UFC 130 Fight Card & Preview

Written by Jake Thompson
Friday, 27 May 2011 16:28

UFC 130 is coming up on Saturday and we’ll look at the fight card and provide a quick preview.

Although the lightweight championship bout between Frankie “The Answer” Edgar and Gray “The Bully” Maynard had to be canceled because of injuries to both fighters, the UFC 130 card is still very stacked and features some incredible fights.  Thanks to the influx of talent into the UFC in recent years, there simply are not any weak cards in this day and age of the promotion.  We’ll take a look at all of the UFC 130 fights and give some quick information on the PPV portion of the card.

UFC 130 Main Card:

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (32-8) vs. Matt “The Hammer” Hamill (7-3)

Jackson is a hard hitter with an excellent chin, strong wrestling, and well above average submission defense, but it will be interesting to see if he’s ready to go after being more interested in doing movies lately.  “Rampage” has had issues in the past with smothering wrestlers and Hamill definitely has the ability to take Jackson down at times.  This one should come down to whether or not Hamill can keep him there, because I think “The Hammer” will get hurt if this one stays standing.

Frank Mir (12-6) vs. Roy “Big Country” Nelson (15-5)

This is an interesting fight and I’m even hearing that Nelson has slimmed down his beer belly quite a bit.  Mir is a heavy hitter with excellent submissions but he’s also folded when hit hard and Nelson brings the power to put most fighters on Queer Street.  “Big Country” also has excellent submissions but his iron chin could be the difference here if it stays standing.  Then again, Mir has a reach advantage and has shown to be the better technical fighter of the two, meaning that this is a tough fight to call.

Travis Browne (10-0-1) vs. Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve (21-4)

Struve has an excellent triangle and is as tough as nails, but sometimes his poor form and lanky frame lets him down in the striking game.  Browne is a heavy hitter and should be able to avoid the ground game unless he wants the fight to be there.  Las Vegas sportsbooks have this one at about even money, and you’ll have to wait for our official predictions on Saturday to figure out whom to bet on.

Thiago “Pitbull” Alves (15-5) vs. Rick “Horror” Story (12-3)

Alves is a scary Muay Thai striker with a solid submission game, but numerous times in recent months a fighter like this has been bested by a controlling wrestler.  Story is a controlling wrestler and he should fare well if he can avoid the dangerous knockout strikes that Alves is able to provide with his fists and knees.  The second that these strikers start looking for an early surprising takedown against top-level wrestlers is the second that we start to see the trend reversed in my opinion.

Jorge Santiago (23-8) vs. Brian “All American” Stann (10-3)

Stann is large for the weight class and his striking has gotten him some excellent knockouts.  I do believe that Stann has an underrated ground game, but Santiago is more advanced in that portion of the fight.  Santiago has been knocked out numerous times in the past and it will come down to whether or not he can put Stann’s back on the mat.  I don’t see that happening with the size advantage, but Santiago seems like the type of guy that just finds ways to win.

UFC 130 on Spike TV:

Miguel Torres (39-3) vs. Demetrious Johnson (8-1)

Kendall Grove (12-8) vs. Tim Boetsch (9-3)

UFC 130 Prelims:

Gleison Tibau (20-8) vs. Rafaello Oliveira (14-3)

Michael McDonald (12-1) vs. Chris Cariaso (10-2)

Renan Barao (22-1) vs. Cole Escovedo (16-5)