye poke resulted in a no decision against Daron Cruickshank (12/12/14), but a KO of Sam Stout (4/16/14) just 0:30 into the bout may prove that Noons’ best staying power, is his power.
Noons is a striker, in his thirteen MMA wins, nine have come by way of KO/TKO. He has also competed as a pro boxer 11-2 with five KOs and as a kickboxer 12-2 with nine KOs.
In addition to the UFC, Noons has also competed in Strikeforce, Dream and Elite XC where he was the first and only lightweight champ for the organisation.
A Doctor stoppage, following the first round, versus Nick Diaz put the Elite XC Gold around his waist and a TKO of Yves Edwards, just 0:48 seconds into the fight, was a successful defence of that championship.
Heavyweights with 15 first round finishes combined
Derrick Lewis has finished each of his thirteen wins, twelve by knock out and one by submission. This is his seventh fight with the UFC, 5-2 and none have made it to the judges’ score cards. Lewis has a second round KO win over co-main eventer Jared Rosholt (4:41) at Legacy Fighting Championship 13 (8/17/12). He takes on Damian Grabowski, ‘The Polish Pitbull’, in Grabowski’s first UFC fight.
Grabowski took 2015 off from MMA, but has finished his previous three opponents: Tadas Rimkevicius second round TKO (5/23/13), Kenny Garner by third round head and arm triangle choke (11/30/13), and most recently Konstantin Gluhov (11/25/14). He is 20-2 with six KO and 11 submission stoppage wins. Ten of those finishes came in the first round.
Flyweights to Watch
Ray Borg is the No.12 ranked flyweight in the UFC with an MMA record 9-1, his one slip a split decision loss to Dustin Ortiz in Borg’s UFC debut (4/19/14).
Just two months later ‘The Tazmexican Devil’ rebounded by putting Shane Howell to sleep with a rear-naked choke at 2:17 of the first round.
He followed that performance with two wins in 2015 (Chris Kelades by Kimura 2/14 and a unanimous decision over Geane Herrera in Aug). He takes on 23 year old, Justin Scoggins.
Scoggins is 10-2 with five first round finishes. ‘Tank’ bested Josh Sampo by unanimous decision last time out (5/23/15). This is his sixth fight with the promotion and he’s 3-2 so far.
Featherweight Action
Noad ‘Neo’ Lahat is fighting in his fourth UFC bout. He holds decision wins in his last two over: Steven Siler (6/26/14) and Niklas Backstrom (6/20/15.) He takes on Diego Rivas.
Rivas is 6-0 with three subs. He competed on The Ultimate Fighter Latin America on Team Werdum. This is his second fight with the promotion. Rivas didn’t fight in 2015, his last fight (11/8/14) was a unanimous decision over Rodolfo Rubio Perez.
Lottery Ticket Winner?
The fight is on the card so let’s address it. 1-0 Mikey Gall faces 0-0 Mike ‘The Truth’ Jackson for the right to fight CM Punk at UFC 200. Gall’s one win came at Dead Serious 17 by rear-naked choke at 2:53 into the first round. He pulled that off in front of UFC President, Dana White and the cast of Looking for a Fight.
Following the win Gall asked White for the opportunity to fight CM Punk. ‘The Truth’ is there isn’t a lot of information about Mike Jackson (at least not this one). The bio page on UFC.com claims the Houston, Texas native has nine amateur MMA fights. One of these two will get the opportunity to face CM Punk in his first pro MMA fight.
Let’s get ready to rumble! Pick a fighter and place your bets with PlayUp for great odds. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.